Trees environment objects
by Kirk Alberts · in Technical Issues · 04/19/2002 (5:20 pm) · 8 replies
My team and I have been scratching our heads on a way to create trees and plants that will look good and won't harsh out the framerate. I was looking at some screens of the Unreal 2 and ran across this one showing some trees that just blew my mind
Check out the one on the bottom right of the screenshots. You can see the trees above the player. Part of me would like to believe that these aren't actual screenshots, because it's just too good. But. I'm lead to believe that they are.
Unreal2 Gallery
I understand that the TGE engine is alot different in it's mechanics than the Unreal2 engine. But this will give you an idea of what we'd want to do. We'd want some pretty good expanses of trees. But do not want to compromise gameplay and framerate.
If anyone has any ideas or screenshots we'd love the input. We've tried a few different things but nothing seems to make us happy.
Thanks
Check out the one on the bottom right of the screenshots. You can see the trees above the player. Part of me would like to believe that these aren't actual screenshots, because it's just too good. But. I'm lead to believe that they are.
Unreal2 Gallery
I understand that the TGE engine is alot different in it's mechanics than the Unreal2 engine. But this will give you an idea of what we'd want to do. We'd want some pretty good expanses of trees. But do not want to compromise gameplay and framerate.
If anyone has any ideas or screenshots we'd love the input. We've tried a few different things but nothing seems to make us happy.
Thanks
#3
Looks very good. :)
- Melv.
04/20/2002 (1:50 am)
You're not gonna have a problem with fire wood there!Looks very good. :)
- Melv.
#4
04/20/2002 (3:14 am)
the 3D grass in Unreal 2 engine blows my mind. Grass is the holy grail :) 
#6
Robert, I, wonder if those Unreal 2 trees are just a bunch verticle models for the trunks and then layers of polygons using transparent textures above. If they did it like that they might be able to keep the framerate from going nuts when you run under them. We thought about doing something like that but we've got fighters in the air going over the trees so they've gotta look good from the top too. Plus then we run into the whole issue of 'What are we going to do when the fighters try to ram through the forest?'..'What happens when someone fires their Particle Acceleration Cannon through the nice little wooded area?' Bah, we'll keep working on it.
I know John. Those bastards kicked out all the stops. GRASS...we gotta have GRASS!
Thanks guys!
04/20/2002 (9:58 am)
Those pine trees are a nicely done. Thanks, Ken. Make me want to go camping =).Robert, I, wonder if those Unreal 2 trees are just a bunch verticle models for the trunks and then layers of polygons using transparent textures above. If they did it like that they might be able to keep the framerate from going nuts when you run under them. We thought about doing something like that but we've got fighters in the air going over the trees so they've gotta look good from the top too. Plus then we run into the whole issue of 'What are we going to do when the fighters try to ram through the forest?'..'What happens when someone fires their Particle Acceleration Cannon through the nice little wooded area?' Bah, we'll keep working on it.
I know John. Those bastards kicked out all the stops. GRASS...we gotta have GRASS!
Thanks guys!
#7
04/20/2002 (10:49 am)
Nice shots, guys. I especially like the Tubetti World shots I've seen lately, they have that "richness" that I mentioned in the "million dollar question" thread. 
#8
04/20/2002 (8:27 pm)
The big "secret" to the extreme polycounts in the new Unreal engine is that it uses the nearly free hardware transformations on modern video cards (GeForce 1+) to repeat a handful of shapes over and over (instancing). Those trees are likely using 5 or 6 unique branch shapes that have been repeatedly transformed, rotated, and scaled to create the dense polycount you see.
Torque 3D Owner Robert Blanchet Jr.
Albiet it takes the top of the line to run it like they show it. And I also bet it scales down extremely badly as you step down in hardware.
In any event I would like to think that those trees are a combination of both a model and then some kind of sophisticated billboarding effect with the little branches and leaves.