This post is for those trying to get more out of their environmental art skill set and, ultimately, a better final result with a golf course in Unity with assistance from Course Forge.
All the pros for environmental art in the game industry are utilizing a Maya or 3DSMax/Zbrush/Substance workflow to some degree. The beauty of the work is that it is really about developing a material that has a great match from the height information to the normal. Depth provides interest and gives that realistic appearance. Using procedural based material workflow, multiple iterations of a single material are possible with less effort once the base material is set. This means you can create a rocky cliff material and tweak over time or just for a slight variation to give a different look or vibe elsewhere on your course, or for another course.
I really think our next level look comes from placement of meshes around the course and not relying on terrain sculpt except for the playable course areas. The idea would be that a cliffside at Pebble would really be meshed out with a few rocks instead of a Unity sloped terrain with terrain paint. This allows for the combination of multiple Substance paintable materials and avoids some of the stretching involved with painting on vertical surfaces in Unity. Light will also interact with a 3D mesh better than a sloped surface.
I love looking at the art of others. K11, RobC, and Mikahenrick have always provided great inspiration around here. As complicated or overwhelming as it may seem, the best artists have a way of simplifying the workflows. As an example, this artist uses 2 rocks, 2 trees, and a handful of foliage meshes to create the following scene, (follow the link below and you'll see how he simplifies the construction)
by Joshua Williams, on ArtStation
https://www.artstati...m/artwork/zY2E6
Artstation is a phenomenal forum composed of beginners and pros in the gaming industry. They share substance materials, tutorials, and workflows. Ultimately, if you have Substance and download a material, you can see how the material is constructed from start to finish.
I have also been enjoying the work of Daniel Thiger https://www.artstati...thiger-aka-dete
I really think we can take these courses to the next level with or without CF2 or PG2. There are some benefits to the Unity 2018 if we will be allowed to join along. Regardless, as long as some iteration of the game is available to the community, I'd love to see what we can do.