EASYnat 3ds Max

Copyright 2001-2009, BIONATICS All rights reserved EASYnat software and EASYnat Users Manual are protected by Copyright
law and international agreements. The contents of this document may not be copied or duplicated in any form, in whole or in part, without the express written permission of BIONATICS S.A. This document is supplied as a guide for EASYnat. Reasonable care has been taken in preparing the information it contains. However, this document may contain omissions, technical inaccuracies, or typographical errors. BIONATICS S.A. does not accept responsibility of any kind for customers losses due to the use of this document. Please read the licensing contract carefully. The program can only be used under the terms found in the contract. All information found in the document can be changed without notice. BIONATICS S.A. reserves the right to revise its products. At the time of printing, this document corresponds to the program, but does not take into account any revisions or updates that could take place.
BIONATICS and EASYnat are registered trademarks of BIONATICS S.A. AMAP is a registered trademark of CIRAD, exclusively used by BIONATICS S.A. All other product names and registered trademarks belong to their respective owners.
EASYnat: Sprouting life in virtual worlds!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
WELCOME EASYNAT KEY FUNCTIONS INSTALLING EASYNAT
Installing EASYnat Licensing EASYnat Installing plants Uninstalling EASYnat
5 6 10
11 18 23 26
Table of Contents
EASYNAT GETTING STARTED

Introduction Main concepts Tips before starting Launch EASYnat Select a plant from the nursery window Create a plant Modify a plant Control the vegetation load
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27 28 31 32 33 34 34 35
EASYNAT INTERFACE
Create panel Modify panel Modify panel with multiple selection EASYnat menu EASYnat Settings About EASYnat Start menu: EASYnat for 3ds Max
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39 45 48 49 50 54 56
NETWORK RENDERING
Introduction Configuration
57
57 57
TABLE OF CONTENTS LICENSE AGREEMENT CONTACT US INDEX 59 67 68
EASYnat Users Manual Edition 2009: Version 2.5 for 3ds Max - All rights reserved.
WELCOME
WELCOME
I never thought this kind of technology could exist The one statement the most associated with AMAP technology since 1995 when we became aware of CIRAD's research laboratory and decided to market their research results. This statement also summons up the overall view of clients, partners and prospects that we've encountered these past six years: AMAP technology is exceptional. Exceptional for its scientific origins thanks to Dr. Philippe De Reffye, exceptional for its profound evolution over a continuing five year span, exceptional for its ability to render an expression of a plant's genetic code and finally, exceptional for its considerable application range from computer graphics to architecture, spanning virtual reality, video games, landscaping, territorial management, forests and agronomy. Bionatics s.a. was created to provide you with the best of this technology while allowing you to better exploit its capacities in your field. Our Research and Development Team has pooled its efforts to offer you a product that is simple, user-friendly, rapid and reliable. We guarantee high quality, a token of productivity and a rapid return on your investment. Bionatics' products "give life to the virtual world". They are synonyms of progress and pass the limits often encountered in the digital imagery field. They use the latest imagery and rendering technologies, coupled with the agronomic and botanic performances powered by AMAP. They allow you to not only increase your performance in terms of modeling, but also in terms of esthetics. They give new dimensions to simulations, dimensions of life and time. We are proud that you have chosen a Bionatics' product to accompany you in your work and we thank you sincerely. This manual was put together with care to help you in your EASYnat apprenticeship. We'll do everything we can to help you with EASYnat and its future versions. Don't hesitate to contact our team for more information.
Welcome
We hope you get as much pleasure in using EASYnat as we had creating it. Thank you,
Stphane GOURGOUT Executive Vice-President Co-founder
EASYNAT KEY FUNCTIONS

