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Can I use TS to create "boulders" in this Canyon terrain

Messages
121
Country
us-california
I have been using SbuilderX in an attempt to get some variation in the terrain elevations from the plateau of the train tracks down to the ravine floor of the canyon. I have just been using a four sided polygon and specified the corner elevations by hand (not using the slope calculations). The results have been unusual with some spikes and depressions. I came across Terrain Sculptor and I am wondering if I could do a better job of creating some boulder shapes that are maybe a "popout" of maybe 10x15 feet or maybe 20x30 in size with an oval shape and a delta from the NED terrain (which is 1/9 arc second data) of 5 feet or so. Is this possible?

Thanks in advance

Dave
SbX_TS_t2_zpszidzwvfr.jpg

SbX_TS_t1_zps7fmbuysr.jpg

SbX_TS_t3_zpsnbmwhjok.jpg
 

gadgets

Resource contributor
Messages
9,388
Country
ca-britishcolumbia
Precise control of flatten elevations on steep terrain is difficult. It seems if you put two points with different elevations too close together, one will be ignored. (It's the way FSX works; nothing to do with SBuilder/TS.)

Basically, TS offers an easier way to do what you can do with flattens in sBuilder. So, if you think it could be done with sBuilder, it will be easier to do with TS. Can it be done? All I can suggest is give it a try.

Don
 
Messages
121
Country
us-california
Don,
Thanks for your very quick response!! So do I simply put a four or more sculpt nodes in the "boulder" area (four around the area at the original terrain altitude and a center one that is raised) or do I try to use the blend function? Can I get triangulate to work in just a boulder area?

Thanks

Dave
 

gadgets

Resource contributor
Messages
9,388
Country
ca-britishcolumbia
So do I simply put a four or more sculpt nodes in the "boulder" area (four around the area at the original terrain altitude and a center one that is raised)
Presumably you want to border your airport flatten with these boulders. Depending on how complex you want to get you could just blend the flatten or you could add additional sculpt nodes. Generally, you would do in TS exactly what you would do in sBuilder - except that you only need to place points, not polys/triangles - and the blending is done for you. There are several possible approaches. Visualize what it is you want to do and use a combination of nodes to accomplish it. That being said, I doubt four nodes are going to generate satisfactory results.

Can I get triangulate to work in just a boulder area?
The entire area inside your (closed sequence of) blend nodes is triangulated.

It doesn't sound like a big job. Try it and see what happens. You can't do any harm! If you don't like the result try another node configuration.

Don
 
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