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[SAS~Tom2]

Lately I played a tad with forest and random tree ratios on Pacific maps (and Pensacola=agracier's unfinished very nice map).

The first idea was which forest looks best and in which layer size...that is completely the player's discretion and can hardly be generalized.
E.g. I saw Bee used a new version of Jungle tree layer cakes for his kickass new Pacific map.
I did not even test that one.

There are several ways to maximize the tree effect, especially on Pacific maps, with a bit of knowledge about recent random tree inventions such as WhiteCat's latest jungle.trees and SAS~Boomer's PalmTrees(hirez).

You can mix them almost ad infinitum-almost.

So, a few examples, eqasy to reproduce:
This, here, albeit it looks very hot on a Checkyersix map (South Vietnam Full Scale, released at Free IL-2 Modding)-is an FPS hog for slow systems like mine:





A very (extremely) cleverly crafted .._fields texture by CY6, complemented by the according .._fields_tree.tga file.

The popup effect, under some lighting conditions, almost falls under the shape of the underlying texture.

I used SAS~Boomer's PalmTree.tga here instead the stock map's trees. The FPS hit is not only the hi rez tree.



The palm.tree:
https://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php/topic,35205.24.html



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Another "trick":
Usage of the _fields.tree.tga from that map for another map, here Avala's last Benghalli and his forest texture:






Here WhiteCat's Jungle_tree.tga from his South Vietnam repaint is used:
https://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php/topic,35861.0.html



TBH I prefer a third method....besides using Checkyersix's texture and trees file for a huge load or random trees and his trees file on another texture (these are examples)..

Using a _fields.tree tga on top of a forest texture, where the forest texture must have _fields.tga in its name:

Again stealing Checkyersix' _tree.tga from his South Vietnam Full Scale map-he actually made 3 textures and tree.tgas for his map and used one of those, here I put this tree.tga on top of the forest RGB 24 slot.

So this method will always place random trees wherever the forest layers leave a hole and thus create much thickness.
















Hope you enjoy, and my idea is search for ways to give tropical maps more of its TM lush forest.

If you put the object trees in the mix, you may well get 3 different-actually 4 different layers of trees:
Forest, random trees, extra random trees as per tree.tga and palmtree etc. object trees.

 
Use that, I'm sure guys like Mixx or Bombs or agracier can make jungle maps that make FSX look even older.

[GilB57]

Hi !
Interesting experiments  !

About the use of .tree.tga texture files:
When flying above your map, you can open the console. When above trees and forest, if you see the messages "WARNING: count =xxx" (xxx always above 512). It means that your tree.tga texs generates too many random trees (acceptable limit seems to be 512).
Nothing seems to happen but, depending on your forest parameter (conf.ini), the game may slow down and finally crash after 30' of flight.

I encountered this problem in my Westfront maps pack and hardly found the reason of those warnings ...

[Uufflakke]

In case you want to have denser forest/jungle you can add random trees per .tree.tga indeed to fill up the gaps.
Better is to change alpha layer of the Wood0 to Wood4 files to simulate denser jungle.
See here page 10 and 11: https://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php/topic,10535.108.html

The advantage is: less demanding on older systems, no annoying popping up of random trees and lighting is different on 3D random trees compared with 2D Wood layers. Seen from certain angles random trees seem to give light depending on weather conditions and time of day.
When having too much random trees added by using .tree.tga they have the odd behaviour to appear and disappear right under your nose when flying over or moving your mouse in FMB.
Another thing I noticed with too much random trees is that tree trunks disappear, only leaves.

As you have seen the random tree texture is divided in 4 equal parts and each part represents a tree in game. One of the parts also simulates the shadow (which is not on the ground by the way but floats slightly above it). The odd thing is that in cities one of the 4 parts doesn't appear or appear even more. Don't know exactly what it was.

About the CTD when having too much random trees, I did a test with Avala's (WIP) Serbia map which has loads of random trees.
On my old Windows XP I had a CTD already when scrolling quickly (F3)over the map in FMB.
Same test today with my Windows 8.1 and nothing happened.
So the CTD must be system related too. Perhaps a memory issue?

I learned an old trick to avoid this kind of CTD. The full version of Zippzap's Alps map caused a CTD everytime on my XP after about 18 minutes.
Pressing the hotkey for 'Start Recording' and half a minute later 'Stop Recording' I could play for more than an hour or so.
Don't ask me how come but it worked. Perhaps it will work the same way on the Westfront maps pack?

[SAS~Tom2]

Thanks for the tips gents. Did not know about the console trick.

Yet I do know quite well the CTD or freeze issues.

Also I recall the lighting issues, the shadow issue with random trees was new to me.
Uufflakke, your Hawaiian Islands forest is well known to me and pretty unique as well.

For the forest, the main point of my experiment, which holds nothing revolutionary, was to maximize the variation-despite all issues not having only forest and random trees, but the two mixed. Does not look 100% perfect but emulates a less homogeneous forest.

The only way working for me to implement tree.tgas is on top of forest, to fill the gaps. Everything else makes the popup and slide show effect to prominent.

Agree also that it is most prolly an effect involving GFX memory. On my 4 years old quadcore, the card (128 MBit interface on 1GB RAM) always was the bottleneck, so my guess it is GFX memory and not central proc. memor.

[Uufflakke]

Also I recall the lighting issues, the shadow issue with random trees was new to me.

I dug up an old image which explains it better.
Red part also makes the shadows of trees.

[SAS~Tom2]

Thanks, Uuflakke. 
I wish the random trees would not popup, with the hi res trees that would be a heaven for map friends.

[GilB57]

Perhaps it will work the same way on the Westfront maps pack?

The WestFront maps pack has already been fixed in the latest release v2.20
https://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php/topic,28363.0.html