grayscale heightmaps ???

[Marco]

RT3 Reference Guide, Chapter 7: Map Editor says that I could "import a heightmap" to help get realistic land contours and coastlines. However, I can't find any info about this. It says "a heightmap is a grayscale image saved in Targa format (.TGA)." Does anyone know where to find or create these heightmaps?

----->Marco

OK -- I jusst found the National Map Viewer. Any other info anyone can give me would be appreciated. Thanx.

[Wolverine@MSU]

Check the following for info on creating heightmaps:

http://www.msu.edu/user/bowlby/rrt3/tutorials/Microdem/Tutorial1.htm

It's a bit complicated, but will give better vertical resolution than a grayscale heightmap.

[Marco]

Thanx. That DOES look complicated, but I might check it out. I've found something else, also looks good. Need to research more.

Know where to get some good vegetation maps -- new as well as old (early 1800's) ???

[AZ Rail Rat]

Wolvey linked to a much more in-depth (and more accurate) tutorial than I posted. Mine does not yet explain the true color shading developed for RRT and the one Wolvey put up has a LOT more operational details.

Even so, take a look at my tutorial which I think provides a different method and links for getting DEMs, then go back to the one above. When you got a map, come back to my Map Overlays page which goes into how to use the MicroDEM gazetteer feature and overlay your cities. Give it a look:

http://www.users.qwest.net/%7Egreames/AZRR%20NAZRR%20Blog

[Marco]

Okay..... I think the two of you got me pretty well convinced that MicroDem is the way to go. Question for you, tho.... Is MicroDem really that much better than the RT3 MapBuilder? And why?

Again, thank you SO much for all your help and info!

(Any ideas on better vegetation maps than generic satellite maps? Something a little more comprehensible....easoer...maybe...hopefully....

:lol:

[Wolverine@MSU]

MicroDem is far superior to the RT3 MapBuilder. The reference maps used by MapBuilder suffer from distortion that gets worse the farther away from the equator you go. Just look at the way North America is foreshortened in the northern latitudes. MicroDem provides a relatively distortion-free map. Just takes a little more work to move ahead on the learning curve. Also, as Hawk's tutorial shows, it's easy to add landmarks by using the gazeteeer.

[AZ Rail Rat]

Map Builder was not bad for large scale maps. If you want all of Austrailia, Canada, or like my Skin This maps, Sri Lanka, the spoken of distortion does not seem to have that much effect. However, if you need to cover one state or country the size of Texas or less, it does matter.

I tried Map Builder on my AZRR map. Could not recognize a single landmark. When I downloaded and croped DEMs, it was like driving on I-8, or anywhere else in the state. Other MicroDEM features, especially the gazetteer make map building SO easy. Some day I want to take one DEM file of an area I'm very familiar with and see what it looks like on a 1024 by whatever map.

Only a greyscale heightmap was used on AZRR, but the proper shader was applied to NAZRR, and it's EVEN BETTER. If you ever drove I-40 or up to the Grand Canyon, you will know what I mean. I hope to have a test map of NAZRR posted soon after Labor Day.