Hi Aminovas - I'm so glad I found this topic. Last week I went ahead and read up on World Machine, downloaded the program, and spend almost the entire day going through some tutorials that I found,did a whole lot of experimenting, and finally made my first world, wasn't that great, but I was happy that I "think" I understood what I was doing. Was able to import it into CAW - now the part is painting the world to make it look realistic. This was one of the tutorials I used. https://www.world-machine.com/learn.php?page=tutorial and this one, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAo0mHZJkAs
I so eager to learn what I can. So please count me in.
I enjoy being creative. Though I not that great a making worlds, but I used to play SimCity 4 - I used a program called GMAX - used for BATting buildings for SimCity 4, on Simtroplois, I went by as Bobbo662. This was some of my work ...
Gas pumps I made for my Sunoco Gas Station.
Lowe's Hardware Store
Wal-mart
I know this is alittle off topic, but I really do enjoy being creative. So I'm excited to learn a new craft so to speak.
Thanks again, Aaron. You really gave me courage to learn this program and it is opening up all kinds of new things for me.
Azul662, great to meet you. How exciting And that is so cool to see that gas station / wall mart and lowes. They are very realistic and the texturing is really well done. I started learning CC creation this fall and it is such a blast. Thanks for sharing the links and I look forward to seeing what you come up with.
I signed online yesterday with the single intention of getting on here and getting something up, but, alas, distractions.
This is what I am thinking is priority and what I have been working on:
1. A walk through, from a working height map from CAW that is mostly scultped, taking it through World Machine and adding details.
2. A walk through for painting in world machine. (I've got two techniques for this: basic coverage macro which is super easy, and then a more manual way; And then there are a few ways to export the pngs).
3. generating terrain through world machine from scratch
I am ever so impressed with Aaron's control of the terrain to get it into a workable scale through the layout generator in order to generate original terrain. I used more of a combo of exiting height maps and masking over an advanced perlin generator, exporting, resculpting, importing... The demo I have been working on for this, which is my first to-scale terrain from World Machine, is such a blast in CAW that it is turning into its own project and totally running away from me My process to generate it was not simple, and my tmd files are a mess, so I hesitate to share that, but I'm going to try and do something simpler here over the next couple of weeks by way of a third walk through to generate original terrain.
I've been working on King's Point as a demo, but I don't know if it is the best example. Flstrider, Christine Bremmner, Nilxis, TammyJo, Junceda, Tad Olsen, or anyone else reading this or that I've missed, if any of you are working on a world, would any of you be up for sharing a height map of a world you are working on that you would like to apply some erosion to and try painting in World Machine? If it would be fun and helpful to share pngs and tackle them together, that is an idea I had. Whatever people would like to do (And, again, sorry I'm slow)
I'm not working on a large map but I'll work and share to learn with ya. What would I need- to start a large map in CAW or to start a map with WM?
I haven't downloaded it yet but I can.
I must add now, I don't want a map with huge amount of erosion or hills or mountains on it- it would mostly be hills around the map to replace a distant terrain. I don't want Realistic, I would much rather have it Simified. It you know what I mean?
It is up to you! If you have a roughly sculpted height map, and by roughly started I mean, anything from a basic outline to an almost finished landscape.
I do know what you mean about Simified! fun.
The thing is, with the free version, the limit is a 512x512 png output. With the full version you can go up to the full 2048. Just in general, the nice thing is, in World Machine you can input any size map, and do all your rendering and processing in 512x512. You can then either output it as 512x512 and change it in Gimp or Photoshop, perhaps running a sharpening or blur over it to help with any pixelation (I haven't had the need of that, but I'm just hypothesizing here), or you can share your height map and TMD (world machine project files) and someone with the full version can render and output it for you. (I'm certainly game to do that for folks if they have a final project to render). For now, for our fun and learning, if you'd like to share a height map, any size will do and I'll get going playing around with it Fun!
Edit to add: It is also possible to run height maps through WM that are basically finished, and alter the terrain just enough to give it a final touch, but not to significantly alter the how lots, roads, objects, etc. sit on the landscape. Lots might need a bit of a reset. We can also mask areas of the map that we don't want changed
Ahhhhh! I'm realizing why I've* never finished most of them. Most of my old worlds are small, medium, only kinda sculpted, or have a distant terrain already set up....
What about this mountains valley, it's just plan ->
This is a Demo of how World Machine can be used to alter an existing height map exported from CAW.
Disclaimer: World Machine is very intuitive once you get how it works, but quite a hard program to explain. Please be patient with yourself and with those who are trying to explain how to use it! We are doing our best I am a very visual-spatial person and do not do well with sequences, which is why I take to this program like a duck to water, but have been struggling since I started this thread to translate that understanding to the page. This program requires a willingness to experiment, and if you do that you will find your own ways to use it that suites your needs. It just takes a little patience. And please give feedback so I can clarify what is confusing! I plan on adding more pictures to better explain the window and the buttons. In the meantime, please read the text and I apologize for anything that is confusing.
