Leveller export

Bug Reports
#1

Hello, I’ve got a simple question:
I have a heightmap which I want to cover an area of 8x8km - I set a file input device for it and set the size in its settings. I further set the size of my world to 8x8km in project settings. I can see the heightmap nicely stretched across the world. So far so good.
Because I am importing to an engine supporting terrain paging, I opt for tiled export and set 16x16 output tiles (second card in preferences). So theoretically one tile should be 0.5x0.5km in size. But when I import to my engine, every tile is MUCH bigger (some 2x2km maybe even more). Is this caused by bad setup in WM or is this some bug in Leveller format export?
I am suspecting the exported because it did one more strange thing - flipped the output vertically (so I have to flip the map manually in Photoshop before importing into WM, then everything looks on).

Thanks

#2

The problem is the pixel/meters ratio in WM.

I love building maps for Skyrim and I have to respect a 1,826 meters-per-pixel ratio (1872m/1024px) whenever I set a new world, otherwise I risk to end up with something totally screwed in its proportions.

So, beside setting the 8x8km size, you should also worry about the output resolution.

About the Y-flipped image, that’s normal!! It happens with a lot of programs that read RAW images. I too have to manually do the Y-flipping for the program I use to turn my heightmaps into playable terrains… =|

#3

Thanks for the reply, just a small clarification (I am new to WM) - how do you set this pixel ratio? I can see this value changing when dragging sliders in the tiled build preferences but I cannot set it directly. I basically want to set the total size of my terrain and then set how many pieces I want it to be broken into. How to do this the simplest way possible, please?

#4

The point is not the tiled build, but the whole resolution.

First you should understand what the engine’s ratio is.

Then you have to set the extent’s size and output resolution in WM. To do so you have to:
a.) Click on the “World Extents and Resolution” button
b.) Set your extent’s size
c.) Set the “Normal Build Resolution” and check if the “Detail Scale” fits your engine’s specifications

Beware that World Machine best works with powers of two, when it comes to resolution. Thus you’ll have to work with numbers like 512, 1024, 2048 and so on, always multiplying by two, but you can tile them to any number.

Anyway I warmly suggest you to first render the extent in a single output, then re-import it with a “File Input” device and chain it to a new Height Output device for the tiled build. This way it’s a lot faster. Just remember to set the “Blending Percentage” to 0% and unflag the “Share edge vertices (duplicate across tiles)” option in the “Tiled Build Options” tab. Check here.

Edit: also, it would help if you could tell us about Leveler egine’s workflow to import heightmaps for terrains, so that we can give you a proper solution that fits it.

#5