SpeedTree

Last updated
SpeedTree
Developer(s) Interactive Data Visualization, Inc. (IDV)
Stable release
SpeedTree for Games v9.0.1 (February 2, 2022)

SpeedTree Cinema v9.1.3

(SpeedTree Studio v7 and SpeedTree Architect 7 were launched November 13, 2013, and discontinued upon the release of SpeedTree Cinema 8)

SpeedTree 8.4.2 for Unreal Engine 4 (November 10, 2019)

SpeedTree 8.4.2 for Unity (November 10, 2019)

SpeedTree 8.4.2 for Amazon Lumberyard (November 10, 2019)
Operating system Windows, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Mac OS X, Linux
Type Game Middleware and Animation
Website SpeedTree Official Website
SpeedTree YouTube

SpeedTree is a group of vegetation programming and modeling software products developed and sold by Interactive Data Visualization, Inc. (IDV) that generates virtual foliage for animations, architecture and in real time for video games and demanding real time simulations.

Contents

SpeedTree has been licensed to developers of a range of video games for Microsoft Windows, and the Xbox and PlayStation console series since 2002.

SpeedTree Cinema has been used in more than 40 major films since its release in 2009, [1] [2] including Iron Man 3 , Star Trek Into Darkness , Life of Pi and Birdman , and was used to generate the lush vegetation of Pandora, in Avatar . [3] [4]

SpeedTree was awarded a Scientific and Technical Academy Award in 2015, [5] presented to IDV founders Michael Sechrest and Chris King, and Senior Engineer Greg Croft. [6] [7]

History

SpeedTree was conceptualized at IDV in circa 2000, and originated due to the firm's lack of satisfaction with 3rd-party tree-generation software on the market. [8]

The initial version of SpeedTreeCAD (CAD standing for "computer-aided design") was developed by IDV for a real-time golf simulation. Although backers pulled out of the golf project, IDV refined the CAD software as a 3D Studio Max plug-in for an animated architectural rendering, dubbing it SpeedTreeMAX. [8]

SpeedTreeMAX was released in February 2002, and toward the end of 2002, IDV released SpeedTreeRT, a real-time foliage/tree middleware SDK, which allowed automatic levels of foliage detail, real-time wind effects, and multiple lighting options. [8] IDV eventually released plug-ins for Maya as well, appropriately named SpeedTreeMAYA. In early 2009, IDV discontinued the SpeedTreeMAX and SpeedTreeMAYA plugins, replacing them with SpeedTree Modeler and Compiler products.

IDV released SpeedTree 5 in July 2009, a version representing a "complete re-engineering" of the software and the first versions of SpeedTree enabling hand modeling and editing of vegetation models: SpeedTree Modeler (replacing SpeedTreeCAD), SpeedTreeSDK (replacing SpeedTreeRT) and SpeedTree Compiler, which prepares SpeedTree files for real-time rendering.

SpeedTree Cinema was first released by IDV in 2009, based on version 5 technology. SpeedTree for Games (version 6) was released on November 7, 2011, and was essentially a re-branded version of SpeedTree 6 (Modeler + Compiler). The product was identified as SpeedTree for Games to distinguish it from other products not meant for gaming/real-time use.

SpeedTree Architect was released on October 15, 2012, and is designed for architectural 3D CAD use and 3D fly-throughs. IDV released updated versions of SpeedTree Cinema, SpeedTree Studio and SpeedTree Architect in November 2013. IDV released SpeedTree v7 for Unreal Engine 4 in July 2014. IDV released SpeedTree v7 for Unity 5 on the new engine version's launch date, in March 2015. IDV released SpeedTree for Games v7 on April 16, 2015.

IDV and three of its engineers received a Scientific and Technical Academy Award in 2015, [9] for their SpeedTree Cinema product suite.

