SC4 Devotion Forum Archives

Hi ,

As announced at my MD AntigOne's project , I've started  to build a terrain mod dedicated to mountainous environment ... as it will be stamped VIP Team , I decided to open a thread in our team subforum to show my advancement and  hear your opinions and suggestions ... and what you would dislike as well ... ;)

Pictures already shown at AntigOne :

01
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg922%2F3092%2FaqD0Zl.jpg&hash=769ab0b6aac558768c50a275ec26c88924eb84bc)

02
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg922%2F3810%2FAAS8RY.jpg&hash=07565040a3facf09698810715632501e3ccc430d)

03
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg922%2F1819%2Fa5FdXk.jpg&hash=b4af316c4b3f3aad6578cb18c579d55c887258cd)

04
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg923%2F3937%2F7wMxYL.jpg&hash=5e3fcb743e8b556ec52e11daaf1466c6b9b9f109)

05
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg924%2F7869%2FnG3YWc.jpg&hash=9e5a124ee6d7c854f490b54925f2813184297d7b)

06
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg924%2F9158%2FiSLIpy.jpg&hash=56e3f12b8539212624f91745a53c38e431e8d3c5)

07
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg924%2F3902%2Fjscw6X.jpg&hash=dcfb1eaa9a3763e7707b69a079cf9314907295cc)

08
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg922%2F3197%2FBGJl7Y.jpg&hash=cb72f1945bd85a65ac61b9bb7cada027862fbc89)

09
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg922%2F8457%2FXEwNCs.jpg&hash=e71331270219498f5c8697a356b950917376c11b)

10
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg922%2F3449%2FX1cwog.jpg&hash=ac4a0674f4aed656785e83c5a583656e8a1b66db)

11
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg923%2F7643%2FcIujNX.jpg&hash=33efb424802db3b0b0a5c5661ebba751d08cae8c)

Since , and that's going to be my priority for the next an last 3 weeks I've to devote to this , I've added new textures and re-worked some others , still have to manage with tiling defects here and there -  I'm using  textures coming from real photographies so not originally seamless . If I had  time  I would  explain in details what I'm doing , but for the technical part , there's already good threads to read about that subject-matter from Lowkee33on BSC board and Ennedi in his MD notably , and  I'm going to use the MODing ( with slight modifications ) of the Pyrenean Terrain Mod from Orange as basis . I have still a lot of properties to study & understand and that's primordial because the same textures applied to Lowkee33's Appalachian Terrain Mod MODing , for example , give totally different results ... what I regret the most is to do not have time to show the Photoshop work ; for example , I spent several hours to re-work an HD rock texture to make it seamless and the result is beyond my hopes :

12
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg923%2F1347%2Fkj0REq.jpg&hash=6c5a4d7565d72f3f9f4434f3bd9cc34e5ce4a18c)

That 15 tiles long coastal granitic cliff is the result of a single texture ( so a single 1024x1024 FSH ) which allows ( with X,Y,Z terrain slight variations ) almost endless subtle variations :

13
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg922%2F291%2FBMYNt5.jpg&hash=feeb03266f9c0f4a0f8a37b310a11d4f4491ae5b)

Magic wand involved here  : TerrainTexTilingFactor property ...

New textures means new results , so new batch of pictures :

14
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg921%2F9429%2FvqYxub.jpg&hash=95e0692054669e71e9905d0f7aaab017176bfe77)

15
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg923%2F3415%2FrwCD6B.jpg&hash=853a9d7f08b27f9cff37c9ec16e1e44c584e8996)

16
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg922%2F8899%2Fa7kpGI.jpg&hash=0efc73f84ab751b457e01464013a561545b74283)

17
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg921%2F3177%2FVai99P.jpg&hash=48eafa6834aeb3e4f6da869de9c655fad16387a4)

18
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg923%2F7280%2FyVlhWX.jpg&hash=4853cfdbebc479a7ace22bf0fef5deb2736f93ef)

19
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg923%2F1263%2FvMIS4K.jpg&hash=b0d5af26c0fc4e53f5c7bd396891d816a266d333)

20
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg922%2F853%2FQB0T89.jpg&hash=9bc78ba31279b80f62a676c4ee345fec6fdde33b)

21
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg923%2F923%2F58fMTm.jpg&hash=fada8af9d03b47edb0809f1796eab80f37869fcc)

22
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg921%2F21%2Ft0ryx2.jpg&hash=d9e5af283b9b4598cfe75b58009146175a9ed008)

23
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg922%2F6549%2Fql4W51.jpg&hash=6542f012cfef176d5cd65da456bfac050811cddd)

24
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg924%2F8120%2Fcq3KvN.jpg&hash=203558d65ffd8965898e728e6db7d4d8829f6575)

25
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg922%2F6475%2FVQqBti.jpg&hash=229ae71df717b0602f1db1c4eddc66023db4bb4c)

26
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg921%2F8014%2FJtDrpb.jpg&hash=ef6f7dea6a98d1b1fa8c35de438739db2938afb2)

I do not expect to finish this Terrain MOD in 3 weeks , but it should be enough advanced for intensive testing ( the most time consuming part ) so I'll need 2 or 3 beta testers , let's say for the end of the month ... some volunteers ?

All pictures are clickable to full sizes .

C.

Wow, that would actually be very nice to use this in my regions. No time for testing though, since I work on my own project. Would love to see citytile and regional pics of this.

Good work! I must say....

Fred

That's seriously awesome... I don't think I've seen a rock texture that comes close to what you've achieved there.

I'm a big fan of HD terrains, it would be great to add a 5th (or is it 6th) choice for players, there really are few. But I can see this potentially being my terrain mod of choice, seeing as how it's got a lovely European feel to it. My main requirements for terrain is for a lot of nice greenery and I think you've nailed a good balance between the dark green SV and some of the warmer terrains like Pyrenean.

I'm happy to try and help you with testing if you need people to do so. I know it's not your style, but don't rush this... I think it's going to be incredible to see the finished results.

Quote from: mgb204 on March 08, 2017, 03:48:13 PM
it's got a lovely European feel to it.

It could be anywhere, it looks like the Canadian and Alaskan Rockies also and pretty sure like the ones in South America too.

Fred

Fantastic terrain  &apls

I hope you don't mind me "borrowing" that rock tile.
I may be able to make some 3D rocks to go with your terrain.

Nick

I'm from Calgary living in Toronto, and those textures are so realistic to the Rockies they've made me homesick !

Absolutely stunning! I'd be very happy to use this as it reminds of the Irish landscape with its exposed granite and basalt rock cliffs and mountains.

Gorgeous work.

