Off Topic / how realistic looking can you make a GG landscape?

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smallg
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Posted: 22nd Apr 2016 22:03
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just curious if anyone has managed to make a real looking landscape in GG?
also it would be nice to get some tips shared too.
my tip would be to slope (ramp) the terrain into the water and then blend it, it's much nicer than a sudden drop.

here's one i put together as a test.... not overly pleased with the result but it looks a little like the reference photo at least? - i will readily admit i don't have any eye for art or such

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Jerry Tremble
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Posted: 23rd Apr 2016 05:36 Edited at: 23rd Apr 2016 05:36
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Beautiful scene! This is the best I've ever done, also the most time I've ever spent on one! I really enjoyed sculpting landscapes in Reloaded. It had the ability to select individual verts and manipulate them. I miss that feature. I found it rather therapeutic, lol! My attempt at recreating the feel of Monument Valley, Arizona (also I have no eye for art):



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synchromesh
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Posted: 23rd Apr 2016 19:59
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That looks amazing !!
The only person ever to get all his work done by "Friday" was Robinson Crusoe..
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Wolf
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Posted: 24th Apr 2016 19:54
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@Jerry: Thats very cool!

@smallG: do you mean in GG in general or just with the terrain editor?



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Gtox
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Posted: 24th Apr 2016 20:55
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I've been playing Skyrim for old times' sake, and I noticed that the terrain itself is not very detailed - they've created detail through clever use of rock assets, which could be done with similar results in GameGuru.
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Wolf
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Posted: 25th Apr 2016 01:46
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Quote: "for old times' sake"


That game is still relatively new to me
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Gtox
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Posted: 25th Apr 2016 08:14
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@Wolf - it's nearly 5 years old, almost prehistoric in video game terms. Sill love playing it, though.
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Posted: 25th Apr 2016 09:56
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Although, now that I think about it, games haven't progressed as much in the last 5 years as they did in the previous 5 years.
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smallg
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Posted: 25th Apr 2016 14:13
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@jerry, that's very impressive, especially considering its purely terrain

@wolf, Mostly with the terrain editor yh as I was thinking about sculpted landscapes but of course models can be included

@gtox, As for games not advancing much it's because the technology has kind of hit its limit - even Intel and such admit they can't push anymore from their components and now mostly work on efficiency - and now most new technology is focusing on app or virtual reality.... Although personally I'm looking forward to trying VR out, I already get spooked by horror games without it... I'm going to be afraid of my PC
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Wolf
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Posted: 25th Apr 2016 20:00 Edited at: 25th Apr 2016 20:01
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Quote: "it's nearly 5 years old, almost prehistoric in video game terms. Sill love playing it, though.
"


That...went by fast. I think I didn't adjust my criteria after I left my teens...but then again, everything major that came out after like 2006 simply looks amazing.

Quote: "Mostly with the terrain editor yh as I was thinking about sculpted landscapes but of course models can be included"


Hmm! I'd advise against that. If you want it to look realistic you will have to rely on models like the afforementioned Skyrim. If you do, there are few limits to how good your terrain can look. Mostly with the terrain editor yh as I was thinking about sculpted landscapes but of course models can be included.This is the background as I type this message. While this relys on the Skybox, you CAN just have a model like that in your map. I have ran some tests with that a year ago or so.

As far as VR goes... I think it might have a negative effect on kids if it progresses...as all games are still mostly about murdering everything on sight, but I am also going to get one once they are out and cheaper. Consider this very mild enthusiasm.



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Teabone
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Posted: 26th Apr 2016 04:41
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Quote: "I've been playing Skyrim for old times' sake, and I noticed that the terrain itself is not very detailed - "


I literally was going to mention this... in this very thread lol
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Belidos
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Posted: 26th Apr 2016 08:14
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Quote: "and I noticed that the terrain itself is not very detailed"


That's very true, I've actually got all f the Skyrim models in obj format (I used multiple tools to decompile them and convert them so I could study how to create low poly models for game engines, one of the best ways to learn imo), and yes they are very low poly models with very little physical detail, they use textures and height maps along side the normal spec and normal maps to simulate the detail.

When I get home from work i'll see if I can post a few pictures of the Skyrim landscape models minus their textures so you can see how they have done it, it's quite clever really.

