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UltraSceneryXT - large terrain/landscape generator

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  • Oso3DOso3D Posts: 15,011

    It's because the nomenclature is dumb. ;)

    8 bit really means 8 bit PER CHANNEL. RGB is three channels, so it's ACTUALLY 24 bit (8x3)

     

  • rainbud_7f9591930drainbud_7f9591930d Posts: 22

    Oso3D said:

    It's because the nomenclature is dumb. ;)

    8 bit really means 8 bit PER CHANNEL. RGB is three channels, so it's ACTUALLY 24 bit (8x3)

    Ohh... very crazy. Thank you for this answer.

     

  • rainbud_7f9591930drainbud_7f9591930d Posts: 22

    @HowieFarkes

    Would be nice to see a reloadbutton in UltrasceneryXT for

    USX Terrain [cavity].png

    USX Terrain [erosion flow].png

    USX Terrain [height].png

    So we could easily change this pngs with our modified versions.

    Many thanks.

     

  • TotteTotte Posts: 13,967
    edited April 2022

    Indeed Oso3D, so what is needed for really smooth heightmap is 16 bit grayscale, which is 16 bits of gray information, not 8 bits of grey information (as gray is the same value in R,G & B), so a 24 bit RGB image can only represent 8 bits of gret scale information. If 16bit image format exists and can be used by Qt 4.8 ,nor I, neither HowieFarkes, have found a way to use that in Qt 4.8 APIs.

     

     

     

    Post edited by Totte on
  • rainbud_7f9591930drainbud_7f9591930d Posts: 22

    Oso3D said:

    It's because the nomenclature is dumb. ;)

    8 bit really means 8 bit PER CHANNEL. RGB is three channels, so it's ACTUALLY 24 bit (8x3)

    But in this case we have a new problem.

    Ultrascenery internally seems to use PNG24. But the most Landscapegenerators export PNG16.

    And if i export TIF32 there seems to be no way to convert it to PNG24, only to PNG16.

     

     

  • rainbud_7f9591930drainbud_7f9591930d Posts: 22

    Totte said:

    Indeed Oso3D, so what is needed for really smooth heightmap is 16 bit grayscale, which is 16 bits of gray information, not 8 bits of grey information (as gray is the same value in R,G & B), so a 24 bit RGB image can only represent 8 bits of gret scale information. If 16bit image format exists and can be used by Qt 4.8 ,nor I, neither HowieFarkes, have found a way to use that in Qt 4.8 APIs.

    Ahhh... i think i understand now.

    The PNG16 exportet by landscapegenerators is a full 16bit grayscale picture.

    But Ultrascenery imports this and handles it as a 3x8bit RGB File. Which means, only 256 shades of grey.

    Not 65536 shades of gray.

    Oh what a mess...

     

     

     

  • HowieFarkesHowieFarkes Posts: 607

    There are external libraries I need to investigate that can enable 16bit usage but I was kinda under the impression last year (when most of the development of USXT occurred) that DS5 was just around the corner which will be based upon QT5.x which does also contain 16bit support. I was holding off until it's release - now it is still totally unknown when DS5 will be out so I'm not sure whether to wait.

  • AnEye4ArtAnEye4Art Posts: 766
    edited April 2022

    Oso3D said:

    I used heightmaps from World Creator without problems.

    I just made sure to reduce them to 1024 8 bit png first.

    What version of worldcreator are you using and what settings if you don't mind sharing. Also, here's an 8bit export and import with settings and the result.

    Capture WC.JPG
    442 x 988 - 53K
    Capture Daz.JPG
    489 x 444 - 27K
    Capture Daz 2.JPG
    1166 x 719 - 73K
    Capture PMG 24bit.JPG
    699 x 198 - 29K
    Post edited by AnEye4Art on
  • rainbud_7f9591930drainbud_7f9591930d Posts: 22
    edited April 2022

    HowieFarkes said:

    There are external libraries I need to investigate that can enable 16bit usage but I was kinda under the impression last year (when most of the development of USXT occurred) that DS5 was just around the corner which will be based upon QT5.x which does also contain 16bit support. I was holding off until it's release - now it is still totally unknown when DS5 will be out so I'm not sure whether to wait.

