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Forest Pack Installation Files

This guide describes the directory structure of Forest Pack and how to customize it. We will use a default Forest Pro installation, in Forest Lite some files may be different.

Directory Structure

We define [forestdir] as the folder where you installed Forest Pack (C:\Program Files\Itoo Software\Forest Pack Pro by default) , [maxdir] is your main 3DS directory, and [librarydir] as the location of librarys (C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Itoo Software\Forest Pack Pro\ by default).

[forestdir] Contains the following files in the root directory:

FileDescription
Forest Pack Pro.Shortcut to the Forest Pack web page
forest_reference.htmlShortcut to the online reference manual
install.logInstallation log file
licenseMode.exeLicense mode setup wizard
licpanel.exeLicense manager
uninst.exeUninstaller for Forest Pack

The setup program also creates the folder structure shown below in [forestdir] .

FolderPath
Distribution Maps[forestdir]\distmaps
Image Formats[forestdir]\imageformats
Billboard Geometry[forestdir]\geometry

The setup program creates libraries using the folder structure shown below in [librarydir].

FolderPath
Forest Effects Files (.eff)[librarydir]\effects
Library[librarydir]\lib
Library Maps[librarydir]\maps
Material Libraries[librarydir]\matlib

The plugins and shaders for VRay and Mental Ray are copied to the 3ds Max directories as follows (Note only one of Lite or Pro plugins should be installed for each Max version):

FolderPath
3DS plugin Lite[maxdir]\plugins\ForestPackLite.dlo
3DS plugin Pro[maxdir]\plugins\ForestPackPro.dlo
3DS Legacy plugin (optional install)[maxdir]\plugins\ForestPackPro2.dlo
Maxscripts[maxdir]\scripts\ForestPack\forest_utils.ms
[maxdir]\scripts\ForestPack\optmat.mse
[maxdir]\scripts\startup\forestpack.ms
Toolbar IconsMax 2010- 2012:
[maxdir]\ui\Icons\fptoolbar16i.bmp
[maxdir]\ui\Icons\fptoolbar24a.bmp
[maxdir]\ui\Icons\fptoolbar24i.bmp
[maxdir]\ui\Icons\fptoolbar16a.bmp
Max 2013 - 2017:
[maxdir]\ui_In\Icons\fptoolbar16a.bmp
[maxdir]\ui_In\Icons\fptoolbar16i.bmp
[maxdir]\ui_In\Icons\fptoolbar24a.bmp
[maxdir]\ui_In\Icons\fptoolbar24i.bmp
[maxdir]\ui_In\Iconsdark\fptoolbar16a.bmp
[maxdir]\ui_In\Iconsdark\fptoolbar16i.bmp
[maxdir]\ui_In\Iconsdark\fptoolbar24a.bmp
[maxdir]\ui_In\Iconsdark\fptoolbar24i.bmp
User Interface Files[maxdir]\ForestQT.dll
[maxdir]\QtCore_Itoo_4.dll
[maxdir]\QtGui_Itoo_4.dll
[maxdir]\QtXml_Itoo_4.dll
[maxdir]\QtSolutions_MFCMigrationFramework-Itoo.dll
VRay shadersSeveral [maxdir]\ForestVRay###.dll, usually one for each V-Ray major release. Note: some files may not exist depending of the Max and VRay versions
MR shader libraryMax 2010 and before: [maxdir]\mentalray\shaders_autoload\shaders\FShader3.dll
Max 2011 and 2012: [maxdir]\mentalimages\shaders_autoload\mentalray\shaders\FShader3.dll
Max 2013 and newer: [maxdir]\NVIDIA\shaders_autoload\mentalray\shaders\FShader3.dll
MR shader descriptorMax 2010 and before: [maxdir]\mentalray\shaders_autoload\include\FShader3.mi
Max 2011 and 2012: [maxdir]\mentalimages\shaders_autoload\mentalray\include\FShader3.mi
Max 2013 and newer: [maxdir]\NVIDIA\shaders_autoload\mentalray\include\FShader3.mi

The following entries are created in the Windows Registry:

note

If the plug-in doesn't find the keys in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, it searches the same values on HKEY_CURRENT_USER.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Itoo Software\Forest Pack Pro
MainDir C:\Program Files (x86)\Itoo Software\Forest Pack Pro[forestdir] is defined here
UseLicServer 00 to use Stand-alone license, 1 for Network license
LicservHost (host or ip)License server hostname, undefined for automatic search
LicservPort 16720Protocol port number, by default 16720
TexturePaths (key)Texture paths
LibraryDir (key)Library paths

In Forest Pack 6.1 and above you can disable the

iToo Toolbars (both Forest and RailClone) by adding the following registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Itoo Software
DisableToolbars = 1 (DWORD)1 to disable the toolbars, 0 to enable them

All commercial Itoo Software products use also additional keys for the licensing management:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Itoo Software\Licenses
LicenseDir C:\ProgramData\Itoo Software\LicensesForest Pro license is stored here
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Itoo Software\Licenses\Products
Forest Pack 9One entry for each Itoo Software product
note

In a Windows 64 bit version, these registry keys are duplicated in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node

Unattended Installation

From Forest Pack 3.9.2 and above, the setup program supports unattended installations using the following parameters:

  • /? See available parameters
  • /S Enable silent installation
  • /MAXVER=[max2013-32, max2013-64, max2014-64, max2015-64, max2016-64, max2017-64, max2018-64, max2019-64, max2020-64, max2021-64, max2022-64, max2023-64, max2024-64]
  • /MAXDIR=[3dmax installation path]
  • /LICMODE=[rendernode, network, stand-alone]
  • /LICHOST=[License server host]
  • /LICPORT=[License server TCP port]
  • /SHAREDFOLDER=[network path for shared files]
Example of a silent installation for Max 2013

