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Game Editing => Video Channel => Topic started by: kat on April 04, 2012, 04:45:18 AM

Title: Simple terrain using Displace in Blender 2.49
Post by: kat on April 04, 2012, 04:45:18 AM

Simple terrain using 'displace' in Blender 2.49 (http://www.katsbits.com/tutorials/video/displace-terrain-2.49.php)

Making a terrain need not be too difficult an exercise. Using Blender 2.49 the following video tutorial runs through the process of making a terrain using a heightmap to deform a mesh, an effective and simple solution to producing a game ready terrain in a relatively short time with little effort.

 - Further details and example download available here (http://www.katsbits.com/tutorials/video/displace-terrain-2.49.php)
Title: Re: Simple terrain using Displace in Blender 2.49
Post by: ratty redemption on April 05, 2012, 04:37:11 AM
very easy to follow and concise video tutorial kat, and impressive results from the heightmap. i'd previously not used the angle based edge split on terrain, so again cool to see that being put to good use.

does the smooth group shading always get exported with the mesh, for example when using .ase format? and do most game engines support the double verts produced by the edge split modifier being applied to the mesh?

Title: Re: Simple terrain using Displace in Blender 2.49
Post by: kat on April 05, 2012, 05:02:38 AM
Technically game engines split verts to create/represent smoothing anyway so the way it's done, 'groups' a-la 3DS Max, or 'edge splits' a-la Blender (and just about everyone else) makes no odds to the GPU - verts have to be split for smoothing (unless there's some proprietary tech involved). But yes, you're going to want to always check that (a) the format being exported to support split verts in some form for smoothing, and (b) the game engine can properly read the exported meshes (the meshes are properly formatted).

As an example, one of the earlier builds of UDK was reading ASE exported from Blender fine, smoothing was held and models loaded up OK. In the next update, that changed (and is still the case from what I can tell), so the same prep doesn't work - for UDK it's better to use FBX, DAE (Collada) or MCampagnini's (http://www.katsbits.com/smforum/index.php?topic=257.0) fixed ASE script that's geared more towards that development platform. Of course if you're using Blender Game Engine none of that matter so much because it can read whatever you do to a mesh (within reason of the mesh/material system).
Title: Re: Simple terrain using Displace in Blender 2.49
Post by: ratty redemption on April 06, 2012, 12:04:12 AM
interesting, thanks kat.