1.
Simulate plant growth and seasonal changes
EASYnat key functions
AMAP technology, used by EASYnat, enables the user to simulate a plant stage of growth. Using the Age Field, the user can adjust the age of the plant. Once the age has been determined, EASYnat automatically calculates the model and renders a 3D botanically coherent plant.
It allows you to set the season of the simulated plant. An advanced function enables you to rapidly change seasons of the whole of your plants in your scene without having to recalculate new ones. EASYnat uses the plants already set in your scene. Simply slide the slider and watch the scene change with the seasons. The plants from Bionatics Library are automatically textured in relation to their set season. EASYnat plants, therefore, add a considerable amount of realism to your scenes. Thanks to extensive photographic efforts through out the world, textures such as bark and leaves are developed through a cooperative effort of Bionatics and CIRAD research teams.
2.
Control polygon count
EASYnat possesses a technology that optimizes polygon count. It allows you to modify the Level of Detail (LOD) of the plant by adjusting the polygon number. Place high polygon count plants in the foreground and low polygon count plants in the background by using the LOD. When hybrid 2D/3D is activated, it tells EASYnat to automatically combine geometry and billboards. This results in trees that appear to be in 3D but without all the polygons. Trees that normally have several thousand polygons are reduced to below 100 polygons without sacrificing too much detail. Fewer polygons equates to optimized workflow and faster renderings.
3.
Change the 3D geometry of a plant
EASYnat enables you to modify simultaneously the Level of Detail, height, diameter and the age of one or more plants. Diameter and height are directly linked to age. You can therefore adjust indifferently the three parameters while maintaining a botanically coherent plant.
4.
Treat EASYnat plants like 3ds Max objects
EASYnat versatility and integration into 3ds Max allows you to modify the fundamental elements of the plants. EASYnat plants behave like 3ds Max primitives so you can place and modify them like you would normally.
5.
Rapid rendering
EASYnat uses a combination of high-end mechanisms to help optimize memory consumption and reduce calculation time. Tight integration into 3ds Max enhances the overall effectiveness of EASYnat and therefore optimizes plant rendering calculations. Contrary to imported 3D objects, EASYnat integration allows 3ds Max to quickly calculate a large number of 3D plants.
6.
Library with plants from around the world
With 380 plants from around the world, BIONATICS offers you the world richest virtual plant library. Constantly being updated, EASYnat offers you a large selection of plants for the most precise of needs. Each virtual "seed" contains all the necessary information to grow and modify an infinite number of unique individuals from only one model.
7.
Purchase virtual "seeds" on-line
EASYnat is capable of calculating any seed from its library of virtual "seeds". Bionatics site, www.easynat.com, was especially developed to offer you a simple and rapid service enabling you to add to your own library according to your needs. Order your plants and download them directly onto your computer. EASYnat, it's as easy as that!
8.
Integration with legacy Autodesk products
EASYnat exists since 2002 as a plug-in of Autodesks 3ds Max, VIZ or Architectural Desktop (ADT/VizRender), and of AutoCAD since 2007. It has been declined to the different versions of these products. You can download versions for: 3ds Max 6, 3ds Max 7, 3ds Max 8, 3ds Max 9, 3ds Max 2008, 3ds Max 2009 and now 3ds Max 2010 VIZ R4, VIZ 2005, VIZ 2006, VIZ 2007 and VIZ 2008 ADT 2004, ADT 2005, ADT 2006 and ADT 2007 AutoCAD 2008, AutoCAD 2009 and AutoCAD 2010 also supporting Architecture and Civil 3D declinations of AutoCAD.
9.
Viewport proxy
The proxy mode is the use of a simplified drawing of the plant in the viewport consisting of the envelope of the crown and a part of the trunk, to free up memory and speed up interactive work in the viewport. During the rendering, the selected representation of the plant is passed to the renderer upon demand, thus limiting the memory usage.
10.
Vegetation load alert
When using the Proxy plant representation, EASYnat sums up the actual polygons of the plants inserted in the scene and displays this information within the viewport. EASYnat raises an alert when the polygon count overpasses a threshold, default value from the computer available RAM (the user can set his own limit). Then each proxy representation is colored from green to red depending on its own polygon count.
INSTALLING EASYNAT
INSTALLING EASYNAT
Welcome to EASYnat installation. This users manual applies to EASYnat plug-in installed in the following versions of Autodesk 3ds Max: 3ds Max 9 3ds Max 2008 3ds Max 2009 3ds Max 2010 For any other versions, please read the users manual packaged within the corresponding EASYnat installer. Note: in the next pages, [version] will mean 9 or 2008 or 2009 or 2010 or Design 2010.
Installing EASYnat
Before installing EASYnat, please read the following guidelines: 1. You must have Administrator rights to install EASYnat (all read/write capabilities in the \Bionatics\EASYnat subdirectories and in the Registry). 2. 3ds Max needs to be installed on the machine. 3. Please carefully read the readme.txt for all updated installation information. If you run into installation problems, please send an e-mail to: support@bionatics.com for registered EASYnat licenses demosupport@bionatics.com for evaluation versions. Explain the problem you encountered and describe the versions of 3ds Max and EASYnat you are using. If you are a registered client, please join your Client Id. EASYnat requires the following minimum configurations to perform: Software: Microsoft Windows XP or Vista 32- or 64-bit 3ds Max 9 or 3ds Max 2008 or 3ds Max 2009 or 3ds Max 2010 or 3ds Max 2010 Design Any hardware configuration capable of running 3ds Max.
Hardware:
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INSTALLING EASYNAT
Installing EASYnat
1. Preparing to install EASYnat EASYnat can be downloaded from Bionatics website at: http://www.bionatics.com/EASYnatDownload.html. Before proceeding to its installation, it is recommended to check the availability of a new version. The installer exists in 7 versions: EASYnat for 3ds Max 9 EASYnat for 3ds Max 2008 EASYnat for 3ds Max 2009 EASYnat for 3ds Max 2010 32-bit EASYnat for 3ds Max 2010 64-bit EASYnat for 3ds Max 2010 Design 32-bit EASYnat for 3ds Max 2010 Design 64-bit Select the installer(s) which corresponds to the 3ds Max version(s) you are using. You can install several versions on the same machine while the same corresponding versions of 3ds Max are already installed. 1. Close any running programs. And be sure that 3ds Max is not running. 2. If a same previous version of EASYnat for 3ds Max is installed, please uninstall it before proceeding, from the Start bar: Start > All Programs > Bionatics > EASYnat for 3ds Max [version] > Uninstall EASYnat. See p. 26 for more details. 3. Run the downloaded application to launch the installer.
11
INSTALLING EASYNAT
Launch the application which uncompress the installer
The Bionatics setup page displays four icons: launches EASYnat installation. launches the first page of Learn More about EASYnat. Click the next button to display the subsequent pages in the Learn More. When you get to the end of the document, clicking on Finish will take you back to the Bionatics setup page. opens up an internet navigator and display EASYnat homepage. opens up an internet navigator and display natFX for 3ds Max homepage
EASYnat setup page
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INSTALLING EASYNAT 2. Installing EASYnat 1. Click on to launch the InstallShield Wizard for EASYnat.
2. Click Next to continue.
InstallShield Wizard for EASYnat
3.
License agreement 1. Read the License Agreement carefully. A copy of this license agreement is available at the end of this manual but it is probably obsolete at the time you will read this manual (see p. 59). 2. If you agree to the conditions select Yes, I accept then click Next to continue. If you dont agree, select No, I dont accept to interrupt the EASYnat setup procedure.
13
INSTALLING EASYNAT
License agreement
4.
Customer information 1. Enter your name and company. This information will be displayed in the About EASYnat window (see p. 54). 2. Click Next to continue.
Customer information
14
INSTALLING EASYNAT
5.
Host application
This page displays the 3ds Max application and plugins folders paths. 1. If the path is not found, click the folder icon and browse to the folder where 3ds Max is installed. Select the desired folder and click the OK button. Do the same with the plugins directory necessary 2. Click Next to continue.
Applications
6.
Choose destination location 1. Select EASYnat Installation Folder, default path is: on a 32 bit OS: C:\Program Files\Bionatics\EASYnatMAX9 C:\Program Files\Bionatics\EASYnatMAX2008 C:\Program Files\Bionatics\EASYnatMAX2009 C:\Program Files\Bionatics\EASYnatMAX2010 C:\Program Files\Bionatics\EASYnatMAX2010_Design On a 64-bit OS: C:\Program Files\Bionatics\EASYnatMAX9 C:\Program Files\Bionatics\EASYnatMAX2008 C:\Program Files\Bionatics\EASYnatMAX2009 C:\Program Files\Bionatics\EASYnatMAX2010 C:\Program Files\Bionatics\EASYnatMAX2010_Design C:\Program Files (x86)\Bionatics\EASYnatMAX9 C:\Program Files (x86)\Bionatics\EASYnatMAX2008
15
INSTALLING EASYNAT C:\Program Files (x86)\Bionatics\EASYnatMAX2009 C:\Program Files (x86)\Bionatics\EASYnatMAX2010 C:\Program Files (x86)\\Bionatics\EASYnatMAX2010_Design
2. Click Install to install EASYnat.
Choose destination location
7.
Setup status
The setup status window displays the installation progress bar.
Setup status
8.
Installation complete 1. Once the installation program has finished, you can select to launch the readme and manual and click Finish to exit.
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INSTALLING EASYNAT
Installation complete
2. Run 3ds Max, EASYnat menu is now available in the main menu bar.
EASYnat menu
17
INSTALLING EASYNAT
Licensing EASYnat
This version of EASYnat can be licensed through the Bionatics floating license mechanism implemented on a client-server solution. The Bionatics License Server must be installed on one computer of your network: If you are using EASYnat on a single computer, you need to install the Bionatics License Server on this computer. In this case, Server and Client refer to the same computer. If you are using EASYnat on several computers of your local network, you need to install the Bionatics License Server on one computer which must be accessible from any other ones. This computer will be referred to as the Server. It will provide any other computers with the licenses. These computers will be referred to as the Clients. You can check that the Server is accessible from any Client using the ping command.
Refer to the Licensing Guide (Bionatics_LicensingGuide.pdf) to get more information on installation and functions of this License Server. Note: EASYnat floating license can run any version of EASYnat protected with the floating license mechanism, including EASYnat for AutoCAD. Consequently if you already have a valid license of EASYnat for AutoCAD, EASYnat for 3ds Max can use it to run in licensed mode.
1.
How to get a license
To get an active license for EASYnat from Bionatics or your reseller, you have to send the server system information of the computer that will host the Bionatics License Server (i.e. the Server). You need to use the tool application ServerInfo.exe provided by Bionatics to get this information. It is installed with EASYnat or can be downloaded from Bionatics website at: http://www.bionatics.com/TelechargementSpecifiques/Bionatics/Divers/ServerInfo.exe. 1. If EASYnat has been installed on the Server, from the Start bar run: Start > All Programs > Bionatics > EASYnat 3ds Max [host] > Licensing > Get Server Info.
18
INSTALLING EASYNAT
Get server info from the start bar
Server information
2. If the Server will not run EASYnat: a) Copy the ServerInfo application (ServerInfo.exe) to a folder on the Server.
b) This being done, run the ServerInfo application on the Server. 3. Then click the Generate license request button. This information will be required when ordering EASYnat plants or plant credits from Bionatics online shop (http://www.bionatics.com/EASYnatShop.html) or offline through an authorized EASYnat reseller or directly from Bionatics. Note: The first time you want to purchase more plants, you need to enter the Host Name and Physical (MAC) Address of the Server. That information is displayed in the Server information page. If your server has more than one network interface, avoid using the IEEE 1394 (firewire) and the tunneling ones.
19
INSTALLING EASYNAT
2.
How to install and run EASYnat license
After buying plants or plant credits, you will receive your EASYnat license and information by email to download and install the Bionatics License Server. Follow these instructions and install it on the machine you referenced as the Server. Once the Bionatics License Server is up and ready, on each Client run the Server selector application from: Start > All Programs > Bionatics > EASYnat for 3ds Max [version] > Licensing > Server selector
Server selector
Click the Connect to license server button. In the next page, select either Server is local to this machine or Server is on a remote machine, enter its name and validate. Note: to connect to another server, click first on Disconnect from license server button. EASYnat is now set to run in a licensed mode.
License server on a remote computer
Server selector
If you are running EASYnat on several computers, you will be limited by the quantity of seats you have bought from Bionatics. You can check the total quantity and used seat quantity at any time and from any Client by running the Server selector application and clicking the View installed licenses button.
20
INSTALLING EASYNAT If all available seats are used, EASYnat will automatically run in evaluation mode limiting your Nursery to the free plants.
View Installed Licenses from the Server selector application
Note: when 3ds Max is running, you have to get an EASYnat license to switch from the evaluation mode to the licensed mode and you can also release the license to switch back to the evaluation mode. You also have the option to hold the license: each time you start 3ds Max and there is at least one free EASYnat license, EASYnat will get a license and run in licensed mode.
EASYnat menu
The current status of EASYnat is displayed in the About EASYnat dialog window.
About EASYnat from the menu
About EASYnat running in Evaluation mode
When running in licensed mode, it is displaying your Client ID and Product ID identifying your license plus its expiration date. Those IDs are necessary to get more plants from Bionatics website and to contact the Bionatics support team.
21
INSTALLING EASYNAT
About EASYnat running with a temporary license
About EASYnat running with a permanent license
Note: Request Code relates to previous version of EASYnat which protection system was based on the Autodesk one. It is obsolete in the current version of EASYnat.
22
INSTALLING EASYNAT
Installing plants
You can purchase plants from Bionatics EASYnat website www.easynat.com. Normal plant delivery is done by download. The first time you order, you need to provide the Server information: Hostname and MAC Address (see p. 18 how to get them). It is recommended to copy and paste them within the form during the ordering process. The next times, you need to provide the Product ID available from the About EASYnat window (see p. 54). Information concerning the download process is sent by email. The plant download area can be reached using the following link: http://www.bionatics.com/EASYnatOrderedPlants.html. Once the plant file has been downloaded, its your responsibility to archive it in a safe place since it will be removed from the download server shortly after. Place a copy of the file in a directory of your choice. Plant files are named Plants_EASYnat2_5_[date]_[hour].rar with date=YYYYMMDD and hour=HHMMSS (files are displayed from the oldest to the newest is your browser displays alphabetic order). The date and hour are the one of the treatment of your order. DO NOT DIRECTLY EXECUTE THIS FILE; otherwise youll have to manually install its contents. Plants are specifically encoded with your client information. They are compatible with any version of EASYnat v2.5 installed on any host (see p. 9 for the legacy Autodesk products for which an EASYnat plugin exists) but they will be accessible only from your licensed EASYnat. Once getting the plants, apply the following procedure to install them on each computer: 1. Select Install plants from the menu Start > All Programs > Bionatics > EASYnat for 3ds Max [version].
InstallShield Wizard for EASYnat Install plants from the menu
23
INSTALLING EASYNAT 2. Browse and select the location of the plant file (extension .rar).
Select path to plant file
3. Validate the installation.
Plant installation in progress
24
INSTALLING EASYNAT
4. Installation complete
Installation completed
Plants are installed in folder: Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Bionatics (on XP) ProgramData\Bionatics (on Vista) within 2 sub-folders: Plants which is common to any Bionatics products and EASYnat which is specific to EASYnat plants. Note: plants will be visible within the EASYnat nursery only if EASYnat is running in licensed mode.
25
INSTALLING EASYNAT
Uninstalling EASYnat
To fully remove the product from your system, use this command. EASYnat will ask your confirmation first. 1. Select Uninstall EASYnat from the menu Start > All Programs > Bionatics > EASYnat for 3ds Max [version].
InstallShield Wizard for EASYnat Uninstall EASYnat from the menu
2. Validate the Uninstall done message by clicking OK to complete the Uninstall process.
Confirm to uninstall EASYnat
Uninstall progress bar
Note: User files or sub-directories containing user files may remain. Remove these files manually.
26
GETTING STARTED
EASYNAT GETTING STARTED
Introduction
EASYnat is designed to fulfill the needs of vegetation in architectural projects. Tightly integrated in the project workflow, it enables the user to insert plants directly into scene design during project construction. Plant generation and modeling is now a user-friendly process. From selecting a virtual seed and setting its plant morphology and modeling method (3D, 2D or hybrid), the user is able to generate a highly realistic plant model. EASYnat automatically generates procedural textures for each plant with only a few clicks of the mouse. Compared to traditionally plant modeling techniques such as taking wide angle photographs or modeling a tree by hand, EASYnat greatly increases productivity and provides realistic results for immediate use and modification if necessary.
Getting Started
Copyright Chris Bullen SSE Architecture - 2003
The user needs to understand prior to generation that EASYnat offers various plant generation possibilities, including 2D, 3D and hybrid models to various level of detail and plant morphology controls. Hybrid modeling is a unique technology. Plant morphology controls include age, season, height and width for example. We will discuss the features
27
GETTING STARTED hereafter. Once these concepts have been demonstrated, the user will be able to adapt the best plant generation method according to his needs. Note: this manual refers sometimes to plants and sometimes to trees, but the two terms are interchangeable as EASYnat makes no functional distinction with the organic type of the object its working with. All of the functions and procedures described here are equally applicable to the two, along with bushes, flowers, etc. If a distinction is to be done, it will be specifically indicated within the text it is applying to.
Main concepts
To get the best out of EASYnat, it is important to realize from the beginning that EASYnat may generate different LODs (level of details) according to the user needs. Having a tree generated in full 3D as opposed to 2D or hybrid has its advantages and disadvantages.
1.
Hybrid 2D/3D trees
What is a hybrid 2D/3D tree? Hybrid 2D/3D combines billboards with geometry to generate a tree that remains in 3D but without all the polygons. This is particularly useful for those who require minimum poly count ranges. Scenes requiring large areas of vegetation should consider using this mode. Note that textures are also procedurally built based on the full 3D model. Exclusive to Bionatics, the hybrid 2D/3D is set to default in the EASYnat create panel. When used correctly, the visual differences between a full 3D model and a hybrid tree is quite small. The wood LOD (which applies to trunk and main branches) may be adjusted to minimize this difference while keeping a reasonable amount of polygon. Below left is a horsechestnut in wireframe mode. You can clearly see the billboards branching onto the trunk geometry.
28
GETTING STARTED
Hybrid horsechestnut in wireframe
Hybrid horsechestnut
2.
2D trees
2D trees are trees that are built entirely upon vertical billboards. The advantage over hybrid 2D/3D is that polygon count is reduced even further. Such trees should be used for background scenery. EASYnat may generate a 2D tree with a single billboard or a cross billboard. By default, EASYnat 2D trees are cross billboards. To generate single billboards, the user needs to modify the EASYnat Default Settings found in the EASYnat menu (see p. 51).
2 crossed billboards with edged faces
2 crossed billboards without edged faces
29
GETTING STARTED 3. 3D trees
Full geometry trees obviously have more polygons than 2D and hybrid trees. However, the user may still adjust the level of detail using EASYnat Wood LOD function. By setting the LOD to 0, the polygon count reduces as well as quality. By balancing both the Wood and Organ LOD the user may achieve a well-defined tree in 3D whose polygon count is not too high. Whereas the Wood LOD adjusts the geometry of the tree which consists of the trunk and branches, Organ LOD adjusts the leaves, flowers and fruits of the tree. Another advantage of EASYnat is the user is not confined to keeping the generated model as is. He may at any moment modify the tree using the Properties Palette to convert and reconvert the model into any LOD level or three tree types.
Horsechestnut in full 3D
4.
Plant morphology
The user may wish to generate his tree in any season he wants. Because EASYnat virtual seeds contain an expression of the actual genetic coding of the plant, the user may rest assured that proper textures and other botanic parameters are maintained. The user may also wish to implement a specific age, diameter or height. Each is interlinked so that EASYnat automatically determines the correct settings. For instance, if the user decides he needs a 10 foot horsechestnut, EASYnat determines its age and diameter and vice versa.
30
GETTING STARTED
Tips before starting