IDV was acquired by Unity Technologies in July 2021. [10] [11]

SpeedTree 9 was released on January 10, 2022. This version added new features such as freehand editing for branch bending. New branch features, zig-zag, jink, texture map skew correction can be found on the branch generator. Mesh Converter to help turn 3d trunk and branch scans into full tree models. Atlas control, HDRI lighting, USD export, material for backside of the leaf geometry [12]

Products

Suites

SpeedTree Cinema was released by IDV in 2009, and saw its first major use in Avatar by James Cameron. SpeedTree Cinema is designed for use in the film industry, and generates high-resolution meshes and high-quality textures for Autodesk 3ds Max, Autodesk Maya and Cinema4D. [13] [14] The Cinema edition includes SpeedTree Modeler, and the complete Tree Model Library designed by IDV, while with some other suites tree packs must be purchased separately. [13] Several members of the SpeedTree line can simulate animated growth of trees and plants and seasonal changes, and can export data for animated wind effects. [13]

SpeedTree Studio was released by IDV in 2009 as a less expensive companion to SpeedTree Cinema. It does not include all Cinema features, nor the complete Tree Model Library. [15]

SpeedTree Architect was released in 2012, is designed for use in 3D architectural CAD. It generates meshes compatible with typical architectural applications such as Autodesk 3ds Max, Autodesk Maya and Rhino. [16] The Architect edition also exports normal maps and UV maps, for physically-accurate rendering engines such as V-Ray and mental ray. [16]

SpeedTree for Games is the edition of SpeedTree for video game development, contrasting with the Subscription edition offered to users of the Unity game development engine and certain versions of the Unreal Engine 4 engine. [17] The Games edition includes the Modeler, Compiler, and SDK. [17] This edition permits game developers to integrate SpeedTree runtime technology into any game engine of their choice. [18] Meshes generated with the system are low poly, with multiple levels of detail, use texture atlases, and are typically stored in an efficient binary format. [19]

SpeedTree Subscription Edition is a low-cost edition of SpeedTree Modeler and Runtime, targeted at independent game studios. The licensing fee is a US$19 monthly charge, as well as additional charges for tree packs. [20] Subscribers get access to the SpeedTree editor, the ability to generate 3D models of trees and plants, such plants being exclusively usable with either Unreal Engine 4 [21] or Unity, [22] [23] depending on the license. Subscribers can download additional tree model packs from the Model Library, and pricing varies between packs. [24] [25]

Components

SpeedTree Modeler is a Windows-based specialized modeling tool for designing foliage. [26] The modeler features a combination of procedural tree generation, and hand-editing tools, to draw trees or transform individual tree parts. [26] Procedural tree generation uses configuration such as branch length, branching angles and bark texture to generate a tree in a variety of formats. Newer versions support a drag-and-drop interface that automatically blends branch intersections and handles branch collisions. [14] [27]

SpeedTree Compiler is a software that enables creation of efficient tree models for use in real-time rendering or video games. It generates texture atlases and compiles and optimizes tree models for real-time use. [19]

SpeedTree SDK is a multi-platform C++ SDK that efficiently handles rendering of SpeedTree-generated trees and forests. The engine is designed to integrate and operate within a larger game engine, with ready-made support for Unreal Engine, Unity and OGRE. [17] [28] The engine contains optimized systems to cull off-screen trees, and to determine level of detail for on-screen trees. [17] [29] Full source code is available to licensees for use in video games and other real-time applications, and modification of the engine is supported. [17] The engine is built to work with Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Xbox, PlayStation and PlayStation Vita. [27]

Partners

IDV is a licensed middleware partner with PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

IDV has partnered with Epic Games in order to integrate the software with Epic's Unreal Engine 4 and Unreal Engine 3 and the free UDK engine released in November 2009. Partnerships have also been formed between IDV and BigWorld Tech, the Vision Engine by Havok, Multiverse Network, the Gamebryo engine by Emergent Game Technologies and the OGRE open-source rendering engine by Torus Knot.

