Heights Editor

The Heights Editor [Heights] toolset allows you to modify the ground surface mesh: creating hills, mountains, valleys, ravines, and lowlands on the map.

Heights Editor Tab

The Alt+W key combination toggles the display of the ground surface mesh polygonal grid and switches between polygonal grid display modes.

Heights Brush operation

  • Raising vertices Moving the brush with the Left Mouse Button (LMB) held down raises the vertices of the ground surface mesh.

  • Lowering vertices Moving the brush with the Right Mouse Button (RMB) held down lowers the vertices.

  • Smoothing vertices Moving the mouse while holding the Shift key smooths out the height differences for the vertices of the ground surface mesh that fall within the brush area. This helps create smoother transitions between areas of varying heights.

  • Fixing alignment Moving the mouse while holding the left Alt key fixes the alignment of the vertices to the level of the vertices under the brush area at the moment the Alt key is pressed.

  • Brush size The brush size can be increased and decreased using the Numpad Plus (+) and Numpad Minus (-) keys.

Configuring the Heights brush

Tools for adjusting Heights brush properties

  • Soft-Sharp slider [2.1] Adjusting the slider position achieves the desired degree of softness for the Heights brush:

    • the Sharp position makes the brush hard: all vertices of the ground surface mesh under the brush change height with the same intensity.

    • the Soft position makes the brush soft: the intensity of height change is greater at the center of the brush and gradually decreases towards the edges.

  • Slow-Fast slider [2.2] affects the speed of height change for the vertices.

  • Fixed Height parameters

    • The fixed height [2.3] checkbox locks the alignment level of the ground surface mesh vertices at the specified height, which is set in the field next to it.

    • The fix relative checkbox enables discrete operations for the Heights brush, allowing vertices to be raised by a set height with each LMB click and lowered with each RMB click. The ability to set the brush's discreteness becomes available when the fixed height parameter is enabled and set.

Additional functions of the Heights Editor

Functions for debugging and configuring ground surface mesh
Function name
Purpose

[3.1] heightmap

Debugging tool. Checking this box enables visualization of the Path Planner heightmap with slope angle parameters for each grid cell.

[3.2] Heightmap level

Debugging tool for slope steepness to check terrain passability based on ground surface slope angles.

[3.3] Water altitude

Sea level parameter. Used in the Entity Editor to align entities to the water level.

[3.4] Clip heightmap

"Clip" function. Allows clipping the Heightmap grid to the boundaries of the visible ground surface mesh. Useful after reducing map size using the Polygon Editor.

[3.5] Heightmap by mesh

Synchronize the heightmap grid with the visible ground surface mesh.

Heightmap transfer tools

The Heights Editor tab contains tools for creating map terrain using a topographic map image or Land decal image, as well as transferring the heightmap for the ground surface mesh from one map to another.

Import heightmap

The Import heightmap tool is used to create terrain based on a topographic map. Supported import formats: tga, ebm, bmp, dds, jpg, png.

Heightmap Import tools

Heightmap import instruction

  1. Prepare a heightmap image The heightmap uses a grayscale color scheme:

    • black represents the lowest elevation;

    • white represents the highest;

    • shades of gray indicate intermediate heights.

    The maximum supported image size is 8K, in 8-bit grayscale format, and the image aspect ratio must match the map’s aspect ratio (e.g., 1:1 for square maps).

  2. Set the Import parameters

    • Max height [4.1] - specifies the maximum terrain height in meters. This corresponds to the highest vertex of the ground surface mesh, reflecting the map’s intended design. To convert game height units to meters, use the ratio 1 meter = 20 height units.

    • Zero height [4.2] - defines the gray shade that represents the zero level of the ground surface mesh. By default, black color corresponds to the map’s zero ground surface level. Adjust this parameter for maps with depressions below the zero level, such as lakebeds or other low areas.

  3. Import the heightmap Click Import heightmapbutton [4.4], then select the image file to import.

Export heightmap

The Export heightmap tool allows creating a topographic map based on the terrain of the current map.

Heightmap export tools

Heightmap export instructions

  1. Set the image size by filling in the Image width and Image height [5.1] parameters.

  2. Click Export heightmap [5.2], choose the folder to save the file, and specify the file name.

Land decal

The Land decal [6] tool is used to apply a texture across the entire map, which simplifies the creation of maps based on real-world locations.

Land decal

Working with the Land decal

  1. Preparing the texture

    • Prepare the decal image in one of the supported formats: tga, ebm, bmp, dds, jpg, png.

    • It is recommended to set the image size proportional to the map size. For a 650x650 meter map, use an image size of 650x650 pixels (scale 1:100 m) or 1300x1300 pixels (scale 1:50 m), or according to the site plan.

  2. Saving the texture

    • Save the image in the scene/texture directory. For convenience, you can create a separate folder for decals.

  3. Adding a decal to the map

    • Open the Heights Editor tab.

    • In the Land Decal block, click the Create button to apply the decal to the map.

    • Select the prepared image from the scene/texture directory.

  4. Adjusting the decal

    • Adjust the decal transparency using the Transparency slider to make working with the map easier.

  5. Removing the decal

    • Click the Remove button in the Land Decal block to remove the decal.

Result of applying the Land decal to the map's surface

Derived Heightmaps

The game engine generates several invisible derived heightmaps based on the polygons of the visible ground surface, which are used for calculating various game parameters.

To visualize and toggle through the auxiliary heightmaps, use the Alt+H key combination. Each press cycles through the different heightmaps, and the last press disables the visualization mode.

Map name
Purpose

Visibility heightmap

A colorful grid that follows the contours of the ground surface and the objects located on it. The colors correspond to the visibility blockage height relative to the ground: - blue - up to 0.25m; - purple - 0.25 to 1.25m; - yellow - 1.25 to 2m; - green - 2 to 3m; - red - 3m and above.

Land heightmap

Visualizes the height of the ground surface’s polygonal grid cells. The color of the grid changes based on the minimum and maximum heights. This map is used by the engine for calculations related to ground contact and intersections.

Terrain heightmap

A colorful grid following the terrain's contours, marking the different terrain types. The contour colors are defined by the РР color parameter, while the cell fill colors are determined by the FX color parameter.

Path planner heightmap

Visualizes the heightmap with a focus on the slope angles of each cell relative to the horizon. This same map is displayed when the heightmap checkbox is enabled in the Heights tab of the Height Editor. Colors indicate the slope angle compliance to the chosen level: - blue - equal to or above the specified level; - gray - below the specified level. Used as a terrain passability check tool based on the surface slope angle for Pathfinding calculations.

Flags heightmap

Marks the ground surface with flags, which prohibit certain in-game actions on the marked areas.

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