PlantFactory for creating trees in Trainz

P

pware

Trainz Veteran
The latest N3V newsletter has an interesting article on a new program for creating 3D trees - PlantFactory. It looks like it could be a replacement for SpeedTrees. The article also has a video showing the program in action.

It is way too advanced for me (but then so is SpeedTrees).

A bit of digging on the name revealed that it is from a French company, "e-on software". It runs only on the Windows and SaaS/Web platforms (not on the Mac). It is a commercial product available for subscription only at $US99 per month - that is way too expensive for me.

Source Forge has a PlantFactory and SpeedTrees comparison located at https://sourceforge.net/software/compare/PlantFactory-vs-SpeedTree/
 
Peter, e-on Software was purchased by a company called Bentley about three years ago. Bentley recently announce that the full pro versions of both PlantFactory and Vue which is a 3D terrain generator are now FREE. You can download them and use them even in a commercial program. The only restriction is the programs and all the content files are still the property of Bentley and may not be re-sold. You can however sell anything you make using the program. E-on Software's YouTube channel have recently posted video tutorials on both programs. It is my understanding that Bentley has halted development for the moment due to the current crisis in the gaming industry. Some of the development team have been shifted to another project which involves 3D visualization for the construction industry which is the business that Bentley is involved in. It seems like to me this was the plan when the sale took place. Combine the staff of e-on with the staff of Bentley for a new program for 3D visualization. So feel free to download the software and have a try. I have use Vue for about 20 years and it is an easy program to learn. It also includes a plant designer, rock designer and terrain generator. You can export to .fbx format and import into modern versions of Trainz.
 
There are both Mac and Windows versions of this free software. Note that the EULA does not offer continuing support - but the programs appear to be feature complete and very stable.
Reckon N3V have done us all a huge favour promoting - and providing tutorials for - 3D tree-creation suitable for importing into Trainz. Top marks!
For more info on these programs, check this link out:
https://www.cgchannel.com/2024/05/check-out-the-new-features-in-vue-2024-and-plantfactory-2024/
 
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Here's the direct link to the downloads.

Download Vue, PlantFactory and PlantCatalog for free | CG Channel

E-on software's digital nature tools are now available as free perpetual licenses, but development has been discontinued. Read our FAQs here.
www.cgchannel.com www.cgchannel.com

In addition to downloading the programs, I also downloaded the plant catalogs and libraries for both programs. There may be parts in there that can be used for other things saving the effort of searching for textures. I do have some from World Builder but I'm not sure how suitable they are since they are meant for that program.

I used Digital Element's World Builder for years and I remember when Vue D'esprit showed up on the market as a competitor to this and another landscape generation program which I can't recall the name of. The latter program was wicked complex and wickedly expensive too and that's probably why I quickly forgot its name. What Vue D'esprit had going for it was its ease of use plus a lower cost compared to the other programs, although World Builder is quite easy even though it's quite powerful and not cheap but not overly expensive either.

I agree this is a welcome escape from the horror that IDV and now Unity has inflicted upon us with Speed Trees. We're locked into an old version every time because there's no way of using anything newer with their program and upgrading is not only prohibitively expensive but also a dead end as well due to incompatibility with anything created prior. Speed Trees is great for those single-ended games that have a new version every year with game studios that have budgets that rival small countries to purchase new licenses and upgrades, but for small developers and for those programs that move at a lot slower pace, this is not an ideal solution. In the end, let's hope Plant Factory isn't just another panacea for now and we end up stuck again.
 
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John, the other program was likely Terragen which I had on the Amiga. I think it cost about $129 but when Amiga software was ported to the PC they tended to go up in price. Today, Terragen is very expensive.

Vue started as a tool for creating digital art but when the 3D boom of the nineties happen they developed a Pro version that could export to all the big 3D programs in their scene formats so you could build a world in Vue then export it to 3D Studio, Cinema 3D or Lightwave 3D and use it as a virtual set for television and films by compositing the actors. Then when 3D environments became possible in games using Unreal Engine, e-on made the software more friendly to real time game engines by having assets use a lot less polys. I suspect the Trainz team can make changes to the E2 engine to fully support all the features offered in PlantFactory such as plants that move with the wind and grow over time. This is very exciting news and I'm thrilled that N3V see the possiblities.
 
It's too bad N3V couldn't have come up with a program to create object assets, similar to when they initially brought out Gmax. All the current free programs used to make assets have a pretty steep learning curve. I'm willing to bet there are a lot of Trainz fans out there that would welcome a new and better asset creation studio.
 
wreeder said:
John, the other program was likely Terragen which I had on the Amiga. I think it cost about $129 but when Amiga software was ported to the PC they tended to go up in price. Today, Terragen is very expensive.