You can download the TMD file from my dropbox here
TMD files are the basic project files for World Machine. After you install World Machine, find the World Machine Documents Folder. You can add this TMD file to the examples folder, and find other example files there. I have included the lovely height map by Rflong7 that will be the starting point for this project. You can use your own height map. I would encourage any of you world builders to take a height map you are already using in a world and run it through this simple process, just to get a sense of how it works on a familiar landscape. Maybe you will like the results and want to import the new height map into your existing project. Using this TMD can be as simple as doing the first and last step of this tutorial, without bothering to play with the different devices, just focusing on Input and Output.
Additionally, AaaronRogers has uploaded his own project file for this same height map, and also the CAW files, and I recommend checking it out in comparison to this TMD file to see how he achieved different results. My demo is to show how subtle the changes can be, and Aaron's project shows how the landscape can be sculpted more dramatically, but still be recognizable.
1. Open the Project file. Double click the TMD file to open it or after opening World Machine, choose File --> Open. World Machine opens in Devices View.
(Note: See the nice big boxes with words in them that you see in the intro default project that opens when you open World Machine, such as "Terrain Creation", "Filters" and "Output": They don't do anything except organize your space. In the TMD file I have created, I have made boxes with text in to help walk you through the devices. They don't really do anything to the terrain. You can move the devices off of them by clicking and dragging the devices. You can delete these boxes by clicking on them and selecting "Delete" from the Edit Menu. You can make your own by looking under the "Tools menu" and finding the Group tool there. You double click them to change the text and color. I'm telling you about groups so that you know from the start not to worry about them having a function, as I worried about that when I first started. You can just ignore them if they are not useful to you.)
2. Familiarize Yourself with the World Machine Screen. You can hover your cursor over any button and a the name of a device or menu should pop up. The picture below shows World Machine as it opens up in Devices View (F5). The other two views that are most important as I understand it are Layout View(F6) and 3D view (F8 ). You can navigate between these windows by using the function keys or by clicking the buttons that correspond to them (look above where it says "Favorites" and "Macros"). In this demo we are not working with Layout View. Also, note the green button next to the views buttons. That is for building (rendering) your devices. 3D view will display whatever device you have highlighted, so you can compare before and afters
3. Load your input file: In this project, I've started with a file input device. In my TMD file it is already placed on the screen for you. To add your own or to add a new kind of terrain generator, find the Devices Menu called Generators, and find the disc icon within it. Click it, and place the generator on your devices view.) Double click the file input to bring up a menu for to loading your PNG file. Any size PNG file that you already have working in CAW will work. In this case, I have loaded a 2048x2048 PNG file graciously provided by Rflong. (Also, please note the "World Extents and Resolution" button. It is the Mountain icon above the Tools Devices menu. I recommend working through your landscape in 512x512 resolution, just to make it faster on your computer. As you get closer to finishing, you can up the resolution to better fine-tune what you are doing.)
Cool landscape!
4. Next, choose from Filters, Natural, or Generators Menus to add effects to your terrain. Devices from other categories may also be useful, but most of the processes you will be using are in these three categories. In my TMD file, I have chosen another device from the generators menu, called "Advanced Perlin". This can be used to generate terrain without any other file inputs (without an existing height map). In this case we are using it to add interesting details or noise to an existing height map. To connect your File Input to the Advance Perlin generator you click the top box on the right side of the device File Input Device. It will give you a chord. You drag that over to the input box on the left side of the Advanced Perlin device. If you make a mistake and connect it somewhere you don't want, you can right-click the chord and delete it. This has already been done for you in the provided TMD file.
(Note: The boxes on the left of each device are for inputs. The boxes to the right are outputs. The bottom box on the device is for inputing a mask to limit how the device is applied. Note that you can see what each box does by hovering over it. The terrain map flows from one device to the next. A single output can go to many devices, but each input box only gets one input. We are focusing on the "Heightfield" inputs and outputs.)
Double click the device to alter how it works. Be prepared to experiement to get the effect you want! You can lower "persistence" to reduce how much the device effects your terrain. You can also input a mask (more on that another time). Remember, also, that if you want a more extremem change, you may want to give you terrain a slight elevation boost in order to give the erosion more "rock" to work with.
As you can see below (if you can see with this resolution) it is a subtle change, but it will look much stronger in CAW (if not, we just come back into WM and make it stronger ) The only thing I have changed in the Advanced Perlin device menu from its defaults is I have lowered the persistence.
