Generate HUGE landspace

Geology and Terrain
#1

Hello,

I am using world machine basic edition and I need a huge tundra-like landscape, where most of the area has a height of approximately 0 meters plus some very high mountains (maybe height about 1000-8000m). So a landscape like this:
http://www.world-machine.com/user_gallery/simon_1.html
or this:
http://www.world-machine.com/user_gallery/oshyan_1.html
would be perfect.

The terrain has to cover an area of 985 km x 985 km. (Moreover I dont want to use more than 257 x 257 height points)
Now I have 4 problems:

  1. In the perlon noise properties the maximum of the feature size is 122km. Does this mean the features inside the terrain or the size of the whole terrain? How can I create such a huge terrain?
  2. Big problem: If I make a terrain almost all values are above 0. But if I scale that application these low values get even bigger. How can I achieve that most of the area
    (the area around the big mounts) have an height of 0 or almost zero (0.001 and so on)
  3. I tried a lot of different things, but the terrain always looks like if it was a very small area (like 2km²). How can I achieve that the terrain looks huge?
  4. If I have the terrain I need some textures for different heights (gras, rock etc), but the textures shouldnt be detailed (for example you shouldnt see single gras blades on the gras textures), because then again the terrain would look small. Does anyone know a website where I can get such textures for huge terrains?

Thanks for any help!

#2

Hi compyler, I’m guessing that the basic edition has a size limtation on terrain exported?

  1. The perlin featiure size refers to features within the terrain, not the extents of the terrain. The best way to determine what wm means by ‘feature size’ is to try the scale settings at different sizes.

  2. One way (there are probably several) is to create the terrain in 2 layers. The base on which the montains sit, and the mountains. You could do that in two passes or use a clamp device on the base terrain but do not clamp the devices creating the mountains. You could use a combiner device in Add mode to add one to the other.

  3. I would say check out some real tundra terrain on Google and use your eye.

  4. resources:
    http://www.texturesource.org/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=6793c2f5edee89a6aa6a224f356fad62&action=gallery

You always use high res textures and downsample in Photoshop. //come to think of it, a procedural renderer (such as Terragen) might give you good textures with the camera set looking down.

monks

#3