This is spectacular.  &apls The rocks are fantastic, I would love to use this whenever it is ready, if you have a shortage of volunteers to look at the beta (which I can't imagine) I would certainly put my hand up. Otherwise look forward to seeing it when it is properly ready.

Thank you so much , your enthusiasm is truly supportive so I don't see how I could not finish this ...  ::) Yes Robin , I hear you : I know that I've got something never seen so far in my hands and I'll take the necessary time to be as perfect than awaited .  :-[ With Antoine , I think I can already count on 2 beta testers when that time will come . :thumbsup:

Time to add HD snow on these Rockies , wherever they come from . ;D  There's only 3 textures needed , a plain snow and 2 scattered snow ones at lower altitude ... I thought It would have been a simple formality , they needed 5 hours between Photoshop and game testings . The snow tracks has been the most complicated as I have had to create  layers to place over a stones texture .

Plain snow :

01
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg923%2F3189%2F1vaXHC.jpg&hash=f88994e15a4debfac7fade9e7467b83bd11269d4)


02
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg921%2F2528%2FygHiPq.jpg&hash=cda866eeba5e579b292dff040f203d99ded6c185)

Snow tracks :

03
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg923%2F9849%2F1N7vQa.jpg&hash=a5342feb2eef413c226842569d5e1db7e69b3f9d)

04
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg923%2F2791%2FsmKL0x.jpg&hash=19cdcb80d005b24c856792a166cf4d8eb0a8cd08)

Working together :

05
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg922%2F8708%2FDsekS6.jpg&hash=9a94f1af81215565d8d1134cc62a66677c420e6f)


Other views :

06
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg924%2F8652%2FI0NH4e.jpg&hash=e0751905c5462bb9bd8a67b5fa40798d4103c541)

07
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg921%2F9619%2FiEivoq.jpg&hash=75d5c1c401662a650077c6ba11bbc496acfaaf67)

08
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg921%2F6908%2FoB5jnf.jpg&hash=4cfdebf2436b89364b75ceb42c5c81440d5afda2)

09
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg921%2F9523%2FPFNCkn.jpg&hash=17ca7580cd45219cc2c9bbae679da03a932f93e8)

10
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg921%2F4619%2Fza7vdX.jpg&hash=655856a6bbbbe2439ca5368b43b617f92644667a)

11
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg922%2F7721%2F86sKXU.jpg&hash=d772e1bbdb2113bbf8ac840a770f27b7b09667ad)

12
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg921%2F449%2FYzFAcH.jpg&hash=350294b05d278c030c5ee6b88752fefef1fe2d67)


OK , still have to implement 2 beach textures ( I do intend to test shingle ones  :-\ ) , all other textures are implemented ( almost all grass ones  need some re-work to be truly seamless ...)


@Nick , no problem about borrowing the rock texture , the corresponding rock MOD is done and it must stay  a separate .dat  like water textures , but both will be included as optional ( and highly recommended ...  $%Grinno$% ) Of course you can use it from now  for your personal use but whatever Terrain Mod you're using , the TerrainTexTilingFactor property must be set to 0.09 if you want to get the same results than mine ( and then , all your other textures will work differently ...  ::) ) .

@Fred , of course the views you're requested for will be shown ... once I will have corrected visible tiling defects on farest views , because for the time being , most of grass textures aren't perfectly seamless . ;)

All pictures clickable full sizes , as usual ... :)

C.

Oh Cedric.

I borrowed that tile to make stone MMPs which will go hand in hand with your terrain. No time to mess with making another terrain mod  :D
Once I have a working prototype you will be the first one to use it and if you are happy with the results, I will release it in to the wild....

Nick

Gorgeous snow textures!  &apls &apls

The cliff texture is also impressive achievement with the tiling factor.  :thumbsup: 

Long had this idea of making region with high seaside cliffs (like Dover UK) but never could pull it of. Looks very promising and also makes me wonder, how do the cliff & beach textures play together?

So  , the « Beach » :


1
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg922%2F1396%2FaJCNne.jpg&hash=eb334c1c99e706b7d41d3877fbd136368fd63561)

2
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg923%2F9171%2FN4CtfE.jpg&hash=8b3274ed1f53f89661df0be84a130a2579dbf920)

3
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg924%2F6452%2FCd2WQS.jpg&hash=232df2160dc6c87ed4bc067b9029a871de5dcc1a)

4
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg923%2F2029%2FOf9Exv.jpg&hash=71c226e3e404aa9606e56d4a1fc07962ee3ffb6e)

This one is only accessible by boat ... a cove :

5
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg922%2F5990%2FhRlUbR.jpg&hash=2ec5aae04537308a43515f9b2a3abf667d7a1396)

6
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg924%2F1586%2Fs35Wtu.jpg&hash=96e818eb4c5d9cd6304f82cbfc7db4e8bca500fe)

7
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg924%2F193%2FsHsqng.jpg&hash=8c194d73aa4a62faf9d261523d639c9a3361e05a)

8
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg923%2F1327%2FIsbS5F.jpg&hash=d88675b901ca19b6b2f219ce54e10cf03b32e625)


Those terraformings have been quickly made and that's not my speciality , I just wonder what some people like Yan077 ( Corsica ) would have been able to do with that ...

@Erik , Yes Dover ( and many other places like that ) ... I had the same thing in mind so I tried a stratified limestone texture :

9
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg921%2F9387%2FYD1rL1.jpg&hash=1afd336447cd69e46e671c7fe62bd58909eeb47d)

Not that bad for a first attempt ( even with a texture not yet perfectly seamless ) but :

10
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg921%2F1558%2Ff0xWSC.jpg&hash=e17456b01566b1e62901b6bcf52ef98d3268872f)

When you rotate the view , horizontal lines become vertical ones and that's simply ugly ... so I gave up with that kind of textures ( but  I'll try with some other limestone styles . $%#Ninj2 )

@Nick , OK , since you have edited your post , I understand ... so what a nice initiative !  :thumbsup:

Have still many things to test , so back to my merry chaos of .jpeg .bmp .psd .fsh , original ones  , resized , rotated , singles or on canvas ... what a mess !  :'(


C.

Oh darn rotations yeah, that's a shame. .  That aside, the beach texture works really good with the cliffs!  &apls

Yeah, sad hat rotation messed up everything there :( But, anyway, your effect is spectacular!
I'd have just to remarks, by the way:
1. The textures of loose rocks and stones, for me seems a little bit too stretched, I mean, those single rocks looks to big for me, what if you scale them down a little?
2. As far as I know, beach textures are easily exchangeable, like rock on steep slopes, right? Personally for me, what I miss (and wanted to explore on my own hand eventuall) is having a normal grass by the water (or with some slight addition of sand/mud) instead of a separate sand texure as usual. Sand is useful in coastal area, but when shaping rivers it actually an obstacle. Banks of regulated rivers are usually covered by grass and if you want sand in particular place, xannepann's terrain paint might be the best thing and using it might allow to get the highest flexibilty in lanscape shaping. He made sand, rock and pebbles textures, but no green grass ones.