5. Next, you might want to try out erosion. Under "Natural", choose the Erosion device. Again, connect the output from your last device (the Advanced Perlin) to the input of your new device, the Erosion device. Double click the Erosion Device to change the settings. There are a lot of options! You can leave everything on the default, or play around. In this case, all I've done is change the erosion method to "channeled erosion" (top left of the drop down menu). In the TMD file, this has all been done for you.
After accepting the Erosion settings, again, I click the green button to render the device, make sure the device is selected, and then switch into 3D view to see it by pressing F8.
I've tried to zoom in a bit more on this shot to show the channeling this has added:
And this may be all you want to do in World Machine! (This is more or less the treatment I am giving to King's Point, but it doesn't have much height to it to show off what can be done, so this terrain really works beautifully, I think)
6. The file is now ready to export. Connect your Erosion output to a "Height Output" device (already done for you in the TMD file). Double click it to set the output path. If you are using a full (paid) version of World Machine, you can change your World Resolution to a larger resolution such as 1024x1024 or 2048x2048. In that case, change it before you export it, and you will need to allow it to build before you export (it will ask you to let it build the heigh map when you choose "write to disk"). If you don't have a paid version, you are limited to 512x512. You can change the size of the PNG in Photoshop or Gimp or any other image editing program that works with PNGs. You may want to run it through a gaussian blur and/or sharpening to compensate for the resizing.
We can now go into CAW and look at the height maps. Here is the original, with autopaint:
And here is the after:
You can see the height has changed somewhat overall, and there are now channels carved into the terrain.
OK! I was just coming to the conclusion that masking for that it didn't need it. Super cool terrain! This is perfect.
Edit to add: this is a demo! Follow if you like. I'll share the TMD file when I'm done.
I'm going to post images as I work. We are a bit busy here at home so I keep getting interrupted :P
Under the tools menus, there is a button for creating groups. These are the nice big boxes with words in them that you see in the intro default project that opens when you open World Machine. They don't do anything except organize your space.
Am I supposed to click something for creating a group?
I'll share this TMD file when I'm done, and I've added explanations to each of the groups to walk the user through each device.
Do I need this now or...?
It opens to the Devices View (F5).
Is this something I should do now?
The other two views that are most important as I understand it are Layout View(F6) and 3D view (F8 ). Also, note the green button. That is for building (rendering) your devices. 3D view will display whatever device you have highlighted, so you can compare before and afters
That's nice, is this something I need to do now?
In this project, I've started with an file input device (disc icon under "generators. You find this under generators. Double click it to load your PNG file.
Nothing happened. Was there something I was supposed to do with the group button?
Any size PNG file will work. Also, please note the "World Extents and Resolution" button. I recommend working through your landscape in 512x512 resolution, just to make it faster on your computer. As you get closer to finishing, you can up the resolution to better fine-tune what you are doing.
Well, I'll wait for step instructions. I can see lots of buttons but without know which to click first in step, I'm still at an open World screen.
It's hard following instructions without an order.... Maybe some do this with, do this next 1/2/3... Cause I'm lost at the get go since double clicking didn't do anything.
Cool landscape!
Next, choose from Filters, Natural, or Generators to add effects to your terrain. Devices from other categories may also be useful, but most of the processes you will be using are in these three categories.
I have chosen another device from the generators menu, called "Advanced Perlin". This can be used to generate terrain without any other file inputs (without an existing height map). In this case we are using it to add interesting details or noise to an existing height map. Take your File Input and connect it to the Perlin Noise generator.
The boxes on the left of each device are for inputs. The boxes to the right are outputs. The bottom box on the device is for inputing a mask to limit how the device is applied. Note that you can see what each box does by hovering over it. The terrain map flows from one device to the next. A single output can go to many devices, but each input box only gets one input. We are focusing on the "Heightfield" inputs and outputs.
Double click the device to alter how it works. Be prepared to experiement to get the effect you want! You can lower "persistence" to reduce how much the device effects your terrain. You can also input a mask (more on that another time). Remember, also, that if you want a more extremem change, you may want to give you terrain a slight elevation boost in order to give the erosion more "rock" to work with.
As you can see below (if you can see with this resolution) it is a subtle change, but it will look much stronger in CAW (if not, we just come back into WM and make it stronger ) The only thing I have changed in the Advanced Perlin device menu is I have lowered the persistence.
I was trying to follow these as instructions... since I couldn't get past the double click part I just stopped.
If you're writing this for someone who's never used this program- like me - you might want to do a little more 1, 2, 3, with buttons numbered
Explain buttons as they're being used or needed because it seems to distract and confuse- me.
OK, hang tight!
I'm going to finish the walk through as is and then come back and do what I can to make it more clear. It will be easier with the TMD file, so, actually, I'd stop until I can share that, unless you just want to experiment. This might take me another hour or two to finish up.