Before starting, some tips to optimize your user interface and actions. Keep in mind that sometimes a generated tree will not appear in the active viewport because the view is either too close or too far from the object. If you are too close, zoom out until you see the object and use the field of view function to fix the view. Alternatively, you may go to Use and click on frame All/frame selected. You can control the size (and consequently the age) of the tree when creating it in the viewport if you maintain the left button pressed and drag the bounding box of the tree. Also, each click within the viewport during the creation process (progress bar is displayed) will create another tree. You may also have to refresh your scene to view your tree. Once a tree is generated, click the right button of the mouse in the viewport to exit EASYnat. This way you wont inadvertently generate another tree. You may also click Modify panel or select another tool. In smooth shading mode, transparencies are by default on Simple in the viewports. To activate the texture alpha channel transparencies, go to the menu Customize>Viewport Configuration, select the Rendering Method tab (default) and check Best in Transparency group. You may also click with the right button of the mouse on the viewport name and select Transparency > Best in the pop-up menu. EASYnat can use different texture formats. See EASYnat Default Settings to select the format (png, rla, rpf, tga, tif) before starting (see p. 50). Note that EASYnat uses 3ds Max output file format presets such as color depth and alpha channel. For standard usage, check 8 bits and activate Alpha Channels. It is also a good idea to check Texture Correction from the roll down menu in the given viewport when generating plants with billboards.
31
GETTING STARTED
Launch EASYnat
1. Start 3ds Max and display the Command Panel Menu Customize>Show UI>Show Command Panel. 2. In the Command Panel, click the Create tab (displayed above by default), select the Geometry icon (active by default). 3. Scroll down the Subcategory list and select Bionatics. 4. Click the EASYnat button in the Object Type rollout. All the EASYnat parameter rollouts are displayed.
Bionatics primitive
EASYnat Create panel
32
GETTING STARTED
Select a plant from the nursery window

