3D Madness! Companion CD/3DMADNESS.iso/vistapro/wininst/manual/tutor2.txt

Text File | 1993-08-03 | 11KB | 277 lines

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Tutorial #2
Vistapro User Manual
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TUTORIAL #2- MAKING A PRETTIER PICTURE


Before starting this tutorial, you should have Vistapro running
and have the DEM file TUTORIAL.DEM loaded. If you are not at
this stage, refer to Tutorial #1.

LOADING A PCX IMAGE
-------------------
Before we further explore Vistapro features, let's take a look
at a saved PCX image of the TUTORIAL.DEM landscape.

Select the Load PCX option from the LOAD menu (top of the
screen). You should now see the Vistapro File Requester. If you
are unfamiliar with the File Requester, refer to Tutorial #1:
Loading a DEM Landscape.

Position the mouse pointer over the PCX directory and click the
left button. Search the list of files until you find the file:
"TUTORIAL.PCX". Click the left mouse button on this file.
Vistapro will now load and display the PCX image.

The image that you are looking at was created using the
TUTORIAL.DEM landscape and several of Vistapro's options. It
probably looks a lot different than what you were able to
achieve using the features in Tutorial #1. Through the use of
Vistapro's features, this relatively dull landscape has been
"prettied" up a bit.

Let's examine some of the options used to give this image its
look.

To get back to the topographical map and Control Panel, click
the left mouse button.

ADDING TEXTURE
--------------
Artificial detail can be added to a landscape by using the
Texture buttons. They are located on the Lower Control Panel
under the word: Texture. They consist of four buttons, of which
only one can be activated at a time. The buttons are: "O",
"L",  "M",  and "H". They stand for Off, Low, Medium, and High.

The higher the texture setting, the more Vistapro will break up
displayed polygons into smaller pieces. Each piece is drawn as
a slightly different shade, thereby giving the landscape a more
textured look.

Set your camera and target location and try rendering the
images using each of the texture settings.

SETTING THE TIMBER LINE
-----------------------
Locate the Tree button. Right below the Tree button is a
numerical gadget. The number in this gadget indicates the
timber line, which is the altitude above which there are no
trees. Just as in nature, the timber line is a fuzzy value.
Some trees will appear above the timber line and some bare
areas will appear below it.

An altitude can be entered into the numerical gadget, or you
can use the Tree button to select the tree level by clicking on
the Tree button and then clicking on the topographic map at a
location which has the desired altitude.

If the DwrTre button is not selected; Vistapro will not
actually draw trees, instead it uses the tree colors (see CMAP)
to color the ground.

Try rendering the current landscape with different values for
the tree line.

DRAWING TREES
-------------
Through the use of the DrwTre button, you can specify whether
Vistapro will draw trees on the landscape or not. Trees may be
drawn anywhere that the tree colors are used (see Timber Line
above).

Trees are time consuming to draw and may take from twice as
long to render as the same scene without any trees. To draw
trees, click on the DrwTre button. You will then see a
requestor giving you the option to change the tree size and
type.

The numerical gadget in the center of the requestor specifies
the tree size in meters. You will also see a Pine and Oak
button. Click on one of these to specify the type of tree to
draw.

SETTING TREE DENSITY
--------------------
Use the TreDns numerical gadget located on the Middle Control
Panel to specify how many of the polygons drawn with tree
colors will have trees drawn on them (if the DrwTre button is
selected). Useful values range from 0 to 300. A value of 150
will result in one half of the tree colored polygons having
trees.

SETTING SNOW LEVEL
------------------
The snow level is the lowest elevation where Vistapro covers
the landscape with snow. Just like the timber line, this is a
fuzzy value.The snow level can be entered directly into the
numerical gadget under the Snow button, or you can click on the
Snow button and then click on the topographical map.

ADDING A LAKE
-------------
To add a lake to your landscape, first select a location for
your lake. It needs to be an area of landscape surrounded by
landscape of a higher elevation. Move your mouse around until
you find the lowest point in the surrounding landscape.

Now click on the Lake button and then click on the
topographical map at an altitude just a bit lower than the
lowest elevation of the surrounding landscape. If you select an
altitude that is higher, the lake will spill over into other
areas where you may not want it.

ADDING A RIVER
--------------
The River button is used to create rivers that flow downhill,
from the selected starting point, following the curves of the
landscape. A river will continue to flow downhill until it
reaches the ocean, the edge of the topographic map, or until it
runs into another river. Placing a river on top of an existing
river will widen the existing one. You may stop the flow of a
river by pressing the ESC key or the right mouse button.

