Quote:
You don't need to normal-map your tree. Though it would be a really nice effect, it would slow down ALOT.
No you dont need to normal map anything. But what is your basis for saying it would slow down "ALOT"? Have you done tests? Because in my own tests such things can be done provided you are careful about LOD and such.
To answer the above question , the problem is that the engine automatically turns on transparency if there is a 32-bit tga skin. I consider this an engine flaw.
For a masking effect you can use a material that sets these render states:
zenable=true;
zwriteenable=true;
alphablendenable=false;
alphatestenable=true;
AlphaRef=<128>;
AlphaFunc=Greater;
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