Making terrain?

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Making terrain?

Postby J7G » Fri Oct 02, 2015 5:10 pm

Hi guys,

I'd like to learn how to make terrain for DCS with a view to eventually building up an entire map. I'm looking to start learning 3d modelling (with Blender for a start but it looks like I'd have to move onto 3dmax for DCS) but is there anything else I'd need to learn? I know there are some experienced guys around here with scenery and terrain and whatnot so I was wondering if anyone had any tips?

Cheers,

J7G
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Re: Making terrain?

Postby Ian Warren » Fri Oct 02, 2015 6:19 pm

Hi Rhys , still yet to d/load and install DCS
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Re: Making terrain?

Postby NZ255 » Fri Oct 02, 2015 7:20 pm

Not sure where the DCS devs reside but it's not here :D
Not sure, sorry
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Re: Making terrain?

Postby emfrat » Fri Oct 02, 2015 7:32 pm

Rhys, toprob pointed me to a freebie tool called Terrain Sculptor, which I haven't started to learn yet. I use FSX, and know next to nothing about DCS, but reading the Terrain Sculptor website, it lets you tamper with any terrain file which is ASCII-coded. You would need to look at DCS to find out what they use.. Since it is a freebie, you lose nothing by giving it a try.
http://terraincartography.com/terrainsculptor/

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Re: Making terrain?

Postby Ian Warren » Fri Oct 02, 2015 7:38 pm

NZ255 wrote:Not sure where the DCS devs reside but it's not here :D

This would be something seriously to look into , take off from Ohakea , fly into Waiouru weapons range or further would be brilliant.
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Re: Making terrain?

Postby J7G » Sun Oct 04, 2015 12:59 am

emfrat wrote:Rhys, toprob pointed me to a freebie tool called Terrain Sculptor, which I haven't started to learn yet. I use FSX, and know next to nothing about DCS, but reading the Terrain Sculptor website, it lets you tamper with any terrain file which is ASCII-coded. You would need to look at DCS to find out what they use.. Since it is a freebie, you lose nothing by giving it a try.
http://terraincartography.com/terrainsculptor/

Cheers
MikeW


Thanks very much for the link. As I understood it- and I may be dead wrong :D - all maps, regardless of sim are made in a 3d modeller first, then imported using the SDK of that sim. I will have a look at that link though! Thanks very much for it.
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Re: Making terrain?

Postby toprob » Sun Oct 04, 2015 8:57 am

From a quick look around, your description of the process does look accurate. But although I've made a lot of scenery in my time, including terrain, I've never modelled terrain in a 3D modeller, as FSX and variants don't work that way. Well, they can, but generally the process is different. The only 3D modelling I do is airport models etc. So I don't think you'd get much help here, where it's pretty much all FSX-related.

Mike -- if I ever directed you to a tool called Terrain Sculptor, then it was probably Don's little FSDeveloper.com tool which is used to blend an airport into the surrounding terrain.
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Re: Making terrain?

Postby emfrat » Sun Oct 04, 2015 9:40 am

toprob wrote:From a quick look around, your description of the process does look accurate. But although I've made a lot of scenery in my time, including terrain, I've never modelled terrain in a 3D modeller, as FSX and variants don't work that way. Well, they can, but generally the process is different. The only 3D modelling I do is airport models etc. So I don't think you'd get much help here, where it's pretty much all FSX-related.

Mike -- if I ever directed you to a tool called Terrain Sculptor, then it was probably Don's little FSDeveloper.com tool which is used to blend an airport into the surrounding terrain.


Cheers, Rob - it was here: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=24549#p8372676
So I Googled Terrain Sculptor and found the one I linked to in this thread :lol:
Never thought of looking in the FSDeveloper stuff :wub:
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Re: Making terrain?

Postby Ian Warren » Sun Oct 04, 2015 11:06 am

Well finally d/loaded DCS , not bad 10GB in 32 minutes !
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Re: Making terrain?

Postby toprob » Sun Oct 04, 2015 11:15 am

emfrat wrote:
Cheers, Rob - it was here: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=24549#p8372676
So I Googled Terrain Sculptor and found the one I linked to in this thread :lol:
Never thought of looking in the FSDeveloper stuff :wub:


This probably says more about my own blinkered view of things, I don't get out much beyond FSDeveloper.com... Apparently there is a big wide world out there on the web, and maybe Don should've been a bit more careful naming his little program.
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Re: Making terrain?

Postby J7G » Mon Oct 05, 2015 1:14 am

OK guys, thanks for the replies. Back to the ol' drawing board then.
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Re: Making terrain?

Postby Ian Warren » Sat Jul 16, 2016 5:57 pm

That was a very much closed item now, have you tried FS simply for starters ? ..... I started before SDKs and photo material but is a good backing but you are required to do the work.
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Re: Making terrain?

Postby Charl » Wed Jul 17, 2019 7:48 pm

.
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