Hello all!!
Well I wanted to make a little holiday pack by making some holiday stuff and uploading it on here! Well...I have downloaded the tree off www.thesims2.com under the exchange-objects. And I wanted to learn how to make a tree like this so I exported it into SimPE and looked at it and saw somthing. The tree branches and just the hole tree is nothing but a could of like triangles. How did they make this like triangles and make the branches look so detailed. Like the branches are triangular they look like real tree branches. I want to make some trees and wreaths and the meathod maxis used probably would be the way to go if i knew how they did it! Does anyone know what they did and how they did it?

I think most, if not all, of the trees use alpha channels to create the effect of leaves in the game. That means that there are solid and transparent areas in the texture that is applied on those triagle shaped meshes, and that makes them look like leaves and branches. So, the actual mesh is very simple, and the detail is created in the texture.

Is there a tutorial on how to do alpha channels?
Thanks

Alpha channels are just a black and white image replicating the original texture - so the "leaf" or branch (the parts you want to see in game) would be totally white and the transparent part totally black. You're .png texture would have to have a transparent background and the texture on top of that.

Try looking at the .package in SimPE for the christmas tree you downloaded. Look at the textures, you can see the Alpha by right clicking on the texture and going to export alpha - then you'll see how they "fit" together

Hi

For the modelling part, most petals, branches etc are made of "planes", the picture of the petal, branch etc. is then applied to this plane and mapped making everything apart from the petal, branch black so that is appears transparent in the game. You clone several of these planes and rotate them and move them around to fit the main stem until you are happy with the outcome.

Also, planes can be manipulated if you add more splines to the plane using the F4x4 modifier in max (not sure about milkshape or other 3d programmes). This can give the effect of a curling petal or drooping branch. I also make an opacity map which I add in max then I can see how it would look without the parts of the plane that I want transparent.


PNG files are made into transparencies by not completely flattening in your paint programme but by merging layers instead and saved this way. When brought into SimPE they will automatically make the alpha transparent just leaving the part you want showing. You need to alter the mmts txr blend to 1 from 0. Cloning a ready made flower would already have this done.

The whole process is pretty time consuming and you need some pretty good pictures of leaves etc unless you draw out your own! Good luck


Hope Ive helped a little.

This is very normal. I made my cypress trees using this method.