[Help] with heightmap RAW

[Zyco187]

Whenever I transfer my heightmapprimary.raw from L3DT or Gencontrol2 I always end up with a terrian that has a slice in the middle and messed up map edges all the way across. Can someone tell me what Im doing wrong. I have a 4km map have made sure the image size was 1025,4097, etc I have tried different sizes and they still do not work, Geez this mapping stuff is hard.....



please use direkt links - Leusch

[AFsoccer]

Hmm, I haven't seen this happen before so I can't help... but did you also read through the forum at Official BF Editor Forums -> Terrain Editor

You may want to post your question there too (especially if you don't get an answer here).

[VapoMan]

I think the really tall edges of the map is caused by the "default height" being set really high, so the surrounding terrain is higher than the primary terrain.

Try opening the surrounding terrain height maps in photoshop and colour them in the same shade of grey as the edges of the primary height map. This should make it look normal.

Your primary terrain might be stuffing up because of it not being saved properly.

Open it in photoshop and go to "Image">"mode", and make sure "greyscale" and "16 bit" are ticked. Then go to "Image">"Image Size" and make sure its 1025x1025. Then save as a RAW file. When you save choose the options 16 bit, IBM PC, 1025x1025 and change channels to 1.

When you've saved it, open it up in photoshop again with the settings you saved it as (16 bit, IBM PC, channels 1, 1025x1025) to make sure it is working properly, if it isn't the picture will appear warped.

If its working properly put it into your map and try it out.

[Rhino]

ye like Vapo said, make sure you save it as a 16bit, IBM PC RAW at 1025x1025px.

[Zyco187]

Wow Im the only guy in the world who cannot get this damn terrain editor to work rite, and I have just uninstalled and reinstalled on a fresh XP hard drive. The editor still does the same thing. I have tried evrything. Terrain will not texture with the detail/color I pick nor will it load the Hieghtmapprimary.raw rite. I have followed every tut you can find and researched all day. What are you guys using to make your terrains? The terrain in the pic is from geocontrol 2 and it still does the same thing.

[Rhino]

Try following this tutorial from step 1, you might have more luck.

L3dt Video Tutorial - Official BF Editor Forums


But I would recommend you learn how to map with the BF2 editor first and its tools before you start to use programs like L3DT and GeoControl.

[Zyco187]

Thanks alot Rhino but the link to the tut is dead .....

[pfhatoa]

I think the really tall edges of the map is caused by the "default height" being set really high, so the surrounding terrain is higher than the primary terrain

Sorry for hijacking the thread but is there any negative effects of having a high maximum height? For some some reason I used 1000m. I didn't change it cause I guessed that 65536 colors represented in a 16-bit heightmap is enough to get acceptable precision but now I fear side effects.

[VapoMan]

https://www.realitymod.com/forum/f189-m ... heavy.html

Try opening the heightmapprimary.raw file in Photoshop and then saving with the right settings as I mentioned earlier, before you but it in your map.

[Rhino]

Warnabro don't PM me or IM me for help, you wont get it. I will glady give help on these forums or in the BFeditor forums but I will not give help over PM or IMs (other than to other PR team members). When giving help on the forums other people can learn from it and can also find the answer to there problem with the search tools later on instead of me having to repeat myself constantly...

[quote=""WarnABro"]I have followed this tut and this is what I got

Your First Map( A Tutorial On Making A Basic Terrain) - Official BF Editor Forums

My editor will not paint the terrain like in the last picture did in the tutorial when u push the generate button. Do I have to manually paint it by hand with the paint brush ? Isnt that what the layer tool is for ? To the whole map that same texture/color ?[/quote]

As you have been told before, follow these tutorials here: https://www.realitymod.com/forum/f189-m ... rs-up.html

Tutorial 1 on that list will teach you what you need to know about basic painting and sculpting of your terrain... If you can't get it to work its 99.9% chance your not following the tutorial correctly.
Creating a Basic Terrain - BFEditor

[quote="WarnABro""]Thanks alot Rhino but the link to the tut is dead .....[/quote]

I bumped the topic for you asking if anyone has another link, but like I've said, you should learn how to use the editor first before going into that stuff.

