Tutorial: Saving Custom Displacement Maps in TS2009

While answering a question in another thread I stumbled across this undocumented feature in Surveyor. If you have some terrain on a route that you really like you can create your own custome displacement maps of it right in Surveyor.

OK, Here are the steps that I was able to take to save a custom displacement map from the displacement map window.

1. Open the Advanced section of the Topology panel.
2. Use the Select Area tool to choose an area of terrain on the route.
3. Click on the Get Displacement button. A greyscale image of your terrain should appear in the window.
4. Now click the tiny Save Displacement checkmark in the upper right of the new image.
5. Fill in the name and description for your new displacement map.

You can repeat the process as much as you like. All the maps you create are real TS2009 assets and will show up in CM2 ready for you to upload to the DLS.

William

wreeder said:

While answering a question in another thread I stumbled across this undocumented feature in Surveyor.

Click to expand...

??? The procedure in regards to your tutorial can be found on pages 17 & 18 of the TRS-09 Manual.


What the Manual does not describe is the process of creating our own displacement files, so on a small note I am willing in a simplified manner to add to this for others who are not exactly sure what is needed to create their own displacement maps.

Displacement textures shall always consist of 3 or more varying color tones that are needed to be made greyscale. These textures can be simply created using PSP - Paint Shop Pro or just about any other paint software program which may also do the task.

The bare facts to know if creating your own displacement texture are as followed;

R:0, G:0, B:0 - (Black) is referred to the Lowest point of elevation.

R:128, G:128, B:128 - (Grey) is referred to Medium point of elevation.

R:255, G:255, B:255 - (White) is referred to the Highest point of elevation of the displacement.

The dimension and type properties of your displacement texture must always be of 256 x 256 pixels and saved as a 24-bit uncompressed .BMP file.

The design of your image as mentioned in the above color tones is entirely upto you, that is basicly all there is to it.


May this be of some help to anyone ... or may it be more confusion.



chuffy

I think you will find that the manual in now obsolete with regard to SP2. The ability to save your custom displacement maps is new. As is the fact that the saved maps appear in CM2 as a asset that can be uploaded to the DLS for others to use. Under SP2 bitmap images stored in the /World/Custom/Displacements folder are no longer read into surveyor when starting surveyor so that part of the manual is now incorrect. If you want to get your hand made maps into SP2 you have to create a Kind Groundbrush asset and have it reference your map. If you do an advanced search for keyword "displacement" and my username you will find a post describing using CCP to create a Groundbrush asset.

Displacements can be larger than 256 x 256 now and need not be .bmp files any longer. A 2048 x 2048 jpeg image works quite well with the new 5m grid.

William

Yes, you are correct in regards to the previous addition, I oughta have less time for constructing things and oneday make use of surveyor more.


chuff