Terrain?!?!?!

[mskin]

Im having a problem with a terrain model. I typically work with non-complex site models, and the site contours translate pretty well into 3d studio max. Now, however, my site has some drop-offs, swails and things like that. when i bring the contours into max i get some pretty outrageous results. See the picture of the contours and how they translate to a terrain model attached. I've even tried making the contours in 3d max with splines, but i get the same results.... Does anyone know what im missing here?

[Bugga_Guy]

You may want to try adding some more vertecies within the splines

 

Or another option is to use the cross-section tool then apply a surface modifier. It may get you better results - if you know how to use it properly.

[bavanor]

Do you want the stepped look you have currently? Or do you want the terrain to be smooth?

 

If smooth, and you have SketchUP, I would import the contour lines into SketchUp, select them and use the From Contours command in the sandbox tools. this will create and nice smooth terrain. I would then export the model out as a 3ds file.

 

Aaron

[Devin Johnston]

You could add a smooth modifier to the geometry which will even it out.

[Sawyer]

I really don't like the way the terrain tool makes meshes. But one way to create clean meshes from a terrain mesh is to create a plane with many subs (Maybe 50x50 but that is something you need to figure out). Then use the conform tool to drape this plane over the terrain. Now you have a site with a logical clean surface.

[Andrew Schroeder]

Do your contours have coincident vertices (in the XY plane)? Where you have a wall, are the countours you're using stacked exactly ontoop of eachother, or is there a *slight* angle to the wall?

 

Try moving the vertices such that the slope of the wall is almost 90 degrees, something like 89.9 degrees. That is a trick used in civil software to avoid certain tessellation problems.

[mskin]

Andy,

Thanks. Having the vertexes stacked ontop of wach other was definately throwing some funky results back at me. My terrain is working much better now thanks to your advice.

[Nic H]

Sawyers terrain conform method is good, I do it quiet a bit to eliminate the stupid and awful triangular meshes that get thrown out by terrain tool.

[Andrew Schroeder]

Happy to help, glad to see the years of Civil paying off...

[Quique]

Hello,

This is my attempt at the suggested method of using the conform compound object (see attachment). I'm having a problem in that my new object has both it's rectangular edges (originally a plane with many subdivisions) and new edges which are just like my terrain object. As such there are many coincident faces with this object. Any suggestions to retain only the rectangular edges? I tried to turn it into an editable mesh to see if there was more than one material id, but it's all the same.

 

Thanks,

 

quique

[Sawyer]

convert to editable poly and extract element should give you a pretty nice mesh.

[Quique]

Sawyer,

 

Thanks for the tip, it worked. That's what I was trying to do when selecting by material id, but I guess I was confused.