Some terrains

Creating new content for Trespasser!

Moderators: TresCom Support Team, TresCom Board Managers, TresCom Developers

User avatar
machf
T-Rex Killer
T-Rex Killer
Posts: 12368
Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2003 11:20 pm
Location: Lima, Peru
Contact:

Some terrains

Post by machf »

Hey, guys, starting with the terrain "template" in the Plains MAX file tatu got, I experimented applying various heightmaps as displacement maps and then exported the results as .TRR files and converted them to .WTD files. Here's a pack of 8 overlapping terrains created from heightmaps of the surface of Mars. My idea has been to progress from one map to the next in sequence, but I still need a storyline. Should it actually be set on Mars? A fantasy Mars, of course, with creatures incredibly similar to prehistoric Earth dinosaurs roaming the terrain... :wink: Should you wear a spacesuit? (chance to look at an electronic health monitor on your suit's chest, or maybe on the arm... or an actual HUD supposedly incorporated into you helmet...) Should you carry fancy weapons?

Or should it be just an Earth-based location, except using the Martian geography? That way you can still use "regular" buildings, trees, dinosaurs, guns and everything else...

Take a look at the attached terrains and let me know...
Attachments
MarsWTDs.zip
(746.15 KiB) Downloaded 524 times
Visit The Carnivores Saga - a forum devoted to modding Action Forms' Carnivores, Carnivores 2 and Carnivores: Ice Age games
Tres WIP: updated T-Script Reference and File Formats documents
Sound name listings for the Demo (build 117), Retail (build 116), Beta 103, Beta 99, Beta 97, Beta 96, Build 55, PC Gamer Alpha (build 32) and E3 1998 Alpha (build 22) TPA files
User avatar
Draconisaurus
T-Rex Killer
T-Rex Killer
Posts: 14032
Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2004 5:21 pm
Antispam: No
Location: Isla Sorna
Contact:

Re: Some terrains

Post by Draconisaurus »

Handy. I attempted a mod set on a planet from the ALIEN universe once but couldn't find enough motivation to continue it... I suppose the terrain textures from LostDesert could come in handy, here. John Carter style. Too bad we don't have a rigged ape, to reference a certain planet...

Not going to make test levels to peak at this terrain, atm. I don't suppose you could post the actual heightmaps?

Btw, is that Plains terrain template equivalent to 2048x2048?
User avatar
machf
T-Rex Killer
T-Rex Killer
Posts: 12368
Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2003 11:20 pm
Location: Lima, Peru
Contact:

Re: Some terrains

Post by machf »

Draconisaurus wrote:Handy. I attempted a mod set on a planet from the ALIEN universe once but couldn't find enough motivation to continue it... I suppose the terrain textures from LostDesert could come in handy, here. John Carter style. Too bad we don't have a rigged ape, to reference a certain planet...

Not going to make test levels to peak at this terrain, atm. I don't suppose you could post the actual heightmaps?
You only need to rename the WTD files to match some existing level. And then maybe move Anne to a different location to match, if you want to play it. Otherwise, you can just open it in TresEd.

Alternatively, you could use GUIapp tp convert the WTD files into TRI files and import them into MAX and look at them there... the thing is, the WTD files are much smaller than the heightmaps themselves.

If you want to look at the heightmaps, well, just look at any heightmap or bumpmap of the surface of Mars... (search for "Mars displacement map") I cut 2048*2048 sections from an original 8192*4096 map, starting at x=512, Y=512 and then moving 1024 pixels to the right every time (the last one wraps around back to the left edge).
Actually, the way I numbered them, they start from the right side and progress to towards the left... you have to enter Valles Marineris first, then walk along it to the other side and exit at Tharsis, then cross the Tharsis Montes and approach Olympus Mons...
Btw, is that Plains terrain template equivalent to 2048x2048?
Yep.
Visit The Carnivores Saga - a forum devoted to modding Action Forms' Carnivores, Carnivores 2 and Carnivores: Ice Age games
Tres WIP: updated T-Script Reference and File Formats documents
Sound name listings for the Demo (build 117), Retail (build 116), Beta 103, Beta 99, Beta 97, Beta 96, Build 55, PC Gamer Alpha (build 32) and E3 1998 Alpha (build 22) TPA files
User avatar
Draconisaurus
T-Rex Killer
T-Rex Killer
Posts: 14032
Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2004 5:21 pm
Antispam: No
Location: Isla Sorna
Contact:

Re: Some terrains

Post by Draconisaurus »

You put Olympus Mons in there? :| K who wants to be in charge of this mod? :lol:

Okay so, made a "Mars" level.. Renamed Mars001.wtd to Mars.wtd... Opened TresEd, and with Terrain Edit Mode open at 512,512,0 there is... Nothing. Am I missing something?..
User avatar
machf
T-Rex Killer
T-Rex Killer
Posts: 12368
Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2003 11:20 pm
Location: Lima, Peru
Contact:

Re: Some terrains

Post by machf »

Draconisaurus wrote:You put Olympus Mons in there? :| K who wants to be in charge of this mod? :lol:
Sure, who'd want Mars without Olympus Mons? It's on the 3rd or 4th map, IIRC.
Okay so, made a "Mars" level.. Renamed Mars001.wtd to Mars.wtd... Opened TresEd, and with Terrain Edit Mode open at 512,512,0 there is... Nothing. Am I missing something?..
That's because that one isn't located at 512,512. Try something like -2560, -256 instead... 512,512 were the coordinates of the bitmap image, not the Trespasser in-game coordinates.

