Real world map

[anonymous_user_bf9d1279]

hi,
can the unreal engine render real world terains, by i mean, srtm heightmap + geolocalised imagery (satellite images)

[anonymous_user_923c79df]

You will have to extract a heightmap. Probably will still work: https://forums.epicgames/threads/607176-Tutorial-Importing-Detailed-Terrain-from-Google-Earth

[anonymous_user_bf9d1279]

yep,i see post,but I need to know:its possible to add geolocalised imagery (satellite images)?

[anonymous_user_923c79df]

Yes -> e.g when you have extracted the heightmap from google maps you could also take a picture of the surface and then just import it - create a material - assign it to the landscape - scale it up or down

[anonymous_user_bf9d1279]

Ok,thx i will try.You can to do an tutorial?please,it would be nice because its very good mode to make a real and beautiful map.

[anonymous_user_bf9d1279]

Can you make that?please.

[anonymous_user_923c79df]

Sorry, but I never made something like that (I just told you the theory) I normally do “realistic” looking landscapes with world machine/terresculptor

[anonymous_user_bf9d1279]

okay,but I need to do a real place not a random.anyway thank you.

[anonymous_user_923c79df]

Yep, with the upper link you should be abel to do that -> you can find more about such techniques on the web, but I just posted link because I can still remember it from my UDK times

[anonymous_user_0df12f74]

Have a look at thread, I replied to it a few posts down and detailed how I went about , it was done using NASA data from their website. You will need to scale the height map down and adjust brightness, but it does work!

https://forums.unrealengine/showthread.php?20217-World-Height-Map!!-For-everyone-who-needed-it&highlight=world+height+map

EDIT Below is the quote from the other thread about how is done:

@;99361

If you want a specific area and like me want it to be much higher detail than the worldwide file, then on map (link below) create a free account, then can create a rectangle selection, and it will process an image for that area and the detail is beyond awesome! (The link provided here is also on the same page as the link in OP, link to “LP DAAC Global Data Explorer”):

://gdex.cr.usgs.gov/gdex/

A few notes:
-There may be small errors in the image, I have a small pixel sized white area in my image, not hard to fix though.
-You will have to adjust the brightness, it comes back very dark.
-Still trying to find the legal fine print, but hopefully is not an, it is freely available to anyone that signs up. **** - See below the image for the official word!!!

First try I kept the default settings, set to “GeoTiff” and got a MASSIVE tif file ~115mb… make sure you define a small area! Try doing an entire country and your download will be crazy big and will take forever to process, never mind download (the image below is the area around Vancouver BC, Canada, map zoomed in as far as it will go).

Here’s a screenshot of the file I downloaded as a test, note that is 15% zoom of the full size image:

&stc=1

Pretty cool hey?!?

Looks like as long as you acknowledge & cite them it’s ok to use:

“Distribution of LP DAAC data sets is funded by NASA’s Earth Science Data Systems program. These data are not copyrighted; however, in the event that you publish NASA data or results derived by using LP DAAC data products, we request that you include an acknowledgment and citation.”

See for more details: https://lpdaac.usgs.gov/about/citing_lp_daac_and_data

Let me know if you need some help with it, I have assess on my end set up, so if you need a particular area of the world, I can also extract the height map you are looking for, and then give it to you through a file sharing site (like dropbox).

And by the way, don’t use the GoogleEarth assets as they are copyrighted (unless you pay for reach of the photos you need so you won’t run into issues later, such as if you try to sell a game where the terrain is based off of their imagery but as the detail stated above, you are authorized by the LP DAAC to use any of the images in any way, so long as you give them a credit and or citeated in your end game credits.

Hope helps out! and let me know if you need any help getting it set up!