I tried to make my own height map and it worked out ok, but for some reason there is a huge wall on 2 of the 4 sides of the map.
I can’t seem to find anything free that translates png 8 bit to 16 bit. I did save it as a grayscale raw in gimp, but that didn’t seem to change anything. The map itself is fine but I don’t know why the wall thing is there.
Also is there a setting that doesn’t do lighting when you’re editing, I some areas of the map are too dark to edit.
looks like your heightmap was just a tad different in size to what UE4 imports them as, then it tries to compensate for the difference and creates extra terrain.
At least this has been my experience in the past.
Make the heightmap one of the default resolutions that UE supports… for example…
Overall Resolution: 8161 X 8161.
If your using photoshop, Select your layer. Goto edit > Image size > set it to 8161 x 8161 pixels. Save it and import that heightmap. Shouldnt create any extra terrain then
Is there a list of standard resolution sizes?
I wanted to have map sizes no bigger than like a shaiya map so people with average computers can play.
Would the map size of the world have an impact on that? Or does it just load information when it gets within a certain distance from the character anyway?
Also does each pixel basically represent a square meter by default?
Hey, Glad to hear it fixed your problem. map size does have a performance impact, however if you use LODs to only load what is around you within a certain distance it shouldnt have any effect. Another option is level streaming.
1cc = 1cm is as far as i know is the default, however each pixel ? surely that is to small to measure in a 3d world ? lol It took me awhile to get used to the sizes in the UE4 engine despite how easy it actually is.
Thx for the additional reading. It might take a minute to sink in, but I’ll get there.
In regards to the pixels, I meant how much area does each pixel in a height map represent.
It seems like 1 meter based on what I’ve experimented with so far.
The reason I’m wondering that is I like to map out things on grid paper, so knowing how big things are to scale helps, especially in terms of laying out buildings and towns.
I’ve been playing with the terrain editor and it’s very fun.
Once I et the height maps down, it will be hard to pull myself away from it to learn other aspects of Unreal.
Ahh sorry now i understand. I’ve had far to little sleep this week due to doing animations
Best thing to do is concentrate on a single part of UE till your comfortable with it. Ive learnt the hard way going backwards and forwards learning it and only now have just put something semi-playable together since i first joined!
Another way of possibly mapping something out is to do what I do. Import your height map and go into Orthographic top view, zoom out and then change wiremode to lit mode. Then screenshot that into Photoshop. That way you have your map in view. Although this will only work if your happy with your landscape first
One thing I haven’t been able to figure out yet is how to drop a texture on the landscape as a single image, vs as something that keeps tiling.
To me this would be huge, because you could modify the landscape using the image as a guide.
Also, you would be able to place images where buildings would go, etc. and adjust the terrain accordingly.
Then once done, you could remove the texture.
I would like to make better use of the space on the map.
It seems like a lot of games with worlds make big maps, but most of the world is inaccessible or its just scenery.
Maybe they do it to spread people out so less strain on the server or something.
I just like the way a lot of the older games made better use of less space.
But that requires a high degree of control over the landscape.
So I’m wrestling with ways to find that control.
I don’t have photoshop, but I’ve been playing around with gimp a bit too, so I’ll try your technique.
Instead of a single texture try painting textures on your landscape for where you want buildings to go :). Just sounds easier then editing a single texture constantly
During the heightmap import, your x and y scale values (which default to 100) determine what one pixel represents. If you left them at 100 and 100, then you are correct, one pixel would represent 1 meter. If you change those values to 50 and 50, then one pixel would represent 1/2 meter. 200 x 200 would represent 2 meters per pixel.
The z value determines the height scaling, but there is much more complicated math involved in that conversion. I found a link a while ago that explained it (I’ll look for it later and post it if I can find it again), but in the end it was just easier to tweak the value until I got the height/slope look I was going for.
Thx for the confirmation kirk. It seems like the pixel height-wise depends on the shade and like each shade color step is like 2 meters, at least with the grayscale I’ve been using.
Mr.Wilson, the biggest reason I want the single map texture is to have a strong degree of control over what would go where. I could just ballpark it, but that would mean more deviations from the original plan. I’m not the most organized person begin with and I get distracted easily with new ideas.
I’m thinking there must be a simple way to have to just drop the texture on the plane that I just don’t know about.