ForestPackPro.exe /S /MAXVER=max2013-64

Network Rendering

You can install Forest on your renderfarm computers using the setup program, or copying the files manually. In Forest Pro select "Render slave node", in Forest Lite use default installing option

For a manual installation, these are the required files:

TypeFiles
Plugin and shadersAs described in the plugin and shaders table (DODO - FIX LINK)
Distribution Mapsfrom C:\Program Files (x86)\Itoo Software\Forest Pack Pro\distmaps\images, copy them to any shared texture folder
Tree texturesall textures from C:\Program Files (x86)\Itoo Software\Forest Pack Pro\maps and your custom textures, when used

If you use Presets or other elements of the Library, they must be visible by the render nodes. Use the Asset Tracker to locate the texture maps and XRefs used by the scene.

From version 4.0.2, Forest configures automatically in the render nodes the paths listed in the registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Itoo Software\Forest Pack Pro\TexturePaths. These are the paths included by default by the installer:

Paths
C:\Program Files (x86)\Itoo Software\Forest Pack Pro\distmaps\images
C:\Program Files (x86)\Itoo Software\Forest Pack Pro\maps\HShadows
C:\Program Files (x86)\Itoo Software\Forest Pack Pro\maps\Standard
C:\Program Files (x86)\Itoo Software\Forest Pack Pro\maps\Classic
C:\Program Files (x86)\Itoo Software\Forest Pack Pro\maps\presets
C:\Program Files (x86)\Itoo Software\Forest Pack Pro\lib\free models\hqplants free\maps

All these files can be installed on network paths if you configure Max to use them (as shared plugins, Mental Ray shaders and textures). For details, see:

Autodesk 3ds Max Help -> Customizing the User Interface - > Configure Paths .


Is it possible to modify the sub-objects of a Forest object from MaxScript?

Yes, but only if the Forest object is in "Custom Edit" mode. there is an interface named "trees" for using it provided by MaxScript. You can see all the functions included witd showinterfaces($forest01). these are some of them:

Add a tree in position p (local coordinates), using width, height and geometry ID values

<Forestobject>.trees.create p:<point3> width:<float> height:<float> geomid: <integer>

$forest01.trees.create p:[50,50,0] width:10 heigth:10 geomid:1

Delete the tree at position n in the array

<Forestobject>.trees.delete n:<integer>

$forest01.trees.delete n:0

Modify the properties of the tree at position n (width, height, geometry ID, random seed)

<Forestobject>.trees.edit n:<integer> width:<float> height:<float> geomid:<integer> seed:<integer>

$forest01.trees.edit n:0 width:10 height:10 geomid:1 seed:123456

Returns the number of trees of the object

<Forestobject>.trees.count()<integer>

$forest01.trees.count()

Move the n-th tree to the position p

<Forestobject>.trees.move n:<integer> p:<point3>

$forest01.trees.move n:0 p:[50,50,0]

Set the rotation of the n-th tree (angle in degrees)

<Forestobject>.trees.rotate n:<integer> angle:<float>

$forest01.trees.rotate n:0 angle:45

Configuring the plugin using environment variables

From Forest Pack 6 onwards it is now possible to configure the main attributes of the plugin using environment variables instead of registry keys. To do this e

ach registry key used in the configuration can be replaced by a variable, replacing non-alphanumeric characters with underscores (_).

For example: for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Itoo Software\Forest Pack Pro\MainDir, you would define the variable ITOO_SOFTWARE_FOREST_PACK_PRO_MAINDIR

The minimum variables to run Forest Pack are the following:

For Network licenses:

- ITOO_SOFTWARE_FOREST_PACK_PRO_MAINDIR=C:\Program Files\Itoo Software\Forest Pack Pro
- ITOO_SOFTWARE_LICENSES_LICENSEDIR=C:\ProgramData\Itoo Software\Licenses
- ITOO_SOFTWARE_FOREST_PACK_PRO_USELICSERVER=1
- ITOO_SOFTWARE_FOREST_PACK_PRO_LICSERVHOST=192.168.1.20
- ITOO_SOFTWARE_FOREST_PACK_PRO_LICSERVPORT=16720

For Stand-alone licenses:

- ITOO_SOFTWARE_FOREST_PACK_PRO_MAINDIR=C:\Program Files\Itoo Software\Forest Pack Pro
- ITOO_SOFTWARE_LICENSES_LICENSEDIR=C:\ProgramData\Itoo Software\Licenses
- ITOO_SOFTWARE_FOREST_PACK_PRO_USELICSERVER=0

For Libraries

  • ITOO_SOFTWARE_FOREST_PACK_PRO_LIBRARYDIR=C:\Users\[user name]\AppData\Local\Itoo Software\Forest Pack Pro\lib

For Effects

  • ITOO_SOFTWARE_FOREST_PACK_PRO_EFFECTSDIR=C:\Users\[user name]\AppData\Local\Itoo Software\Forest Pack Pro\effects
note
  • If you define variables in a .BAT file, be sure to not include any space either side of the '=' symbol, or it will not work (this is a known Windows issue).
  • Environment variables are used only by the Max plugin. Other tools as the License Manager still require configuration registry keys at the moment.
  • If both registry keys and environment variables are defined, the variables have precedence over keys (priority order is Variables->HKLM->HKCU).