Cleaning up a Terrain object made from AutoCAD contours

[windrockwater]

So i typically import my topograhy from AutoCAD into 3dsmax. Then i create a Terrain object which I can then convert to a poly to work with. However, the terrain always makes a fairly cumbersome mesh with many very long triangulated faces that Max doesnt like. Can anyone recommend a method to either clean up the terrain or the resulting mesh? Maybe drape or cloth on top of the triangulated mesh? Or maybe a different way (script, plugin, etc.) for generating a landscape ground mesh starting with topograhic contours (in 3d-Z space) from a land survey map?

[Dariusz Makowski (Dadal)]

U can...add tesselate... and then tesselate again... and then relax...and then pro optymizer to lower the detail... and wuaila... weird way to get it right... Other than that, bake a Displacement map, smooth it a bit and use as Displacement modifier on plane ?

[windrockwater]

So I tried that and it seems pretty good. But a question...Why tesselate and not just go straight to ProOptimize? Is it to increase the accuracy of the resulting 'optimized' mesh?

[sea2stars]

I usually just Conform a plane over the resulting terrain object. I'll also hit the topo with a Normalize Spline before creating the Terrain object.

[tricky]

I usually just Conform a plane over the resulting terrain object.

Second that. Works a treat.

[Dariusz Makowski (Dadal)]

Can u guys explaint that a bit more ?


Tesselate coz I dont know how even is ur model... if u bat topology then tesselate and pro opty might even it up a bit...

[windrockwater]

SO....

Import AutoCAD contour lines...normalize spline modifier (1 segment length only)...create terrain object...convert to poly....ProOptimize (25%).

Does that sound right? it seems pretty good. The normalize spline seems to help create a more normal looking mesh. Good tip! I end up setting Pro optimize to as low as 25% and it seems good without changing too much of the mesh.

[Neilg]

Create plane... add edit poly, shift & drag the edges. Repeat for a bit, then add a meshsmooth.
You can get it done suprisingly quick once you figure out how much detail you actually need and where.

[Franx]

What I do :

Import contour lines, apply terrain compound.
Create a plane with needed subdivs and put it over the terrain object.
Then use below script to project plane on terrain (Found it works better than the Conform object in Max)
You get a perfectly topologized surface that is much easier to work with than the polygon mess produced by the Terrain compound object.

http://www.scriptspot.com/3ds-max/scripts/topoproject

[sea2stars]

Sweet link. I'll have to give that a try.

[windrockwater]

What I do :

Import contour lines, apply terrain compound.
Create a plane with needed subdivs and put it over the terrain object.
Then use below script to project plane on terrain (Found it works better than the Conform object in Max)
You get a perfectly topologized surface that is much easier to work with than the polygon mess produced by the Terrain compound object.

http://www.scriptspot.com/3ds-max/scripts/topoproject

Awesome tip. Very cool! It works like a charm. Took a little trial and error for me. I will have to check for accuracy but it looks close. If nothing else, the resulting quad mesh instead of triangulated mesh is much easier to look at. Ha. Just look at the screen capture...

[Dariusz Makowski (Dadal)]

Where u guys get the terrain from? Is there maybe some database for it?

[windrockwater]

A terrain is a Max compound object that is made from imported AutoCAD polylines (at least thats how I use it). You can draw the polylines manualy and then import them into max...

[plastic_]

I shouldn't be teasing, but I can't help myself
Here is something I'm working on:

[Morne]

I shouldn't be teasing, but I can't help myself
Here is something I'm working on:

As in a script that does it like a 1 click button? Or as in a project?