Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
First of all, the editable parts of the terrain in Lumion occupies 2048 x 2048
m2 area, and even if we create a texture with just 512 x 512 m, this texture
will be stretched to the full extent of 2048 x 2048 m. So, the first step is to
create a texture with 2048 x 2048 m. Then, just edit the area we want.
Then, there is another thing we need to keep in mind and that is the colors
used to create the height map. The colors are as follows:
°
Black
: This is equal to a terrain height of 0 m.
°
White
: This is equal to a terrain height of 200 m.
°
Grayscale
: Each shade of gray step from the 256 available. This is
equal to 0.78 meters.
When working with an 8-bit image, the range we have is from 0 m to 200 m,
but we can increase these values by changing the mode from 8 bits to 16 and
32 bits. When using an image with 16 bits, we will increase the height to 400
m and when using 32 bits, we increase it to 600 m.
Also, if we are using Adobe Photoshop, some filters such as the Clouds can
create a wide variety of surface distortions that are great as a base. The final
step is saving the height map as a 32-bit DDS in the 32f format using Nvidia's
DDS plugin.
This is one option we will choose in some projects, but there are some better
alternatives too.
•
Using an external application
Creating and editing high-quality height maps can be a complicated and
demanding process that typically requires the assistance of specialized
software. Which application can we use? There are some free and commercial
applications that are worth exploring:
°
L3DT
(free/commercial):
Large 3D Terrain
(
L3DT
) is a Windows
application for generating terrain maps and textures and it is
intended to help game developers and digital artists create
vast high-quality 3D worlds. For more information, visit
http://www.bundysoft.com/L3DT/
.
