Enchance Your Terrain With Eye Candy

[HappyTauren]

NOT FINISHED, STILL WORKING ON THIS

This tutorial may help you if you get stuck making your terrain. Just add some "eye candy to help spice it up! Adding special elements really enhances your terrain and makes it more pleasing to the player's eye. Let's get started.

Fog

Fog is available for use in the wc3 engine: it should act as real fog, move as you do and can also be transparent. Here is how you can easily add fog to your terrain.

1. Always set Fog to "Linear." The other two settings will tint the entire terrain 100% so that you dont see terrain at all.
2. This is the value where fog will first appear. I recommend a value of 1000 for first-person maps, 750 for third person maps and 250/500 for bird (normal) perspective. Depending of third field, the fog will be more or less transparent.
3. This is how far will fog disperse and where it will be allowed to fill part of terrain with 100% colour. It's best to set it to 2000/3000/4000/5000, depending on how dense fog you want (2000 is densest)
4. This value doesn't do anything, it seems that it's left there for other two styles "Expotential 1 and 2" which aren't usable at all.
5. This is main field if you want to make fog eye candy. [highlight]{more specific detail needed}[/code]

Sky

Sky is a model that is implemented into every map by default, it is actualy a 6-polygon square that use textures from the wc3 database. All textures can be changed in Scenario >> Map options >> prefs. There is an extra texture called Fogged Sky: this is basicly a white texture that is colorized by the color of your custom fog.

Day Time

Note that the appearance of the game isn't same if you look at the sky and doodads at night or at dawn. Dawn is lighter and Midnight, for example is darker. You go to these options the same way as you select sky: (Scenario >> Map options >> prefs) this is where you can change day-time settings.

• "Dawn" is lightest.
• "Noon" is darker than Dawn.
• "Dusk" is a bit darker than Noon.
• "Midnight" gives a 50% blue tint to units, doodads and sky.

Tiles

Tiles are the main foundation of every terrain and are used as ground textures. There are a maximum of 12 usable texture spaces (tiles with 18 variations use 2 texture spaces), but I recommend WEU to all terrainers, since it allows them to use up to 16 different tiles.

Using Cliffs or maybe NOT?

While using cliffs lets you quickly finish your terrain, it's not always the best way to proceed. For example, when using custom doodads. Now custom doodads are something you might perhaps call "elite," and then when you put cake-layer cliffs all around them... that's not elite. Cliffs can be used very well without custom doodads. To avoid the use of cliffs, you will have to use the tools under the "Apply Height" field in WE's terrain pallete.

• Raise - This tool raises the terrain above its current height.
• Lower - This tool lowers the terrain below its current height.
• Plateau - applies height from the center of the brush to other nearby fields selected by the brush
• Noise - I really don't recommend this tool: since it can't be controlled, use Raise and Lower instead.
• Smooth - Makes all terrain under the brush allign itself to the value that is in middle of the highest and lowest values.

Note: Modern terrainers usually prefer to use the "Apply Height" tools.

Terrain Types

This is the part of tutorial where you will need to use all the knowledge that you've gained so far. Here you will learn what should you do if you want to make a specific type of terrain.
[highlight] { The following section needs to be described more clearly and in much greater detail}[/code]
Format is: Terrain Type | Sky | RGB Fog | Tiles |

Elven Forest | Fogged/Fellwood | (111,37,131 Purple),(70,160,255 Azure Blue) | Ashenvale Vines, Ashenvale Grass, Ashenvale Dirt, Ashenvale Rough Dirt, Ashenvale Lumpy Grass, Ashenvale Leaves, Village Thick Grass, Lordaeon Summer Rocks, Lordaeon Summer Dark Grass |Desert |

 

[Wolverabid]

This is helpful, but rather brief. Since you are still working on it, I will suggest:

• Check your spelling: therm wich apperiance eyecandy
• Detach your signature from this tutorial; it's hilarious, but unneeded here.

 

[Craka_J]

I'm good with everything, but the only part that I find difficult in terraining is finding the right fog distances and trying to find good colors like tan;peach;brown;etc.

 

[Xarwin]

Hmm, this is pretty usefull for beginners.
What about adding screenshots so they can see what the effects are?

~- Fl4meS

 

[Lunatechnick]

This is helpful, but rather brief. Since you are still working on it, I will suggest:

• Check your spelling: therm wich apperiance eyecandy
• Detach your signature from this tutorial; it's hilarious, but unneeded here.

oh no! wolf has been Bottified

 

[Wolverabid]

HappyTauren are you still working on this tutorial?

The document is still rather brief, can you add some additional content or go into greater detail?

Fl4meS has made a good point. Could you capture some vivid screenshots from one of your 1337 terrains and include them in this tutorial to provide eye candy?

This is part of tutorial for which you will need all knowledge you've gained before. Here you will see what should you do if you want to make specific type of terrain.

Format is: Terrain Type | Sky | RGB Fog | Tiles |

Elven Forest | Fogged/Fellwood | (111,37,131 Purple),(70,160,255 Azure Blue) | Ashenvale Vines, Ashenvale Grass, Ashenvale Dirt, Ashenvale Rough Dirt, Ashenvale Lumpy Grass, Ashenvale Leaves, Village Thick Grass, Lordaeon Summer Rocks, Lordaeon Summer Dark Grass |

Desert |

This portion of the tutorial is very unclear and should be explained with much greater detail.


You have corrected most of the spelling errors but there are still some minor difficulties with the grammar and punctuation, I'd be glad to help.

Please update your Enchance your terrain - tutorial. I would like to get the » Tutorial Submission « forum cleaned up within the next couple of weeks; contact me via PM if you have questions or require any assistance.

 

[Wolverabid]

Please update your Enchance your terrain - tutorial. I would like to get the » Tutorial Submission « forum cleaned up within the next couple of weeks; contact me via PM if you have questions or require any assistance.

Um... that was a couple of MONTHS ago.

I'm going to dig a hole, toss this thread in, and cover it up: you can always edit the corpse while it's buried two meters deep.

~ Thread moved to Graveyard.