    Thank you very much.

    I will need to wait. Not my strongest ability, i think ;-)

     

     

     

     

    Post edited by rainbud_7f9591930d on
  • richardandtracyrichardandtracy Posts: 5,678

    HowieFarkes said:

    There are external libraries I need to investigate that can enable 16bit usage but I was kinda under the impression last year (when most of the development of USXT occurred) that DS5 was just around the corner which will be based upon QT5.x which does also contain 16bit support. I was holding off until it's release - now it is still totally unknown when DS5 will be out so I'm not sure whether to wait.

    Understandable, but could I put in an anguement for adding 16bit png support to the DS4 version.

    There are a few of us, and it's not a vanishingly small number, who have Win7 based hardware. Now that Win7 support for nVidia drivers has stopped we are left with 4.15 as the max level of DS we can load until our hardware dies and has to be replaced. There are also likely to be quite a number of people left behind by new (and more demanding) hardware requirements for DS5. This means it's likely all of these users will be far from early adopters of DS5 when it eventually arrives. And it's likely the 'low spec' machines will continue for some years. It has to be said that US & USXT are the most incredible addons for DS, and not being able to use them to the max while still being forced to use DS4 will be a real shame.

    It will obviously be down to your estimation of how difficult it will be to embody 16bit png's into USXT, and whether the effort is worth it given that - in all probability - a majority of people who really-really-want USXT for DS4 already have it without 16bit png support. However, it would be deeply appreciated if you could do it.

    Regards,

    Richard.

     

  • sandmanmaxsandmanmax Posts: 992

    richardandtracy said:

    HowieFarkes said:

    There are external libraries I need to investigate that can enable 16bit usage but I was kinda under the impression last year (when most of the development of USXT occurred) that DS5 was just around the corner which will be based upon QT5.x which does also contain 16bit support. I was holding off until it's release - now it is still totally unknown when DS5 will be out so I'm not sure whether to wait.

    Understandable, but could I put in an anguement for adding 16bit png support to the DS4 version.

    There are a few of us, and it's not a vanishingly small number, who have Win7 based hardware. Now that Win7 support for nVidia drivers has stopped we are left with 4.15 as the max level of DS we can load until our hardware dies and has to be replaced. There are also likely to be quite a number of people left behind by new (and more demanding) hardware requirements for DS5. This means it's likely all of these users will be far from early adopters of DS5 when it eventually arrives. And it's likely the 'low spec' machines will continue for some years. It has to be said that US & USXT are the most incredible addons for DS, and not being able to use them to the max while still being forced to use DS4 will be a real shame.

    It will obviously be down to your estimation of how difficult it will be to embody 16bit png's into USXT, and whether the effort is worth it given that - in all probability - a majority of people who really-really-want USXT for DS4 already have it without 16bit png support. However, it would be deeply appreciated if you could do it.

    Regards,

    Richard.

    Not to high-jack the thread, but could you briefly mention WHAT new (and more demanding) hardware requirements for DS5?  I'm on Win 10 and so far, don't have any issues, but if I'm going to, I'd like to be prepared.

  • richardandtracyrichardandtracy Posts: 5,678

    I can't. Nothing has been announced. But.. can I ask, when have DS hardware requirements ever reduced?

    I can't recall requirements ever reducing. Going up from 0.9->1 and 1->2 certainly had a hike in requirements. My PC during the DS1->2 move simply couldn't cope with the new capability of the program & I had to stop using DS for 12 years until I got a sufficiently capable machine. So, I have been hit by a major version requirment hike and am bearing that in mind for a possible DS4->5 hike. But, it's speculation. Not wild speculation, speculation based on previous history.

    Regards,

    Richard

     

     

  • sandmanmaxsandmanmax Posts: 992

    richardandtracy said:

    I can't. Nothing has been announced. But.. can I ask, when have DS hardware requirements ever reduced?

