Arden Tree Controller Help Desk

[gn_leugim]

wonderful is all I can say. very realistic, both flora and city blocks 

[Flatron]

perfetto!
both the city and how it is arranged around the canals and your arboretical work

[noahclem]

As I've already said (or at least implied) I don't even know what to say    Or did I just say it? 

The tree controller progress is looking fantastic; the tweaks, variations, and options are promising at the least and at times beautiful in their own right, your city looks increasingly fantastic, the dirt roads project is looking even more beautiful than before, I can't wait to see more T21 mod business, and there's probably something else fantastic that you've done that I didn't even catch or forgot. You're SC4 work and ability has a fantastic variety and depth. Hold on for a bit while a wrangle up a well-deserved K-point for you....

Awesome month 

[whatevermind]

I came by here a few times once upon a time, and streets just aren't something I'm that excited about, so I had stopped frequenting.  All these street mods are beautiful, for sure, but the only issues I've ever really had with road textures is the mess that sometimes occurs when you drop RTMT on NAM turn lanes.  Then I found your link in Orange's thread, and WHOA! TREES! 

I'm also excited, because if you're making a tree controller with these trees, then I don't have to.  Not that I was progressing terribly far with it, but it was something I pick at every once in a while.  Anyway, I'm happy to see how you've progressed with the tree controllers, and can't wait to see the final product.

I noticed a few posts back you figured out the ease of managing the data with Excel.  .csv files come in particularly handy, because you can readily swap the data back and forth between spreadsheets and plain text to paste into Reader.  As far as keeping track of all the changes and updates, a lot of that can be handled by equations to make it less tedious.  Speaking of programmable spreadsheets for tree controllers, have you seen this?.  I never used it to really create anything, so I can't vouch for it's accuracy, but it uses Java and Excel together as a data management tool.  It seems to mostly be aimed at tweaking existing controllers, but I think it could be useful as well at least for troubleshooting new ones.  Providing all that Java works as advertised, which as I said, I haven't tested.

I'll cast a vote for a denser tree controller as well, something with coverage similar to c.p.'s Olympia controller would be awesome.

Onto some of your questions/issues:
#1. The small trees actually look good there.  My best guess is that that particular location has a height/moisture condition that favors those trees - though if you've controlled for that already, I don't have any other ideas.
#3. Not so bad, I like the realistic effect of creating swampy areas.
#5. Meadows are tricky in that the models are so small they can get lost in the terrain texture.  Adding the occasional small tree might counteract this without losing realism.  Your later mosaics look like you've taken this approach, and they a good bit better than that first meadow shot did.

Those last few mosaics look beautiful, and make me wish autumn would hurry up and arrive. 

Looks like you've got things in pretty good shape, I'll definitely have to keep an eye on things over here.  Good luck!

[Gobias]

Tree controllers are looking fantastic!  Not sure if you've considered this but a nice touch would be to add a Maxis tree replacement option using VIP flora.  I've made a quick and dirty one for my personal use (non-seasonal) and I found it was one of the biggest aesthetic improvements I could have made to my game.  Simple but very effective way to avoid having to change props on all the zillions of lots in my plugin folder and it's also a nice way to swap out the ugly Maxis palms for something less tropical.  It's a relatively easy mod to make compared to a controller; similar to making a street tree mod.  Though I've never attempted to make one that's seasonal.  Anyway, just a suggestion.  Keep up the excellent work!

[vortext]

@ mattb325, gn_leugim, Flatron, Noah; thanks for all your kind words, greatly appreciated!! 

@ whatevermind, shoot! If only I'd known you had a go at it as well!   

I hadn't come across the tree controller tool before. As I said earlier, information on this subject is all over the frigging place! Java does work for me (yay for Jondor's T21 editor  ) but I actually use OpenOffice so it is a no go for me. Though I guess somekind of batch/script thingy could be set up in there as well, I'll stick to copy-paste for now as figuring it out will most likely take up a consirable amount of time for a relative small benefit. As for denser forests, I hope you'll like what you see below.

@Gobias; I've thought about it but alas, afaik there's no way to override a static prop with a timed prop and as you may have guessed I like to have everything seasonal.

~

Still working on those controllers folks but at a snails pace. As indicated I've been busy lotting all kinds of stuff recently and having a darn good time while doing so. But that's not to say I have spent all my time in the LotEditor. Both the shoreline and the lower altitudes are in place for the coastal controller. 'Only thing' left to do is work my way up.

Seriously though, it made me realise I still need a boatload of new brushes which I've been making at a rate of 1 or 2 per week so you do the math. In addition, I'm kinda awaiting the latest creations from our most talented flora sculpter to hit the LEX. Lame excuse for procrastinating, I know. Hope you enjoy these next few pics though!


Did someone say dense forests?! Oh right, it was me. 



Same brushes as above during summer time.



Only cattails are shown. The proper shoreline consists of two additional brushes which hold smaller items before the forest begins.



Fun fact; turns out customizing bridges is far easier than anticipated. 



Now I'm going out for a drink in this bar for locals only. Feel free to join though, if you can find it that is. 

Cheers!

