I do recall back in the early days of Blender that Terragen was one of the go-to apps. for creating backgrounds and the like for various scenes, but times have changed.
A free version remains, but with some stringent limitations on the amount of detail allowed, the resolution of the output, and the formats on which renders can be output to. People who would like to use Terragen to create HDRI’s for Blender use will need to purchase the professional version (but the reward would be the ability to pump out an unlimited number of ultra-high quality environments to light scenes with). In addition there is a maintenance plan which only goes for one year’s worth of updates (though there seems to be no indication that your copy suddenly becomes unusable if you don’t renew it).
In all, it now looks to be an excellent alternative to Vue should anyone need to do ultra-detailed landscape work (especially when you consider that the other options like Bryce are either stagnated or dead).
This looks pretty decent actually. Which makes me wonder - how about cloud shaders in Cycles, has anyone managed similar results to what’s shown in the terragen demo pics?
Just note that Vue is also being revised since the Bentley took over (with architectural RT environments in mind)
GPU rendering, PlantFactory direct access, Heightfield Terrains… more on VUE Blog News
Could be possible to rename the thread (or make another) - Environmental Design: Tools & Practices
Would be much better suited for artists(?) and those interested, than quasi advertising and spectacle seeking click-bait post titling…
If they have it will likely take a very long time to clear up. Terragen is heavily oriented to landscape rendering and it has all kinds of specialized tweaks and tricks for rendering clouds, none of which use path tracing.
