New version of POV-Tree 1.3 is available here:
http://propro.ru/go/Wshop/tools/tools.html
New features in POV-Tree 1.3:

-  Added 'Randomize Roots', 'Randomize Branches' and 'Randomize Twigs'
     buttons to 'Preview' tab. They have the same meaning as 'Randomness'
     buttons on corresponding tabs. So, there is no need to jump from tab to
     tab if you need different distribution of roots, branches and twigs.

-  Added to foliage such color parameters as 'Filter' and 'Transparency'.

-  Added 'Deselect' button to 'Foliage Type' and 'Blossom Type' panels.

- Bug fixes.

Hopefully I have not introduced new bugs :)
If you will face any problem please let me know.

Gena.

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It's great work, Gena. I finally had my first use of it (version 1.2.1)
recently for a rendition of a place my parents have by a lake. We are
planning to build a screenroom there ourselves this Fall or next Spring. The
trees sure made it look better, and your program is very easy to work with
too. Everyone who's seen it thinks it is wonderful. Not sure if that was due
to going from treeless to trees; in part, maybe so.  :-)

Looking at the version 1.3 here, I notice a typo on the Root section where
it says Tickness Ratio and should be Thickness Ratio. Went back to version
1.2.1 and it was there too, just hadn't realized it. I even have version 1.1
but think I never used it. Oh, and speaking of typos, of which yours are
incredibly few, there's one on your web page too. Says screensho~r~t instead
of screenshot. Maybe that'll be all there are!

Any plans to add the ability to use normals (patterns)?

Bump mapping for the leaves is good, except I like to apply normals. I had a
little trouble judging scales when going back into the output files so if it
were in the program already it would make that so much easier to use
patterns.

And a side note about the highlighting, which you are apparently calling
"gloss": After using this utility to create trees, I had been taking a
closer look at real trees and almost surprised me when I saw sunlight
shining on the leaves of some trees as though they were water reflecting the
sunlight. Made me rethink specular highlighting for leaves even though I had
already applied a little more than your default was doing, still phong
though. I had also added variable reflection since I already noticed the sky
color on leaves. Not sure if that's more of an effect to use radiosity for,
or not, but it appears as reflection to my eyes.

Many thanks to you... and Tom Aust!

Bob H.

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Hughes, B. wrote:

>It's great work, Gena. I finally had my first use of it (version 1.2.1)...
>
Thank you Bob!

>Looking at the version 1.3 here, I notice a typo on the Root section where...
>

Thanks for finding typos! I'll fix it whenever it's time for next update.

>Any plans to add the ability to use normals (patterns)?
>
There is no way to assign normal to the mesh leaf. You can assign it
only to all leaves because mesh foliage from POV-Tree is a set of
triangles not a set of separate leaves. Though I think it's possible to
do in TOMTREE macro. The idea was to have the same functionality
in mesh export and blob (TOMTREE macro) versions.

>And a side note about the highlighting, which you are apparently calling
>"gloss": After using this utility to create trees, I had been taking a
>closer look at real trees and almost surprised me when I saw sunlight
>shining on the leaves of some trees as though they were water reflecting the
>sunlight. Made me rethink specular highlighting for leaves even though I had
>already applied a little more than your default was doing, still phong
>though. I had also added variable reflection since I already noticed the sky
>color on leaves. Not sure if that's more of an effect to use radiosity for,
>or not, but it appears as reflection to my eyes.
>
I think these parameters (specular and reflection) can be added to
foliage because it's common for all leaves.

I still don't know what will be in next version. There is idea to make
commercial version of POV-Tree. If we will reach a consensus with
Tom Aust that can happen. For commercial version such features
as OpenGL preview, export to OBJ, DXF, 3DS and some other
feautures could be added to POV-Tree. But free POV-Tree version
will always exist.

Gena.

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"Gena Obukhov" <gen### [at] yahoocom> wrote in message
news:3F7### [at] yahoocom...
> Hughes, B. wrote:
>
> >Any plans to add the ability to use normals (patterns)?
> >
> There is no way to assign normal to the mesh leaf. You can assign it
> only to all leaves because mesh foliage from POV-Tree is a set of
> triangles not a set of separate leaves.

Thanks for those answers, Gena. I guess this also means normals being
applied to the roots, trunk, and branches is impossible? I began to wonder
why I wasn't seeing the effects I expected, must've been a coinciding
pigment change that fooled me into thinking I saw some changes. I'm not much
of a mesh user; practially an unknown POV primitive, those triangles are, to
me.

