help with Low polygon tree

[oddvark]

Hi, I've searched for some 3D tree models on the internet, and all of them are high polygon...somewhere in the > 3000 triangles. They look great, but not too suitable for my little shooter.

I'm looking for something nicer then a two rectangle billboard, but less then < 50 polygons. Anyhow, does anyone have an example or some techniques of making low poly trees?

Thanks

[svero]

Well there are some tree plugins for major 3d apps. Whether some of them let you ramp down the poly count enough I'm not sure of, but check into that. Maybe you can find one that does the trick.

[stanchat]

This is pretty good. I actually have used this and made some pretty decent trees.


http://treemagik.thegamecreators.com/

[Jak]

Hi, I've searched for some 3D tree models on the internet, and all of them are high polygon...somewhere in the > 3000 triangles. They look great, but not too suitable for my little shooter.

I'm looking for something nicer then a two rectangle billboard, but less then < 50 polygons. Anyhow, does anyone have an example or some techniques of making low poly trees?

Thanks
It really depends on what exactly you're looking for in a tree.

There are a bunch of different ways to make 3D trees but each method has its own pros and cons that make them strong for one game and weak for another. The viewpoint of your game will make a big difference; top-down, first person, isometric, third person, and so on. The style of the rest of the art will also come into play.

Can you show a screen shot of how the tree would be implemented in your game? I think that would give everyone a better idea of what you're looking for.

[Ratboy]

For less than 50 polygons, Try using a combination of crossed billboards and a pyramid or octahedron in the middle to bulk out the foliage. With careful texturing, you can make a tree look much more complicated than it really is.

[Reactor]

If you show me a picture of what you'd like, I'll do my best to make you one. I could do with the practice :)

[Wayward]

SpeedTreeRT (http://www.idvinc.com/html/speedtreert.htm)

[Reactor]

Speedtree is more hype than it is good.

[Cuculain]

Hey, that TreeMagik program ws great. Thanks for the link. :o

[stanchat]

Hey, that TreeMagik program ws great. Thanks for the link. :o
Thanks.
This is by far the best app for producing low poly trees. I was about 2 clicks away from buying xfrog when I ran across this. The majority of trees only generate about 1500 - 2000 polys. The price is right $49.95 US dollars. It also exports to Milksahpe format.

[oddvark]

The majority of trees only generate about 1500 - 2000 polys. The price is right $49.95 US dollars. It also exports to Milksahpe format.

Wow, the trees look cool. But way too high end for my very simplistic needs. I guess i'm looking for simple billboarded trees.

Hm...heres a shot of where some trees might go, the viewpoint doesn't change vertically, but will probably be SET at 10 degrees higher then what is shown here.

http://www.geocities.com/dgrdinh/needtree.jpg

Thanks

[oddvark]

If you show me a picture of what you'd like, I'll do my best to make you one. I could do with the practice :)

Hey, i would appreciate that, if you had time of course. I'm sure most of us have day jobs right? I know i dont get enough time to work on this stuff, thank god cuz i wouldn't do anything else :)

I dont really have a picture of what i would want but perhaps a dead or dying tree (with only a few leaves).

http://www.geocities.com/dgrdinh/needtree.jpg

Thanks!

[stanchat]

This is what I use for my billboard trees. They are for Poser 5.0 but you can just use the textures (jpg and alpha bitmaps) to create billboards. Billboard Trees (http://market.renderosity.com/softgood.ez?ViewSoftgood=19599&ViewImage=2&Form.sess_id=25455783&Form.sess_key=1103239431#Image)

[Reactor]

A mech game huh... cool. Well, I could do a model for you, but 100 or so polys you'd be lucky to get leaves at all :) I'd go with the billboard trees, because that way, your mech will be able to knock them over. Also, you can add more variety to your levels with that small Poser pack...

Or, you could make your own.

http://www.vterrain.org/Plants/Create/index.html

[BedroomCoder]

You could always do it in the DB tank demo and have 2 cardboard cut-outs crossing over eachother, if you didnt mind it looking a little cheap...

[stanchat]

I ran across the free Tree generator.

http://www.frecle.net/treed/


It looked pretty decent