Microsoft Chooses SpeedTree For PGR, New Titles

Interactive Data Visualization has announced it has licensed its SpeedTreeRT foliage software to Microsoft Game Studio into 2008, and the technology will be appearing in a number of Microsoft products yet to be announced. IDV also revealed that Microsoft's Project Gotham Racing 3, as well as PGR 4, both make use of the SpeedTree technology. SpeedTreeRT is used to create trees and plants, aiming for realism with adjustable wind effects, user-configurable LOD transitions, and an included library of hundreds of tree, plant and marine models representing more than 200 core species. SpeedTreeRT also includes SpeedTreeCAD, a Windows application used to create and edit animated trees in real-time. IDV president Michael Sechrest said, "Our partnership with Microsoft ensures that their customers will continue to experience richer, more enjoyable gaming worlds. We are very grateful that our technology will be included with Microsoft’s offerings.”