The Grove Tree Maker!

[Dune]

We'd have an interesting chat, no doubt. 

[Oshyan]

Interesting answer. I wonder what specifically he feels makes this plant generator work best with Blender. Does it rely on Blender's built-in physics functions, or particles, for example? Perhaps there really is some technical reason and not just a preference or philosophical one.

Has anyone found anything that talks about the license for the end-result models? Are they proprietary like in most such systems? Even if so, once you buy the software you could easily create your plants in Blender and then export to OBJ and use in Terragen if desired.

- Oshyan

[AP]

I looked for such information. I had not seen anything at the site so far. I don't recall seeing a FAQ there.

[AP]

There is a thread about this over at the foundry modo forums also.

http://community.thefoundry.co.uk/discussion/topic.aspx?f=4&t=115966&page=0

[Dune]

Just ask him. He's Dutch, so he must be a nice guy 

[kaedorg]

Just ask him. He's Dutch, so he must be a nice guy 

I do confirm that. I have some recent examples in mind 

David

[mhall]

Interesting answer. I wonder what specifically he feels makes this plant generator work best with Blender. Does it rely on Blender's built-in physics functions, or particles, for example? Perhaps there really is some technical reason and not just a preference or philosophical one.
- Oshyan

In reading through the site, it looks as though the plugin allows you to build the trunk/branches of the tree, then either manually or using a Blender Particle system, apply "twigs" which are the living portion - leaves, buds, blooms, etc.

https://www.thegrove3d.com/learn/build/

It's under the Twig Duplication section.

The author is still adding documentation and planning a couple of UI changes.

Aside from that, there are some very good points made in the thread at the Foundry - including that Blender can be run from a USB stick (meaning, for those that don't want to, you don't have to install it), that the plugin interface is pretty extensive, so there's minimal interaction with Blender's interface and that, by making it a plugin for Blender, the author gets all of Blenders tools, viewport, navigation and object export for free and can concentrate instead on the plant specific features.

And, of course, Blender itself is free - so the monetary cost is simply what you spend on the plugin and any of the twigs you purchase. So, it's essentially a standalone system for generating plants with a massive set of free 3D functionality you don't have to use if you don't want to.

~Micheal

[Dune]

But can you export?

[mhall]

Yes, according the website:

Export your 3D tree model

If you want to use the tree in another 3D software than Blender, you will have to export the model. Blender exports 3D objects to industry standard formats like OBJ, 3DS, FBX and DAE.

Let's try exporting an OBJ, a well supported format. Select your tree object and its twig duplicator objects. From the File menu, go to Export and select Wavefront (.obj). Browse to your preferred location and check the export settings at the lower left. Check Apply Modifiers and also check Selection Only. Export your OBJ and import it in whatever application your project is in.

Check if your application supports duplicating objects at the center of each face. Just as Blender does through its particle system. You can then set up twig duplication to enjoy all the benefits of twigs. To do this, export the twig as a separate object. And be sure to uncheck Apply Modifiers when exporting your tree. Now you get the branching structure, and the two twig duplicator objects.

[Oshyan]

Yeah, I just learned (from The Foundry thread, I think) that it uses Blender particles. So yes it's dependent on Blender's base functionality. It's still unclear to me whether the geometry is fully exportable, i.e. you could get a resulting tree model like an Xfrog or Speedtree model, with attached leaves, textures, etc. Or whether it requires specific support in the destination app as mentioned in the quote above (that quote may refer more to a better way of supporting its features, but not a *necessary* capability to support the model).

- Oshyan

[Dune]

I was indeed afraid of the latter, hence my question. Not that I'm really interested, though 

[AP]

Most unfortunate so at least for me, there seems no point to look into this any further.

[masonspappy]

I've been looking for an alternative to xFrog so emailed TGTM to see if a demo version of their software was available.  Turns out there is none, and so I no longer have any interest in the product.  There are too many questions about how TGMT works and potential drawbacks to part with my $$$ without understanding what I'm getting in return.

[Dune]

Get Speedtree, it's very good.  I'm hooked anyway.

[otakar]

Keep in mind, this seems to be a single developer tool, so progress may be slow. The questions raised are good. What is the process of getting a regular OBJ usable in TG out of this? What's the quality? Is it distributable? I will follow its progress.

Thanks for the info!