To select the river location, click on the River button and
then on the topographical map.

CHANGING THE HAZE LEVEL
-----------------------
The haze level is the amount of haze that will appear between
the camera, target, and horizon. With a 0 haze level, the
horizon will be crystal clear, but you will lose a little of
the depth of the image. To set or change the haze level, click
on the Haze button. Vistapro will generate a value based upon
the distance between the camera and the target. Alternately,
you can enter a value in the numerical gadget below the Haze
button.

SETTING THE LIGHT DIRECTION
---------------------------
To change the light direction, click on the Light button on the
Middle Control Panel. You will see a target drawn around the
topographical map. Each circular line represents the altitude
of the light source in degrees. Notice that there is a line
radiating out from the center (or bulls eye). This line
represents the direction of the light source.

You will also see a new Lower Control Panel. On the left of the
panel are the "N",  "E",  "S", and "W" buttons for the most
simple light directions. These represent light coming from the
north, east, south or west at 45 degrees above the horizon.

If you want your light source to come from one of these
directions, then click on the button representing the direction
from which you want the light to come. If, however, you want
the light to come from a different direction, click on the
Custom button.

After clicking on the Custom button, move the mouse pointer to
the topographical map. Notice that moving the position of the
mouse pointer on the map changes the end point of the light
source direction/altitude line. Once you have the direction and
altitude set to your liking, click the left mouse button to
accept the setting.

Alternately you can use the numerical gadgets on the Light
Lower Control Panel to input values.

SHADOWS AND EXAGGERATION
------------------------
You will also see two buttons on the Light Lower Control Panel;
they are Shadows and Exager.

If the Shadows button is selected, Vistapro will take into
account the light source direction and create shadows on the
landscape.

The Exager button exaggerates the shading of the landscape.
With this button selected, the rate at which shadowed areas
darken is increased.

CHANGING COLORS
---------------
Vistapro allows you to change its color map. This allows you to
fine tune your image to get that perfect look of realism. It
also allows you to tamper with nature; imagine flaming red
snow, or pink lakes and rivers. By altering the color map, you
can drastically change the look of your landscape.

Before you change colors, make sure that the LckPal button is
not selected. If the button is depressed, click on it to raise
it.

To change the colors, click on the CMap button in the Middle
Control Panel. This will activate the Color Control Panel. You
will see two rows of buttons labeled with the names of
landscape features. To the left are red, green, and blue slider
bars. To change the color of a landscape feature, click on the
button and use the slider bars to change the color.

To exit the Color Control Panel and keep the new colors, click
on the Accept button. If you don't want to keep any changes
made, click on the Reject button.

At this point take a minute to look over chapter 6 of this
manual. After you have read chapter 6, experiment with
different colors until you find a set that you would like to
save.

SAVING THE COLOR MAP
--------------------
The Vistapro color map can be saved by using the Save CMAP
option from the Save menu (top of the screen). Once you pick
this option, you will be presented with the Vistapro File
Requestor. The Filename Window will contain a list of
directories. Click on the CMAP directory. You should see a list
of CMAP files (they have a DEM extension).

Click on the Filename: text gadget and enter the filename:

TESTCMAP

followed by pressing the ENTER key. This is the name under
which the current color map will be saved. Now click on the
Save CMAP button at the top left of the File Requestor.

Your color map has now been saved.

LOADING A COLOR MAP
-------------------
Let's load a different color map. Pick the Load CMAP option
from the Load menu. You will now be at the Vistapro File
Requestor. Switch to the CMAP directory and click on the file
"TUTCMAP.DEM". Now click on the Load CMAP button.

Set your camera and target positions and render an image. As
you can see the landscape looks quite different.

Pick the Load CMAP again and load the file that you previously
saved: "TESTCMAP.DEM".

SAVING YOUR RENDERED IMAGE
--------------------------
Now that you know how to create beautiful and bizarre images,
the next step is to be able to save your masterpiece for
viewing at a later date. Using the techniques covered in
earlier sections, render an image that you would like to save.

Now pick the Save PCX option from the Save menu. You will see
the Vistapro File Requestor. Switch to the PCX directory and
then click on the Filename: text gadget. Enter:

MYPIC

followed by pressing the ENTER key. Now click on the Save PCX
button.

Your picture is now saved and can be viewed by using the Load
PCX option or by using any IBM paint or viewer program that
supports the 256 color PCX format.


*** End of Tutorial #2 ***