Vue started as a tool for creating digital art but when the 3D boom of the nineties happen they developed a Pro version that could export to all the big 3D programs in their scene formats so you could build a world in Vue then export it to 3D Studio, Cinema 3D or Lightwave 3D and use it as a virtual set for television and films by compositing the actors. Then when 3D environments became possible in games using Unreal Engine, e-on made the software more friendly to real time game engines by having assets use a lot less polys. I suspect the Trainz team can make changes to the E2 engine to fully support all the features offered in PlantFactory such as plants that move with the wind and grow over time. This is very exciting news and I'm thrilled that N3V see the possibilities.
Click to expand...
Terragen was one of them. The initial price was nothing compared to what the later pro version was. There was or is another program that's used by architects and golf course designers to show their landscaping. The plants themselves were extremely expensive as well, making this product well beyond anything except for big design firms being able to afford it.

World Builder did exactly what these other programs did and wasn't cheap. Within World Builder is a module that lets the user 'crossbreed' plants to create unique species. World Builder also integrated right into 3ds R4 DOS and later Max and other 3d programs so that the environment could be updated in real time and objects could be placed in World Builder in real time. The plants and grass could wave in the wind and all had full collision detection so that an object could interact with the plants and grass. In one of the early demos, they had a dinosaur walk through a field demonstrating the grass squish down flat under its body and feet. The animation capabilities with this are amazing and so are some of the resolutions but the rendering is so slow. Seriously, slow is an understatement! On my older-system at the time, I did a short animation that took several days for less than a 2-second animation at a reasonable resolution.

I agree, if N3V can integrate Plant Factory technology into their E2 engine, that would make 3d Trainz worlds even more realistic. Imagine planting a wheat field and over the course of n-months of playing the same map, depending upon the season, the field finally grows for harvesting. With seasonal capabilities, there could be empty fields replaced with plants, shrubs, and flowers depending upon the season over time.
 
Thanks to all for the clarifications. I was puzzled why N3V would be testing a product with such a high cost unless, like they did with SpeedTrees, they had a licencing deal in mind. The fact that the pro version of PlantFactory is now free explains that.

It is important to remember that this version is a beta as development was stopped before it was due to be released. Nevertheless it looks like anyone who can use Blender should have no problem using PlantFactory.
 
wreeder said:
It is my understanding that Bentley has halted development for the moment due to the current crisis in the gaming industry. ........You can export to .fbx format and import into modern versions of Trainz.
Click to expand...

What is the current crisis in the gaming industry ? ( I don't keep up )
and.....What is considered a modern version of Trainz .......is that TANE and up ...I hope ?
 
JimDep said:
What is the current crisis in the gaming industry ? ( I don't keep up )
Click to expand...
In general, a lot of game developers grew during lockdowns and now that things are back to normal (more or less), there is a drop in revenue leading to layoffs and projects being cancelled. This effects companies like e-on Software as their programs are used to develop games.

What is considered a modern version of Trainz .......is that TANE and up ...I hope ?
Click to expand...
In this case, any version that can import .fbx meshes directly into Trainz. I know that includes TRS19 and up but I'm not sure of TANE. It might require an intermediate step of passing the export from PlantFactory to Blender then using the Trainz exporter in Blender to get it into TANE.
 
I think there is more to it with e-on Software. Bentley is a big engineering software company and I think they bought up e-on Software for their technology and most likely, I'll be surprised if this isn't the case, the game-developer and consumer products will never see light again. There was something about their website that led me to this conclusion based on their very, very expensive construction and design software they sell.
 
lackoo11111 said:
This guinea pig ( ex- gold member ) is already fed up with the latest trainz developer innovations . :cautious:
Click to expand...
A puzzling statement due to ambiguity and a lack of detail.

Are you fed up with innovations or with being a guinea-pig?

In both cases there is a simple solution - pick a version and build of Trainz that you are happy with and stay with it. Don't upgrade to a newer version and don't install any SP updates. No-one is forcing you to do either.
 
JCitron said:
I'll be surprised if ... the game-developer and consumer products will never see light again.
Click to expand...
They have stated that the only updates they will release for their consumer products, including PlantFactory, will be to fix "critical errors".
 
Partly the underlying cause is the sad decline in the quality of game content, so much violence, horror, and dark themes are less and less interesting to players, so part of the blame rests on the inability of developers to find game themes and stories that are not shallow, overly crude and overly photo realistic requiring immense budgets that really do not benefit the games themselves. I think it will recover but will take some time to stabilize. there have been similar shifts in the past. thanks for the info on the Tree making program a great asset and wonderful to hear of. I hope new trees that are made are SHARED and not locked up in Trainz payware categories that require players to own every game they are included in. thanks again for all of the great info. I own and direct an international working group concerning the making of 3D and Virtual content for entertainment, and work and military simulations of all kinds with members from most countries. This situation has been common knowledge among our members but as I said, it has happened before and may lead some better content if the Developers take an honest look at what they have been making. :)
 
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