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Terrain texture on DTM? again


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In my newly installed VW2010 I am horsing around with applying map or terrain image texture to DTM. Many have asked for such functionality, and it is an obvious need. Is this just a wish list item? Or has someone worked it out?

I created a simple DTM and a new Image Color texture of a map. The texture can be applied to the DTM, but texture mapping options are not available on the DTM with the OIP or Attribute Mapping tool. Object Type (Plane, Sphere, etc) does not affect. Is this intended behavior? One cannot, apparently, orient the texture except to change the scale and repeat mode in texture definition. No offset, no rotation, etc.

The same Image Color Texture can be applied to other 3d objects and mapped as usual.

I also drew slim a rectangle over part of the DTM and used the Objects from Polyline command to create a texture bed. I chose an elevation and assigned the TB to a new class with blue glass texture.

The Blue Glass applies to the area on the DTM surface, but the raised surface from the elevation setting retains the map texture. Shouldn't that raised object take the TB texture? Is this intended?

So far my best option is to create a drape over the DTM and apply texture to that. Transparency allows visibility of texture beds and other DTM features. But it's a poor workaround.

-B

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Right, Peter. and Thanks. Thaz what I thought about the map texture.

Seems like texture beds in previous versions sort of split the DTM leaving a gap or hole which displayed the TB class texture. In my test model, the TB splits the DTM as expected, but keeps the little surface which used to fill the split (the raised up part). That part can be raised or lowered, but does not take the TB class texture. Instead, the gap displays the TB class texture and the raised up object keeps the texture from the rest of the DTM. Is there something I am missing to make that raised up part either go away or take the texture from the Texture Bed class? (I could lower it below the DTM, I guess.)

-B

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Hmm. One thing to be aware of: there is a second "class" definition in the OIP for texture beds. It is below in the OIP dialog. This is the one that must be set in order to apply a texture to a texture bed (don't ask me why, and I don't like it at all either). Is this part of what you're after??

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Well spotted, Peter! That class box is new to me - strange that it is not a pulldown. A combo of settings in the additional class definition, DTM 3d style, and DTM class definition provides the visibility desired. There are many different combinations and plenty of clicking to adjust the site modifier, then select and adjust and update the site model settings, wait for the render, then back to the modifier, . . .

Many thanks, again.

-B

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I posted this under the RenderWorks tab a couple of weeks ago. It seems that this was possible in 2008, but not anymore. Sounds like downgrading to me:

"Is there a smart way to map a texture like an aerial photography or a map image to a terrain model. It was quite difficult and very time consuming up to VW 2008. With improvements like Parasolid and attributes mapping tool I would expect it to be both easier and faster. I find it almost impossible, but I'm sure there are some tips'n tricks I've been missing out. In VW2008 you could not texture a DTM directly, but by converting it to a mesh you could map a texture by clicking on a horisontal part of the terrain and then rotating, moving and scaling manually you could achieve an approximate fit. The biggest problem then was: 1) If you did changes to the DTM or the mesh you would have to do all the fitting over again. 2) The terrain would not receive light in Renderworks with mesh smoothing turned on resulting in either a black or a coarse, edgy looking terrain.

Are any of theese problems fixed in VW2010? Mapping a texture to a terrain mesh should be quite simple as both the scaling, rotation and placement should be set by the image, from top, north/south and reference to global coordinates (like it actually works when importing 2D bitmaps). If you don't use global coordinates there should be a local coordinate, let's say the lower left corner (or center) of the image linked to the corresponding point of the terrain. If the extent of the image doesn't match the terrain exactly all you'd have to do is move the texture horisontally. What I've seen in VW2010 so far seems quite random and not very intuitive.

One thing I've noticed is that mesh smoothin now works on very small meshes (like a tree trunk from a VBvisual plant). As an architect I need a more or less photorealistic representation of the site, a couple of hundred meters of surroundings in all directions to show neighbouring bulidings, roads, vegetation etc."

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The texturebed tool is interesting. I've played around with it a bit, the class texture maps from the top by default which is great for aerial photographs. But in the end it seems to be yet another example of tools that almost works/ could have worked. I can't find any way to edit the mapping like move, scale or rotate the texture to fit the terrain, so what use is it then?

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Yes, Hans - I looked at your earlier post but was working in VW2009 and thought I would try again now that I installed VW2010 - hence the new thread in General questions forum. Hats off for bringing it up. Image Color Texture control, at least on the DTM remains, difficult or unintuitive. I was hoping other users had finessed this and would respond with a reasonable workaround. Still learning and still hoping.

-B

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