Forester Pro for Unity - an easy to use tree generator

Forester Pro for Unity

If you want to create some unique model trees for Unity have a look at Forester Pro for Windows. It is very easy to use, and it can generate a huge range of trees, including your own custom models and, most importantly for you guys, has an export function specifically for Unity that is compatible with the terrain painter.


Jungle made from Forester Pro models in less than 30 minutes.

Forester Pro has powerful tree editing functions allowing model trees to be generated randomly and posed in realtime, including deformation functions and per vertex editing. In the registered version of Forester custom templates can be created allowing users to generate their own unique types of tree. New randomized trees can be created with a single click.

The free version Forester Lite can be downloaded from our website and can be used to generate an unlimited number of random trees from seven different tree types. Models created with Forester Lite can be used royalty free in non-commercial projects and for development. Models generated by Forester Pro are royalty free and can be used in commercial products including asset packs. Registration costs $40.00.

http://www.hptware.co.uk/forester.htm

Below is a tutorial of how to create trees, import into Unity, paint them on the Terrain and lightmap them.

 

I've played with this just a little...getting a tree into Unity was a snap. But for some reason, Unity isn't creating the billboard.

Couple of suggestions:
It's a little buggy at times, crashing.
The right-mouse click stuff is weird, especially to bring up the context menu. I seem to have to spam right mouse clicks to get it to pop up. Overall, the control scheme seems odd. But that's just me.
I like the LOD functions. But often, I want a medium or high LOD trunk, but very low LOD branches. It would be -very- nice if you could apply a LOD level to a specific branch, leaf, trunk, etc. From what I can tell, branches contribute a LOT of the poly count
More than three LOD levels would be cool

Edit: Ok, I read the docs and found the section on branch optimization, thanks
Very nice tool, I'll suspect I'll be snagging it soon!

 

Hi James,

I see indeed you did buy it! Cheers

Btw...you'll find that leaves add a lot to the face count if you are using a complex leaf mesh. You can swap the leaf mesh on LODs manually in the edit window using the context menu, this allows you to swap to say simple planes, or another simplified leaf mesh.

Unity seems to be creating billboards for me, or rather there is that characteristic change in distant trees that usually means the engine is swapping to a billboard. If you want you can create a billboard in Forester as a 2D image...although I admit I don't know how to specifically implement billboards in Unity.

But thanks again for buying and the vote of confidence.

 

This looks rather interesting. Is there a possibility that you add FBX export at some point? I am not much a fan of Collada. Also, is this Windows only? If so, is there a Mac version in planning?

 

Thanks for your comment Thomas.

Actually we've been surprised how well Collada works in Unity, it imports straight in with no fuss, and they are compatible with the Terrain Editor. But you are right FBX files are more compact and not human readable so better for production. You can convert Forester Pro trees to FBX in Blender (or Maya etc). In Blender just import the Collada then export it using Blender's FBX export setting Y Forward and Z UP and the scale to 100.0. Select just the Mesh to export and turn off all the other options. We aren't planning an FBX exporter for Forester in the near future, simply because exporters are rather difficult to implement, and there is already an easy work flow. We've tested models created from all out available tree template packs (including the ones below) and they all export fine.


Conifer tree pack with templates to create randomized tree models

Unfortunately there won't be a Mac version due to technical limitations.

 

Looks pretty nice, would it be possible to have a version highter than "high res tree" where there would be no flat textured area but actual geometry for everything including individual leaves? I'd be very interested if so.

 

Hi Ronan,

Yes there is. You choose the resolution by setting the number of vertexes in each branch. Most of the leaf meshes aren't flat planes already, however, you can import your own leaf meshes in Collada format. If you want one mesh per individual leaf you can, although there is a limit of 4000 leaves. It would be quite easy to increase this limit, so if you are desperate for an insane number of leaves we could send you a version just for you!

 

This is my bad then, i'll give it a second look (i thought setting right click high resolution was the best, didn't think there was additional settings).
If i purchase this, is a skype live demonstration possible (even with a fee) if i have additional questions?

