Good Method For Creating Terrain

[H-Hour 0]

Hey,

Ok, I'm just starting out with 3DSM and figuring some stuff out. I'm planning on trying to make a little outdoors terrain (fairly hilly) just to get a feel for sizes and for sculpting the terrain in GR.

To create the landscape, I'm finding the easiest thing to do for me is to use the Standard Primitives and create a "Plane". I can then convert to editable mesh and manipulate the various vertices to shape my terrain. This way appeals to me very much because of all the years I've made Quake 2 maps, where I learned to work with vertices.

Now, I'm wondering if there are any particular problems with doing it this way, or if there are better ways to go about it (whether easier or to create better performance). How do you guys create terrain? Also, I know with Quake 2 there was always the issue of max poly's and framerate. Is there a document somewhere that talks about how to find out what kind of performance your map will get or what are poly counts to look out for, etc?

Sorry for the newb questions. I've just finally gotten 3DSM and I'm eager to do this right.

Thanks.

[GRT 0]

50,000 is a good polycount(i think castle map is 43,000) i create a quadpatch and make it out to however size i want then put more segments ...and in your IT cd a folder called Extra look in there at the level building.pdf

[sleeper 0]

I make my terrains using the same method. It can take a bit of time doing it that way but once you get used to it its not so bad.

[H-Hour 0]

Thanks guys. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't doing it in a bad way or anything. Now that I've learned to attach all the different sections, editing the terrain later has become a lot easier.

[hartog 0]

you can also add a "noise" modifier and break up the "flat" faces some. it helps with a little realisim i think

[H-Hour 0]

Ooh. It took me some trial and error (I'm new to 3DSM), but I got that Noise thing to work, but I like it. Wish I had a little more control over what the general shape of the terrain would be though (instead of basically random). Thanks!

[Dr.Jeckyl 0]

if i'm doing a map and i don't really need a defined hill pattern i use the displace modifier. first i go to photoshop and create a 512*512 texture and give it a clouds filter and adjust the levels so it is more defined black and white and less grey then i save it. then i go into max and use that texture as my displacement map or heightmap. with a 400m*400m terrain a strentgh of 5-10 is pretty good depending on the hieght of the hills you want. you can also go and define the white areas in your heightmap and make a hill pattern you want.

NOTE: white goes up(raised area) and black goes down(lower area) or stays lower with + numbers for the stregth.

Edited November 11, 2003 by Dr.Jeckyl

[H-Hour 0]

That's exactly what I was looking for! Thanks Jeckyl!

[[GRT1]Kpl.Eli 0]

Or you can make it for yourself too, when ya take the airbrush tool in Photoshop or Paint shop pro.

Works the same way.

kp