Awards

Applications

Video game industry

SpeedTree for Games was licensed for its first video games, including The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion , in December 2002. SpeedTree has been licensed for PC and next-generation console titles in a wide variety of genres. Studios that have used SpeedTree, or published games featuring the technology, include:

Selected recent, upcoming and/or popular titles featuring SpeedTree for Games:

TitleYearDeveloper
Absolver 2017 Sloclap
America's Army 3 2009 United States Army
Ark: Survival Evolved 2017 Studio Wildcard
Assassin's Creed Unity 2014 Ubisoft Montreal
Detroit: Become Human 2018 Quantic Dream
Batman: Arkham Asylum 2009 Rocksteady Studios
Batman: Arkham City 2011Rocksteady Studios
Batman: Arkham Knight 2015Rocksteady Studios
Battlefield 3 2011 EA Digital Illusions CE
Battlefield 4 [31] 2013EA Digital Illusions CE
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway 2008 Gearbox Software
Call of Duty 3 2006 Treyarch
Champions Online 2009 Cryptic Studios
Crackdown 2007 Realtime Worlds
Dakar 18 2017Bigmoon Studios
Destiny [29] [30] 2014 Bungie
Destiny 2 2017Bungie
Digital Combat Simulator [32] 2017 Eagle Dynamics
Dragon Age: Inquisition 2014 BioWare
Dragon Age: Origins 2009BioWare Edmonton
Elden Ring 2022 FromSoftware
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion 2006 Bethesda Game Studios
The Evil Within 2014 Tango Gameworks
The Evil Within 2 2017Tango Gameworks
Empire: Total War 2009 The Creative Assembly
Fallout 3 2008Bethesda Game Studios
Far Cry 4 2014Ubisoft Montreal
Far Cry 5 2018Ubisoft Montreal
Far Cry Primal 2015Ubisoft Montreal
Final Fantasy XV 2016 Square Enix
Forza Horizon 2012 Playground Games
Forza Horizon 3 2016Playground Games
Forza Horizon 4 2018Playground Games
Forza Motorsport 5 2013 Turn 10 Studios
Forza Motorsport 6 2015Turn 10 Studios
Forza Motorsport 7 2017Turn 10 Studios
Friday the 13th: The Game 2017 IllFonic
Gears of War 3 2011 Epic Games
Ghost of Tsushima 2020 Sucker Punch Productions
Ghostwire: Tokyo 2022 Tango Gameworks, Bethesda Softworks
Gran Turismo Sport 2017 Polyphony Digital
Gravel 2018 Milestone srl
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands 2017 Ubisoft
Grand Theft Auto IV 2008 Rockstar North
H1Z1: Just Survive 2015 Daybreak Game Company
Hawken [33] 2012 Adhesive Games
Heavenly Sword 2007 Ninja Theory
Hitman 2016 IO Interactive
Horizon Zero Dawn 2017 Guerrilla Games
IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover 2011 1C Company/Team Fusion Simulations
Jurassic World Evolution 2018 Frontier Developments
Killzone: Shadow Fall 2013Guerrilla Games
LocoCycle 2013 Twisted Pixel Games
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor 2014 Monolith Productions
Middle-earth: Shadow of War 2017Monolith Productions
MotoGP 18 2018 Milestone srl
Nier: Automata 2017Square Enix
No Man's Sky 2016 Hello Games
Obduction 2016 Cyan Worlds
The Order: 1886 2015 Ready at Dawn
Primal Carnage 2013 Lukewarm Media
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds 2017 BlueHole Studio
Project Gotham Racing 4 2007 Bizarre Creations
Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction 2007 Insomniac Games
Resident Evil Village 2021 Capcom
Resistance 2 2008Insomniac Games
Saints Row 2006 Volition
Saints Row 2 2008 Volition
Saints Row: The Third 2011 Volition
Saints Row IV 2013 Volition
Skylanders: Swap Force 2013 Vicarious Visions
Sports Champions 2010 San Diego Studio
Star Wars: The Old Republic 2011BioWare
State of Decay 2013 Undead Labs
Sudden Strike 4 2017Kite Games
Shadow of the Colossus 2018 Bluepoint Games
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2006 (Xbox 360 only)2005 EA Sports
Tom Clancy's The Division 2015 Massive Entertainment
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege Operation Chimera 2018Ubisoft Montreal
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End 2016 Naughty Dog
Unreal Tournament 3 2007 Epic Games
Valkyria Chronicles 2008 Sega Wow
Watch Dogs 2 2016Ubisoft Montreal
World of Tanks 2008 Wargaming
Warriors Orochi 3 [34] 2011 Tecmo Koei
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 2015 CD Projekt Red
Zoo Tycoon 2013 Frontier Developments

