Import grayscale images as heightmaps?

[Syx]

Is it possible in Terragen 2? I've been looking all over the menus and can't even find an option to import ANYTHING. Has this feature really disappeared? I've been able to find no way to generate heightmaps besides fractally, which seems terribly limited when you already know what you want.

[gregsandor]

Right click on the node network panel;

Create Heightfield Operator -->
Heightfield from Shader

Load the greyscale image into an Image Map Shader and plug that into the above.

[Dune]

Or load it into an image map shader, set the scales, coordinates and displacement and directly plug into compute terrain.

[Oshyan]

Loading using an Image Map Shader or Heightfield Load is the correct approach. the Heightfield From Shader node is deprecated. Image Map Shaders can provide displacement directly (displacement tab), and Heightfields can load image formats.

- Oshyan

[gregsandor]

What's "deprecated" mean? 

Loading using an Image Map Shader or Heightfield Load is the correct approach. the Heightfield From Shader node is deprecated. Image Map Shaders can provide displacement directly (displacement tab), and Heightfields can load image formats.

- Oshyan

[Dune]

I think it means it's going to be dumped as an option. I found this wording in Flash too for old functions.

[Oshyan]

Yes, it means it's no longer recommended to be used and may be removed in the future. Usually it has been replaced by something newer, better, etc. In this case using a separate shader is unnecessary as the Heightfield Generate now has shader conversion built in to it (just use the Shader input).

- Oshyan

[Tandem]

... Heightfields can load image formats ...

Oshyan,
Can you please clarify which image formats are supported by TG2 to generate terrain using the Add Terrain > Heightfield (load file) command.  Also, are both 8 bit and 16 bit images supported?

[blackcat]

All of my landscapes are generated from artwork I create in Photoshop and save as greyscale bmp images. (I will probably start using the tiff format in the future, though.)

After starting TG2, I click Add Terrain/Heightfield (load file)

I go to the folder where the file is kept. I select the proper file type to be listed (in this case "Windows or OS/2 Bitmap" and then choose the image I want to use.

Bitmap, TIFF and Targa formats appear to be the only choices...which certainly seem sufficient to me.

[Henry Blewer]

I like to use bitmap files. I believe, I may be wrong, that this format has the same memory size as a file that it uses in memory. If there is a memory issue, it makes it easier to tweak the project so it can still be rendered.