LogInThis release also includes powerful polygon reduction for game use, a new Sow toolset that simulates trees spreading by seed, and more.
The Grove
Wybren van Keulen, also known as F12, has launched the latest version of his software for generating naturally growing trees, nearly a year after the previous release, which focused on secondary growth.
The star feature of The Grove 2.2 is the new Skeleton tool, which builds optimized skeletons with so few bones that they can be conveniently animated by hand and even used in games.
Rigged trees can be easily animated with keyframes, such as for branch collisions. The optional wind sway animation offers a lightweight alternative to the Wind Shapes tool, providing natural movement with minimal bones. The skeleton can also be used to pose trees or implemented in game engines, maintaining performance even with just a few hundred bones.
The Grove
Since more game developers are using The Grove to grow real-time trees, a series of optimizations have been implemented to reduce detail and lower the polygon count for game LODs.
Trees can now reproduce by scattering seeds to simulate a naturally spreading forest, whether through seed dispersal or by sprouting new trunks from the root system. As with any exponential process, this expansion can quickly become overwhelming, so to keep up with the increasing number of trees, the entire growth cycle now progresses 50% faster as the trees mature. Additionally, the twig distribution has been enhanced, featuring both long and short twigs for greater detail.
Learn more about the changes in The Grove 2.2 here and join our 80 Level Talent platform and our new Discord server, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram, TikTok, and Threads, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.