Landscape generators

[Nick]

Hello. Just wondering what options there are for landscape generators? Whats the best for the Amiga? and PC? As I`ve just bought a cheapy PC for 3D stuff only, I`ll probably have to get it for that. How good is World Construction Set? and Bryce? I want very good results, and to be able to export them into Lightwave 7.5 if possible.

Thanks
Nick

[odin]

VistaPro? ;-).

[bloodline]

odin wrote:
VistaPro? ;-).

I can't find VisaPro anywhere.

[Nick]

Hmm I`ve just been looking into World Construction set. The main program its self is just within reach of my budget, but I don`t think it will export to a Lightwave file as standard. Look like I have to buy something called Scene express for it. That costs waaaay too much!

Vista Pro used to be good. A tad out of date now. I`m guessing its not in development anymore?

[restore2003]

vista pro is still in development, but it has changed name, but i just cant remember what that was  :-(

[Nick]

Anybody here used Bryce? Is it good enough to be used for realistic landscapes, or is it for computer generated looking landscapes? I`m just starting to investigate this.

[Lo]

Looks like VistaPro went to Windows for $35 USD.

[Varthall]

There's an old but nice scenery generator, which was used for the backdrops of the first level of Project X, give it a try, it's on Aminet:

Scenery.lha gfx/misc 10K 801 Nice random scenery generator with GUI. V1.0

Varthall

[blobrana]

Don`t know about Bryce...

(But i use the similar `Terragen` on the PC)

On the amiga i was quite pleased with  Scenery Generator results..
Scenery generator. V1.1 was on Issue 28  of amiga format i remember...
Readme:
http://spanky.triumf.ca/pub/fractals/PROGRAMS/AMIGA/LANDSCAPE.README

OR
try `Fractal landscape generator`  ,
Download:
http://wuarchive.wustl.edu/aminet/gfx/fract/AMountains.lha

[Nick]

I`ve done some looking and think Bryce looks rubbish. Is this conclusion correct?

I doubt some old Amiga/PC program will be upto scratch really. I`d get World Construction Kit for about £300 if it weren`t for the fact that it doesn`t export to Lightwave object files as standard.

[bhoggett]

Bryce is OK, but it takes a bit of learning before you will get anything near decent results.

Certainly Amiga programs are out of the picture if your Bryce results aren't up to scratch.

Vue D'Esprit is another good landscape generator, but the real question is whether you want still images or fly-through style aimations.

[Nick]

I don`t really want to use the program`s renderer. I just want the mesh and texture (and any other useful data) to export into Lightwave. I just want them for using as part of much larger animations.

[BouncingAyatollah]

Have a look here. Terragen is free.

[JaXanim]

I've used VistaPro landscapes in LightWave. It took several steps but the LightWave render was good. This is what I did (from memory).

I generated the landscape file in VistaPro, which if I remember correctly, can save in TurboSilver format. This is the old Imagine format.

Anyway, I then used the MagicLink mesh converter to get the .lwo file. The MagicLink tool was included with C4D on CUCD27 or with the original C4D package.

If this is of any interest, I'll dig a bit deeper into my hard drive.

Cheers,

JaX

[lempkee]

i use World construction set with scene express, imports and exports fine with Lightwave 5.1.

i dont use a pc so i dont know about 7.5.

anyway WCS support ppc and the results are infact AMAZING!, i have seen bryce in action (PC) it was ok but the gui was pretty annoying and quirky to use.


that said , fo easy landscapes (non animated water etc/reflections bla bla) then i use SCENERY ANIMATOR , decent stuff and support lw5.x objects fine and other way around.

cheers