@Otoy
A fast way to support Particle Flow is to do it like Vray does.
Add an "instancer" helper that gets the instances positions from particles in ParticleFlow and lets user to pick an object(s) to scatter to those positions.
PF parameters are accessible from Max SDK too if i remember correctly. Should be 1-2 days of work maximum. (if you have a programmer available )
I've tried Forestpack lite and it does look amazing. Snag is that for the number of times I'd use all that functionality it seems a nut-ache to have to spend £160 on the pro version when Octane should just work properly so I don't need to spend my hard earned loot.
If the Forest pack lite could use 3d terrain then I'd just use that but unfortunately it's restricted to 2d base objects
Integrating instancing into the native scatter tool would be the more intuitive approach. The best time to get the ball rolling on implementing this would be with Octane 3, as the revamp of core Octane functionality will likely allow for superior integration in a number of ways. That isn't to say that the 2.x releases will not also get the same treatment - work on 2.x at the moment is being scaled down temporarily to focus on Octane 3. This, and a number of other user-requested tasks, will be revisited as soon as 3.x is safely out the door (which is coming soon, based on the recent release announcement).
With only a minor effort you could give everybody some basic instancing/PF tools, but no.. still talking about awesome things that will come in future.
What if i need to create an explosion? Will your "scattering tool" allow me to? You see, PF support is still needed. I don't get it. It's an easy to add thing.
Just put it in and create your own scattering tool later when basics are done.
At the moment, our focus is on stabilizing 2.x, finalizing the upcoming 3.x releases.
In order to ensure that development is kept focused and doesn't make frequent deviations from core work, tasks such as this will be reviewed and developed after the impending milestone is reached, based on user demand.
Even in the case of the simplest tasks, it is essential that proper consideration is given to new development workflows and core feature sets. All this to ensure that, with Octane 3 around the corner, that features are features rather than workarounds. These, and a number of other requests, can be given their due attention shortly once we have hit this upcoming release milestone.
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