Help with Winter Scenery Terrain

[Tsaras]

Terraining maps wasn't a priority for me until recently so I'm quite inexperienced when it comes for me to make a good looking terrain. For this new project I'm on, I want it to have the terrain aspect on it's best potential so I need help now at the beginning of it.

My map is based on winter/snow/ice etc terrain. I need some help with some samples of winterlike terrain with doodads and everything or some tips into how to start making the terrain. Cause I always find it difficult to start something; in the process it becomes easier.

Tips, thoughts, examples plz

 

[TheBlooddancer]

I maed dis 4 u

Snowscape

 

[Tsaras]

Thanks a lot for the effort, I can get an idea of how to start off the terrain and connect the environment items in a way now. But I need more in order to get ready to build a 256x256 map :O

Man you rock, more stuff like this please

 

[TheBlooddancer]

Its something i made long time ago. You can try to finnish the style.
BTW, you should download the UTM (Ultimate Terraining Map)
It has lots of custom doodads, and such.

 

[Tsaras]

I downloaded it but I am lost I don't know what to begin with, I've made some good looking terrain but now that it comes for me to add environment stuff including trees or anything else I can't find ideas. That's where I need the help

 

[TheBlooddancer]

You might wanna read this then.
It teaches what you need.

 

[~Void~]

I have one in my gallery that you might like.

http://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/f267/voids-terrain-gallery-104437/

 

[Tsaras]

So I made my try for the beginning terrain of the map. It is supposed to be the first path into the winter forest that the hero will take. what I did is read a terraining guide that uses the smallest sized brush to make natural looking terrain and built up some terrain. Then I tried to add the trees and rocks but I think I can make it loads better than it is now.

Also I'm missing out the correct fog and the sky isn't displayed ingame

About the ground textures I would like it to a more friendly environment as it is the very beginning of the adventure and the place would better seem more peaceful, if you understand what I mean but that's of secondary importance.

This is what I got so far through 2 screenies.


One last thing: I'm using Icecrown Glacier textures and it's 1 or 2 empty places, if someone could guide me to a grassy-like texture that goes well with snowy and icy scenes.


EDIT: Erm I'm quite new to this forum so I can't manage the attachments very well someone help me with that too plz
(removed false attachments)

 

[Gilles]

When you take a screenshot, paste it into paint, crop the edges, and save it as PNG. Then upload it.

 

[Tsaras]

OK so I edited the scene a little and I'm uploading the new screeny the right way

Take your eyes off the crystal and judge the rest of the picture

 

[Gilles]

Don't show the end of the world like that. Use more small plant doodads like grass and shrubs. The tile variation and height variation are pretty good.

 

[Tsaras]

Actually it's not the end of the world cause I'm gonna build the path according to my RPG plot.
I will add some more small plants and will upload when it's ready. What about a grass-like texture that fits in my terrain, is there any?


EDIT: I'm uploading the terrain now using few scattered grass doodads and mass grass doodads.

 

[Eleandor]

green grass on snow is weird... At least put it on non-snowy ground or make it white-ish

 

[Tsaras]

green grass on snow is weird... At least put it on non-snowy ground or make it white-ish

Yes that's what I want but how can I make it white-ish or is there any other kind of grass-like doodads that go well with snow?

 

[~Void~]

I'd say you use <too many> doodads, and bad choices of them. Don't use those pointy icecrown rocks just for the kind of rocks you would see lying around on the ground, use them for caves and such, and stick with the regular snowy rocks for forests (try sizing them up, burying them in the ground and stacking them on top of each other for more variations)

 

[Tsaras]

Taking the above advice I cleared off some doodads, mostly trees and mushrooms and I'm presenting the screens. In the background there is some new terrain I just made anyway.

Comments about the grass, does it fit, needs to be removed/changed?

 

[~Void~]

I like it but you could use more small rocks around it. Also maybe you could use a different grass model... something more shrublike and dry and gray/brown. Also maybe try using the sky Fogged Sky rather than what you have now, it will transition better with the distance fog.

 

[Gilles]

There's a good brownish tumble weed-like grass in the UTM. It would be perfect.

 

[Tsaras]

I tried a few things and took screens of them. I personally believe that in such an icy landscape no plants could survive, but it's essential for the natural looking of things. So I tried to fit the colour of grass to the icy climate making it brownish with some paint of blue.

1st) Same like previous screenshots, but plants are smaller and more brown coloured.
2nd) Using Grass Animated from UTM (was the only brownish I found)
3rd) Same as 2nd from different angle

 

[Fimbus]

The new grass you found look better IMO, but you might want to cut away some of it.

 

[Gilles]

There's still a better grass to be used.

 

[Tsaras]

Yes could you tell me what it is because this one is the only one I found to be brown-coloured.

 

[Gilles]

Shrub: Animated 2

I guess it's not a grass, but whatever.

 

[Tsaras]

The new grass, although it's green like tropic grass, looks good as a model and is making a little difference to the scenery. But when I looked at it with the normal game camera, it was not looking very good due to the shape of it.

In order to fix this problem, I'll have to plant at least 3 times the grass on a place so that it doesn't look abnormal. The question is if the performance issue that will be caused due to the excesive doodad amount in the map (I've used 2000 doodads for this part of land and I've only built hardly 5% of the map's terrain) is worth to trade for some better looking grass.

Is the difference between the 2 grasses so big that it's worth to sacrifice performance planting 3 times the new grass doodads?