answered "Old" Trees at KSBA

[cleptric]

I'm actually a bit sad that the old trees at KSBA weren't updated.

Using one of your preview images, why was there no time or effort put into using the new MSFS trees (which anyone can use) and instead staying with the old stuff?

[Misha Cajic]

Hi,

 

Actually, most were updated, there is a mixture of the 3D Microsoft trees and our 3D nature flow library from the other simulators. The reason we did that is because the choice of trees in the MS library you can hand place is quite limited (only 1-2 variants), so it was necessary to have more variety. The autogen style trees you see on the bottom left actually cannot be hand placed individually, only as a group, so they weren’t suitable either.

 

The only trees used from the original SBA are the palm trees, for which there was no suitable substitute at this time.

 

Cheers

[cleptric]

@Misha Cajic Thanks for your reply.

I want to point out, there are more than 1-2 variants. There're even two palm tree variants.

Additionally, the quality of the KSBA trees are quite poor, compared to the default assets.

Also, you removed all the land class around the airport (which is ofc to be expected, given that MSFS delivers a better out of the box experience) and now save on the the overall appeal.

Come on, you did way better in the past! Focus on the airport, the surroundings are already great. The current state of KSBA looks like a loveless port of P3D.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cleptric]

And a comparison between the palm trees and the KSBA assets

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/404826231981342730/747576178285609091/tree_2.PNG

 

 

[Misha Cajic]

Indeed, there are palm trees, but they didn’t match closely enough the real ones for my liking. I also had a similar reasoning for the other trees, which is why I used a combination of them and our older 3D trees.

It was more just a choice of development than anything else, it would have actually been easier to just place the MSFS trees instead, it was just my view of what looked best that dictated how it ended up. 

 

We’re hoping eventually MS adds the capability to the SDK to place their “autogen” trees as single units rather than as groups, when that happens then yes, there will be no reason to use older trees.

 

I hope you understand the choice at this stage! I’m sorry if it didn’t match what you expected.

 

Cheers

[cleptric]

Thanks for your remarks, highly appreciated! 

[shadeobrady]

Misha - love the airport (and realize the limitations you're mentioning in this thread). I've flown in and out of it many times and it looks so true to life it's just stunning!!

 

Are there any plans to do more detail on the islands (especially Scorpion Bay where many ships dock to unload tourists who hike and camp out there, plus the research facilities on the island) or the city of Santa Barbara proper (especially areas like the Mission, State Street, the Funk Zone, and the docks/piers)? Honestly I would pay for just a scenery pack of that area if it's way out of scope.

 

Thanks again - great work!

[Misha Cajic]

1 hour ago, shadeobrady said:

Misha - love the airport (and realize the limitations you're mentioning in this thread). I've flown in and out of it many times and it looks so true to life it's just stunning!!

 

Are there any plans to do more detail on the islands (especially Scorpion Bay where many ships dock to unload tourists who hike and camp out there, plus the research facilities on the island) or the city of Santa Barbara proper (especially areas like the Mission, State Street, the Funk Zone, and the docks/piers)? Honestly I would pay for just a scenery pack of that area if it's way out of scope.

 

Thanks again - great work!

Thanks for the kind words, glad you’re enjoying!

 

A few people have asked about the islands so I’m happy to take another look at them and see what’s possible to improve. As for the city, what we’d be able to do isn’t much better than the default photogrammetry that’s already there

[Cyclone1]

Darn SDK, still loving Santa Barbara for sure, its nice that you made it for us to fill in the default void; Thanks again!