Batch Creating and Exporting Tiled Terrain?

Reshirom200

I am working on a project using Bryce 7.1 and I am making a massive terrain out of several smaller heightmaps.  I have been doing (what I presume to be the hard way) by creating a terrain and exporting the heightmap (along with textures) in a spiral procedure (IE N>E>S>W>N>N>E>E>E>S>etc...).  Is there a simpler (and faster) way to do this?

~Thanks

Horo

A terrain created in the Bryce terrain editor (TE) is a height map as 16-bit grey-scale TIFF file. It can be saved as image. If you have a terrain and exit the TE, this height map image is converted to a quad mesh. This one can be exported as mesh object to be used in another 3D application or saved in the Bryce object library.

To create tiles to assemble a bigger terrain, first find a fractal that looks good for you. Each time you click on Fractal, a new random terrain is created, once you have one that you want, click on the down arrow right of Fractal and disable the three Random options. Create a terrain and exit the TE. Do NOT change the sizes X and Z of the terrain, keep them at 81.92. Then go back into the TE, click on the down arrow right of Fractal and at the bottom of the list, select the Tile direction you want, then hit Fractal, exit the TE and you have the next terrain.

The new terrain is over the first one, now place it. If you tiled East, hold down the [Shift]-key and click 8 times the right arrow key. This moves the terrain to the right (east as seen from above). Now there is a small gap between them: the gap is to the north and east of every terrain and is 0.16 BU (Bryce Unit) wide. Hold down the [Alt]-key and hit the left arrow key twice. Now the terrains are aligned without a gap.

Build up your tiles by changing the tile direction, then move the new terrain to its position. Going East, South, West, North gives you a 4 tile terrain. Once you have them all, group them and now you can resize them as you wish. Give them a material as World Space. Giving each terrain a separate material would most probably make the seams visible.

Here is a 16-page PDF that may answer many questions about the TE, also those you have never asked. https://horo.ch/docs/mine/pdf/TE-TerrainEditor.pdf

 

hubert

@ Horo: Very interesting information about the TE. Many thanks for these detailed instructions. And for your collection of great tutorials too! :)

Horo

hubert - you are welcome.