SpeedTree 8.4

SpeedTree 8.4 is now available across all of our products with the newest updates and additional features. This month we focused on multiple requests for export options and we’ve got an all-new SDK wind in SpeedTree for Games. This will be compatible with the upcoming release of SDK for version 8.  The SDK wind goal was a refined natural motion while using a shorter vertex shader and smaller vertex buffer. The result: record fast performance times.
 

Feature List:
SDK Games Wind

Version 8 of the SpeedTree SDK implements a faster, one-draw-call capable wind algorithm. This version of the Modeler is the first to feature it is an option in the Games and Indie editions.

Opacity Tweaks

Opacity map boosting in the viewport for preventing screen dooring at lower mips when a2c is enabled has been improved.

TIFF exports switch to lossless compression

TIFF images exported from the Modeler now use LZW compression.

New data in XML exports

Model extents, the parameters for the currently selected wind algorithm, and near/far LOD distances are now saved in XML exports. Leaf reference mesh import transforms are stored as well.

AO adjustments

Refinements have been made to per-vertex AO computations to improve edge case scenarios introduced by oddly shaped models.

Bones in game FBX and raw XML exports

Bones can now be added to FBX or XML files exported via the games exporting system.

Per-Material atlas control

An option has been added to each material to force it into or out of the generated atlases.

Game atlas naming

An option has been added to set a user-controlled name for atlases generated during game exports.

Game export summary

A detailed summary of what got exported including geometry statistics and texture resolutions has been added to the game export system.

Extra help for exported tiffs

Compression type switched to LZW which is lossless and the most common compression method to help combat Adobe’s deflate compressed.

Atlas options

Added the option to force a material in or out of the atlas.

8.4 Bug Fixes

Crash fix: Multiple trees exported into one atlas

A bug that caused a crash when atlasing all open models together has been fixed.

Improved AO edge cases

Removed a bug in the AO computations causing some ground effects. Improved the regular ao ground effect.

Crash Fix: Growth bug

A generator set to “spine only” was causing a crash on growth export.

Bug Fix: Render Photo

Render photo adjusted to not change the mip settings for a tree file.

New Library Trees

New VFX Trees with Photogrammetry Bases

Our new Photogrammetry tools are available in SpeedTree Games and SpeedTree Cinema 8.3 and after. For May we’ve added just a few trees built with brand new high detail photogrammetry meshes as the base. Procedural geometry is extended from the trunk, leaving the upper canopy randomizable. We also have some great additions using these tools with small fruit scans coming soon!