Friday 2010-03-26 Screenshots and Discussion Thread

[major_setback]

Originally Posted by Les

Oleg said recently they've licensed 'Speedtree' and will be using versions of those trees, modified to suit SOW.

Here are the default trees Speedtree offers -

http://www.speedtree.com/trees/

Should be alright.

Les.

Can you explain how it will be 'alright'?
Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place, but I can not see more than a couple of native British trees in that listing! Most trees are American and would look totally out of place!!!


There isn't even an English oak!!

This means lots of development time is needed for them if they haven't already been modelled. I hope Oleg isn't trusting that there will be enough default trees in that program to suit SoW:BoB, because it looks as though there aren't.

[AdMan]

those trees are very similar to an English Oak, quite a bit smaller than a full-grown oak but with some reshaping of the leaves the textures would be spot on

[major_setback]

Originally Posted by AdMan

those trees are very similar to an English Oak, quite a bit smaller than a full-grown oak but with some reshaping of the leaves the textures would be spot on

I don't want to be too negative, because they are WiP's. But I disagree - it is not enough to change the leaves. The oak is instantly recognizable by the shape of the tree, and way the branches spread. They are typical for this tree. It is a very difficult thing to model if the modeller knows nothing about English trees.
I can tell an oak in a field from almost any distance (as most English people can). The same goes for a few other trees (Elm, Beech, Willow, Horse Chestnut). And I'm not an expert, nor particularly interested in trees.

[kendo65]

Originally Posted by major_setback

Can you explain how it will be 'alright'?
Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place, but I can not see more than a couple of native British trees in that listing! Most trees are American and would look totally out of place!!!


There isn't even an English oak!!

This means lots of development time is needed for them if they haven't already been modelled. I hope Oleg isn't trusting that there will be enough default trees in that program to suit SoW:BoB, because it looks as though there aren't.

There are more European trees, including an English Oak, in the 4.2 version of Speedtree - their home page lists version 5 by default.

To see them click the 4.2 box top left on http://www.speedtree.com/trees/

Unfortunately, I don't think their English Oak is one of their best!

If Oleg's reading, I'd like to put in a request for some of their Granny Smith apple trees - should be just coming into their best around September

-----

OK. Nix the apple trees! Before I get pulled up for incorrect research - apparently they're not native English and they come into season later than September. Got to watch your back when posting on these forums

If only SpeedTree did a nice Cox's Orange Pippin or Laxton's fortune

Damn this game and damn Wikipedia!!!

I agree that the pics of the 'typical english village' are far from perfect i.e roof angles too sharp etc, but is this amount of detail really relevant, to me the most important detail is what it all looks like from the air, and if the buildings/trees at airfields are in much higher detail then that would be a considerable bonus because obviously you will be seeing a whole lot more of these.

[kendo65]

Ah, Tree UK - surely the perfect person to put us right on these matters! ... or is your name just an empty boast

Hesitated to say this before as I'm sure those shots are thrown together WIP demos but, for me what was most off was the positioning of the trees and houses. Looked like a random scatter. Needs to be more integrated around roads, fields, etc. (See real photo a few pages back.). Hedgerows will help when they are put in.

Again, maybe a bit OTT to criticize, . Suspect they are already aware of this.

Originally Posted by kendo65

Hesitated to say this before as I'm sure those shots are thrown together WIP demos but, for me what was most off was the positioning of the trees and houses. Looked like a random scatter. Needs to be more integrated around roads, fields, etc. (See real photo a few pages back.). Hedgerows will help when they are put in.

I agree 100%, the house positioning seems random with no gardens/greenhouses/sheds/fences or hedges to speak of, and a garden is the pride and joy of every Englishman.

[Skarphol]

When you look at the diversity of opinions and discussions and information that just a few pictures every friday can ignite on this forum, one can start to wonder what strange bunch of people that are lurking around here..

What other gaming forum would bring forth the "dutch elm disease"?
Now it's just for me to find a way to slip that piece of information into a discussion in real life...

Skarphol

Originally Posted by Skarphol

When you look at the diversity of opinions and discussions and information that just a few pictures every friday can ignite on this forum, one can start to wonder what strange bunch of people that are lurking around here..

What other gaming forum would bring forth the "dutch elm disease"?
Now it's just for me to find a way to slip that piece of information into a discussion in real life...

Skarphol

lol, its all in the detail buddy

[AdMan]

Originally Posted by Skarphol

When you look at the diversity of opinions and discussions and information that just a few pictures every friday can ignite on this forum, one can start to wonder what strange bunch of people that are lurking around here..

What other gaming forum would bring forth the "dutch elm disease"?
Now it's just for me to find a way to slip that piece of information into a discussion in real life...

Skarphol

the same type of people who will spend hundreds, if not thousands, in computer hardware and peripherals just for the sake of flying little virtual aircraft in front of their computers.

yeah, flight sims have always been a weirdo magnet imo

that's why I draw the line at strapping infrared beams on my head.