3D Objects

What you need to know before using them Formats City building, WCS and LightWave Coordinate axis conventions DXF caused crashes DXF format Free apps for modeling Modeling for use in WCS and VNS Randomization SketchUp 7 OBJ Export Translators

3D Studio Max

3D Studio VIZ compositing Background Image, can't see in viewport until rendered (ZBCOMP with Max 3 & 4) DEM export as 3DS object Draping a planimetric render Exporting 3DS objects RPF doesn't composite correctly in WCS Scene export units Unable to Open File for Input error Where's the Area Terraffector in my exported 3DS DEM?

Animation

Codecs Formats Missing terrain in rendered animation Motion blur Quick Sequence, don't hide the view

ArcInfo

E00 Shapefiles, multi-part shapes

Area Terraffectors

Freeze Selective feature exaggeration Viewing in real-time

AutoCAD DXF Import for Terrain

Import Considerations Preparing AutoCAD file for WCS import

Basalt

Columnar basalt

Block Diagrams and Cross-sections

Block diagram Cross-section: Architectural Style Terraffector method Area Terraffector method Related visualization software

Beaches

Are they rendering? Beach basics Beachcombing Shore, shallow, and deep water Ecosystems

Cameras

70mm film aspect Common lens angles of view Eye level views Importing Camera paths Making 2 cameras move at the same speed Matching a camera view to a photo Planimetric views: Why is terrain cut off? Stereo Java applet for viewing stereo Velocity Distribution

Cartography

Berann-style artificial curvature Contour lines, rendering on terrain

City

Building a city, abridged

Clipping Plane

Minimum rendering distance for objects

Clouds

Using a Cloud Component? Watch those keyframes... Cloud shadows not rendering Multilayered cumulus clouds

Color Maps

Gaps between abutting Color Maps Image Object Library 'Load Fast' and WRLs Making Ground Effect show through an Ecosystem Matching color Matching projections in WCS Picking colors when placing Ecosystems with a Color Map Realtime overlay Transparency doesn't work in Color by Pixel mode Using Ecosystem Matching like a Environment

Compositing

Shadows for 3D Objects rendered in LW/Max Z-buffer compositing and 3D volumetrics

Coordinate Systems

BCS in VNS?

Crashes (also see Errors)

Why?

DEMs

10-m USGS data ArcASCII import ArcGIS export formats ASTER Benches after gridding contours DXF import DWG import Erosion tools ETOPO5 ETOPO5 vs GTOPO30 GeoTIFFs as DEMs GLOBE data Gridding breaklines and contours (VNS 3) LIDAR data, Snoqualmie River Valley, WA Near DEM not visible in real-time but renders NED import Preferred formats: Arc GRID, Arc Export E00, and GRIDFLOAT Raster image import, steps in resulting terrain Resolution bumping SDTS import limitations Smoothing SRTM Spikes in un-Terraffected terrain Striped, poor resolution DEM fixing Vertical exaggeration

DEM Merger

Don't layer, merge! Multi-Res Considerations

DEM Painter

Can't paint over NULL data holes

Ecosystems

Adding a new Material causes loss of foliage Ecosystem feathering and overlap Ecosystem foliage with image drape on ground Elevation Line not honored in vector-bounded Ecosystem Polygon edges showing along vector-bounded Ecosystem edges 'Stripes' pattern in foliage in VNS 2 Using an orthophoto to place foliage and tint ground

Errors

Database Load Error Illegal layer number (VNS 3) Error in PrepVectorPoly polygon x (VNS 3) Error triangulating polygon x/y (VNS 3) Error triangulating polygon: Why VNS 3 and not VNS 2? Memory Allocation Failure: What's happening? (VNS 3) Memory Allocation Failure window: Could not allocate X bytes of memory Memory Allocation Failure: Troubleshooting Memory error rendering DEMs only (VNS 3) Memory use increases and eventually crashes (VNS 3) Project crashes WCS Project won't open Render Module window: Error initializing Effects Which DEM is causing a crash? (VNS 3)

Export Scene

Export Scene vs. Scene Express 3DS 3DS "Unable to initialize..." error

Farmland

Crop circles Irrigated farmland

Foliage

3D trees 3D trees: Pine needles not sharp Accurate shadows Crop rows and orchards Dense foliage flickers in animation (VNS 3) Distance Dissolve, Absolute Pixels vs Relative to Image Height Distance Dissolve with remote imagery: Tinting Ecosystem foliage for a better transition Growing trees Halos around rendered foliage Hedges Image sources Planimetric and Overhead views References Tinting Foliage and Ecosystems (VNS 3) Trees get darker toward light source Trees missing or truncated in overhead or planimetric view Trees 'pop out' of animation at frame edges

