small scale terrain generation

[dennis]

i would be a happy guy if someone could help me on this.

i would like to know if some of you know of a workflow or even better some kind of software to generate terrain for a construction site.
what i have is a cad drawing with scattered elevation data or 'kote' as its called here in Denmark ( dunno if elevation data is the correct translation ).
in the end i would like maybe contour lines or grayscale bitmaps or just anything usefull to generate the terrain.

any ideas ?

[priad]

I don't understand all, have you the lines?
If you have it it's simple, terrain object in 3dsmax with the sharped option, then top view and make a zdept with a big size. So put it on photoshop and blur it to have a clean and continuous grey, to finish put it in dreamscape.
Dreamscape make the best terrain meshe!
but pehaps it is not your wish

[dennis]

hey priad,

no unfortunatly i dont have the lines.



attached is a screen dump from acad
all the small red squares represent existing and future height data that has been measured and calculated.
i was wondering how i could use these to generate a terrain by interpolating these points.

i was wondering if anyone had experince with this kind of data, i would think i could download a more dense grid with existing elevation data and add the new ones to make at somewhat precise starting point for the sites terrain.

i think i will just cut out small pieces of terrain that needs elevation and paint the displacement map in bodypaint.

thank you

[priad]

hummm.... If I was you I will rebel to my client. They want always all with nothing
They must have line layout!
You are sure that they aren't hiden on a layer, if no you have the solution of make them yourself but it's a loosetime job.

[Da_elf]

i hate that form of elevations.

[CCS]

Those are called spot elevations. They are used often, but especially in flat areas where contour lines would not work. Many surveyors and engineers in Florida could work their whole careers without seeing contours!

If this is the reason, I wouldn't bother with generating terrain. A plane will likely be good enough. If not, you have two choices: generate a TIN with LDD or similar software, or sharpen your pencil and interpolate contour location by hand.

[dennis]

ok thanks for your answers. will have to look at the software in mention.
your right the elevation changes is not very significant in this case, but they are in others wich dont have contour lines but the 'spot elevations' (gotta remember that term) is always present.

thanks

[yog]

Ah, my area of expertiese at last. I'm primarily a land surveyor who also does the arch-vis work for the architectural department.

These spot elevations (or spot levels as we in the UK call them), aren't instead of contours, they are from what contours are calculated from. The only form of accurate contours are straight line contours, curved contours being interpulated through the spot levels, so have variable accuracy.

If you have access to the surveyor, get them to provide you with a triangulated surface model, it is very easy from survey software, and is actually the middle process of producing the contours (the by-product as it were). The problem might be if you are getting it third hand, i.e. Surveyor->Client->You, in which case the client might be reluctant to go back to the surveyor suspecting it might cost him more money.

For future projects suggest to your client that he request a triangulated surface model as part of any survey they commission, explain how it should not cost anything extra, or at worst a nominal cost.

If this is an autocad drawing and your really stuck, give me a call.

[dennis]

cheers m8.

yes good call, i guess they can even put the future spot levels in their existing database and then generate new terrain data for the site as it will be.

the only thing is the cost, as i am the client ( sold my company to a developer and doing their viz now ), i have to minimize costs now _a lot_.

thanks for your help.