So - could you make a version with just extending grass (or a texture of grass with slight addition of sand/mud) instead of pure sand/rocks for beaches? :)

Wooow, it's not even necessary anymore to plop rocks on beaches with this!

It looks really great  ;)

I may have found my new terrain mod. :D
Looks truly wonderful.

Looks wonderful.  &apls &apls

You will never stop amazing me with all your projects  :P sometimes I am thimking that you are a team behind your computer

This Terrain mod sounds massive and starts really well. I am curious where you will end up with it  :P

I think that the texture of the snow is too close up and granular.

If you need me for testing, I am around (fixing the train and I have good news for it).  :thumbsup:

Absolutely great  &apls &apls &apls Like @vortext said it's quite a shame that this limestone texture goes wrong on some angles, because it would have been awesome.

Maybe I'm not completely legitimate to criticize your work as HD terrain mods make my current computer stutter and smoke, but if you authorize me to make a remark, maybe the texture used on the banks isn't the best choice as it's quite obvious that it comes from a close photo of very small rocks. Maybe high-quality air photos of large rocky aeras could look better ? That's just a suggestion, I know that this type of photos could be hard to find in high quality without people or plants on it. However I have an idea, maybe some close photos of the Mont Ventoux rocks could lead to some good results? I have one I took a couple of years ago with a basic digital camera, but it's quite good, it only shows rocky slopes, I can send it to you if you are interested, I don't think it's usable but you will certainly have a better judgment than me towards it. An other option could be to reduce its size like @kbieniu7 suggested.

Anyway all this looks absolutely great, you certainly work very well and very fast  :thumbsup: I wish you to reach the highest success with this project  ;D

Quote from: Badsim on March 10, 2017, 06:20:54 AM
So  , the « Beach » :

...

9
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg921%2F9387%2FYD1rL1.jpg&hash=1afd336447cd69e46e671c7fe62bd58909eeb47d)

Not that bad for a first attempt ( even with a texture not yet perfectly seamless ) but :

10
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg921%2F1558%2Ff0xWSC.jpg&hash=e17456b01566b1e62901b6bcf52ef98d3268872f)

When you rotate the view , horizontal lines become vertical ones and that's simply ugly ... so I gave up with that kind of textures ( but  I'll try with some other limestone styles . $%#Ninj2 )

@Nick , OK , since you have edited your post , I understand ... so what a nice initiative !  :thumbsup:

Have still many things to test , so back to my merry chaos of .jpeg .bmp .psd .fsh , original ones  , resized , rotated , singles or on canvas ... what a mess !  :'(


C.

For the rotation "bug", can you adjust them manually?

Hi,

@vinlabsc3k : While I'm playing SC4 since 14 years , that rotation dysfunction is something I didn't notice before  ::) ... maybe a bug , or something not planned ... but , as far a I know , there's no property to control textures orientation . %wrd

Quote from: Krasner on March 10, 2017, 03:58:36 PM

...Maybe I'm not completely legitimate to criticize your work as HD terrain mods make my current computer stutter and smoke, but if you authorize me to make a remark ...

I've opened this thread not only as a display gallery ... You certainly know , as a BATer , that when you spend a lot of time on something , at a  point , you need external opinions ... so remarks and suggestions are  , of course , all welcomed . I'm  waiting for your pictures , via my email adress . For sure I'll be pleased to test them . :thumbsup:

@kbieniu7 : what you request doesn't require any grass texture nor « No Beach » Mod , I saw that your Terrain Mod is CP Italia so this is simply what you have to do ( It takes a few seconds ) : with IliveReader , open the file CPT_No6_ItaliaTerrainController_Essential.dat , then the Exemplar file 00000001 where Terrain Properties are listed as following :

01
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg921%2F7558%2FgHg6fe.jpg&hash=608a407645a3c9cdcd294dbc468d738764a40214)


Near the end of the list , you'll find two properties regarding beaches ; MaxBeachWidth and MaxBeachAltitude , you can edit both but MaxBeachAltitude is enough , in our case the current value = 1.5 , edit it and give it 0 as value ( you can also give it a negative value ) :

02
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg923%2F4916%2FpdGNHy.jpg&hash=d175a6611cbb094dd30431509acc85aea3ec3ff8)


03
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg924%2F3760%2FlQE275.jpg&hash=af7502079ff612d7d21dea3de77d8d39e8d83f41)


....save and quit and you're done  ;D :

04
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg922%2F7482%2FWmwGNE.jpg&hash=3fc11436e775c3a426bf3e8bf0375208b4c7e60f)


To summarize your remarks ; the snow is too close up , stones ( of screes ) are too big , like pebbles on beach ... all these sizes depend not only of the scale used for the textures but also depend of  the TerrainTexTilingFactor property . That's how Ilives defines that factor : « 100 meters of terrain corresponds to this fraction of texture in farthest zoom , default value 0.170 » Let's say that's rather abstruse when you haven't a particular mathematical mind ...  :D  Currently I'm using factor 0.09 ( for another example Appalachian Terrain Mod from Lowkee33 is using 0.048828 ) that's hard to explain but the question here is to find the right compromise because a low factor is good for the Rock texture but all other textures are so stretchable  as well  ( so their details are enlarged ). On the other side , higher is that factor and  less your textures are stretched and so , in a way , are rightly scaled ... but  then repetitions become quickly visible and I'm using real photographies not originally tilable seamlessly .Once I will be sure to stick with my 0.09 value and textures , I'll adapt my textures scale ... GoFSH considerably eases that task , but , in any case ,  that's a lot more work ahead than these first spectacular pictures let you guess .

Thank you for your enthusiasm .  :thumbsup:

C.

P.S. 3 Beta testers so far when that time will come : Robin , Antoine and Jonathan (kelis) .

I have no words. This work looks amazing! I Wish You Success. I'll wait for the end of this wonderful and hard work. Thank You.  &apls &apls &apls

Looking great! I'd be happy to help test also. :)

Many of those pictures are utterly brilliant. The only thing I can think of is the weirdness of the beach textures; it looks mega gravel strewn on the landscape.

But keep it up! This is shaping up to be the most beautiful and realistic HD terrain mod ever!

I agree with others that generally speaking a pebble beach (which I am unlikely to use simply due to having ~zero experience with rock beaches) would probably look better as a noisier texture with smaller stones. Even if it involves artificially shrinking the size of the rocks by photoshop+tiling+image size manipulation. The texture itself is good, but in comparison with the other details doesn't seem to fit.