[gn_leugim]

that second to last picture is.. amazing! 

also, the woods are pretty real, I cant wait for having them    

[FrankU]

Tree controllers are looking fantastic!  Not sure if you've considered this but a nice touch would be to add a Maxis tree replacement option using VIP flora.  I've made a quick and dirty one for my personal use (non-seasonal) and I found it was one of the biggest aesthetic improvements I could have made to my game.  Simple but very effective way to avoid having to change props on all the zillions of lots in my plugin folder and it's also a nice way to swap out the ugly Maxis palms for something less tropical.  It's a relatively easy mod to make compared to a controller; similar to making a street tree mod.  Though I've never attempted to make one that's seasonal.  Anyway, just a suggestion.  Keep up the excellent work!

It would be nice if you wold be able to finish it and publish it on STEX or LEX. I'd really like to use it. I have the SFBT maxis/CP exchanger at the moment, which is good too.

Ah, and before I forget: Vortex, your streets and tree controllers look fantastic!

[RickD]

The first picture with the fall colors looks fantastic. I like that there is an organic mix of trees with a lot of variation. Yet it does not end up in random chaos because the same models are grouped together.

[sim_link]

I agree with RickD, the fall picture looks really good. My favourite of the above. Definitely nice work.

[Vlasky]

I really like what you do. I was wondering tho, what happened to the seasonal flora on street sides mod? I was dreaming about that for so long ...

[tb7]

very good work are u doing! 

What watermod do u use?
What about cattails also in water? for some cm? hmm... does that work with a controller?

[Simcoug]

Hi vortex,

I don't get over to SC4D much, but I followed your link from simpeg and I must say your work is fascinating.  Your dirt roads are amazing, and the progress on a seasonal tree controller is admirable - I can't imagine working with so many variables.  Keep up the great work! 

PS - I noticed some old wooden sailing ships next to a wharf a few pages back (night mosaic) and I was wondering where you found them.

[epicblunder]

Why haven't i visited this thread before?! 

I need to browse through it and see how you got the seasonal trees to plop from god-mode.  I've been thinking about making my own pacific northwest style fully automatic tree controller but that's what's been holding me back.

I'm not particulary pleased with this. In part because the smaller the models, the harder it is to create a smooth brush with decent spread but mostly because there isn't that much small flora which has proper seasonal models. Basically a seasonal and HD remake of the ALN wild flowers would be ideal (any BATters reading along? ) untill than I'll makeshift.

This would be ideal.  I would KILL for updated HD small flora, especially wildflowers.

[vortext]

@gn_leugim, Frank, Raphael and sim_link, thank you all!

@Vlasky, erm well, you see, what happend is I have this 'to do' list and it just keeps expanding like crazy. In fact I could swear the bugger is self-replicating nowadays. The other day I had a peek and there were things on there I couldn't remember writing down in the first place! So yeah, I'm still planning to do a seasonal tree street mod, just gonna be a while though. If you can't wait my suggestion would be to try and make one yourself. It's not that hard!

@tb7, in that pic I've used the teal option from ShockTherapy's HD brigatine watermod. As for the cattails, yes, those can be plopped into the water a bit with a controller. Not sure what you mean with 'cm' though.

@Simcoug, funny isn't it?! I didn't used to get over to SimPeg that often eventhough I'd been registered for quite a while. As for the sailing ships, given your MD I imagine those might come in handy. One ship actually is from PEG (here). Next there's Orange's Le Belem. Finally and best of all, there's the awesome Ship of the Line, available in HD at Briplaza. Click on 'BAT' at the top of the page, next hit 'landmarks', the ship is somewhere halfway in the list. Enjoy!

@epicblunder, more small stuff, yes please! Though CP's recent proppack contains a decent amount of shrubs, I still think there're way too few of them. Not to mention wildflowers, those are seriously lacking. BATters?! As for making your own controller; I'd suggest to take an exemplar from a seasonal mmp, assign a new ID (from your own range preferably) and have a look at this post to edit the exampler to look the same. It's quite easy to get it going, it's the rinse and repeat that makes it . . erm, challenging shall we say?! 

~

Basically I just wanted to do the replies and let you folks know it's getting closer with just a few heights left to do. .



So keep an eye out because one of these days, I tell you, one of these days. . . 

[gn_leugim]

I can't wait 

[Gugu3]

are you gonna releasing that awesome tree controller?? ;Dcan't wait

[vortext]

Lets nip this in the bud before anticipation rises too high. No, it's not gonna be released at large immediately. At present there're still a few issues too many to be adressed. For instance;



This happens for all of CP's terrain mods and I still have to figure out all the proper values for the Flora Elevation Scale. It's not hard to do, yet a bit tedious since CP made quite a few terrrain mods, each with high/low options. Once that's done I hope Carl/Lowkee33 will be kind enough to update his Seasonal Flora Patches (though I haven't seen him around much lately).

In addition there're a number of things I want to put together for an official release; shore controllers, optional meadows, optional snow/evergreen firs, a cosmetic winter shadow patch, a read-me and compatibility between the two controllers (because I just know there are folks who are going to use both, myself for instance  ).

That said, as many of you probably know, treeing a tile can take up some time. And since I'd like to get feedback on appearance and behaviour before release as well, I'm thinking about a round of beta testing. So if you're interested in giving it a go and tell me what you think afterwards, leave a message or send a PM and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Though keep in mind there're quite a few dependencies involved (~20) and it's still a little rough around the edges. I'll leave you with the latest state of affairs. Enjoy!

[gn_leugim]

epic forests made easy :O 

[art128]