A reminder (then) :

(Now) :

No clipping through 3do's :

From inside:

I disabled the architecture flag. It seems to have no real effect (as Friend14 had originally predicted). In fact, at a distance, the tree would begin to clip the island with it checked. I unchecked it, and well, see for yourself...
From a distance (still no clipping) :


BTW, the tree actually consists of 30 seperate 3do's. Obviously I'm going to be using LOD's, but that wasn't the point of the showcase.

Feel free to comment.

BTW, I'm having trouble using Hellcats flicker cog (based off of the one that GBK made). It doesn't seem to work.

The actual body of the tree is beautiful, but the elaves just don't do it for me.

I like it, however, I'm not fond of the overall mushroom shape. I liked how in that first screenshot you could see the branches, I think that you should have a few branches sticking up into the leaves, and then that would give it a much better look and feel. Also, try bringing the leaves downward on the sides a bit, to get more of a round and full feel to the tree, rather than a crescent moon shape.

The tree is supposed to have a crescent moon shape. The scaling is wrong. Not sure if it's the leaves or the trunk. I'm betting the leaves. It would explain another issue I was having with it. If I get a chance today, I'll make the corrections, add a few more trees, try my "blend" technique on the transition area between the grass and sand, and then take another screenshot.

Hrm. Might be a day or so, so keep the comments coming. I'll try to utilize the comments as I get them right up until I post the new screenshots.

I agree, the tree needs limbs and branches.... in fact, you should see the trunk start to split just below the leaves... but forget about that... wtf is that giant totem cuban cigar-lookin thing shoved in the middle of the island??

Wow, this island is starting to look much better. I agree with the comments about the tree though, those limbs are too beautiful to be completely covered by leaves. Decrease the foliage and try to add more bracnhes, make them branch out more (no pun intended). And since you have an "inside" view of the tree, does this mean the player can climb up it? That would quite cool, especially if you made it into a sniper nest or something.

Oh, and to answer Halucid's question, I think the island is meant to be based off of the one in The Incredibles , let me see if I can find a pic on-line.

Yes, I semi-based the idea off of the incredibles. Although that long volcanic spire isn't a launch tube for a missle. Think of it more as a smoke stack on a factory. Used for exausting excess gas.

I couldn't find a good picture on-line, but I found out the island is called Normanisan Island. I wonder if this is a clever joke by the producers of The Incredibles, because there is also a movie made back in the '60s called No Man Is An Island - this would tie into the theme about teamwork, and how the whole family needs to rely on each other to get the job done.

Anyway, just thought you might find that interesting.

There were tons of references in that movie that have ties going back 50-60 years of film.

Anyhow, before I go tampering with the tree, take a look at it from the ground (all the others were arial at different angles):

This is still elevated a little, but you can clearly see the branches from the ground. I'm not entirely convienced there is a sizing issue any more, either.

I still need some more feedback. Keep in mind, I want as much "tree canopy" as I can get to help cover the island. Thanks.

hmmm, it does look much better from that angle, I agree. Just 2 suggestions:

1) Make the base of the tree (the roots) larger, so that it looks like the tree can actually support itself.

2) Make the canopy just a teeny bit less jagged. Smooth out the crown of the tree ever so slightly, give it some more poofy bits perhaps.

All in all, excellent, it will look awesome to have the whole island covered in trees, just make sure you have plenty of variety. I hope you can pull this off.

that first picture would be cooler if it was a 'winter' scene, like all the seasons for one model

What about adding multiple layers? A branch can extend through the first canopy, to another, higher, 'poof'. And you will probably also want several varieties of tree.

Cool, I really like the original without any leaves.

Actually, it doesn't look bad from a level view.