All the tutorial I've tried to put together so far are a mess, so I'm posting this as I go for my own sanity and organization, so... please excuse the dust.
Hey!
OK, I don't have the TMD up, but I will shortly. It might help you quite a bit to go through that. I have edited the walk through, and I hope that it is less frustrating! Sorry :oops: I am totally doing this on the fly Oh, the perils of the interactive experience! I'm just glad that you are still willing to try it out. I think you might really enjoy it, and even if this whole sculpting thing is not your cup of tea, perhaps the painting will be
To everyone: Please, please give yourself permission to experiment! Think of this as a sand box, just as CAW can be rather alien to beginners, so is this. And I will keep saying it, there are so many different ways to do things in this program, there will never be one master tutorial in this thread (so long as I have the first post! bwahahah). And don't forget, hover your cursor above things in World Machine and in most cases it will tell you what it is!
Edit: Rflong, how do you feel about my including your PNG with the TMD file? No problem if you don't want it shared like that. I've got a folder to upload, and it has the TMD file, your original PNG, and the "after" png.
I don't mind. It's a few years old and I've never gone back.
I still remember what I planned* for it to be but I don't mind sharing. (Wish I'd have made it with the 300 map)
*Oh, and I have to go finish writing a chapter so I'll catch this tomorrow- not rush. Don't stress about me.
**Make sure to show after double clicking on the first button to click and place it on the ... what's it called thingy. (I can be technical)
I am laughing here Yes this is how I feel: Click the "thingy". How do you explain to something what to do when you have no idea what to call it?!? I so understand why Aaron was reluctant to explain all this when I was pestering him about it a couple months ago
It is really helpful to know what needs to be clarified. Hmm. I think this needs a few pictures to introduce buttons and what not, but I want to get this TMD file up. I'll do that next, than go back and add more pictures to clarify at the beginning.
Rflong, thanks for being patient and for providing this gorgeous map. It looks great in 300, both prior to and after WM it look absolutely super.
Edit to add: I am done for the night I'll add those extra pictures to clarify if need be, but I need to stop for now. I have uploaded the TMD file. Good luck to anyone who tries this out!
Also, look at the pictures Aaron posted if you are confused! They are really helpful, I think
Oh My! I have to try all that this evening, I have a hight map I want to use and give this treatment to make it the way I want it to look in CAW, I´m so excited!!
Tons of thanks!!!
I can play at last TS2 TS3 and TS4 So great that toddlers are here!!!
The other day I spent a couple hours going through tutorials and videos - and this what I came up on my own.
and of course this is what my first project in this class looks like
I live in southern Vermont in the Rutland County - so when I try to create something, I like to see if I can capture the Vermont landscapes. Vermont is famous for it's rolling green mountains, and ski areas like Jay's Peak, Killington, Magic Mountain etc. In fact yesterday I was so excited (now I'm getting off track here) that Alex Deibolt won Bronze in ski Cross, and he's from Manchester (Manchester Center) VT which is like 20 miles from me.
Anyway back on topic - I imported this into CAW - but now comes the painting.
My question is - I heard something or read something about Paint World (something like that) when you get done with creating in WM -you use this PW (?) to paint your created landmass?
hey there, neighbor! I'm in outside of Burlington. Rutland, you my peeps. Rutland is where the sensible Vermonters live haha! I was actually just ranting about that with my friends, joking that we should all up and move to Rutland because Burlington is just silly.
This is great. I've been thinking about how to tackle Vermont landscape Camel's Hump, especially, for me Those mountains down south are absolutely stunning! Looks like you've got a great start.
Well, I've tried a few ways of painting with WM and they have all been successful in different ways. Basically, you can use the "Selector" devices to choose parts of the landscape, such as convexity, slope, and height, and you can use these in combination, too (such as the convex upper areas would be the bare rock, and anything above a certain steepness would be rock, and lower-lying areas would be grassy). You can also use the outputs from an erosion device, for example, that has a flow map, wear map... I can't remember what they all are, but they are really useful. Each of these selections can be outputted to a PNG. That is the manual method.
There are, also, several wonderful macros that can help. In the Macros section (I keep calling these Device menus, but maybe that is not right) there is a Basic Coverage macro. Basic Coverage colorizes the landscape according to its own algorithms to assign grass/rock/snow etc.
You can output the Basic Coverage an Overlay Device so you can preview it in World Machine. The Overlay Device needs both your height map input and the Basic Coverage input. You can also run any of your selections through a colorizer.
I am still figuring all this out. I used a Splat Map converter (under converters) to output the colors to a RGB channeled PNG. It makes each "color" a channel, so you can extract the Black and White mask for each color. You can have several channels and an alpha for the entire thing. I found that really convenient, but maybe it is too fiddly for folks.
