SpeedTree


SpeedTree is a group of vegetation programming and modeling software products developed and sold by Interactive Data Visualization, Inc. that generates virtual foliage for animations, architecture and in real time for video games and demanding real time simulations.
SpeedTree has been licensed to developers of a range of video games for Microsoft Windows, and the Xbox and PlayStation console series since 2002.
SpeedTree has been used in more than 40 major films since its release in 2009, including Iron Man 3, Star Trek Into Darkness, Life of Pi and Birdman, and was used to generate the lush vegetation of Pandora, in Avatar.
SpeedTree was awarded a Scientific and Technical Academy Award in 2015, presented to IDV founders Michael Sechrest and Chris King, and Senior Engineer Greg Croft.

History

SpeedTree was conceptualized at IDV in circa 2000, and originated due to the firm's lack of satisfaction with 3rd-party tree-generation software on the market.
The initial version of SpeedTreeCAD was developed by IDV for a real-time golf simulation. Although backers pulled out of the golf project, IDV refined the CAD software as a 3D Studio Max plug-in for an animated architectural rendering, dubbing it SpeedTreeMAX.
SpeedTreeMAX was released in February 2002, and toward the end of 2002, IDV released SpeedTreeRT, a real-time foliage/tree middleware SDK, which allowed automatic levels of foliage detail, real-time wind effects, and multiple lighting options. IDV eventually released plug-ins for Maya as well, appropriately named SpeedTreeMAYA. In early 2009, IDV discontinued the SpeedTreeMAX and SpeedTreeMAYA plugins, replacing them with SpeedTree Modeler and Compiler products.
IDV released SpeedTree 5 in July 2009, a version representing a "complete re-engineering" of the software and the first versions of SpeedTree enabling hand modeling and editing of vegetation models: SpeedTree Modeler, SpeedTreeSDK and SpeedTree Compiler, which prepares SpeedTree files for real-time rendering.
SpeedTree Cinema was first released by IDV in 2009, based on version 5 technology. SpeedTree for Games was released on November 7, 2011, and was essentially a re-branded version of SpeedTree 6. The product was identified as SpeedTree for Games to distinguish it from other products not meant for gaming/real-time use.
SpeedTree Architect was released on October 15, 2012, and is designed for architectural 3D CAD use and 3D fly-throughs. IDV released updated versions of SpeedTree Cinema, SpeedTree Studio and SpeedTree Architect in November 2013. IDV released SpeedTree v7 for Unreal Engine 4 in July 2014. IDV released SpeedTree v7 for Unity 5 on the new engine version's launch date, in March 2015. IDV released SpeedTree for Games v7 on April 16, 2015.
IDV and three of its engineers received a Scientific and Technical Academy Award in 2015, for their SpeedTree Cinema product suite.

Products

Suites

SpeedTree Cinema was released by IDV in 2009, and saw its first major use in Avatar by James Cameron. SpeedTree Cinema is designed for use in the film industry, and generates high-resolution meshes and high-quality textures for Autodesk 3ds Max, Autodesk Maya and Cinema4D. The Cinema edition includes SpeedTree Modeler, and the complete Tree Model Library designed by IDV, while with some other suites tree packs must be purchased separately. Several members of the SpeedTree line can simulate animated growth of trees and plants and seasonal changes, and can export data for animated wind effects.
SpeedTree Studio was released by IDV in 2009 as a less expensive companion to SpeedTree Cinema. It does not include all Cinema features, nor the complete Tree Model Library.
SpeedTree Architect was released in 2012, is designed for use in 3D architectural CAD. It generates meshes compatible with typical architectural applications such as Autodesk 3ds Max, Autodesk Maya and Rhino. The Architect edition also exports normal maps and UV maps, for physically-accurate rendering engines such as V-Ray and mental ray.
SpeedTree for Games is the edition of SpeedTree for video game development, contrasting with the Subscription edition offered to users of the Unity game development engine and certain versions of the Unreal Engine 4 engine. The Games edition includes the Modeler, Compiler, and SDK. This edition permits game developers to integrate SpeedTree runtime technology into any game engine of their choice. Meshes generated with the system are low poly, with multiple levels of detail, use texture atlases, and are typically stored in an efficient binary format.
SpeedTree Subscription Edition is a low-cost edition of SpeedTree Modeler and Runtime, targeted at independent game studios. The licensing fee is a US$19 monthly charge, as well as additional charges for tree packs. Subscribers get access to the SpeedTree editor, the ability to generate 3D models of trees and plants, such plants being exclusively usable with either Unreal Engine 4 or Unity, depending on the license. Subscribers can download additional tree model packs from the Model Library, and pricing varies between packs.

