I do a lot of grayscale heightmap work using Bryce and I thought Id throw together this quick guide illustrating how the different shades of gray are interpreted by the Bryce Terrain Editor. Grayscale means all the shades of gray between 0 (nothing = black) and 255 (brightest = white) giving you a total of 256 shades (counting 0). The Terrain Editor reads these different levels of gray as heights. Each pixel level is interpreted as a different height ranging from black (0), the lowest level to white (255), the highest level.

Figure 1 is the Bryce rendition of the 512 x 512 grayscale image in figure 3 with a horizontal line post worked in PS to show the difference in height between a grayscale level of 255 and a level of 230 in the background. It also shows the different heights in increments by the power of 2 in binary starting with 255, halving that to 128 then 64 and so on down to 2. 2 got clipped off hard as I try not too.

The two foreground objects were composed using different heights superimposed over 64 level grayscale squares. On the object on the left the overlapping squares differ only by one pixel change (level change) one more than 64 and one less than 64 (65 & 63). The object on the right uses the same procedure but the overlaps differ by 5 pixel levels.

Figure 4 shows a slab set as a 128 pixel level grayscale. The Mayan symbols at the top were set at 127, a one pixel level difference. The symbols in the middle were set at 125 pixel levels and seem deeper engrave. Deeper yet is the symbol set at the bottom, which were set at a pixel depth of 123 grayscale.

Figure 1 can be used as a guide when working with heightmaps.

Message edited on: 03/13/2006 23:43

One of my favorite parts of Bryce is the terrain editor, and I've done a lot of experiments in it, but your unique display has helped me visualise it in a new way! This is excellent! However, I think you can thank your lucky stars that DAZ hasn't yet utilized Bikermouse's Tiffer code for making 16bit heightmaps in the Terrain editor. 65 thousand-something levels of gray would be a lot more tedious to represent!
;-)

:-D I like it!

outstanding presentation Quest!

danamo, I don't think they want it - I played around with porting it to Windows last year but had to give up as I didn't have enough time to figure everything out - it would be nice to be able to make Bryce extensions as Photoshop was allowing for a while. Quest, When I did the Tiffer project I noted that some members didn't have a clue as to how heightmapping works. I applaud your effort! - TJ 8:)

Ya know... I have been doing this intuitively with the photo to terrain stuff I have been doing but this is a GREAT reference sheet. This is the kind of thing it will be handy to have printed out and sitting along side my monitor when I am working in detailed grey scale. THANKS

Thanks guys and gals! LOLThat is true Danamo and would perhaps take a little more ingenuity to interpret. 8 bit is 256 colors whereas 16 bit is 65,536 colors and we would then have to set up a ratio where 65,536 is divided 256 times which is 256. Or better said, 256 squared will equal 65,536. So if you need for the Terrain Editor to interpret a 16 bit color say to a pixel level comparable to a 128, 8 bit color level (128 is half of 256 hence 128 x 2 = 256) then all you would need do is multiply 128 x 256 = 32,768 which is exactly half of 65,536 (32,768 x 2 = 65,536). The same thing would be true for say if you want a 64 pixel level heightmap but at a 16 bit level as opposed to a 8 bit level, then 64 x 256 = 16,384. But actually if 16 bit color is added it would double the refinement and give you a more concise model with cleaner edges. But I would think that all this math would be integrated into the software module and you would get a similar presentation as the one I offered but with double the accuracy and refinement.

Message edited on: 03/14/2006 09:51

EXCELLENT Thanks Quest :)

Very useful, thanks.

Tks Quest, this is right on. I use this grey scale import to TE quite a bit. My most recent was using greyscale-to-terrain to model a ship's hull. I have a question. Is there anyway to export a terrain out of the TE to tweak it or customize it in PS or PSP more precisely (than trying to use the bryce window) then send it back to bryce as a picture generated terrain? Example: Generate a desired fractal terrain then move it to paint program to add a riverbed precisely where wanted and sloped realistically.

