Tutorials...???

Im seeing plenty of people viewing these posts...but only 1 follower and almost no comments.....!!!!

come on people...if ur liking it... at-least..comment.....so that i can actually start on the tutorials.

Terrain Ready

Ok...so i have been away for a while .....AGAIN.....but...got the terrain done....steps as follows:

1- drew a box region around the terrain i want to extract in Global Mapper.
2- Exported the selection in two formats:
    a- Terragen Terrain Elevation 16k (so as to get the most detail)
    b- PNG image of the Satellite at 4k
3- Imported and cooked the terrain in World Machine using Tile builds 2k (4x4).
    I would like to mention the great support from SixTimesNothing (http://sixtimesnothing.wordpress.com/2010/02/24/terrain-toolkit-released-finally/) who helped me fix the terrain inside Unity using their truely AWESOME Terrain Toolkit (FREE).

4- Created the 4x4 matrix terrains (2k each) inside unity....imported the RAW heightmaps and using STITCH to exactly blend them together...although...by using World Machine and zero blend ...the terrain already tiled perfectly...but just a precaution, i used stitch...things DO go wrong in import exports....like Customs at the docks for example :D

5- using SixTimeNothing (6x0) Terrain Toolkit....i selected my slopes, heights and materials to seamlessly blend the sand, rocks and debris onto the terrain.....this was to see how it looked overall....i had to do this 16 times......after the 3rd terrain i realized i could have done it easier....create 1 terrain..apply the toolkit, materials etc....and then duplicate it and just change the heightmap.

6- using EasyRoads 1.85 ....and over laying the SAT image...i created the road network....

7- added UniStorm system...Edy's Vehicle Physics......and tweaking the settings as in their manuals.....

 then adding the systems and the roads....

in game capture........

will start on making the game...start...end...minimap and challenge......

Quick Test

Using the same slot map in WorldMachine......just editing some factors....we have a much smother terrain.....excellent elevations......and a beautiful slope towards the sea level....

next....back to creating the splat maps to use for textures....plants...rocks etc...
this will have to cook for a while.....so will update images soon....insha Allah

What went wrong...???

Ok...now that Im back to the game project...and having plenty of time to work on it, I found what i was doing wrong in terms of terrain preparation.

When i started working on the terrain itself, getting the heightmap out of Global Mapper....i simply did not alter the light angle in the settings....this exported the shadows some mountains dropped on the terrain as deep cavities in the surface.......THATS why i had to do so many processes to get it the way i saw it in real life...

so ....how to do this...

Open up Global Mapper......select Tools menu.....select Configure...this window will open up.....just alter your settings as i have here...

with that done....you can now export your terrain as Raster Elevation Grid.....i chose Terragen Terrain File....as it works very well with WorldMachine 2 and my 3DS Max plugin Gugila GroundWiz.

Back to Life

so...after a loooooooooong time away...im back on track working on the game. It took me all this time to get a very simple project for a client to launch..... they kept updating software....changing hardware....moving offices......changing project contact.....wish i had included a delay time fine.....i guess we learn from our mistakes.....the dollar rate tripled since signing the contract in relation to our currency...and so...i literally did the project for  a 60% discount......yuuuuukh......heads up next time around.

I will be updating posts soon with the terrain...and if that works fine...will release a small demo very soon insha Allah.

now...back to the kitchen for a quick coffee....and turn into a cat so i can chase my mouse again :)

Terrain parameters set...and cooking

Using World Machine 2.2 ....and a very short learning curve....i managed to come up with a flow of processes or devices as they name them....to produce very nice terrain...and great detail too...

Im currently outputting 1 Splat map for terrain, one for trees and one for grass/bushes....this is to test out the whole scene at 4096 res......then we go into the 28km tiled (28672 x 28672 made up of 2046 tiles 14x14)....

a quick test in unity.....scaled the terrain to 28000units (i.e. 28km) and runs smoothly....very happy with the results....

28k x28k......but low res texture splat compared to terrain size.....still looks good though

Back to the drawing board...Yet AGAIN

After painstakingly drawing the terrain and adding the roads.....i inserted the car from Edy's Vehicle Physics to have a test run......

Frame rates of max 72fps..and average of 43fps..on a nVidea GFX 560Ti..and 12Gb hyper 4x RAM @ 1300mhz...so image how that will look on a standard PC.....almost no game play at all will be achieved...

So.....solution.....tiling the terrain and applying detailed splat maps for the textures and foliage......and of course....the stones.

So.....using World Machine 2 (free edition).....which can export to 512px i decided to redo the whole terrain....as high as possible in this res and tile them up using stitchscape in Unity3d.....

Splat maps will be created in Vue Xstream using ecosystem to properly plant the foliage and place the stones..... and also add the appropriate texture to the terrain itself.



ahhhhhhhhhhhh.......seems i need more coffee and a big freaking steak with mashed potatoes and gravy sauce.....thats beside ur prayers of course.... :)