Picogen
7.2#4 in 3d rendering softwareFree planFree planLinuxWindows
VisitPicogen vs Terragen
What both publish
| Fact | Picogen | Terragen |
|---|---|---|
| API and SDK | The official pages describe SSDF and command-line interfaces but do not publish a network API or SDK. | Terragen RPC exposes high-level and low-level Python APIs plus JSON-RPC 2.0 over TCP; documentation includes installation, source and tutorials. |
| Documentation | The support page points users to a wiki containing documentation, articles and how-to material. | The official wiki is the primary Terragen 4 documentation repository and mixes clearly marked official and community-written material. |
| Purpose | Picogen is an outdoor ray tracing system for large-scale terrain with realistic day and night illumination and detailed plant populations. | Terragen builds, renders, and animates realistic natural environments for landscape visualization, visual effects, and artistic work. |
| Rendering | The roadmap lists Whitted-style rendering and path tracing as implemented surface integrators. | The renderer combines micropolygon and ray tracing methods, is multithreaded, supports command-line execution and network rendering managers. |
Picogen plans
- FreeFree
- PicogenFree
Terragen plans
- Terragen 4 FreeFree
- Terragen 4 Professional — INDIE 50$10 a month
- Professional INDIE 50 monthly$10 a month
- Professional INDIE 100 monthly$16 a month
- Terragen 4 Professional — INDIE 100$16 a month
- Professional SMALL CO monthly$27 a month
Pick Picogen if…
Picogen is aimed at users building and rendering large terrain scenes on Linux or Windows. Its terrain modeling, scripting, and rendering features may suit people comfortable with a technical toolset.
Pick Terragen if…
Terragen suits artists and visualization or visual-effects users creating natural environments, particularly those who need procedural terrain, atmosphere and animation tools. Educational licenses are available to institutions, faculty and students upon request with proof of current status.