Terragen Export

Terrain export was succesful, but now, is it possible to export the atmosphere/lighting data into 3D Studio Max 6.0?

OR

What's your preffered landscape modelling method for 3dstudio?

Thanks.

Me

 

No, Terragen only exports the terrain geometry, it doesn'r make much sense to export the "atmosphere" since that is rendered. At most take note of the settings used like position of the sun and the like.

 

Another nice modeling plugin for 3DS Max (if you can afford it) is Dreamscape. You can download a demo at http://www.afterworks.com/ which gives you a nice feel for how it works. Check out on the gallery on their website. The landscapes, skies and water that you can create with this plugin is just incredible.

 

I would also like to recommend Dreamscape. It is far superior to any other terrain modeling plugins for Max, as it it is very versatile, and is made specifically for max. Something you might like myself_me would be that the Dreamscape Terra objects (the standard dreamscape terrain modeler) can naturally accept terragen files as their geometry.

Dreamscape also has an amazing water system complete with swells, dynamics, boat foam, and the most amazing water shader. It is worth every penny.

 

Another option is to use Blender to export your terragen renders. It takes the atmosphere and re-renders into it's shell. Then you can import from Blender to 3DSM. A little more work, but less than trying to effeciently pull a teragen render directly to 3DSM.

Aaron

 

First reaction after seeing the screenshots: are you kidding me?

First reaction after seeing the price: expected, but holy crap I need money!

We'll see, we'll see...

 

It's expensive, but boy is it worth it. As mentioned above, the terrain editor in Dreamscape will accept Terragen files directly. You can also use USGS Digital Elevation Maps (DEMs) and SDTS formats. It's a great program. It's very expensive, but really awesome.

 

Allright, I'm trying to get some information on Dreamscape before I purchase. I heard something about the requierment of a Max 5 base plug-in?

 

I don't know of any type of Max 5 Base plugin at all. I just installed it direct from the CD to my Max 6 and it worked just fine. I've also heard it works just as well with Max 7, so there's nothing to worry about.

Wildcat69410

 

You only need the Max 5 plugin if you are upgrading. You can purchase an upgrade, but it's not the only way to get Dreamscape. As far as I know it will work with Max 5, 6 and 7. I've used it on Max 5 and 6, but I'm not sure about 7.

 

If you're looking to go straight from Terragen to 3DS Max, another option would be to do an orthographic view of the sky (camera pointed straight up and zoomed out to desired setting) and then import the picture into Max and use it as a texture on a geosphere. That way at least you'd have a sky - you could even use it for reflection maps or lighting data. It can be tricky but if you're willing to play around with it you canget some nice results...

Hope that helps!


Later.