You can also use backgound terrains as fake conifer forrests by using a splatter type brush in Photoshop and painting splatters onto a bitmap. Uses more polys than an alpha plane but you can animate perpendicular to it and is fairly convincing if you stash them behind real trees. I've also done this flying over forrests and using alphas on the leading edge of the terrain and periodically making clearings that reveal more real trees. You can make some great alphas with stuff off the web or by taking pictures of trees that are quite convicing also. Bot