That is my off-the-top-of-my-head answer There are definitely other macros online and other devices that could help. Take it with a grain of salt, as I am figuring this out, too. My goal for today was to do a brief tutorial (like the one yesterday) on painting, using the same height map from yesterday. I'm going to look at what Aaron did before I do that I should get to that at some point this afternoon, I would hope.
And, again, any notes on what needs clarifying, based on what Aaron and I have posted, would be really great, as I'll look at the intro from yesterday again and maybe make the pictures better if I can.
Edit to add: It is also possible to run height maps through WM that are basically finished, and alter the terrain just enough to give it a final touch, but not to significantly alter the how lots, roads, objects, etc. sit on the landscape. Lots might need a bit of a reset. We can also mask areas of the map that we don't want changed
I would really love to learn that. Whenever you have time after all your other projects- about a month, right?
This thread is awesome! I've been extremely busy with Strangetown content the past few days so I haven't visited this thread.
I downloaded Rflong's heightmap to see what I could do with it and here's the result. This is slightly extreme though and I wouldn't recommend doing this to an existing map with roads etc.
I'm currently uploading the CAW world file and WM file so I'll post the link when it's done! :-)
I've also made a new distant terrain for my new world which took me a good few hours but I'm getting a lot quicker at it.
Edit to add: It is also possible to run height maps through WM that are basically finished, and alter the terrain just enough to give it a final touch, but not to significantly alter the how lots, roads, objects, etc. sit on the landscape. Lots might need a bit of a reset. We can also mask areas of the map that we don't want changed
I would really love to learn that. Whenever you have time after all your other projects- about a month, right?
Lol! No kidding, right! Actually pretty much everything else is on hold. I really need to get some things finished up for Zach which I haven't felt ready to tackle yet, and a family for Barcelona made, but, honestly, I'm making World Machine my priority right now. I really want to learn it and make sure there are resources available here and maybe at MTS to encourage folks to use it, so that the more of us are getting into it, the more I can learn. Very selfish I want company over in World Machine! lol! And I'm really having fun playing around with the map I've generated. I won't get going with King's Point again until I've got it resculpted and painted with World Machine. So, I'm not too swamped This is right on target.
Actually, my explanation would be more or less what I posted yesterday. It just takes some playing around with the strength of the Advanced Perlin device and the Erosion device. The "Thermal Weathering" device under "Natural" is also a really great one for adding interest to the terrain (I'm thinking France and University World definitely had this device used on them ). Really, it just takes experimenting, working in a back-up version of your world, and importing in the new height maps to try it out. The only thing I would add that could be really helpful is an intro to "Selectors" and also masks, and I need to play around with masks more before I attempt to explain it. I've had mixed results with masking and better luck with "Selectors" (selectors define where on a height map a device acts - you can use it to prevent erosion from acting on a certain height or slope, for example).
I think devices could have little mini-explanations here, too. If anyone is playing around with, for example, Erosion, and they want to post their varying results, that would be great to see
Edit to add: Rflong, I would just encourage you to try it out if you can with the basics you've got so far
Hi Aaron!
Awesome
Hey, if you felt like explaining the Distant Terrain, that would be amazing I have a sense of what to do, but I'd feel a lot better hearing it from you. you know, if you have time no rush !!
I think the danger for me with all of this is that I tend to overcomplicate things My TMD files for this island I've made are like a spider's web. It is nuts.
Comments
I so eager to learn what I can. So please count me in.
I enjoy being creative. Though I not that great a making worlds, but I used to play SimCity 4 - I used a program called GMAX - used for BATting buildings for SimCity 4, on Simtroplois, I went by as Bobbo662. This was some of my work ...
Gas pumps I made for my Sunoco Gas Station.
Lowe's Hardware Store
Wal-mart
I know this is alittle off topic, but I really do enjoy being creative. So I'm excited to learn a new craft so to speak.
Azul662, great to meet you. How exciting
I signed online yesterday with the single intention of getting on here and getting something up, but, alas, distractions.
This is what I am thinking is priority and what I have been working on:
1. A walk through, from a working height map from CAW that is mostly scultped, taking it through World Machine and adding details.
2. A walk through for painting in world machine. (I've got two techniques for this: basic coverage macro which is super easy, and then a more manual way; And then there are a few ways to export the pngs).
3. generating terrain through world machine from scratch
I am ever so impressed with Aaron's control of the terrain to get it into a workable scale through the layout generator in order to generate original terrain. I used more of a combo of exiting height maps and masking over an advanced perlin generator, exporting, resculpting, importing... The demo I have been working on for this, which is my first to-scale terrain from World Machine, is such a blast in CAW that it is turning into its own project and totally running away from me
I've been working on King's Point as a demo, but I don't know if it is the best example. Flstrider, Christine Bremmner, Nilxis, TammyJo, Junceda, Tad Olsen, or anyone else reading this or that I've missed, if any of you are working on a world, would any of you be up for sharing a height map of a world you are working on that you would like to apply some erosion to and try painting in World Machine? If it would be fun and helpful to share pngs and tackle them together, that is an idea I had. Whatever people would like to do
I'm not working on a large map but I'll work and share to learn with ya. What would I need- to start a large map in CAW or to start a map with WM?
