L3DT Professional
BundySoft
L3DT Terrain Tool for TGEA
L3DT is a Windows application for generating artificial terrain maps and textures. It is primarily intended for game developers seeking to make large high-quality 3D worlds (eg. for MMORPGs), as well as for digital artists who would like to have full control over their creations. This version of L3DT Professional comes with a plug-in that allows end-users to directly export their creations from L3DT to Torque Game Engine Advanced, with no hassle.
Want to learn more? Take the visual tour!
As a sweeping and perhaps wildly over-simplistic generalization, programs that generate 3D terrain fall into two classes:
- Those that generate the entire map algorithmically, based on a few user-defined settings like fractal persistence, number of perlin octaves, etcetera, and;
- Those with which the user builds the terrain by hand, using mouse-driven brush tools.
L3DT mixes some features of both approaches. You can, if you want, make a whole map by setting a few parameters and hitting the 'next' button (a la the 1st class). You can also manually 'design' the height map in L3DT a la the 2nd class. However, you don't have to do all the finely detailed manual labor yourself. Instead, you can edit a high-level 'design map' that sets out the general shape of the terrain and specifies the locations of various overlays like mountains, plateaus, volcanoes, cliffs and erosion. When L3DT generates the terrain, based on your design map, you get the features you want without having to do everything yourself.
Another significant feature of L3DT is that it can handle really big maps. Importantly, you don't need gigs of RAM for these maps - L3DT includes an automatic paging system that swaps map 'tiles' from RAM to the hard disk drive as required. It's called a mosaic map, and it usually caps the RAM usage to the 100-200Mb range (even for gigabyte- or terabyte-sized maps).
Pretty terrain isn't much good without a pretty texture image to match. L3DT includes texture generation and light mapping algorithms that provide realistic ground textures. If you want to do your own texture mapping, then L3DT can also help by generating the alpha maps.
L3DT is a pretty big and complex program, so to alleviate some of the learning-curve difficulties that might be experienced by new users, a substantial and regularly updated on-line user guide is provided. Also, there is significant community support, including a forum, users' wiki and mailing-list.
So what is included in L3DT Professional?
L3DT does quite a lot. A brief list of features would include:
- Designable height fields using a high-level 'design map' in which you can specify land altitudes, roughness, lakes, climate, etc.
- A fast and flexible fractal 'inflation' based height field generator, including effects such as erosion, terraces and cliffs, volcanoes, mountain peaks, etc (all controlled from the design map).
- An integrated 3D renderer and editor that allows you to easily shape and reshape your terrain using mouse-driven brush tools.
- An automatic disk paging system (A.K.A. map tiling) that supports heightfields up to 128k squared pixels in size (16 gigapixels) and textures up to 4M squared pixels (16 terapixels). Want to make megatextures? No problem!
- A texture generator for high-resolution interpolated ground texture maps, as well as the ability to export alpha maps for run-time 'texture splatting'.
- A extensible climate modelling engine for controlling the distribution of ground textures, including water-table and salinity modelling. Supports up to 65,000 unique and user-definable land types per map.
- Automatic and manual water-flooding routines, for making sea and lakes at different water levels.
- A fast light mapping module for pre-calculated terrain lighting and shadow casting. Now includes high-resolution light mapping and bump mapping!
- An automated calculation pipeline that allows you to queue-up some or all of your calculations, set the relevant settings, and then walk away while L3DT does its thing. No program baby-sitting is required.
- Support for a broad range of file formats, including common binary terrain formats, image formats, and mesh files. Furthermore, L3DT has a plugin API ('Zeolite') that allows users to add even more format options.
L3DT for Torque can export to the TGEA Atlas2 terrain format, and supports both 'blended' and 'unique textured' terrain. For more information about the Atlas2 exporter, please see the plugin user guide.
Recommend Specifications:
Minimum Specifications:
- 2Ghz+ Intel Pentium processor or equivalent.
