Difference between revisions of "Heightmap Editing"

[[image:heightmapeditor.jpg|thumb|right|Heightmap Editor Window]]

::*'''Import''' This option allows you to use 1024x1024 16-bit RAW format images as a starting template for heightmap painting. These should be located in your "Oblivion\Data\HeightField" directory and named according to [http://cs.elderscrolls.com/constwiki/index.php/Image:Overviewgrid.jpg this grid] (ex: Oblivion\Data\HeightField\0_0.raw). The files should also have been saved with these Raw Option settings: Count: 1, Depth: 16 Bits, Byte Order: IBM PC.

::*'''Export''' This option allows you to export heightmap sections in 1024x1024 16-bit RAW format images. The files are created to "C:\Program Files\Bethesda Softworks\Oblivion" and named "Q1.raw" through "Q4.raw". These files can be opened in Photoshop with these Raw Option settings: Count: 1, Depth: 16 Bits, Byte Order: IBM PC.

::*'''Generate LOD''' This option allows you to generate LOD meshes, in Gambryo's .NIF file format, for use in the game world. Additionally, the LOD generation process will create normal maps based off of the terrain height information for the LOD terrain textures, as well as combining the terrain LOD mesh normal maps with any potential user-made terrain LOD texture normal maps. The final results for the texture combinations are saved out as .DDS format files, with an _FN suffix in the file name. There are two LOD generation options, which vary only in generation speed and accuracy. They are '''Quick Prototype''' and '''Full''' and are less accurate but faster, and more accurate but slower, respectively. Diffuse maps for LOD terrain textures are generated through the right-click menu in the editor's [[Render Window|render window]].

::*'''Show Overlay''' This option enables you to superimpose any 1024x1024 .JPG format [[:image:overviewgrid.jpg|overlay images]] on top of the heightmap editing window, to aid in painting. The opacity of the overlaid image is controlled via the '''Overlay Alpha''' slider under the erosion settings dialogue. The farther the slider is to the right, the more the overlay image is visible.

:*'''Flatten''' This button toggles as brush that will clamp all pixels inside the cursor to be the same color as the pixel directly under the cursor's center crosshair in the heightmap editing window. Shortcut: A

::*'''Octaves''' This is the number of successive noise function passes involved in final noise generation. The higher the number, the more passes, or layers are involved in the noise generation and the more complex the patter will appear. Affects only the noise brush. Range: 0 to ∞

::*'''Erode''' Press this button to start an erosion pass based off of the iterations, erosion rate, sedimentation and land smoothing parameters. The area of erosion can also be further controlled by the lasso and marquee selection tools.

:*'''Color Masking''' The color masking window allows the grayscale heightmap to be shaded in color, to better help visualize and spatially organize the height range of the heightmap editor. Through its interface, one can also filter and isolate specific height ranges to work in. To bring up the color masking window, press the color mask icon, between the grid and marquee icons, or choose it from the View pull-down menu. With the window open, you can see that there are 10 mask ranges - all of which can be individually scaled and adjusted to shade the pixels within the defined height range of that particular mask. To change the color for a mask, simply click on the swatches below the sliders to adjust the color respectively through the standard Windows color picker. The color mask system will specify that any pixel in the heightmap at that height, in [[exterior cells|units]], will be shaded that color, and will interpolate smoothly to the next masking step above or below. For example, suppose you wanted to have all pixels below the water level be blue. You could simply set one masking level to be blue and to have a height value that is the same as the sea level. Simply set the next masking step to be one unit above the masking level, and to have a different color. There should now be a clear distinction on the heightmap of what is below and above the water line. It is also possible to use the color masking tool to temporarily prevent certain height ranges from being edited. In the previous example, you could block all pixels below the water level from being editable by making sure the minimum value for all of the 10 masks was at or above the water level height. This temporarily tells the editor that there are no alterable pixels below the specified height. Later, this height can be readjusted via the color masking to open it back up for editing. To set a height range for any mask, simply adjust the sliders or enter in a numerical value, in [[exterior cells|units]], within the number fields above each mask. It is also possible to change the colors of the grid overlay and the edit cursor in this window by clicking on their respective swatches, and choosing a color through the Windows color picker. Press '''OK''' to accept the changes and close the color masking window. Press the '''Cancel''' button to discard any changes and close the color masking window. Press '''Reset''' to revert back to the default settings. Range: 0-65535