GenesisII
GenesisII generates photorealistic images of landscapes. Images can be generated in a few mouse clicks using a landscape grid and the program defaults.

GenesisII excels at rendering panoramic views of realistic landscapes. It is especially good at modeling real landscapes from geographic data. It is not a 'close-up' modeller like 3D Max, and although it can produce fantasy landscapes similar to Bryce it's strengths are firmly rooted in the real world.

Besides rendering and graphic capabilities, GenesisII also incorporates a wide range of tools to support landscape modeling and related tasks (such as VRML Modeling and Terrain Editing).

We produce three versions of GenesisII - an introductory Freeware version, a Light version for more commited users, and a Professional version for professional users. Some features may not be available in the Freeware and Light versions.

GenesisII uses OpenGL for 3D rendering at it is important that this is set up correctly on your PC, however GenesisII will only benefit marginally from hardware acceleration.

Basic Concepts
GenesisII describes a landscape surface using a Landscape Grid. This is a regular grid of heights that can either be generated by GenesisII or imported from another source such as a DEM file using the Landscape Editor. GenesisII draws this grid in 3D to generate the landscape surface and uses fractals to add additional realistic detail.

Basic surface textures and colors are controlled by Terrain Editor. These can be assigned to parts of the landscape surface depending onslope and altitude.

In addition to the landscape surface, a range of other factors control how the landscape will look in the rendered image. Atmosphere, Clouds and Water are all important and can all be controlled in detail by the user - and of course Camera and Target placement are under direct user control.

Advanced Concepts
Although GenesisII's basic features can generate and render simple landscapes, such as mountains and hills, most real landscapes include both vegetation and complex man-made features that cannot be added to a landscape surface using algorithms. To include these features in a landcape GenesisII uses the concept of Terrain Layers.

A Terrain Layer (often refered to simply as a Terrain) is simply a type of surface that overrides the default surface of a landscape. Terrains can be used to control surface color and texture, apply vegetation or place 3D models on the landscape. Any number of terrains can be defined, each of which may have it's own specific characteristics. Terrains are often mapped onto the landscape surface using shapes such as polygons and lines, the data for which may be imported from a GIS system such as MapInfo.

GenesisII also includes ecology terrains that can be used to place vegetation onto a landscape in a realistic manner without using shapes.