Trees in Project Eternity

[Sensuki]

This might seem a bit of a weird thread but I can't help but notice that the trees in the Pillars of Adra screenshot and the Stronghold screenshot are all of the same types of trees, rotated with different branches and stuff.

 

This is not an OH MY GOD THE TREES ARE ALL THE SAME thread (okay, well maybe it is a little)  but I thought that a topic about the types of trees found in the Dyrwood and Eir Glanfath would be interesting.

http://www.rpgcodex.net/gallery/10493.jpg

 

http://media.obsidian.net/eternity/media/updates/0065/pe-adra-wilderness.jpg

 

Whereas in the Waterfall scene we have much taller, different style trees - which probably means the forest around that area has a lot of old growth, hundreds to thousands of years old - whereas the ones in the above screenies look like they're all quite young - under 100 (War of the Black trees?)

 

http://hydra-media.cursecdn.com/eternity.gamepedia.com/f/f5/PE-TempleEntrance01-1920x1080.jpeg

 

I was wondering is the flora of the visitable areas something that is documented ? - such as tree types etc, are tree models something that you outsource (ie. purchase from a repository, I think the BG games used pre-made tree models) and what kind of range can we expect from the final game?

 

Out of all of the screenshots I think we've only seen four types of trees.

 

Here is an example from (and excuse the horrible BG:EE screenshot, but all the vanilla ones are sub 400px) Baldur's Gate - I think the game too place in Autumn, so there are trees with different colored leaves here. But there's a bit more variation in tree types, shapes and sizes (even though it was pretty much just paste in the same models over and over) it worked and gave a good wilderness and foresty feel - I'm not really feeling the same from the Eternity screenies so far anyway.

 

Can we expect a bit more variation of tree models, shapes and sizes in other areas / in the final product ?

 

Edited October 30, 2013 by Sensuki

[Messier-31]

You don't know how far from one another these places are in the game. Maybe they're close enough to have similar flora. But you sure are right, some diversity would be pretty welcome in the final product. Hope it will be that way

 

Here is an example from (and excuse the horrible BG:EE screenshot, but all the vanilla ones are sub 400px) Baldur's Gate - I think the game too place in Autumn, so there are trees with different colored leaves here.

 

PC in BG starts in Candlekeep on Mirtul 1st. According to the Calendar of Harptos it is called "The Melting", which is followed by the Kythorn or "Time of Flowers" (note the Summer Solstice on Kythorn 20th). So basically the game starts somewhere around the month of May, so we have a late Spring, not Autumn.

 

Sources:

http://www.fourcolorcriticism.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Baldurs-Gate.jpg

http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Tarsakh#Months_and_festivals

 

Don't worry about the screenie. I would use a screenshot from BG Tutu or BGT

Edited October 30, 2013 by Messier-31

[Sabotin]

I was thinking it might be deliberate for certain areas to have similar flora, to form some sort of regions that the player notices while he travels around the world. But maybe I'm being optimistic.

[Lord of Lost Socks]

I think that taller trees will be reserved for smaller areas where you'll never/rarely go behind the tree, and the smaller trees you see in the pictures are in more open explorable areas.

 

This is probably intetional to avoid having the problem of your character being behind trees half the time. It's a gameplay decision. One I don't care for either way.

Edited October 30, 2013 by Lord of Lost Socks

[Sensuki]

I think that taller trees will be reserved for smaller areas where you'll never/rarely go behind the tree, and the smaller trees you see in the pictures are in more open explorable areas.

 

This is probably intetional to avoid having the problem of your character being behind trees half the time. It's a gameplay decision. One I don't care for either way.

 

More about the style and shapes than the size. Be nice to see a few different trees.

 

This issue can also be handled by the greyboxing or whatever that determines the pathable area of the map. It was handled well in densely forested areas in BG1 - Larswood for instance.

Edited October 30, 2013 by Sensuki

[Messier-31]

PC in BG starts in Candlekeep on Mirtul 1st. According to the Calendar of Harptos it is called "The Melting", which is followed by the Kythorn or "Time of Flowers" (note the Summer Solstice on Kythorn 20th). So basically the game starts somewhere around the month of May, so we have a late Spring, not Autumn.

 

Forgot to say that it is all correct given the Sword Coast lies in the northern hemisphere - which is true. So, top of the evening to you, Down-under.

[JFSOCC]

Yeah I like to remain optimistic. I like a lot of what I hear about P:E, but not a lot of what I see.

 

the environment is shaping up to be one of my biggest disappointments. The artstyle is just so... bland

I'd love to see

More gnarly trees, tall branches spreading out over paths.

Bigger trees, for sure.

more variety in grasses

more realistic spreading patterns of growth.

a little magical flavour. (bioluminesence, strange plants and wildlife)

more density in growth.

 

I take heart that it says "work in progress" but yeah, I just really don't like what I'm seeing.

 

Sorry.

Edited October 30, 2013 by JFSOCC

[Tamerlane]

See, that BG screenshot... it doesn't really look like a forest to me. It looks like someone said, "Okay, I want one of these, and one of these, and one of these, and hey, a couple of those would be cool." And it's visually striking, but it doesn't look like a real forest. The PE screenshots, on the other hand, use a bunch of different models of the same one or two species' of trees. And that's... well, that's how forests usually work. Fairly homogenous in species and to some extent size. Now, you can certainly prefer how BG did it for style reasons - and I'd disagree with you, 'cause seriously, that's just a big ol' vomit of things labelled "tree" - but the waterfall screenshot in particular is easily the most "realistic" of any of the images in the OP.