Skiwillgee, In the terrain editor you can just hit Ctrl. C (to copy), go into PS and go to "File-New", hit "Enter" (the image size should be set at whatever resolution you had in the TE), hit Ctrl V (to paste) and your done. Paint away! I have an example above that I just did to make sure it still works that way. HTH, Mike

@ miden1138 this may be common knowledge among most here but you just taught me a very, very useful procedure. Thanks you are a champ. I did what you said and it works! I'm not sure why this just copies the greyscale window only but who's complaining. It works!

Sorry Skiwillgee, I couldnt get here sooner but looks like Miden has filled you in on the proper technique. Hey Miden, how you doing? Its been awhile, nice to see you around again hope all is well. To take it a step further, once in PS and youre done doing your refinements, make sure you change your color mode from grayscale to RGB, otherwise you might get a format problem, then select all copy to clipboard (Ctrl+C) and switch back to the Bryce TE and paste, Ctrl+V and youre ready to display your changes. Further yet, It surprises me how even among old Bryce veterans how they dont realize the power of the TE when it comes to the Paint Effect option in the Brush behavior panel. By simply holding down the spacebar while clicking any of the Editing Tools panel options and letting go of the spacebar (the option clicked on stays lit and youre placed automatically in Paint Effect mode), such paint features as Eroded, Spikes, Mounds, Dampen, Smoothing, Gaussian Edges, any of these options including any of the Fractal sub-choices and even the Picture feature can be used to paint directly on the terrain in the editor. You can further control the size of the brush and the amount of brush flow so that you can add a mound or two here, several spikes there then add a little erosion along one side of the terrain: One edge too sharp? No problem, spacebar+click on smooth, a little brush resizing and flow control, the problem is gone. Got to get in tight in a tiny area, use your zoom option. Got that terrain all set but want to combine it with another, Ctrl+C, send it over to PS and save it to disk. Create your new terrain, piddle around with the Editing Tool options to your hearts content and click on the Pictures tab. Click directly on the first window, poof present terrain is there (may be there already when you open the tab. Click load on the second window and load your saved terrain and blend, click and hold in the third window and you can view your results in the preview display, hit Apply and you have one terrain composed from two. Two isnt enough, do the whole thing again and now you have one terrain composed from three prior terrains. With a little patience you can really go to town on this. Further stuff you can do in outside editing packages: Zhanns Art-Werx waterfall tut Calyxas simple road Calyxas swooping road Enjoy!

Thanks, I find that extremely helpful in visualising what is happening now. I've done various experiments with greyscale modelling and never appreciated how much difference can be made just with one degree lighter or darker! I can see now where I've gone wrong in making my gradations far too large and clumsy.

Everything old is now new again!  . thanks

I noticed with a great deal of interest that one of the features of the "soon to be released" Bryce6 is Support for 16-bit grayscale images in the Terrain Editor. This higher resolution should allow us to make even better and more amazing terrain and lattice models!

Now who was it that did a great psp image of greebling, pipes and blocks and conduits etc etc - took it into the terrain editor and hey presto a greeble panel of great complexity?

I have a feeling it was either Pidjy or Rochr... but a search didn't clear it up.

im sure it was pidjy.

Attached Link: Pidjy's Terrain Panel

It was, it was!  I finally found it,  at the link - it's part 3, now if only I can find parts 1 and 2.

Thanks for the details on this aspect of terrains, Quest.  Handy.

Quote - It was, it was!  I finally found it,  at the link - it's part 3, now if only I can find parts 1 and 2.

Thanks for the details on this aspect of terrains, Quest.  Handy.

That would be these two threads
Weird "mecanical" terrain map!
Texture (image) and terrain map ( again )

Great tool you shared with us here!  Thanks!

My 2c of experience on this...
In the past, when I wanted a more detailed terrain map, I'd start with a starting bryce terrain, switched to the top view, used the 'altitude mask' render, and rendered my terrain any resolution I wanted. once it's an image you can photoshop it, and use it for a texture map base.....

Quote - > Quote - It was, it was!  I finally found it,  at the link - it's part 3, now if only I can find parts 1 and 2.

Thanks for the details on this aspect of terrains, Quest.  Handy.

That would be these two threads
Weird "mecanical" terrain map!
Texture (image) and terrain map ( again )

nruddock - you're a Prince!

Very kind (and clever) of you to find that.

Thank you very much for posting the link.

Thanks for making this and linking me to it.