Display the EASYnat interface in the Create tab then either choose a plant from the builtin thumbnail pane, or choose one via the Nursery: 1. Click Nursery button to open the Nursery window. Note that you can choose a display language using the language flags in the create panel 2. Select a thumbnail (type the first letter to jump alphabetically). You may also organize your Nursery by creating subdirectories in the left column (right-click and select New to make a folder, then drag and drop thumbnails). 3. Double-click the thumbnail to close the Nursery and select the plant. You may also scroll down the Favorites list to select your plant.
EASYnat Nursery
When running in evaluation mode EASYnat proposes with 6 different species: Cypress (Lawsons) (Chamaecyparis lawsonii-a) which acronym is chama_a Color Fountain Spider Flower (Cleome hassleriana) which acronym is cleom_a Horsechestnut tree (Aesculus x hippocastaneum-a) which acronym is aescu_a Oleander (Nerium oleander) which acronym is buiss_a Pine (aleppo) (Pinus halepensis) which acronym is pinus_h Sweet gum, red gum, bilsted (Liquidambar styraciflua) which acronym is liqui_a
33
GETTING STARTED
Create a plant
Once you have selected a plant, its age and season can be specified in the Plant Morphology section of the EASYnat panel. Here, you can also set up the levels of detail separately for the organs (leaves and flowers) and for the wood (trunk and branches). Detailed descriptions of all available parameters and values can be found in the interface section (p. 37) of this manual. The plant can be now placed in the scene: 1. Left-click once in any of the viewports. EASYnat growth engine constructs a unique plant geometry, assembles the branch billboards (when in the default hybrid mode) and displays the plant in the viewport. Make sure youve set the viewport transparency to best, as described in the tips at the beginning of this chapter. 2. Each subsequent viewport click will add a new plant to the scene. You may change the parameters and select another plant in the Nursery window between clicks 3. When you have finished making plants, right-click in the viewport to close the EASYnat Creation mode The plant representation within the Viewport can be either the representation selected or the proxy representation. Proxy definition is given p. 45.
Modify a plant
Once youve created a plant into the scene, select it (with 3ds Maxs Selection Tool). 1. Click the Modify tab in the Control Panel. 2. The EASYnat modify panel will appear. 3. Change any parameter in the Plant Morphology or Plant Tuning sections. 4. Click the Apply button. The selected plant will be appropriately updated to reflecting the changes requested. EASYnat growth engine will use the same virtual seed, thus retaining the same individual within the species.
34
GETTING STARTED 5. Alternatively, you can click the New button to replace the selection with a different virtual seed, thereby generating a new individual.
Note: if you have selected several plants, the EASYnat Modify panel will be available allowing you to edit the ages and change the seasons.
Control the vegetation load

The Load Alert mechanism implemented in EASYnat is intended to inform the user with the current total count of polygons used by the different EASYnat plants that have been inserted in the current scene, and to warn the user when this total count is exceeding a limit preset (Alert threshold for trees) in the EASYnat Settings. The default load limit of 3 Millions of polygons corresponds to a 32bit computer equipped with 2 Gb of RAM. With a 64bit computer and 4 Gb of RAM, this limit can be raised up to 5 Millions. This limit also changes depending on the renderer. 1. Create a Horsechesnut tree of 30 year old in 3D mode and Use proxy checked. 2. Add a 40 year old Lawsons Cypress tree in 3D mode and Use proxy checked. 3. Add an 8 year old Color fountain spider flower in 3D mode and Use proxy checked. 4. Add an 8 year old Oleander in 3D mode and Use proxy checked. 5. Continue adding plants until the total poly count exceeds 3 Millions At any time, in the lower right corner of the Perspective view, the total amount of EASYnat plants is updated. When total poly count exceeds 3 Millions, the foliage color of each proxy if replaced by a color gradient from green (the low polygon trees) to red (the heavy polygon trees). It is easy now to find the plants that are overloading the scene and to tune them. Select the reddish tree; lower the Organ and Wood LOD down to 0 or 1. Click the Apply button. Once the plant is recomputed, if the total amount is lower than the settings limit, then the proxies will recover their original color. If the total is still higher than the limit, repeat the LOD decrease to other high poly plants until the total is correct.
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GETTING STARTED
Multiple plants in the scene with a vegetation load alert raised (the red Horsechesnut is the culprit)
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EASYNAT INTERFACE
EASYNAT INTERFACE
This section describes the different functions of EASYnat. They are organized by panels or menus from the table below (click on a name to go its description). . You can also refer to the Index (see p. 68) to search for a specific function and then report to the page.
Species selector
EASYnat interface
Language Selector Load from pool Nursery Buy Plants Age Selector Diameter Selector Height Selector Season Selector Organ LOD Wood LOD Organ Scaling Wood Complexity
Model Type Generate Normal Maps Use Proxy New Reset Apply 2D copy Create panel Modify panel New Copy / Update Copies Save to Pool Brightness
37
EASYNAT INTERFACE
EASYnat Settings Get License Hold License Release License
About EASYnat
Add to age Selector
EASYnat menu
Modify panel with multiple selection
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EASYNAT INTERFACE
Create panel
1. Species selector This window provides a convenient way to access your favorite plants. The window displays the contents of whichever folder you have selected in the Nursery (see p. 40 to learn more about the Nursery). In other words, you can create and select a folder in the Nursery called Favorites, for example, to which you copy frequently used plants. The species selected in this built-in pane will then be used the next time you create a plant. Similarly, if you are modifying an existing plant you can change its species here. If you have selected plants from different species, the selector is showing a blank thumbnail but allows you to select a new species and apply it to the whole selection.
2.
Language Selector
Use this selector to determine the language in which species and scene objects are labeled. The three icons correspond to botanical scientific (Latin) names, English names and French names respectively.
3.
Load from pool
The pool is an area where you can save and load specific individuals that you have created. To be more precise, you will be saving and loading all the information necessary to construct new copies of the individual, including all of the parameters you have chosen at its creation. Use this button to load the individual back into 3ds Max. Every aspect of the plant is preserved and you can go on Modifying it in the usual way.
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EASYNAT INTERFACE
4.
Nursery
The Nursery provides a convenient way to organize and select the various plants that you have at your disposition. Contrary to the Pool, they do not correspond to individuals that you have constructed but species, or templates for creating new individuals. Select a plant by clicking on it or repeatedly typing the first letter of its name. Double-click a plant to simultaneously select it and close the Nursery window. You can create and organize folders in the left pane in the standard Windows fashion. Right-click a folder to see the operations available. Drag plants from the right pane to different folders in the left pane. Hold down the ctrl key to copy them rather than moving them. Delete a plant or a selection of plants by pressing Delete at the keyboard. The top level folder (labeled Nursery) is a special folder, as its contents cannot be removed. In other words, whatever you do in the other folders you will always find the entire collection of plants available to you here.
5.
Buy Plants
If you would like to extend your Nursery, click here to go directly to the Bionatics website. Once you have obtained a plant package, dont execute the downloaded file directly. You will need to run the EASYnat setup program again to install the plant package correctly. See p. 23 for more details on how to install a plant package.
40
EASYNAT INTERFACE
6.
Age Selector
This will determine the age of the plant you are about to create or the age that an existing plant will become if modifying. Each species has a specific range of ages. An estimate of the diameter and height of the resulting object will be updated in the two edit boxes underneath.
7.
Diameter Selector
Rather than specifying an age, you can request an object that has a specific diameter by setting it here. The age and height that the given diameter implies is an approximation, since each plant individual is unique. The diameter is specified in the units chosen as 3ds Maxs System Unit Scale. To change this, go to main menu > Customize > Units Setup > System Units Setup.
8.
Height Selector
Similar to the diameter selector, here one can specify the size of the plant to be created or modified in terms of its height in the current System Unit Scale. Once again, the approximate age and diameter it implies are updated in the other two edit boxes. Note: the above three parameters may also be set interactively at the moment of creation. To do this, instead of single-clicking in the viewport to make an object, hold the left mouse button down and drag it vertically to size a bounding box. While dragging the mouse, the age, height and diameter that the bounding box implies will be set automatically. Once the bounding box is set to the desired size, release the left mouse button to go ahead with the creation. This is useful for creating a tree that fulfils a specific, predetermined space. The size of the interactive bounding box is limited according to the dimension limits of the selected species.
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EASYNAT INTERFACE 9. Season Selector
Use this slider to specify the time of year you wish the next or current plant to be depicted at. The range of the slider corresponds approximately to January to December, subdivided into the four seasons, as indicated. Please note that as in nature, some plant species (mainly flowers) may not be visible at all times of the year.
10.
Organ LOD
The complexity of meshes and textures used to represent leaves, fruits and flowers (petals and buds) can be set here. A value of 0 implies a heavily simplified representation and a value of 3 will be fully detailed.
11.
Wood LOD
Similar in function to Organ LOD, this setting refers to trunk, branches and twigs. Its useful to be able to set these two LODs separately when maximizing the realism to resources ratio. Once again, 0 is heavily simplified and 3 is fully detailed.
Low wood LOD (level 0)
High wood LOD (level 3)
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EASYNAT INTERFACE
12.
Organ Scaling
This is a useful trick in giving a plant or a tree an illusion of having more volume and density. The percentage provided will be used by the growth engine as a multiplier to scale up the size of the leaves without entailing any increase in polygonal or textural complexity. In other words, a value of 150% will make a tree 50% fuller. Values less than 100% will scale the leaves down to make the resulting object look barer.
13.
Wood Complexity
Whereas the Wood LOD (above) will affect the cross-sectional aspect of a branch, the Wood Complexity will dictate the number of cross-sections per meter. The two images below of the same individual demonstrate the effect of this parameter. The natural shape of the branch limits the degree of segmentation and this limit corresponds to the maximal value of the Wood Complexity slider.
Low wood complexity
High wood complexity
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EASYNAT INTERFACE
14.
Model Type
Use these three buttons to select the type of model you would like to generate (or convert to, if in the Modify panel). From left to right: The first button will generate a 2D billboard. It will be a single plane or a crossed double-plane according to your preference, set in the EASYnat Settings page of the EASYnat main menu (see p. 51). The second one will generate a hybrid combination of 2D and 3D, where major branch substructures of the 3D model are substituted by pseudo-billboards, thus providing an effective and convincing approximation, using a fraction of the number of polygons. The third one is a fully-blown 3D model.
For a detailed explanation on differences between those representations, please refer to p. 28 to 30.
15.
Generate Normal Maps
When using 3D geometry, the faces that appear head-on will be brighter than those at an angle (the perceived difference in brightness between the center of a tree trunk and the side of the trunk, for example). When the 3D geometry is replaced by textured polygons, this phenomenon is lost and the lighting becomes flat. Normal Maps are therefore used in conjunction with certain lighting models as a corrective technique to simulate the original illumination of 3D geometry. Normal Maps are stored within a texture and activating this checkbox indicates to EASYnat that it should do this during the next create or modify action. Note: The Normal maps check box is grayed in 3D mode because normal maps only apply to 2D or Hybrid plant textures.
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EASYNAT INTERFACE 16. Use Proxy
When checked, plants are displayed within the Viewport with a simplified representation showing the global envelop of the foliage around the trunk. It is recommended to save memory capability of the Viewport display. When rendered the selected plant representation in the model type is then transferred to the rendering tool.
Modify panel
Only selectors and buttons which are different from the ones in the Create panel are described here. For common buttons and selectors please refer to the previous section (see p. 39).
1.
New
Just as in nature, any given species will contain an enormous number of individuals that each has its own unique particularities. Similarly, the New button will regenerate the selected plant but using a different virtual seed, giving rise to a different individual of the current species. You can go on clicking New and each subsequent plant will be unique. New is similar to the Apply button in that it will also reflect any changes that you may have made to any of the rollouts settings.
2.
Save to Pool
The pool is an area where you can save specific individuals and load back all the information to reconstruct it precisely at a later date, and/or in a different project. Every aspect of the trees construction and tuning is stored in the pool file. Save to Pool will open a dialog box where you can choose the name and location of the currently selected plant. We suggest you store your individuals in the designated default Pool folder and any subfolders you choose to create therein (see p. 52) to change this default location).
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EASYNAT INTERFACE
3.
Reset
If you have started making changes to the settings of the currently selected plant and wish to cancel these changes, use the Reset button to read the settings back from the plant and into the rollout. The settings will be restored to their values as of the last Create, Apply or New action.
4.
Brightness
The material brightness dialog box allows you to work with the gamma values of bark, leaves, and billboards separately. The term Billboards applies not only to standard billboards but also to hybrid model objects. Values are cumulative the adjustments are applied incrementally each time the Apply button is pressed. The displayed gamma values are therefore a cumulated summary of the current gamma values. Note that the effects of these brightness settings only apply to rendered images and are therefore not visible in the viewport. Reset to standard values cancels all cumulated adjustments and resets the gammas to their original values.
5.
Apply
Use the Apply button to reflect any changes you have made to any of the settings in the Modify rollout. If you have not changed anything, the button will not be available. Contrary to the New button, Apply will preserve the virtual seed of the selected plant, that is, it will continue to use the same individual member of the current species.
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EASYNAT INTERFACE
6.
2D copy
Used in conjunction with the next two buttons, this section allows you to make duplicates of the currently selected plant. Regardless of the settings specified in the general EASYnat Settings (available from the EASYnat main menu), you can make a 2D copy as a single billboard , a crossed double billboard , or a crossed double billboard with a top plane for aerial or elevated situations.
7.
New Copy / Update Copies
The New Copy button will construct a 2D copy of the selected configuration, derived from the currently selected tree. When making simplified versions for multiple LOD trees, its preferable to use this feature, as the 2D copy will be more similar to the original than creating a standard 2D tree, since it will necessarily use the same virtual seed (member of the species). You can go on making as many copies as you want, mixing the three types if necessary. Note that new copies will be placed at the same region (relative to the original), so be sure to move previous copies out of the way. All of the copies will remain linked to the original that you can go on changing. Use the Update Copies button to apply any such changes to all of the dependent copies.
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EASYNAT INTERFACE
Modify panel with multiple selection

