when you build your parcel, your region, or your grid – you always have a set of preconceived notions on how things should be. that’s true for “realistic” builds of iconic things like a city neighbourhood or the Eiffel Tower and also true of full-on fantasy builds – like floating cities or post-apocalyptic worlds
virtual worlds are fantastic because you can build whatever you want =)
i tend to fall back on thinking “what would people expect to see for this?”
of course, what i think people expect and what they actually expect are probably two very different things but none of us can really escape our self-imposed paradigms. when i build i tend to want some level of realism with things like ramps where i’d expect a safety railing (which we don’t need in virtual worlds) or rock jetties at the mouth of a harbour
plants are no different for me and last september i posted about tree sizes and timberlines so that’s why i’m calling this part two of tree theories *professor ener is in da house!* =p
with the prospect of having a home in Kitely, one that is just for me and nothing to do with science field trips, i started building a tropical island for myself. it’s a little like the Hawai’in Islands in that my little paradise has three volcanoes formed as the tectonic plate moves over a hot spot
since prim limits are far greater in Kitely than in Second Life, i wanted to try using default plants to make a dense jungle. after placing 550 plants my mouse hand is tired! i’d like to do 1000 plants, but not today! =D
in placing these plants, it was hard for me to see how my coverage was doing because of the land textures i’m using. i then realised, derr, why not just load a very light texture for all four terrain textures so that i could easily see the plants! (what a genius eh? it’s amazing that i can tie my shoes – good thing i wear a lot of sandals!)
class dismissed, now go out and have fun at recess! =D
dang, can’t see the coconuts for the jungle!
ahh, much easier on the eyes! =)
I’ve always had a problem placing trees properly on an island sim like this. I keep thinking they should go all the way up the mountain. Your way is so much better and realistic to me.
Now I have to go re-do my islands for SOAS. :))
Eliza Wrigglesworth
30 Jul 12 at 11:21 am
thanks Eliza – my way isn’t “the” right way but just how i approach things
trees often get smaller the higher you go up and less dense but that depends on elevation. on many tropical islands, trees can fully cover large hills/small mountains
for me, it’s less frustrating to kind of have a plan. and i also do things like take one tree, say the default palm tree and make three copies of it at a set elevation. i then turn each so it’s not like the other two and then i scale them each differently. i might also angle them outward a tad and at slightly different angles
then i select all three and shift-duplicate them and drag them to a new place at the same elevation (i tell by seeing that the trunks still go into the ground. then i might rotate that set 180 degrees. mow i have 6 trees with none being exactly the same as far as size and angle, depending on the terrain, i might shift-duplicate all six and place those as desired
once i get that set all done at one elevation (moving some up and down a tad so they don’t make an perfect line) i then shift duplicate the original three )or six) and then scale each bigger if i am working down, or scale smaller for going up
repeat all that a zillion times and you can create a decent forest
i also like to toss in ground plants like ferns and tropical plants (the plumeria tree is native to Hawai’i so works well for tropical islands)
i’ll maybe post some pics as a post or on flickr showing this
it’s the first time i use all default plants, i am usually snobby about that – but i got over myself!!! =)
Ener Hax
30 Jul 12 at 10:00 pm
when ever i am in a new region, first i lay one box. then i extend, a lot. then i think about what i am going to do. then lunch time comes and i forget about it.
several days, i am back standing in the rectangle and try to figure out what i intended to do.
bristle
31 Jul 12 at 3:46 pm