Film and animation industry

Following the release of SpeedTree Cinema in 2009, SpeedTree saw its first major cinematic use in 2009's Avatar , in which the technology provided the vegetation for the flyover of the planet Pandora in the first frames of the movie, as well as other scenes. Known movies and television productions featuring SpeedTree include:

YearFilm
2018 Avengers: Infinity War
2018 Black Panther
2018 Monster Hunt 2
2017 Alien: Covenant
2017 Kingsman: The Golden Circle
2017 Beauty and the Beast
2017 Despicable Me 3
2017 The Fate of the Furious
2017 Kong: Skull Island
2017 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
2017 Wonder Wheel
2016 Allied
2016 The Jungle Book
2016 Captain America: Civil War
2016 Rogue One
2016 Snowden
2016 The Legend of Tarzan
2016 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows
2016 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
2016 Warcraft
2016 Independence Day: Resurgence
2016 Alice Through the Looking Glass
2015 Star Wars: The Force Awakens
2015 The Revenant
2015 Cinderella
2015 Spotlight
2015 Jurassic World
2015 San Andreas
2015 Point Break
2015 The Wave
2015 Crimson Peak
2015 Goosebumps
2015 Pan
2015 The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
2015 Avengers: Age of Ultron
2015 Mad Max: Fury Road
2015 In the Heart of the Sea
2015 Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!
2015 McFarland, USA
2015 Unbroken
2015 Tomorrowland
2015 Ax Men
2014 Godzilla
2014 Lucy
2014 Hercules
2014 Into the Storm
2014 Maleficent
2014 Noah
2014 The Nut Job
2014 The Giver
2014 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
2014 The Hundred-Foot Journey
2014 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
2014 Captain America: The Winter Soldier
2014 Birdman
2014 Pompeii
2014 Vikings
2014 X-Men: Days of Future Past
2013 47 Ronin
2013 Thor: The Dark World
2013 Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
2013 G.I. Joe: Retaliation
2013 The Great Gatsby
2013 Iron Man 3
2013 Jack the Giant Slayer
2013 The Lone Ranger
2013 Star Trek Into Darkness
2013 White House Down
2013 The Wolf of Wall Street
2013 World War Z
2013 Olympus Has Fallen
2013 The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
2013 Free Birds
2012 Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
2012 The Avengers
2012 Mirror Mirror
2012 Life of Pi
2012 The Men Who Built America
2012 Snow White and the Huntsman
2011 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
2011 Super 8
2009 Avatar
2008 Speed Racer

Real-time applications

SpeedTree is being used in the following real-time projects and offerings:

See also

Related Research Articles

A game engine is a software framework primarily designed for the development of video games and generally includes relevant libraries and support programs such as a level editor. The "engine" terminology is akin to the term "software engine" used more widely in the software industry.

Autodesk, Inc. is an American multinational software corporation that makes software products and services for the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media, education, and entertainment industries. Autodesk is headquartered in San Francisco, California, and has offices worldwide. Its U.S. offices are located in the states of California, Oregon, Colorado, Texas, Michigan, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Its Canada offices are located in the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unreal Engine</span> Video game engine developed by Epic Games

Unreal Engine (UE) is a series of 3D computer graphics game engines developed by Epic Games, first showcased in the 1998 first-person shooter video game Unreal. Initially developed for PC first-person shooters, it has since been used in a variety of genres of games and has been adopted by other industries, most notably the film and television industry. Unreal Engine is written in C++ and Blueprints and features a high degree of portability, supporting a wide range of desktop, mobile, console, and virtual reality platforms.

