3D Objects

What you need to know before using them Formats City building, WCS and LightWave Coordinate axis conventions DXF caused crashes DXF format Randomization 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

Animation

Codecs Motion blur Quick Sequence, don't hide the view

ArcInfo

E00 Shapefiles, multi-part shapes

Area Terraffectors

Freeze Selective feature exaggeration

AutoCAD DXF Import for Terrain

Import Considerations Preparing AutoCAD file for WCS import

Basalts

Columnar basalts

Block Diagrams

Terraffector method Area Terraffector method Related visualization software

Beaches

Are they rendering? Beach basics Beachcombing

Cameras

70mm film aspect Eye level views 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

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 ASTER Erosion tools ETOPO5 ETOPO5 vs GTOPO30 GLOBE data LIDAR data, Snoqualmie River Valley, WA NED import 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

Multi-Res Considerations

Ecosystems

Ecosystem feathering and overlap Polygon edges showing along vector-bounded Ecosystem edges Using an orthophoto to place foliage and tint ground

Errors

Memory Allocation Failure window: Could not allocate X bytes of memory Project crashes WCS Project won't open Render Module window: Error initializing Effects

Farmland

Crop circles Irrigated farmland

Foliage

Accurate shadows Distance Dissolve, Absolute Pixels vs Relative to Image Height Growing trees Halos around rendered foliage Hedges Image sources References Trees get darker toward light source Trees 'pop out' of animation at frame edges

Fractal Depth Maps

How does Maximum Fractal Depth value and texture affect FDMs? Increasing speed of FDM generation Interrupting generation of FDMs With many cameras

GIS

What's the default Coordinate System? Thematic Maps to drive Diffuse Color Translators VNS-specific GIS topics

Ground Effect

Using multiple DOQs

Glaciers

Hardware Key (Dongle)

Image Objects

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

Island Topology (donut polygons)

High-res Edge doesn't work on inner polygon

Lakes

Lake vector renders blocky

LightWave

Draping a planimetric render in LW File format for compositing in WCS LW_ExtendedRLAExport Problems

Macintosh

DEM Utilities

OpenGL

Panoramas

How to make them How to view them as QTVR movies

Post Processing

Edge Ink

Rendering

Animations longer than 99,999 Frames Network rendering options Network rendering with SuperConductor Projected planimetric images Render Speed Segments Tips for Reducing Memory Consumption

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 DEM Resolution: Increasing during export Scene Export vs SX Stereo viewing VRML Vewers

Search Queries

Dynamic vs static linking

Sky

Can't see celestial objects and stars Sunbeams and shadow

Shadows

Minimizing shadow render time Not rendering, possible reasons Triangular shadow facets in terrain

Snow

Feathering and overlap Snow on foliage

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?

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?

Textures

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

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 Not rendering as solid lines Scrolling an OpenGL view while digitizing Terrain disappears in overhead view after vector created

Water

Waterfalls Waves, general suggestions Waves, animation notes

WCS vs VNS

WCS projects in VNS 2