I haven't downloaded it yet but I can.
I must add now, I don't want a map with huge amount of erosion or hills or mountains on it- it would mostly be hills around the map to replace a distant terrain. I don't want Realistic, I would much rather have it Simified. It you know what I mean?
It is up to you! If you have a roughly sculpted height map, and by roughly started I mean, anything from a basic outline to an almost finished landscape.
I do know what you mean about Simified!
The thing is, with the free version, the limit is a 512x512 png output. With the full version you can go up to the full 2048. Just in general, the nice thing is, in World Machine you can input any size map, and do all your rendering and processing in 512x512. You can then either output it as 512x512 and change it in Gimp or Photoshop, perhaps running a sharpening or blur over it to help with any pixelation (I haven't had the need of that, but I'm just hypothesizing here), or you can share your height map and TMD (world machine project files) and someone with the full version can render and output it for you. (I'm certainly game to do that for folks if they have a final project to render). For now, for our fun and learning, if you'd like to share a height map, any size will do and I'll get going playing around with it
Edit to add: It is also possible to run height maps through WM that are basically finished, and alter the terrain just enough to give it a final touch, but not to significantly alter the how lots, roads, objects, etc. sit on the landscape. Lots might need a bit of a reset. We can also mask areas of the map that we don't want changed
What about this mountains valley, it's just plan ->
Disclaimer: World Machine is very intuitive once you get how it works, but quite a hard program to explain. Please be patient with yourself and with those who are trying to explain how to use it! We are doing our best
You can download the TMD file from my dropbox here
TMD files are the basic project files for World Machine. After you install World Machine, find the World Machine Documents Folder. You can add this TMD file to the examples folder, and find other example files there. I have included the lovely height map by Rflong7 that will be the starting point for this project. You can use your own height map. I would encourage any of you world builders to take a height map you are already using in a world and run it through this simple process, just to get a sense of how it works on a familiar landscape. Maybe you will like the results and want to import the new height map into your existing project. Using this TMD can be as simple as doing the first and last step of this tutorial, without bothering to play with the different devices, just focusing on Input and Output.
Additionally, AaaronRogers has uploaded his own project file for this same height map, and also the CAW files, and I recommend checking it out in comparison to this TMD file to see how he achieved different results. My demo is to show how subtle the changes can be, and Aaron's project shows how the landscape can be sculpted more dramatically, but still be recognizable.
1. Open the Project file. Double click the TMD file to open it or after opening World Machine, choose File --> Open. World Machine opens in Devices View.
(Note: See the nice big boxes with words in them that you see in the intro default project that opens when you open World Machine, such as "Terrain Creation", "Filters" and "Output": They don't do anything except organize your space. In the TMD file I have created, I have made boxes with text in to help walk you through the devices. They don't really do anything to the terrain. You can move the devices off of them by clicking and dragging the devices. You can delete these boxes by clicking on them and selecting "Delete" from the Edit Menu. You can make your own by looking under the "Tools menu" and finding the Group tool there. You double click them to change the text and color. I'm telling you about groups so that you know from the start not to worry about them having a function, as I worried about that when I first started. You can just ignore them if they are not useful to you.)
2. Familiarize Yourself with the World Machine Screen. You can hover your cursor over any button and a the name of a device or menu should pop up. The picture below shows World Machine as it opens up in Devices View (F5). The other two views that are most important as I understand it are Layout View(F6) and 3D view (F8 ). You can navigate between these windows by using the function keys or by clicking the buttons that correspond to them (look above where it says "Favorites" and "Macros"). In this demo we are not working with Layout View. Also, note the green button next to the views buttons. That is for building (rendering) your devices. 3D view will display whatever device you have highlighted, so you can compare before and afters
3. Load your input file: In this project, I've started with a file input device. In my TMD file it is already placed on the screen for you. To add your own or to add a new kind of terrain generator, find the Devices Menu called Generators, and find the disc icon within it. Click it, and place the generator on your devices view.) Double click the file input to bring up a menu for to loading your PNG file. Any size PNG file that you already have working in CAW will work. In this case, I have loaded a 2048x2048 PNG file graciously provided by Rflong. (Also, please note the "World Extents and Resolution" button. It is the Mountain icon above the Tools Devices menu. I recommend working through your landscape in 512x512 resolution, just to make it faster on your computer. As you get closer to finishing, you can up the resolution to better fine-tune what you are doing.)