Components

SpeedTree Modeler is a Windows-based specialized modeling tool for designing foliage. The modeler features a combination of procedural tree generation, and hand-editing tools, to draw trees or transform individual tree parts. Procedural tree generation uses configuration such as branch length, branching angles and bark texture to generate a tree in a variety of formats. Newer versions support a drag-and-drop interface that automatically blends branch intersections and handles branch collisions.
SpeedTree Compiler is a software that enables creation of efficient tree models for use in real-time rendering or video games. It generates texture atlases and compiles and optimizes tree models for real-time use.
SpeedTree SDK is a multi-platform C++ SDK that efficiently handles rendering of SpeedTree-generated trees and forests. The engine is designed to integrate and operate within a larger game engine, with ready-made support for Unreal Engine, Unity and OGRE. The engine contains optimized systems to cull off-screen trees, and to determine level of detail for on-screen trees. Full source code is available to licensees for use in video games and other real-time applications, and modification of the engine is supported. The engine is built to work with Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Xbox, PlayStation and PlayStation Vita.

Partners

IDV is a licensed middleware partner with PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
IDV has partnered with Epic Games in order to integrate the software with Epic's Unreal Engine 4 and Unreal Engine 3 and the free UDK engine released in November 2009. Partnerships have also been formed between IDV and BigWorld Tech, the Vision Engine by Havok, Multiverse Network, the Gamebryo engine by Emergent Game Technologies and the OGRE open-source rendering engine by Torus Knot.

Awards

Video game industry

SpeedTree for Games was licensed for its first video games, including ', in December 2002. SpeedTree has been licensed for PC and next-generation console titles in a wide variety of genres. Studios that have used SpeedTree, or published games featuring the technology, include:
Selected recent, upcoming and/or popular titles featuring SpeedTree for Games:
TitleYearDeveloper
Absolver2017Sloclap
America's Army 32009United States Army
'2017Studio Wildcard
Assassin's Creed Unity2014Ubisoft Montreal
'2018Quantic Dream
'2009Rocksteady Studios
'2011Rocksteady Studios
'2015Rocksteady Studios
Battlefield 32011EA Digital Illusions CE
Battlefield 42013EA Digital Illusions CE
'2008Gearbox Software
Call of Duty 32006Treyarch
Champions Online2009Cryptic Studios
Crackdown2007Realtime Worlds
Dakar 182017Bigmoon Studios
Destiny2014Bungie
Destiny 22017Bungie
Digital Combat Simulator2017Eagle Dynamics
'2014BioWare
'2009BioWare Edmonton
'2006Bethesda Game Studios
The Evil Within2014Tango Gameworks
The Evil Within 22017Tango Gameworks
'2009The Creative Assembly
Fallout 32008Bethesda Game Studios
Far Cry 42014Ubisoft Montreal
Far Cry 52018Ubisoft Montreal
Far Cry Primal2015Ubisoft Montreal
Final Fantasy XV2016Square Enix
Forza Horizon2012Playground Games
Forza Horizon 32016Playground Games
Forza Horizon 42018Playground Games
Forza Motorsport 52013Turn 10 Studios
Forza Motorsport 62015Turn 10 Studios
Forza Motorsport 72017Turn 10 Studios
'2017IllFonic
Gears of War 32011Epic Games
Ghost of Tsushima2020Sucker Punch Productions
Gran Turismo Sport2017Polyphony Digital
Gravel2018Milestone srl
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands2017Ubisoft
Grand Theft Auto IV2008Rockstar North
'2015Daybreak Game Company
Hawken2012Adhesive Games
Heavenly Sword2007Ninja Theory
Hitman2016IO Interactive
Horizon Zero Dawn2017Guerrilla Games
Jurassic World Evolution2018Frontier Developments
'2013Guerrilla Games
LocoCycle2013Twisted Pixel Games
'2014Monolith Productions
'2017Monolith Productions
MotoGP 182018Milestone srl
'2017Square Enix
No Man's Sky2016Hello Games
Obduction2016Cyan Worlds
'2015Ready at Dawn
Primal Carnage2013Lukewarm Media
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds2017BlueHole Studio
Project Gotham Racing 42007Bizarre Creations
'2007Insomniac Games
Resistance 22008Insomniac Games
Saints Row2006Volition
Saints Row 22008Volition
'2011Volition
Saints Row IV2013Volition
'2013Vicarious Visions
Sports Champions2010San Diego Studio
'2011BioWare
State of Decay2013Undead Labs
Sudden Strike 42017Kite Games
Shadow of the Colossus2018Bluepoint Games
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2006 2005EA Sports
Tom Clancy's The Division2015Massive Entertainment
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege Operation Chimera2018Ubisoft Montreal
'2016Naughty Dog
Unreal Tournament 32007Epic Games
Valkyria Chronicles2008Sega Wow
Watch Dogs 22016Ubisoft Montreal
World of Tanks2008Wargaming
Warriors Orochi 32011Tecmo Koei
'2015CD Projekt Red
Zoo Tycoon2013Frontier Developments

