Import & enhance height map

[vizzitor]

Just purchased GeoControl2 and look forward to seeing the results in Vue.

I have tried to import a file from USGS and enhance the streams that feed a river and modify the river bed. The filters ruin the resolution with too much noise and smoothing as I want to retain the original detail in my image file. I tried reducing the power of the filters but I loose everything. I understand that it is foolish to restrain the intended function of GeoControl2 …but is there a way to reduce the effects of the default filters or delete the filters and still use isolines for elevation modification?

I understand if this is impossible but the uniform change that isolines provide are fantastic compared to Vue’s brushes.

…Albert

[Blaine91555]

Something like masking you mean? I've been wondering about that too.

[vizzitor]

Maybe I better learn the other functions. Is masking mentioned in a tutorial?

[Blaine91555]

I'm not sure either. I bought this about the same time you did and have not had time to figure it all out yet.

I've got the Isolines and the the sliders about figured out but have not got into the textures yet or that end of things.

[Plotinus]

Masking is one of my favourite features. Create selectors using the Selectors tab (height, slope and roughness as well as sediments that some filters create are what I use the most and can be combined) and then you can use these to mask filters. this can give you very good control over where filters are applied. Want cliffs to be eroded but the top surface smoothed out? Just apply a smooth filter linked to a height-enabled selector. Invert the filter to have other filters effect the rest of the terrain. You can come up with lots of effective combinations.

You can then export the selectors to act as distribution maps for texturing in Vue or similar so that you can apply specific textures to areas that have been altered by the specific filters. Just remember to recreate the selectors if you up the terrain resolution to keep them in step.

In terms of removing all filter effects you can do this using levels. Just reduce or eliminate all the levels for the default noise filters.

Regards,

Plotinus

[mdunakin]

I thought there was no way to invert the selections, or do filters work the same way as a selection?
Cuz you mentioned that all you need to do is invert a filter, but does this do the same thing I was hoping to achieve with inverting selections?

Thanx.....................md :)
P.S. I just got my modo 401 release I've been waiting months for, and I still am mostly spending my time in GC2, so that tells you where my priorities are, I guess hehehe

[mdunakin]

Say, Albert, can you post a screen shot of what you are trying to work on there?
I'd really love to see how it's working out for you, if you don't mind?
I too will be wanting to move in the same direction that you are working in right now, down the road a bit and would like to see how your works are coming along?
And of course, any tips you may have on this and how you get things all worked into the GC2 and stuff?

This is the ONE tutorial that is missing from all the awesome tutorials that Rohannes has posted so far, and I REALLY hope he'll seriously think about posting at least a short tutorial on bringing in image maps and DEM files and so on, as this aspect of the program is really not mentioned anywhere in any of the current tuts.

thanx.......................md :)

[Plotinus]

I thought there was no way to invert the selections, or do filters work the same way as a selection?
Cuz you mentioned that all you need to do is invert a filter, but does this do the same thing I was hoping to achieve with inverting selections?

Mark, you can invert selections when you apply them to filters. It is not the filter that you are inverting, when you select the tick box on the settings tab, it is the selection. So if you have a selector created using the height criteria for the top part of your terrain, you can use this with a filter to effect only the top of your terrain. If you hit the invert tick box, the filter will now be applied to all but the top part of your terrain.

Regards,

Plotinus

[mdunakin]

Ohh... well, OK, that sounds good :)

When I asked about inverting selections the other week and was told it can't be done, I assumed that you knew what I was trying to do, which basically was just to invert things when I had a selection so that I could change where I put effects on?
And if inverting a filter will do the same exact job, then for me, that's all that matters :)

thanx...........................md :)