Cuts and fills

Here's hoping HD terrain will make them more sensibly-sized

It does:


Curtis

Very nice looking, Curtis. Is that the result of the conversion process or is it hand shaped?

Converting routes can't add detail, so this is a manual task after conversion. Converting does "smooth" things out, so a sharp pointy hill will become a smooth one.

Similarly, we expect there will be a fair bit of rework required for texturing.

I'm no artist, but this gives you an idea of the type of detail that will be possible.

This was done painting PBR Rocks 2, then using a 5m brush to create steeper slopes, then a 2m brush to raise individual rocks, then a 0.5m brush to add some more detail. (Plus a few effect layers).

Tony, you're more of an artist than you think. That looks fantastic. Well done. I'm glad that the team had a rethink about the texturing process of HD Terrain™. It is certainly an exciting change to the game engine.

Tony_Hilliam said:

Converting routes can't add detail, so this is a manual task after conversion. Converting does "smooth" things out, so a sharp pointy hill will become a smooth one.

Click to expand...

Tony, those look fantastic! Do you know if there are plans for an alternate method to import terrain at the new resolutions? I am absolutely dying to import 1m DEMs. I think the .5m dems have too much unwanted information, but the 1m files look like they will be a fantastic aid, as the grades are clearly visible, even for automotive roads.

We're still working through the final implementation balancing performance vs resolution, making sure the tools are working as well as possible and fixing the various bugs. It's taking longer than expected (I seem to say that quite a lot), but were definitely much closer to getting the next test version out.

Re importing, no plans right now but we're always looking at the schedule and re-evaluating our priorities, so...

Finally something worth updating to 2022 for, although I'm sure it will be years before it makes it to the non subscription version. it might even persuade me to subscribe, as making cuts and fills using splines or the current terrain tools is never satisfactory .