Fractal Terrains PRO: .Bin files

[Patrakis]

There is an option in FT PRO when you want to make a new world and that is through the use of a .bin file containing your elevation data.

I was wondering if anyone could help me with this as i would like to create a .bin file of my world using grayscale or elevation data.

Anyone has an idea how to create a .bin data file. I don't think it's a .BIN file like the image file we can create using software like POWER ISO for exemple.

Any help would be appreciated.

Pat

[Sigurd]

Others on the site can be more useful but....

I think the BIN in this file is just a short form for 'binary' there are hundreds of different formats that this could represent. I'd suggest posting detailed info of what you want to accomplish.

Joe Slayton, who wrote FTpro, is around here pretty frequently and is very helpful. If you are very clear with what you want the people here are great.

What program do you want to plug the bin files into? Every damn program I've seen wants something different. Wilbur, also by Joe, and Fractal Terrains work very well together. Sometimes your best solution is one, or t'other, or both.


Sigurd

[Patrakis]

More clearly...hmmm...ok.

I want to import my world in Fractal Terrain PRO. Well it's not exactly my world but a version of the Forgotten Realms i'm making. The only way i can see doing this is by having a binary file of my world. I'd like for someone to explain to me the process of creating a binary data set of my world. I don't know what it takes. I know that there are binary files of elevation data that is on the FR Pro CD but those are from our world. I want to make elevation files of my world and transfer them in a ,bin file to load in FR RPO.

That's about as clear as i can be, being a non english speaking guy

Pat

[Sigurd]

Your english is fine. I'm sorry if I sounded brusk.

The important thing to share is the format of the world you want to export. What program was 'your world' built in?

Does that program offer export file formats and what are they? The nature and compatibility of those formats are what you want to determine. The format goes far beyond the extension name.

Is it a CC3 file?

Sigurd

[Patrakis]

It was originally made with Illustrator. So it's all vectorial.

Pat

[NeonKnight]

Ralf Schemmann has a tutorial on his Jhendor Website to show how to go into Fractal Terrains:

http://www.jhendor.de/cc2/tutorials.html

[Redrobes]

Firstly, if Waldronate posts then take his word over mine but heres my best guess.

FT can export a binary file which is a grid of values. FT has the option of what type of values it exports as either signed 16bit integers (shorts) or floats. When its export the width in samples is entered and I believe that this is not saved as part of the data so you need to know the value.

The guess part is what happens on import because I don't use or own FT but I expect that it will ask for the bin filename and also the number of samples width and the type of data that the bin file relates to - or there is a master terrain type file which references the bin file and contains this extra data for you.

Its a long shot that you could get another program to export your terrain into this format directly so you will probably need to use an in between program or program it yourself. I suspect that going via a grayscale image would be easiest tho.

Have you looked at Wilbur too ? If there is a program that could export to this format then thats the one to look at first.

[NeonKnight]

Have you looked at Wilbur too ? If there is a program that could export to this format then thats the one to look at first.

Funny you say Wilbur, but that is also Joe Slayton's baby, and the engine off which Fractal Terrains is written. (And I can't remember if you knew that)

[Redrobes]

Funny you say Wilbur, but that is also Joe Slayton's baby, and the engine off which Fractal Terrains is written. (And I can't remember if you knew that)

Yes, I knew that which is why I think it would be the first port of call for a program that might interface to FT. I don't use FT because I really don't need to but I have used Wilbur. Its a great program. I haven't used many of its features but as a conversion tool it worked out great for me.

[Patrakis]

I will look into Wilbur and see how it can help me. Meanwhile, i'll wait and see if MR FR will respond to my query

Pat