Whats new at planetside?

[Oshyan]

Plugins will be compatible with whatever version of Terragen they're built for. The initial SDK release is being made on TG 3, so any plugins that do come out prior to TG4's eventual release will be compatible with TG3.

- Oshyan

[archonforest]

Makes sense...thx.

[leafspring]

But most major new features will now be targeting future major versions. Any remaining TG 3.x updates will likely be minor features and bug fixes.

As someone currently trying to figure out if an upgrade makes sense (sadly no TG2 Deep to Creative + Animation option... ) - does this mean I'd be better off just waiting for Terragen 4 instead of spending money for the remainder of TG3?

[pokoy]

With the SDK being available, it should be possible to write a really advanced populator plugin, right? If so, I hope someone feels challenged to write one.

Would it be possible to add functionality to the renderer with the SDK? I have always wished for an extension to the current volumetric render capabilities, so you could render volumetrics based on particle files (smoke simulation for example) or even clouds that don't rely on flat projection shader inputs but rather on particle files or even geometry input. Not that I wouldn't want this to be included in the regular TG

[TheBadger]

^^ MY guess is that TG4 will be some time. And so far, upgrades have cost significantly less than other softwares.

Ill bet you that you can buy TG3 now, and use it happily for a good long while before TG4. TG3 just came out, and this thread is mostly just to provoke Matt and Oshyan to tell us some of their secrets. So I would not worry!

Sorry if this thread has made you a little nervous about buying. If I was buying new now, I would not wait for TG4. Unless Matt Or oshyan say so.

[Kadri]

Ahem

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_effect

[Upon Infinity]

Ahem

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_effect

Exactly.  The TG 3 announcement out of the blue was pretty smart.  Unfortunately, some people (myself included) keep pressing for behind-the-scenes details.  I always like to know what direction the software is taking, although at this point Terragen is so strong it is really only missing a couple of key features.  It's nice to know what features are being worked on, though.  I'm not too worried about versions.  I, personally, have no trouble paying for every single update, so long as the features justify the cost.

[rcallicotte]

Nice to hear, Oshyan. Glad Badger asked. 

[leafspring]

Ahem

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_effect

Sounds about right. Especially when it's phrased like Oshyan did it. But I might be biased a bit anyway since I work at a company that tends to release pretty high-up features in minor releases and saves just the really massive ones for major versions.

^^ MY guess is that TG4 will be some time. And so far, upgrades have cost significantly less than other softwares.

Ill bet you that you can buy TG3 now, and use it happily for a good long while before TG4. TG3 just came out, and this thread is mostly just to provoke Matt and Oshyan to tell us some of their secrets. So I would not worry!

I suppose so. Besides, I'm still trying to figure out if I need TG3 over TG2 in the first place as I'm using it just for fun every now and then. The limited upgrade options don't really help either.

I, personally, have no trouble paying for every single update, so long as the features justify the cost.

Do they, though? That's what I'm trying to figure out. What is it that TG3 actually brings to the table?
Maybe I'm a little late to the party but I kinda miss any serious information about that on the Planetside webpage. Up to now I haven't found anything that explains to me why the 3 behind the name is worth 199$.

Haven't used TG2 in a while, though, so maybe it's just me not recognizing the major changes...

[Upon Infinity]

Do they, though? That's what I'm trying to figure out. What is it that TG3 actually brings to the table?
Maybe I'm a little late to the party but I kinda miss any serious information about that on the Planetside webpage. Up to now I haven't found anything that explains to me why the 3 behind the name is worth 199$.

Haven't used TG2 in a while, though, so maybe it's just me not recognizing the major changes...

I suppose that's for everyone to decide for themselves.  Focal blur, instance editing, populate on objects, and displaceables are the biggest new features.  They might seem like small things but they make a big difference.  Of course, an upgrade to TG 3 includes all 3.x updates, so there are more to come including the SDK release.  I still don't understand what the SDK could potentially bring to the table but it sounds promising, so it may be worth it in the end, if you don't feel so now.  For me, focal blur and populate on objects are big deals.  Certainly, if PS charged for every small update, I would expect to pay less per update, though. 

[archonforest]

I still don't understand what the SDK could potentially bring to the table

I think it will be plugins like in PS for example. There are seriously good plugins for PS and those were not done by Adobe but some other programmer...etc and u can buy and install these plugins under the main program. If this is the plan at Planetside then I think it will bring some cool new features

[mhall]

Do they, though? That's what I'm trying to figure out. What is it that TG3 actually brings to the table?
Maybe I'm a little late to the party but I kinda miss any serious information about that on the Planetside webpage. Up to now I haven't found anything that explains to me why the 3 behind the name is worth 199$.

Hey leafspring,

Here you go ... the initial announcement for 3.0

http://terragen3.com/announcing-terragen-3-professional/

And here is the announcement for 3.1, a free update to 3.0.

http://planetside.co.uk/tg-31-release

Worth $199 to you? That's for you to say. But I certainly thought it was.

Regards,
Micheal

[leafspring]

Here you go ... the initial announcement for 3.0

http://terragen3.com/announcing-terragen-3-professional/

And here is the announcement for 3.1, a free update to 3.0.

http://planetside.co.uk/tg-31-release

Worth $199 to you? That's for you to say. But I certainly thought it was.

Thanks a lot - didn't even realize there's an actual Terragen3 webpage.

I suppose that's for everyone to decide for themselves.  Focal blur, instance editing, populate on objects, and displaceables are the biggest new features.  They might seem like small things but they make a big difference.  Of course, an upgrade to TG 3 includes all 3.x updates, so there are more to come including the SDK release.

Apart from the DoF these things don't concern me much at the moment (they probably will later on, though), but I just realized that it doesn't even matter anyway.

In the end it all comes down to the Adobe principle - if I wait for TG4 to come around the upgrade over two versions will probably cost as much as the two separate upgrades over single versions. So I might as well do it now and be done with it.

Besides, the renderings on the TG3 page do look more natural regarding the lighting and, as a developer myself, the SDK sounds interesting.

[Upon Infinity]

Besides, the renderings on the TG3 page do look more natural regarding the lighting and, as a developer myself, the SDK sounds interesting.

Oh, right.  They also made some improvements to the GI system, as well.

[Oshyan]

But most major new features will now be targeting future major versions. Any remaining TG 3.x updates will likely be minor features and bug fixes.

As someone currently trying to figure out if an upgrade makes sense (sadly no TG2 Deep to Creative + Animation option... ) - does this mean I'd be better off just waiting for Terragen 4 instead of spending money for the remainder of TG3?

To be clear, Terragen 4 is not "coming soon". We don't have a release date for it yet, but it will be a while. The reason there is no "upgrade" from TG2 Deep to TG3 Creative is that Creative is missing several of the key TG2 Deep features (they're now in the Professional version). So it would be a "dowgrade" of sorts and you'd actually lose some features while gaining others. It just didn't make sense to offer that "upgrade" given our TG3 product line.

Pokoy, I'm not certain of the SDK limitations at this point, but I do know that at least some of what you're talking about will be possible, i.e. loading new file types, creating new types of shaders (like new volumetric shading, etc.). I'm not sure about a completely new populator system, but then I don't see why not...

- Oshyan