Aces High Bulletin Board

General Forums => Terrain Editor => Topic started by: Ghastly on July 19, 2007, 05:42:12 PM

Title: Changiing terrain vertex elevations
Post by: Ghastly on July 19, 2007, 05:42:12 PM
(From Terrain Editor Help)

To change the elevation of just one vertex, Left Click on the terrain to highlight a vertex, then Right Click to set the elevation.  The elevation at that vertex will increase by the value showing in the Set Alt edit box.  

{Snip}

Terrain elevation can also be set in smaller increments, based on the value in the Inc Alt edit box.  Select a single vertex or an area of vertices, then Shift Right Click to raise the terrain.  Use Ctrl Right Click to incrementally decrease the elevation of the selected vertex or vertices.
_____________________________ _________________

For me, Right Click adjusts pitch and heading in the Terrain Editing Window, and CTRL right Click moves the terrain in the window.  

1) Is the documentation outdated so that this is no longer correct, or is something else interfering?

2) Even better yet, is is there anyway to grab and drag a vertex to set it's alt, rather than having to set it via the dialog boxes?   Doing so is very tedious ... heightmaps help, but it's hard to get a heightmap perfect before you import it.

3) Alternately, is there a tool that you guys can recommend to manually manipulate the heightmap that's less tedious?
 
!
Title: Changiing terrain vertex elevations
Post by: Avaro on July 19, 2007, 05:45:37 PM
Are you asking how to set elv? I use make bitmaps and import them.. :D
Title: Re: Changiing terrain vertex elevations
Post by: Easyscor on July 19, 2007, 06:04:59 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Ghastly
 

1) Is the documentation outdated so that this is no longer correct, or is something else interfering?
It's out of date.

2) Even better yet, is is there anyway to grab and drag a vertex to set it's alt, rather than having to set it via the dialog boxes?   Doing so is very tedious ... heightmaps help, but it's hard to get a heightmap perfect before you import it.
No.

3) Alternately, is there a tool that you guys can recommend to manually manipulate the heightmap that's less tedious?
 
Most use a bitmap and a graphics program.

!
Title: Changiing terrain vertex elevations
Post by: Solar10 on July 19, 2007, 06:46:16 PM
How do you use a bit map?
Title: Changiing terrain vertex elevations
Post by: Denholm on July 19, 2007, 06:48:30 PM
Generate a grayscale bitmap, here's an example of one:

(http://www.geekstudmuffin.com/images/929562516Greyscale.jpg)
Title: Changiing terrain vertex elevations
Post by: Easyscor on July 19, 2007, 07:12:09 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Solar10
How do you use a bit map?
The TE will import a 256 level grayscale bitmap. It must be 1024 x 1024 pixels, white (or the lightest gray) is the high point and jet black is 0 elevation. The TE will ask what the highest elevation should be when you import it.

Build the bitmap
Import bitmap and review/tweak
Export bitmap and make gross changes
Import the bitmap for fine tuning
Rinse and repeat

Tilesetter and mapbmp are useful utilities for setting tile types and building a nicer clipboard map.
Title: Changiing terrain vertex elevations
Post by: Ghastly on July 19, 2007, 08:25:26 PM
Thx guys.  I'm using heightmaps as well but was hoping that I could speed up the "tweak" and most especially the "fine tune" portions of the iterative part of the process as mentioned here:

Quote
Import bitmap and review/tweak
Export bitmap and make gross changes
Import the bitmap for fine tuning


At least for me, what looks good on the graphic is at times not at all what I intended once I import it - perhaps with more experience I'll get better at getting it close without so much monkeying about with it.

Title: Changiing terrain vertex elevations
Post by: Solar10 on July 20, 2007, 10:41:44 AM
Sweet.  Got it working last night.  All I have to do now is to create a good grayscale BMP which should not be too difficult.  

I also used MachNix's tilesetter to then populate the map with tiles.  Worked a charm.   MachNix.
Title: Changiing terrain vertex elevations
Post by: OOZ662 on July 21, 2007, 01:15:27 AM
Yeesh Denholm, just hijack my bitmap. :D

That actually isn't a very good example, as that's the 512x512 version. If you took that and copy/pasted it into the center of a black square that's 1024x1024,  then it would be in the correct format.

Also, it seems that if you take a bitmap exported by the TE and use it with TileSetter, it messes up. You have to convert it to greyscale first, for some reason.
Title: Changiing terrain vertex elevations
Post by: Denholm on July 21, 2007, 08:38:00 AM
Quote
Originally posted by OOZ662
Yeesh Denholm, just hijack my bitmap. :D...

Notice I was using your old one? That way I was not showing something currently being used in terrain building. Please excuse me if I forgot to mention the creator.:cool: