ZenGrove

Grow a plant, one node at a time.

Overview

Grow a plant, one node at a time.

Explore all 44 nodes with illustrated Maya views and plain-English explanations of every setting. Build trunks and branches, place foliage, shape growth, add wind and prepare your output.

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Game Output

Prepares geometry, textures and optional LODs for export. Connect Texture Atlas for shared foliage sheets and packed maps.

Reference updated for ZenGrove 1.0.0-alpha.10.

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Branches · Growth · Atlas

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Result

Leaf overlap is checked here

When Avoid Leaf Collision is enabled on an incoming Leaves or Leaf Volume node, this output checks the combined foliage before applying preview limits. Skip can reduce the final leaf count. Check the build status for rotated, skipped or unresolved leaves. Active Dynamics and leaf avoidance cannot be used together in this version.

Setup

Game Output node with its setup settings in ZenGrove — ZenGrove in Maya · Setup · Open image for full size

Asset Name

Gives this tree, collection or output a recognizable name.

Default: ZenGrove_Game

Target

Chooses Generic, Unreal or Unity as the destination profile.

Options: Generic · Unreal · Unity

Default: Generic

Geometry

Game Output node with its geometry settings in ZenGrove — ZenGrove in Maya · Geometry · Open image for full size

Radial Segments

Sets fallback exported tube sides. Resolution overrides take priority.

Default: 6

Length Spans

Sets fallback exported length spans. Zero keeps generated detail; Resolution overrides take priority.

Default: 0

End Caps

Closes free branch tips and the bases of parentless branches.

Default: On

Uv & Textures

Game Output node with its uv & textures settings in ZenGrove — ZenGrove in Maya · Uv & Textures · Open image for full size

UV Scale

Scales output UVs, changing texture size on the geometry.

Default: 1

Pack Channels

Combines grayscale maps into the RGBA channels of one texture.

Default: On

Packed Map Suffix

Names the packed texture suffix, such as ORM.

Available when Pack Channels is On.

Default: ORM

Pack R

Chooses the map written into the packed texture's red channel.

Available when Pack Channels is On.

Options: ambient_occlusion · roughness · metallic · opacity · none

Default: ambient_occlusion

Pack G

Chooses the map written into its green channel.

Available when Pack Channels is On.

Options: ambient_occlusion · roughness · metallic · opacity · none

Default: roughness

Pack B

Chooses the map written into its blue channel.

Available when Pack Channels is On.

Options: ambient_occlusion · roughness · metallic · opacity · none

Default: metallic

Pack A

Chooses the map written into its alpha channel.

Available when Pack Channels is On.

Options: ambient_occlusion · roughness · metallic · opacity · none

Default: opacity

Materials

Game Output node with its materials settings in ZenGrove — ZenGrove in Maya · Materials · Open image for full size

Consolidate Materials

Combines compatible material assignments for a simpler export.

Default: On

Preview & Safety

Game Output node with its preview & safety settings in ZenGrove — ZenGrove in Maya · Preview & Safety · Open image for full size

Preview Quality

Chooses preview detail. Lower quality helps quicker adjustments; High uses more detail.

Options: Low · Medium · High

Default: Medium

Preview Distribution

Distributed spreads the preview across the crown. Random samples randomly. Full requests all placements, subject to preview limits.

Options: Distributed · Random · Full

Default: Distributed

Preview Instance Limit

Limits placed objects shown in a preview.

Default: 300

Preview Triangle Budget

Limits asset triangles in the preview. Heavy source meshes fit fewer placements within the budget.

Default: 250000

Export

Game Output node with its export settings in ZenGrove — ZenGrove in Maya · Export · Open image for full size

Convert Instances

Converts placed instances to separate geometry for export.

Default: Off

Export FBX

Writes geometry as an FBX file during game export.

Default: On

Copy Material Textures

Copies bark and cap source textures. Connected atlas textures are always written.

Default: On

Export Metadata

Writes an accompanying file describing the exported asset.

Default: On

Advanced

Game Output node with its advanced settings in ZenGrove — ZenGrove in Maya · Advanced · Open image for full size

Preview Geometry Vertex Limit

Stops a preview if estimated branch geometry exceeds this vertex count.

Default: 250000

High Geometry Vertex Limit

Limits estimated branch-geometry vertices in a High build.

Default: 1000000

Foliage FX Vertex Limit

Limits foliage vertices created for leaf droop or transferred normals in High builds.

Default: 1000000

Legacy Atlas Fallback

Preserves atlas fallback behavior for older graphs. A connected Atlas is always built and remapped.

Default: On

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FAQ

What is ZenGrove used for?

Explore all 44 nodes with illustrated Maya views and plain-English explanations of every setting. Build trunks and branches, place foliage, shape growth, add wind and prepare your output.

Which host application does ZenGrove support?

ZenGrove is built for Autodesk Maya and is distributed through AO Studio Tools.

Where can I download ZenGrove?

Download the current AO Studio Tools package from https://aostudio.tools/getthetools.html and install it through AO.Hub.