Creation of terrain textures

[Waffle]

I'm working on a write up for atlas creation and eventually hope to encompass the entire process of creating a terrain set from top to bottom.
I've attached a file for your review and any questions, suggestions would be appreciated. You welcome to add on to it - just post stuff here in this thread.
Thanks,

W

http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/waffle/terredit.pdf

[JimmyD3]

Thank you Waffle, been wanting to learn how to make maps, but everyone is too busy learning the New TE to help a beginner right now (and I understand). This will be a good first step for me. 

[USRanger]

I'm working on a write up for atlas creation and eventually hope to encompass the entire process of creating a terrain set from top to bottom.
I've attached a file for your review and any questions, suggestions would be appreciated. You welcome to add on to it - just post stuff here in this thread.
Thanks,

W

http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/waffle/terredit.pdf

Oh thank gawd!! 

[715]

Thanks for the writeup.  Please forgive me for asking a bunch of stupid questions, but I don't quite understand the new terrain structure.  Can someone tell me if I have the wrong ideas and fill in some blanks please?

I am mostly interested in the files that get imported as I was working on a DEM => AH terrain program when the new version was announced.  (I know artik made, and is probably updating, a better one, but I want to do my own just to keep my brain from atrophying).  The new height file is apparently a 4K x 4K signed 16 bit integer with a unit of feet.  (That's lucky for me because my program internally stores height in exactly that format.)  I also presume that negative height is allowed now (for example I can drive a Jeep below sea level in the shallow water near the port).  Is negative height allowable on dry land?  (The DEM datasets have a surprising number of holes in the ground that turn out to be open pit mines.) 

The old AH used water.bmp, waterc.bmp, and waterd.bmp to define water location, color, and "depth".  Those appear to be gone now and shorelines appear to be smoothed using splines.  How does one specify water, specifically in an import file?  Is it part of the terrain type file (which I presume is splattype.bmp).  How does one specify lakes and rivers?   Also, is it true that anything at alt <= 0 ft is rendered as ocean?  I tried that in my program, but it turned too much low lying coastal areas into ocean due to round off error (DEM resolution is 1 meter).

Sorry for all the questions, but I want to understand the structure, especially for adding water so I can make use of GSHHS vector datasets.

[USRanger]

   So if I read right, to create one custom texture it will require 5 .bmps of the various types?  Can you make just one or a couple custom textures, or do you have to do them all for it to work?  Let's say I made the 5 diferent .bmps for a custom texture.  Where do I put them?  In the main folder for the terrain?  In the texsrc folder?  In a folder by themselves?  If so, what do you name the folder?  Since you can name the texture(s) whatever you want, how does the TE know where to place them in the texture selection box in the TE?  Let me use avaatoll as an example.  Since they got rid of underwater textures (boo!!!) I only need to use two custom textures on the islands.  Can I just make two custom textures, or do I need to make all of the to fill out the entire terrset?

[hitech]

You have to make the entire set but at some point we may ship the originals

[Easyscor]

snip

Can someone tell me if I have the wrong ideas and fill in some blanks please?

Sorry for all the questions, but I want to understand the structure, especially for adding water so I can make use of GSHHS vector datasets.

PM me.

[USRanger]

You have to make the entire set but at some point we may ship the originals

Yes please!!!  If I only need to add one custom texture, I'd rather just have to make the 5 associated .bmps and copy & paste the other original 95, instead of having to make 100 new .bmps just to add one texture.  Please!

[Waffle]

I think it would be nice to have an online  repository of stock terrain typez and user submitted / created terrain types. That way map makers could pick and download terrain types for their atlas.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

[USRanger]

I think it would be nice to have an online  repository of stock terrain typez and user submitted / created terrain types. That way map makers could pick and download terrain types for their atlas.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

I'm down with sharing all my stuff.

[hitech]

Yes please!!!  If I only need to add one custom texture, I'd rather just have to make the 5 associated .bmps and copy & paste the other original 95, instead of having to make 100 new .bmps just to add one texture.  Please!

You will need to make the entire 5 textures for one tile type.

HiTech

[USRanger]

Right!

[Easyscor]

I was surprised that the default clutter stays in the terrain once you build it. It didn't show in the TE, probably because I must have had clutter disabled.

I expected the type0clutter.bmp to change the clutter in the built terrain but did I missed something?

Is the type0clutter.bmp active in the TE and will it eventually change the trees and other ground clutter?

[hitech]

It is supposed to be

[Easyscor]

Right, I guess. The default clutter is supposed to be in the built terrain. We can't modify it yet.

hehe, the OE didn't like it when I tried to force it to build a clutter set. Nice recovery! Now I'm thinking about what that would look like.