- 512Mb+ of System Memory (RAM)
- Microsoft Windows XP/SP2 Operating System
- At least 10 Gigabytes of available hard disk space
- An OpenGL 1.4 (or later) compatible 3D-graphics card, with 256Mb+ video memory
Minimum Specifications:
- 1Ghz Intel Pentium processor or equivalent
- At least 256Mb of System Memory (RAM)
- Microsoft Windows 2000, XP or Vista Operating Systems
- At least 100 Megabytes of available hard disk space
- An OpenGL 1.4 (or later) compatible 3D-graphics card, with 128Mb of video memory
L3DT END-USER LICENSE TERMS
YOU SHOULD CAREFULLY READ THE FOLLOWING TERMS AND CONDITIONS BEFORE USING THE PRODUCT REFERENCING THIS END-USER LICENSE AGREEMENT. IT CONTAINS SOFTWARE, THE USE OF WHICH IS LICENSED BY BUNDYSOFT FOR USE ONLY AS SET FORTH BELOW.
This End-User License Agreement is a legal agreement between you (either an individual or a single entity) and Bundysoft for the Licensed Works provided pursuant to this End-User License Agreement. YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT BY INSTALLING, COPYING, OR OTHERWISE USING THE LICENSED WORK. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT, DO NOT USE THE LICENSED WORK. USING ANY PART OF THE LICENSED WORK INDICATES THAT YOU ACCEPT THESE TERMS.
1. GRANT OF LICENSE: Bundysoft (the "Licensor") grants to you this personal, limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-assignable license solely provided that you adhere to all of the terms and conditions of this Agreement. The foregoing is an express limited use license and not an assignment, sale, or other transfer of the Licensed Works or any Intellectual Property Rights of Licensor.
2. ASSENT: By opening the file package containing the Licensed Work, or installing, copying, or otherwise using the Licensed Work, you agree that this Agreement is a legally binding and valid contract, agree to abide by the intellectual property laws and all of the terms and conditions of this Agreement, and further agree to take all necessary steps to ensure that the terms and conditions of this Agreement are not violated by any person or entity under your control or in your service.
3. OWNERSHIP OF SOFTWARE: The Licensor owns certain rights that may exist from time to time in this or any other jurisdiction, whether foreign or domestic, under patent law, copyright law, publicity rights law, moral rights law, trade secret law, trademark law, unfair competition law or other similar protections, regardless of whether or not such rights or protections are registered or perfected (the "Intellectual Property Rights"), in the computer software, together with any related documentation (including design, systems and user) and other materials for use in connection with such computer software in this package (collectively, the "Licensed Works"). ALL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN AND TO THE LICENSED WORKS ARE AND SHALL REMAIN IN LICENSOR.
4. EDITIONS: The Licensed Works are available in two editions ("Standard" and "Professional"). The license terms for these editions differ as listed in sections 5 and 6 of this End-User License Agreement, with the remaining sections applying equally to both editions.
5. AVAILABILITY:
5.1 The Standard Edition of the Licensed Works is provided free of charge.
5.2 The use of the Professional Edition of the Licensed Works is restricted to persons possessing an "activation key" provided by Licensor. Activation keys purchased from Licensor by payment of a fee are deemed "full keys", and entitle you to use of the Professional Edition of the Licensed Works in perpetuity, subject to the other terms and conditions of this Agreement. Activation keys provided by Licensor without charge for evaluation purposes ("trial keys") expire after a period of ninety (90) days. To continue using the Professional Edition of the Licensed Works after the expiry of this period you must purchase a full key from Licensor. Otherwise, you must uninstall the Professional Edition of the Licensed Works and destroy all copies in your possession.
6. UPGRADES:
6.1 Upgrades to the Standard Edition of the Licensed Works shall be provided free of charge by Licensor.
6.2 Upgrades to the Professional Edition of the Licensed Works shall be provided free charge by Licensor for a period of eighteen (18) months following your purchase of a full key. You must purchase another full key to access further upgrades of the Professional Edition issued after the expiry of this period.
7. COMMERCIAL USE: This License Agreement grants you the right to use the Licensed Works for commercial purposes.
8. RESTRICTIONS:
8.1 You are expressly prohibited from copying, modifying, merging, selling, leasing, redistributing, assigning, or transferring in any matter, Licensed Works or any portion thereof.
8.2 You are also expressly prohibited from reverse engineering, decompiling, translating, disassembling, deciphering, decrypting, or otherwise attempting to discover the source code of the Licensed Works as the Licensed Works contain proprietary material of Licensor. You may not otherwise modify, alter, adapt, port, or merge the Licensed Works.
8.3 You may not remove, alter, deface, overprint or otherwise obscure Licensor patent, trademark, service mark or copyright notices.
