Please note that although you can save Cloud Layers, there is no way at present to reload them.
You have to create a cloud layer before you can render a sky - even if you don't want any clouds in the sky. Although the cloud panel allows you to create multiple cloud layers, only the lower one will be rendered (unless the camera is between two layers - in this case no ground will be rendered).
Most of the settings are pretty self explanatory. I will explain those which are not, or that have special meaning.
The display of the top-down view of the layer is not updated automatically; There is a button to update the displays.
Sky Size. This specifies the size of the sky. Increasing this value will increase the render time slightly, but can be used to cure problems with black areas appearing above the horizon - where the sky does not reach the ground.
3-D. 2-dimensional clouds are the "original" Terragen clouds. 3-dimensional is a slightimprovement to this. However, to get the most out of 3D clouds, you should increase "Cloud Shade Accuracy" in the Render Settings dialog box to maximum. For most purposes, 2D clouds are more than sufficient, and in fact in many cases, 3D clouds will look more false than 2D.
Edit Cloud Colour: Be careful when modifying this setting, as changing this will also affect the haze colour.
Density Contrast. Alters the density contrast of the clouds. It has the effect of changing how "sharp" the edges of the clouds are, and will also make them appear darker under normal settings. The lower the setting, the softer the clouds are.
Density Shift. Allows you to alter how much of the sky contains clouds. Large negative numbers move towards having no clouds, large positive values move towards having a totally grey sky.
Persistence. Has the effect of adjusting how many "small" clouds will be generated. Large negative values move towards very smooth clouds, large positive values move towards very "scattered" looking clouds.
Largest Cloud Size. Works in a similar way to "Size of Features" for terrain generation.
 render controls |
 landscape |
 water |
 clouds |
 atmosphere |
 lighting |
 image |
| menu items - working
with files - faq - getting started - moonscapes - animations - post-processing
- index ©May, 1999 John McLusky |
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