How do you guys "visualize" what you're doing?

[breravin]

So one big problem I've had while attempting to learn Terragen is the ability to know what a given node/function will due, and visualize what's actually going to happen.

As near as I can tell there are 2 main ways

1) The 3D view

The downside with this is the long time to render (even the preview), which makes tweaking really challenging. There is also no way to lock the view to a current node (for those familiar with Worldmachine, not only can you preview each node on it's own, but you can 'lock' the preview window)

2) Double clicking a node brings up a small, top down render.

The problem I've been having with this is that the detail is so rough, I really can't tell what's going on.

Do you guys have any tricks for visualizing? What's a good way to see what a given shader or fractal is actually going to do without having to wait on renders?

I'm trying to figure out what a good workflow is for this program that doesn't result in a lot of time with simple trial-and-error.

[Volker Harun]

After months with trial and error and watching the results, I got used to know what a setting does ... it is a hard way and it is fun ,-)
A few years ago I wrote a small tutorial to get a start with shaders: http://forums.planetside.co.uk/index.php?topic=2287.0
It is just basics to get acquainted with this misteria.

[Henry Blewer]

I tend to work with slopes. A given type of terrain has a certain slope. Rock areas of hills have a slope of say 20 degrees. Sands can pile up to a slope of about 48 degrees. Grasses can go with a higher slope.

For the scale for power fractals, I start with what I consider a large area, about 50 meters. I then reduce the scales as I need detail.

It all really depends on how the landscape looks. It took me a long time to figure out how to scale power fractals. Volker's link really helped me out with this.

[breravin]

Cool - I'll check it out! It's definitely challenging when I know I want a certain look, but the trial and error of figuring it out is so daunting

[gregsandor]

I tend to work with slopes. A given type of terrain has a certain slope. Rock areas of hills have a slope of say 20 degrees. Sands can pile up to a slope of about 48 degrees. Grasses can go with a higher slope.

For the scale for power fractals, I start with what I consider a large area, about 50 meters. I then reduce the scales as I need detail.

It all really depends on how the landscape looks. It took me a long time to figure out how to scale power fractals. Volker's link really helped me out with this.

I sometimes use a similar method, and have made a set of tiles:  red, green, blue, etc so I can clearly see which layer is doing what.  Also I put a single pixel border on the tiles so I can check scales in meters on the terrain or models.

[Henry Blewer]

I sometimes use a similar method, and have made a set of tiles:  red, green, blue, etc so I can clearly see which layer is doing what.  Also I put a single pixel border on the tiles so I can check scales in meters on the terrain or models.
[/quote]

How do you do this? It is a great idea!

[breravin]

I sometimes use a similar method, and have made a set of tiles:  red, green, blue, etc so I can clearly see which layer is doing what.  Also I put a single pixel border on the tiles so I can check scales in meters on the terrain or models.

Could you explain that a little bit further, I'm afraid I don't quite follow what you mean by tiles, and how you are using the color. Sorry, I'm sure I'm missing something obvious, but I did a couple quick searches for "tiles" and couldn't quite figure out what you mean.