Crysis Terrain Details

[e-freak]

I tried googleing it but there's a question driving me mad on detailing terrain:

In order to break up large cliffs do you

a) place models

b) paint voxels

? Anyone having an input on this?

[FrieChamp]

You can do both with different results. It depends on what you exactlyh ave in mind, open an official map and see how it's done there. I remember that it was tried to do everything in voxels, but you don't get the visual fidelity and detail that models can give you. For instance the gorges that open up when the sphere opens, those are models.

[e-freak]

It's only about breaking up cliffs and the likes on a racing track (it's in the WIP in WIP) for better visual reading... But seems I'm going with models for most of it as it works out ahell lot faster (did open official maps but couldn't find too simmilar situations but had a look at Helder's Volcano and it's most of the time models there).

[2d-chris]

If you want cliff sections, make two or threee basic large cliff models and overlap/rotate/scale them slightly differently. Works a treat If you really want to go to town make a few large rocks and add them in too.

[e-freak]

OK, I'm still working on that stuff and just wanted to use a bit different geometry for the rocks, but there's this problem:

[Corwin]

I believe it's because you assign a sub-material to the rock instead of a material. When in the material editor, you have to select the parent for instance, rock_beach_basalt, instead of rock_beach_basalt -> rock. Else it looses the reference of the parent material on reload, and can't find a material called simply rock.

[e-freak]

Thank you Corwing. That solved it!!! (Easiest way is not use the pipet to select a material, but select a rock with correct textures and pick from selection and then assign to (select to be changed rock) selection).

[-HP-]

yeah, for a more natural look, just use brushes (rocks) play with different materials and hide seams with decals and or smaller rocks!

[e-freak]

I think I'm getting there, at least I start worrying more about details now like the following:

how would i best blend the two road types (concrete and mud)? I don't want to set up another layer painter, but I can't figure out how to blend the two material type.

[-HP-]

Are you allowed to change the materials from the roads on that project of yours? If so, open the material for the concrete road, and tick vertex colors ON, so it fades out on the tip of the road-tool. (You can specify how long the fading is, by adding more points to the road-tool, use ctrl + left click where you wish to add a new point, on road editing mode)

Either that, or place the concrete road beneath the dirt road, and tweak the "sort priority" values, obviously put something like 1 on the concrete and 2 on the dirt, so the dirt gets on top. (You can have until 255 btw, this is useful to play with sortings on decals and road tool)

Even with this, it might need further work, like put some decals on top of the blending area to disguise the blending even more. I don't see any decals in there yet, use them as much as you can, they're awesome!

[e-freak]

thanks - yes i didn't get the sorting yet and wondered why everything looked clustered but will try that.