TreesDesigner Plugin for Lightwave....

[Zairyn Arsyn]

http://www.polas.net/trees/index.php

has anyone heard of this plugin for LightWave 3D???
it seems like a good & cheaper alternative for making trees (75 USD)

i was thinking about purchasing it, but then i found out the creator sends the plugin via email in exe & zip files...and i know most email services dont allow you to receive or send those types of files for security reasons. :/

[Kadri]

I don't use it but look here . There are many more and some opinions :

http://www.newtek.com/forums/showthread.php?t=105491

Kadri.

[Walli]

trees designer is an interesting tool, has a different approach compared to Onyx or Xfrog

[Zairyn Arsyn]

this is similar to TreesDesigner-

http://www.kurvstudios.com/software/TreeArea_Manual.htm

i looked at speed tree then i found out how much it costs, too much for me

I've used the LW3d TreeCage plugin, which was good, but could'nt get the leaves to work.

[Zairyn Arsyn]

great news! i just sucessfully ordered the TreesDesigner plugin

cant wait to get home and try it out.

[Zairyn Arsyn]

the system it uses to make trees is pretty neat, unique.
unlike xfrog it uses subpatches, and the the branches actually connect (vertices) to the geometry of the trunk.

but the built-in UV mapping is problematic.

[Walli]

yes, thats a problem with almost all tools that claim to create seamless transitions. As soon as you are using detailed textures or even displacement mapping, you usually stumble over UV seams - which are as bas as real geometry seams when working with displacements. Perhaps ptex will be the solution ;-)

[Zairyn Arsyn]

the seams aren't the issue (right now) the meshes overlap themselves, their sorta jumbled together (i'll show some screenshots of the problem later)

the trees textures look weird with textures applied,