Covering the ground without painting textures

[martinvk]

I have reached the point where the mainline track has be placed and it is time to start adding the background scenery. One thing I've been putting off for a long time is applying ground textures. The thought of painting hundreds of square km was not appealing. Plus, from what I've learned, once a texture has been applied, getting rid of it if I change my mind is next to impossible. Since I'm not the greatest artist getting a realistic looking ground would be a daunting task too.

So I made three ground planes, 360mx360m, 360mx720m and 720mx720m. Each one has its top 0.5m above the ground and has a skirt on all sides that reaches 1m under ground. For texture, I used some aerial photos of farmland. The natural variation in the texture adds to the realism.

The 360mx360m plane is in the foreground with the other two farther down the track.

Looking back with the 720mx720m plane nearest the camera.

They can be rotated and moved with ease. By raising or lowering adjacent planes by 0.3m, I avoid the flicker of overlapping textures. And at only 18 polys per, not too heavy. Texture sizes are from 512x512 to 1024x1024.

By mixing and matching, it would be several km before the same texture repeats. Now I can work without worrying about being stuck with a texture I don't want in a place I don't want.

 

[Gangsta_Boi]

Wow ! Very nice idea ! i hate painting miles of track, to find out it looks like a 5 year olds painting !
P.S Can you please tell me the name of the tunnel in your last screenshot ?

Thanks,

Gangsta_Boi

 

[Simmons_Pacific]

I sounds swell. But what are you going to do about hills?

 

[martinvk]

I sounds swell. But what are you going to do about hills?

Isn't that why they invented graders Actually, one of the advantages in using the Netherlands as a prototype is that it is generally flat so I don't have to worry too much about those bumps in the ground.

Even in hilly terrain, railroads tend to be on the flats and farms too, so these would still work up to the point where the ground raises too much. But then, these are not meant to cover every type of ground.

@Gangsta_Boi: That tunnel is entrance to an overpass, one I made, modelled on the many overpasses I saw on the new Betuweroute in Holland.

Here is what one of the real things looks like.