I want to create some landscapes derived from LIDAR data, which is converted to heightmaps via Global Mapper and World Machine. I have watched and read many of the tutorials that cover landscapes in Unreal, and although they are helpful, I haven’t found any mention of setting up landscapes to have 1:1 real world map sizes. So, I have a set of maps which are 2km x 2km, output from WM as 4,096 pixel heightmaps, and each has a specific max elevation. Beyond this, I have landscapes which are between 10km x 10km and 20km x 20km. They need to be accurate representations, and I’m assuming I can set this using the scale fields in Unreal, for landscapes. But tutorials say not to wander off the default 100, especially for x and y.
I have decided to switch over from Unity, for many reasons, though in fact Unity terrains do allow the more obvious setting of how large a map is; setting my 2km square maps simply means typing 2000 into the relevant fields. I get what Unreal is doing, with the optimised quads and sections and components, but it seems to make scaling real world maps quite difficult, particularly when I also might need high res for sculpting paths and ditches. I am trying to understand World Composition, but again the scaling is the same problem.
I’d appreciate any insights, including whether I might be going about this the wrong way; use meshes perhaps, although I understand they are generally lower res and far less performant.
Many thanks.