So I thought we could take a moment to focus on part of the level. The foliage/rocks in the level is a point of focus that comes up sometimes. I personally am quite pleased with how it's gone.
There are the TC palms. These were taken from TC Isle, and updated with the alternate textures from test~zone which appear to be from an older stage of development of TC Isle. I figured the regular TC palms are cool but very used by now, so I suggested the update.
There are 40 some instances of them in the level, all close to the shoreline. This sort of tree may look better in large groups. Should any be placed further inland? It may work well realistically to have separated biomes as TrespasserGuy mentioned he imagined.
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TheIdiot's MegaJungle assets. A specific set has been brought in. We have some palmy-things The coconut palm sapling has only been placed 4 times in isolated spots along with other tropical assets. They look great, though probably could be used more considering it is in the level. They can go well with beachfront, mostly where they already are.
The banana tree sapling has been placed 5 times, also isolated except for 3 up by the Aviary entrance. They look nice, I don't have a good sense of their fitting-in aspect. Thoughts?
The lite-foliaged grey-trunked thorn trees, temporarily without physics, are found at both Brontolon Falls and up on the penninsula on the far side of the harbor. I personally quite like them. Visually they may fit with other models present. I suggest not placing them
everywhere so that they stand out, in groups, when found.
Then there are the common bush models of various sizes. These can potentially fit in with various biomes/subbiomes, from topical to forest. I've always liked them for their non-specific appearance and how well they fill the forest floor with unseeingness at eye-level. I am starting to feel their over-usage but it's not fully there. These have been used a lot over time but their generalness makes them not stand out too much.
The assorted ground plants of TI's have some non-green colors. I've often disliked them for that but they are real plants and there's no reason for them not to be here. This might also mean they haven't been over-used in the various MegaJungle things I put out.
The amaumau ferns, I can't really remember how much I used them, but I think I typically used other fern sources in released levels. Did TrespasserGuy use them much? Maybe, but ferns look fairly similar one to the next. Use however much you want, it's hard to imagine these being over-done.
The bamboo did get some use, but not a lot. These ones do need their textures fixed, which is a simple matter. They could go in groves by themselves, or alongside water. Hammond didn't quite see fit to introduce pandas.
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There is a nice, limited assortment of original Tres underbrush. Tres has a TON of variety in its Jungle biome and these are essentially embassadors within a diverse collection in TresCom20. The Joha palm plants are broadleaf without being the typical quite-broad-leafed plants that were further emulated in TC Isle and other places. They're thin and stick upright, providing a particular feel if it's what you're going for.
The Knotweed and Wide Bush are from "Greenhouse", put in by machf from the Mystery Models. They may've been made for the Plaines biome, and have a brown texture for when it suits you. Use alone or mixed with others.
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A small contingent of Lone Hunter bushes from enigma are present. They are smaller than MegaJungle's (though can be scaled up), with finer individual leaves and hue in the blue-direction. Use where you feel to fit it in, perhaps to match with other blue-ish foliage.
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"Lab_ShrubTree-00" is the only ground foliage from TC Isle. It was used a lot in JPDS. This may definitely seem over-used by now, but I personally find it still works from, again, how essentially formed it is, unspecific in whatever species it might be. Its leaves are also quite small, and it has an unassuming branch bit at the bottom. Can fit with various other foliage.
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Nearby are some burnt logs, which I won't bother to represent. Really only useful for the burnt forest biome, or whatever campfires you may wish to set up, but are more in a different area of level design.
Then there are the actual logs which can go about anywhere. Some are mossy, some not. Some variety of shapes, and a couple you can pick up. These may not speak much to some but they can make or break whether an area ends up looking like a real place or not. They can also drive up the object count. There should at least but a number of areas in the level which make good use of them, to remind the player what the engine can look like.
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Then there are some select trees from original Tres Jungle biome. Some were selected by me for their darker-greyer leaf color, to help blend with the other assets in the level. TresCom20 is meant to be both a community of modders and of assets, which are both distinct and complement each other. These trees manage to not seem forced to join with the others, and why the yellow-green canopies were left out. They also provide a "founder effect" where original-Tres contributes assets from specific types of greenery.
The Hawaiian palms give a tropical feel but still fit in with forest. A similar vibe can come with the stalky fern/broadleaf palms. The current version of the famous "ded tree" in Trespasser is only a burnt version; we may or may not bring in the normal one. Then the giant tree roots/trunks, so known for their not looking like actual Tres trees, were updated by TheIdiot but presented here in their original form. TI did go to the trouble of making full trees that use their variety of textures; those aren't here, but the thorn trees are close. These various models can be either foresty or tropical. Consider selecting specific trees out of the variety in this basement and making your own unique type of forest, even if it is just one area.
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Despite the variety I keep mentioning, somehow almost all of the TC Isle tree-hood has made it in. It doesn't upset me too much. TrespasserGuy made sure that Rebel's newer, stubbier variants of the thin-type tree have joined the club. These make great populations for foresty areas. They can be used by themselves or with other trees.
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"WiseOldTree" may not have made it in, but the "large" and "XL" trees certainly did. They are fairly classic; nice basic trunks with canopies to create your tropical rainforest. Use how you like; they may dominate a bit where they are found.
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B River Tree shall never get old! This tree has its own form, made by Remdul a long while ago. It can be close to or far from water. (Ground water is not explicitly designed in Tres.) There is a dead version but this hasn't been brought in; if you'd like to use it, let us know.
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enigma used these for his upper canopy. They are similar to the large/xl TC trees but broader at the top. They have been used every here and there in the past, but I don't believe it's been too spotlight yet. Use to make an upper forest for your area.
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This little area of foliage is I believe taken from RTJP~helipad. There TheIdiot used them to fill in areas distant from Diane. Somehow he managed to make the game look like CryEngine or some such. They were used a little in our own helipad area; the two foreground trees are billboards of "VTallForest" which is currently not imported into TresCom20. It makes sense that they should be but it's not required; if you'd like to see them brought in, tell us about it.
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These three trees are from Lone Hunter again. enigma could fill in his lower canopy with them. There is a bit of yellow but together they present a relatively desaturated leafscape. Leafscape, hmm.. Their trunks are fairly spindly. Despite all this they are fairly versitile, use some or all of them to create your natural spots.
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There are a bunch of rocks and stones, I'm not going to go into them all! But generally we have two types of stone, with a relatively decent spread of shapes. These ones haven't been used near as much yet; have fun being a stone pioneer. The darker version also has a building-block, which was used to make the cave. No one says there can't be more caves. Also in the background is a small contingent of Tres stones, including the jumping-ones. Taken together there are a ton of ways these could all be used. Take your imagination and be creative.
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