Note 1: Because the changes introduced in this release, the scenes created with previous versions may look different (specially distributions of items, randomness and collisions)
Note 2: The installer overwrites the default libraries. If you have modified them, make a copy before upgrading (C:\Program Files (x86)\Itoo Software\Forest Pack Pro: lib, maps and matlib folders). However, we suggest don't modify the default libraries and create a new Category/Library for your plants.
Note 3: Be sure to read Optimizing Rendering notes before using Forest with high poly meshes. It includes important technical information.

3.2.12b

Fixes

The "Geometry->Custom Object" button now works properly (it was bugged in 3.2.11b)

3.2.11b

Improvements

'Separation' parameter has been renamed to 'Radius'.
Added local 'Radius' parameter to Geometry List items. This value is multiplied by the global radius parameter to compute the collision distance between items.

Fixes

Fixed random scattering issues in 32 bit computers.
32 bit and 64 bit nodes now generate similar distributions.
(note: it's not guaranteed that distributions are indentical because the differences between CPU architectures).
Creation Tools by reference was not working well with scaled objects.
Mental Ray was triggering an error "locating instance fmr_..." if current layer was hidden.
Forest Material was crashing in Mental Ray if base material was undefined.

3.2.10b

Improvements

Improved performance creating items at render time.
Surface->Auto-update can be enabled in Custom Edit mode.

Bugs Fixed

Fixed memory issue handling more than 5 millions of items.
Fixed when facing to camera was enabled, items were beign aligned to the surface even with this feature disabled.
Fixed gamma correction when creating thumbnails on Library Browser importer.
Fixed viewport color issues in wireframe mode when object is selected.

3.2.9b

Improvements

Improved scattering speed for large number of small area splines.
Scenes saved with 3.2.9b can be loaded with Forest 3.2.4.

Bugs Fixed

Fixed issues of Collision detection with Camera clipping.
Fixed crash when merging Forest objects from an external scene while a Forest object was being editing.
Fixed assertion error when rendering a cloned Forest object in Mental Ray.
Complex area splines were triggering a wrong "Maximum Density" error.
Item's scale and rotation would to change when being edited in Custom Edit mode.
Distribution bitmap is not affected anymore by gamma settings.
Consolidate Materials was creating null materials when using non-sequential IDs.
Fixed redrawing issues on viewport when using camera motion.

3.2.8b

New features and improvements

New parameter in Geometry List: Color ID. Used for the new Distribution->Diversity options and as item color in the viewport.
Distribution->Diversity. Defines the mode in which the items listed in Geometry rollout are scattered:

Random (default mode).
Cluster. Groups similar items together, creating clusterings. Some parameters are used:

Size: Cluster's size.
Roughness: set the shape of the cluster (0% = smooth, 100% = rough).
Blurry Edge: modifies cluster edge from sharp (0%) to blurred (100%).
Noise: adds random items to the distribution (0% to 100%).

Match color ID on Map. Allow to use colored Distribution maps, matching each pixel with the color ID defined in the Geometry List. As in previous versions, black pixels are taken as gaps (no tree), you can use the Threshold parameter to adjust the black level.

Scale Falloff from area splines.
Scattering process now is fully multithread, using all CPU cores. Performance gain can reach 100% in complex scenes.
Collision detection system has been rewritten completely. The new algorithm is much more accurate.
New collision parameters:

Height: defines the elevation of the virtual sphere used to detect collisions.
Preview on Viewport: disabled by default to speed up viewport redrawing.

Distribution Map can get UVW coordinates from Surface.
Added parameters to set mapping channel for Distribution and Tint maps.
Geometry->Probability now uses decimal values.
New Display parameter to disable auto rebuilding of the Forest object (Update manually).
Number of CPU Threads is set automatically from available processors (General->CPU Auto).

Other changes

Fixed randomly Self-illum problem when using billboards in Mental Ray. Trees were rendering more darker than expected.
Undo Buffer is not cleared anymore after rendering.
Fixed popping trees issue when using spline density falloff.
Fixed Random Translation on Y axis was computed as a percentage of tree's height instead of width.
Fixed XRef objects from VRay or MR proxies were being taken as meshes, not as proxies.
Camera->Expand default value increased to 25%.
Random Translation default set to 20%.
Distribution->Draw Gizmo parameter removed (always enabled by default).

3.2.7b

New Features

Distribution Map

Added support for all types of maps, not only bitmaps. These include animated and procedural textures.
New parameters: pixels X/Y. Use them to adjust the density in the distribution pattern.

Tint Color

Added support for animated maps
New parameter for Tint Map: "Get UVW from Surface":
When checked, UVW coordinates are taken from Surface. If not, from Distribution Map.
Fixed rendering artifacts when using Tint Map in VRay

3.2.6b

New Features

Tint Color Maps. Includes two modes: random pixels or applied as texture over Surface.
All parameters can be defined in Forest plugin (global) or in Forest Material (local by material).
Creation Tools:
- It's not needed to reselect objects to create a new distribution.
- Area mode now uses density values (items per area), instead absolute number of items.
- Estimated number of items before creating.