 

Just to be clear, i didn't mean for importing but using what comes with the tool (i have 0 artistic capabilities, so i'm looking at using premade trees), do you have a sample of how to get more than simple plane leaves "with" one of the built in trees? A video would rock showing how to get max quality (even if it's in the million of polygons range that's fine).
Thanks!

 

Annnnd sorry for the spam but questions are coming to me quicky, i see additional packs, if i purchase a team licence at 150$ (i'm alone today but i'd like to be safe on the future), are those additional packs for my whole potential future team too? Can i "include" a contractor in those terms too?

 

Bonsoir Ronan,
If you look at the tree models available in the free version you'll see that the leaf meshes are all more complex than a simple plane. Simple planes produce quite awful trees. In the leaf properties window you'll see an option to select leaf meshes and several come with the free version Forester Lite, and a few more with each tree template pack. For example most of the temperate tree pack use angled leaves, a rather efficient 4 face mesh that gives the impression of volume. You'll see similar meshed used for leaves in dishonoured.

For the license. If you are a one seat team at present, please feel free to buy the indie license. We really don't want to be too constraining with license seats. In that case if you have a contractor to build models for you then they should have the license themselves. If you want to just try out models for your development, then there are a range in the free version of forest lite.

 

I'm amazed at how much better these trees look in Unity, than the tree creator ones. One of the biggest things is the quality of the billboards. Being able to use higher resolution textures. It's very nice.

Have to say this has replaced my need for the tree creator.
One request: The ability to "lower" the tree pivot by a specific amount, so that it rests below the ground a little further.

 

interesting – but how do those trees manage to have "better" billboards as all billboards are calculated by unity?
i guess you mean the fact that they do not have any translucency or shadows on the leaves – as all trees have using the "old" soft occlusion shaders.
as far as texture resolution is concerned: it is not easy but even with tree creator trees you can use textures with a higher resolution than the standard 1024 one.

if you do not need translucency, bump mapping and real time shadows on the leaves and advanced bending on the whole tree you can always go with the standard soft occlusion shaders and just import any externally modeled tree – those will give you better lit billboards just out of the box.
but in case you want or need the features of the tree creator shaders it will get a bit tricky – but can be done. so having a solution exporting trees which fit the needs of the tree creator shaders (vertex colors and 2nd uv set) would be great.
otherwise: just use the tree creator.

lars

 

Good point...it is simply because the textures are higher resolution that the billboards look better. Unfortunately, I don't know how to make the tree creator use higher res textures

 

Yes, because compared to Windows, Macs are very are very hard to develop for.

 

Definately are if you didn't plan for cross platform from the start, for exemple making a DX9 only WPF application, that sounds like a pain to port unlike a winform ogl app.

 

go and get one of my last tree packages to learn how create and assign highres textures ;-)
but i really doubt that the texture resolution has anything to do with the quality of the billboards – as the billboard texture itself is pretty low res. i think it is much more the lighting...

lars

 

Ok, then I must be doing something wrong. In the top picture, I have a project using Unity trees. The billboards are horrible. In the bottom, mesh trees from Forester:




I don't understand why the top ones are so bad. In both images, non-billboard trees are in the foreground, with billboards further back. But in the bottom picture, they are much better quality. The closest oak to the left is full mesh, but the billboards further past it are of such good quality imo there isn't much difference.

Perhaps my trees in the top picture are too tall, thus reducing the billboard quality?

[Edit] Fixed picture links, should be viewable now.

 

I can't see the pictures in your post

 

you are right: the billboards in the upper picture are horrible.
but just have a closer look at the trunks of the billboards: even those are pixelated although they are mainly defined be geometry.
so it is the overall billboard resolution which is responsible for the whole mess.

that should be the reason, yes.

lars

 

James...many thanks for the comments. We will add a function to allow you to specify a custom displacement to the origin of trees to the next update v1.07. Will post when done.

Lars...we certainly could add export of vertex colors and 2nd UV set for advanced tree creator shaders. This is something we've already implemented for Torque3D. However, we haven't found these documented anywhere for unity. If you can point us in the right direction that would be great.

 

We've now added a new function to the export menu that allows you to set the vertical displacement of the exported model. This allows you to create models that can be placed on steeper slopes.