Conceptually speaking, seeing large rocks on the cliffs and steep hills makes sense, because those kind of rocks are common on mountain slopes, and they are usually of significant size, but when I see similarly sized rocks on the beach, my brain does a double take because there is a size discrepancy that immediately stands out (the two rock types shouldn't appear the same size).

That being said, the other parts of the mod (that are actually integral to the terrain textures, rather than nitpicking the optional beach) look amazing, and although I'm sure there's stuff to be done regarding tiling and distance factors (among other stuff), what has been shown looks absolutely incredible.

Personally, the rock textures on the terrain and cliff faces look the best to me, maybe because so few terrain mods have really convincing rock textures, and the San Diego hill country/mountains is nothing if not excessively rocky (http://californiathroughmylens.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Tecate-Peak-Brewery-11.jpg).

Thanks a lot, Cédric, for your help :) I didn't know about it before and with your advices I managed to modify it.

However, in my game the banks don't look so nice as in your photo. There's some "squares" with a white/gray-ish textures beneath. Does it mean, that I need to change some textures if I want to have such a smooth transition between land and underwater surface?
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F1RY2xsT.jpg&hash=30c47b57ccb9cd0358a25967e874b0f3ba2a80ca)

Merci en avance ;)

My oh my, this is just fantastic! &apls

Quote from: kbieniu7 on March 12, 2017, 04:52:49 AM
Thanks a lot, Cédric, for your help :) I didn't know about it before and with your advices I managed to modify it.

However, in my game the banks don't look so nice as in your photo. There's some "squares" with a white/gray-ish textures beneath. Does it mean, that I need to change some textures if I want to have such a smooth transition between land and underwater surface?

You can make a texture blend more smoothly by editing it's particular Terrain Texture exemplar.  The beach texture is an exemplar with the name "Texture39" (Group 0x89c2a517, IID 0x00000039).  If Cedric doesn't provide a copy in his mod, you can find the one in SimCity1.dat, make a copy and modify it.

If you increase the "TextureBlendStrength" property, it will cause the beach texture to blend further up into the grass from the water.

--

Incredible work here Cedric, I thought this stuff couldn't get better than what Gobias did, but I was wrong!  Waiting (im)patiently for more :thumbsup:

Matt

Hi ,

@kbieniu7 , and useful for any who wanting to get special terrain effects , as what is explained here for CP Italia Terrain Mod can be done with any Terrain Mod ) : what Matt tells you is valuable , but it rather seems to me that you have no beach Mod installed , the fact that beach level is set to 0 doesn't mean you don't need any beach Mod . These are tests I made with CP Italia ( with MaxBeachAltitude=0 and MaxBeachWidth=0x03 ) and CP_OlympicBeach_Optional , available Here on the LEX (http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=1637) :

01
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg923%2F7939%2F7jhOVq.jpg&hash=6a6e9b1f9b98d6ff96f4a2a877d79f276a023f5d)

02
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg923%2F6900%2FCOPkDe.jpg&hash=cc7556fae15a1cdbf93466bee69d43c97c90a1ea)

... this is certainly close to that you want for your rivers banks . On your picture , that's also visible that you need to do some micro-terraforming to level your river banks ( on the closest view , using and holding the Ctrl key ) and these parameters are also adjustable in our Examplar file 00000001 , Terrain Properties , search for properties ModKey1StrenghMultiplier and ModKey1WidthMultiplier :

03
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg924%2F2295%2FtGgPzH.jpg&hash=5ca0bf1be4e37607907756338ff25e30dab7b987)

Currently set to respectively 0.25 and 0.8 for ( valuable for all Terrain Mods I have checked ) , I personally changed these values for respectively 0.1 and 0.4 to get extra fine micro-terraforming possibilities :

04
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg922%2F3762%2FBnSKsD.jpg&hash=218cd551db39ef93ac4d0c305a4d0ba682cccf45)

05
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg922%2F3192%2FjNdzEG.jpg&hash=4a6bcaf99017557cebe93d09fbe607b5e06b9d1b)

06
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg924%2F1301%2Fr30T4e.jpg&hash=b973a4b186f3a4081ea07be892575547a4302898)

Those adjustements are now valuable for all terrain tools in both God and Mayor Mod ( as long as you have God Terraforming in Mayor Mode (http://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/20092-god-terraforming-in-mayor-mode/)
  installed but everybody should have it installed with ExtraTerrainTools (http://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/21288-additional-god-mode-terrain-tools/) as well ... ) . So this is what you can do :

07
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg923%2F5043%2FsTm7Ne.jpg&hash=25fa5c9afae86346b92333348e7689bd8d159238)

08
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg922%2F9959%2F0KLR7t.jpg&hash=ae0bc5b22fa5809aa3798c5375318283740e6dd8)

This Examplar file 00000001 is common to any Terrain Mod , that's also where some other important values can be easily changed like the sea water transparency and sea level ... this is what did Swordmaster , for example in his MD Port St Claire :

09
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg923%2F769%2F9sv9FB.jpg&hash=920e4c120816f7d0236d85094240d460b0941e0f)

The water transparency can be changed with properties WaterDepthForMaxAlpha and WaterMinAlpha , it is up to you to make tests to get what you want , personally I changed these values to respectively 22 and 0x9A :

10
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg923%2F9516%2FnQ95gW.jpg&hash=4ab5e88e251037a1adc89846a612e3c3199b6e32)

Taking effect :

11
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg922%2F9910%2FzRudMb.jpg&hash=bec62e305b01ee2c2af2cf95c7dd00786632d6d6)

The sea level is controlled by SeaLevel property , default value = 250 :

12
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg921%2F3139%2FuaOJB3.jpg&hash=11ced53f6cf1e1964269317de1fbc74a00ffc445)


... in meters so you can try 251 , 252  , and so on (1 by 1 meter is highly recommended ...) . To be clear , there's a lot of things a Terrain Mod can do for you , but also a lot of things that can be and should be tested and adjusted by any player ... all these informations were already available here and there , but visibly , that's always good to remind them regularly . ;)

Thanks again for this new batch of enthusiastic comments . :thumbsup:

C.

Thanks for sharing Badsim  :thumbsup:

Your Terrain Mod looks really good.

Can't wait for further updates  ;D

-eggman121

 &apls


Nice work Cédric, I'm glad to see you always active! There are comments from Ennedi in this thread, which might interest you, unfortunately the images are dead: http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=6746.20

It was a very long time since the last time I write a comment here in SC4Devotion, real Life is taking a lot of time...BUT Today I had to make a stop to write you a comment.
This terrain mod is going to be the reason why I'm going to play SC4 again !! I just felt in love since the first picture that I saw... I can't wait to put my hands in this great terrain mod.