8.4 You may not use the Licensed Works with an activation key obtained from sources other than Licensor.
8.5 You agree not to transfer, or otherwise make available, your activation key to third parties. Furthermore, you agree to take all reasonable measures to prevent third parties from accessing your activation key.
8.6 You agree that the Licensed Works will not be shipped, transferred or exported into any other country, or used in any manner prohibited by any government agency or any export laws, restrictions or regulations.
9. TERM: This Agreement is effective until terminated. You may terminate this Agreement at any time by uninstalling the Licensed Works and destroying all copies of the Licensed Works. Upon any termination, you agree to uninstall the Licensed Works and return or destroy all copies of the Licensed Works, any accompanying documentation, and all other associated materials.
10. WARRANTIES AND DISCLAIMER:
EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY PROVIDED OTHERWISE IN A WRITTEN AGREEMENT BETWEEN LICENSOR AND YOU, THE LICENSED WORKS ARE NOW PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR THE WARRANTY OF NON-INFRINGEMENT. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, LICENSOR MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT (i) THE LICENSED WORKS WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, (ii) THE USE OF THE LICENSED WORKS WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE, (iii) THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE LICENSED WORKS WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE, (iv) THE QUALITY OF THE LICENSED WORKS WILL MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS, AND/OR (v) ANY ERRORS IN THE LICENSED WORKS WILL BE CORRECTED. SOME STATES OR JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR LIMITATIONS ON HOW LONG AN IMPLIED WARRANTY MAY LAST, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. IN JURISDICTIONS WHERE WARRANTIES, GUARANTEES, REPRESENTATIONS, AND/OR CONDITIONS OF ANY TYPE MAY NOT BE DISCLAIMED, ANY SUCH WARRANTY, GUARANTEE, REPRESENATION AND/OR WARRANTY IS: (1) HEREBY LIMITED TO THE PERIOD OF EITHER (A) THIRTY (30) DAYS FROM THE DATE OF OPENING THE PACKAGE CONTAINING THE LICENSED WORKS OR (B) THE SHORTEST PERIOD ALLOWED BY LAW IN THE APPLICABLE JURISDICTION IF A THIRTY (30) DAY LIMITATION WOULD BE UNENFORCEABLE; AND (2) LICENSOR
YOU SHOULD CAREFULLY READ THE FOLLOWING TERMS AND CONDITIONS BEFORE USING THE PRODUCT REFERENCING THIS END-USER LICENSE AGREEMENT. IT CONTAINS SOFTWARE, THE USE OF WHICH IS LICENSED BY BUNDYSOFT FOR USE ONLY AS SET FORTH BELOW.
This End-User License Agreement is a legal agreement between you (either an individual or a single entity) and Bundysoft for the Licensed Works provided pursuant to this End-User License Agreement. YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT BY INSTALLING, COPYING, OR OTHERWISE USING THE LICENSED WORK. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT, DO NOT USE THE LICENSED WORK. USING ANY PART OF THE LICENSED WORK INDICATES THAT YOU ACCEPT THESE TERMS.
1. GRANT OF LICENSE: Bundysoft (the "Licensor") grants to you this personal, limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-assignable license solely provided that you adhere to all of the terms and conditions of this Agreement. The foregoing is an express limited use license and not an assignment, sale, or other transfer of the Licensed Works or any Intellectual Property Rights of Licensor.
2. ASSENT: By opening the file package containing the Licensed Work, or installing, copying, or otherwise using the Licensed Work, you agree that this Agreement is a legally binding and valid contract, agree to abide by the intellectual property laws and all of the terms and conditions of this Agreement, and further agree to take all necessary steps to ensure that the terms and conditions of this Agreement are not violated by any person or entity under your control or in your service.
3. OWNERSHIP OF SOFTWARE: The Licensor owns certain rights that may exist from time to time in this or any other jurisdiction, whether foreign or domestic, under patent law, copyright law, publicity rights law, moral rights law, trade secret law, trademark law, unfair competition law or other similar protections, regardless of whether or not such rights or protections are registered or perfected (the "Intellectual Property Rights"), in the computer software, together with any related documentation (including design, systems and user) and other materials for use in connection with such computer software in this package (collectively, the "Licensed Works"). ALL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN AND TO THE LICENSED WORKS ARE AND SHALL REMAIN IN LICENSOR.