The latest version is v1.07 and is available on our website including an update.

http://www.hptware.co.uk/forester.htm

 

We've just launched the Autumn Tree Pack 1 for Forester Pro featuring templates for autumnal Oaks, London Planes, Birch, Hornbeam, Horse Chestnut and ferns. Each template can be used to generate randomized models and can be used as the basis of your own customized models.



Tree template packs cost $10 and can be downloaded from the website.
http://www.hptware.co.uk/forester.htm

 

Since we've received a few questions about this, we thought we'd add an answer to the thread.

A tree template in Forester Pro is like a tree type, it can make a huge variety of tree models just by changing a few of the properties.

Just to illustrate the variety you can achieve using a single tree template, we've taken our Autumn London Plane template, one of six released in our new Autumn Tree Template Pack 1, and just changed a few of the properties of the template, such as branch pitch angle, length, and spawn heights, to generate the variety of models shown below. This lot took us around 30 minutes to create and export.



Then we can import them straight into unity, apply them to the terrain painter and generate scenes like those shown below. Variety in tree models really makes all the difference in creating interesting looking scenes.



And for those who like looking up!

 

Are you choosing the Nature/Tree soft occlusion leaves shader for your leaves? Mine seem...much jaggier.
(Actually, I went back and checked...the texture I was using is most likely the problem. I'll play around with it some more.)

Also...is there a way to make changes to a tree's parameters, redraw it, and have the options/parameters window stay up? Every time I redraw the tree to see the changes, I have to go back to File -> New -> Select tree I was working on -> Edit, and go back to the options I was tweaking.

Bumps and shadows work nicely. Not sure what can be done about the wind animation, though.

 

Hi,

You are quite right, the textures need to be optimised for the best appearance. Forester Pro adds an alpha channel to textures during export and you can specify the threshold and fuzziness for the transparency. For more interactive control you can add the alpha channel in photoshop.

Currently the exported models use the Nature/Tree soft occlusion shaders, but we are working on export functions for the tree creator as we speak (thanks to some input from Lars). The Nature/Tree soft occlusion shaders allow the trees to be painted as terrain objects and allow windzone effects (they'll bend in the wind and the leaves move), but not the same quality leaf flutter as the tree creator shaders. The downside of the tree creator shaders seems to be they are unaffected by windzones.

We can make the tree properties menu stay open after you create a model. This is a good suggestion thanks, we'll add this to the next release (v1.08). Will post when that is ready.

 

That is very exciting, thank you. I'll see if I can add the alpha channel and experiment with it, my photoshop skills are still very low.

 

We added a function in the export for Unity to allow you to change how the alpha channel is generated. In Forester you can just change the alpha threshold and fuzziness values on the export menu. So if you have black lines around your leaves, increase the threshold number a little (say +10). If there are pieces missing from the texture then decrease the threshold number (say -10). Fuzziness creates a soft edge to the texture by adding a variable transparency. We were quite pleased with ourselves when we figured out how to parse these texture files, it was the most difficult thing about writing the exporter for Unity. It works well, and the threshold shouldn't be far off to start with.

If you really want to do it manually with photoshop you can. Just open the texture image from the textures\leaves\ directory in photoshop and use select>color range tool to select the black background using the color picker and the fuzziness slider to choose the threshold that minimizes any surrounding lines whilst preserving the texture. Photoshop will then select the background. Then just delete it, so there is empty nothingness there. Then save the file as PNG as a new copy in your export directory and ensure it has the same name as the texture file in the export directory. A little more fiddly, but useful particularly when using your own textures.

Note to self: perhaps we should add these instructions to the help file.

 

I must have done something wrong, I tried it before it didn't notice much difference, even with somewhat large values. But I just tried it today, and it's definitely working.
So, great feature!

 

Forester Pro - New Features in v1.08

We have just released version 1.08 of Forester which has some new features to make customizing tree models easier and more intuitive. If you already have installed Forester Pro or Forester Lite you can download an updater from our website http://www.hptware.co.uk/downloads/foresterupdate108.zip).

