bLandscapeTools Tabs

Project Settings

Project Folder

Let you set up a folder where your project will saved. Project file is simply a Blender file(*.blend), named by project folder. If your folder is called for example TestMap then the project file is called Project_TestMap.blend

Engine

Let you select a final engine your landscape will be exported to. Currently supported one is:

• RV engine
  • Bohemia Interactive's Arma series, DayZ, TakeOnHelicopters
  • Bohemia Interactive Simulation's VBS 1, VBS 2, VBS 3

Every engine has its own way of handling(rendering) its terrain components, therefore bLT has to know in advance what kind of terrain structure it will has to create.

Create Button

Once Project folder is defined bLT enables the button. Pressing this button bLT creates a project file as well as the Output and ProjectData folders in Project folder.

For example:

• TestMap\
  • Output\
  • ProjectData\
    • Textures\
• Project_TestMap.blend

Data Source

In this tab user sets up sources necessary for the following work. Both terrain texture and terrain heightmap can be stored anywhere on your HD.

This tab is enabled once a project has been created or disabled if there's at least one location imported, in other words, user is not allowed to change source data while there may be still some uncommitted changes.

Terrain Texture

This texture will be mapped on terrain mesh. If terrain texture is not being provided user is still allowed to import a location without a texture.

When user clicks the Accept button in file browser, bLT creates a preview image which will be used in the 2D map while selecting a location. If texture's resolution is:

• < 5000x5000px - texture is just copied and renamed to ProjectData\Texture\previewSatTex.png
• > 5000x5000px - texture is resized to 5000x5000px at first and then copied and renamed to ProjectData\Texture\previewSatTex.png. Because of resizing, texture has to be loaded into memory and this process may take a longer time, depending on the resolution of original texture and user's HW setup

Supported formats

Height and width of a texture must be the same(eg. 12000x12000 px). Currently there's no check in code for that.

Terrain Heightmap

Heightmap is used to add an elevation to a grid based mesh. It is mandatory to have a heightmap set to import a location!

When user clicks the Accept button in file browser, bLT creates a preview image in the form of a shaded relief which will be used in the 2D map while selecting a location. Preview image is stored in ProjectData\Texture\previewTerTex.tif in the resolution of the original heightmap.

Once heightmap is defined, '+' icon in the Locations Manager tab gets enabled, what allows user to import a location.

Currently supported is the ARC/INFO ASCII GRID(*.asc) only.

RV engine(Arma series, DayZ) supports only 256x256, 512x512, 1024x1024, 2048x2048, 4096x4096 resolution of a heigthmap.

RV engine(VBS series) supports arbitrary resolutions, but it still must be a square(eg. 3000x3000)

Locations Manager

Locations Manager allows a user to import, commit or remove a location. This tab is enabled once a project has been created.

What's a location?

Location is a fraction of original landscape(or game world) in which a user is about to make a change.

Why locations?

Blender doesn't provide a terrain(landscape) component that users are familiar with in Unity or UE4. These are well performing structures able to change LODs based on distance as well as working well while sculpting the terrain. This doesn't apply to Blender.

Therefore the idea of locations made into bLT. It allows to import only the part of a landscape that user needs to work on. With this approach user can enjoy good performance while editing terrain or placing up objects into a location. User may have more than one location imported, but they can't overlap! In the following release there's going to be a visualization(while selecting a location) to see what location(s) are 'occupied' so user won't import a part of location already imported and thus prevents work overwriting.

Note that user is allowed to import the whole landscape, but this may cause performance issues(or crashes) while importing and working with location. Performance depends on heightmap resolution and user's hardware setup, everyone will find 'its' limits quite easily. A test when 2048x2048 heightmap and 15360x15360px terrain texture was imported as a one big location(without objects of course) passed on i7-6700@3.40GHz, 16GB RAM, NVIDIA GTX 970. The location got imported in ~50 seconds and performance in the 3D viewport was feasible.

Terrain Editing

Location/Object(s) Appearance

bLTilities