Huge Digital Terrain model to 3ds max

#1

Hi everyone,

I have a huge digital terrain model which I need to import in max and create some sort of geometry out of it.

The model imports easily in max. I end up with a spline containing 3,624 Splines, roughly 1.65 Mio Vertices.
The whole thing is 3,661m in X, 3,936m in Y and 170,5m in Z.
I need a fairly detailed mesh of that terrain model since I not only have the wide angle, far away views, but need to be able to go to any point of the terrain and do a high quality POV render there as well (without having to detail the terrain there for days first).

What is the best method to create such a huge terrain?
Populate:Terrain has now been calculating for an hour or two, still not finished (I’ll let it run through the night, let’s see how many billion polygons it will produce)

I found Splineland, but I am not sure, whether it can handle this big a scene. also: it produces triangled meshes and I’d prefer quad ones, but If it can handle the size of the model, it is a good deal anyway because we could really use the “material ID by spline” thing. Is there anyone who has ever used it on such a big model?

Are there any other ways that produce a fairly clean topology for this?

best regards,

Christian

#2

Does this work for you?

//youtu.be/tw_G5L1O4xg

#3

That might help with the existing Ground model we have. (not sure whether I said that. We have the whole model already set up, and mapped. however that has a terrible topology (looks like max defaults) and some really harsh edges we will need to get rid of)

But in the long run i want to redo the ground model.

We are making an animation in the next 5 weeks, so we are on a really tight schedule. So for specific close views in that animation, this might help.
However later this year there will me more images and animations and it is yet unclear were exactly on those 3.9x3.6km wide area. So we have to do all of it. I do not want to retopologize that huge of an area by hand to be honest :smiley:

So it’ll help in the short run, but is probably too tedious for remodelling the whole thing.

#4

also: just realized you’re using max 2014. Does this work in 2013 as well?

#5

Yup, these tools go back several versions.

Have you tried a retopo in Mudbox or Z Brush?

#6

We don’t own Mudbox or Zbrush :frowning: Might check if the demo version is capable of handling the existing terrain file.

#7

It seems to be able to handle the file itself quite well. Do you by any chance have a good tutorial somewhere on how to use the retopology tools for this?

#8

Don’t transform it to quads if you are not going to animate it. You will end up with more polygons. Tris way is more efficient in such situations.
I use to do do this kind of works with Terragen (http://planetside.co.uk/products/terragen3)
free version.
You can import in max an optimized version very easy.
Anyway, I recommend you to slice the terrain in sections, with the highest poly count close to your camera.
Best

#9

My problem is, the mesh is not very good at the moment. There are very harsh borders at the embankements. So I need to refine the geometry there somehow (for example make a bevel along an edge. but with the model at it is, that will produce errors as 1 vertice has 100 lines running towards it and stuff like that).
I also can’t make optimisation towards just one camera because the customer wants to be able in the future to go to any point of the model and request an image without us working for 4 weeks straight.

#10

Which is your original file format? Is always better to edit terrains with specific softwares (GIS) before importing in MAX.
Best

#11

I have 2 files:
a ready textured 3ds max files with shit topology (one huge mesh for the 3.9x3.6 km) and i have a digital terrain model (.dxf) which is made of splines.
because of the tight schedule i was thinking it might be better to retopolgize the existing, textured model and work on that for refinement instead of redoing everything.

#12

Bad. You don’t have any original file. So, you will have to do all the work in MAX…

You should add a Vol Select modifier to define an area of optimization with one level, repeating these with other areas to create different leves of optimization.
Save this in one file and collapse the stack of the mesh, saving it in another file to make an external reference.
This way you would have an optimized file to render and the original for future tweaking
Don’t forget to add a UVW planar modifier on top of the stack, because any optimization process could ruin the UVs of your mesh.

If you still need a quad (in a reduced part), you could use the very old method of another planar (quad) mesh on top of the original with a cloth modifier to let the vertices drop down by gravity. You will end with a quad mesh copying the topology but without concavities.
Best