New Features

Custom Work Flow. The tree properties window now remains open when you create a tree model which makes it easier and quicker to customize templates. Thanks to jc_lvngstn for this suggestion.

Orientate to Branch. We have improved how leaves can be orientated to branches making it easier and more intuitive.

Scale up Branch. We have added a scale up branch function to the leaf properties menu. This is particularly useful to generate more regular looking conifer trees. When selected, the size of leaves decreases along the branch by the amount specified in the size variance for the leaf type. An example is shown below for the Deodar Cedar. Notice how the model on the left has much more regular leaves than the one on the right.




Custom Example

The Deodar (Himalayan) Cedar is one of the templates in the soon to be released Conifer Tree Pack 2. Each template can be used to generate a wide range of models by changing a few of the properties. The Deodar Cedar is a good example, the template is based on a young mature tree similar to those often found as cultivated trees in cities and parks. Actually the template is based on one planted in Clapham Common in London (we have been studying trees, it is now a bit of an obsession). Deodars vary quite a bit in form. They are often conical trees with branches that droop but curve upwards towards the tips, however, there is much variation in trunk to branch length, and droop of leaves. In the wild in Asia Deodar forests give rise to tall trees with a distinct crown. All these variations can be created from the template by changing a few of the properties as shown below.



You can download Forester, including the free version Forester Lite from out website:

http://www.hptware.co.uk/forester.htm

 

Hi Everyone,

We've been working really hard and have added an FBX exporter to Forester Pro. You can now produce FBX format trees that seamlessly import into the Unity editor. Best of all they are now in the right format for the Unity Store, so use your own custom textures, customise the tree templates in Forester Pro and sell them on the store. No really, we want you to, they are your creations.

There are some other great additions in version 1.09 we've added with Unity users in mind:

(1) All our template textures our now 32 bit PNG with 8 bit alpha channels and there is no longer any need to play with the settings during export. This makes export for Unity a one click process.

(2) We've added an image editor that allows you to add alpha channels to your own textures, even if they are BMP or JPG, and converts them to PNG. So if you don't get on with Photoshop, or don't have it, then Forester Pro can do it for you. Forester will even fix spurious RGB data in photoshop PNG's that can lead to artifacts. A tutorial on our new image editor is shown below. We are very pleased with ourselves.

If you've already purchased Forester Pro then you can download an update from our website. If you have purchased tree packs then download them again an reinstalling is the simplest way to get the new image formats.

http://www.hptware.co.uk/forester.htm

To end with a new improved autumn atmospheric scene with Forester Pro trees. Even the logs are produced by Forester.


Best,
HPTWare

 

Forester Pro version 1.1 - New Leaf Mesh Editor

In our latest update, version 1.11, we've added a leaf mesh editor to Forester Pro to allow advanced optimization of tree models. Forester Pro comes with a range of leaf meshes designed to be transferable between tree models allowing you to create the widest possible range of trees. You can also import your own leaf meshes in Collada format to create your own custom models. To help optimize models for performance we've added a new leaf mesh editor. A quick tutorial on the leaf editor is on our Youtube channel:

Optimizing Leaf Meshes

Polycount is not the only important factor in optimizing tree meshes. Areas of alpha transparency on leaves are computationally expensive and reducing the amount of alpha transparency even at the expense of adding polys can result in better optimized models that impact FPS less. An example of an optimized leaf mesh created in the leaf editor is shown below.




The Forester Pro leaf editor can create leaf meshes by drawing vertexes directly on textures in the UV editor and then creating a 3D mesh from the UV coordinates. In 3D view individual vertices can be can be moved and the shape of the leaf mesh altered. Normals can also be reversed if necessary. The leaf editor also allows you to independently edit UV coordinates.

Like the leaf meshes that come as standard with Forester Pro, custom leaf meshes can be selected in the leaf properties menu of tree templates and simply be added to tree models.

Forester Pro can be downloaded from our website and includes a free version with seven free tree types:
http://www.hptware.co.uk/forester.htm

If you already have Forester Pro the update can be downloaded here:
http://www.hptware.co.uk/downloads/foresterupdate111.zip

 

If you've experienced scale and rotation issues with FBX models produced by Forester Pro (specifically when they are added to prefabs), these issues have been solved in the latest update which can be downloaded from the post above.

