ArborSway

ArborSway: One-Click Wind Setup for GrowFX

Overview

Adding wind to GrowFX trees in 3ds Max usually involves repetitive manual work: selecting individual paths, adding modifiers one by one, linking Wind Helpers, and trying to guess the correct stiffness values for different branches.

ArborSway is a utility MaxScript that handles this repetitive setup for you, allowing you to add natural-looking wind to your vegetation assets in seconds.

Key Features

- Automated Setup: Select a GrowFX tree and click "Apply Wind." The script automatically creates a Wind Helper, adds the required Wind Modifiers to your paths, and links everything instantly.

- Smart Physics Distribution: ArborSway automatically assigns varying stiffness and amplitude based on the tree structure. Main trunks stay rigid, while thinner branches and leaves sway more freely.

- Unified Control Panel: Adjust overall wind intensity, stiffness, and speed directly from a single floating dialog instead of digging into the modifier stack.

- Selective Animation: Use checkboxes to skip main trunks or restrict animation to leaf and flower models to save on viewport performance.

- Quick Looping: A single toggle recalculates stiffness and amplitude to provide smoother looping animations for video renders.

- Batch Processing: Select multiple GrowFX trees at once to apply or remove the wind setup simultaneously.

 -v2.1

- Generate Point Cache: Bake wind animations into Point Cache sequences to optimize heavy scenes, reduce viewport lag, and lock in perfect loops.

- Other Fixes: Fixed a "server connection failed" error affecting activation on older 3ds Max versions (e.g., 2021).

 -v2.0

- Full support for GrowFX 2.1.2 or later: Now natively compatible with the latest node-based architecture.

- Special Thanks: Huge thanks to Eduard (Exlevel) for his incredibly fast response in updating the GrowFX API to make this version possible!

-v1.1 

- Tree Growth Animation (Beta): Instantly generate organic sequence animations for your GrowFX trees. Adjustable start frames, durations, and tier overlaps to make your plants grow naturally from trunk to leaves.

- Custom Settings Presets: Save your own studio-standard physics numbers (e.g., custom stiffness or amplitude) into a preset. ArborSway will permanently use your saved baseline, and the main intensity slider will smoothly scale based on your custom input.

- Precise Looping Control: Define the exact frame length required for your project (e.g., 100, 150, or 300 frames) and save it as your default looping duration.

Technical Compatibility

- Object Requirement: This script works ONLY with GrowFX objects. It has been developed and tested primarily using Maxtree GrowFX models.

- No Mesh Support: It will NOT work on trees that have been converted to Editable Mesh or Editable Poly.

- GrowFX Version:  GrowFX 1.9.x and GrowFX 2.1.2 or later.

- Platform: Autodesk 3ds Max 2018 or newer.

Quick Workflow

- Select your GrowFX tree(s) in the viewport.

- Open ArborSway and click Apply Wind.

- Adjust the master Intensity Slider to test the resulting sway.