Difference between revisions of "Heightmap Editing"
→See also:: Added Creating Large Worldspaces
imported>GhanBuriGhan (→Main Menu: added location of saved LOD normal map files) |
imported>Bruneauinfo (→See also:: Added Creating Large Worldspaces) |
||
| (20 intermediate revisions by 5 users not shown) | |||
| Line 26: | Line 26: | ||
::*'''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: Header: 0, Non-interleaved Order, Count: 1, Depth: 16 Bits, Byte Order: IBM PC. | ::*'''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: Header: 0, Non-interleaved Order, 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. | ::*'''Export''' This option allows you to export heightmap sections in 1024x1024 16-bit RAW format images. The files are created to the main Oblivion folder ("C:\Program Files\Bethesda Softworks\Oblivion" with default installation) 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. (Paint Shop Pro does not seem capable of handling 16bpp .raw files.) | ||
::*'''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 to Oblivion\data\textures\landscapelod\generated\. 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]]. | ::*'''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 to Oblivion\data\textures\landscapelod\generated\. 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]]. | ||
:::(Note: There seems to be an issue with the TESCS Generate LOD function. If it is run more than once during the same session, the LOD mesh becomes corrupt. If this occurs, close the TESCS, reopen it, and try again) | |||
::*'''Exit''' This option simply closes the Heightmap Editor. | ::*'''Exit''' This option simply closes the Heightmap Editor. | ||
| Line 35: | Line 37: | ||
[[image:overviewgrid.jpg|thumb|right|Overlay Grid Breakdown]] | [[image:overviewgrid.jpg|thumb|right|Overlay Grid Breakdown]] | ||
::*'''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. | ::*'''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. ''The overlay feature is no longer supported.'' | ||
::*'''Gridlines''' This toggles the grid line overlay on and off in the heightmap editing window. Each square represents one exterior cell. | ::*'''Gridlines''' This toggles the grid line overlay on and off in the heightmap editing window. Each square represents one exterior cell. | ||
| Line 117: | Line 119: | ||
::*'''Sedimentation''' Use the slider and/or the number field to control how much of the eroded land will deposit at the base of eroded gullies and canyons. The higher the number, the more land will be cut away and deposited at the base of eroded areas. Range: 1-100 | ::*'''Sedimentation''' Use the slider and/or the number field to control how much of the eroded land will deposit at the base of eroded gullies and canyons. The higher the number, the more land will be cut away and deposited at the base of eroded areas. Range: 1-100 | ||
::*'''Land Smoothing''' Use the slider and/or the number field to control how smooth the heightmap will be after an erosion pass. The higher the number, the more that rough surfaces will be evened out and smoothed down during an erosion process, to better simulate weathering. Range: 1-100 | ::*'''Land Smoothing''' Use the slider and/or the number field to control how smooth the heightmap will be after an erosion pass. The higher the number, the more that rough surfaces will be evened out and smoothed down during an erosion process, to better simulate weathering. Range: 1-100 | ||
::*'''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. | ::*'''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. By setting Erosion Rate and Sedimentation to 0 and only enabling Land Smoothing, this is also a quick way for smoothing the entire map, as opposed to using the Smooth or Smudge tools in the toolbar. | ||
---- | ---- | ||
| Line 129: | Line 131: | ||
It's important to know how the height units in the heightmap editor relate to the actual terrain elevation when the map is saved to the plugin. Water level (defaults to z=0 in exterior cells) corresponds to z=4096 on the height map. Moreover, all differences from this value are doubled in the generated terrain. For example, z=4196 doesn't give a terrain height of 100, but 200 instead. Following this formula, the default height in the heightmap editor (3072) results in an ocean depth of -2048 units. | It's important to know how the height units in the heightmap editor relate to the actual terrain elevation when the map is saved to the plugin. Water level (defaults to z=0 in exterior cells) corresponds to z=4096 on the height map. Moreover, all differences from this value are doubled in the generated terrain. For example, z=4196 doesn't give a terrain height of 100, but 200 instead. Following this formula, the default height in the heightmap editor (3072) results in an ocean depth of -2048 units. | ||
---- | |||
===Notes=== | |||
:*'''Mesh errors''' The heightmap editor frequently creates some errors in the generated landscape mesh. These are most frequently located in cell 0,0 and the corners of each quad. These are rips in the mesh that cause errors when saving the esp. When you save it and get error messages about the CS being unable to create the mesh for a cell, write down the cell cordinates (don't hit "yes to all"). If you quit before fixing these errors, on reloading your mod the entire cell will be "missing" e.g. be set to elevation 0, which is hard to fix. To avoid this, load up the cells with errors in the render window, switch to wireframe view (w), and turn on the cell borders (b). Look around the edges of the cell (most often its the lower left corner), and if you find the anomaly, use the soften or flatten vertices tool to mend the mesh. In general, it is best to correct these errors with the local landscape editing tools as corrections done with the heightmap editor can re-introduce the same errors during the saving process - even after initially fixing them. | |||
:*'''Go easy!''' It's very easy to overdo it with raising land, creating huge unnavigable mountain ranges instead of the nice hilly landscape you planned, especially when using the standard color masking options. Go easy when raising the land, keep the intensity low, and maybe adjust the color masking options to something more sensitive for the lower elevations. The values and colors depicted in this [[:image:colormasking.jpg|image]] were used to generate and shape Cyrodiil for TES:IV Oblivion. | |||
:*'''Raw files''' The heightmap editor will automatically load any .raw files in your HeightField folder into the canvas window, so if you have been using .raw files and you want to work on a new heightmap that does not use .raw files you will have to remember to remove them to access your new heightmap. | |||
====See also:==== | |||
:*[[Creating_Large_Worldspaces|Creating Large Worldspaces]] | |||
:*[[World_Space_Tutorial|World Space Tutorial]] | |||
:*[[WorldBuilding_101|World Building 101 Tutorial]] | |||
:*[[Landscape_LOD_Tutorial| Landscape LOD tutorial]] | |||
[[Category:World]] | [[Category:World]] | ||