Terrain Design

[Midnight]

How do most of you go from design concept to finished terrain?

I am rank newbie with the TE, but have designed (on paper) a map that I am now trying to build.

The part that has me scratching my head the most is actually laying out the ground and making it look like actual rolling terrain with rounded hills and beaches that are not all straight lines.

Right now, all of the ground elements are too boxy or square. What do you guys do?

[pokie]

Since you have a designed on paper I would think that you would be either using AKwabbit's program or doing the land mass while in the TE.


Land masses in the TE are made up of 2 files.
.ELV   elevation ( 0 feet to say 30,000 feet max. ( can't remember the max. height ??? 33,000 feet )
.TYP   type ( land textures.... grass, rock water etc..  )
These files are generated when you are in the TE and make a name of a Terrain and then save.
You'll get all Water textures and 0 feet for Elevation.

There are several ways to go about making a land mass.
I don't how many different ways there are, I'm just going to list some.

   Open the TE and click the mouse and Raise and Texture for each Grid Square to your liking.  Max. selectable area at 1 time is 41 miles X 41 miles and this area will be raise, lower and textured  all the same.  Size of the Terrain is 512 miles X 512 miles.
Using the Setup Filter helps with making the large Mountains areas.  This is done with trail and error, to get them just the way you want.

   Use AKWabbit's Bitmap to Terrain Importer ( Bmp2map )
http://www.accesswave.ca/~tscott/AH-stuff/AH-Editor&Stuff/AKBmp2map/akbmp2map.exe
You work with a 1024 X 1024 bmp ( Grayscale ) image which you'll need to open with any Paint program.  Anything from Windows Paint to better programs like Corel draw, Photoshop etc.
Pure Black = 0 feet, Pure White = Max. height which is entered in the Bmp2map program.
This program will make your .ELV and .TYP files for the TE
Made up a little help file that may be useful
http://www.accesswave.ca/~tscott/AH-stuff/AH-Editor&Stuff/AKBmp2map/AKBmp2Map-Help2.zip

   Use the Import section of the TE and import a 1024 X 1024 grayscale image.

   If you want real life places you'll most likely be working with .DEM files and use them with
Ogre's MapMaker utility http://www.cris.com/~reaper/mapmaker which gives you the land mass of the area of the world that the .Dem files represents.  This program will make the .ELV and .TYP files for the TE.

   You could also use the 3dem program that I just posted in this section of the BB. http://www.hitechcreations.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=74005 which use the same .DEM files.  This program doesn't make .ELV or .TYP files but will create a .BMP that you can resize and convert to Grayscale which then can be either imported into the TE using the Import section of the TE or use the .bmp with AKWabbit's Bmp2map program and make the .ELV and .TYP files.

OR  you be using any combination of these programs.

Pokie