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Posted: 26th Apr 2016 20:59
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Please do! Would be interesting to see.
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Posted: 27th Apr 2016 06:09 Edited at: 27th Apr 2016 06:10
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I just got the Creation Kit for Fallout 4 today. Very excited

Been creating mods for Bethesda games for years. They seem to do a really great job of creating decent landscapes for an open world game with good optimization with low polys and low detailed textures (512x512 generally).
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Belidos
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Posted: 27th Apr 2016 07:52
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Quote: "Please do! Would be interesting to see."


I didn't get a chance to grab some screenshots last night, I was a bit busy, i'll try to do it tonight.

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rolfy
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Posted: 30th Apr 2016 22:40 Edited at: 30th Apr 2016 23:37
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It may not be 'realistic' landscape but if you look at the 'Shimmer' map in 'tutorialmaps' it has a sculpted head in the terrain which shows how you can use the available tools to sculpt something unexpected, it just takes a little work.



There are a couple of other sculpts hidden away.



And some not bad terrain.



The thing with terrain is that I always think I am doing something 'Alien' or fantasy then see something really weird and unnatural looking in nature. Which makes me question the term 'realistic'
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Posted: 1st May 2016 01:48 Edited at: 1st May 2016 01:57
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Quote: "And some not bad terrain."


Did you make that 100% in GG ?,..if you did, well, you are a better man than I am.

In V1 or maybe it was V2 of FPSCR I made this very simple screen,....nothing special,
just an auto generated landscape with a bit of water and a sky box that I made myself,
but at that time I did get a comment from Rick, I think it was Rick, that said " it looks real",..
lol.



A bit later on after a few more updates to FPSCR I made this screen,....this time I added
a bit more detail and models and spent quite some time playing with those sliders in Tab
mode.



Is it photo realistic ?,.....no, but it was the best I could do at that time,.......and all this time
later, I don't think I could do much better,......until GG gets better lighting etc. But not too
bad for us indie developers.

Having said that,.....an old saying come to mind,......"it's not what you've got, it's what you
do with it that counts",...........................my lady says that to me all the time,.....lol .
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rolfy
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Posted: 1st May 2016 03:45 Edited at: 1st May 2016 04:20
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Quote: "Did you make that 100% in GG ?"
I use the ramp tool a lot which as well as adding will cut through areas creating extra detail, and then go around smoothing any bad areas with texture stretching. I provided the textures with the map, they make a lot of difference but yeah it is 100% GG, you can find that area at the top right of the map.
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smallg
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Posted: 1st May 2016 17:10
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That face/head is awesome, a very nice added feature to the game's landscape, it's cool when you first find those little(?) things while you're playing.

And I completely agree on using the ramp and blend tools, they really made the terrain editing so much better.

@wolf, I don't want to use a skybox because the idea would be that these are part of the game, no point having a nice distant view when the rest of the map is flat... I was just trying to improve my terrain editing skill and curious if anyone had any tips so figured this would be a good way to share.
Although I admit and agree you do definitely need a good skybox to finish the level up, it really adds a lot
And yes you could do it all with models but that would defeat the purpose of having editable terrain in the first place IMO.
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Wolf
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Posted: 1st May 2016 17:42
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Yes! Rolfy's Shimmer map really fascinated me! I haven't seen anything as evolved in GG at that date.

Quote: "my lady says that to me all the time,"


...was that supposed to be understood the way I understand it?
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Jerry Tremble
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Posted: 2nd May 2016 00:15
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Wow, I'd never looked in that folder. Thank you. I've become a fan of the ramp tool myself but that is amazing work!
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Belidos
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Posted: 14th May 2016 11:42 Edited at: 14th May 2016 11:43
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Quote: "Please do! Would be interesting to see."


Just a quick model screenshot, not worked out how to export the textures yet, but see how low polly this mountain range is..


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Teabone
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Posted: 14th May 2016 20:49 Edited at: 14th May 2016 20:53
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Here is one of the textures Bethesda uses for its mountain rocks. Only 512x512 repeated. Even for the largest of mountains.

The trick is to really get your seamless edges. Also Skyrim uses some very lovely shaders. The normal map uses a heavier depth gradient to really make those jagged edges appear jagged on that low poly mountain.

I've slapped the text on as it be illegal for anyone to download it and use it in any way.
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Belidos
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Posted: 14th May 2016 21:48
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Thanks Teabone, that's what I was getting at, the models are actually very low detail and they use textures with very strong normal maps and quality lighting to simulate detail, it works very well

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