Other changes and fixes

Fixed error message "parameter geomtex has invalid type 15" when loading presets.
Fixed crash when rendering invalid Forest objects (F icon) and using Forest Material (VRay only).
Fixed bug when randomizing samples from Geometry List in Creation Tools.
Fixed Tint Override in Forest material was using only of the two gradient colors (Mental Ray only).
Fixed exclude spline was not working if it was not Z aligned with include spline.
Gamma is properly applied in Library Browser.
"Surface->Follow Animation" parameter renamed to "Surface->Auto Update".
"Surface->Follow Animation->Only on Rendering" parameter removed. Surface always is updated before rendering.

3.2.5b

New features and improvements

Items can be rotated along any axis, not only Z.
Added random rotation for X,Y axis. Negative ranges are supported.
Add Multiple selector (Geometry rollout) and accepts XRef objects.
XRef Materials support.
New random scattering algorithm: creates more uniform distributions, and works with large Geometry Lists (>100 samples).
Added button (R) to randomize probabilities of Geometry List
Random translation can be used with Custom Edit mode.
Simplification Level (Display rollout) now works with Custom Edit mode.
New Creation Tools modes using reference objects:

Pivot - Replaces old "In Objects Positions" mode. Now can get rotation and scale values.
All Faces - Creates an item at center of each face. Item is aligned to point at farthest vertex from center.
Area - Distribute randomly n items on surface of the reference meshes.

All Creation Tools works in 3D. Scattering over complex surfaces is now possible.

Bugs Fixed

Fixed distributions issues using more than 100 items in the Geometry List.
Fixed "Hide Custom Objects" parameter (Display rollout) was hiding objects randomly.
Fixed issues with Align to Surface option
Fixed reactivation issues in multiprocessor systems

NOTE: This version may change the distribution of existing scenes. If you want to use old system, set oldRandomDist=1 in forestpack.ini

Licensing

Solved reactivation issues in multiprocessor systems

3.2.4

Fixed crashing bug in Mental Ray when using Custom Edit and Limit to Visibility
Optimized rendering time and memory footprint for mrProxy objects
Added option in Creation Tools to follow path

3.2.3

Added option to save memory at render, hidding Custom Objects (Display rollout)

3.2.2b

Some objects were not visible on viewport after rendering with Mental Ray
Fixed flicking trees issue when using Spline fallof and Limit to visibility
Fixed crashing bug when using Creation Tools with Splines
Fixed issues in Last Render error dialog
Fixed bug with automatic Camera assignment
Fixed message "error inverting matrix" in Mental Ray log

3.2.1b

Max 2010 support
Geometry List:

New options: Add multiple (from a list of custom objects), Copy, Paste
Replaced text buttons by icons
"Use Mesh Dimension" is enabled by default
Assigning an item from Library Browser/Custom Object updates "Name" text automatically (to disable this behaviour, set assignGeomName=0 in plugcfg/forestpack.ini)

Fixed potential crashing bug when there was not any item selected
Fixed network rendering issues of 3.2b
Default "Max trees" value (Display rollout) increased to 500.000
Added tooltips and updated icons
Installer doesn't ask for stand-alone licence if already exists

3.2b

New features

Improved rendering of 3D trees. Forest detects and uses Mental Ray and VRay native render engines, allowing to create scenes with virtually unlimited number of objects and polygons.
Added "Render Mode" parameter to Display rollout: "Automatic" enables the new rendering features, "Meshes" creates a single mesh for all trees (old mode)
Improved handling of high poly meshes (working with the plugin, not only at rendering)
Viewport redrawing is much more faster, specially in Custom Edit mode
New Viewport display modes: Pyramid and Box
Added normals alignment options to Surface rollout
New parameters in Forest Material to override the Random Tint global values, defined in the Forest object
New parameter in Forest Material to disable the use of "Forest Shader" in Mental Ray. This is the shader used by default for billboard trees, and adds some improvements as: fast opacity, self-illumination and irradiance adjustable color.
Forest detects automatically the following conditions, suggesting the best parameters configuration:

Using high poly meshes
Mental Ray rendering

Forest objects that had some condition error in the last render, are listed on a warning dialog
Drag & Drog support for Material parameters
Forest Stats shows estimated trees for render when "Simplification Level" is enabled for viewport

Mental Ray

Fixed dark edges artifacts when Self-shadowing option is enabled
Forest Material is now compatible with bucket rendering

VRay

Note: VRay improvements only work with Max 9 or greater and VRay 1.5 SP2/SP3
Trees was not receiving Global Illumination in Forest Material. Fixed
Global Illumination is not applied to shadow planes (Forest Material)
Self-Shadowing detection (Forest Material only)
It's not longer needed to disable "Hide Planes in Viewport" to get shadows