COLLADA is an interchange file format for interactive 3D applications. It is managed by the nonprofit technology consortium, the Khronos Group, and has been adopted by ISO as a publicly available specification, ISO/PAS 17506.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PhysX</span> Realtime physics engine software

PhysX is an open-source realtime physics engine middleware SDK developed by Nvidia as a part of Nvidia GameWorks software suite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Autodesk Softimage</span> Discontinued 3D graphics software

Autodesk Softimage, or simply Softimage was a 3D computer graphics application, for producing 3D computer graphics, 3D modeling, and computer animation. Now owned by Autodesk and formerly titled Softimage|XSI, the software has been predominantly used in the film, video game, and advertising industries for creating computer generated characters, objects, and environments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unity (game engine)</span> Cross-platform video game and simulation engine

Unity is a cross-platform game engine developed by Unity Technologies, first announced and released in June 2005 at Apple Worldwide Developers Conference as a Mac OS X game engine. The engine has since been gradually extended to support a variety of desktop, mobile, console and virtual reality platforms. It is particularly popular for iOS and Android mobile game development, is considered easy to use for beginner developers, and is popular for indie game development.

Open Design Alliance is a nonprofit organization creating software development kits (SDKs) for engineering applications. ODA offers interoperability tools for CAD, BIM, and Mechanical industries including .dwg, .dxf, .dgn, Autodesk Revit, Autodesk Navisworks, and .ifc files and additional tools for visualization, web development, 3D PDF publishing and modeling.

Umbra is a graphics software technology company founded 2007 in Helsinki, Finland. Umbra specializes in occlusion culling, visibility solution technology and provides middleware for video games running on Windows, Linux, iOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, handheld consoles, and other platforms. In 2021, Amazon acquired Umbra.

Eye-Sys is a general-purpose commercial visualization application. It was developed by Interactive Data Visualization, Inc. (IDV), developers of the SpeedTree video game middleware. Eye-Sys development was partially funded by the U.S. Navy's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, and guided and administered by the Joint Warfare Analysis Center (JWAC).

FBX (Filmbox) is a proprietary file format developed by Kaydara and owned by Autodesk since 2006. It is used to provide interoperability between digital content creation applications. FBX is also part of Autodesk Gameware, a series of video game middleware.

Simplygon is 3D computer graphics software for automatic 3D optimization, based on proprietary methods for creating levels of detail (LODs) through Polygon mesh reduction and other optimization techniques.

iClone is a real-time 3D animation and rendering software program. Real-time playback is enabled by using a 3D videogame engine for instant on-screen rendering.

Geomerics was a software company based in Cambridge, UK, that specialised in creating lighting technology for the video game industry.

Fork Particle is a computer graphics visual effects modeling and software development kit (SDK) developed and sold by Fork Particle, Inc. Fork Particle uses its real time particle system technology to simulate visual effects or particle effects such as CGI explosions, fire, rain, smoke, dust, etc. Fork Particle is used in video games and visual simulation software such as a flight simulator. It has been licensed to game developers for Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mixamo</span> Technology company

Mixamo Inc. is a 3D computer graphics technology company. Based in San Francisco, the company develops and sells web-based services for 3D character animation. Mixamo's technologies use machine learning methods to automate the steps of the character animation process, including 3D modeling to rigging and 3D animation.

