Foliage middleware provider Interactive Data Visualization has announced the release of the latest version of its SpeedTree, adding new features like a forest preview, wind, and advanced lighting. IDV says the early release, which it calls a “near-final beta version” for both PC and next-gen consoles will let users create a tree and see it instantly as part of a forest, to “quickly get a feel for how their trees will look and perform with other trees. The latest version supports COLLADA and OBJ mesh exporting that will capture “SpeedTree’s normals, binormals, tangents, and wind weights as well as the standard geometric features (vertices, texture coordinates, etc.).”

NVISION 2008 is coming to San Jose, California, August 25-27 -a 55- hour, jaw-dropping, soul-jolting, visual feast that will overwhelm your senses and leave you wanting more.

Aside from amazing keynotes from industry luminaries and an expo hall featuring leading visual computing companies, the Professional Game Developer Program and the OpenKODE Handheld Visual Computing Conference NVISION will bring together new technologies (some never presented before anywhere) into a single venue for the first time.

In your “off duty” hours, you can also compete for hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and prizes at GeForce LAN, the legendary LAN party five years in the making, or at NVScene, an unprecedented largest-ever gathering of creative minds in demoscene, machinima, game modding, and digital art on US soil.

NVISION features numerous technical sessions, from Game Physics, to Developer Tools, and more. Don’t miss the event that is taking Visual Computing to the next level. To find out more, visit NVISION2008.com or register before July 31st for early bird registration and save $50!