2 sorts of Terragen ????

[Anthony Appleyard]

I started in Terragen around 2002AD, and the Terragen scenario was flat, and Terragen had files *.tgw (worlds) and *.ter (terrains), and I got used to that fornat.

About December 2014 on a later computer I got back into Terragen with a new downloaded free version, and the Terragen scenario was very different, set on a spherical planet, and it had no *.tgw or *.ter files, but instead a Terragen world was saved on a *.tgd file, which could be used to call up the job again (like *.pz3 for a Poser job). I got used to that format, and I made some images with it.

Recently my computer needed repair, and its main disk was reformatted and re-installed. Fortunately I had saved my files on a terabyte offload disk pack. I looked in Wikipedia for information about Terragen, and downloaded the free version of Terragen 3, and its scenario is flat, and it again has files *.tgw (worlds) and *.ter (terrains), as in 2002, and it does not seem to recognize *.tgd files.

How can I make any use of my *.tgd files on Terragen 3? What has happened?

[archonforest]

Terragen 3 is opening .tgd files for sure. When u start a new file TG3 will save it in that format.
It should work unless your old file got corrupted.
You can also upload one file here that is not opening for you so it can be checked out.

[Anthony Appleyard]

By clicking on the icons down the left of the Terragen job display, various setup tables appear:-

The main job reads and writes only *tgw .
The Rendering Control table does not offer to read or write any files.
The Landscape table offers to read and write *.ter only, and to import or export various sorts of image files, and to export *srf or *tgw files.
The Cloudscape table has a place to open and save files, but those places are greyed and do not work.
The Atmosphere table reads *.atm and *.tgw, but writes only *.atm .
The Lighting Conditions table reads *.atm and *.tgw, but writes only *.atm .
The Water table does not offer to read or write any files.

Also: how can I import *.obj mode 3D mesh objects, like I did successfully in 2014?

I found nothing that mentions *.tgd files. If I right click on a *.tgd file in a directory display, the filename suffix .tgd proves not to be linked to any Windows application to call with it.

The download file that I used to install my current Terragen is tginstall0943.msi , dated 5 March 2016, 1,646 Kbytes, version 0.9.43 .

The download file that I used to install my previous Terragen is Terragen3-Win64-32030.msi , dated 17 December March 2014. 16,072 Kbytes.

[archonforest]

See attached how to add an object.
Pretty weird that TG is not opening a tgd file since that is the main file format for the program. Here is what I would try. Right click on the tgd file u got and click on Properties in the menu. Then in the general tab you will see a line that says: Opens with. Next to this there is a button that says change. Click on it and from the menu find TG3 and click on it. This should handle the problem. You might want to simple reinstall TG also.

"tginstall0943.msi" is a weird looking file. You should download the latest file from the Planetside website. They are the correct source.

[Anthony Appleyard]

That's better. I uninstalled Terragen, and re-installed from Terragen3-Win64-33040.msi . The initial display looks much more complete. Thanks.

[archonforest]

That's better. I uninstalled Terragen, and re-installed from Terragen3-Win64-33040.msi . The initial display looks much more complete. Thanks.

[Anthony Appleyard]

I am back to what Terragen looked like in around 2014, with a spherical planet, etc.

In it I found the place where I can import *.ter (terrain) files.

But how and where in Terragen 3 can I open or import old-type *tgw files? If I copy a *.tgw file and rename the copy as *.tgd and click on it in the directory explorer, the resulting Terragen run says "error at first line".

[Matt]

tginstall0943.msi is an installer for the old Terragen (v0.9), which we now call Terragen Classic.

Terragen 2 and Terragen 3 don't load .tgw files. Too much changed between Terragen Classic (v0.9) and Terragen 2.

However, you can load .ter files. On the Terrain layout click the "Add Terrain" button and choose "Heightfield (load file)".

Matt

[Anthony Appleyard]

Is it possible, or safe, to have Terragen Classic (v0.9) and Terragen 3 installed at the same time on the same PC?

[Matt]

Yes, you can do that without any problems.

Matt