Making accurate ground elevations.

Mad Matt · October 1st, 2003

Ok well I've got a question about making acurate ground elevations. I think that's the word I'm looking for anyway.

I'm currently working on a golf clubhouse for a new golf course. I have a full topigraphical site plan.

What's the best way to get that topographical plan into 3d so all the hills and dips will be there.

I'm pretty sure my boss (who's a part owner of the course) would be ecstatic if I could acuratly model the entire course.

I was sorta thinking about converting the drawing into a raster image and then filling the areas of different elevations with different shades of grey and then bluring it a lot and using that image for displacement. It feels like it'll be kinda slopy though and probably more time consuming then necessary.

I'm working in Max 4. The drawings are autocad.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Victor Erthal · October 1st, 2003

You can draw nurbs splines and then use u-loft command to create a surface form one to another.

Mad Matt · October 1st, 2003

Ok that sounds like it might work. Haven't used nurbs before but I have the reference manuals. Will I be able to import the topigraphical cad file and then just move the lines up to the elevations where they belong?

STRAT · October 1st, 2003

another method is to use surface tools

Mad Matt · October 1st, 2003

Ok surface tools I definitly know how to use. It's one of my favourite modeling tools next to box modeling.

Was just talking to the draftsman about it. He's gonna check later and see if the lines have already been assigned elevations in the cadd drawing. Would be really handy if they have.

[ October 01, 2003, 07:55 AM: Message edited by: Mad Matt ]

Victor Erthal · October 1st, 2003

Hey Strat! I have completely forguet about that, really it coud be much more simple.
Well you can bring you cad dwg and move the sub objects to the right elevation but... you have to redraw with nurbs all the level curves. I dont know if its me, but when i converted the dwg to nurbs, it all went wrong, very wrong.
The surface modifier coud work better, but you have to draw a line linking every vertex like a grid.

Mad Matt · October 1st, 2003

I guess a loft might work too but I'm thinking I remember that you can't put things onto the path that have more then one piece. Hmm maybe multiple lofts start with a base and do one for each hill.

BTW I'm talking about taking the shapes from the topicagraphical and putting them onto the path of a loft at the appropriate elevations.

Redrawing all the lines into nurbs just isn't an option. This is probably gonna need to be able to be acomplished in about a day. The drawing is VERY complex.

STRAT · October 1st, 2003

last time i made a golf course i used the displacement method. not hyper accurate, but extremely fast, easy and effective to use.

here is a quicky still (done about 3 years ago) -

Mad Matt · October 1st, 2003

Don't suppose you've still got your displacement map for that. I'd like to just see what it looked like. Seems to have worked pretty well though.

STRAT · October 1st, 2003

hold on...i'll dig it out.....

October 1st, 2003	#4 (permalink)
STRAT Super Moderator Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Cardiff, Wales, UK. Age: 36 Posts: 6,505 Name: Stephen Leworthy	another method is to use surface tools __________________

October 1st, 2003	#8 (permalink)
STRAT Super Moderator Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Cardiff, Wales, UK. Age: 36 Posts: 6,505 Name: Stephen Leworthy	last time i made a golf course i used the displacement method. not hyper accurate, but extremely fast, easy and effective to use. here is a quicky still (done about 3 years ago) - __________________

October 1st, 2003	#10 (permalink)
STRAT Super Moderator Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Cardiff, Wales, UK. Age: 36 Posts: 6,505 Name: Stephen Leworthy	hold on...i'll dig it out..... __________________

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October 1st, 2003	#1 (permalink)
Mad Matt Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Barrie,ontario canada Posts: 32 Name: matthew stitchman	Ok well I've got a question about making acurate ground elevations. I think that's the word I'm looking for anyway. I'm currently working on a golf clubhouse for a new golf course. I have a full topigraphical site plan. What's the best way to get that topographical plan into 3d so all the hills and dips will be there. I'm pretty sure my boss (who's a part owner of the course) would be ecstatic if I could acuratly model the entire course. I was sorta thinking about converting the drawing into a raster image and then filling the areas of different elevations with different shades of grey and then bluring it a lot and using that image for displacement. It feels like it'll be kinda slopy though and probably more time consuming then necessary. I'm working in Max 4. The drawings are autocad. Thanks in advance for your help.

October 1st, 2003	#2 (permalink)
Victor Erthal Senior Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Boston MA Age: 31 Posts: 256 Name: Victor Erthal	You can draw nurbs splines and then use u-loft command to create a surface form one to another.

October 1st, 2003	#3 (permalink)
Mad Matt Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Barrie,ontario canada Posts: 32 Name: matthew stitchman	Ok that sounds like it might work. Haven't used nurbs before but I have the reference manuals. Will I be able to import the topigraphical cad file and then just move the lines up to the elevations where they belong?

October 1st, 2003	#5 (permalink)
Mad Matt Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Barrie,ontario canada Posts: 32 Name: matthew stitchman	Ok surface tools I definitly know how to use. It's one of my favourite modeling tools next to box modeling. Was just talking to the draftsman about it. He's gonna check later and see if the lines have already been assigned elevations in the cadd drawing. Would be really handy if they have. [ October 01, 2003, 07:55 AM: Message edited by: Mad Matt ]

October 1st, 2003	#6 (permalink)
Victor Erthal Senior Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Boston MA Age: 31 Posts: 256 Name: Victor Erthal	Hey Strat! I have completely forguet about that, really it coud be much more simple. Well you can bring you cad dwg and move the sub objects to the right elevation but... you have to redraw with nurbs all the level curves. I dont know if its me, but when i converted the dwg to nurbs, it all went wrong, very wrong. The surface modifier coud work better, but you have to draw a line linking every vertex like a grid.

October 1st, 2003	#7 (permalink)
Mad Matt Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Barrie,ontario canada Posts: 32 Name: matthew stitchman	I guess a loft might work too but I'm thinking I remember that you can't put things onto the path that have more then one piece. Hmm maybe multiple lofts start with a base and do one for each hill. BTW I'm talking about taking the shapes from the topicagraphical and putting them onto the path of a loft at the appropriate elevations. Redrawing all the lines into nurbs just isn't an option. This is probably gonna need to be able to be acomplished in about a day. The drawing is VERY complex.

October 1st, 2003	#9 (permalink)
Mad Matt Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Barrie,ontario canada Posts: 32 Name: matthew stitchman	Don't suppose you've still got your displacement map for that. I'd like to just see what it looked like. Seems to have worked pretty well though.

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