Hello,
i´ve seen the last G+Hangout and the possibilitys to use DEM Data. That´s great news i think :)
But how do i use DEM Data in the current version?
When i load any DEM Data nothing happens at all.
Best regards
Peter
Be aware that if your DEM data is geo referanced it may well end up on the other side of your planet. Pullback on the camera so you can see the DEM's bounding box and align the camera accordingly. However remember that populations will be less easy to control the further you go away from the planets 0,0,0 point, it's "north pole". Or un-check the Georeferance tick box in the "Heightfield load 01" node. This will center the heightfield at 0,0,0.
I almost always need to add in a "Heightfield resize" between the green "Heightfield load 01" and the red "Heightfield shader 01" and enter the size I want the x and z dimensions I want my heightfield in meters.
Hope this helps.
Quote from: cyphyr on February 09, 2014, 07:41:46 AM
Be aware that if your DEM data is geo referanced it may well end up on the other side of your planet. Pullback on the camera so you can see the DEM's bounding box and align the camera accordingly. However remember that populations will be less easy to control the further you go away from the planets 0,0,0 point, it's "north pole". Or un-check the Georeferance tick box in the "Heightfield load 01" node. This will center the heightfield at 0,0,0.
I almost always need to add in a "Heightfield resize" between the green "Heightfield load 01" and the red "Heightfield shader 01" and enter the size I want the x and z dimensions I want my heightfield in meters.
Hope this helps.
Thanks for your reply cyphyr :)
I always end up with nothing. When i align the camera to the bounding box its always flat and i´ve chosen an alaska dem file.
Tried to download the data via National Map Viewer: http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/ (http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/)
But i cant do that it says always ....loading and nothing happens
Maybe you can visit the website and tell me if it works for you?
I have Firefox 27.0 java is enabled and the flashplayer too.
Also wont work with the Internet-Exploder ;)
Thanks for your reply
The viewer works for me when nothing is "blocked" (there are several java and/or activeX applets on this page).
Are other features working like zooming, paning, etc.?
Hmm, I'm finding it difficult downloading anything from that site at all ...
Try instead: http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/ (http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/)
You'll need to register, but it's quick and easy.
I'm downloading a portion of Kodiac Island now and will post a tgd shortly.
It´s weird to me, cant view anything and nothing blocks it. Says always Loading... and that´s it.
[attachimg=1]
Have a go at this one. kodiac.rar (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bxsc1cMYgt76blJjVV9wUzZxZ1E/edit?usp=sharing)
Yeah try the USGS viewer linked to above, much easier ...
ok, i will try it :)
Cyphyr i need your permission to open the file ...
Try again with this link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bxsc1cMYgt76blJjVV9wUzZxZ1E/edit?usp=sharing (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bxsc1cMYgt76blJjVV9wUzZxZ1E/edit?usp=sharing)
Quote from: cyphyr on February 09, 2014, 10:25:55 AM
Try again with this link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bxsc1cMYgt76blJjVV9wUzZxZ1E/edit?usp=sharing (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bxsc1cMYgt76blJjVV9wUzZxZ1E/edit?usp=sharing)
Thanks a lot cyphyr :)
Why all this is so complicated with this national Map Viewer....cant get it properly to work and the other site as well cause you have to register with tons of questions.
But thank you very much for your help :)
Maybe Oshyan or somebode else can help me?
I dont see anything changing. it´s all like before :(
Even when you load the file I supplied?
Check the DEM is loading properly (ie re-load it.)
Post up a screen cap.
Quote from: cyphyr on February 09, 2014, 11:09:33 AM
Even when you load the file I supplied?
Check the DEM is loading properly (ie re-load it.)
Post up a screen cap.
Yes, i´ve used the file you supplied but nothing is going on as you can see. I reload it, but nothing. Even when I go to the other side of Planet where the Bounding Box is and place the camera, nothing happens:
[attachimg=1]
Ok place this tgd file in the same directory as the dem and make sure the "Georeferance" is un ticked
Quote from: cyphyr on February 09, 2014, 11:28:15 AM
Ok place this tgd file in the same directory as the dem and make sure the "Georeferance" is un ticked
Ok, i got it! :) But in the YouTube Video someone from Planetside uses an other method https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7Rp4Go8jLs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7Rp4Go8jLs)
Also its weird to tick Georeference off. I thought this is the content when you tick it on. Look at the Video and you see what he is doing...
So sorry but i was a bit lame of thinking. Georeference off means the Geodata dont hover somewhere in space. ;)
Georeferencing only means the terrain is positioned at the correct place on the planet, without it the terrain is still "on the surface", it just shows up at the 0,0 coordinate origin.
The demo was done with Terragen 3.1 (not yet released, coming later in February) that has some improvements for working with DEM data when georeferenced and far away from the coordinate origin. Until the release of 3.1 it may be advisable to avoid Georeferencing unless you're certain you need it. Keep in mind that the primary benefit of georeferencing will be for real-world projects *that require a correct planetary context*, or for situations where you're trying to align multiple adjacent or overlapping DEMs. If you are only loading a single DEM tile and don't intend to ever view it from a planetary context, there's really no point in using georeferencing.
Richard, if you're aiming for real-world scales (terrain area as well as height), then you shouldn't ever need any heightfield modifiers on a georeferenced terrain. If you're not using georeferencing then you might. If you're having issues with incorrect scales when georeferenced, that's probably a bug and something for which we'd need some example files to look into it.
Last but not least, the National Map Viewer above is by far the best resource, both in terms of functionality/flexibility, and in my opinion in terms of ease of use for getting specific areas. Some places have data that is "easy" in that you just click a square and it downloads the data directly, but they lack the flexibility and modern data that the National Map Viewer has. So I'd strongly recommend figuring out whatever problems you might be having with that site and get it working, then learn to use it (it's fairly simple) as it really is the best option at present. Try finding 1/9 arc second NED data in easily usable form elsewhere...
- Oshyan
You can use Georeferenced DEMs in 3.0, with the georeference checkbox checked, but you should adjust the coordinate system in Terragen so that the DEMs are centred at the top of the planet. If you go to the Planet node (usually this is the node named "Planet 01"), you'll see there is a parameter called "Lat long at apex". This defaults to 0,0. Different values cause different parts of the georeferenced world to be placed at the top (the 'apex') of the Terragen planet.
Here are the steps to do this:
1) Go to the Geog Heightfield Load node (the one that loads the DEM data and has the "georeference" checkbox). Copy one set of lat-long coordinates (for example, "NW corner lat long") using the button with the clipboard icon.
2) Go to the Planet node and paste the coordinates into the planet's "Lat long at apex" parameter using the clipboard button.
That's it. You only need to do that once with one of your heightfields. If you have multiple heightfields nearby that are all georeferenced, they should line up correctly with the first heightfield, with one corner of the first heightfield being placed at the apex of the planet.
Terragen 3.1 will work better with heightfields placed further away from the apex of the planet, but I would still recommend doing this in 3.1 because there are many reasons why it's better to work near the origin (which is the apex of the planet if you don't move or resize the planet).
Matt
Thanks to Oshyan and Matt for there advises :)