/Users/forgebot/.hermes/workspace/coal-valley-library-review/index.html
TREE LIBRARY / COAL VALLEY, ILLINOIS

Library Trees, Ranked for Coal Valley

10 ranked candidates (rendered assets and catalog previews) + 6 real-tree references in a 4 × 4 review board. Rank favors regional appearance, then useful canopy shape; it is not a performance score. Click a tree to compare it with a regional reference.

ForgeFX Simulations

1. Meadow — NatureManufacture

Best of the recent environment sets for this scene. Poplar 01 and 05 are already represented by actual Unreal renders and browser model records.

Pack contact sheet ↗

2. Megaplants — Quixel / Fab

Start with Black Alder, Norway Maple Forest and English Oak for visual matching. These are recently cataloged publisher previews; a catalog card alone does not prove downloaded or Unity-ready assets.

Black Alder ↗ · Norway Maple ↗ · English Oak ↗

3. Mountain — NatureManufacture

Also recently cataloged, but pine-heavy. Keep it for occasional conifer accents, not the dominant Coal Valley deciduous woodland. No Mountain tree makes this top ten.

Pack contact sheet ↗
Best exact-species starting point: our existing SpeedTree white oak, sugar maple and American sycamore (#01–03). Their earlier Unity trial showed a substantial rendering cost; these pictures are appearance evidence, not a fast-tree recommendation. Archive presence is not a new license or proof of redistribution rights.
01–10: ranked library candidates   R1–R6: real regional references
Actual Unity render

White Oak

SpeedTree / existing archive

Exact regional species. Broad, spreading oak crown: first choice for the main woodland.

Library record ↗
Actual Unity render

Sugar Maple

SpeedTree / existing archive

Exact regional species. Dense rounded canopy to mix through the oak-dominated treeline.

Library record ↗
Actual Unity render

American Sycamore

SpeedTree / existing archive

Exact regional species. Use near the pond and lower ground; distinctive pale branches.

Library record ↗
Actual Unreal render

Poplar Tree 05

NatureManufacture Meadow

Best recent rendered canopy shape: compact, leafy and rounded. Use as a general deciduous accent; exact botanical species is not documented.

Library record ↗
Fab publisher preview

Black Alder

Quixel Megaplants

Rounded layered crowns make a useful wet-edge broadleaf substitute. Not silver maple and not a verified local alder.

Library record ↗ · Fab ↗
Fab publisher preview

Norway Maple Forest

Quixel Megaplants

Maple foliage is a useful match, but these preview variants have tall, exposed stems. Favor the fuller forms; not sugar maple.

Library record ↗ · Fab ↗
Fab publisher preview

English Oak

Quixel Megaplants

Oak-family leaf character is useful, but the shown variants are slender forest trees, not spreading mature white/bur oaks. Secondary canopy only.

Library record ↗ · Fab ↗
Actual Unreal render

Poplar Tree 01

NatureManufacture Meadow

Smaller, narrower crown than variant 05. Useful young-tree variation near damp ground, not a main woodland canopy.

Library record ↗
Fab publisher preview

European Aspen

Quixel Megaplants

Light-crowned poplar-family variation for secondary groups. Weaker match than the broad oak/maple canopy.

Library record ↗ · Fab ↗
Fab publisher preview

Black Poplar

Quixel Megaplants

Very columnar in this preview: weakest overall match. Reserve for an occasional upright planted accent, not a broad cottonwood stand.

Library record ↗ · Fab ↗
Real photograph / regional reference

white oak

Quercus alba

Marty Aligata at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
Reference species; not a Coal Valley site photograph.

Original & attribution ↗ · License
Real photograph / regional reference

bur oak

Quercus macrocarpa

Heath Cajandig · CC BY 2.0
Reference species; not a Coal Valley site photograph.

Original & attribution ↗ · License
Real photograph / regional reference

sugar maple

Acer saccharum

Bruce Marlin · CC BY-SA 2.5
Reference species; not a Coal Valley site photograph.

Original & attribution ↗ · License
Real photograph / regional reference

silver maple

Acer saccharinum

Darkone ( talk · contribs ) · CC BY-SA 2.5
Reference species; not a Coal Valley site photograph.

Original & attribution ↗ · License
Real photograph / regional reference

American sycamore

Platanus occidentalis

Bruce Marlin · CC BY-SA 2.5
Reference species; not a Coal Valley site photograph.

Original & attribution ↗ · License
Real photograph / regional reference

eastern cottonwood

Populus deltoides

Calistemon · CC BY-SA 4.0
Leaf-off seasonal reference; compare structure, not canopy density.

Original & attribution ↗ · License
Feedback: reply with card numbers and what to keep or change—for example, “04 canopy, 06 height, less dense.” The comparison viewer keeps each actual asset name visible so substitutes cannot be mistaken for native species. Meadow 01 and 05 are model variants, not separate species.

Using These in Brandon’s Scene

Build the look around broad oak/maple crowns, add poplar/cottonwood-like accents near low ground, and avoid a pine-dominated skyline. The ranking is an art-direction judgment informed by Illinois woodland types—not a local tree census. Match season, height and camera before deciding.

Orbit Meadow Poplar 01 ↗ · Orbit Meadow Poplar 05 ↗ · Existing Unity trial: all 20 renders ↗

Unreal materials, wind and LOD behavior do not automatically transfer to Unity or the static GLB viewers. Test the selected trees with basic shadows enabled on the target machine. No purchases or scene changes were made for this review.