* Released * Ultra Scenery Toolbox - Volume II

Totte

More tools to enhance your Ultra Scenery Experience are coming

 

MelanieL

Uh oh, my store credit just dug itself a foxhole and is hiding in there! Looks like another must-have for me.

Mark_e593e0a5

.Okay, you got one customer . To state a common internet meme: "Shut up and take my money".

Totte

So, how was those candle and skulls images done in UST-II?

alexhcowley

Another must buy! My credit card has just screamed in terror, however. I will have to try and calm it down before this turns up in the shop. 

It will be interesting to see what @barbult does with it!

Cheers,

Alex.

barbult

Totte gave me an early copy to test during development. I found it to be very useful and fun to use.

First, be aware that I don't give a hoot about real world combinations of plants. I'll mix anything I want to! Palm trees in a pine forest - why not? Daffodils in a swamp - sounds good to me!

Here is the summary of one scene:

• I decided I would create a new ecology based on Harpwood 4, so first I used UltraSceneCreator to build a scene with Harpwood 4 for reference. I saved and rendered that reference scene, so I could compare my new ecology to it later.
• 
• I started UST Ecology Engineer with ecology Harpwood 4. I deleted some layers and added some ground cover from Mossy Hollow, some Pines from Pines 5, and some fir seedlings from PNW 6. No JSON editing was required. UST Ecology Engineer did it all. I saved my new ecology from inside UST Ecology Engineer and exited that script.
• I ran UltraSceneCreator and built a scene, using the ecology I saved from UST Ecology Engineer. (My new ecology shows up in UltraSceneCreator in the list along with other ecologies.) I rendered the scene and saw that there are some tree instances blocking my camera view a little more than I want.
• 
• I used UST Instance Group Locator to find the instances that were blocking my view. I used UST Unpack InstanceGroup to expand the group so I could delete individual instances that were in the way. After deleting the offending instances, I used UST Repack InstanceGroup to pack the group again, so I could use locate, unpack, and delete instances from another group. I rerenderd the scene with those instances gone now.
• 
• I saw that some trees behind the camera were creating shadows in my foreground. I decided I'd like it brighter, so I used UST Instance Group Locator, UST Unpack InstanceGroup, and UST Repack InstanceGroup again to move those trees further away. This time I used a top down view of the area when locating the instances, instead of the camera view, because the trees I was looking for were behind the camera. I rerendered the camera view with those additional trees moved out of the way.
• 
• Now I have a new ecology that I can use with other features and other terrains, just like any purchased ecology can be used. Here is another camera view of the same ecology. This time I was lucky, and didn't have to delete or move any instances.
• 

 

barbult

Note: As an alternative to deleting individual instances with Toolbox II, I could have used Toolbox I masks to clear out an area around my camera. But Toolbox II gives much finer control over what is removed. Both techniques are useful and can even be used in the same scene if you want to.

Totte

As usual, @barbult shows some super renders ;-)

alexhcowley

barbult said:

Totte gave me an early copy to test during development. I found it to be very useful and fun to use.

First, be aware that I don't give a hoot about real world combinations of plants. I'll mix anything I want to! Palm trees in a pine forest - why not? Daffodils in a swamp - sounds good to me!

Here is the summary of one scene:

• I decided I would create a new ecology based on Harpwood 4, so first I used UltraSceneCreator to build a scene with Harpwood 4 for reference. I saved and rendered that reference scene, so I could compare my new ecology to it later.
• 
• I started UST Ecology Engineer with ecology Harpwood 4. I deleted some layers and added some ground cover from Mossy Hollow, some Pines from Pines 5, and some fir seedlings from PNW 6. No JSON editing was required. UST Ecology Engineer did it all. I saved my new ecology from inside UST Ecology Engineer and exited that script.
• I ran UltraSceneCreator and built a scene, using the ecology I saved from UST Ecology Engineer. (My new ecology shows up in UltraSceneCreator in the list along with other ecologies.) I rendered the scene and saw that there are some tree instances blocking my camera view a little more than I want.
• 
• I used UST Instance Group Locator to find the instances that were blocking my view. I used UST Unpack InstanceGroup to expand the group so I could delete individual instances that were in the way. After deleting the offending instances, I used UST Repack InstanceGroup to pack the group again, so I could use locate, unpack, and delete instances from another group. I rerenderd the scene with those instances gone now.
• 
• I saw that some trees behind the camera were creating shadows in my foreground. I decided I'd like it brighter, so I used UST Instance Group Locator, UST Unpack InstanceGroup, and UST Repack InstanceGroup again to move those trees further away. This time I used a top down view of the area when locating the instances, instead of the camera view, because the trees I was looking for were behind the camera. I rerendered the camera view with those additional trees moved out of the way.
• 
• Now I have a new ecology that I can use with other features and other terrains, just like any purchased ecology can be used. Here is another camera view of the same ecology. This time I was lucky, and didn't have to delete or move any instances.
• 

