Hi,
I'm a new user of Terragen software (after having admired the results of other people's work for years).
I have a few general questions.
I downloaded the Terragen 2 free version to get a basic overview. Now I have some general questions about the software before eventually purchasing the full version.
1. Is it possible to render in HD quality?
2. Is it possible to populate the created landscapes with plants and animals?
3. Is it possible to import other pictures, such as photos or animals/plants/planets etc. generated with other programs?
4. Is any animation of the pictures possible, such as moving clouds, water...?
5. Is it possible to import animated elements?
Thank you!
Felina
1. The size of your renders is ultimately limited only by your computer's processing power and memory. I, myself, routinely render at 3000-4000 px wide.
2. Terragen has options for populating any object you wish into your scene, including from outside sources (.obj, .lwo), as well as its native .tgo format.
3. It is possible to include pictures into your scenes and to use them as billboards, or to populate them similarly as with imported objects.
4. Animation is possible with the program, and to animate various scene elements such as clouds and water. However, this is restricted to the animation version of the program.
5. Unfortunately, I do not have the animation version. Perhaps someone else could answer the last one.
Ultimately, it's a great program with incredible potential. However, the learning curve is a little steep (at least I've found), but this forum is great at answering questions or problems you might have. Unless you've used a node-based program before, I'd stick to using the buttons on top until you learn your way around.
UponInfinity answered most of your questions quite well. For #5, you can import OBJ sequences to get animated objects from other applications into Terragen. There are limitations to how effective this can be, but if your other software supports outputting OBJ sequences it can work well. In the future we'll have support for FBX which could make animation data import easier.
- Oshyan
Thanks to the two of you for your replies (and btw sorry for the messed up title, I wrote that on iPhone and must not have seen it well).
The point is: I would like to use my generated landscapes as environments for video clips for trailers and promos, so I definitely need the possibility to import animated or filmed objects such as flying birds, people or wildlife. Some of the objects are generated with Maya. I might have to do the whole composition in the video production software (which is Vegas), but Vegas does seemingly not support OBJ.
Is it possible to create a flight over a generated landscape with Terragen?
What kind of extension does an animated Terragen file have?
Yes, you can create a flight over a landscape. The animation version allows you to animate nearly any parameter of any node, object, etc. It's very powerful.
Animated Terragen files have exactly the same extension as non-animated - TGD. But I realize that's not really answering the root of your question. Terragen would output a series of image files of an animated sequence. You would probably then use these as background in either your other 3D program, or in your video editor/compsitor, to create the final result. Future versions of Terragen will be able to output additional rendered scene data such as alpha channel (already supported), depth map, motion vectors, etc. which you can use in a compositor or advanced video editor to better integrate other elements.
Alternatively, or in addition, you could export the terrain from Terragen in OBJ format using a micro exporter, then load that into Maya to create and render your animated elements. You could front-project the Terragen rendered elements over the terrain to do "compositing" within the Maya render, or render out the Maya elements separately and composite them in your video editing process.
In the future, FBX will be supported and you'll be able to import and export animation information, but it's critical to understand that that doesn't mean you will be able to get Terragen-like data into Maya or vice verse. The data interchange is best used as reference for syncing up motion, and for things like shadow catching and whatnot (so your objects can properly cast a shadow onto the terrain shapes). If you output separately rendered elements from each program, you'll have maximum flexibility to composite it all together later.
- Oshyan
Thank you. That helped a lot!