Hill and Dale Roads

Obergefreiter · Post by **Obergefreiter** » Mon Nov 10, 2003 11:17 pm

I have read the excellent tutorial on using Patch mesh for making curved roads. X-Y vertices stretches are pretty easy but I want to make roads that go up - down - winding back and forth like in Spearhead Winter maps. Are these roads patch-mesh that have been stretched or rotated in the X-Y and Z axis?? To complicate it further I want to make the roads concave like they're well worn paths. Every attempt I have made to make a highly contoured map have been frustrating. I would love to hear thoughts on getting away from the 'flat map'.

Also, I still have some problems lining up vertices so that there are no gaps between meshes any suggestions??? Can they be overlapped???

Post by **Bjarne BZR** » Mon Nov 10, 2003 11:43 pm

Try this: http://www.planetmedalofhonor.com/rjuka ... _mesh.html

If its of no help: ask again.

smartaiguy · Post by **smartaiguy** » Tue Nov 11, 2003 12:17 am

Try using that tut, its very good.

If you set the grid to "1" you can press "v" and drag the verticies to line them up properly. You should have 1 vertex lined up with each adjacent vertex.

XY Top view

Code: Select all


vv                 v



      vv                    v



v                 vv                   v

v=vertex
That's a very crude ASCII drawing but it should help

Aslong as each vertex is lined up with exactly 1 other vertex there'll be no gaps or overlaps.

Also you should be able to go into the XZ and YZ views and drag the verticies down to create your ruts or whatever you needed.[/code]

Obergefreiter · Post by **Obergefreiter** » Tue Nov 11, 2003 12:22 am

Thats the excellent tutorial I have followed as well as one on Mansteins Level Design site. I am trying to make a map with twisting, steep alleyways between buildings that have been built into rolling hillsides. (Think Italian villages) I need to make the patches go up and down as well as writhe and wriggle.

I laid my village out in the TOP view on a level plane. I imagined my buildings to be narrow and angular following the natural contours of the earth like the way a small town just keeps adding onto itself. Most buildings are not square and many are attached to each other making for lotsa sharp corners and oblique angles.

If I left the map flat it would be OK but I want it to be like a REAL Italian village where you turn a corner and there is another alley. Follow that alley and there are two more - one goes up and the other down. Otherwise it feels like a rat-maze.

In essence I am trying to build the alleys between my buildings, make them rise and fall, twist and turn, then elevate the buildings to follow the alleys. Does this make any sense??? I was thinking of Verschneit only many more and narrower alleys.

If you understand what I'm trying to do then maybe you can suggest a step by step process for me to create patches that create natural rises all seamlessly flowing together. LOD terrain was one route I followed but the buildings sit at many varied angles which means I cant just delete triangles and I didnt want alot of LOD under my buildings. Patch meshes seem to be the best way but ooh-la-la I'm frustrated by my own imagination!!!!

smartaiguy · Post by **smartaiguy** » Tue Nov 11, 2003 12:26 am

I get what your saying. Like I said you can drag verticies up and down on the side views to create slopes on the road. Next you have to put end caps on the sides other wise it looks like a 2d floating road. Just line these up with the road on the XY and slope wise.

Post by **Bjarne BZR** » Tue Nov 11, 2003 1:02 am

Use patch mesh, set the grid to 8 or 16 BEFORE you start and you should have no problem. Try to bend each mesh in such a way as to create as few tiangles as possible with them... you have to experimet with that, but basically: create the look first and optimize them afterwards.

smartaiguy · Post by **smartaiguy** » Tue Nov 11, 2003 1:26 am

Doh!

I forgot about that, sorry.

You should definetaly start off with 8 or 16 for the basic look then fine tune it under 1.

Starting off with grid set on "1" you'll get bunches of triangles.

small_sumo · Post by **small_sumo** » Tue Nov 11, 2003 2:11 am

I'm not sure of this is correct cos I fumbled through on my own steam, no tuts back then. I drag sellect the verts I want (after pressing V) and then sellect rotate if needed or just drag em where I want, I keep the grid at 8 or 16 and after rotateing or anything like that I press control G to snap to grid, then I copy iether an original patch I made, or the one I am useing and push it into place, rotate if I want to, press control G if I did and then I can match up my verts every time cos I relock them after any rotateing.

I hope this helps.

Post by **Bjarne BZR** » Tue Nov 11, 2003 8:04 am

Listen to sumo children, he got some mad skillz.