The whole thread is intresting but especially this post. It shows how the alpha layer effects the overall color of the texture. https://forums.torque3d.org/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=1540#p11397 Borrowed image form that post: "1: Black background for the alpha gives the most definition to individual elements and thus slightly darker all round colour. 2: A darkened coloured alpha representative of a dark part of the leaves gives a softer look to the overall tree. 3: A mid coloured alpha based on the darker part of the leaves gives a brighter colour and an overall softer look to the tree."
Yeah, you usually want to paint the border of the texture the same color, to avoid visible edges due mip maps) For example here's a confetti texture, with the alpha overlayed in red: The color done like this allows to avoid any sort of visible edges when you see the textures from distance. If we painted anything outside the border as black, you'd see noticeable black edges at distance. Same applies for trees, I'm pretty sure we already do the same, as it's one of the basics with alpha images.
Thank you for that explanatory response! Its those thing i never get the time to find out, my will is greater than my free time when it comes to recreating environments (nature especially) in games, so to speak. Ideally id want to be able to recreate realistic, european, nature environments (f.ex. Kingdom Come) but ill have to become a millionaire to get the time to do that. I can make the 3d models, i can texture them but i can never get them to look right in BeamNG. Found it intresting that this also effects the tone of the texture, if i understand this right. Btw, a confetti texture ey? From Beamng ey? Uploaded to the media server, as in it might be ingame ey? Im not curious at all, i promise..
