Gears Tactics: Grass Thickening Effect

Grass Thickening Effect
Created for Gears: Tactics by Splash Damage
In collaboration with the Coalition and Microsoft
All shots captured in real time from Unreal Engine.
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This technique gives grass a thicker look without having to pay the extra cost of more blades. If you bend the grass towards the camera plane, up to a certain point the eye doesn't notice what has happened, but the grass *looks* thicker and fuller. We saved already by having the foliage clipped early (Masked in Unreal), utilising the power of TAA to smooth the sharp edges which are usually an undesirable outcome of this effect, this allowed me to utilise to the full across the game world.
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Environment art by the team at Splash Damage