Hi rhodesy,

I made this with 10 Curves then Loft
and history enabled:

A couple of issues with that - first as you can see your node point that you have pulled up is above the surface and hence can not be relied upon for an accurate height. Second contours and spot heights arent always as even as that and usually curve about on plan which causes problems with moi. It is possible to create some sort of network grid but it is a bit of a pain and not very user friendly. Another problem is when you need to add in straight lined contours which don't play nice with curved ones as the loft can distort the surface.

Thanks for trying though.

Hi rhodesy,

I don't know i you have Rhino but
i found this for you:

http://www.rhinoterrain.com/

http://www.novedge.com/products/3237 $635

Rhino Terrain is awesome and Easy Site ... www.cadeasy.com/content/easy_site/esr.htm ... does a pretty good job, too ... but the catch is, you have to run these inside Rhino

cheers,
eric

Hi Rhodesy,

How are you inputing your contours?

Hi Steve, how do you mean? For now I've just been testing it out with made up contours and found there to be issues with the current tool set but Michael seems to be on the case.

Have you found a good solution?

Most terrain contour maps dont use corner points they use smooth curves. You can get better results with smooth curves.

I think we have to differentiate between different types of terrain contours here. For me I would be looking at localised terrain for buildings to be placed on not canyons and valleys which use only curved contours. When dealing with buildings and landscaping though there is usually a mixture of curves and straights - for example most areas of contact between the building and the landscaping will be hard straight lines not curves. So holding out for a solution that can work for all types of terrain work.

I've been educated. Thanks.

Hi Rhodesy,

I was just wondering what type of contour data you would use as a starting point. For example, would you start with 3d vertex data or DEM data?

I haven't found an easy MoI solution yet, but there are a few good possibilities with other software.

Oh right, generally i just hand plot the levels off a surveyors/architects drawings, a bit old fashioned i know but I find it better to work with if i can plan it from scratch so the fewer node points the better for me. If i could place a simple point in moi with a z-height that would pull the mesh up to that point I would be happy to just plot each spot level by hand, which doesn't take that long when you just plough on with it.

Hi all, i have a question concerning terrain texture. I think i'm going to use the way of working of Paolo to create non existing terrain (Heightmap system is for me more specificaly use to create terrain from real datas). I s there a way to create noise on surface after lofting like this Sketchup plugin ? Thank you. Pierre.

Seems Distort Curves can make random terrain ?



http://moi3d.com/forum/index.php?webtag=MOI&msg=6659.13
By Max Smirnov

So separate your cube and on any 6 faces make some curves...
or recreate direcly a dice with yet curves random
or... many method can be used :)

Random Curves

maybe these approaches for originating 'terrain' or textures might be of interest...

(QGIS mapping software exporting dxf 'lines')
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxCxBREEqG0

(aspire cam - converting raster to 2.5D paths etc)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUDR5X-Cbjo

This looks 'smart' -- http://topotopo.io/ [ Edit: Dont Bother is not working]

Hi grandpi, the NURBS surface type of geometry that MOI is based on is primarily focused on making smooth surfaces, not rough surfaces with small local details in them like you show there. So this type of thing is not really a good fit with MoI, other software like 3D Coat or ZBrush is much more suited and focused on that kind of shaping.

> Is there a way to create noise on surface after lofting like this Sketchup plugin ?

No, not really for applying it after lofting. Probably the best thing to try would be what Pilou shows above with Max's plugin for distorting the curves before you do the loft.

- Michael

Thanks for your replies !

Merci Pilou je vais essaye ! randomCurves est celui que je cherchais ...

Hi Pierre

You could try heightmap with noised grayscale pictures.
You take your original heightmap and add noise with your favorite photoshop or other.
Simple noise could give you non natural micro bumps but if you use a perlin noise layer you will have more natural results.
Test and you will have perhaps what you want.