Cool landscape!
4. Next, choose from Filters, Natural, or Generators Menus to add effects to your terrain. Devices from other categories may also be useful, but most of the processes you will be using are in these three categories. In my TMD file, I have chosen another device from the generators menu, called "Advanced Perlin". This can be used to generate terrain without any other file inputs (without an existing height map). In this case we are using it to add interesting details or noise to an existing height map. To connect your File Input to the Advance Perlin generator you click the top box on the right side of the device File Input Device. It will give you a chord. You drag that over to the input box on the left side of the Advanced Perlin device. If you make a mistake and connect it somewhere you don't want, you can right-click the chord and delete it. This has already been done for you in the provided TMD file.
(Note: The boxes on the left of each device are for inputs. The boxes to the right are outputs. The bottom box on the device is for inputing a mask to limit how the device is applied. Note that you can see what each box does by hovering over it. The terrain map flows from one device to the next. A single output can go to many devices, but each input box only gets one input. We are focusing on the "Heightfield" inputs and outputs.)
Double click the device to alter how it works. Be prepared to experiement to get the effect you want! You can lower "persistence" to reduce how much the device effects your terrain. You can also input a mask (more on that another time). Remember, also, that if you want a more extremem change, you may want to give you terrain a slight elevation boost in order to give the erosion more "rock" to work with.
As you can see below (if you can see with this resolution) it is a subtle change, but it will look much stronger in CAW (if not, we just come back into WM and make it stronger
5. Next, you might want to try out erosion. Under "Natural", choose the Erosion device. Again, connect the output from your last device (the Advanced Perlin) to the input of your new device, the Erosion device. Double click the Erosion Device to change the settings. There are a lot of options! You can leave everything on the default, or play around. In this case, all I've done is change the erosion method to "channeled erosion" (top left of the drop down menu). In the TMD file, this has all been done for you.
After accepting the Erosion settings, again, I click the green button to render the device, make sure the device is selected, and then switch into 3D view to see it by pressing F8.
I've tried to zoom in a bit more on this shot to show the channeling this has added:
And this may be all you want to do in World Machine! (This is more or less the treatment I am giving to King's Point, but it doesn't have much height to it to show off what can be done, so this terrain really works beautifully, I think)
6. The file is now ready to export. Connect your Erosion output to a "Height Output" device (already done for you in the TMD file). Double click it to set the output path. If you are using a full (paid) version of World Machine, you can change your World Resolution to a larger resolution such as 1024x1024 or 2048x2048. In that case, change it before you export it, and you will need to allow it to build before you export (it will ask you to let it build the heigh map when you choose "write to disk"). If you don't have a paid version, you are limited to 512x512. You can change the size of the PNG in Photoshop or Gimp or any other image editing program that works with PNGs. You may want to run it through a gaussian blur and/or sharpening to compensate for the resizing.
We can now go into CAW and look at the height maps. Here is the original, with autopaint:
And here is the after:
You can see the height has changed somewhat overall, and there are now channels carved into the terrain.
When I'm done I'll share the TMD file (the project file) and it will have everything loaded and ready to go
Am I supposed to click something for creating a group?
Do I need this now or...?
Is this something I should do now?
That's nice, is this something I need to do now?
Nothing happened. Was there something I was supposed to do with the group button?
Well, I'll wait for step instructions. I can see lots of buttons but without know which to click first in step, I'm still at an open World screen.
It's hard following instructions without an order.... Maybe some do this with, do this next 1/2/3... Cause I'm lost at the get go since double clicking didn't do anything.
I was trying to follow these as instructions... since I couldn't get past the double click part I just stopped.
If you're writing this for someone who's never used this program- like me - you might want to do a little more 1, 2, 3, with buttons numbered
Explain buttons as they're being used or needed because it seems to distract and confuse- me.
I'm going to finish the walk through as is and then come back and do what I can to make it more clear. It will be easier with the TMD file, so, actually, I'd stop until I can share that, unless you just want to experiment. This might take me another hour or two to finish up.
All the tutorial I've tried to put together so far are a mess, so I'm posting this as I go for my own sanity and organization, so... please excuse the dust.
I am trying to follow along and be a good student and not go off on a tangent like I normally do. I did get it to do things but not what I wanted.
*I understand.
OK, I don't have the TMD up, but I will shortly. It might help you quite a bit to go through that. I have edited the walk through, and I hope that it is less frustrating! Sorry :oops: I am totally doing this on the fly
To everyone: Please, please give yourself permission to experiment! Think of this as a sand box, just as CAW can be rather alien to beginners, so is this. And I will keep saying it, there are so many different ways to do things in this program, there will never be one master tutorial in this thread (so long as I have the first post! bwahahah). And don't forget, hover your cursor above things in World Machine and in most cases it will tell you what it is!
