Editing in L3DT with your satImage

[spookygnu 563]

Step 1:

 

Download l3dt pro trial for 90 days or get the standard free or even pay for the full version. Then install it and run it.

 

Find your image.  Open it in photoshop and change the image size in pixels to what your map is. As an example If it is 10240x10240 you need to scale it down to 1024x1024, you are basically taking the zero of the end from what ever scale your image is.

 

Save it as a bmp! 

 

 

 

Step 2:

 

Import your terrain to L3DT

 

if you have you terrain in TB already, Open your map project in tb and go file export terrain. Export it as an asc file to your desktop.

 

Open l3dt and go file/import. Import the heightfield from tb that you put on you desktop.

 

You dont need to change any values it should import exactly as it is from tb.

 

 

 

Step 3:

 

Importing your sat

 

Now to put your sat in. It is real easy to do. But you wont get high res like tb.

 

File/import/new map layer 

 

Give it a name. I normally call my "satImage"

 

Find the image you resized to "xxxx X xxxx" and change the drop list to rgb colour click ok.

 

 

 

Step 4:

 

Viewing the Image in Sapphire

 

Go to the 3D button ( far right on the tool bar in L3DT).

 

You should have a green terrain.

 

Step 4a:

 

Go to options/terrain/new texture layer

 

Select the map layer you named previously for your sat image.

 

Your sat should be in l3dt, looks great doesn't it? You can move your camera around the map as per normal in L3DT.

 

Forward = W

Back = S

Up = E

Down = R 

 (these can be remapped)

zoom + pan = mouse and scroll wheel. 

 

Press 'h' to bring up the editing brushes.

 

Your sat will go. But do the process again from "Step 4a" while your editing brushes are open. You can now edit terrain using the sat as a reference.

 

Adding Water

 

To put water on the map, close the 3d viewer and to operations on the tool bar. Select water map and click ok through all the pop up windows. Let it generate the water the when do go back to 3d view. You will need to go to options again and apply the sat tex.

 

Everytime you go in and out of the 3d view you will need reapply the sat tex in 3d view. If your sat disappears at any point just repeat the process from step 4a whilst in 3D view.

 

It really is a simple as that. 

[RoF 241]

I think you can use 8192x8192 size image in L3DT Pro, bigger than that seems to mess it up for me.

[spookygnu 563]

it may do! I haven't tried yet, but you do no matter what need to make sure your sat image is the same size as your heightmap for this to work correctly or you get a weird stripe effect.

[tazmania720 16]

I learned this little trick a while back.  This helps out so much!