Attached Link: http://www.xfrog.com/greenWeb2/Templates/download-xfrog3.html

Go to NEWS (if this doesn't link there directly) scroll down to the free plants. I got all of them except the MAX file, which doesn't link at all... Also, an XFrog2VUE Tutorial on bring plants into Vue... DEMO XFROG MODELS: Young Mountain Ash (Basic Library -Vue d'Esprit) Young Sweet Birch (Basic Library - Cinema 4D) Medium European Beech (Autumn Color Library -Bryce) Adult Japanese Maple (Autumn Color Library - Vue d'Esprit) Adult Norway Spruce (Basic Library - Bryce) Adult Norway Spruce (Basic Library - 3ds max)

Sweet Young Birch? I can think of far too many jokes for that! :) -SMT (Thanks for the "get", F-M!)

Heh-heh... Haven't tried the Free 30 Day Eval of XFrog yet. Anyone else use this software? BTW, on the main XFrog POND website there is a nice looking palm tree for free download (in XFrog format) done by a guy who I think is also a VUE artist. Might be interesting to check it out.(You need to get to it via the Links, then go to downloads...)

heyas; i tried it. it was cool. i looked at the math and said.... uh.... but hey, i took the pinecone and made a whole buncha variations with the different types of trigonometric functions. ;)

X Frog is probably one of the better tree generators out there. So they say, and I have every reason to believe them, due to what I've seen, but for me, it might as well be Greek.... I could NOT figure out X Frog. Well, to be fair, I never really exerted myself too much, but the tutorials I sw for it were kinda vague. My earlier demo timed out, but I have the latest which they say will not time out even if a previous version has, so maybe one day I'll give it a shot again. Anyway, I'm saving my cash for Vue 4, and X Frog is almost 400 dollars...

Oh but hey, I forgot, thanks for the info and the links, Fox--- like I said before, every time you post here, I already know it's gonna be something good. :)

Thanks, Fox-Mulder! Be forewarned, folks, the Xfrog files are huge! That's Orio Moroni you were referring to, he wrote the Xfrog -> Vue d'Esprit tutorial there, and he webmasters Xpond. He's also the founder and moderator of the xfrog@yahoogroups.com list and the vuedesprit@yahoogroups.com list and also the all3d@topica.com list. I think he might have a few more too. I tried Xfrog this past December. It's clumsy, cumbersone, irritating and nearly requires a math degree to operate. It makes excellent trees and foliage, and also abstracts. With a bit of practice, one can start making models, but it'll take a time investment first. The main problem I have with it is that once you finally have a model, it's likely too large for any program to handle with ease -- especially if you plan to use other items in a scene with it. However, with forethought and good planning, you can use an Xfrog model (or perhaps two) in a foreground. They can be very realistic. :) Varian

Thanks for the insight, Varian. How about their "Xtune" software, which I haven't yet tried. Doesn't it scale down the polygons? There's a free download of that software too, so I may also try it and see what happens... The palmtree.zip author is: C-Wied. Orio's files are all in Xfrog scipt, but his is an XFR file with nice textures. I'm going to see if I can export it to VUE and see what happens...

Seen you guys and girls are on the topic of Xfrog...thought I chip in a bit. Mike...you might one to participate in the Xfrog contest now going on. There are two category 1) Natural and 2) Abstract. The prize is a permernant license and 180 tree library. I have the first volume and I tell you, they are the best I have seen and very competitive with that from Dosch Nature collection. The contest ends 31st March but have been extended to the 15th of April. You can download Xfrog 3.21 (very stable in Win 98) and create something...anything!..read the rules there, its very flexible. Varian - "clumsy, cumbersone, irritating and *nearly* requires a math degree to operate. It makes *excellent* trees and foliage, and also abstracts"... yes and no to your statement. Learning to control it and to specially design what you want out of it requires lots of practice. No maths is actually require...best to key in the values in the field box then to vary the slider....its hell of a "sensitive. a value of "0.01000" assign to whatever you are doing in the parameter editor makes quite a bit of changes. This program makes an excellent "Abstract" modelling tool beside trees and foilage. Gail (Siliver Branch did some nice work with it (check her site) and the best I like was her Jelly fish and crab. Just like her, I like to do things different with it. I have attached below clips of some stuff I model (Button Mushroom, Amphibious Jet Craft, Abstract Alien Plants) using Xfrog for the contest. Fox-M is right about the "XTune" and version 1 is just release and has a 30 days time out. No pricing at the moment. As for large xfr files, they are not that large depending on your creation. But once you export it as obj for Vue, its even larger. Saving the obj in Vue to vob helps reduce the file amd load much much faster. For best use, have the exported xfr file to obj converted to 3ds using one of the 3d converter and save it as vob again. Sorry for the Ot but Xfrog is interesting :)