EDIT: here are the coordinates for the center of each area

Mars001: -2816, -768
Mars002: -1792, -768
Mars003: -768, -768
Mars004: 256, -768
Mars005: 1280, -768
Mars006: 2304, -768
Mars007: 3328, -768
Mars008: 4352, -768

Olympus Mons is located at about -300, -650, so it is found both in Mars003 and Mars004...

It looks like I may have exaggerated the vertical scale, though... I'm also trying to make a standalone Olympus Mons, searching for more detailed Mars DEM data today.
Visit The Carnivores Saga - a forum devoted to modding Action Forms' Carnivores, Carnivores 2 and Carnivores: Ice Age games
Tres WIP: updated T-Script Reference and File Formats documents
Sound name listings for the Demo (build 117), Retail (build 116), Beta 103, Beta 99, Beta 97, Beta 96, Build 55, PC Gamer Alpha (build 32) and E3 1998 Alpha (build 22) TPA files
User avatar
Draconisaurus
T-Rex Killer
T-Rex Killer
Posts: 14032
Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2004 5:21 pm
Antispam: No
Location: Isla Sorna
Contact:

Re: Some terrains

Post by Draconisaurus »

Found it... 'Tis a thing of beauty. And yes it's obvious that the height offset is a little too much. Mmmm I have to say, the level of detail in these is not that great. Only looked at 001 and 003; the volcanoes are quite nice but otherwise such terrain could be just as well or better created by hand. Would doubling the subdivision of the Plains Max terrain template yield more detail or would the heightmaps not yield anything better?
User avatar
machf
T-Rex Killer
T-Rex Killer
Posts: 12368
Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2003 11:20 pm
Location: Lima, Peru
Contact:

Re: Some terrains

Post by machf »

I think what's needed is a more detailed heightmap - and larger terrain areas. Or smaller chunks of the heightmap over the same 2048*2048 area... I've used 1024*1024 textures and MAX applies them over the 2048*2048 square without problems.

Still about ~1h until the more detailed Mars dataset finishes downloading...
Visit The Carnivores Saga - a forum devoted to modding Action Forms' Carnivores, Carnivores 2 and Carnivores: Ice Age games
Tres WIP: updated T-Script Reference and File Formats documents
Sound name listings for the Demo (build 117), Retail (build 116), Beta 103, Beta 99, Beta 97, Beta 96, Build 55, PC Gamer Alpha (build 32) and E3 1998 Alpha (build 22) TPA files
User avatar
machf
T-Rex Killer
T-Rex Killer
Posts: 12368
Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2003 11:20 pm
Location: Lima, Peru
Contact:

Re: Some terrains

Post by machf »

Well, I enlarged the square to 4096*4096, changed the subdivisions from 128*128 to 512*512 (MAX won't allow more than 1000*1000 and we need powers of 2), re-fit the various modificators and voilá! The terrain looks much better now. I took a walk in TresEd using the "walking mode". It looks beautiful!
Of course, except for the first terrain, all the others now have different coordinates, as I had to reposition them after enlarging them.

The only problem is that, since the heightmap I used was saved as a JPEG file, it has some artifacts in some places due to the lossy compression... it wouldn't have happened if it had been originally saved as a PNG, BMP or some other losless image...

And the Mars dataset finished downloading - it's a single TIFF file which is 2GB! Now let's see how I can convert it into something usable...
Attachments
MarsB008.zip
(1.45 MiB) Downloaded 497 times
MarsB007.zip
(1.4 MiB) Downloaded 524 times
MarsB006.zip
(1.11 MiB) Downloaded 504 times
MarsB005.zip
(1.2 MiB) Downloaded 502 times
MarsB004.zip
(1.07 MiB) Downloaded 481 times
MarsB003.zip
(1.35 MiB) Downloaded 490 times
MarsB002.zip
(1.51 MiB) Downloaded 514 times
MarsB001.zip
(1.73 MiB) Downloaded 523 times
Visit The Carnivores Saga - a forum devoted to modding Action Forms' Carnivores, Carnivores 2 and Carnivores: Ice Age games
Tres WIP: updated T-Script Reference and File Formats documents
Sound name listings for the Demo (build 117), Retail (build 116), Beta 103, Beta 99, Beta 97, Beta 96, Build 55, PC Gamer Alpha (build 32) and E3 1998 Alpha (build 22) TPA files
User avatar
Draconisaurus
T-Rex Killer
T-Rex Killer
Posts: 14032
Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2004 5:21 pm
Antispam: No
Location: Isla Sorna
Contact:

Re: Some terrains

Post by Draconisaurus »

Nice... Which one(s) have Olympus Mons?
User avatar
machf
T-Rex Killer
T-Rex Killer
Posts: 12368
Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2003 11:20 pm
Location: Lima, Peru
Contact:

Re: Some terrains

Post by machf »

Since they are the same areas, only enlarged, they are the same ones, #3 and #4...

