Differences in depiction of height of objects in game

[Jim Hall]

I've noticed that trees, when viewed from a distance when playing, appear to be the height as determined in the designer. However, when close up, they appear much shorter. I've included an example in the pics below. The first is a tree that, just for fun, I set to 120' in height and is viewed from 100 yds. The second is the same tree, but viewed from 20 ft. The tree in the latter pic appears significantly shorter than in the first. Is this normal?

Tree From 100 yds.jpg

(917.86 KiB) Not downloaded yet

Tree From 20 ft.jpg

(1011.94 KiB) Not downloaded yet

[SteveHorn]

Jim
Strange that I never really noticed that before.

[J.J.]

When I last played with object creation for Mayfield Manor library many many years ago I created a normal sized object and a tiny version, the tiny version being half the pixel size. I also created shadow and top versions for the trees. The lack of a tiny version in the library may be linked to this although my memory of the why's and wherefores has diminished significantly, it was so long ago

[Jim Hall]

J.J. All of my trees have shadows, and a top version. I tried adding a tiny view to a couple of trees but with the same result. I created a single hole from scratch and only added trees from Sahalee with the same result. It is all dependent upon how close I am to the tree. Perhaps you or Steve could check it out and see if you get the same thing. Would really appreciate it.

[BrianZ111]

Can't say I remember ever noticing an effect like this. When you first put the tree in the game, what height does it default to? I'm wondering if changing it significantly from default might cause the issue. There is a correlation to pixel size and default size when you place the object. If my theory is correct the fix would be to make the image size in your paint program better match the size you will use in the game so that the default size of it is a closer match to what you actually want to use it at.

According to the help file, for objects over 6 feet the default height is calculated as 6 + (pixel height - 144) / 14.0

A pixel height of 1740 would give a default height of 120 feet.

[Jim Hall]

Brian,

Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to make a difference. I planted 2 trees, one the default height of 35', the other, at a height of 100'. Both show the same proportional reduction in size as you get next to the tree as opposed to viewing from a distance. Since I'm only looking at a single tree at a time, and not a tree in a forest of other trees, I'm wondering if that is why it is so noticeable. I'm still curious as to whether or not anyone else notices this effect when viewing a single tree at different distances. An added note - it looks like the object shadow stays the appropriate size, just not the object casting the shadow.

[BrianZ111]

Does it do that in the architect camera view or just in the game?

[Jim Hall]

Just in the game. I've tried changing course options and various camera views in game. The high and behind/front views look ok, it is all of the low views that the issue occurs.