Vue Esprit and GeoControl

GeoControl is a terraingenerator which makes it possible to create quickly and simply complex terrains. The terrains obtained can be used by various applications 3d such as 3DStudio, Terragen, Bryce, POV-Ray, Carrara and Vue Esprit.
This step by step will allow you to approach the importation of GeoControl terrains under Vue Esprit.

1. Softwares:

• Vue Esprit
• GeoControl
• Level: beginner-intermediate.

2. GeoControl

Generate the terrain and save your generation settings (presets), export the terrain via Terrain >Terrain export or the project via Project >Export Projectterrain.
Several formats of export are proposed:
- Heighfield bitmap (* bmp), bitmap in 256 levels of gray. I.e. that value 255 (white) of the bitmap corresponds to 3760 m (the maximum altitude of a GeoControl terrain), that is to say a reducing factor near to 15, interesting for a background patch but too smooth for a foreground patch.
- Wavefront object (* obj), the resolution is limited to 512 points, that means that artifacts will appear when you want increase the terrain or try a close-up.
- Image targa (* tga), the adapted, respectful format of the original data, correctly interpreted by Vue Esprit.
Vue Esprit tends to smooth the imported reliefs. To preserve a maximum of details, I advise you to choose a resolution 4096 or 2048 for a foreground terrain.

3. Vue Esprit

Create a standard terrain.



Make double-click on the terrain to open the editor of reliefs.



Adapt the resolution of the Vue terrain to the resolution of the generated terrain.
Erase the Vue terrain (1).



Since Image (2), load your terrain with the targa format * tga.



Choose the mix mode max to profit from maximum altitude (according to the resolution chosen, the importation can last of a few seconds to several minutes).



Since the editor of reliefs, you can preserve the terrain in the state, to cut the edges or add a function to enrich it.

4. Adjustments

Use of the terrain in the state : it's difficult to place several terrains in the same view! The solution consists to use the Seamless> option when you generate the terrain with GeoControl and/or to choose the filter Zero Edges as first filter.

To cut the edges : this function of the editor of reliefs makes it possible to juxtapose and/or overlap several terrains without seams. The process can be repeated, but it tends to round the top of the terrain: that comes down placing the terrain under a half-sphere and removing the relief located out of this half-sphere.





According to the topology of your terrain, the effect can be destroying, reducing or required; -)

To add a function to enrich it : if you miss patience, use this function for low resolution terrains (from 256 to 1024), that will make it possible to enrich a relief too smoothed by the importation by adding a noise Perlin or Voronoi to it (this option requires a knowledge of the editor of functions).











Of course, you can also filter the terrain... but why do you use GeoControl to generate terrains? ;-)

Another possibility consists in transforming your imported terrain into procedural patch. That makes it possible to increase without losses of details your terrain, ideal when you want to use several patches various sizes of the same terrain.

I hope that this step by step will be useful for you; -)

May 2006
Philippe Bullot for christianfly.com