Smooth Surface Altitude Constraints

[efflux]

Using Smooth surface in Compute Terrain breaks any altitude constraints setting (but not slope). It simply doesn't work at all - at least not as far as I can see. Why and is there any way around this?

[efflux]

I just discovered that putting another Compute Terrain after the smoothed one fixes this.

[Tangled-Universe]

I just discovered that putting another Compute Terrain after the smoothed one fixes this.

...but increases rendertime probably?

[efflux]

I haven't tested for render times but I use smooth surface a lot so needed to add the extra compute terrain. Smooth surface is very cool if you have a very geometric terrain say with strata and Outcrops. It does exactly what it says and smooths out the shapes depending on your patch size to create much more natural forms.

[Oshyan]

Smooth Terrain affects the displacement so an update normal is probably needed to properly use altitude constraints.

- Oshyan

[Matt]

The smooth function shouldn't break altitude constraints, so that would be a bug.

Matt

[efflux]

OK thanks Matt. The planet I just finished has two compute terrains. The first has smooth surface enabled the second doesn't. If I remove the second one all my altitude distributions for surface layers are gone completely. There is nothing else particularly weird on this planet.

[efflux]

This problem still exists.

If you know about it then it isn't such a problem but any new user is going to be completely confused if they try to use the smooth surface.

[Henry Blewer]

I have not had any problems with the smooth surface of the compute normal. I use it if I have a large value only. I've only recently been making macro displacements in the Terrain Tab, so the large values. I find it helps with the black areas which occur when the terrain folds into itself.

[efflux]

It's very useful to smooth things out, in particular jagged strata and outcrops. The problem I have is that when I enable it all my altitude distributions disappear unless I add another compute terrain with no smooth surface after the first one with smooth surface enabled. This scenario confused me for ages. As you can imagine there was no way of knowing what was wrong except by finding it almost by accident.

[jo]

Hi efflux,

This problem still exists.

If you know about it then it isn't such a problem but any new user is going to be completely confused if they try to use the smooth surface.

It's always handy if you can send us a project file showing the problem along with steps to reproduce, that way we don't have to spend time setting up a test case which may be different than the one you're having problems with.

Regards,

Jo

[efflux]

OK thanks. I will set up a simple tgd and send it or two files - one that doesn't work then the fix. It may be tomorrow because I'm working on something else in TG2 at the moment.

[efflux]

Here is a file. Very simple. I have an altitude constraint on the surface layer but try going into the compute terrain and enabling the smooth surface.

[Dune]

By the way, don't use a very large value (3000 or so) in compute terrain, as I tried. TG will vanish.

[Matt]

Hi efflux,

I've fixed the problem for the next update.

Matt