Only selectors and buttons which are different from the ones in the Create panel or Modify panel (single selection) are described here. For common buttons and selectors please refer to the previous sections (see p. 39 and 45). The selected plants can have different initial values (e.g. some can have been generated in spring while other in summer) so the controls dont display any values until you set them. Once a value is set and then the Apply button pushed, any selected plant will be computed with this new value (e.g. all plants will be computed and displayed in autumn if the season selector has been positioned to autumn).
1.
Add to age Selector
This will determine the age increment or decrement to be applied to the selected plants you are about to modify. Each species has a specific range of ages which limits the modification. A 20 year old horsechesnut decremented by 20 will be displayed at 3 year old (its minimum simulated age). If then you add it 20 years, it will go back to 20 year old.
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EASYNAT INTERFACE
EASYnat menu
Located in the 3ds Max main menu bar, it contains 10 options: 1. EASYnat Settings 2. Get License Opens the Settings windows (see p. 50). Activates EASYnat for the current session of 3ds Max and locks a seat from the License Server. If no more seats are available, EASYnat is running in evaluation mode. Once EASYnat is activated, you can compute any plants you have bought from Bionatics. See p. 18 for more information. Same as Get license but EASYnat tries to become activated each time 3ds Max is started. Releases the locked seat from the License Server. EASYnat is then running in evaluation mode. Only the 6 free plants can be computed. Connect to the Choose plants page of the EASYnat website. Connect to http://www.easynat.com/
3. Hold License 4. Release License
5. Buy plants 6. EASYnat online
7. Check for updates 8. Show me!
Connect to either the Download page or the Release & patch page of the EASYnat website. Connect to the Training videos page of the EASYnat website where you can find a series of training videos for EASYnat plant modeler dedicated to the Design Visualization market. Opens EASYnat_for_3dsMax.pdf (requires Reader). It is in fact the current document. Opens the About window (see p. 54). Acrobat
9. User manual 10. About EASYnat
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EASYNAT INTERFACE
EASYnat menu
EASYnat Settings
EASYnat default settings are available from the EASYnat menu in 3ds Max main menu bar. Changes will be taken into account only for plants computed afterwards.
EASYnat menu
EASYnat default settings
1.
Texture group
The Texture Settings section refers to different parameters you can set for textures: the size (height x width), image file format and storage folder of the textures of all subsequently created plants.
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EASYNAT INTERFACE
Activating preserves the corresponding aspect ratio while editing texture sizes. The Billboards size (in pixels) refers not only to standard billboard models but also to hybrid mode plates. Note: It is recommended to enter power of 2 values only. The File format drop list defines the format of the texture maps when generated and saved to the disk. The Maps path value refers to the working file system location where textures should be created and read from. Note that at the time of creation, textures are actually kept in a temporary folder. When the scene is saved, they are moved to the Maps Path area and prefixed with the scene name. When the scene is loaded, texture maps associated to each EASYnat plant are automatically copied to the temporary folder. This temporary folder is flushed each time 3ds Max exits. This temporary folder mechanism makes sure that only texture maps used in a scene files remain on disk but it prevents you from using the Asset Tracking features. It can be disabled by checking the Do not use a temporary folder checkbox. Default prefix name of texture maps is the name of the scene. If you want to use the Save as function of 3ds Max without duplicating the EASYnat textures within the Maps folder, you have to check the Use prefix checkbox and enter your own prefix to be applied to the texture files.
2.
Billboard group or cross-plane
The two iconic buttons determine the type of billboard (single panel ) to be used in 2D and hybrid plants.
The keep 3D trunk and main branches: option is specific to hybrid plants. Checking it prevents the trunk and major branch structures from being reduced to billboards. Since these parts of the tree amount to relatively few of the overall face count, its a reasonable compromise to represent them fully in the interests of realism.
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EASYNAT INTERFACE
The curvature threshold enables you to determine the degree at which the billboard will bend itself to follow the natural curvature of the branch geometry. With the number of degrees set from 1 to 100, 1 being the point at which the billboard shapes itself the most and 100 where the billboard shapes itself the least. Keep in mind that splitting billboards also increases polygon count.
No curvature
Curvature active
The use automatic optimize mode is a texture-saving feature that will indicate to EASYnat growth engine that it should intelligently share textures with other trees in the scene, when appropriate. Uncheck this feature if you really want individual textures for each tree (if you are mixing resolutions for example). In the rendering sub-section, you can choose the renderer to be used for creating the textures that will be applied to billboards. The current production renderer will give the task to the custom renderer you may have chosen (in main menu > rendering > render > [assign renderer] > production). Since some renderers may have trouble with this type of short but request-intensive rendering, you can force the task to be performed by 3ds Maxs default scanline renderer, leaving all other rendering activity to the chosen custom one, thereby avoiding having to switch to and from the custom renderer. However, we recommend using the built-in renderer that has been heavily optimized for this specific task and will therefore function significantly faster than other general purpose renderers.
3.
3D group
The Pool Path, allows you to set the default folder used to store individual plants (and their respective textures) when using the Save to Pool and Load from Pool commands. The Limit 3D trees value defines the maximum count of triangles a 3D plant should have. EASYnat will attempt to respect the triangle limit imposed by the user by automatically adjusting organ and wood LODs. However, if the limit is below the lowest polygon count then EASYnat will warn the user prior to generation.
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EASYNAT INTERFACE 4. Advanced lighting group
The Advanced Lighting settings apply to situations where you render with 3ds Maxs Photometric Lights or Daylight System. Checking exclude from radiosity solution will prevent EASYnat objects from responding to these special lighting models, to speed up rendering. The only contribute to cast shadows option: is an exception to the above option, authorizing cast shadows to respond to these extended lighting models. The default settings represent a reasonable compromise between realism and rendering speed.
5.
Viewport group
Viewport Settings help the user to tune his scene content while editing it. When the Show total checkbox is checked, EASYnat displays in the Viewport the total count of triangles used by all EASYnat plants present in the scene. When the Show selection checkbox is checked, EASYnat displays in the Viewport the total count of triangles used by selected EASYnat plants present in the scene. The Alert threshold for sets the triangles count used by EASYnat to raise the alert when the plant polygon count overpasses it. The reset button will restore the page settings to its state the last time it was saved with the save settings button, whereas restore default settings will restore the page to its original, factory default settings. The OK button applies the current settings values to the plants created afterwards but only to the current session of 3ds Max. Each time 3ds Max is started, natFX loads the saved settings.
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EASYNAT INTERFACE
About EASYnat
The About EASYnat window is useful to check if EASYnat is running in licensed mode or not. Open it from the EASYnat menu in the 3ds Max main menu bar.
It displays the Client ID and the Product ID which are required to purchase additional plants. It is recommended to copy-paste them from this window to the website ordering form to avoid typos. When running in licensed mode, it also displays the expiration date of the license. If you have to contact the Bionatics support, please add to your email a screenshot of this window.
About EASYnat running in Evaluation mode
About EASYnat running with a temporary license
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EASYNAT INTERFACE
About EASYnat running with a permanent license
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EASYNAT INTERFACE
Start menu: EASYnat for 3ds Max