Other Fixes

Library Browser doesn't duplicate materials that already exist in the scene
Fixed visual artifacts for billboard trees when Camera and Light were parallel (hence Texture/Shadow planes were coplanar)
Creation Tools / Along a Path with Spacing option was not working as intended
Z-Offset was not working with surfaces
Fixed problem with "Link to Surface" if a surface is not defined
Enabled by default showMapInViewport=1 in forestpack.ini for Max 2009 (patch for textures viewport issue)
Collisions detection was not working in Custom Edit mode
Fixed issue with Custom Edit mode and limits of maximum trees/faces
Fixed crashing bug when a Custom Object used by Forest was deleted from scene
XShadow was ignoring center displacement values
Fixed shadow issue with center displacement and random mirroring
Forest errors while network rendering are logged to Backburner
Applied UVW mapping to default mesh ("F" icon)

3.1

Self-Ilum Factor parameter default value changed to 50%.

3.05b

Fixed misaligned shadows on asymmetric trees ("Center" different of 50%).
Fixed crash when loading "default" preset.
Added option to disable warning messages when Forest checks texture paths.
Fixed crash when using empty custom objects and display option was set to "Planes".
Library Browser crashed occasionally when a Forest object was in the "Undo" buffer.
Some buttons of Custom Edit panel were not enabled when a single item was selected.

Forest Tools:

Improved speed in the creation of instances.
Added button to delete instances created previously.
New option to create instances in a separate layer.

Library Editor:

Added visual guides for "Center" and "Z-Offset" parameters.
Thumbnail scales dinamically when modifying size values.
Added Lock aspect ratio checkbox.
Material was not updated properly after selecting a library item (dark trees on scanline render).
Fixed bug when selecting materials on the import dialog.
All libraries have been reviewed, fixing sizes, center, z-offset values and some textures.

Licensing:

Improved support for networks without name resolution (DNS or Hosts file).
Fixed internal bug with network licenses.

3.04b

New parameter to Material->Mental Ray: "Irradiance Color", use it to adjust the effect of Global Illumination (Final Gathering) over Forest objects.
Fixed a bug with "Four Planes" geometry template, that was creating an invalid mesh under certain conditions.

3.03b

New full editor for the Library Browser. It allows to edit standard libraries, add new items and import materials to create new libraries automatically.
Improved support of paging keys and scroll bars for the Library Browser.
Mental Ray shader fixed to work with IES Sun lights.
Fixed bug when loading scenes that use "Following Spline".
Forest Tools instancing was not taking random transformations. Fixed.
New options for Self-shadowing detection: full object (trees don't cast shadows to other trees on the same Forest object) or only each tree to itself

Custom Edit mode:

Added button to reset trees to its default size.
"Use Mesh Dimensions" parameter now is used for custom objects.
Random mirror was not working. Fixed.
New button to select trees by ID.

Licensing:

Network protocol improved to avoid issues with some firewall devices.
License Manager now works with bigger fonts.
Fixed error with workstation names longer than 15 characters.
"Change License Mode" utility now remembers that last mode configured.

Installer:

Microsoft Runtime libraries are installed when needed.
Network render nodes installation supported.

3.02b

In Max 2009, network rendering nodes were requesting a license. Fixed.
All parameters are compatible with Imperial Units.
Batch Rendering issues fixed.
Added support for Vertex Color in Custom Objects.
New parameter: "Animate only at render time". Enable it if you use high-poly animated custom objects, as Onyx trees.

3.01b

Button "Places Trees" on surface options was always disabled for Custom Edit mode. Fixed.
New option for Custom Edit mode: "Linked Surface", places automatically the trees over the surface.
Creating trees in Custom Edit mode now generates random geometry IDs, and get the size from the Geometry List.
Creation Tools is fixed to use random geometry IDs as well.
"Randomize Geometry" button moved to Custom Edit rollout. Added new parameter to reset trees size.

New parameters in material rollout for use with Mental Ray:

Prevent Self-Shadow / Fast opacity: These parameters has been moved from "Forest Material" to "Forest" plugin, to make easy to adjust the Mental Ray behavior without modifying each material used by Forest.
Trace depth: Maximum raytrace depth used in Forest Material rendering (default 3).
Opacity Level: defines the minimum level of opacity of the mask textures used by Forest Material. As instance, a value of 80% considers all pixels darker than RGB=204,204,204 (255*80% = 204) as opaque) (these last two parameters are used to speed up rendering with Mental Ray, but in some situations using lower values would create image artifacts. To disable them use Trace Depth=99, Opacity Level=100%).
Self-illum factor: Used to adjust the self-illumination of all materials used by the Forest object (works only with Forest Material).
Fixed compatibility with "mr Photographic Exposure" control.
Mental Ray render speed has been greatly increased. As instance, a sample scene with 5000 trees that needed 3m27s in Forest 3.0 now renders in only 22s.