 

That said, I'd love to see some big-ass Haida Gwaii old-growth going on. Some of those big, mossy fellas. Aw yeah.

 

 

 

That's the stuff, right there. Yeah.

Edited October 30, 2013 by Tamerlane

[Sensuki]

See, that BG screenshot... it doesn't really look like a forest to me. It looks like someone said, "Okay, I want one of these, and one of these, and one of these, and hey, a couple of those would be cool." And it's visually striking, but it doesn't look like a real forest. The PE screenshots, on the other hand, use a bunch of different models of the same one or two species' of trees. And that's... well, that's how forests usually work. Fairly homogenous in species and to some extent size. Now, you can certainly prefer how BG did it for style reasons - and I'd disagree with you, 'cause seriously, that's just a big ol' vomit of things labelled "tree" - but the waterfall screenshot in particular is easily the most "realistic" of any of the images in the OP.

I am mostly talking about the other two screenshots which use as you said, the same two species of trees.

 

Not all forests are like that though - in this example I can see at least four different species of trees.

 

Where I live, the surrounding bushland is populated with an array of native trees (mind you, I live in Australia, so that's wildly different to the type of landscape of Eternity ... but it is in the southern hemisphere ) Ironbark, Greybox, Yellowbox, Redbox, Ghost Gum to name a few - all fairly distinctive of one another.

 

I was inquiring as to whether it was a stylistic choice, a budget choice or if the trees etc are placeholder.

[Naurgalen]

While I can agree that the trees in the stronghold are from only 1 species and it can be just a little repetitive, going for a BG approach is totally immersion breaking. Most forests don't have that many of really different species (For example the kind of leaves are related to the humidity of the place), so in a controlled places like a stronghold i wont expect more than 2 or 3 at all. Forest could have 6-8 depending on Obsidians resources + if there will be different kinds of forest.

 

PS: But I would love to see trees REACT to the wind, that would be awesome.

Edited October 30, 2013 by Naurgalen

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Can we romance the trees? It will add unmatched depth to the narrative?[/KaineVC]

[okkoko]

Can we romance the trees? It will add unmatched depth to the narrative?[/KaineVC]

well what if you on a quest fund a forest and in that forest a talking tree that told you the secret of the mystical whispering forest well course all the trees in the forest was nymphs now she ask me to turn them all back to huminoid form. an evil deamon had turned them in to a forest you see now you turn them in to young attractiv woman  and now gues how thankful they would be haha i dear say thay would reward you well .. unless they where meat eating nymphs

Edited October 30, 2013 by okkoko

[JFSOCC]

trees

And my personal favourite

and my (if I do say so myself) impressive personal collection of pretty environment images

Edited October 30, 2013 by JFSOCC

[J.E. Sawyer]

We will be increasing the variety of trees over time as we develop more areas.  Toward Eir Glanfath, the trees tend to get taller, with some approaching sequoia height.

[Messier-31]

Can we romance the trees? It will add unmatched depth to the narrative?[/KaineVC]

well what if you on a quest fund a forest and in that forest a talking tree that told you the secret of the mystical whispering forest well course all the trees in the forest was nymphs now she ask me to turn them all back to huminoid form. an evil deamon had turned them in to a forest you see now you turn them in to young attractiv woman  and now gues how thankful they would be haha i dear say thay would reward you well .. unless they where meat eating nymphs

 

Best... story... EVAR.

[okkoko]

 

Can we romance the trees? It will add unmatched depth to the narrative?[/KaineVC]

well what if you on a quest fund a forest and in that forest a talking tree that told you the secret of the mystical whispering forest well course all the trees in the forest was nymphs now she ask me to turn them all back to huminoid form. an evil deamon had turned them in to a forest you see now you turn them in to young attractiv woman  and now gues how thankful they would be haha i dear say thay would reward you well .. unless they where meat eating nymphs

 

Best... story... EVAR.

 

i dear say!

[Lephys]

I think it'd be neat if, in a forest area with a tall, thick canopy, the player camera was actually BENEATH the canopy. So, instead of just limbs and leaves covering your view of the entire field (generally resulting in the game resorting to that x-ray vision mode throughout the whole forest, so you're ALWAYS looking through semi-transparent foliage), you'd only see some lower limbs and foliage here and there, but maybe there'd be a relatively elaborate layer of canopy foliage shadows across the environment.

[rjshae]

I think it'd be neat if, in a forest area with a tall, thick canopy, the player camera was actually BENEATH the canopy. So, instead of just limbs and leaves covering your view of the entire field (generally resulting in the game resorting to that x-ray vision mode throughout the whole forest, so you're ALWAYS looking through semi-transparent foliage), you'd only see some lower limbs and foliage here and there, but maybe there'd be a relatively elaborate layer of canopy foliage shadows across the environment.

 

I think they can simulate an overhead canopy fairly readily by using moving shadows/light patches on the ground and just presenting trunks that fade with altitude. Some streaming, shifting light beams would help as well.

[Rabain]

Yeah they had a few areas like that in BG2...the forest of Tethyr areas.  Not a great quality image but:

 

http://mikesrpgcenter.com/bgate2/maps/ar2600.html

 

Also I think we are so used to seeing managed forests we forget how varied they can be when left to their own devices.

 

http://climatevoices.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/camels-hump-fall-08-web.jpg