Heads up for 3DEM users

[Vulthoom]

Just went to the 3dem site to check for a new version (its been years since I last installed it) and saw the following message:-

Please Note:
This web site and 3DEM downloads will close
at end of May 2009.  Last call for downloads

So for anyone who uses this software or wants to convert DEMs - get it while you can!

http://www.visualizationsoftware.com/3dem/downloads.html

Cheers,

V

[FrankB]

Thanks

[rcallicotte]

Thank you.

[Oshyan]

Wow, bummer. I kept hoping it would be updated (to be honest, I stopped expecting that several years ago). I wonder if he'd be ok if someone mirrored it...

- Oshyan

[julian.bleecker]

Wow — just as I'm at that stage of Terragen where I wanted to experiment with importing real-world terrain and so forth. Literally, just now.

Are there other options for converting DEMs to something that Terragen can digest? I've tried LandSerf but there are some klunks in that workflow that are convincing me that it should be quite a bit easier.

Suggestions from more experienced Terragen-ers?

Julian

[RArcher]

I'm sure that the 3DEM program will get hosted at other places soon.  I can recommend GlobalMapper for a really good all round system for working with just about any type of data available.  Another option would simply be to use Geotiff's instead of DEMs which import directly into TG2.

[julian.bleecker]

Yeah, I poked at GlobalMapper for a bit. It exceeds a bit the allowance I gave myself for this project. But, now — I'm curious about this GeoTIFF format. Is that something that can be extracted from the USGS data? I'm simply trying to get some real-world elevation data from Southern California into Terragen at this point. Just that, to start learning more about this sort of workflow.

Julian

[RArcher]

Hi Julian,

I've been meaning to write a tutorial about getting and using some of the USGS data but I just haven't had time the last few weeks, maybe next week I will get to it.  But anyway about the geotiffs:

If you are downloading from the usgs.seamless.gov website, when you select the area that you want to download, by default it downloads in the ArcGRID format which TG cannot read without first converting.  If you choose the Modify Data Request option, you can then specify that you would like to download the data in the GeoTIFF format.

[julian.bleecker]

Great, I just did that and downloaded a couple of them.

A tutorial would be invaluable. Terragen is great from what I hear, but a bit of a bungle for the newbie. Some unfathomable things happen that should be a bit more comprehensible. For instance, I load a GeoTIFF and it just doesn't seem to be "there." I'm almost certain it must be, but the terrain that I see, for example, when looking at the viewer on the Seamless server is just nowhere in my renders or the preview. It's just not visible at all. Of course I'm doing something wrong, and of course I should play with the heightfield shaders, and scaling and so on — but, should I _really_? After getting some real world data? And waiting for renders, adjusting, waiting again?

*shrug*

Julian

[RArcher]

Here's the "trick":

In the Planet Shader node there is a field for "Lat Long at Apex" - Enter the center point Latitude and Longitude for your Geotiff here and it will move your terrain to the 0,0,0 area in TG

[julian.bleecker]

Oh, for goodness sake...

Thanks a lot for that. You probably saved my morning from evaporating into a muck of fiddling.

Wow — I'll keep an eye out for your tutorial!

Julian

[Oshyan]

We'll be mirroring 3DEM over at Terragen.org soon. If you can get your DEMs in GeoTIFF format, TG2 can load them natively, as you found. So that's really the best approach.

- Oshyan

[gregsandor]

Here's the "trick":

In the Planet Shader node there is a field for "Lat Long at Apex" - Enter the center point Latitude and Longitude for your Geotiff here and it will move your terrain to the 0,0,0 area in TG

Thanks RArcher!

"Great, I just did that and downloaded a couple of them.

A tutorial would be invaluable. Terragen is great from what I hear, but a bit of a bungle for the newbie. Some unfathomable things happen that should be a bit more comprehensible. For instance, I load a GeoTIFF and it just doesn't seem to be "there." I'm almost certain it must be, but the terrain that I see, for example, when looking at the viewer on the Seamless server is just nowhere in my renders or the preview. It's just not visible at all. Of course I'm doing something wrong, and of course I should play with the heightfield shaders, and scaling and so on — but, should I _really_? After getting some real world data? And waiting for renders, adjusting, waiting again?

*shrug*

Julian"

Julian, when you load a geotiff look at the Heightfield load dialog box -- TG clicks on the Georeference option for you every time you load a .dem.  Uncheck it and the terrain will show.  Leaving Auto Georeference From File on and turning Georeference off will work.