Terrain engine applications
by Edward Gardner · in General Discussion · 04/08/2001 (4:17 pm) · 8 replies
Is anyone out ther looking at using this for academic applications?
For few years, I have been working with many of the architectural and academic/scientific tools for terrain visualization. I had been toying with other game engines ability to deal with terrain in a realistic way. After having a look at the Tribes 2 editor, and am excited at the possibility of real-time, multi-user environments for visualizing terrain data.
I know the engine uses bitmaps for importing new terrain and that (at least in Tribes 2) you have a great deal of control over the appearance of that terrain, but is it amenable to importing of things like USGS DEM files?
For few years, I have been working with many of the architectural and academic/scientific tools for terrain visualization. I had been toying with other game engines ability to deal with terrain in a realistic way. After having a look at the Tribes 2 editor, and am excited at the possibility of real-time, multi-user environments for visualizing terrain data.
I know the engine uses bitmaps for importing new terrain and that (at least in Tribes 2) you have a great deal of control over the appearance of that terrain, but is it amenable to importing of things like USGS DEM files?
#2
Its just the resolution and size of the data that might be a bit tweaky.
Phil.
04/09/2001 (1:47 am)
You could get a copy of leveller by Daylon graphics, convert the USGS data to an image format, and have the V12 load it up fairly easily.Its just the resolution and size of the data that might be a bit tweaky.
Phil.
#3
Must search thru the archives, see who else needed it ;)
04/09/2001 (6:29 am)
Data integrity is crucial for this sort of thing, I'll have a look at that program.Must search thru the archives, see who else needed it ;)
#4
Not sure if you've seen it, but VTP @ www.vterrain.org has DEM importers, etc. You'd be better off writing a bridge wrapper for the VTP importer into Tribes than writing one specifically for Tribes. I'd also be careful when dealing with more than a couple of kilometers of terrain at a time. Tribes doesn't (yet) support any form of earth curvature.
I could easily see problems if you start loading DEM files and trying to patch up their edges as you move across 100K of terrain.. You'd get some sphere->plane mapping errors.
Hope this helps.
--Bryan
04/09/2001 (9:19 am)
Edward,Not sure if you've seen it, but VTP @ www.vterrain.org has DEM importers, etc. You'd be better off writing a bridge wrapper for the VTP importer into Tribes than writing one specifically for Tribes. I'd also be careful when dealing with more than a couple of kilometers of terrain at a time. Tribes doesn't (yet) support any form of earth curvature.
I could easily see problems if you start loading DEM files and trying to patch up their edges as you move across 100K of terrain.. You'd get some sphere->plane mapping errors.
Hope this helps.
--Bryan
#5
Actual scale is less important, so, I can visualize a "real world" large swathe of data in a tribes world. Always know what context the map is in :)
Alot of what I am doing is taking Magellan Venus radar data and visualizing it inside the game engine. V12 would make it easier for me to custom write this, package it with a little more credibility than a game might otherwise have ("And this is a picture of Dr. Friberg blasting Dr. Dahl on the surface of Venus").
If it makes a compelling game environment, I am all for it :) But viewing this sort of data quickly, and in real time, is (IMHO) a valuable pursuit.
I'll have a look at the link, thanks :)
04/10/2001 (10:32 am)
Well, what I had settled on was small patches of terrain at a time, mostly to avoid curvature issues and, because smaller patches lend themselves more "renderable" with any acceptable detail level at the 256x256 pixel range.Actual scale is less important, so, I can visualize a "real world" large swathe of data in a tribes world. Always know what context the map is in :)
Alot of what I am doing is taking Magellan Venus radar data and visualizing it inside the game engine. V12 would make it easier for me to custom write this, package it with a little more credibility than a game might otherwise have ("And this is a picture of Dr. Friberg blasting Dr. Dahl on the surface of Venus").
If it makes a compelling game environment, I am all for it :) But viewing this sort of data quickly, and in real time, is (IMHO) a valuable pursuit.
I'll have a look at the link, thanks :)
#6
I spent 10 yeras as a field geologist. It's always easier to cover more ground if there are more than one of you, and it is always easier to just SHOW someone something instead of trying to describe it, or demonstrate with still photography.
Sorry, getting excited :)
04/10/2001 (10:36 am)
As it turns out, I had seen that. Good stuff. The REALLY exciting thing about this, in addition to seeing things that nobody else has seen (the surface of Venus, fo instance) is the potential for multi-user, collobartive exploration. Field trips of sorts. There is a stalled attempt at doing a virtual tour of the Cathedral at Notre Dam which is in spirit similar to what I see in my mind's eye for this.I spent 10 yeras as a field geologist. It's always easier to cover more ground if there are more than one of you, and it is always easier to just SHOW someone something instead of trying to describe it, or demonstrate with still photography.
Sorry, getting excited :)
#7
04/10/2001 (11:44 am)
This should be very do-able. I'm not sure how much integrity you could keep but I used to convert DEM data into height maps and then make them into BattleZone(I) maps and it worked great. I made a pretty cool map out of a scaled down version of the blasted out Mt. St. Helen's DEM data that I got off the internet. For the tool to make BMP's from DEM, look around on the USGS internet sites there were links to some good freeware tools there. Good luck, and publish some Venus when you do it!
#8
I have the data part pretty well set. The MIDR's from the Magellan program are easy to acquire (interpretting them sometimes is a challenge) so once I have a dataset, I can make a heightmap.
The Tribes 2 engine has let me tweak more than I thought it would, so, I agree, VERY doable...
Anxious for the v12 release now :)
04/14/2001 (7:49 am)
Yeh, I have most of the DEM viewers :) Some excellent stuff, I've also managed some success in DEM-VRML, etc.I have the data part pretty well set. The MIDR's from the Magellan program are easy to acquire (interpretting them sometimes is a challenge) so once I have a dataset, I can make a heightmap.
The Tribes 2 engine has let me tweak more than I thought it would, so, I agree, VERY doable...
Anxious for the v12 release now :)
Torque 3D Owner Pat Wilson