Autodesk Gameware is a discontinued middleware software suite developed by Autodesk. The suite contained tools that enable designers to create game lighting, character animation, low level path finding, high-level AI and advanced user interfaces. On July 12, 2017, Autodesk removed Scaleform, Beast, HumanIK, and Navigation from their online store, and announced the ending of support for the products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scaleform GFx</span> Discontinued game development middleware package

Scaleform GFx is a discontinued game development middleware package, a vector graphics rendering engine used to display Adobe Flash-based user interfaces and HUDs for video games. In March 2011, Autodesk acquired Scaleform Corporation and Scaleform GFx became part of the Autodesk Gameware line of middleware. On July 12, 2018, Autodesk discontinued Scaleform GFx, and it is no longer available for purchase.

References

  1. ↑ Hollywood’s movie tech wizards honoured by Oscars organizers, LiveMint
  2. ↑ SpeedTree Brings Photoreal Vegetation to The Wolf of Wall Street, ComputerGraphicsWorld
  3. ↑ Avatar Profile, SpeedTree website
  4. ↑ The Science Behind Oscar's Award-Winning Trees And Tresses, PhysicsCentral
  5. ↑ SpeedTree® Receives a Scientific and Technical Academy Award®, Gamasutra
  6. ↑ 21 SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENTS TO BE HONORED WITH ACADEMY AWARDS®, OSCARS Website
  7. ↑ Local Computer Graphics Company Earns Academy Award for Technical Achievement Archived 2016-07-19 at the Wayback Machine , FreeTimes
  8. 1 2 3 "Middleware Postmortem: IDV Inc's SpeedTreeRT". Gamasutra.com. 17 May 2005. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
  9. 1 2 "21 Scientific and Technical Achievements to be Honored with Academy Awards®". 13 January 2015.
  10. ↑ McAloon, Alissa. "Unity acquires SpeedTree creator Interactive Data Visualization". www.gamasutra.com. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  11. ↑ "SpeedTree® creator Interactive Data Visualization, Inc. (IDV) joins Unity". Unity Blog. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  12. ↑ "Release Notes [SpeedTree Documentation]". docs9.speedtree.com. Retrieved 2022-02-19.
  13. 1 2 3 SpeedTree Cinema, SpeedTree Store
  14. 1 2 SpeedTree v6.1.1 Provides Support for Cinema 4D, Animation World Network
  15. ↑ SpeedTree Studio
  16. 1 2 SpeedTree Architect
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 SpeedTree for Games, SpeedTree
  18. ↑ SpeedTree SDK Middleware, SpeedTree
  19. 1 2 SpeedTree Compiler, SpeedTree
  20. ↑ SpeedTree Modeler for Unreal Engine 4 adopts $19 per month subscription fee, DevelopOnline
  21. ↑ SpeedTree for UE4* Subscription Modeler, SpeedTree
  22. ↑ SpeedTree for Unity 5, SpeedTree
  23. ↑ SpeedTree® for Unity® 5 Beta Launched, Gamasutra
  24. ↑ Tree packages for Unreal Engine 4, SpeedTree Store
  25. ↑ Tree packages for Unity, SpeedTree Store
  26. 1 2 SpeedTree Modeler Features, SpeedTree website
  27. 1 2 New Optimized SpeedTree Version Adds Support For Vita, Mac, DirectX 11, Gamasutra
  28. ↑ SpeedTree integrated into Unreal Engine 4, DevelopOnline.net
  29. 1 2 SpeedTree plants roots in Bungie's Destiny, DevelopOnline
  30. 1 2 "Destiny to Feature SpeedTree For Games for Creating Environmental Vegetation". GamingBolt.com.
  31. ↑ Battlefield 4 Teaser Trailers Teases Tanks And Boats, CinemaBlend
  32. ↑ "Twomoreweeks.net | Home".
  33. ↑ Hawken Will Use SpeedTree, CinemaBlend
  34. ↑ Warriors Orochi 3 Using IDV's SpeedTree, CinemaBlend
  35. ↑ "Official announcement" (PDF). multigen.com.
  36. ↑ "Official announcement" (PDF). speedtree.com. April 12, 2006.
  37. ↑ "Official announcement" (PDF). speedtree.com. February 21, 2006.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.