Damn you, Spring!

SpikedHelmet · Post by **SpikedHelmet** » 11 May 2007, 17:00

I decided to experiment with making a couple of trees using transparency. Unfortunately, it seems my plans have failed.

My first attempt was this:

Looks.. well, kinda retarded. So I went with the good ol' radial type:

Gah! It looks like a green umbrella.

It actually doesn't look half bad from the back:

Unfortunately, with Spring's shading and shadowing it looks like absolute crap from any angle except the completely shaded side. Anyone have any ideas on how I could avoid this? is there a no-shade tag or something for features? Or am I just fucked?

Ishach · Post by **Ishach** » 11 May 2007, 17:38

Neddie · Post by **Neddie** » 11 May 2007, 17:42

From what I've read, you're just going to have to load it down with polygons to make it look better than terrible, through having many layered images with holes of transparency to give the illusion of depth. Lathan and Smoth should be able to help, though.

Pxtl · Post by **Pxtl** » 11 May 2007, 18:19

For your green-umbrella approach, maybe you could hack the normals? The reason they look bad is because you want it to be lit like it faces out from the tree, while it is currently shade like it faces left/right of the tree, correct? I don't know if the converters will let you do that, but maybe you could just twist the face normals (while keeping everythign looking like it is) to face outwards?

Really, though, the best approach would be to have always-perpendicular-to-user billboards within the model, and just have modelled branches with tufts of billboard foliage.

Quanto042 · Post by **Quanto042** » 11 May 2007, 18:19

Its a shame tho, cause otherwise those are some nice looking trees. DON"T GIVE UP!!!

aGorm · Post by **aGorm** » 11 May 2007, 18:29

Trees can look good... However you might wanna make them a tad more detailed. Mine are probablie overkill, but it shows what the engin can do.

(nach there friggin big so there wont be as many, and so therfor you prob dont want them as high polie as these.)

aGorm

Quanto042 · Post by **Quanto042** » 11 May 2007, 18:35

GAH! AGORM! Quit patronizing me with these token screenshots of some crazy map that we won't see for 6 months! Its driving me crazy!!! :X
Nice trees btw.

Forboding Angel · Post by **Forboding Angel** » 11 May 2007, 19:47

I demand that you release that map now!

Seriously though, that looks nice agorm.

Spiked, try using a box for the tree.

Comp1337 · Post by **Comp1337** » 11 May 2007, 21:26

aGorm, that is HAWT SEX

rattle · Post by **rattle** » 11 May 2007, 22:17

Low poly tree I made:
http://spring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtop ... 606#144606

Comp1337 wrote:aGorm, that is HAWT SEX

Yeah as usual.

AF · Post by AF » 11 May 2007, 23:00

Try putting lots of holes in the texture to lessen the shadows issue, and making the whole shape less uniform

imbaczek · Post by **imbaczek** » 11 May 2007, 23:13

you want to read about billboard clouds. bonus points for finding software that generates them (not sure if anything is released as freeware.)

aGorm · Post by **aGorm** » 11 May 2007, 23:14

Either ltos is some weird varible name that makes shadows work... or you ment "lots". In which case there are plent of holes, its just that sadows dont currntly (much like refelctions) work with the alpha channel. It would seem the rendering takes place befor the alpha is taken into account... anyway, I have more trees to model. SO you will have to wait anyway.

someone can fix shaows while were waiting.

aGorm

AF · Post by AF » 11 May 2007, 23:15

Thats just your shadow map, shadows work alright for me.

1v0ry_k1ng · Post by **1v0ry_k1ng** » 11 May 2007, 23:43

omfg AGORM TREE MAP

aGorm · Post by **aGorm** » 12 May 2007, 00:11

Go take a screen shot on the swamp map and prove me that shadoes and refelctions work fine for you and that its just my computer and I will belive you AF.

And yhe... aGorm tree map...

3 trees now. but there all based on the same tree... I think I should make 3 more on a differnn't tree befor I release any more pics. And then I gots to do shrubarys and rocks... so your in for a long wait!

aGorm

Post by **jcnossen** » 12 May 2007, 01:09

shadow pass is rendered without texture, so yeah agorm's right.

Warlord Zsinj · Post by **Warlord Zsinj** » 12 May 2007, 03:33

Rome: Total War's way of doing trees is much better, IMO, and still reasonably low poly.

They run the faces like this:

Code: Select all

          / | \
          / |  \ 
        /   |  \
         /  |   \
      [intentionally staggered]

It look good from the top and bottom, but is still only a few faces per tree; and as seen in RTW, you can have whole forests of the buggers.

(If yuo're going to be making trees please make them life-size, so that they dwarf our infantry and most of our vehicles too, like in that image)

Erom · Post by **Erom** » 12 May 2007, 04:34

rattle wrote:Low poly tree I made:
http://spring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtop ... 606#144606

This post seems to have gone under peoples radar, which is a shame, because rattles trees are pretty win. If I was you, Spiked, I'd get rattle to make you some more like that.

Dragon45 · Post by **Dragon45** » 12 May 2007, 05:15

AF wrote:Try putting lots of holes in the texture to lessen the shadows issue, and making the whole shape less uniform

alantai loves things with open holes and no uniforms

Spring RTS Engine

Damn you, Spring!

Damn you, Spring!