Trees
Trees add realism, interest, and a sense of place to a terrainThe landscape in your scene. A Terrain GameObject adds a large flat plane to your scene and you can use the Terrain’s Inspector window to create a detailed landscape. More info
See in Glossary.
There are two ways to create new tree models:
- Use the Tree Editor to create tree models in the Unity Editor. The Tree Editor works only with the Built-In Render PipelineA series of operations that take the contents of a Scene, and displays them on a screen. Unity lets you choose from pre-built render pipelines, or write your own. More info
See in Glossary. For most uses, the SpeedTree Modeler replaces the Tree Editor. For backward compatibility with content created before SpeedTree was introduced, use Tree Editor. - Use the SpeedTree Modeler to create trees with advanced visual effects, such as smooth level of detailThe Level Of Detail (LOD) technique is an optimization that reduces the number of triangles that Unity has to render for a GameObject when its distance from the Camera increases. More info
See in Glossary (LOD) transition, fast billboarding, and natural wind animation. SpeedTree supports the Built-In Render Pipeline, the Universal Render Pipeline (URP), and the High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP). For more information, refer to the SpeedTree Modeler documentation.
| Topic | Description |
|---|---|
| Create trees with Tree Editor | Create trees in the Unity Editor with the Tree Editor. For the Built-In Render Pipeline only. |
| Import trees from SpeedTree | Import and use trees from SpeedTree for any render pipeline. |
| Tree level of detail (LOD) | Learn how Tree Editor and SpeedTree optimize tree rendering. |
| Add collision to trees | Add collisionA collision occurs when the physics engine detects that the colliders of two GameObjects make contact or overlap, when at least one has a Rigidbody component and is in motion. More info See in Glossary to trees with a Capsule ColliderAn invisible shape that is used to handle physical collisions for an object. A collider doesn’t need to be exactly the same shape as the object’s mesh - a rough approximation is often more efficient and indistinguishable in gameplay. More info See in Glossary or a SpeedTree Collision object. |
| Add trees to the terrain | Add trees with the Paint Trees tool. |
| Animate trees with Wind Zones | Use the Wind ZoneA GameObject that adds the effect of wind to your terrain. For instance, Trees within a wind zone will bend in a realistic animated fashion and the wind itself will move in pulses to create natural patterns of movement among the tree. More info See in Glossary GameObjectThe fundamental object in Unity scenes, which can represent characters, props, scenery, cameras, waypoints, and more. A GameObject’s functionality is defined by the Components attached to it. More info See in Glossary to animate tree movement. |
