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c.p.'s Arboretum

Started by c.p., March 31, 2019, 09:56:56 AM

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Simmer2

I agree with Matt, the water peeking through the grass is the cherry on top!  &apls

Nick
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c.p.

Thanks Matt, Andreas and Nick for your comments :)

Just a quickie, showing a transition from marsh grass to cattails to small Black Spruce:




Simmer2

Its fantastic!!

All you need now is a couple of these criss-crossing the landscape  :D
.


Simmer2
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PaPa-J

Your marshlands look outstanding.
Lighten up, just enjoy life,
smile more, laugh more,
and don't get so worked up
about things.

Tyberius06

Wow, those pictcures look awesome!  &apls &apls
Pretty interesting and beautiful stuff!

- Tyberius
You may find updates about my ongoing projects into my development thread here at SimCity 4 Devotion: Tyberius Lotting Experiments
or over there on Simtropolis into the Tyberius (Heretic Projects) Lotting and Modding Experiments.
I'm also member of the STEX Custodian and working on different restoration projects on behalf of non-anymore-active custom content creators.
Current projects: WMP Restoration and SimCity Polska Restoration.
Member of the NAM Team and RTMT Team.

fantozzi

#25
:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:
WOW
:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:



This looks so convincing ... I wouldn't be surprised to discover a small hut behind some tree where they make some moonshine.

mattb325

Utterly brilliant. It is this sort of transition that is so painstaking to achieve with standard MMPs and now it can be done a few clicks  :)

c.p.

Thanks guys :) 

I haven't tried plopping any boats or huts.  Not sure how well the vegetation models would play with the other models.  Probably fine if the boat/hut LODs were tall enough (over 4 or 5 meters).  I tried adding an alligator and a turtle to a couple of the models, but it was obvious it was the same turtle/alligator repeating over and over. It looked kind of ridiculous so I trashed it. (Plus they weren't very good models to begin with).


Today's update shows a cattail-to-maple transition.  This is also a god-mode experiment.

Depending on the elevation settings, these god-mode brushes can bring out fairly subtle elevation differences on the map that you otherwise wouldn't see, like the drainage patterns here:


Winter:


Summer:


A little closer, with road, winter:


summer:


Closeup fall:


Winter:


Summer:

mattb325

Quote from: c.p. on April 27, 2019, 10:26:38 AM
  This is also a god-mode experiment.

Depending on the elevation settings, these god-mode brushes can bring out fairly subtle elevation differences on the map that you otherwise wouldn't see, like the drainage patterns here:


This is genius  :thumbsup: And it helps that it is beautiful, too.  ()stsfd()

PaPa-J

To bad the Alligator/turtle didn't work out, that would have looked pretty cool.
Lighten up, just enjoy life,
smile more, laugh more,
and don't get so worked up
about things.

c.p.

#30
Thanks guys :)

Here is another marsh in progress.  It's a little more elaborate, with multiple types of marsh grass.


It still has some "issues".  If there is too much slope (and it's not much) this happens with the reddish grass.  Hopefully I can fix that well enough by changing some settings.  If not, I'll have to remake the LODs:


In further out zooms, there is a bright yellow edge of pixels in places on some of the models. (It's only slightly visible here but worse in zoom 2).  If I change the grass material from a composite to a non-composite material, it eliminates this problem.  Unfortunately, it means I have to retexture all the grass and rerender, which will be a bit of a chore:


I still need to make models to transition from the new marsh grasses to upland plants.  In final versions, I probably won't use the particular upland plants shown in these pictures with this marsh, but the shrubs and trees are new models and I wanted to see how they look in-game.  They include Winterberry (which has bright red berries in winter), and a type of Ash (along the top).  The winterberry will likely be used at the edges of a cattail marsh, rather than a grassy marsh.
Fall:


Winter:


Summer:


The sparser grass in this picture (near the top) is supposed to show up between the thick marsh grass and the bare mud, but it only showed up in a few places, so I have to tweak the god-mode modding to improve that.  Hopefully that will reduce some of the rectangular-blocks-of-grass look at the edges.  Also, I might try reducing the number of ponds.


Here is a closeup of the different marsh grasses:

mattb325

This is brilliant stuff. I wouldn't worry about a yellow pixel at Z2 (unless it really bugs you). My old computer mostly crashes the game when I zoom out, so I try to avoid it  :D

fantozzi

Your winterberries fill the wintertimes with gracefulness.  &apls

matias93

Ok, I didn't know how badly I need this.

"Lets be scientists and as such, remember always that the purpose of politics is not freedom, nor authority, nor is any principle of abstract character,
but it is to meet the social needs of man and the development of the society"

— Valentín Letelier, 1895

c.p.

#34
Thanks guys :)

So I've made the changes in the marsh and I think it's a lot better now.  These are all god-mode, with no MMPing.

This is a city tile in my Alsek Bay map:


Closeup:


One of the marsh "fingers":


Another city tile from the Alsek Bay map:


Little patch of marsh on the river.  Below the river are Black Spruce, and Jack Pines at the bottom left corner:


The drainage channels are showing up really well here (the result of subtle variations in elevation on the map). Winter:


Summer:


Zoom 5:


Next, I need to make some transitions to get from the marsh to the dunes/beach.

Simmer2

Brian I think I will make an air boat to go with your marshland. I would love to see it in that environment!

Nick
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Kitsune

... im stuck using a phone after my laptop died and wow it looks amazing !
~ NAM Team Member

mattb325

#37
Gosh this is beautiful  :thumbsup:

Each one of your models sings in great harmony. The whole thing is splendid and breath-taking. I love every detail. To think that you have made this as a god-mode controller is pure genius.

When I look at these pictures, I can say they need no adornment. I look at it and think it is perfect as is. I know it probably sounds a bit OTT, but I can already see it will totally change the way I play the game, and that's really exciting. It's like the NAM of nature scenes :)

Simmer2

#38
Here you go. Ready to plop on that beautiful landscape as soon as it is available. It can come in many colors and orientations.
Freshly downloaded from my brain to the screen.
.


Simmer2
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manga rivotra

The effectiveness of this tree god-mod is truly exceptional.  :o
I never imagined that it is possible to obtain such precision without MMPs!
The pictures speak for themselves and the realism is breathtaking. Amazing work !  &apls &apls &apls