Fractal Depth Maps

Common settings for all Render Jobs How does Maximum Fractal Depth value and texture affect FDMs? Increasing speed of FDM generation Interrupting generation of FDMs With many cameras

GIS

Coordinate System default Exporting VNS 3 database items as shapefiles Thematic Maps to drive Diffuse Color Translators Viewshed Analysis VNS-specific GIS topics

Ground Effect

Rendering a 'clipped' area Using multiple DOQs

Glaciers

Hardware Key (Dongle)

Remote Desktop doesn't work

Image Objects

GeoTIFF Image Manager and Color Control, Sequence, and Dissolve (VNS) Image Viewers Indexed color images PNG vs IFF TFW Transparency for Planar Image textures Transparency for foliage and celestial bodies WFL

Island Topology (donut polygons)

Creating a multi-part 'cut-out' vector in VNS 3 High-res Edge doesn't work on inner polygon

Lakes

Flooding events: permanent vs temporary Lake vector renders blocky Non-constant elevation

LightWave

Adding 3DO locations to a LW scene after export Draping a planimetric render in LW File format for compositing in WCS LW_ExtendedRLAExport Problems

Lights

Attach a light to an object Attach a string of lights to vector points Should I export the scene to LightWave and do the lighting there?

Macintosh

VNS 3 with Bootcamp and VMWare DEM Utilities

NatureView Express

ECW and JPEG 2000 texture export problems Viewpoints

OpenGL

Operating Systems

Panoramas

How to make them How to view them as QTVR movies

Performance Issues

Sluggishness

Post Processing

Edge Ink

Rendering

/3GB switch Animations longer than 99,999 Frames Network rendering options Network rendering with SuperConductor Projected planimetric images Reducing render time with effect_block_init (VNS 3) Render Speed Segments Tips for Reducing Memory Consumption

Render Farms

Amazon EC2

Scenarios

A good reason to have at least one

Scene-at-a-Glance

Number of items listed

Scene Express

3D Objects: How to make them look good in SX 3D Object Textures: How they're generated Animated 3D Objects not animated in LW Changing a LightWave camera to match WCS/VNS animation for compositing DEM Resolution: Increasing during export Encrypting NatureView content FBX issues with no Ecosystems Fractal Depth: Variable or Constant? Hardware limits real-time performance Scene Export vs SX Stereo viewing VRML Vewers

Search Queries

Dynamic vs static linking No 'Add Components by Layer' option in VNS 3

Sky

Can't see celestial objects and stars Sunbeams and shadow

Shadows

Crepuscular rays emanating from a mountain peak Crepuscular rays through volumetric clouds Detailed Shadows Minimizing shadow render time Not rendering, possible reasons Triangular shadow facets in terrain

Snow

Feathering and overlap Snow on foliage

SuperConductor

Render farm hardware Render to AVI or QuickTime Script error -1 line 1 Sockets for multi-processor machines Where's the most recent SuperConductor tutorial?

Suspended Wires & Cables

Terraffectors

Lower DEM resolution and higher FD or higher DEM resolution and lower FD? Road comes and goes, especially at intersections Road edges 'saw-toothed' Road intersections Saving render time with FD texture Spikes along road or near Tfx intersections Tfx roads vs Tfx Freeze Tfx roads always the best? Varying stream channel width with a texture (VNS 3) Viewing in real-time

Terrain

How to achieve VNS 2 roughness in VNS 3

Terrain Gridder

Combining data from 2 grid events Error: Ratio of width to height too great Gridding in WCS 6 Import Wizard, Grid Now or Later? LastAutoGrid Removing Control Points Number of Tiles and Outlying Point Search Region What are Gradients? What is NULL?

Terrain Visualization

Use in rigorous visual impact regulations

Textures

Align to Vector HSV Merge element Remap function Texture not rendering on vector-bounded Ecosystem

Tunnels

Ultimate Earth

DEM sampling error

Units

International Foot vs US Survey Foot

Utilities

INVERSE/FORWARD/INVERS3D/FORWRD3D Computation Utilities

Vectors

Create vector Digitizing in OpenGL? Preview render is better Digitizing in preview render and seeing in OpenGL DLG import, ASCII vs SDTS Export vectors as DXF Not rendering as solid lines Scrolling an OpenGL view while digitizing Terrain disappears in overhead view after vector created

Walls

Fences Peaked roofs Retaining walls

Water

Waterfalls Waves, general suggestions Waves, animation notes

WCS vs VNS

WCS projects in VNS 2

Wind Turbines

How to animate Why doesn't my hub-and-blades object stay with the nacelle as it rotates?