4. EDITIONS: The Licensed Works are available in two editions ("Standard" and "Professional"). The license terms for these editions differ as listed in sections 5 and 6 of this End-User License Agreement, with the remaining sections applying equally to both editions.
5. AVAILABILITY:
5.1 The Standard Edition of the Licensed Works is provided free of charge.
5.2 The use of the Professional Edition of the Licensed Works is restricted to persons possessing an "activation key" provided by Licensor. Activation keys purchased from Licensor by payment of a fee are deemed "full keys", and entitle you to use of the Professional Edition of the Licensed Works in perpetuity, subject to the other terms and conditions of this Agreement. Activation keys provided by Licensor without charge for evaluation purposes ("trial keys") expire after a period of ninety (90) days. To continue using the Professional Edition of the Licensed Works after the expiry of this period you must purchase a full key from Licensor. Otherwise, you must uninstall the Professional Edition of the Licensed Works and destroy all copies in your possession.
6. UPGRADES:
6.1 Upgrades to the Standard Edition of the Licensed Works shall be provided free of charge by Licensor.
6.2 Upgrades to the Professional Edition of the Licensed Works shall be provided free charge by Licensor for a period of eighteen (18) months following your purchase of a full key. You must purchase another full key to access further upgrades of the Professional Edition issued after the expiry of this period.
7. COMMERCIAL USE: This License Agreement grants you the right to use the Licensed Works for commercial purposes.
8. RESTRICTIONS:
8.1 You are expressly prohibited from copying, modifying, merging, selling, leasing, redistributing, assigning, or transferring in any matter, Licensed Works or any portion thereof.
8.2 You are also expressly prohibited from reverse engineering, decompiling, translating, disassembling, deciphering, decrypting, or otherwise attempting to discover the source code of the Licensed Works as the Licensed Works contain proprietary material of Licensor. You may not otherwise modify, alter, adapt, port, or merge the Licensed Works.
8.3 You may not remove, alter, deface, overprint or otherwise obscure Licensor patent, trademark, service mark or copyright notices.
8.4 You may not use the Licensed Works with an activation key obtained from sources other than Licensor.
8.5 You agree not to transfer, or otherwise make available, your activation key to third parties. Furthermore, you agree to take all reasonable measures to prevent third parties from accessing your activation key.
8.6 You agree that the Licensed Works will not be shipped, transferred or exported into any other country, or used in any manner prohibited by any government agency or any export laws, restrictions or regulations.
9. TERM: This Agreement is effective until terminated. You may terminate this Agreement at any time by uninstalling the Licensed Works and destroying all copies of the Licensed Works. Upon any termination, you agree to uninstall the Licensed Works and return or destroy all copies of the Licensed Works, any accompanying documentation, and all other associated materials.
10. WARRANTIES AND DISCLAIMER:
EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY PROVIDED OTHERWISE IN A WRITTEN AGREEMENT BETWEEN LICENSOR AND YOU, THE LICENSED WORKS ARE NOW PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR THE WARRANTY OF NON-INFRINGEMENT. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, LICENSOR MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT (i) THE LICENSED WORKS WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, (ii) THE USE OF THE LICENSED WORKS WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE, (iii) THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE LICENSED WORKS WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE, (iv) THE QUALITY OF THE LICENSED WORKS WILL MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS, AND/OR (v) ANY ERRORS IN THE LICENSED WORKS WILL BE CORRECTED. SOME STATES OR JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR LIMITATIONS ON HOW LONG AN IMPLIED WARRANTY MAY LAST, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. IN JURISDICTIONS WHERE WARRANTIES, GUARANTEES, REPRESENTATIONS, AND/OR CONDITIONS OF ANY TYPE MAY NOT BE DISCLAIMED, ANY SUCH WARRANTY, GUARANTEE, REPRESENATION AND/OR WARRANTY IS: (1) HEREBY LIMITED TO THE PERIOD OF EITHER (A) THIRTY (30) DAYS FROM THE DATE OF OPENING THE PACKAGE CONTAINING THE LICENSED WORKS OR (B) THE SHORTEST PERIOD ALLOWED BY LAW IN THE APPLICABLE JURISDICTION IF A THIRTY (30) DAY LIMITATION WOULD BE UNENFORCEABLE; AND (2) LICENSOR
