When done properly grass is setup in at least 3 layers of world detail. Kunos does 3 layers and I experimented with 5 on NJMP and it works well.
Basically it works like this. Say you have 30,000 grass objects. Layer 5, 4, and 3 (max, high, med) each get 10k objects. Then these are set with LOD numbers so as you drive the grass "crawls" loading each step as you get closer. Some tracks like RBR actually have some bad pop-in of the grass if you look for it. Doing this not only helps FPS at max detail but it gives the lower setting users some grass to see too.
As for why 3D grass. When done properly it really adds to the depth of the ground. When done wrong it really can ruin the overall look of the track.
Here is an example of my latest attempt at grass. I'll take a look at your textures James and see what can be done without having to remap all the 3D objects.
Basically it works like this. Say you have 30,000 grass objects. Layer 5, 4, and 3 (max, high, med) each get 10k objects. Then these are set with LOD numbers so as you drive the grass "crawls" loading each step as you get closer. Some tracks like RBR actually have some bad pop-in of the grass if you look for it. Doing this not only helps FPS at max detail but it gives the lower setting users some grass to see too.
As for why 3D grass. When done properly it really adds to the depth of the ground. When done wrong it really can ruin the overall look of the track.
Here is an example of my latest attempt at grass. I'll take a look at your textures James and see what can be done without having to remap all the 3D objects.