 

I've been looking for a user-friendly Tree modeling app and thankfully landed here. The interface is intuitive and simple for the quick-draw, yet it contains layers of options that let an experienced modeler realize their vision. Due to my Unity 4.1 setup, the tree, after import, was using the wrong shader (diffuse) but switching it to Nature / Tree Soft Occlusion Leaves fixed that – none of which I would have had any clue how to do if the folks from hptware hadn’t answered my request for help within a matter of hours (and that from a Lite user!). Wow. I mean really, who does that anymore?! WOW.
My bland landscape is now filling up with nice trees thanks to Forester and hptware.

 

We've just released Conifer Tree Template Pack 2 for Forester Pro, making 45 different tree templates that are available for the registered version of the program, each can be used to generate a wide range of randomized trees. The pack includes the following species:



The tree packs are $10 and include all five tree species and can be downloaded from our website. Trees can be easily customized changing branch and leaf sizes and positions, they can also be posed in realtime.

http://ww.hptware.co.uk/forester.htm

 

We've just released our seventh tree template pack, Temperate Tree Pack 2, making a total of 50 different tree species that can be created with Forester Pro at a click of a button. Temperate Tree Pack 2 costs $10 and includes the following templates, each of which can be used to create numerous randomly generated versions of the tree models.



You can use the models created from Temperate Tree Pack 2 to generate scenes such as shown below:



Forester Pro and the Temperate Tree Pack 2 can be downloaded from:

http://www.hptware.co.uk/forester.htm

 

Any plans on making a pack that includes common Australian trees - Eucalypt, gum, lilly-pilly etc?

 

Lovely new trees!

I have a suggestion or two.

The workflow to create new trees, modify them, and export them is a little confusing for me.
1. What's the difference between a tree in the Tree Library, and a tree saved as a forester tree model?
2. The only way I can see how you edit the tree library trees is by selecting New, choosing the template, and selecting Edit. What about editing trees saved as a forester tree model?
3. When you are in edit mode (modifying tree properties), you have to completely cancel out of that to export. But that means, you can't just edit -> export...and then make some more editing tweaks and reexport. You have to save as a tree template, edit, export, reopen as a tree template, edit...it's a little odd.
4. There seems to be something off with texture exporting now...I'm still trying to nail it down, but it acts like the alpha isn't getting exported properly. I have to drag the alpha slider all the way to the left on my trees to show any alpha, it's not gradual like before. I can dig some more if you like.

So, if it's possible:

Can there just be an Edit Properties function in the edit menu, which allows you to bring up the properties window(s) for any tree you are viewing?
Would it also be possible to export without having to exit the properties screens. And if not, and you have to cancel out of properties, being able to reenter properties (See previous suggestion) would ease this.

Thanks!
JC

 

Hi JC and Micky,

We do have plans for an Australian tree pack. We collected images last year and are planning to produce a pack with ghost gums, red gums, desert oak and some shrubs common in the outback. This pack will probably be coming in the next few weeks.

Response to JC's questions:

(1) You can save a tree model that you are editing manually by moving branches and leaves. You can then load it later and continue editing. This isn't dependent on templates, it simply saves the meshes and textures etc. The tree library contains the templates used to randomly generate trees.
(2) Editing saved trees involves manual manipulation by moving around branches, leaves, vertexes, you can also apply bend, twist functions and swap textures and meshes on saved trees. The only real difference is a saved model is a single model, a template describes the type of tree.
(3) I am not quite sure what you mean. When you export the tree model is still present and you can tweak it further then export again. You can also make changes to the LODs and these custom versions can be used in the export by selecting "use custom LODs and billboards".
(4) What templates are you having difficulty with the alpha? We've had no issues....but we'll see if we can replicate your problem. Make sure you are using the tree leaf occlusion shader.
(5) Yes I am sure we can add a function to the edit menu as you describe. Good idea.