    I can't recall requirements ever reducing. Going up from 0.9->1 and 1->2 certainly had a hike in requirements. My PC during the DS1->2 move simply couldn't cope with the new capability of the program & I had to stop using DS for 12 years until I got a sufficiently capable machine. So, I have been hit by a major version requirment hike and am bearing that in mind for a possible DS4->5 hike. But, it's speculation. Not wild speculation, speculation based on previous history.

    Regards,

    Richard

    Oh, I understand.  My system is maxxed out.  The only way I can upgrade is start over with a new system.

  • Oso3DOso3D Posts: 15,011

    From WorldCreator, I've been working in 2048, and have tried outputting at 16 bit, but then convert to 1024 8 bit Grayscale png for what I use with USXT.

    I also like to add a tiny amount of noise and turn on erosion in USXT to help add a little detail in engine.

     

  • AnEye4ArtAnEye4Art Posts: 766
    edited April 2022
    Setting smoothing to a 2 and checking erosion works well to hide some of the banding but it also washes away the details I work into the terrain.
    Post edited by AnEye4Art on
  • Oso3DOso3D Posts: 15,011

    Oh sure, I'm just saying it can add some helpful elements.

    The banding is, I'm pretty sure, due to going from a larger resolution to 1024. Try reducing resolution before passing it to Daz.

     

  • ArtiniArtini Posts: 9,458
    edited April 2022

    Landscape with cyber accents

    image

    xt01pic02.jpg
    1920 x 1200 - 895K
    Post edited by Artini on
  • richardandtracyrichardandtracy Posts: 5,678

    Howie,

    I have been meaning to ask for a while: Is the treeline minimum height deliberately an integer value of meters, or is my machine playing up by not inputting something lke 0.15m for the tree minimum height? I only seem to be able to put in 0,1,2 etc.

    Regards,

    Richard

  • Oso3DOso3D Posts: 15,011

    Tip:

    With the normal setup, 'water level' on a grayscale height map is at brightness 70 (out of 255). I've found it useful to adjust levels a little to line that up properly. Maybe there's an easier way, but I don't know it yet...

     

  • barbultbarbult Posts: 24,244

    Oso3D said:

    Tip:

    With the normal setup, 'water level' on a grayscale height map is at brightness 70 (out of 255). I've found it useful to adjust levels a little to line that up properly. Maybe there's an easier way, but I don't know it yet...

    What are you lining up? I don't understand the context of this tip.

  • Oso3DOso3D Posts: 15,011

    Lining up water level in World Creator or whatever you are using.

    I mean, if you intend water level to be at one value and it's not, that's going to look off.

  • barbultbarbult Posts: 24,244

    Oso3D said:

    Lining up water level in World Creator or whatever you are using.

    I mean, if you intend water level to be at one value and it's not, that's going to look off.

    Thanks for the additional explanation.

  • DoctorJellybeanDoctorJellybean Posts: 8,465

    My first USXT render ... Suppertime.

     

    Mountain.png
    1822 x 887 - 3M
  • ArtiniArtini Posts: 9,458
    edited April 2022

    Another render...

    image

    xt02pic02.jpg
    1920 x 1200 - 791K
    Post edited by Artini on
  • AnEye4ArtAnEye4Art Posts: 766

    DoctorJellybean said:

    My first USXT render ... Suppertime.

     

    I like it. Is that the Albert Mansion in the distant? 

  • AnEye4ArtAnEye4Art Posts: 766

    Artini said:

    Another render...

    image

    Nice idea and nice render. 

  • DoctorJellybeanDoctorJellybean Posts: 8,465

    AnEye4Art said:

    DoctorJellybean said:

    My first USXT render ... Suppertime.

     

    I like it. Is that the Albert Mansion in the distant? 

    Thank you.

    Very good, yes. 

  • barbultbarbult Posts: 24,244
    DoctorJellybean said:

    My first USXT render ... Suppertime.

     

    I always like all the extra details you add to your scenes.
  • jag11jag11 Posts: 885

    DoctorJellybean said:

    My first USXT render ... Suppertime.

     

    That's nice.

  • ArtiniArtini Posts: 9,458

    AnEye4Art said:

    Artini said:

    Another render...

    image

    Nice idea and nice render. 

    Thanks a lot for the comments.

     

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