Oh! Before I forget, one thing I encountered right away which puzzled me at
first was using media and fog with PO-Tree. Making a way to use the 'hollow'
keyword for the mesh output would be a fine thing. I suppose that might be
needed for more than only the leaf mesh if any media and fog is to work.

Commercial version sounds good, has plenty of potential to contunue to-- uh,
er-- grow. Sorry, somehow I couldn't get out of saying that.  ;-)

Bob H.

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3F7### [at] yahoocom...

Hi
Just began to try it, great work indeed!
Just one suggestion for the interface: what do you think if the "Preview"
button toggled between preview and last used section tab/parameter
(Trunk,Branches...etc...) It'd speed up the editing.
Cheers
Marc

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Hughes, B. wrote:

>Thanks for those answers, Gena. I guess this also means normals being
>applied to the roots, trunk, and branches is impossible? 
>
Right now you can assign only image bump map. This is a bump map based on
black&white images (see UV Mapping 'Bark' tab). That bump map will be 
common
for roots, branches and twigs. Using image map for texture and image 
bump map
you can achieve very realistic result. But that functionality works only 
for mesh
export.

>...I'm not much
>of a mesh user; practially an unknown POV primitive, those triangles are, to
>me.
>

Usually you shouldn't use triangles/mesh for manual modelling. POV-Tree can
export mesh files which are very useful when you have to duplicate the same
tree many times (e.g. forest). In case of mesh POV-Ray needs memory only
for one tree that's why you won't get 'out of memory' message even for 
hundreds
trees.

>Oh! Before I forget, one thing I encountered right away which puzzled me at
>first was using media and fog with PO-Tree. Making a way to use the 'hollow'
>keyword for the mesh output would be a fine thing. I suppose that might be
>needed for more than only the leaf mesh if any media and fog is to work.
>

All mesh tree elements are not closed objects. They (roots, branches and 
twigs)
have hollows. Leaves are flat objects. So, I don't think 'hollow' 
keyword will make
any difference. Or maybe I didn't understand your point.

Gena.

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Marc Jacquier wrote:

>Just began to try it, great work indeed!
>
Thank you!

>Just one suggestion for the interface: what do you think if the "Preview"
>button toggled between preview and last used section tab/parameter
>(Trunk,Branches...etc...) It'd speed up the editing.
>
Do you suggest to make 'Preview' a toggle button? But sometimes you need
to click that button even when you are on 'Preview' tab. In that case toggle
button will bring you to previous tab.

I think that maybe to open a separate window for preview could help here.
But there are some other problems in this case.


Gena.

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"Gena Obukhov" <gen### [at] yahoocom> wrote in message
news:3F8### [at] yahoocom...

> All mesh tree elements are not closed objects. They (roots, branches and
> twigs)
> have hollows. Leaves are flat objects. So, I don't think 'hollow'
> keyword will make
> any difference. Or maybe I didn't understand your point.

Well, having checked now with a solitary tree in a basic scene, with nothing
else in it except fog or media, it seems there isn't a problem with the mesh
being hollow or not. What I had done to remedy the trouble I was originally
having was simply to place everything within a union in my other scene file
and use hollow on in that since the tree files were so big to work with.

Now I've tested a single triangle in a simple scene file and apparently
there aren't any affects on fog or media. So I apologize for mistaking there
being a fault with the trees at all. That's how little I know of meshes and
triangles, once again. I was under the impression that they still had an
inside and outside affecting hollowness, instead of just the inside_vector
thing which I had known of for working with CSG. Must be hollow by default I
guess. I know the disc primitive has an affect on hollowness though, and
that's from what I implied how a mesh or triangle might behave. Or perhaps
likened to a plane with a clipped triangle area and how that would behave
too. Interesting thing is, how would a person make a triangle or mesh
unhollow? Guess you can't, because I just tried adding hollow off without
success.

I guess the old saying is true, the more you think you know the less you
really do know.

Bob H.

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Has anybody tried to use version 1.3 on Linux with Java JDK:
blackdown-jdk-1.4.1 ?
Have you seen this screen properly ?:
http://www.txemijendrix.com/povtree/sh1.jpg

Some people reported the problem that that tree on Tree/General
tab doesn't appear. I'm trying to understand is it JDK+Linux problem
or anything else.

Gena.

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Gena Obukhov skribis:

> Has anybody tried to use version 1.3 on Linux with Java JDK:
> blackdown-jdk-1.4.1 ?
> Have you seen this screen properly ?:
> http://www.txemijendrix.com/povtree/sh1.jpg

With the original JDK 1.4.2 from Sun under Linux it's ok, maybe
the problem is with the blackdown Java version?

-- 
Wolfram Diestel <wol### [at] stelojdeFORIGU>

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