I made some more detailed ones at the 2048*2048 size too, but since it was already late last night, I didn't upload them... here's a screenshot:
Spoiler: show
VallesMarinerisImage1.jpg
VallesMarinerisImage1.jpg (208.15 KiB) Viewed 17545 times
Visit The Carnivores Saga - a forum devoted to modding Action Forms' Carnivores, Carnivores 2 and Carnivores: Ice Age games
Tres WIP: updated T-Script Reference and File Formats documents
Sound name listings for the Demo (build 117), Retail (build 116), Beta 103, Beta 99, Beta 97, Beta 96, Build 55, PC Gamer Alpha (build 32) and E3 1998 Alpha (build 22) TPA files
User avatar
Draconisaurus
T-Rex Killer
T-Rex Killer
Posts: 14032
Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2004 5:21 pm
Antispam: No
Location: Isla Sorna
Contact:

Re: Some terrains

Post by Draconisaurus »

Now that's more like it...

*looks at MarsB003, in TresEd and the BMP*

Beautiful... Now that's what I call high-def. terrain. A little too-detailed in places but the settings you've used definitely seem to be the ideal starting point.

Say... Mars has an island, to the northwest of these volcanoes. I don't suppose THEY made it into these terrains..?
User avatar
machf
T-Rex Killer
T-Rex Killer
Posts: 12368
Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2003 11:20 pm
Location: Lima, Peru
Contact:

Re: Some terrains

Post by machf »

I wonder why the original plane in the Plains MAX fie had only 128*128 subdivisions... made the resulting terrain look not too good. No wonder the resulting WTD files were so small.

BTW, the screenshot is from the 2048*2048 version, rather than the 4096*4096 one, but it still looks good after having switched to a 512*512 subdivision grid. For some reason, I didn't take a screenshot of the 4096*4096 version... which one would be better to use? The 4096*4096 one of course gives you taller mountains... but it means overall larger terrains.

Anyway, here are the updated 2048*2048 WTDs...
Attachments
Mars000bWTDs.zip
(3.01 MiB) Downloaded 498 times
Visit The Carnivores Saga - a forum devoted to modding Action Forms' Carnivores, Carnivores 2 and Carnivores: Ice Age games
Tres WIP: updated T-Script Reference and File Formats documents
Sound name listings for the Demo (build 117), Retail (build 116), Beta 103, Beta 99, Beta 97, Beta 96, Build 55, PC Gamer Alpha (build 32) and E3 1998 Alpha (build 22) TPA files
User avatar
Draconisaurus
T-Rex Killer
T-Rex Killer
Posts: 14032
Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2004 5:21 pm
Antispam: No
Location: Isla Sorna
Contact:

Re: Some terrains

Post by Draconisaurus »

4096... is a rather huge terrain size. Thinking practically in terms of mods which are and aren't made, 4096 is rare (such as JPDS) and has significant trouble being completed if largely covered in playable area. Note also that these Mars areas are largely flat. At the same time, the area of heightmap you are providing is massive.. I'd say it's up to you. Perhaps release both.
User avatar
machf
T-Rex Killer
T-Rex Killer
Posts: 12368
Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2003 11:20 pm
Location: Lima, Peru
Contact:

Re: Some terrains

Post by machf »

Now I should import the heightmaps with TresEd for comparison purposes... to see how much detail we'd get that way (the heightmaps being 2048*2048 pixels),

Other maps I have lying around (which I also tested in MAX, but with the 128*128 subdivisions, so I should re-do them at 512*512 subdivisions):
  • Mount St. Helens (before the eruption)
  • Mount St. Helens (after the eruption)
  • Area around the city of Lima
  • Area around the city of Arequipa
  • Area around Lake Titicaca - this one would be nice as it has the lake at the top, and a path leads downwards to the Urubamba valley with the river
  • Area around Mount Roraima in the Amazon jungle between Colombia, Brazil and Guyana - where according to legend, dinosaurs still roam
  • Part of the Great Canyon in Colorado
  • Island of Oahu
  • Island of Hawaii
  • Island of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) - would be fun to make this one into a level and place Moais
Visit The Carnivores Saga - a forum devoted to modding Action Forms' Carnivores, Carnivores 2 and Carnivores: Ice Age games
Tres WIP: updated T-Script Reference and File Formats documents
Sound name listings for the Demo (build 117), Retail (build 116), Beta 103, Beta 99, Beta 97, Beta 96, Build 55, PC Gamer Alpha (build 32) and E3 1998 Alpha (build 22) TPA files
User avatar
Draconisaurus
T-Rex Killer
T-Rex Killer
Posts: 14032
Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2004 5:21 pm
Antispam: No
Location: Isla Sorna
Contact:

Re: Some terrains

Post by Draconisaurus »

Several of those sound quite enticing. Glad that someone has gone to the lengths to find nice heightmaps. Been to Mt. St. Helens, myself... 'Tis nice.
Post Reply