Thursday, September 26th, 2024Posted by Jim ThackerItoosoft releases Forest Pack 9.0 for 3ds Maxhtml PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"Itoosoft has released Forest Pack 9.0, the latest version of its scattering plugin for 3ds Max.The most ambitious release in years, the update adds ForestIvy, an accompanying plugin for generating 3D ivy and other climbing plants using a mix of manual and parametric workflow.The ultimate scattering tool for 3ds MaxDescribed by Itoosoft as the ultimate scattering tool for 3ds Max, Forest Pack is designed to distribute objects across a scene: usually plant models, but also rocks, buildings or lights.The plugin can generate scenes with hundreds of thousands of scattered objects, with a point cloud display mode to improve viewport response, and the option to convert Forest Pack objects to Maxs native instances.The scattering process is fully parametric, and object distribution can also be controlled by image maps, splines or painting directly onto terrain geometry.Forest Pack can scatter both static and animated objects, with the option to randomise both texture maps and the time offset of animation cycles, or control them via image maps.Forest Pack 9.0: new ForestIvy plugin generates 3D climbing plantsThe main new feature in Forest Pack 9.0 the paid Pro edition, at least is ForestIvy, a new bundled plugin for generating 3D ivy and other climbing plants.Users set the overall form of the ivy using a combination of manual and procedural workflow, drawing it directly onto surfaces, generating it automatically, or blending between the two.Its also possible to generate vegetation without an underlying surface, to create basic bushes and shrubs.For finer control, the plugin includes parametric control for properties like branching pattern, the response of the plant to gravity, and the distribution of leaves and flowers.ForestIvy ships with 30 presets based on real-world leaf scans, making it possible to recreate a range of types of climbing plants.To improve performance, the plugin uses viewport and render-time instancing: the initial release is supported in Arnold and V-Ray CPU, but other renderers should add support soon.Workflow and performance updates to the core pluginAs well as ForestIvy, there are a number of workflow and performance improvements to Forest Pack itself.Distribution maps now support multiple mapping channels, and the Randomize Stacked setting now supports stacked splines as well as areas.The ForestSet helper plugin added in Forest Pack 8.0 has been updated, to make it possible to move items from the Geometry List to ForestSet objects.There are also updates to the UI, Library Browser, camera clipping, memory management, and support for V-Ray Proxies. You can find a full list of changes via the link at the foot of the story.Pricing and availabilityForest Pack 9.0 is compatible with 3ds Max 2019+ running on Windows 10+. You can find a list of compatible render engines here.New perpetual licences cost $275. There is also a free Lite edition. Its feature-limited, but can be used on commercial projects.Read a full list of new features in Forest Pack 9.0 in the online release notesRead more about Forest Pack on the product webpage(The download link for the Lite edition is at the top of the page) Latest NewsAdobe releases Photoshop 26.11Check out the new features in the image-editing app, including a new system for creating and managing shared cloud-based projects.Wednesday, September 24th, 2025BiteTheBytes releases World Creator 2025.1Big update to the GPU-based terrain generator adds new biome and object scattering systems. 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