Sorry for hijacking the thread but is there any negative effects of having a high maximum height? For some some reason I used 1000m. I didn't change it cause I guessed that 65536 colors represented in a 16-bit heightmap is enough to get acceptable precision but now I fear side effects.

by increasing the max height of your terrain you decrease the accuracy you can put into the height of your terrain, as well as increase the amount of terrain "morphing" you get when moving away from your terrain.

[Zyco187]

delete this

[pfhatoa]

by increasing the max height of your terrain you decrease the accuracy you can put into the height of your terrain, as well as increase the amount of terrain "morphing" you get when moving away from your terrain.

:/ Well, is there any smart way to convert the heightmap to get it right. Right now my maximum height is 1000m and my highest point on the map 386 metres so I want white to be something like 400m instead of 1000m.

Edit: Am I correct if I say that a 16bit heightmap has 65536 possible "levels". If so I will have a precision of 0.015m as 1000/(2^16)=0.0152587890625? If so the accuracy part is not that important.

[Rhino]

:/ Well, is there any smart way to convert the heightmap to get it right. Right now my maximum height is 1000m and my highest point on the map 386 metres so I want white to be something like 400m instead of 1000m.

Not easily to my knowledge. You can load your heightmap in L3DT and if you then re-export it, it should export your heightmap with the lowest point on your map being 100% black and the highest point being 100% white and then its a matter of putting that into BF2 and then changing your height scale, but unless you get it 100% right, your statics will all need to be re-snapped/placed onto the terrain as they will most likely be floating or really sunk, or both.

Edit: Am I correct if I say that a 16bit heightmap has 65536 possible "levels". If so I will have a precision of 0.015m as 1000/(2^16)=0.0152587890625? If so the accuracy part is not that important.

I'm not sure on the amount of possible "levels" the heightmap has but ye, accuracy is probably not your biggest issue, terrain morphing is how ever. Some info on it here, although its on about the differences between 2km and 4km maps, the terrain LODs apply to both, just they are much worse on 4km maps.

https://www.realitymod.com/forum/f189-m ... s-2km.html

[pfhatoa]

Rhino;1495855']Not easily to my knowledge. You can load your heightmap in L3DT and if you then re-export it, it should export your heightmap with the lowest point on your map being 100% black and the highest point being 100% white and then its a matter of putting that into BF2 and then changing your height scale, but unless you get it 100% right, your statics will all need to be re-snapped/placed onto the terrain as they will most likely be floating or really sunk, or both.

I'm not sure on the amount of possible "levels" the heightmap has but ye, accuracy is probably not your biggest issue, terrain morphing is how ever. Some info on it here, although its on about the differences between 2km and 4km maps, the terrain LODs apply to both, just they are much worse on 4km maps.

https://www.realitymod.com/forum/f189-m ... s-2km.html

I will give it some tries, with a lot of backups! Better do it now before all statics are placed...

Also, with the new map, Iron Eagle, it seems to be possible to have fairly sharp inclines without morphing issues. Is there any official saying on this?

Thank you for the help, -P

[Rhino]

I will give it some tries, with a lot of backups! Better do it now before all statics are placed...

Also, with the new map, Iron Eagle, it seems to be possible to have fairly sharp inclines without morphing issues. Is there any official saying on this?

Thank you for the help, -P

I would do it before you place any more statics and IE is using some code to stop the morphing but it hasn't been fully tested yet.

[pfhatoa]

Woho! Success! It was easier than I thought. Load it in L3dt, guess the settings, change the maximum height, export. Start the editor, change maximum height, save (but don't save the "object changes" as all statics are messed up) load the map again and all is in place.

Might need some fiddling as 386!=the old highest height, but in general it looks good.

Thanks a lot for the help.

[Rhino]

nps, although thoroughly check all the statics, epically the ones lowest down and highest up as they will be the ones most affected by the change