Located in the Windows Start bar: Start > All Programs > Bionatics, it contains 8 options: 1. Licensing Get Server Info Licensing Procedure ServerSelector 2. Bionatics on the web 3. Buy more plants 4. EASYnat manual 5. Install plants 6. Read Me 7. Uninstall EASYnat 8. Show me!
Launch the ServerInfo application to be able to get a license from Bionatics Opens LicensingProcedure.txt Launch the ServerSelector application to define the server which will deliver the license Connect to http://www.bionatics.com/ Connect to the Choose plants page of the EASYnat website (http://www.bionatics.com/EASYnatBuy.php) Opens EASYnat_3ds_Max.pdf (requires Acrobat Reader). It is in fact the current document. Launch the plant installer program (see p. 23). Opens Readme.txt which contains the latest information on installing and running EASYnat. Uninstall EASYnat from your computer (see p. 26). Connect to the Training videos page of the EASYnat website where you can find a series of training videos for EASYnat plant modeler dedicated to the Design Visualization market.
EASYnat for 3ds Max menu from the Start bar
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NETWORK RENDERING
NETWORK RENDERING
Introduction
EASYnat running in evaluation mode is sufficient to function as a render client, and will handle all render requests from its host client: Server: running a licensed version of EASYnat.
Network Rendering
Clients: running at least evaluation versions of EASYnat In the above diagram, machine A is a server and should be running a licensed installation of EASYnat for 3ds Max. Machines B, C and D are render clients and should be running either fully licensed or evaluation versions of EASYnat for 3ds Max. Note: in this section, Clients and Server are related to the relationships between the computers participating to a network rendering task. It is different from the Licensing Client-Server architecture described in the Installation section of this manual. In a network rendering solution, only the Server should run EASYnat in the licensed mode. All Clients should run EASYnat in evaluation mode. When participating to the network rendering, the EASYnat application can release the license (see p. 49).
Configuration
For network rendering to function correctly, it is vital that the scene and the texture maps required by all EASYnat objects in the scene are on a shared drive location on the server machine (A) such that this location is visible by all of the client machines (B D). You can set the working directory for EASYnat textures in the EASYnat Settings page from the EASYnat main menu. To set up EASYnat to net render plants, please follow the instructions below:
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NETWORK RENDERING 1. Use a shared folder to store the texture maps generated for the EASYnat plants, e.g. \\Server\EASYnat_maps, and the pool if you are using XRefs, e.g. \\Server\EASYnat_pool. If you use a mounted drive, it must be mounted with the same letter on each machine, e.g. M:\EASYnat_maps or N:\EASYnat_pool. Server must be accessible directly from any machine participating to network rendering. 2. Run 3ds Max from the Server with EASYnat in licensed mode and open EASYnat Settings. Edit the 'Maps path' to point to the shared folder, e.g. \\Server\EASYnat_maps (or M:\EASYnat _maps). Edit the 'Pool path' to point to the shared folder, e.g. \\Server\EASYnat_pool (or N:\EASYnat_pool). Then Save the Settings (button Save and not OK). See p. 50. 3. Open each scene containing EASYnat plants to be net rendered, and save it. Plant texture maps are then saved into the shared folder. 4. Install EASYnat on all the other computers which can be involved in network rendering. 5. Edit the EASYnat Settings on all the other computers. Set the 'Maps path' to point to the shared folder, e.g. \\Server\EASYnat _maps (or M:\EASYnat _maps). Set the 'Pool path' to point to the shared folder, e.g. \\Server\EASYnat _pool (or N:\EASYnat _pool). Check the Do not use a temporary folder checkbox. .Then Save the Settings (button Save and not Apply). See p. 50. Your EASYnat clients are then configured to net render any scene containing plants!
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LICENSE AGREEMENT
LICENSE AGREEMENT
Here is a copy of the license agreement at the date given at the end of this section; it is probably obsolete by now. The license agreement provided within the EASYnat installer and you will have to accept can be different from this one and is the only one to be taken into consideration.
BIONATICS EASYnat SOFTWARE " CLICK WRAP " LICENSE AGREEMENT - ATTENTION -
License agreement
TO BE READ CAREFULLY BEFORE DOWNLOADING THE BIONATICS EASYnat SOFTWARE