Edit: Rflong, how do you feel about my including your PNG with the TMD file? No problem if you don't want it shared like that. I've got a folder to upload, and it has the TMD file, your original PNG, and the "after" png.
I still remember what I planned* for it to be but I don't mind sharing. (Wish I'd have made it with the 300 map)
*Oh, and I have to go finish writing a chapter so I'll catch this tomorrow- not rush. Don't stress about me.
**Make sure to show after double clicking on the first button to click and place it on the ... what's it called thingy.
I am laughing here
It is really helpful to know what needs to be clarified. Hmm. I think this needs a few pictures to introduce buttons and what not, but I want to get this TMD file up. I'll do that next, than go back and add more pictures to clarify at the beginning.
Rflong, thanks for being patient and for providing this gorgeous map. It looks great in 300, both prior to and after WM it look absolutely super.
Edit to add: I am done for the night I'll add those extra pictures to clarify if need be, but I need to stop for now.
Also, look at the pictures Aaron posted if you are confused! They are really helpful, I think
Tons of thanks!!!
I can play at last TS2 TS3 and TS4 So great that toddlers are here!!!
The other day I spent a couple hours going through tutorials and videos - and this what I came up on my own.
and of course this is what my first project in this class looks like
I live in southern Vermont in the Rutland County - so when I try to create something, I like to see if I can capture the Vermont landscapes. Vermont is famous for it's rolling green mountains, and ski areas like Jay's Peak, Killington, Magic Mountain etc. In fact yesterday I was so excited (now I'm getting off track here) that Alex Deibolt won Bronze in ski Cross, and he's from Manchester (Manchester Center) VT which is like 20 miles from me.
Anyway back on topic - I imported this into CAW - but now comes the painting.
My question is - I heard something or read something about Paint World (something like that) when you get done with creating in WM -you use this PW (?) to paint your created landmass?
This is great. I've been thinking about how to tackle Vermont landscape
Well, I've tried a few ways of painting with WM and they have all been successful in different ways. Basically, you can use the "Selector" devices to choose parts of the landscape, such as convexity, slope, and height, and you can use these in combination, too (such as the convex upper areas would be the bare rock, and anything above a certain steepness would be rock, and lower-lying areas would be grassy). You can also use the outputs from an erosion device, for example, that has a flow map, wear map... I can't remember what they all are, but they are really useful. Each of these selections can be outputted to a PNG. That is the manual method.
There are, also, several wonderful macros that can help. In the Macros section (I keep calling these Device menus, but maybe that is not right) there is a Basic Coverage macro. Basic Coverage colorizes the landscape according to its own algorithms to assign grass/rock/snow etc.
You can output the Basic Coverage an Overlay Device so you can preview it in World Machine. The Overlay Device needs both your height map input and the Basic Coverage input. You can also run any of your selections through a colorizer.
I am still figuring all this out. I used a Splat Map converter (under converters) to output the colors to a RGB channeled PNG. It makes each "color" a channel, so you can extract the Black and White mask for each color. You can have several channels and an alpha for the entire thing. I found that really convenient, but maybe it is too fiddly for folks.
That is my off-the-top-of-my-head answer
And, again, any notes on what needs clarifying, based on what Aaron and I have posted, would be really great, as I'll look at the intro from yesterday again and maybe make the pictures better if I can.
I would really love to learn that. Whenever you have time after all your other projects- about a month, right?
I downloaded Rflong's heightmap to see what I could do with it and here's the result. This is slightly extreme though and I wouldn't recommend doing this to an existing map with roads etc.
I'm currently uploading the CAW world file and WM file so I'll post the link when it's done! :-)
I've also made a new distant terrain for my new world which took me a good few hours but I'm getting a lot quicker at it.
Lol! No kidding, right! Actually pretty much everything else is on hold. I really need to get some things finished up for Zach which I haven't felt ready to tackle yet, and a family for Barcelona made, but, honestly, I'm making World Machine my priority right now. I really want to learn it and make sure there are resources available here and maybe at MTS to encourage folks to use it, so that the more of us are getting into it, the more I can learn. Very selfish
Actually, my explanation would be more or less what I posted yesterday. It just takes some playing around with the strength of the Advanced Perlin device and the Erosion device. The "Thermal Weathering" device under "Natural" is also a really great one for adding interest to the terrain (I'm thinking France and University World definitely had this device used on them
I think devices could have little mini-explanations here, too. If anyone is playing around with, for example, Erosion, and they want to post their varying results, that would be great to see
Edit to add: Rflong, I would just encourage you to try it out if you can with the basics you've got so far
Awesome
Hey, if you felt like explaining the Distant Terrain, that would be amazing
I think the danger for me with all of this is that I tend to overcomplicate things