I would like to create a large terrain but its not just large, its expansive. I’ve attached a screenshot of another game that sorta captures where I’m getting at. All I want though, is the terrain, additional details I want to add with props. How should I go about doing this?
Just to add, if you can imagine, the landscape above goes for a long time. I would like to create roads and grass but I’m not sure how I can get it all in without creating one gigantic texture map for the terrain. I also don’t plan on making the detail as low as that terrain either; I’m not so impressed by the graphics.
I’d say to start out with a plane, then add a large cloud displacement modifier, so that the ground is slightly bumpy. Then, using either a custom made displacement modifier with a high effect or proportional editing, select some vertices and make your own mountains.
Heres a nice little tutorial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_owcNpxp8h4
Thanks Robert! But, how could I create the terrain without close up areas appearing too low in subdivisions? Small mountains and extrusions mean that I’ll have to increase the poly count for nicer closer up viewing but, the terrain plane might have too many subdivisions in the end. It might also end up stretching the texture of the terrain.
That is really impressive! Unreal Engine and Unity 3D have this kind of feature and I was under the impression that Blender couldn’t do this. Glad someone thought of this! I’m not sure if you would have the answer to this but, can I modify the terrain after it’s been made? I’d like to blend the roads into the ground but it seems to have a cap of 4 textures that you can apply.
After LOD has been used? I don’t think so, unless any python scripters here have found a way to modify that.
That terrain LOD system is set up to use exactly four textures, and you can’t change it without doing a little glsl coding. However, you can easily replace the textures as you see fit. Unfortunately, the setup does not lend itself to roads well at all. Dirt roads, you could probably pull off. But if you want asphalt roads with well-defined edges and painted lines that follow the direction of the road, then you’re out of luck. You’d need to stick with hand-modeled terrain, or make some major changes to benj’s terrain LOD system.
Well, that’s the thing. I’d just like to make some dirt roads that I can blend into the terrain. I suppose this means I should hand model the terrain, but after sculpting the landscape, will the terrain require one large texture map?
No, you don’t need one huge Texture. You can use the “Global” Setting on your Texture instead of “UV” and then one Texture will repeat along the XY Plane – nice for Terrains, but the Texture gets streched on very steep Areas (which should be avoided anyway).
Roads or other different Texture can be added by drawing onto the Mesh with Vertex Colors, then, in the Node Editor, you can mix the Textures by the Factors of the separated RGB Values of the Vertex Colors.
For very defined Things like Roads you can also select the Faces of the Road and give them another Texture set to “UV” and with their own UV Coordinates instead.
(Besides, the Screenshot in the first Post has some very steep Areas which are more likely textured with UV-Coordinates. (Rock Walls))