 

"First, be aware that I don't give a hoot about real world combinations of plants. I'll mix anything I want to! Palm trees in a pine forest - why not? Daffodils in a swamp - sounds good to me!"

I entirely agree. Most of my renders are set in a vaguely Tolkienesq fantasy multiverse.  As far as I'm concerned, Realism jumped out of the window, screaming in terror, the instant Fantasy walked in the door. 

On a general note, will it be possible to export a custom ecology so that it can be shared with anyone else who has the necessary content  files?

I love your final scene. In particular, the contrasts between the different species of tree. 

Cheers,

Alex. 

 

richardandtracy

Under circumstances where it's not Christmas, I'm not feeling nearly broke and I had nothing else competing for my cash, I'd say 'Brilliant', 'Bring it on', 'Yes, I want Now'. As it is.. Stop, please stop coming up with fantastic tools that mean I will have to put something else marginally less deserving to the back of the queue.

Totte

alexhcowley said:

On a general note, will it be possible to export a custom ecology so that it can be shared with anyone else who has the necessary content  files?

Alex. 

 

The Ecologies you create are "self contained" folders in the Ecologies Folder under UltraScenery (The names all start with UST ), so you could zip that up and send to someone who has all the needed things installed and it will work. You can as you see in the pictures create your own preview and thumb too.

 

barbult

Totte said:

alexhcowley said:

On a general note, will it be possible to export a custom ecology so that it can be shared with anyone else who has the necessary content  files?

Alex. 

 

The Ecologies you create are "self contained" folders in the Ecologies Folder under UltraScenery (The names all start with UST ), so you could zip that up and send to someone who has all the needed things installed and it will work. You can as you see in the pictures create your own preview and thumb too.
 

I agree that it would work fine, but I have never shared ones I have "created", because I am concerned about the ethics and legality of doing that. The contents of the ecologies that I edit or combine are 99% pieces of store bought products. For example, HowieFarkes put a lot of work into creating UltraScenery ecologies for his older Mossy Hollow and Harpwood products. If I give away ecologies based on those with small tweaks, I am essentially redistributing his product. I don't think that is proper. He gave us permission to edit the purchased ecologies for our own use. I'm not aware that he has ever given permission to share those ecologies with other people.

alexhcowley

barbult said:

Totte said:

alexhcowley said:

On a general note, will it be possible to export a custom ecology so that it can be shared with anyone else who has the necessary content  files?

Alex. 

 

The Ecologies you create are "self contained" folders in the Ecologies Folder under UltraScenery (The names all start with UST ), so you could zip that up and send to someone who has all the needed things installed and it will work. You can as you see in the pictures create your own preview and thumb too.
 

I agree that it would work fine, but I have never shared ones I have "created", because I am concerned about the ethics and legality of doing that. The contents of the ecologies that I edit or combine are 99% pieces of store bought products. For example, HowieFarkes put a lot of work into creating UltraScenery ecologies for his older Mossy Hollow and Harpwood products. If I give away ecologies based on those with small tweaks, I am essentially redistributing his product. I don't think that is proper. He gave us permission to edit the purchased ecologies for our own use. I'm not aware that he has ever given permission to share those ecologies with other people.

You make a valid point. I assumed that Totte's product generated its own underlying code but if it recycles bits of the code from existing ecologies then there are both legal and moral implications. 

