Terrain Creation for Video Games

#1

Hi! This is my first post to CGTalk so go easy on me :slight_smile:

I’m working on a fully funded project called Delta3D www.delta3D.org for the creation of a completely open source game engine. For this project a part of our team is creating a level editor which, at this point, does not include a terrain editor/generator. The engine has support for procedural terrain and DTED data yet smaller maps will require much smaller terrain areas.

Ok please excuse my lack of knowledge in game design for the following question since I’m very new: What is the best way to create terrain for a game engine? The current tool I have available is 3DStudio max 7.0. Do I use the terrain tool, apply some uvw mapping and then add some textures? I’m used to creating world objects, vehicles, organic meshes etc… The terrain will need very few faces with decent texturing in a compact size (heh that sentence is an oxymoron).

Links to articles, books, any references that might help would be VERY appreciated.

Thanks for all or any who can help :wink:

#2

Use the default terrain with the engine if you can. The terrain supplied by engines is highly optimized and will give you the best frame rates, etc. If for some reason you can’t or don’t want to do this, then just add in a plane from Max and map it (simplest possible terrain). Of course you will probably want to sub divide it and make it a tad irregular.

#3

What is the best way to create terrain for a game engine?

Well here is something to consider, use a terrain generator like terragen or World builder. These program and others will generate a “height map” which is a 2D representation of a 3D terrain. Your engine could then read in these “height maps” which are basically black and white bitmaps and produce the same looking terrain that was spit out by the generator.

Google - heightmap

#4

Thanks for the quick replies!

Ok great suggestions. I have the terrain loaded in the engine now with one texture applied. What would be the best way to apply multiple textures to a terrain for a vid. game without baking? Keep in mind size could be an issue. I’m hoping that if 3dsmax or similiar can create terrains then maybe we won’t have to write our own terrain editor.

Although that brings up another question… do game developers expect to see a terrain editor built into a level editor?

Thanks for all your help.

#5

Well, multiple textures on one polygon can be applied if the engine supports it (there can be up to 3 different texture layers and 1 for shadows, this is the maximum (or it was the last time I checked)). You should check for this. As for the terrain editor- I think yes, it’s always nice to have one :slight_smile: I think it’s not too difficult for the coders to make heightmap loading, but that’s just me…

#6

I’ll have to check but I think that the engine does support multiple texture layers. It’s based off the open scene graph engine. The Delta3D engine does already have heightmap support… so maybe we could just create a quick heightmap paint plugin for our editor ;). Or even better just make the coders make heightmaps as you suggested.

#7

Can you Kid Mesh please give link here for World bulder? I can’t find home site for it. Thanx.

…10 minutes later…

Ups, I find it. Sorry

#8

Sadistiko - Hey glad you found it :thumbsup: another really great program for generating terrain and plush 3D worlds is Vue Spirit which is Here

I have a copy of that program and it is just great, it also creates awesome height maps as well.

#9

Well, terragen is great (and free for noncommercial use), and I’m looking now for some tutorials for terragen or other programs to make forests.

I need some parts of terrain with forest for our 2D (fake 3D) game. Something similar to terrains in Civilization III.

#10

I’d recommend reading “Core Techniques and Algorithms in Game Programming” by Daniel Sanchez-Crespo Dalmau. It has a lot if great info on tecniques for generating terrain, mipmaping geometry, indoor and outdoor rendering, and workflows for getting your game environments running fast. It would definitely help you with your engine development.

#11

Well, I think that this techniques will be needed for 3D terrains. Thanx, I’ll look on this book, but I need now some program (free if it’s posible) that will make forest on terragen terrains or in another program. I just need trees in groups.:slight_smile:

#12

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