ஜீTrees
because they look great in screenshots and background material. ~snip~
Agreed.
~snip~ not so much when actually using the sim.
If they look great in background material then it follows that they form an extremely important part of the scenery when actually using the sim.
~snip~ Even in this shot you hand-picked (and no offence to Casper) ~snip~
No offence taken at all Nicky. I welcome healthy and constructive debate.
~snip~ the textures are obviously low-res and jagged around the edges.~snip~
I think they are quite good. Perhaps you need to adjust your screen settings.
~snip~ Not only that, because this is a billboard, you only have 2 or 4 planes to look at. There's a very thin line down the center - this is the other plane. Casper very carefully picked this angle ~snip~
True. The vertical line could have been eliminated completely had my viewing position been more accurate. I must do better!
The careful alignment is not done just for screenshots, but also for the in game trackside cameras. Once lined up, the second plane is never exposed as tracking cameras pan to follow the train. The perfect camera facing photographic image is retained throughout the camera movement for all trees within camera view regardless of their position, near or far.
~snip~ And the thing about Trainz; it's a train simulator not a screenshot simulator.
Trainz is anything you want it to be. I like to use the software to its fullest capacity, and then try to find ways to push the boundaries still further. I think that screenshots are a very important part of the Trainz experience, be it producing something that’s pleasant to look at, to illustrate techniques, or help others to solve problems. Check out the Forum threads. Screenshots are the most popular in terms of viewings and submissions. And it’s my guess that they probably contribute more to the sales of Trainz than any other form of publicity.
Isn't anyone bothered by the twinkle on Pofig's trees, never looks realistic while driving with all that shimmer. ~snip~
It bothers me a bit Harold. I like the trees but the apparent dusting of what looks like caster sugar which I've seen in some shots does detract from a really nice series of trees. It would be good if this could be eliminated.
Keep in mind too that billboard trees are not affected by the environment so that no matter what lighting changes there are, the trees will have the same lighting when the original trees their pictures taken.~snip~
Well mine go dark at night time John. I agree that the lighting angle of the foliage will remain the same as the original photographic texture image, but the whole asset will lighten or dim according to time of day setting. They will also go misty in fog settings etc. So billboards do respond very realistically to environmental settings.
Here are a few I’ve placed on a route I’m currently working on. The foreground trees have been placed with random rotation and no subsequent adjustment to get their “best face forward”. The first shot, in the dark.
Here’s the same view in daylight to illustrate the trees more clearly, the impact of leaving the trees placed where the random rotation dictated, and show that the illumination responds correctly in day or night lighting. (I’ve added the ground shadows using a darker texture). The foreground, mid and far distance billboard trees look fine to me.
Cheers
Casper
