Landscape Editor - Surface Definition

Surface Definition
Maps must be defined with between 400 and 250,000 sample points. Realistic looking landscapes usually require 10,000 sample points or more. However, very large maps are slower to manipulate and draw, and for most purposes between 25,000 and 100,000 points is probably the best trade-off. Data is stored in .gs2 files, usually referred to as maps.

To create a map for a landscape surface each sample point must have its height set. GenesisII offers several ways of doing this:

• The data may be imported directly from a digital terrain data file, such as Ordnance Survey NTFs, Vistapro DEM or USGS DEM.
• A graphics file may have it's colours mapped as height values. This is similar to importing data from a digital terrain data file, but there are some additional considerations.
• Information may be captured from a scanned image of a topographic (contour) map.