Cheers,

Alex. 

barbult

alexhcowley said:

barbult said:

Totte said:

alexhcowley said:

On a general note, will it be possible to export a custom ecology so that it can be shared with anyone else who has the necessary content  files?

Alex. 

 

The Ecologies you create are "self contained" folders in the Ecologies Folder under UltraScenery (The names all start with UST ), so you could zip that up and send to someone who has all the needed things installed and it will work. You can as you see in the pictures create your own preview and thumb too.
 

I agree that it would work fine, but I have never shared ones I have "created", because I am concerned about the ethics and legality of doing that. The contents of the ecologies that I edit or combine are 99% pieces of store bought products. For example, HowieFarkes put a lot of work into creating UltraScenery ecologies for his older Mossy Hollow and Harpwood products. If I give away ecologies based on those with small tweaks, I am essentially redistributing his product. I don't think that is proper. He gave us permission to edit the purchased ecologies for our own use. I'm not aware that he has ever given permission to share those ecologies with other people.

You make a valid point. I assumed that Totte's product generated its own underlying code but if it recycles bits of the code from existing ecologies then there are both legal and moral implications. 

Cheers,

Alex. 

Thank you for understanding. Toolbox II lets you pick out layers of existing ecologies to combine together in new combinations. The code of the selected layers is essentially copied from one ecology to another. you can make tweaks to affinity settings, but most of the code is identical to the original layer, as I understand it. Toolbox II also has the capability to allow you to add in layers that you have coded yourself with a text editor. But even those layers are usually made by starting with an existing product layer and swapping in different props, so most of the code is still from the original product. I don't feel that I have any right to distribute those files. Also, in addition to possibly undermining the sales of existing ecologies, I think it would undermine sales of the toolbox itself. If somebody combines the layers for you, you have less incentive to buy the toolbox and do it yourself.

Now what I think would be OK, is to list what layers you copied from which product, and let other owners of the ecology products use the Toolbox themselves to perform the same layer combinations.

 

Totte

I can see that when you collaborate, like working together on a comic series or something, and more than one artist needs the same kind of ecology. 

 

DoctorJellybean

Like @barbult, I had the privilege to give UST II a spin. Unlike her, I'm just posting my renders without a breakdown The renders consist of elements from 5 or so different ecologies.

barbult

@DoctorJellybean - very lush! I like all the colorful elements. I see lots of things I recognize, like apple trees from Tangy Apple Orchard, bromeliads from Mossy Hollow, Daffodils from Country Ford, etc.

Norman_R

Very nice render so far.

I was also allowed to test Totte's Toolbox II. Here I mixed some ecologies and added the trees with a script.

Norman_R

Here I mixed TA Dry Desert 02 + Desert Depression. https://www.daz3d.com/desert-depression

Norman_R

Here I built a palm tree ecology. Almost all trees were swapped and fish were added. Ok to change the horizon I have no idea. Maybe someone has a tip.

Norman_R

A mixture of different ecologies and cobblestone shaders (added by hand). Butterflies and toadstools with scripts added.

 

DoctorJellybean

Somebody is having fun with Toolbox II

Norman_R

Norman_R

 

That happened to me before because the mushroom proportions didn't fit. 

 

Totte

Great renders @Norman_R!

Norman_R

Totte said:

Great renders @Norman_R!

Thank you. Thank you for the tool. It's a lot of fun and I still have a lot of ideas. I also bought cheap again. For example bamboo  

barbult

It is in the  store already! https://www.daz3d.com/ultra-scenery-toolbox--volume-ii

Mark_e593e0a5

barbult said:

It is in the  store already! https://www.daz3d.com/ultra-scenery-toolbox--volume-ii

...and Santa already put it in my cart .

barbult

Nice Santa!

alexhcowley

Best Christmas present ever!  Another browser-scorchingly fast entry into my shopping cart. 

After the last few weeks at work, I need a few days to unwind  but I hope to start having my evil way with this product early next week. 

Cheers,

Alex.

lou_harper

Norman_R said:

A mixture of different ecologies and cobblestone shaders (added by hand). Butterflies and toadstools with scripts added.

 

I love this! How did you add the cobblestone shader just to the road? Is it a separate material zone? I've never looked.