Please read this license agreement carefully before downloading the Licensed Software or using any elements of the Licensed Software. IF YOU CLICK THE "ACCEPTANCE" BUTTON OR IF YOU PROCEED TO USE ANY OR ALL ELEMENTS OF THE LICENSED SOFTWARE, AS DEFINED BELOW, YOU SIGNIFY THAT YOU AGREE TO ALL OF THE FOLLOWING TERMS AND CONDITIONS WITH RESPECT TO ALL THE LICENSED SOFTWARE, AND THEREBY ENTER A BINDING AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU ("LICENSEE") AND BIONATICS CORP. ("BIONATICS") REGARDING USE OF THE LICENSED SOFTWARE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, CLICK THE "REJECT" BUTTON. This agreement shall automatically enter into force as soon as you have validated it electronically or used any or all elements of the Licensed Software. BIONATICS invites you to print out this agreement and conserve a copy for your records. REMINDER: RESALE OR TRANSFER OF 3D EASYnat MODELS TO A THIRD PARTY IS SUBJECT TO CONCLUSION OF A SEPARATE LICENSE AGREEMENT WITH BIONATICS.
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LICENSE AGREEMENT LICENSE 1. Definitions: 1.1 "Licensed Software" shall mean any and all of the elements of the BIONATICS EASYnat Software, including the Growth Engine, the Plant Data Files, the 3D Models, the resulting Images, and any related documentation. 1.2 "Growth Engine" shall mean the software in object code form which acts as a plant generator, to automatically create 3D geometric forms of plants adapted for architecture, 3D scene content creation and computer graphic image rendering. 1.3 "Plant Data Files" shall mean the database of virtual seeds holding each plant's genetic information which is interpreted by the Growth Engine and rendered in three dimensions. 1.4 "3D Models" shall mean the files of plant images or three dimensional digital coordinates created by the Growth Engine. 1.5 "Images" shall mean any non-virtual rendering of the plants that is generated by the operation of the Growth Engine and that may be reproduced on paper or in a variety of electronic formats. 1.6 "Error" shall mean an anomaly that prevents the Licensed Software from performing substantially in accordance with its specifications but shall not include a fault causing minor or trivial deviations from such specifications. 1.7 "Qualified Educational Institution" shall mean a school, adult education center, or technical or vocational school. 2. License Grant: BIONATICS hereby grants you, a non-exclusive, non-transferable, nonsublicensable right to use and operate the Growth Engine and the Plant Data Files, to copy and modify the 3D Models and the related Images in the creation and presentation of virtual 3D environments and visualization for the applicable duration of legal protection, subject to the following conditions: 2.1 you may install the Growth Engine, the Plant Data Files, the 3D Models and the Images on an unlimited number of CPUs, provided that all such CPUs are physically located at a single specific geographical address, and provided that you use the EASYnat (r) Software on a single computer at a time;
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LICENSE AGREEMENT
2.2 you may access the Licensed Software, including 3D Models and the Images, only at that specific address; 2.3 you may not separately publish, distribute, or transfer the Licensed Software including the 3D Models to another site or to a third party, except that you may publish, distribute, or transfer the related Images to another site or to a third party providing it is incorporated into and made part of your own final and single product; 2.4 you may not print the 3D Models or the Images or have them printed except for an accessory purpose such as sales support to your primary use of the 3D Models or your use of the Images incorporated into your own product; 2.5 you may not reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the Licensed Software; 2.6 you may not adapt, translate, rent, lease, loan or assign the Licensed Software or use it in a facilities management, service bureau or timesharing environment; 2.7 you may not reproduce the 3D Models in a way that would be similar or equivalent to a publishing or distribution on a commercial scale of the 3D Models and/or Images without Bionatics' express consent and payment of the relevant publishing fee to Bionatics; 2.8 you may make one copy of the Licensed Software for back-up or archival purposes, so long as that copy remains in your possession or control; 2.9 you may not use or reproduce the Licensed Software or any of its elements (by way of example, the output files or 3D Models of vegetation generated by the Growth Engine) to produce one of your own products, or in a commercial context; except that you may copy and modify any 3D Models to incorporate them into your own products for internal use on the computer or servers on which the Licensed Software was first installed; 2.10 BIONATICS reserves the exclusive right to modify the Licensed Software or any of its elements, to correct, adapt and/or make any upgrade of it; 2.11 you may not distribute or use publicly or in respect of third parties, any video sequences compressed with the Licensed Software without the prior written agreement of BIONATICS;
61
LICENSE AGREEMENT 2.12 you may not use the Licensed Software or any of its elements otherwise than in accordance with the provisions of this agreement, without first having obtained an appropriate license agreement from BIONATICS; 2.13 The terms and conditions of this License Agreement and any further written agreement related hereto will be automatically extended to any additional plant files ordered by you and subject to the prior effective payment of the relevant license fee to Bionatics. 3. Ownership: Title, ownership rights, and intellectual property rights in and to the Software as well as any and all design rights, trademarks or other intellectual property rights will remain in BIONATICS and are protected by French copyright laws as well as international treaty provisions including United States copyright laws. There is no transfer to you of any title to or ownership of the Software and this License should not be construed as a sale of any right in the Software. 4. No Warranty: BIONATICS provides the Software "as-is", and without warranty of any type. BIONATICS DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, OR COMPATIBILITY) CONCERNING THIS SOFTWARE AND ITS ACCOMPANYING WRITTEN MATERIALS. Some jurisdictions do not allow limitations on an implied warranty, so the above limitation may not apply to you. 5. Limitation of Liability: TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, BIONATICS DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, OR COMPATIBILITY WITH PARTICULAR THIRD PARTY PRODUCTS. In no event will BIONATICS, its affiliated companies, or any of its licensors, directors, officers, or employees be liable to you for any consequential, incidental, indirect or special damages whatsoever, including without limitation, any damages for downtime, loss of data or information, loss of profits or business opportunity, whether foreseeable or unforeseeable, arising out of (1) the use or inability to use the Licensed Software or accompanying documentation; (2) your failure to respect its suggestions or
62
LICENSE AGREEMENT recommendations concerning the Licensed Software and for non-complying parameters, or (3) your computer's, the Internet's or any other network's failure to operate. The foregoing limitations shall apply, regardless of the basis of the claim, and even if BIONATICS has been advised of the possibility of such damages. BIONATICS' ENTIRE LIABILITY FOR ANY DIRECT DAMAGES BASED ON ANY CAUSE WHATSOEVER, AND REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF THE ACTION, WILL BE LIMITED TO THE TOTAL AMOUNTS WHICH YOU HAVE PAID FOR THE LICENSED SOFTWARE HEREUNDER. 6. Infringement Indemnification: 6.1 BIONATICS will defend or settle at its option and expense, any action brought against you by a third party to the extent it is based on a claim that the Licensed Software infringes any copyright of a third party or misappropriates a third party's trade secrets. Subject to the provisions of Section 5 above, BIONATICS will pay all damages, costs and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) awarded in a final, non appealable court decision, in such a suit against you, provided that you (i) notify BIONATICS promptly in writing of the action; and (ii) provide BIONATICS with reasonable information and assistance for the defense or settlement of the action; and (iii) grant BIONATICS sole authority and control of the defense or settlement of the action. You shall have no authority to settle any action on BIONATICS' behalf, and no costs or expenses shall be incurred for the account of BIONATICS without BIONATICS' prior written consent. (a) Should the Licensed Software become, or in BIONATICS' opinion, be likely to become the subject of claim of such an infringement, BIONATICS may, at its option and expense, either (i) procure for you the right to continue to use the Licensed Software, or (ii) replace or modify the Licensed Software to make it noninfringing, or, if neither of the foregoing alternatives is reasonably available, (iii) accept the return of the Licensed Software (or the infringing part thereof) and refund to you the purchase price or license fee paid under this Agreement. (b) BIONATICS shall have no liability to you to the extent that the infringement or claim thereof is based upon (i) use of the Licensed Software in combination with other products, devices or software which are not furnished to you by BIONATICS, including those products, devices or
63
LICENSE AGREEMENT software incorporated by you and believed by BIONATICS to add substantial value to the Licensed Software; and (ii) modification of the Licensed Software by a party other than BIONATICS; and (iii) use of the Licensed Software as part of any infringing process; or (iv) use of other than a current, unaltered release of Licensed Software is such infringement would have been avoided by use of the current, unaltered release. (c) THIS SECTION 6 STATES BIONATICS' ENTIRE LIABILITY AND YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY CONCERNING INFRINGEMENTS OR ALLEGED INFRINGEMENTS BY THE LICENSED SOFTWARE OR ANY PART OF THE LICENSED SOFTWARE OR THE LICENSED SOFTWARE'S USE OR OPERATION AND ITS PROVISIONS ARE SUBJECT TO THE LIMITATIONS SET FORTH UNDER SECTION 5 ABOVE. 6.2 Trademarks and Copyright Notices. You agree not to remove, deface or obscure any trademark or copyright notices of BIONATICS contained in the Licensed Software. 7. Termination: 7.1 Term. The term of this Agreement shall be the duration of legal protection of the Licensed Software, unless terminated earlier in accordance with the terms of this paragraph. 7.2 BIONATICS shall have the right to terminate this Agreement prior to its expiration upon the occurrence of any of the following events, by sending a termination notice to you by registered mail with acknowledgement or receipt, without any further formalities (including any court appearance) being required: (a) your failure to observe any other terms and conditions of this Agreement, which failure is not cured within thirty (30) days of written notice thereof; or (b) your insolvency or commencing any act of bankruptcy or upon any proceeding being commenced by or against you under any law having to do with your relief as a debtor; or (c) substantial change in the management, ownership or control of your business, including ceasing to do business, whether voluntary, by operation of law or otherwise. (d) overtaking directly or indirectly at Bionatics sole discretion, of your business by a direct or indirect competitor of Bionatics. 7.3 Upon termination or expiration of this Agreement, you shall immediately return, at your expense, to BIONATICS, all copies of the Licensed Software and its accompanying documentation and to destroy all other property of BIONATICS which are then in your possession or control related to the Licensed Software (Security keys).
64
LICENSE AGREEMENT
8. Force Majeure: Neither party shall be liable for delay in performance or for non-performance (except for monies due) occasioned by cause beyond its reasonable control, including, but not limited to acts of God, fire, flood, earthquake, unusually severe weather, war, government action, accident, labor trouble, shortage or inability to obtain materials, equipment or transportation. 9. Assignment: This Agreement is personal to you and you may not assign this Agreement in whole or in part, without BIONATICS' prior written consent. Subject to the above, this Agreement shall be binding upon and operate to the benefit of the successors and assigns of the parties. 10. Governing Law and Attribution of Jurisdiction: THIS AGREEMENT IS GOVERNED BY THE LAWS OF THE REPUBLIC OF FRANCE. IN THE EVENT OF A DISPUTE CONCERNING THE FORMATION, PERFORMANCE, INTERPRETATION OR TERMINATION OF THIS AGREEMENT, SUCH DISPUTE SHALL BE SUBJECT TO THE JURISDICTION OF THE COMMERCIAL COURT OF MONTPELLIER, FRANCE, REGARDLESS OF THE TYPE OF PROCEEDINGS, THE NUMBER OF DEFENDANTS, OR THE PLACE OF PERFORMANCE OF THE AGREEMENT. 11. Miscellaneous: This License Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties and supersedes all prior written or verbal agreements concerning its subject matter. Any amendment hereto must be the subject of a written agreement signed by the parties. The failure of either of the parties to exercise any of its rights pursuant to this Agreement shall not imply the waiver by such party of any such exercise; such a waiver may only be the result of an express waiver by such party. If any provision of this License Agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be contrary to applicable law, that provision will be enforced to the maximum permissible extent, and the remaining provisions of the Agreement will remain in full force and effect.
65
LICENSE AGREEMENT
If you have any questions concerning this License Agreement, or require further information in this regard, please contact: Bionatics S.A. 325 Avenue des Orchidees 34980 St Clement de Riviere France Web Site: http://www.bionatics.com Copyright Bionatics 2001 - 2009 - All rights reserved 13/02/09
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CONTACT US
CONTACT US
COMMERCIAL Please contact Bionatics for any questions concerning EASYnat and its plant library at the following addresses: BIONATICS Sales Bionatics s.a 48, rue La Bruyere 75009 Paris France phone: fax: +33 1 56 02 04 20 +33 1 56 02 04 21
email: infoeasynat@bionatics.com or contact us through our web site at www.bionatics.com TECHNICAL For technical reports or troubleshooting, please send an email to: support@bionatics.com for registered EASYnat licenses demosupport@bionatics.com for evaluation versions.
Contact us
Please attach to your email a screenshot of this About dialog from the 3ds Max main menu bar: EASYnat>About About (see an example p. 54).
67
INDEX
INDEX
2
2D ...........................................29, 44, 51 2D copy ...............................................47 new copy.........................................47 update copies ..................................47
bark................................................. 46 billboards......................................... 46 leaves .............................................. 46 reset to standard values (button) .... 46 buy plants ............................... 40, 49, 56
C
check for updates ............................... 49 Client ID ........................................ 21, 54 create panel ........................................ 39 create plant......................................... 34 curvature threshold............................. 52
3
3D ...........................................30, 44, 52 3D settings limit 3D trees ...................................52 pool path .........................................52
D A
about EASYnat ..................21, 23, 49, 54 add to age selector..............................48 advanced lighting settings...................53 exclude from radiosity solution ........53 only contribute to cast shadows .....53 age ......................................................30 age selector .........................................41 apply (button)......................................46 demo plants........................................ 33 diameter.............................................. 30 diameter selector ................................ 41
E
EASYnat for 3ds Max........................... 56 EASYnat manual ........................... 49, 56 EASYnat menu .................................... 49 EASYnat online.................................... 49 EASYnat settings ........................... 49, 50 expiration date.............................. 21, 54
B
billboard.................28, 29, 46, 47, 51, 52 billboard settings .................................51 cross-plane ......................................51 curvature threshold..........................52 keep 3D trunk and main branches ..51 single panel......................................51 use automatic optimize mode.........52 Bionatics on the web...........................56 bounding box................................31, 41 brightness............................................46 apply (button) ..................................46
G
gamma ............................................... 46 generate license request ..................... 19 generate normal maps........................ 44 get an EASYnat license........................ 18 get license..................................... 21, 49 growth engine .................................... 34
Index
68
CONTACT US
H
height ..................................................30 height selector.....................................41 hold license....................................21, 49 hostname ............................................23 hybrid ......................................28, 44, 51
O
organ lod .................... 30, 34, 35, 42, 52 organ scaling ...................................... 43
P
plant ................................................... 28 pool......................................... 39, 45, 52 Product ID............................... 21, 23, 54 proxy....................................... 34, 35, 45
I
install an EASYnat license.....................20 install plants...................................23, 56 installing EASYnat ..........................10, 11
R
radiosity .............................................. 53 read me............................................... 56 release license ............................... 21, 49 rendering settings ............................... 52 built-in renderer............................... 52 current production renderer............ 52 default scanline renderer................. 52 Request Code ..................................... 22 reset (button) ...................................... 46 reset settings....................................... 53 restore default settings ....................... 53
L
language selector ................................39 launch EASYnat ...................................32 license agreement ...............................59 license server........................................20 licensing...............................................56 licensing EASYnat ................................18 licensing procedure..............................56 load from pool ...............................39, 52 LOD...............................................28, 47
M
MAC Address.......................................23 maps path .....................................51, 57 modify panel..................................45, 48 modify plant ........................................34 multiple selection.....................35, 39, 48
S
save settings ....................................... 53 save to pool .................................. 45, 52 season ................................................ 30 season selector ................................... 42 server info ........................................... 56 server information ......................... 18, 23 server selector ............................... 20, 56 settings ......................................... 49, 50 shadow............................................... 53 show me....................................... 49, 56 species selector ................................... 39
N
new (button) .................................35, 45 normal maps .......................................44 nursery.....................................33, 39, 40
69
CONTACT US
T
texture correction ................................31 texture format ...............................31, 51 texture settings..............................31, 50 bark .................................................50 billboards .........................................50 do not use temporary folder......51, 58 file format ........................................51 leaves...............................................50 lock (button) ....................................51 maps path .......................................51 use prefix .........................................51 textures .........................................44, 57 thumbnail ............................................33 total EASYnat polys..............................35 tree ......................................................28
U
uninstall EASYnat .......................... 26, 56 use proxy ...................................... 35, 45
V
vegetation load ................................... 35 viewport settings ................................ 53 alert threshold for............................ 53 alert threshold for trees ................... 35 show selection ................................ 53 show total....................................... 53 viewport transparency .................. 31, 34
W
wood complexity ................................ 43 wood lod .............. 28, 30, 34, 35, 42, 52
70

