Speedtree is just a tool , like all of the other tools we have in our palette . Its not useless , but its up to each team , to decide if its right for there specific project . Some teams don't have people that can put out large numbers of plants and trees each week , because plants can be tricky to make for some , so for them speedtree is great . But if you are a high level content creator that can make a lot of ( RT) plants and trees each week , then you can more than likely also produce a lot of creature and character models as well , in this case , it comes down to a matter of time and usefulness to your project . Do you want to spend time on trees , or do you want to make creatures instead . If you have a totally custom look planned for your world , such as forms of exotic plants , you are most likely going to want to produce your own plants and trees , to give your world , your exact type of look . It depends on how picky you are as well , because you might not accept speedtree or other types of trees for your look . Overall , speedtree is not at all useless , it is just less useful for some groups and only your team can answer that question