Is this a post about a tree? Yes, yes it is.
This rascal can fit into so many biomes. Actually, it kind of sucks that it can. The Elm Tree assets are featured in way too many biomes, creating an effect that contributes heavily to making the biomes look similar to each other. I get that you need to have filler, but it’d be better to use more of existing trees in said biome than introduce an overarching godtree. Oh, and Spruce is also featured way too much as well (Gobi Desert, really?).
There is a biome or two that doesn’t feature it. Actually, it might just be one. But, man, that is still bad.
I think tree aesthetic in this game is far too messy, it doesn’t in particular feel like an environment designer had a hand in it, and feels more like a programmers doing. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying programmers created the asset–but, that instead, assets were made by artists, and then programmers were the ones who had to stitch it all together into generative packs, selecting which assets belonged to what procedural biome.
Can I also mention that both Elm and Spruce look kind of bad? Elm has Sprite based oversized flat-coloured leaves that turn to face your camera, while the Spruce has Normal-mapped leaves that look like bumpy clay. It feels inconsistent and contributes to that “off”, messy feeling of inconsistent biome aesthetic.