SpeedTree RT Chosen for Eight More Titles

[Aquanox]

Back in March, when we interviewed the developers of Huxley we asked if they planned to license the SpeedTree RT technology, considering the fact that they are using the Unreal Engine 3 to develop their MMOFPS. Well, it seems that WEBZEN finally decided to populate its post apocalyptic world with the beautiful trees made by Interactive Data Visualization, Inc.

Today, IDV announced that eight more games will feature SpeedTree RT’s unmatched approach to realistic, windblown trees and plants.

“SpeedTree is driving the game industry’s wholesale adoption of a new environmental standard,” said Kevin Meredith, Director of Business Development for SpeedTree developer IDV.


“Both traditional game developers and the pioneers of the next generation understand the dramatic effect realistic, animated foliage has on overall aesthetics and strategic game play. Players want natural foliage, and the best game developers will meet that demand in a way that only SpeedTree makes possible.”

With the addition of licenses for Huxley, by WEBZEN, and Saint's Row, by THQ, SpeedTree is in five titles whose launch is expected to coincide with the debut of the Xbox 360 game platform in November 2005. Others among the five launch games include Bethesda Softworks' The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, announced previously, and two Xbox 360 titles not yet publicly identified as SpeedTree-licensed projects.

SpeedTreeRT delivers low-polygon, highly realistic trees and plants, with adjustable wind effects, seamless LOD transitions, and an included library of hundreds of tree, plant and marine models representing more than 170 core species. SpeedTreeRT includes SpeedTreeCAD, a Windows application used to create and edit animated trees in real-time. For more information about SpeedTree, check out our exclusive interview with Interactive Data Visualization, Inc.

“I was amazed by how quickly and easily SpeedTreeRT can bring both existing and imaginary foliage to life,” said Nam Ju Kim, CEO, WEBZEN Inc. “We expect that our partnership with IDV will add a great level of realism to our game environments, while saving us money and time. With SpeedTreeRT in our games, players around the world will know that WEBZEN always deliver the most compelling and believable experience.”

Source: TeamXbox

Speedtree is an impressive tool to make realistic nature environments, it's a great new to have it in as many games as possible, these are a couple of examples of SpeedTree in action:

[TRouBLe]

Awesome. I can't wait to see OBLIVION with my own eyes

[Grindstone]

Nice find, Aquanox- and those pics are so pretty. It is strang to look at those and think, "this is a game." I wonder what those other titles are? Speedtree is a really impressive feature, I look forward to its future uses.

[Aquanox]

Is it just me or there were two pics and there's only one?