Extreme Model Simplification for Forest Rendering

Abstract

Models of large forest scenes are of a geometric complexity that surpasses even the capabilities of current high end graphics hardware. We propose an extreme simplification method which allows us to render such scenes in realtime. Our work is an extension of the image based-simplification method of Billboard Clouds. We automatically generate tree model representations of 15-50 textured polygons. In this paper, we focus on the algorithmic details to improve the simplification process for foliage. We use the simplified models as static levels-of-detail in the medium to far field and demonstrate how our approach yields real-time rendering of dense forest scenes for walkthroughs and flyovers.