Congratulations for your work, you know it but... any thing or help that you need just let me know it  :thumbsup:

Greetings my friend

Your rocks and gravel and cliffs look amazing. :thumbsup: It would be interesting to see a road or something along with the terrain to get a sense of the scale.

This terrain mod is authentically bringing back SC4 procers of past days!!! Cédric deserves at least a rep point for this, let alone for the absurdly astounding quality of this work :clap:

Quote from: matias93 on March 15, 2017, 06:47:48 PM
Cédric deserves at least a rep point for this, let alone for the absurdly astounding quality of this work :clap:

Sorted ;)

Hi ,

@David , what a nice surprise to have a visit from you !  ;D I hope everything goes as you want in your personal life ... I'm working hard on this , but not a single day without thinking about you as it will be a restyled and re-moded version of  your PTM . ( If I had known that it would be so much work ... I would have gone fishing instead of starting something like this !  $%Grinno$% )

@Brian , nice to have a visit from you too ...  :) you're the author of the very firsts Terrain Mods and a good number of people are still using some of them , I can remember how Italia has had my preference during a long time . On some pictures shown today , no roads ( I'm working with an almost virgin Plugin Folder to load the game faster , considering the incredible number of tests  needed ... ) but you'll find here and there some flora or Sims or animals to see the scale ...

@Matias , for the K-point , you should have waited a little  ::) , a disappointment isn't impossible  $%Grinno$%  ... thank you ! :thumbsup:


Well , I didn't count how many times I've re-done again and again my textures ( 25 textures for 5 zoom levels = 120 different textures which have to look as seamless than possible , and perfection here , with so detailed textures , is not reachable ) , and finally have had to desaturate them all . I still have the feeling it can  be better , but at some point I have to decide that that's good enough !  $%Grinno$%

(Clickable full sizes )

01- Zoom 0
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg921%2F5195%2FUqHZVI.jpg&hash=f0da733d117a2e6f07ee5b1ae7a72984ecc455e0)

02 - Zoom 1
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg921%2F7123%2Fc69f1C.jpg&hash=27caf0c3dbe94c5e8dd44e15c4e5816175a40bde)

03 - Zoom 2
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg924%2F8237%2FpIVHJ5.jpg&hash=78c62842ab52b807e53317689a18f45b8cc25ea7)

04 - Zoom 3
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg922%2F8971%2Fstnrh3.jpg&hash=61bb532b631a9cafadf8608be09094bc4e31d583)

05 - Zoom 4
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg921%2F5755%2FEbZLJC.jpg&hash=fb0beb5e02223444314960534694f3f744d87886)

06 - Zoom 5
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg923%2F1015%2FDCraez.jpg&hash=24754a79029c6851c60566adae6d40c77f69200e)

07
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg921%2F7968%2FTJeNLn.jpg&hash=0910a4b23259ff8777c9676963044fdd82574996)

08
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg921%2F2893%2F7EU3NY.jpg&hash=e2fffff776ad4c263d6f22bd8d2077fd5ea406f4)

09
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg921%2F6594%2F2rregq.jpg&hash=97018c74ba2e7358d02e819c3cf1428e6c1687ec)

10
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg923%2F5766%2FsPIkjn.jpg&hash=42030b30fef371b6b263f763ae9fe60453c60f95)

11
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg922%2F1135%2Fp3MdhS.jpg&hash=de164c4acd4deda41fa7cf98eae7f1d90d5877aa)

12
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg924%2F508%2FAb1Zn2.jpg&hash=a4cddbfc28bf21b82a16026ba10d2a188b73fedb)

13
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg923%2F9060%2FO5LjaS.jpg&hash=cf2cd3d7f7e72c4015547814a7694783fa2d3873)

14
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg923%2F6735%2FNMeljH.jpg&hash=48f24ac066452a0be58b8acedf2a50fbf5a1d2b1)

15
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg923%2F4729%2FZh83I6.jpg&hash=2fbfcee9d0c20f3ca30e6fc0f429a256ad9ba761)

16
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg921%2F8595%2Fxkqhpc.jpg&hash=11d187ed8ad565d679abe329f962e9cba589e816)

17
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg922%2F766%2FgIwEog.jpg&hash=404419f2c95b101e49f5c26fa950cd07724c3d9f)

18
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg922%2F3502%2FribEwg.jpg&hash=4f5814c617ca699ddfc1dc6551ba5fe20331fcd6)

19
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg921%2F4576%2FL7gca1.jpg&hash=63272ccafac280752b9a22e9341b758f4e10c74d)

20
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg922%2F6327%2FtlCXGs.jpg&hash=cf3c86de7d7717a4159186d2f804a06a9c822437)

21
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg924%2F3753%2FXEcwe6.jpg&hash=396bd9a1924b20532884b47d1857f7f296aff55c)

22
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg924%2F4886%2FnhW708.jpg&hash=78a3baabed8ce76cb737df0cb28133887c10dab5)

23
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg921%2F9954%2FEwoSNa.jpg&hash=005be20ec34d24d3198686c7d571597749dce6a8)

City tile and regional view :

24
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg924%2F9051%2FjaGgCp.jpg&hash=812a122d98cb5b36d8a17c4a11e66578a3f4c183)

25
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg924%2F845%2FPXgYEF.jpg&hash=1a5d05bd5ddc0f972ab2117ec179710217104a5c)

How good a map and a terrain Mod may be , you'll never have only to match them , open a city tile then wait and see ... this Mod has almost infinite subtilities to present , as long as you'll take your part by having the skill and patience to do some serious micro-terraforming with imagination : as already said on my previous post , the properties of micro-terraforming  using Ctrl key are integrated to your Terrain Mod (ModKey1StrenghMultiplier and ModKey1WidthMultiplier ) so I have moded them for an « extra fine » micro-terraforming . Works about textures can be considered like done ( just one or two things to adjust ) , next week I'll start a testing session with the Moding of various properties , the TerrainTexTilingFactor isn't the only one to change considerably the look of a terrain Mod , there's also properties for each texture  determining how it will blend with others ( TextureBlendStrength )  , generally all other authors didn't use them , keeping unchanged the default value = 1 ,  and how each texture strength fall off with distance ( Z0/Z1/Z2/Z3/Z4 TextureSpreadCurve ) . So I have good hope to finish this at the end of the coming week , then files will be sent to testers : Robin ( mgb204) , Antoine ( Girafe) and Jonathan (Kelis ).

