Trees
- Thread starter Jayco-man
- Start date
Opinions will differ but PlantFactory trees get my vote. They are free to create for non-commercial use (such as in DLS Trainz layouts). SpeedTrees come in second but as they are now dated and require you to purchase a license to create them, it is a distant second.
For bushes and grasses some billboard creations still look good but most do not meet satisfactory standards, particularly if they lack LODs.
As to identifying specific trees, it would depend on the region you are modelling. I use Australian Eucalyptus species almost exclusively which would look out of place in any Nth American alpine settings.
For bushes and grasses some billboard creations still look good but most do not meet satisfactory standards, particularly if they lack LODs.
As to identifying specific trees, it would depend on the region you are modelling. I use Australian Eucalyptus species almost exclusively which would look out of place in any Nth American alpine settings.
I may stand corrected but to my knowledge PlantFactory trees do not sway in the wind, are not seasonal and ‘pop’ into and out of view quite badly in the latest version of Trainz+.
So for me, it’s SpeedTrees, despite them being more dated. I’m unaware of users having to purchase a license to use them.
So for me, it’s SpeedTrees, despite them being more dated. I’m unaware of users having to purchase a license to use them.
Not to use them but to create them.
SpeedTrees also suffer from the "popping" in and out of view due to LOD data. PlantFactory trees still need some "refining" in this regard as did the earliest versions of SpeedTrees.
PlantFactory Trees use imposters, which SpeedTrees do not. Imposters render the trees as flat 2D objects when placed in the distance. The 2D imposters always face the camera. N3V are now applying this technique, which is now used in several other games, to other scenery objects when they are placed in the far distance. The technique reduces the GPU rendering overheads.
See the EULA for a full description of what you can and can't do. It is a bit complex.
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jaredvazquez012
Member
Not seasonal in Trainz Plus? I just have TRS22 PE (without the Plus subscription), and they do change color in fall and lose their leaves in winter.
They are listed as Category = Flora, just like thousands of other trees/bushes/grasses.
The ones created by or for N3V have the letters "PF" in their name.
All are created on or after 08-August-2025
Some examples from the 238 I have installed from the DLS:
<kuid:1011615:101053> Apple tree PF 01
<kuid:1011615:101040> Barberry bush PF 01
<kuid2:1011615:100650:1> Beech Tree PF 1 3394
<kuid2:1011615:100126:1> Birch Tree PF 4
<kuid2:1011615:100132:1> Conifer Tree PF 2
<kuid2:1011615:100396:1> Broadleaf Tree PF 02
<kuid:1011615:101019> English walnut PF 01
<kuid2:1011615:100497:1> Eucalypt Tree PF 01
<kuid2:661281:98038:1> Pine 1 PF (atlas)
<kuid2:661281:98102:1> Grass 2 I PF
<kuid2:1011615:100150:1> Fir Tree PF 2
<kuid:1011615:101013> Gingko biloba PF 04
<kuid2:1011615:100269:1> Mountain Maple PF 01
<kuid2:1011615:100557:1> Sugar Maple PF 04
<kuid2:661281:98083:1> Tree 6e PF
<kuid:1011615:101094> White spruce PF 01
Look for the following authors for Plant Factory trees:
Florka
Auran
Cebar3
AS stated by PWare.....all have tree <something> PF in the name.
johnwhelan
Well-known member
My understanding is assets uploaded to the DLS have to be licensed for commercial use in case N3V includes them in commercial DLC etc. This rule means I could no longer use a number of textures, or the rules changed yet again?
Thanks
Cheerio John
From reading the Trainz DLS EULA (and I am not qualified to give legal advice) I could find nothing that supports the above statement. Obviously, if you purchase a JR Payware locomotive or a commercial (copyrighted) ground texture and upload it to the DLS as your own work then that would be a violation. If you use a copyrighted texture in an asset, e.g. a wall texture in a house asset, and upload it to the DLS then that would also be a violation.
That same JR Locomotive or ground texture can be included in a route/session that you upload to the DLS without violating any copyright. This is because your uploaded route/session does not actually contain the locomotive or any of the assets that you have added to your route/session. It contains a reference (the <kuid>, position, height, orientation, etc) to each of those assets. The user who downloads your route/session must already have those assets installed from the original source such as JR if they are payware. If they are assets on the DLS then Content Manager will automatically download and install them if they are not already installed in your copy of Trainz.
As for PlantFactory products (e.g. trees created using the software), the PlantFactory (E-on Software) EULA very specifically states
"Despite PlantCatalog being freeware, all plants are copyrighted by Bentley Systems. You may use the models commercially (e.g., embed them into games, share them with clients, or embed them into project files) and you may create renderings, both still or animated, using PlantCatalog models. However, you may not resell any models derived from PlantCatalog content on marketplaces. If you want to sell plant models, you may create your own models from scratch in PlantFactory while making sure to not use any textures or metanodes from PlantCatalog plants."
So PlantFactory trees can be used commercially and distributed as a part of games (e.g. Trainz) but you may not sell them yourself if they contain any pre-existing components that are from the PlantFactory PlantCatalog.
Once again, I am not qualified to give legal advice. The above is my layman's understanding of the EULAs.
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