Tree seasonal texture images

[sablerock]

Would absolutely love to know how to create these.
What a mystery!!

[sablerock]

https://image.giants-software.com/index ... codes=true

https://image.giants-software.com/index ... codes=true

[sablerock]

https://image.giants-software.com/index ... codes=true

[TheSuBBie]

No mystery,
The image with four identical foliages is (reading anticlockwise) Winter,Spring,Summer Autumn.
The mask (red,Blue Green) just covers one of those four sections so all sections must match the mask image
Red channel is the branch, Green channel is the leaves, Blue channel is basically an alpha layer (various shades of blue are for shading on leaf/branch edges)

If you want to create your own then I suggest you look at the images you have posted and use them
for refrerence.
If you want custom leaves/branch shape then you will have to create your own

An image editor that allows editing of the red,green,blue channels individually is a must.

[sablerock]

Many thanks. I suppose paint.net can’t do this?

[TheSuBBie]

Not easily, however Gimp and Photoshop can

[sablerock]

Ok, got both. Just amazing there’s not one single tutorial on above. You have helped me for 6 months now. Thanks. If you find tut, pls send me link

[sablerock]

First it's important to know how the colors, or color channels are used in the game. Engine. Then, you can use color to mask and RGBA merge nodes to try to put the proper information in each channel.

PLS can anyone tell me how the game uses it, especially the shader colors

[Dim67]

The only thing I dont like about the trees is the same bright orange color on ALL the trees. I went in Photoshop to change just that channel to a more brownish toned down version.

[sablerock]

DIM67 Pls pls pls show me how to create these SHADER images . Only Giants seem to know

https://image.giants-software.com/index ... codes=true

https://image.giants-software.com/index ... codes=true

[TheSuBBie]

@DIM67
I would be intrigued to know if your changing of the autumn shade in PS alone changed the colours as I believe the actual tint is hardcoded in the tree branch shader xml and the only way of changing permanently it is to modify the autumn tint in the xml so you end up with a custom tree branch shader (that can't be used on consoles).

@sablerock
I think I answered this question in a previous post above

[sablerock]

Open any of the OAK I3d stage files in GE in the trees folder in the base game. Click on ATTACHMENTS. At the right in material panel page down. You’ll find SEASONS switched on and little further down you’ll find this exact png file in shader panel. So, they have to be created by some software and Giants simply refuse to tell us how. I understand why only they have the knowledge: they created all the trees in the game

[TheSuBBie]

That is the mask referered to in my previous post

The mask (red,Blue Green) just covers one of those four sections so all sections must match the mask image
Red channel is the branch, Green channel is the leaves, Blue channel is basically an alpha layer (various shades of blue are for shading on leaf/branch edges)

This mask is only used on each segment in turn depending on the season
If your diffuse image 2048 x 2048 consists of 4 1024 x 1024 sections denoting (from bottom right) branch, leaves spring, leaves summer, leaves Autmn winter will obviously be the the bare branches.
so basically the treeBranch shader just moves the mask around the hedge diffuse depending on seasons.

Lets take the hedge_mask as an example.
Open the hedge_mask in photoshop/Gimp (its a BC7 format)
and just select the red channel - only the branches are visible so if you want to have just branches thats where the branch image goes (in the bottom right 1024x 1024 section)
if you now select only the green channel that is all you will see 'leaves' for the other three 1024 x 1024 segments.

As previously said

Blue channel is basically an alpha layer (various shades of blue are for shading on leaf/branch edges)

So if you want to creat your own masks then simply create a rgba image and in the red layer put your branches, green layer your leaves
you can if you want use some of the hedge_mask blue layer to create your own, if you do pay careful attention to density (check the blue area for the hedge leaves( hedge_diffuse) as an example)

[sablerock]

Subbie, here branches_leaves png of a tree I’m busy with. Could you PLS PLS make me slow detailed video. I have PS, Gimp, Paint.net. So how to make the combined seasonal diffuse, and lastly the shader file for leaves.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VGG1r2 ... sp=sharing

[TheSuBBie]

Unfortunately I do not have the time to do any detailed videos for you.
With Giants effects/images/scripts etc the only way of finding out how it is created is to reverse engineer it yourself and try to recreate it as you want.
Unless you want to change the tint (spring/summer/autumn/winter) in the treeBranch shader.xml there is no need to do anything to the xml
so all you have to do is create the relevant images.
I have provided you with the answers to your questions and also given you an idea on how to create the images required.
You say you have the tools to do it (I have PS, Gimp, Paint.net. ) so have a go yourself.

Check out this video I created way back in sept 2022 showing some seasonal changes/effects using custom hedges/diffuse/masks I was working on at the time

https://youtu.be/rjC61jQP35k