 

Dear All,

We've just released version 1.14 of Forester Pro. The new version adds:

(1) A command to the edit menu and the right click context menu called "edit properties". This allows more convenient access to the tree properties menu so you can make changes to the current tree template.
(2) Export support for XNA compatible fbx.
(3) Some bug fixes for vertical displacement allowing the origin of tree models to be shifted up or down.

Best,
HPTWare

 

We've just released our eighth tree template pack, Savannah Tree Pack, making a total of more than 50 different tree species that can be created with Forester Pro at a click of a button. Savannah Tree Pack costs $10 and includes the following templates, each of which can be used to create numerous randomly generated versions of the tree models.



You can use models generated using templates in this pack to create classic african savannah scenes:



You can download the template pack from our website:
http://www.hptware.co.uk/forester.htm

Forester Pro can also be used to create your own custom tree templates.

 

Forester Pro Version 1.15 Released

Forester Pro version 1.15 features improved performance for low and mid-range systems and general performance enhancements for exporting and tree creation. We've also added an additional feature to the user interface to improve work flow. All these features are in response to user feedback.

Improvements

(1) Tree creation and loading is now 2-5x faster.

(2) Exporting models is now 2-10x faster.

(3) Shaders can optionally be disabled improving performance on low and mid-range systems by 2-4x. Leaf and branch shaders can be disabled independently.

(4) The content menu can now be accessed by pressing the middle mouse button as well as a right-click. There is no delay for middle mouse button access.

If you've already installed Forester Pro you can update using this installer:

http://www.hptware.co.uk/downloads/foresterupdate115.zip

Forester Pro can be downloaded from our website:

http://www.hptware.co.uk/forester.htm

 

Version 1.16 is now ready for download and features:

(1) Bug fix for crashes on deselecting leaves with leaf shaders off.
(2) View mode retained (wireframe, solid, textured) during LOD creation.
(3) Program icon fix.
(4) Edit and pop-up menu text made consistent
(5) Title in info panel now changes during change back to high res tree.
(6) Help file defaults to contents page.

http://www.hptware.co.uk/downloads/foresterupdate116.zip

 

I need to export trees created in Unity as meshes, does this tool provide the feature?

 

Export from unity? No I am afraid not. Import into Unity yes. Forester Pro is a standalone tree creator that export models in Collada and FBX format for Unity. It isn't a plugin for the unity engine. Sorry!

 

Cartoon Tree Pack for Forester Pro Released

We've just released our latest tree template pack containing new types of tree. Each can produce a huge range of randomized models. This brings the number of tree types that Forester can make out of the box to 66. You can also create your own custom tree types.

The models included in Cartoon Tree Pack 1 are shown below and are designed for stylized and abstract games.



A scene made with the Cartoon Tree Pack is shown below:



Each tree pack is $10 and requires the registered version of Forester Pro.

Forester Pro can be downloaded from our website and an indie license is $40. A free version of Forester Pro is also available and includes seven different tree types.

http://www.hptware.co.uk/forester.htm

 

Forester Pro Version 1.17 Released

We've just released version 1.17 of Forester Pro featuring improvements to automatic display mode setting. Forester Pro will now start in the currently used display mode fixing problems with some graphics cards.



If you've already installed Forester Pro an updater is available here:

http://www.hptware.co.uk/downloads/foresterupdate117.zip

Forester can also be downloaded from our website and features a free version allowing random versions of 7 different tree types to be created. Over 60 different tree types are available for the registered version of Forester Pro.

http://www.hptware.co.uk/forester.htm

 

Does that mean i get 60 different tree types just by buying the pro version, or do they include the packs i have to pay extra for?

Edit: When i change export type (fbx, collada, etc) the options wont update until i use a tick box.

 

Very nice ^_^

 

Virror,

You get 14 tree templates with the pro version, but you can make your own custom trees, using your own graphics. The tree templates can be customized to generate new structures, and you can use your own textures and leaf meshes. We also provide tree template packs with more pre-prepared templates, five in a pack, for $10. Each template can generate a huge range of randomized trees, and you can fiddle with the template to generate custom versions.

Sorry the export menu is a little tempramental. It will export to the desired format...we'll look into the update in the next release.

Best,
HPTWare