Large 3D Terrain (L3DT) and TerreSculptor little import problem :/

[Tonyformia]

Hi,

I'm just starting with UDK and other things (more like hobby) and i'm going through tutorials atm.

After making map in L3DT i exported Highfield layer as RAW 16-bit file. But after importing it to TerreSculptor strange things happening. Please look on pictures attached. All high points going under map :/
I don't know why, and couldn't find anything in help of these programs.

If someone will know a reason please let me know. Its just simple small test map for my game.

Or maybe you know better programs to make terrain with heigh and weight masks?

Pictures:


render in TerraSculptor:


Happend with any map im trying to do this way. Problem is when i have high point on mid of map :/

Thanks for any help.

[Monkey-666]

Not sure what's causing your problem as I don't use L3DT so I can't replicate it. All i can suggest is hand painting a greyscale image like the one you posted, using your favourite image editing software. Save it as a 16bit BMP and import that into Terresculptor. Also, just to clarify, make sure your image is the correct size dimension wise.

This page details everything you need to know about landscape sizes (in-case you havnt already read it :P)

EDIT: Failing that, you could also try playing about with Terresculptors noise generator, you can get some pretty **** good results with that alone. Try using ridged generator and playing around until you get something you like.

[Tonyformia]

Thanks, i will look later today and play with different file format to export/import and also make some tests with photoshop etc.

In terrasculptors i hate that i cant decide where i want lake, where mountain etc. (or maybe i can but don't know how )

For example i want map with mountains around (closing map) and bump in one corner and lake on other. L3DT have easy tool for that, u just mark and color squares on map.

Do you know any good program where i can make my own map with designer, wizard etc? Or even manually with brush like it is in UDK landscape creator.

[Monkey-666]

I don't know any better way of doing it myself, but then, i quite enjoy making height maps in photoshop :P

And im the same as you with not being able to decide where to put stuff :P

Here's a map im working on at the minute. It's kinda what i imagine your going for. Enclosed with a lake in the middle, ive spent ages twiddling around with it to get it how i want. As you can see its not completely enclosed, but i did that intentionally, the play wont be able to get that way (don't just have to block the player with water or hills :P). I will also create another lower detail landscape to fit under and around this one, as a fake backdrop that's not so fake :P

From my experience, you just gotta play around and see what you can get.

[Tonyformia]

For now im tired of trying to make this map :P i will sit on it in 1-2 hours.

I will try your way and try making highmap in photoshop. Do you use any filters etc? like blur to make smooth pass etc? Or just white-gray painting + adjustments of light,contrast etc?

Any advice or link could be nice (anyway i will look for information after i rest a bit of it)

P.S.
I hate programs where i can't decide where i want my lake and where is small river to that lake etc etc.
For now i will just put high mountains around to close map, later i will play with something around.
This will be just test easy map for my game. Have animated sky and sun ready. I'm making piece by piece learning on this one atm. As i said im beginer and making this more for fun and relax than job. But who knows if i will be good hehe

Ahh i forgot : Really nice map but huge, my game will be on small maps like 200-500 (and yes i'm working with UDN u linked for map sizes, i found it when landscape tool didn't let me create )

[Monkey-666]

A mixture of both to be honest. I only really use photoshop for a quick idea of what im after. I used to go into alot more detail when i used to make height maps for other games (Morrowind :P) I should mention, ive not really found a good way to get an image from photoshop to UDk via terresculptor looking as good as one made in terresculptor alone. The noise generator destroys any evidence of the map you started with, and ive never really got any good results using terresculptors erosion

I did have a huge map of New Zealand's north island, near 1:1 scale in the editor. But i cant for the life of me think how i got it imported to terresculptor

EDIT: Found it,
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22925394/UDK help/NorthIsland-01.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22925394/UDK help/NorthIsland-02.jpg


The size isnt the problem. The thing i cant get right when going from photoshop to terresculptor is the huge steps in the landscape. I played around with erosion and smoothing but just couldn't seem to get the effect I wanted without too much loss. I'm pretty sure its to do with the bit depth of the image i created in photoshop, but ive not played around with it enough.

[Tonyformia]

when i had "to high steps" i played a bit with Modify->Altitude thing. Helped a bit but still its not what i want :/ and still high parts of terrain are under ground.

All this software makes so great big maps with everything u need but when i want just small map with mountains around small lake on corner and small hill on other side, maybe small river to. Just green grass texture + some rock one for mountains and a bit white on tops of high ones - super software have problem

I just want to make like cartoon looking one with some addings.

I made map in UDK first, but its still not what i want and just "can be" but how can i make weightlayers now from UDK level? For textures? Or just paint each texture separate? Maybe there is something like export heighmap from UDK and i can make wegightmaps in terrasculpure?

Screens: (its basic terrain as it will be test-map but still i want it's shape as i want):

sky(full animated but sun need some adjustments):

[Tonyformia]

Ok i made it for now. When i exported as RAW16-bit it was making mess around, but when i exported as BMP map looks great :]

One problem i had, after importing to TerraSculpur: map was flat and i had to change Modify->Altitude settings.

Going back to play around with smooth etc :]


Haha. After a man bit rest form thinking, all become clear :]

Imported that map to UDK and modified a bit....and there is export highmap option, imported to terrasc and map looks great. Now i can make weightmaps and all other.
Great. Lets make some comics textures for terrain

[Monkey-666]

Dammit, was just about to post this for you


http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22925394/UDK...nds-509-01.jpg

I see its not quite what you want. But just so you know, i made an 8bit bmp, imported, adjusted altitude, then went to modify>filter and used a 5x5 blur

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22925394/UDK help/Untitled-1.jpg

Thats the image i used, just in case you wanted to see how simple it is. You just have to play around a lot. Takes minutes to make a really awesome looking landscape, takes hours to get exactly what you want

[Tonyformia]

Thanks, Its about what i needed. I just made one, now i'm playing with adjustments. Need bit changes. Later i will make few simple textures and map will be finished next 3rd person camera and character model (simple for now, animations later) However in UDK map is more "deep" for example corner with lake is much much lower than in terrasculpu.

My new one:


Red dots is where small lake + river and waterfall will be. Just to test water effects, water physics, flow etc.
This is total test map.

Anyway to not make mess on forum.
If anyone will have same problem in future: just play with export file types. there is big change for me between RAW and RAW16 files when making highmap.

[Monkey-666]

About it being too deep, make sure you open up the landscape properties while in UDK (F4) and go down to the display section and set the z scale the same as x and y (default x and y is 128, z is 256 for some reason)

And your pretty much doing the same as me at the moment, experimenting with water. Making it flow and have particles and stuff on waterfalls and all that JAZZ

Anyway, hope this helps!

[Tonyformia]

Hi,

Thanks for that I missed this on properties and i missed when guy said about that in tutorial Point for u.
Here is part of my map after adding textures, need bit more touching up later. For now it will be test map and i want to "feel good" in it.


Whole map will be not much realistic, more like cartoon style. Same as will be my game.
Now i want to find good tutorial for water. Later i will make tree models...and Big mushrooms :> hehe