EASYnat 3ds Max

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Copyright 2001-2009, BIONATICS All rights reserved EASYnat software and EASYnat Users Manual are protected by Copyright

EASYnat: Sprouting life in virtual worlds!

EASYNAT GETTING STARTED

EASYnat: Sprouting life in virtual worlds!

TABLE OF CONTENTS LICENSE AGREEMENT CONTACT US INDEX 59 67 68

Stphane GOURGOUT Executive Vice-President Co-founder

EASYnat: Sprouting life in virtual worlds!

EASYNAT KEY FUNCTIONS

Simulate plant growth and seasonal changes

EASYnat key functions

EASYnat: Sprouting life in virtual worlds!

EASYNAT KEY FUNCTIONS

Control polygon count

Change the 3D geometry of a plant

Treat EASYnat plants like 3ds Max objects

EASYNAT KEY FUNCTIONS

Library with plants from around the world

Purchase virtual "seeds" on-line

EASYNAT KEY FUNCTIONS

Integration with legacy Autodesk products

Vegetation load alert

EASYnat: Sprouting life in virtual worlds!

Launch the application which uncompress the installer

EASYnat setup page

2. Click Next to continue.

InstallShield Wizard for EASYnat

2. Click Install to install EASYnat.

Choose destination location

The setup status window displays the installation progress bar.

How to get a license

Get server info from the start bar

How to install and run EASYnat license

License server on a remote computer

View Installed Licenses from the Server selector application

About EASYnat from the menu

About EASYnat running in Evaluation mode

About EASYnat running with a temporary license

About EASYnat running with a permanent license

InstallShield Wizard for EASYnat Install plants from the menu

Select path to plant file

3. Validate the installation.

Plant installation in progress

InstallShield Wizard for EASYnat Uninstall EASYnat from the menu

Confirm to uninstall EASYnat

Uninstall progress bar

Copyright Chris Bullen SSE Architecture - 2003

EASYnat: Sprouting life in virtual worlds!

Hybrid 2D/3D trees

Hybrid horsechestnut in wireframe

2 crossed billboards with edged faces

2 crossed billboards without edged faces

GETTING STARTED 3. 3D trees

Tips before starting

EASYnat Create panel

Select a plant from the nursery window

Control the vegetation load

EASYnat: Sprouting life in virtual worlds!

EASYnat Settings Get License Hold License Release License

Add to age Selector

Modify panel with multiple selection

Load from pool

EASYNAT INTERFACE 9. Season Selector

Low wood LOD (level 0)