Heightmap Editing
Revision as of 19:34, 16 March 2006 by imported>Noah (→Editing Toolbar)
Heightmap Editing allows you to generate a height map for the landscape in the world. Rather than hand editing landscape which is time consuming, this tool allows you to paint the heights onto a texture and generate the terrain based on what you've painted in.
It is strongly recommended that your computer meet or exceed recommended specification to use this.
Heightmap Editor
The Heightmap Editor is the tool used for massive landscape terrain alteration. With this program it is possible to create, sculpt, refine and even erode large sections of landscape cells for a world space. Additionally, LOD landscape geometry and textures can be generated through the Heightmap Editor. Local, or high detail landscape editing functionality is still retained in the landscape editor. The Heightmap Editor window (accessible from the World/Heightmap Editing pull down menu in the main menu bar, or from the globe icon on the main editor toolbar) is divided up into 3 main sections: Editing Toolbar, Brush Parameters, and Editing Window.
Main Menu/Editing Toolbar
The main menu and editing toolbar contain quick shortcuts to most of the basic heightmap editor functionality.
Main Menu
- File:
- Save allows the current state of the loaded heightmap to be saved to your plugin.
- ReLoad allows a prior saved-state of the loaded heightmap to be reloaded. Another good way to reload an earlier state is to refresh the current editing window by clicking on the corresponding heightmap section in the overview window.
- DeleteAllCells This option will flag all cells for that world space as deleted.
- Import This option allows you to use 1024x1024 16-bit RAW format images as a starting template for heightmap painting.
- Export This option allows you to export heightmap sections in 1024x1024 16-bit RAW format images.
- 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 terxture 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.
- Exit This option simply closes the Heightmap Editor.
- View:
- Show Overlay This option enables you to superimpose any 1024x1024 .jpg format 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.
- Gridlines This toggles the grid line overlay on and off in the heightmap editing window. Each square represents one exterior cell.
- Color Masking This option brings up the color masking window.
- Overview This option toggles on and off the overview window.
- Regenerate Overview This option will have the Heightmap Editor sequentially load each 1024x1024 section for a worldspace and compile a composite .jpg thumbnail image used in the overview window for navigation.
- Edit
- Undo This option will allow you to undo the last few brush edits to the heightmap editing window. A handy alternative to the undo option is to refresh an unsaved heightmap section by reloading it via the overview window.
- Copy This option allows you to copy the raw pixels within any lasso/marquee shape currently drawn in the heightmap editing window into memory. The edit cursor will change to reflect the shape of the selection. Simply left-click to past the desired pixels. A right-click will cancel out of the pasting mode. Shortcut: Ctrl-C
- Invert Selection This option will select the inverse of any pixels contained by lasso or marquee shapes in the heightmap editing window.
Editing Toolbar
- Button descriptions left to right:
- Save This button saves the current state of the loaded heightmap section to your plugin.
- Undo This button will allow you to undo the last few brush edits to the heightmap editing window.
- Grid This button toggles the heightmap editing window cell grid overlay.
- Color Masking This button brings up the color masking window.
- Marquee This button allows you to draw a rectangular selection shape around specific pixels for more controlled heightmap editing, eroding, or for pixel copying.
- Lasso This button allows you to draw a curvalinear selection shape around specific pixels for more controlled heightmap editing, eroding, or for pixel copying.
- 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
- Raise This button toggles a brush that will paint white to the pixels under the cursor in the heightmap editing window. Shortcut: S
- Lower This button toggles a brush that will paint black to the pixels under the cursor in the heightmap editing window. Shortcut: D
- Smooth This button toggles a brush that will average the differences in color between the pixels under the cursor in the heightmap editing window. Shortcut: F
- Noise This button toggles a brush that will paint a mottled black and white pattern, as determined by the noise parameters, to the pixels under the cursor in the heightmap editing window. Shortcut: G
- Smudge This button toggles a brush that will intensely average the differences in color between the pixels under the cursor in the heightmap editing window. Shortcut: H
- Preview This button brings up the preview window.
- Overview This button toggles the display of the overview window.
- Paintbrush This button toggles a brush that will paint the currently selected color under the cursor in the heightmap editor window. Shortcut: B
- Eyedropper This button toggles a crosshair that will allow you to select the color of the pixel directly under the cursor. The currently selected color is indicated by the swatch next to the eyedropper icon.