Film and animation industry

Following the release of SpeedTree Cinema in 2009, SpeedTree saw its first major cinematic use in 2009's Avatar, in which the technology provided the vegetation for the flyover of the planet Pandora in the first frames of the movie, as well as other scenes. Known movies and television productions featuring SpeedTree include:
YearFilm
'
Black Panther
Monster Hunt 2
'
'
Beauty and the Beast
Despicable Me 3
The Fate of the Furious
'
'
Wonder Wheel
Allied
The Jungle Book
'
Rogue One
Snowden
The Legend of Tarzan
'
'
Warcraft
'
Alice Through the Looking Glass
'
The Revenant
Cinderella
Spotlight
Jurassic World
San Andreas
Point Break
The Wave
Crimson Peak
Goosebumps
Pan
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
'
'
In the Heart of the Sea
'
McFarland, USA
Unbroken
Tomorrowland
Ax Men
Godzilla
Lucy
Hercules
Into the Storm
Maleficent
Noah
The Nut Job
The Giver
'
The Hundred-Foot Journey
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
'
Birdman
Pompeii
Vikings
'
47 Ronin
'
'
'
The Great Gatsby
Iron Man 3
Jack the Giant Slayer
The Lone Ranger
Star Trek Into Darkness
White House Down
The Wolf of Wall Street
World War Z
Olympus Has Fallen
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Free Birds
'
The Avengers
Mirror Mirror
Life of Pi
The Men Who Built America
Snow White and the Huntsman
Super 8
Avatar
Speed Racer

Real-time applications

SpeedTree is being used in the following real-time projects and offerings:
  • America's Army project, both the America's Army game and in non-public applications used for training, simulation, education, virtual prototyping and outreach
  • An optional foliage module with the Vega Prime visualization product line. Vega Prime is a 3D visual simulation software package used by the global military industry and in other game and non-game markets.
  • An Apache attack helicopter FLIR simulation developed for the US Army by Camber Corp. for pilot training under night flying conditions
  • The Expresso Fitness Virtual Reality Bike, a cardio exercise system developed by Expresso Fitness and sold to gyms and home users
  • A combat simulation developed by Emergent Game Technologies for the US Department of Defense
  • A project under development by the Germany-based division of European Aeronautic Defence and Space
  • The Forest Fire project, developed by the Media Convergence Laboratory at the University of Central Florida. The project is helping to determine if a virtual reality presentation of wildfires can influence local residents to invest in prescribed burns and other protective efforts.