Outputting in Fractal Terrains? Tips needed

[Greason Wolfe]

Have you tried upping your Editing resolution, that might help some. As far as maximum resolution goes for outputting, I, for the most part, don't run much above about 512 to 513 pixels (the last box in the defining section) since I usually set my output up for import into Terragen. The best recommendation I could offer would be no more than 3 Map Levels set at 2 by 2 with no overlap and a resolution right around 500 px. That will give you a halfway decent number of files to work with (32 at the greatest depth) with each one being exported at a 2:1 ratio (i.e. 500px by 250 px). That should keep things looking fairly good (clean) but give you enough enlargement to be fairly visible as well.

As an extreme alternative, you could zoom in on your world in the editing window, do a screen capture, use the "hand" tool to move your point of view, do a screen capture . . . etc and then a bit of editing work in you imaging software for a much higher detail map since the editing window doesn't degrade until you start getting in extremely close to the surface. I've done this, at times, when I needed something a little more specific for import into Terragen, but it can be a real pain.

GW

[Girltron]

yep I'm exporting at a much higher resolution but fewer levels. I'm not at all sure I understand what this means. It looked to ME at first glance that the higher the levels, the more little grid components one has to stitch together. Which is a pain. But if I'm understanding this right, will that allow me a better image quality?

Your screen shot method = wow, laborious. Finding the matching edges of each segment would be unpleasant.

[Greason Wolfe]

yep I'm exporting at a much higher resolution but fewer levels. I'm not at all sure I understand what this means. It looked to ME at first glance that the higher the levels, the more little grid components one has to stitch together. Which is a pain. But if I'm understanding this right, will that allow me a better image quality?

That means your individual images will be physically larger, but there will be fewer of them to stitch together. Again, the exact image quality will depend on just how high a resolution you are using. I've found that anything above about 800 px tends to start degrading quickly while somewhere between 500 and 600 is usually still fairly good looking, but you will have to experiment a bit to see what suits your quality tastes.

Your screen shot method = wow, laborious. Finding the matching edges of each segment would be unpleasant.

Yes, very much so. Unfortunately, Terragen imports specific sized images for rendering and I prefer not to have to resize them and lose details in relation to roughness of the landscape. What makes this even more difficult is that they have to be in greyscale which can be hard to see at times. Ahhh, the price I pay for using Terragen.

GW

[Girltron]

OK thank you, I'll keep this in mind.

[Greason Wolfe]

Most welcome. Hope all this helps you out.

GW