Onyx vs. XFrog

[meanadam]

I don't want to make this a debate about trees again, I know there are a lot of options, I am only interested in these 2 right now. Please only comment if you have used either or both (hopefully)....

Last year I purchased Onyx because it looked like there was more control over custom plants and the wind / animation feature was a draw then. However we can't always make the trees we need to. It looks like Xfrog has a few that would work already setup.

I would like to know how much customization is available in Xfrog? Can you do anything other than convert their plants to a mesh?

Again - not the big tree debate again please - but where are we with the Opacity vs. Geometry issues? It seems they take about the same amount of time to render? Valdo - will this continue to be the same in 1.5?

[joconnell]

In my experience geometry is quicker overall bu sometimes you need a huge amount of geometry to get the same amount of leaves.

[jow]

if you on about the xfrog 3.5 modelling software then you have full customization of plant models,have a look at greenworks website for the demo.
http://www.xfrogdownloads.com/greenw...oductStart.htm

the xfrog plant models you can buy are static i which ever format you buy them in.
you also get on the disc, models in xfrog format to enable you to customize them how ever you want within xfrog3.5 if you have it.

[schroeder]

I was getting a ton ov UVW errors rendering XFROG plants in my last project with the latest public build of Vray. So I'd recommend getting your hands on an XFR file and check for yourself. I really hope it's just me, because I personally love XFROG, and hope I don't have to move to another plant solution.

Regards,

Andrew Schroeder

[jow]

there seems to be a problem only when you import the XFR file format using the xfrog import plug-in.
the simplest way to fix this is to export your model using xfrog 3.5 in 3DS format then import in to max.

[dlparisi]

Sorry to hijack a bit, but.... Has anyone found ANY resources for additional onyx trees, besides the "nursery" on their website? I have the broadleaf library but it seems like the trees are either miniatures (1-3 years old) or are overgrown giants, none of the trees are just normal trees (like 10 years old). The interface to adjust the trees is pretty good but it's really a pain to have to build/adjust nearly every tree I want to place in a scene.

[meanadam]

No Onyx files. And we thought it would be easier to adjust the trees, but we aren't getting realistic results.

[DaForce]

i have never really had any UVW problems with xfrog trees. I guess it depends on how you import them.
Couple of things to not, you should convert all materials to vray and turn down to 0.01 the bitmap blur for all their materials. This will help speed rendertimes and give you a better render.

[visualride]

I've been spending a bit of time this past week with onyx tree's, trying to get them into my workflow. Some of the trees work a lot better than others. I've been experimenting with using John O'Connell's leaf replacement tool with some success. I'm also wondering how Xfrog stack up against onyx tree. Does it create flowering trees well? What about fruit trees?

[jow]

visualride,have a look at these,

http://www.xfrogdownloads.com/greenw...itSubStart.htm

http://www.xfrogdownloads.com/greenw...omSubStart.htm

[dbuchhofer]

I like the visuals of the xfrogs, but some of their standard models have rediculous polycounts. if you have the xfrog program, you can fairly easily remove the last 1-2 levels of branch geometry without losing much visual fidelity to probaby cut the polycount by a third..

I do run into the uvw thing on occasion, though it seems to be only with certain trees. How are you going about the import process?

[mike.edel]

afaik the fruit trees only work inside xfrog4 which still isn't availlable for max
but i'm not sure

i guess having all the possibilities of xfrog inside of max would be nice though (all xfrog4 elements run inside the host app)
i really don't like the xfrog 3.5 interface that much
ps: seems the max version is on alpha - for free right now
http://maxforum.remotion4d.net/profi...?mode=register
http://www.xfrogdownloads.com/greenw...s/newStart.htm

[jow]

the fruit trees library works fine within max as they are static models.
you just need to buy the library in either .MAX or 3DS format.
as for the fruit trees in .XFR format,i dont know if you need 3.5 or 4 to open them..

xfrog 4 will be the way to go when finished,as like mike said xfrog 3.5 is abit OTT....

@dbuchhofer
you need plant models in 3ds format for importing,so export them as 3ds in xfrog3.5. then import the 3ds model into max.then you need to copy the materials into the MAT. editor.then you need to copy the diffuse mat into the opacity slot (3ds format doesnt support opacity maps) and your done,just save...

[joconnell]

I'm gonna take a good look at this again but you can do something quite simialr with particle flow - I've got a scene I'm using to grow plants in the opening of my showreel and it can give you some very nice results - heavy processing but you can generate some nice trees.

[meanadam]

Well we did end up running the demo - but it seems building Xfrog trees from scratch may be even harder than Onyx!

And the having to export to max + crazy polys is not good. It makes some nice house plants however.

Right - so still no good tree program... Hows about a Chaos tree generator? Vlado?