The beach will be optional , like the rock and water textures , and if I have enough time I will propose several tones for the rock textures ... I'm thinking too about a basaltic rock texture associated to a black sand beach Mod . Quickly tested :

26
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg921%2F3182%2FvsE2EQ.jpg&hash=870ce6bfe1e17c4eb6bb99bdb042da12fb0f4458)

27
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg924%2F284%2FlAthv8.jpg&hash=b71686f92ef85ee0a62aced63ea4c8d324f07e8d)

28
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg924%2F4872%2FKZaose.jpg&hash=b6e46ed7a82d4e31e5ac80a66a3f07f8eb20a8db)

Currently , that sand is too dark and the transition with the rock texture is too blurred ... No classical sand beach Mod planned , there's already enough HD ones available . ;)

Thank you all , for the other comments . :thumbsup:

C.

It times like these I can't hit the like button enough times to do justice ..

Simply.
Stunning.

Yep. Stunning indeed. This terrain mod almost makes mmps obsolete.  $%Grinno$%  &apls

(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FTsKZpkj.gif&hash=8cbc71a18099b48dbe2955016677df5d80873cd3)

I'm not sure how I feel about all the pebbles on the sandbars, but like you said it's optional, and I have to agree that the results are stunning.

The basalt sand (black beach) with that lounge chair on it, reminded me of this for some reason:

(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/ca/f4/81/caf48135f63496d6d66ad02624c63aaf.jpg)

The blending of the rock textures, along with the details in the grass, make this feel much like an HD version of c.p.'s mods, which I remember distinctly for the wide variety in ground texture scenes that could be made with them, and which I missed when I switched to the HD mods currently available.

Very cool stuff here, and of course HD is exciting, but even if it wasn't it still looks amazing.

The rock texture is perfect !! I think you did a great job and the idea of desaturating the textures is great, now they looks more realistic...
about the beach, mmm... I like both, for sure you have to include more than one texture... I mean create a folder where people can choose between more than one type of texture for the beach...

I'm waiting for the textures, I've created a new japanese map just to use with this map  :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

The grasses and flowers look great, and I love the variety. :thumbsup:

Also thanks for adding the trees, people, animals, etc to some of the pictures.  They're actually better than roads anyway for getting a sense of scale (and more appropriately primeval too).

(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg924%2F6615%2FrzNlxE.jpg&hash=bc6a43d100faaa99759f1bb74b0275ab5b8820f7)
Clickable to full sizes


Hi ,

After the usual 6 months long hiatus , I'm back at work to finish that damned  VIP Terrain Mod ...  %bur2$

During last March , I've had to face multiple problems ( overscaled textures , tiling effects with some zoom levels ) and a lot of things have changed since the previous sets of pictures , but after serious headaches testing various properties and testing tens of TextureMap table combinations , I've been unable to progress enough to send a beta version to the 3 official testers before the end of March ... now I've decided to process differently : here is a link so everyone can download and test it , like it works for the time being :

Outdated version / Link removed 20/10/17

Warnings : Of course this HD terrain Mod requests Hardware rendering selected , you must have only this Terrain Mod with this Water Mod , this Rock Mod and this Beach Mod in your plugins folder ( they will be optional in the end , like  the snow level currently High ), secondly , this Mod isn't made ( so most probably not particularly proper ) for urban environments nor flat maps ...a virgin  region ( steeper is the relief , better it is ) is highly recommanded . And do not forget that this a beta version : for example , I've locked the seasonality until I'll master the TextureMap table on that subject matter ( That's not something I appreciate particularly for the current Terrain Mods available so that's not my highest priority ... ) . Happy testing while I'm waiting for your first observations and suggestions here . Should be back , working fully  at it again , in 2 weeks ...  ()stsfd()

Cédric.

WoHo... Cedric is back  :bnn:

And a nice reminder of the forthcoming new addition to the HD terrain mod options, which looks beautiful even in it's beta state. It's a nice balance between the brighter Appalachian and darken Gobias' mods that gives it a real European feel for me. I'll be delighted to test it out as soon as possible. In fact I have an Empty region I've been messing with I hope will be perfect for that.

Beautiful work! Great choices and attention to detail.  :)

Welcome back  ;D

Will try that during this week end  :thumbsup:

&apls &apls &apls

Awesome rock textures!!  &apls &apls  If I knew how to beta test I would be happy to help!!!!  ()what()

Happy to see you back.
Downloaded, will try it tomorrow.

This is my first HD terrain mod and I have to say I'm lovin it.
Have been running it in my sandbox city for a few days, I have not had any problems, or anomalies, as yet.
If it does not misbehave I will be moving it to my currently active city, where I can check it out more thoroughly.
Nice Work  &apls

Finally had a chance to really test the terrain mod today, after my initial tests didn't work out, the region was simply too flat to make any meaningful conclusions. So I setup a new region, using the Qadisha map (linky (http://community.simtropolis.com/files/file/28381-lebanon-tripoli-the-qadisha-valley/)), which has a nice balance of hilly terrain and a mountainous area, along with some bumpy plains and a good coastline.

The most immediate thing that comes up when rendering the region is simply how much of the map is covered in snow, too much IMO. Using the region census tool, I've made a region screenshot:

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4508/37250214950_fc204e7b5c_o.jpg)

I've done a number of things to attempt to illustrate the problem. So the actual map reaches just a smudge under 3,000m in elevation, which is pretty much identical to the "MaxTerrainHeight" property by default. But this is a high-altitude snow version, such a figure probably is OK for snow with lower altitude maps, but it's quite far off ideal for high altitude snow. I've therefore doubled this to 6,000m in the terrain mod to produce this image, and still the snow appears from 2,000m upwards, covering a large part of the upper elevations. The red area (highlight added in PS), shows where the snow line was with the default setting of 3,000m. I've also deliberately kept some of the tiles without rendering them, so the height-map elevations show. Allowing you to compare those to the boundary tiles and see how things match up.

Of course for optimal usage, most players will typically want to manually configure such settings, so there is no perfect answer to what setting to use. But I think if you intend to offer some Low/Med/High variants for the can't mod/won't mod crowd, I'd consider maybe 4,000m/5,500m/7,000m for those variants.

I eventually settled on 8,750m myself, which seems to provide a close approximation of what the map developer intended. Although that's probably a little extreme from the perspective of a default setting. After a bit of terraforming to improve some areas to work better with the terrain settings, I get this:

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4462/36799469634_bd36c22da8_o.jpg)

Generally speaking the grass and rock textures are simply sublime, I can't really fault them. Although given my preference for lower-elevation terrains I'd personally prefer to see the darker greens appearing lower. But that's not really something I expect you to change, there is nothing wrong here. Similarly I can't fault the water mod, the colours work really well and I like the greenish hue where the sun reflects upon the surface.