Cool, Bill! No, I don't think anyone really minds if this is OT--after all, it's apps such as XFrog which can specifically apply to us Vue-ers for their ability to create the things we definitely need MORE of, namely, trees. Also, I've been aware for some time now that it's abilities go well beyond simle tree creation, and you show that off here pretty well! Also, I remember Gail's crab, and I thought it was pretty neat. Thanks for the tip about the contest--- it's a little late for me, but I juswt downloaded the newest 3.21 demo, so I guess I'll give it a shot, or at least learn some more about it. In actuality, I've had my eye on XFrog for some time now, ever since Orio introduced it to me. By the way, it was actually Orio who first made me aware of Vue d'Esprit. :) So, I'll probably get XFrog eventually. I'm not really put off by all the numerical entries, because Vue has alot of the same sort of thing going on, and, well, once you get used to such a thing, I suppose it can only lead to better precision and control. :)

I am hoping fot the day to come that Xfrog would deevlope something like "Solid Growth" (I have already indicated that to them) and a rendering engine of their own. From my understanding, Xfrog is still improving to provide what user hopes to have for the windo version. The SGI version has lots more stuff that the recently develope Win version do not. Well, time will tell but what I really like is that Vue, and the rest of 3d program like Poser, Xfrog, etc...all can work in support of each other. This is really wonderful! Bill

Well, I'll stick to what I said, but I also don't disagree with anything Tesign added. As I mentioned, it takes a real investment of time to get started, but it can make some very nice models. I'm not meaning to discourage anyone from the program, but it is clumsy and cumberson and awkward to start with, and I think folks should know that, too. I've seen Orio's work, also C-Wied's and Silverbranch's, and looking at that stuff will make a person want the program very much! Thanks for your samples, Bill; I love the mushroom path especially! :) I didn't try Xtune. It was in beta when I started with the demo, and I figured I had enough to learn with the program itself. There is a setting in the Xfrog program for reducing polygons, but as with most of the settings, it is very sensitive. I would hope that Xtune works a bit easier. Tesign: For best use, have the exported xfr file to obj converted to 3ds using one of the 3d converter and save it as vob again. -- Great tip! Vue is strange when it comes to file sizes. I've very often had model increase in size after saved as VOB, but many times, the reverse happens, too. Converting to 3DS first probably helps a whole lot. I should try that with my DXF items, too. :)

I don't know about THAT! I watched an exported XFrog Oleander go from 19 NB as a .obj down to 5.2 MB as a .3DS, and back UP to 16 MB as a .vob.... Vue funny sometime, LOL!

....and the funniest part...the 16 MB load faster in Vue..LOL! One thing I must add to Varian opinion of Xfrog...its not easy to grasp...most of the time its a lot of trial and error and some fluke shot at it...LOL! The thing is that you eventually do get what you want but not quite....sound 'confusing'...it is...Varian knows :) Bill

The thing is that you eventually do get what you want but not quite -- Yes, exactly! ;)

BTW, I finally got the "MAX" file. I emailed them and they "fixed" the MAX link. Actually, you still have to Right Click- Save Target As to get it... It's actually a 3DS file of a really nice Norway Spruce. I had to re-save it in 3DExplorer as VUE wouldn't load it, as it was. But really worth the trouble. It's beautiful...

um...what is Xfrog and what does it do and is to do with Vue d'Esprit

Attached Link: http://www.greenworks.de

Hi Shockwave...the site and some image examples explain better. See the "cut and paste" (learn from bloodsong" link below to their site. You can get a 30 days full working demo too..

Hi Shockwave, Technically, X Frog has nothing to do with Vue d'Esprit, but since it's basically a tree-creating program, we tend to see it as not being an OT subject, since most of us Vue-ers are interested in such things, and especially since X Frog models work very well with Vue. :)

Oh forgot...after reading Mike post, we should have mentioned that Xfrog allows you to export its file to wavefront obj format where it can be imported by Vue. Sorry for the slip a slip as it was part of your question. Bill

thanx :D i might look into this a bit more. Thanx again