Raising (only some) mountains and camera positioning

[Kolossus]

Hello all, I'm new to the forum but since there isn't a "welcome" section, I'll write this here. 

I have some questions about the Terrain for Terragen 3, I'm using the Free Edition at the moment. I'm basically creating a skybox with a view on the lake on the south side and it's coming out nice (so far). But I have problems with the mountains and camera positioning, so here it is:

1. How do I raise only some mountains? I got the landscape right and if I try to apply new terrains it modifies everything and I only want to raise certain mountains. Or rather, is there a way to edit/manipulate the terrain in an easier way? I remember Terragen Classic allowed us to manually sculpt it.

2. How do you position your camera so that it looks like you're actually walking on the terrain, and not flying/being on the peak of a nearby mountain? When I render I have the feeling I'm looking down the mountains, and not from below them. This is linked to the raise mountains issue.

Sorry for posting two questions in the same thread but I didn't want to bombard you with multiple threads at once. If needed I can split them in separate threads though.

[bobbystahr]

Hello all, I'm new to the forum but since there isn't a "welcome" section, I'll write this here. 

I have some questions about the Terrain for Terragen 3, I'm using the Free Edition at the moment. I'm basically creating a skybox with a view on the lake on the south side and it's coming out nice (so far). But I have problems with the mountains and camera positioning, so here it is:

1. How do I raise only some mountains? I got the landscape right and if I try to apply new terrains it modifies everything and I only want to raise certain mountains. Or rather, is there a way to edit/manipulate the terrain in an easier way? I remember Terragen Classic allowed us to manually sculpt it.

2. How do you position your camera so that it looks like you're actually walking on the terrain, and not flying/being on the peak of a nearby mountain? When I render I have the feeling I'm looking down the mountains, and not from below them. This is linked to the raise mountains issue.

Sorry for posting two questions in the same thread but I didn't want to bombard you with multiple threads at once. If needed I can split them in separate threads though.

1. well y got me on this one...some one will chime in...I'll be interested in this as well

2. In the widget that appears when you select the camera in the 3D preview on the extreme right there is a  Drop to terrain  button. I click that and then move it up 1.5 meters which is my personal eye level....

To position the camera I select where I want the camera in the 3D view and;
Right click>Save Coordinates which saves all 3(x.y.z)
Paste that to the camera
Adjust rotations and heght at this point.
After any camera adjustment you make always remember to click the first button at the bottom of the 3D preview window(little camera) which saves that view.

[TheBadger]

Welcome

1) THis is really a complex question. Not because it too hard but because there are a number of ways to do this. YOu could use a hightfield which can be placed anywhere, and would be a good choice for distant back grounds. Or you could use a simple shape shader in combination with some other nodes.

Really though, the best advise I can think of for you is to use a few tuts. Not too long ago we had very few, but now we have tons!

Try these!
http://www.geekatplay.com/terragen-tutorials.php
http://www.cgscenery.com/basic/
http://www.planetside.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=7733.0

Between these three you will be up and running in no time

[Kolossus]

Thank you both! I found the Drop to terrain button and it's wonderful. It makes things much easier.

Thanks also for the tutorials. I have been looking for them but didn't find much. I'll be checking those out and let you know when I get some results. 

[j meyer]

Attached is a tgd that shows 1 simple way to scale up 1 mountain
quick and dirty.
The mountain you see when rendering the default scene in this case.
[attach=1]

[bobbystahr]

Thank you both! I found the Drop to terrain button and it's wonderful. It makes things much easier.

Thanks also for the tutorials. I have been looking for them but didn't find much. I'll be checking those out and let you know when I get some results. 

Happy to help

[Oshyan]

You can use the Painted Shader, attached to the Shader input of a Displacement Shader to get the same "terrain painting" capability of TG Classic/0.9, but with all the advantages of TG3. You can also use a Painted Shader, or Simple Shape Shader, or several other options, as the Blending Shader/Mask input of a displacement-providing shader to limit its area of effect.

- Oshyan