Snow is something that's really hard to get right for terrain textures, but it feels like a giant amorphous blob of snow covering the mountainous areas. I'm not the most artistic type, the best way I can explain it is, that it lacks that certain something in terms of detail. Compare my shot to the download page of the map, which is how the BO (Berner Oberland) terrain snow looks. Your textures seem to cover some of the detail in of the outcropping of the mountain. I think these textures could potentially benefit from some improvements and I would consider looking at the differences between yours and the BO ones to see the differences. To be completely fair, this is an area where many terrain mods don't really look right either, so I'm guessing it's not so easy to get perfect. But a few tweaks to help the contours and edges of the terrain to better stand out in snow-covered areas would really go a long way to improving things. In any case, it's not a deal breaker in any way.

I'm noticing some seams showing in z1/z2 for the beach textures, I've tried to capture them as best as I could. Another thing you may wish to take a look at:

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4484/37509701581_bd857dcc6f_o.jpg)

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4479/37461573026_93e1c5b1eb_o.jpg)

Otherwise though, again I can't really find fault with the general look and feel. Now I've got the basics out of the way, I'll play a little with the region and maybe come back to you. But I'd already say this is coming along very nicely indeed and I'm fairly certain I will add it to my list of terrains that I use.

Hi ,


Robin : Firstly , thank you for the enthusiast Welcome Back .  ;)

Such detailed report about your first tests isn't surprising from you and , once more , thank you to take some of your precious time  :thumbsup: . No doubt : you're the best interlocutor I could dream of ,  considering your early interest for that Mod and your own Moding abilities . :)

I didn't test my pebble beach texture  on large areas and at every zoom level - it would take ages for a single man to test everything ... so you have spotted  a defective FSH for zoom 1 & 2 indeed , now corrected :

1 
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg922%2F8198%2FV0VmZ9.jpg&hash=fd7bd8aab13a85048f6bed3ec759e8da48fba539)
2
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg923%2F1875%2F8AD5oI.jpg&hash=791da969accbc15fa0cd8f21e233bed11b6b57d0)

Late in March , I had to resize all my textures , while they seemed look good on a virgin region and virgin city tiles , the result was simply ugly when opening old ones with cities or villages  . I divided them all by 4 ( a lot of work and problems to keep them detailed and seamless ) ... the snow texture excepted . Now that's done :

3
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg924%2F7846%2FR26Lnx.jpg&hash=9b535772183c5d2f0cb1d34e3ae08a8531a6657b)
4
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg924%2F5303%2FlUlI9o.jpg&hash=201d3a8914714cf667e798d7a9acfe6c661919f6)

I think that is it only a part of the problem though , currently the STEX is down so I can't have a look at the download page of Qadisha map to compare . Anyway , I have another fresh snow texture to implement and test before to give you  a link to a new testable version , in the next 2 or 3 days ...   

About the snow level , I'll take into consideration your suggestions , that value depends of the TextureMap Table(s) and I took those of Orange's Pyrenean Terrain Mod as basis , I'll take some time to study what Lowkee33 made on that subject matter . On a side note , there's only a few people playing with snow theme from time to time - not enough custom content , for sure ... so , even if I had a secret hope to motivate our friend Girafe to take his snowy BATs set ( chalets , chairlifts ) up again , well , most probably can't we dream that much unreasonably ...   $%Grinno$% so , a single High snow level should be  enough . ::)

Once these first points fixed , I'll take  into consideration your suggestion too about the greener grasses at lower altitude . I'm  not completely satisfied either . :-\


Thanks for your supportive comments and Likes , this testable version has been downloaded 36 times so far  , so you can all still contribute to the discussion . ;D

Secondarily , I made a clear blue sky background with a more natural and soothing tint than Ennedi's one (IMO) , you can download it at the end of this post and place/replace these 4 *.bmp directly in your Program Files/Maxis/Simcity 4 Deluxe/Plugins folder ...

Cédric.

I have moved the mod into my current city and still no obvious problems have jumped out at me. I don't have the expertise of someone like mgb204 so I can't give you feedback based on anything other than my personal impression and I am impressed by how much better my city looks. I do agree with his snow elevation point. In fact I would like to have an option for no snow, if that's possible, instead carrying the grass/flower texture all the way up. I have included before and after pics of my city and a couple close up pics of the terrain so you can see for yourself if everything looks as you intended.

You can alter the snowline, just see this tutorial (http://community.simtropolis.com/omnibus/simcity-4/tutorials/know-your-terrain-a-simple-guide-to-making-the-most-of-your-terrain-mod-r250/) for details of how. If you make it high enough, you'll never see those textures. But be careful not to go too high, because you'll loose some of the variation in the other elevated textures you do want. Just find the highest point of the region and adjust the figure upwards until the snow is gone, that will be just about right. Otherwise disseminating them from the mod is difficult.

Because regions are so varied and have different heights, there is no perfect setting a modder can make that will work for all. The first thing I do with any new region is tweak a unique terrain settings file to match it's characteristics. It's the only way to really be sure each region looks its best.

QuoteYou can alter the snowline, just see this tutorial for details of how.

Thanks, marked that page, give it a try later.

That worked perfectly, no snow, grass/flower texture all the way up. Had to use MaxTerrainHeight of 6000.
Thanks again mgb204 &apls

Quote from: kelis on October 10, 2017, 09:40:30 AM
- The first thing that came to me was the fact that I don't have low grasslands anymore... I am one of those players that set their region is the lowest level possible, just 1 point above the sea level. Why? I am creating a Japanese metropolis and that means that PORTS and Airports are in or very close to the water so my only way to can create all those places in a realistic way is with that level above the sea level.

The solution is simple, just make smaller beaches and covering the rest of the land with a normal grass texture.

It's even simpler than that, two very easy ways to "fix"/change this:

• Simply start a tiny bit higher where land is shown and level the beach until you only have the balance between beech/grasslands required. Trust me the difference in height is tiny.
• Alter the terrain settings from the default, where the "Max Beach Width" at it's lowest level is 0x16 currently. If you make that say 0x2 / 0x3, then the grass returns.

The difference between 1 and 2? If you go route 2, you are stuck with shallow beaches, no matter what you do. If you go with 1, provided the small height difference doesn't bother you, the flexibility for wider beaches is retained when you want them.

Ultimately, such changes are something people should be making to the terrain properties. As I mentioned before, there is no single set of perfect settings for every region or player. So as with much in SC4, if you want full control, you'll need to do some tweaking to get the results you are looking for. Blunder's guide is excellent, it really explains this well and ever since finding it, I've been using it's tips to optimise each map to my terrain controller, it makes a world of difference.

