Displacement Maps

[Alikiwi]

Hi,

Building the landscape (of a real area) is extremely tedious as we know, so I tried reading up on greyscale/displacement maps etc.. Sadly most inof around here seems to be 10+ years old! The manula barely mentions it (A New Era), and merely says "You can also make your own displacement maps using a simple paint program (e.g. MS Paint) and then drop them into the \Resources\Base\Displacements folder in your T:ANE directory to make them accessible."

Excuse me, but those two folders don't exist, although you can easily create them. So, can anyone point me in a direction where I can learn where/how to obtain a suitable map (preferably of a region in NZ) and how to make them suitable for Trainz? You're dealing with a dumby on this issue, but I'm happy to learn. Thanks as always.

 

[SailorDan]

"You can also make your own displacement maps using a simple paint program (e.g. MS Paint) and then drop them into the \Resources\Base\Displacements folder in your T:ANE directory to make them accessible."

A displacement map is now an asset. Clone any existing displacement map and replace the texture with your own map.
http://online.ts2009.com/mediaWiki/index.php/Category:Asset_KIND

 

[kin3]

Do a search on TransDem. This is a hard program to learn but there is helpful advice on the forum and also a good video on YouTube for visual learners like me.

here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Meeq_5_keYs

TransDem is payware.

 

[Pencil42]

If you want something specific that matches the real world, TransDEM is the way to go. If you want 'realistic-looking', any of the procedural world generators (like Terragen) should be able to output a suitable height map.

 

[davesnow]

I have found that displacement maps don’t work well since TS2006. Any version of Trainz since then, the displacements look more like Minecraft!

 

[AndrewH]

I have found that displacement maps don’t work well since TS2006. Any version of Trainz since then, the displacements look more like Minecraft!

I have always worked with grey scale maps I have produced by contour tracing. Time consuming but still give (TANE) excellent results provided the correct level of Gaussian blur is applied to the raw grey scale image.

There was comprehensive information available about this process on the Trainz Forum but unfortunately it is no longer accessible. I fear the techniques involved are now lost to the Trainz community. Transdem fills that gap very effectively. Although it takes a while to learn about it, it is still undoubtedly quicker than contour tracing.

 

[davesnow]

I have always worked with grey scale maps I have produced by contour tracing. Time consuming but still give (TANE) excellent results provided the correct level of Gaussian blur is applied to the raw grey scale image.

There was comprehensive information available about this process on the Trainz Forum but unfortunately it is no longer accessible. I fear the techniques involved are now lost to the Trainz community. Transdem fills that gap very effectively. Although it takes a while to learn about it, it is still undoubtedly quicker than contour tracing.

Well, I used to make very nice displacements for TRS2006, using Photoshop (my Ozark route used a Displ. map and had very nice gradual hills) but whenever I try to apply the same principle to any version AFTER TRS2006, all the hills look like stairsteps; very UNdesireable IMHO.