How to slope terrain/ground elevation in two directions

[jgarnold]

I have an area of terrain where the ground slopes down from top to bottom and also from left to right and I am trying to reproduce this with terraforming rectangles using 'profile' but not having much joy and so I am wondering if this is possible using two terraforming rectangles one over the top of the other and if so does it matter what order they are in (eg priority)?

 

[GaryGB]

Hi John:

Perhaps this info may prove useful ?

https://docs.flightsimulator.com/html/Developer_Mode/Scenery_Editor/Objects/Polygon_Objects.htm

"IMPORTANT! Polygons of the same water type do not merge! If you have overlapping polygons of the same type they will cancel each other out and create what appears to be an exclusion area, only without the correct distance field feathering. So, avoid overlapping polygons unless you are creating an exclusion area or they are different types."


https://devsupport.flightsimulator.com/questions/2583/terraforming-priority-conflicts.html

https://devsupport.flightsimulator.com/questions/2097/terraforming-problem.html

GaryGB

 

[jgarnold]

Thanks Gary. Very interesting information in those links you gave. The more I try the more I find how difficult it can be getting things correct.

I have also noticed that when I started trying to change ground elevations the original (MSFS) terrain was a gentle slope (at Sechelt - so the 'saga' continues) where the ground was quite flat over the gentle slope but I needed to add a terraforming POLYGON which almost fixed what I was trying to fix but when trying a terraforming RECTANGLEand removing the existing terraforming POLYGON (in Dev mode editor) thinking that the terrain would then look like it did before I added that polygon, it didn't The area contained some small 'hills' within the area which were not there before the polygon was added. This totally confuses me (how small 'hills' can appear after removing a terraforming polygon.

[added later]
I noticed in the 'link' https://devsupport.flightsimulator.com/questions/2097/terraforming-problem.html the author sees what I am seeing - ie small hills appearing after the addition of terraforming. I also have a apron (for a car park over the area where my terraforming is). Problem is for me is that I don't have an "airport has its "Apply Flatten" option checked" as in the suggestion given but maybe its the apron I added which causes my 'grief'. But that doesn't explain why the 'hills' remain after I removed the apron and terraforming. It's complicated.
[added later]
Maybe I need to 'play with' the ground merging parameter of my (car park) apron?

 

[GaryGB]

This scenario brings to mind a prior inquiry I had made on a related subject:

https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/where-are-airport-flatten-elevations-derived.455337/

I'm beginning to wonder if a sequential "stack" of specified Polygons and/or Rectangles with particular GUIDs may be needed to fully eliminate 'bleed-through' of MSFS' underlying default terrain altitudes, as we have found necessary with elimination of certain other scenery content such as Grass.

GaryGB

 

[jgarnold]

Thanks Gary

That information is a bit beyond me (to interpret). During a brief overview of that article I picked up (and in other web sites regarding this 'problem') that it is or could be associated with a nearby airport which flattens? by default.
I don't have a nearby airport which has terrain (and therefore flattened) as it is a water airport.
All I can think of is that my added APRON probably flattens the terrain by default.
I will try some things including starting without an apron (which I use for a car park) and maybe create a look alike car park with a polygon but I am not sure if they too flatten the area. I will check that out.
I will do some 'experimenting'.

 

[jgarnold]

[added later]
Please disregard this reply as I have found that there was a polygon (to exclude water) which I did not see listed in devmode but was added by myself using Airport Design Editor (which was used to initially create the airport). Removing the polygons in ADE, rebuilding in ADE (obviously the terraforming polygons and rectangles was performed in Devmode as ADE can't deal with them) results in the default sloping terrain from the edge of the water to the road.
I will now add back in the terraforming polygons and rectangles and then add back in the water exclusions and aprons for the car parks (in that order) and see what happens.

Strange how water exclusion polygons can screw up topography. I guess they flatten the area.





Well I can't work out what devmode is doing.

I opened my project checked for errors in a build (none), loaded into editor

I started removing polygons and aprons to try and determine which one is causing problems.
I ended up removing EVERY polygon and apron in my project yet the topography at the end of the pier does NOT get redrawn to what it was before I started adding terraforming polygons and rectangles ie a gentle slope from the edge of the water to the roadway.
This is a screen shot of what it looks like with every polygon and apron removed.
Very difficult to try and modify topography with terraforming polygons and/or rectangles if devmode redraws incorrect ground elevations.