Hello all. I seem to have run into a problem and could use some suggestions. I have scene with a mountain that is almost complete. The problem is the terrain does not go into the water as much as I want. So I added some large rocks wrapped with the exact same texture and the color is very different and doesn't look the same.

So what I wanted to do is edit the terrain with very precise detail to raise up the land from under the water just enough to do what I wanted. The problem I am having is raising in the right spots. The terrain editor does not seem to have the accuracy I need as it does not show where my objects or water levels are. Is there anyway to show objects on the terrain editor so I can do this? I couldn't find anything in the instructions. Any other method than place a spot, close editor, look, and repeat till just right? Thanks in advance! :)

There's no way to show the objects in the terrain editor, no. It really is a matter of trial and error, and alot of "airbrushing" on it. You can lower it into the water as much as you want by dragging it down, though, but I guess that's not what you mean? You can also adjust the "clip" slider to the right to lower the edges, and then scale or twist it in a viewport. As for your rocks not looking the same with the same material, it's probably because Vue is confused about the altitudes, and world space locations. Make all your materials Object Standard in the material editor, for starters. Also, if you give each material, even if it is the same material, a different name, it will prevent Vue from trying to confuse them. For example, say you have a terrain with a mixture of rock and dirt, and it's called "Rock and Dirt", and the dirt is set to sit on the top of the rock, via the altitude dependence settings. You can have it just right, but if you add a second terrain, or a rock, or whatever to the scene and apply the same material to it, i.e., "Rock and Dirt", Vue will average out the material between all the objects having that material, and they'll all be screwed up. But if you name your other terrain's materials "Rock and Dirt 1", "Rock and Dirt 2", etc., they will still be the same material, yet retain their individual coordinates on their objects. Like I said, setting it all to Object Standard helps too, but doesn't solve the problem. Altering the names slightly does. All you have to do is to add a 1, 2, whatever to the name at the top of the material editor. Hope this makes sense, and sorry I can't help with the terrain location problem...like I said, for me it's always trial and error too. :/

Thanks Mike. Well I give them a shot and still no go. Everything still looks very different. I am thinking the natural shape and texture of the rock vs. the terrain is wrecking havoc with the coloring or something. :)

I tried the trial and error and it is impossible for me to do it just right (correct width and hight and placement). So now I am creating tiny terrains which have the correct texture look and trying to place them in the correct spots. Thanks for the help though! :)

Here is something that worked for me. I went into the terrain editor and put a large peak on each corner of the island. The first peak was the shortest (use a small brush so they can be removed easily later), while the next got a bit taller until I had all 4 of them built. Once this was done I went back into vue and did another render. At this point I could tell which corner was which due to the altitude of the peak at the corner. Once I was done editing, I just went in, and cut them back down to the same height as the terrain around it. If you can't get it just right, just a rock or some dry grass to hide the spot. You can use this for any tricky spot that you want to edit.

Great tip, Buffer! What I usually do is raise the Clip setting high enough so that I can easily make out the shape of the land masses. The clip can always be readjusted afterward. Many different tricks, but bottom line, it would be great if we could see more specific positioning on terrains.

Good ideas. Mix the corner peaks with the clippings and renaming textures and things should be good. :)

Yeah, in future Vue's I would love to see some basic images of items on the terrain editor, or be able to raise and lower the terrain right there in your top views. :)

Yeah, Buffer, that's a great idea, and I never thought about that. You can bet I'll be using it though :) Gppd point too, Night. If they can have the terrain editor in it's own window to do the things it does, why not just biuld that functionality into the viewports? I have no idea what that would take in the programming department but it would seem that since the terrdain editor is already built, it would just be a matter of integrating it into the main app. I dunno...but it sure sounds like it would solve alot of terrain placement headaches!

Yes, it'll be a good improvement if the height of terrain will be displayed for the object you are placing on it. In that case you'll only have to adjust the altitude of the terrain . Or something like that. Yves

Yes, access to terrain verts from the main viewport would be so useful.