im trying to make an island and right now i have two solutions but i need to decide which one to use. and thats y i need u guys opinions. 
first, i could use pure 3ds models. a big one as a base and a bunch of small ones as contents like trees buildings and stuff.
second i could use an image based height map + terrain block as the base, and a bunch of small 3ds models as the contents.
which one do u guys think it would be better as in higher graphical quality and more efficient in terms of fps.
thx~ XD
Given some of the issues you're having (based on other threads) maybe it's best to go full 3DS models. I doubt there would be significant performance differences either way so long as you spend time tuning both approaches to optimize things.
If you go for the fully modeled terrain you'd need to keep an eye on poly count, and it might make sense to create your one large "master" island model and then chop it into smaller regularly sized blocks which you reassemble inside jME. I think that would allow for more efficient culling and other oppurtunities to optimize perhaps with LOD.
Hopefully someone more experienced than I will give you some more input.
thx~
what im using right now is full 3ds models. and i just started thinking about converting some of the models with jme terrain blocks yesterday. and im already having alot of troubles lol~