How do I add trees in TG2?

[Gooner]

Hi everyone .
My name is Gooner and I recently downloaded the free version of TG2 and am still learning the program. I am enjoying using it but what I cannot figure out is how to add the trees/vegetation etc that I have seen in so many amazing images. I have downloaded the free plant pack from Jan Walter Schliep ("Walli") but I cannot work out how to add them in.I have read numerous tutorials but none actually say how to do this.

Also I notice that version 2.2 is now available for free . Do I need to uninstall 2.1 first before I upgrade?

Any help would be much appreciated.

[Upon Infinity]

Add them via the objects option => add object, and add either an object (tgo) or a population.  If you don't know how to use populations yet, stick with the objects.  Find the object file on your hard drive, double click on it.  Then use your cursor to find the coordinates of where you want the tree to go and plug 'em into the translate option of the specific object (tree).  Note that you may have to vary the object size depending on the scale of your scene (mine are always way too small).

[Matt]

Also I notice that version 2.2 is now available for free . Do I need to uninstall 2.1 first before I upgrade?

It's cleaner to uninstall the current version before you install a new one, and we recommend you do so, but usually it isn't strictly necessary.

Matt

[Gooner]

Thanks very much UponInfinity , I`ll give that a go.

I`ll uninstall the previous version first then Matt. Thanks.


Bad news - must have deleted the file to the image . Guess I`ll have to start from scratch.

One other thing (sorry to be asking all these questions)- I just tried a quick render of an image in TG2.2 and was given a warning that the size of the subdiv cache was not big enough and could reduce performance. I have increased the size to 1000 from 400 and the warnings have stopped. I was just wondering if this is too much though. In case you were wondering I am using a Dell XPS16 with 64bit Win7 , i7 chip and 4Gb of RAM.

[Oshyan]

Generally we recommend 100MB per thread. On an i7 TG2 will default to 8 threads, so you would use 800MB. 1000MB is ok too, for some scenes larger caches can decrease render time, but you can squeeze out a bit more memory in some cases by keeping it to 100MB/thread. This can be particularly important for high resolution rendering or scenes with a lot of objects, image-based textures, etc.

- Oshyan

[Gooner]

OK thanks.

[Gooner]

I`ve been trying to use some of the excellent clip files available from this forum but I am struggling a bit. I can import them into TG2 using file>insert clip file, but how do you actually use them when they are in? I`ve tried connecting the output node to various input nodes but I always seem to get a red line indicating that I am doing it wrong. I`m making some progress with this program but some things just baffle me.

[Upon Infinity]

This one got me too.  Still does a little bit even when I'm inserting my OWN clip files!  Of course, it depends on what kind of clip files you're inserting.  You should start by creating a new object similar to the one you're inserting.   For instance, if you're inserting a cloud clip file, create a new cloud layer to see how the program sets them up itself in the node network and then bring your inserted nodes over and substitute them for the program created ones. 

Personally, I'm not a big fan of the node network, but I understand why they use it, so I have had to teach myself enough of it to get by.

[Gooner]

Thanks very much. The node network is tricky to get your head around anyway , this will help though.  

Just had a quick go following your advice and it worked a treat. After all that it never looked as good as I expected so I`m not using the file! Typical.