Would Terragen 3 be good for golf course design?
My intention is to create photorealistic visuals for the architect and the investors before the actual project begins.
The landscape portion of the program looks good, but I'm wondering about things like drawing splines for fairways, greens, and sand traps. Also, sculpting bunker edges, creating holes (in the ground), etc.
I would have to import models of clubhouse, nearby houses, maintenance buildings, etc, but I wouldn't need advanced architectural capabilities.
Here is an example of the look that I'd be trying to capture:
(https://static1.squarespace.com/static/581e31b246c3c40f06135744/t/5ad297708a922d44a454b867/1523750790481/Bandon+Preserve%2C+Hole+%2311%2C+2018-1.jpg?format=1500w)
I am pretty sure u can do all you need to create a picture like this in TG.
Absolutely no doubt that Terragen could create the realistic visuals. However, are you wanting only still images; or an actual walk through video professionally done, with pan and zoom features including architectural structures?
If that is the case, I would contact Planetside directly.
There is no spline support currently, so drawing accurate and sharp-edged shapes in specific configurations isn't really possible in-app. There is the Painted Shader, which you can use to "paint" textures and displacement, but it is not so great for doing highly technical and specific work. You could, however, create the shapes/maps/etc. in another app, even a normal image editing app like Photoshop, and import it as mask/displacement map, etc. I think you will probably end up frustrated if you try to create the entire golf course layout realistically in Terragen though.
- Oshyan
Quote from: Oshyan on May 07, 2018, 05:01:03 PM
There is no spline support currently, so drawing accurate and sharp-edged shapes in specific configurations isn't really possible in-app. There is the Painted Shader, which you can use to "paint" textures and displacement, but it is not so great for doing highly technical and specific work. You could, however, create the shapes/maps/etc. in another app, even a normal image editing app like Photoshop, and import it as mask/displacement map, etc. I think you will probably end up frustrated if you try to create the entire golf course layout realistically in Terragen though.
- Oshyan
No offense, but that kinda puts down Terragen. A gold course, seen in entirely, or partial, doesn't require that much of fine control. All achievable SSS shapes and the Painted Shader. The only area I can perceive real frustration is falloff for sand pits and grass overhangs. The rest is pretty gradual, and really, a great example of Terragen's masking abilities and texturing. I created a mock course fairly quickly out of SSS alone and it could be easily refined. These of course can than be seen above, without clutter, changing colours to Keys for construction design etc. Pretty good amount of control in TG.
I mean, if you're trying to recreating putting holes and viewing a T or something, than yeah, you may just look into another program.
I think it's quite possible, but you have to draw your maps in Photoshop fairly accurate. Problem may be level paths on a sloping terrain.
I think you would be better of to use dedicated software and then import maps for displacements and texturing into Terragen. In this way you would be able to render with all the Terragen goodies.
You might want to take a look at these two links.
https://www.ronenbekerman.com/making-age-of-dinosaurs-terragen-aerial/
https://planetside.co.uk/blog/support-diaries-archviz-in-terragen/
Sounds like a job for World Machine in conjunction with Terragen.
Bit of a learning curve adding WM to the mix, but it sounds like you have that ahead of you anyway.
I think with a good existing knowledge of Terragen - especially sophisticated use of Simple Shape Shaders like Dune and some others - then yes you could potentially create a good, accurately modeled golf course entirely in Terragen. But if one has to learn a new tool anyway, then there are probably easier, more suitable applications to do golf course design (even a general paint program, as I mentioned), which will work in conjunction with Terragen. It's not so much that I am diminishing Terragen's abilities (which are broader than most people realize), but rather that for new users I want to make sure they use the right/easiest tool for the job.
- Oshyan