I want to thank you for the work you provided! It is incredible, I downloaded your Terrain Mod and I deleted the old ... It is beautiful, thank you a thousand times! ;D

Hi ,

To tell you the truth , the more I study how it works , the more I feel lost  ::) ... too many parameters and , as far as I can see , no real direct parameter for the snow level ; I think SC4 hasn't been conceived to play with snow ( or , at least that Moding part has been left unfinished like many other features ) . I tried to play with both the TextureMap table  and the MaxTerrainHeight value , that helps to raise  the snowline indeed , but impossible to know precisely the height of the limit you try to define  , and , finally , when I check up ingame the result with the TerrainQuery tool , I'm always surprised to find the snowline a lot lower than expected , or , in other terms , rising so slowly . I tried too to play with the TemperatureRangeFactor parameter , the most visible result ingame is that , while the snowline slowly rises  , terrain textures are displayed with a lot less variations ...  at least is it logical , but less interesting to my eyes . The  Terrain Height Patches ( available on the STEX if I remember well , for my concern I found them again in one of my backup from 2006 ) mentioned by blunder , use different values for ImageImportScaleFactor ( "How many meters correspond to one unit of gray scale value in image"  , says Ilive Reader ... ) , yeah , one more parameter ...  ;D ... after this week spent to test all this labyrinthine Moding made of  elevations , moistures and temperatures  , and nearing to get crazy  :bomb: , I came back to my original Moding . From that point , I do agree that the file I named VIP_Bs_HighAltitudeSnow should be named VIP_Bs_Terrain Properties and then in the Readme should be included informations  so any player will be able to change these terrain properties for snowline , width and height for beaches , water level and transparency  and cliff parameter in accordance with what they want individually ... in fact , the entire blunder's tutorial should be included in the Readme .

Thank you very much , Jonathan and Handyman , for your reports , much appreciated  :thumbsup: . A new Terrain Mod is so complex to Mod and request so many tests that it doesn't remain many time for me to spend here with you , so , special thanks for Robin , always ready to reply promptly and aptly to your questions ( more aptly than I could !  $%Grinno$%  ) .  &apls &apls &apls . Robin , I understand what you mean when speaking of a "blob effect" for the snow , but I think that rather than any snow texture , looking at the Qadisha map on the STEX ( and that's hard to spot due to the size of the picture) , most probably Gobias used several snow textures , unfortunately his Mods aren't available anymore so I can't check this . :thumbsdown:

At the origin of that project and while I was using the Appalachian Terrain Mod from Lowkee33 , I found that flowery textures and erosion were missing , maybe have you seen that the textures.dat is named  VIP_AlpineTerrainMod_Textures ; « Alpine »  imply richly flowered pastures  , so this is what I've been able to implement ( full sizes and that's necessary ) :

01
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg922%2F5596%2FS0KZvk.jpg&hash=5c2e7382e1bdc51f73fe1c08d16c1407cb7ec951)

02
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg924%2F5665%2FTVBJxL.jpg&hash=9c5f1775df529e55a055f5180b987cfc1088e5ae)

03
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg924%2F97%2Fyqre8O.jpg&hash=f0c970c4d2d0d8522014255a112d8ca8475d4ad6)

04
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg922%2F1076%2Fiwn5kS.jpg&hash=a88ec1c6a79e08590aec89c88d7e0d986d99847c)

05
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg923%2F557%2FUX8vAM.jpg&hash=0a997ee41745ae7c2652badb367cb2e88e4e5c7e)

06
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg923%2F1355%2FeysunC.jpg&hash=faff7b6e2467a66c7da2eb18d5ff9b45cd8007d5)

07
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg923%2F8650%2FMGfjDy.jpg&hash=37ca8befa3be26fb1c43b7b33eaf67f88c0e701a)

08
(https://www.sc4devotion.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg922%2F3571%2FacEfJ0.jpg&hash=126b7bb2d03dab2ed83429c87acc66bf0aa98fcc)




Hope you like flowers !  :D Accessorily , you'll find on these pictures a new optional sand beach , a new snow texture and a TextureMap Table displaying less screes . At that point , I just wonder if a Terrain Mod can't be too good to match with all our non-HD custom content ...  ::)

Quote from: Akallan on October 11, 2017, 01:29:31 PM
... It is incredible, I downloaded your Terrain Mod and I deleted the old ...

Thank you !  :) I think that , the same way , sooner or later you'll throw away that first testable version ...  ;D

That's far to be finished , so « back at work » , giving no period that time for a second testable version .  $%#Ninj2

Cédric.

Actually you may have missed it, but Gobias' mods were restored to the LEX, SV can be found here (http://sc4devotion.com/csxlex/lex_filedesc.php?lotGET=2867).

Indeed there may be multiples of textures there for snow.

Pretty much how you summarised things though on the terrain properties front, there is no idea setting for each user or map used. As such it's totally something the player should be looking at adjusting for their needs, you could provide a few defaults, but whatever you do you'll never get it perfect for everyone. So linking to Blunder's tutorial would be a logical step really. Honestly speaking, as things are now I think you could release the mod, there is really nothing wrong with it and who doesn't like more options?

At some point I want to talk about adding the VIP mod to TGN, which simply requires some matching lot textures and I would handle the rest. So if you are interested in that, we can talk about it here or over PM.

That really is splendid - the flowers look extraordinary.

Quote from: mgb204 on October 14, 2017, 07:10:54 AM
At some point I want to talk about adding the VIP mod to TGN, which simply requires some matching lot textures and I would handle the rest. So if you are interested in that, we can talk about it here or over PM.

As a user of TGN - yes please!

I do like flowers. The new set of pics/peeks looks great. Love the sand. :thumbsup:

Is this available for download anywhere?

Unless I've missed something, thus far this mod has not been made officially available. I believe it's still a WIP, hopefully it's not abandoned.

Still no news after another year... Hopefully we get an answer soon, though I think the VIP team might be inactive...

Is this amazing work ever finished? The photo's are mindblowing!

Have a look there, Cédric shared a link on Antigone:

https://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=217.msg535347#msg535347

The terrain mod is amazing!
Thanks for the fast reply and the remarkable content your always making!  %confuso

Landscape works beautiful in my region. Here some photo sample (still under construction) re-organizing my pluginfolder :)
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AvjEQ6tPRAijhG6LuvBYCLgHcrpl?e=fZoAdO
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AvjEQ6tPRAijhGveDcKfdbb4sb0B
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AvjEQ6tPRAijhGveDcKfdbb4sb0B
https://onedrive.live.com/?cid=A308444FAB43C4F8&id=A308444FAB43C4F8%21621&parId=root&o=OneUp