Natsura 0.5 Early Access

Early Access Milestone

Natsura 0.5 marks an important step in our journey. For the first time, anyone can sign up on the new natsura.com, download the tools, and start creating with a free Apprentice license.

Highlight: Grow 1.1 — More control with fewer nodes

The Grow node has been rethought to bring together what were previously separate building blocks: looping, forking, splitting, and switching.

Instead of wiring multiple nodes to build recipes, Grow now acts as a central cockpit where these operations live as parameters.

This change is based on real user feedback:

• New users wanted a familiar, streamlined entry point with less cognitive load.
• Experienced users wanted faster prototyping and less node clutter in large graphs.

What’s new in Grow 1.1:

• Consolidation of common logic (looping, branching, switching) into one node.
• Many new parameters exposed, each mappable for attribute-driven variation.
• Defaults designed to “just work,” making it easier to get results immediately.

Crucially, this does not reduce flexibility. Technical artists can still build granular setups with core nodes, or combine Grow with Wrangle, Switch, and Map for advanced workflows.
But for most use cases, a single Grow now does the work of many nodes, reducing clutter while increasing control.

Updates to Parameter Mapping

• Switch and Wrangle now support mapping chains.
  → Enables attribute-driven logic, gating, and custom behaviors.
• New nodes:
  • Map If — choose between two mapping chains conditionally.
  • Map Blend — blend multiple maps for smoother control.

Together, these keep graphs leaner while offering more expressive parameter control.

Scans & Meshing

• High–low poly baking in COPs.
• Scan extension workflows: graft scanned trunks and extend them procedurally.
• Bridges the gap between scanned data and procedural growth.
• Meshing performance improvements across the board.

New & Refined Decorations

• Trunk Decoration (new): extend and graft scanned trunks with highpoly workflows.
• Surface Decoration: reorganized parameters, improved smoothing/reduction, better scan grafting.
• Cluster Decoration: faster clustering, cleaner outputs, improved naming/materials.
• Select Decoration (new): choose which decoration instances appear where.

Less cleanup, more consistent results, and better integration with scan-based workflows.

Import & Export

• Import Props (new): load meshes for cluster decoration workflows.
• Unreal Wizard (experimental): WYSIWYG export to Unreal Engine.
  Available only in commercial builds (not Apprentice).

Performance & Stability

• HIPs load faster: overused dive targets removed, restoring Houdini’s native node instancing.
• Core graph stability: long-standing split/ID assignment bugs fixed.
• Panels are data-driven (JSON-backed with persistent preferences), paving the way for customization and scaling.

UI / UX

• Welcome Panel (new): quick access to examples, docs, Discord, and website.
• Palette Panel (new): curated mapping presets with instant apply.
• Toolbar overhaul: cleaner layouts, smaller buttons, new viewmodes (Skeleton, Preview, Decorated), and new preferences (e.g. bounds display, UI scaling).

New Nodes in 0.5

Simulation / Decoration

• natsura::cluster_modules::1.0 – Cluster Modules
• natsura::select_decoration::1.0 – Select Decoration
• natsura::trunk_decoration::1.0 – Trunk Decoration

Meshing & Import

• natsura::import_props::1.0 – Import Props

Mapping

• natsura::map_if::1.0 – Conditional Map Chain
• natsura::map_blend::1.0 – Blend Map Chains

Simulation Utilities

• natsura::seed_points::1.0 – Seed Points

Export

• natsura::unreal_wizard::1.0 – Unreal Wizard

Misc Utilities (Hidden / Experimental)

• natsura::width_tweak::1.0 – Width Tweak
• natsura::noise_tweak::1.0 – Noise Tweak
• natsura::pack_profiles::1.0 – Pack Profiles
• natsura::cross-section_lod::1.0 – Cross-Section LOD
• natsura::decompose_longest_paths::1.0 – Decompose Longest Paths

Final Notes

• This release is an important milestone: a new website, public sign-up flow, and free apprentice access.
• Documentation is expanding quickly, but expect missing or evolving sections as we refine.
• If you run into issues or have feature requests, please reach out via Discord (in the dashboard) or email support@natsura.com.