Overhang Terrain Scene Manager - source released (page 5).

[dudeabot]

hello, i compile overhang as releaseStaticLib

when i try to compile the demo, i get this error

Code: Select all

2>------ Build started: Project: Demo_Editor, Configuration: Release Win32 ------
2>Linking...
2>EditorGizmo.obj : error LNK2001: unresolved external symbol "__declspec(dllimport) public: void __thiscall Ogre::OverhangTerrainSceneManager::addMetaBall(class Ogre::Vector3,float,bool)" (__imp_?addMetaBall@OverhangTerrainSceneManager@Ogre@@QAEXVVector3@2@M_N@Z)
2>..\bin\Release/Demo_Editor.exe : fatal error LNK1120: 1 unresolved externals
2>Demo_Editor - 1 error(s), 0 warning(s)
========== Build: 0 succeeded, 2 failed, 0 up-to-date, 0 skipped ==========

[PolyVox]

Hey beaugard,

I don't know if you are still working on this, but I came across an interesting article on GameDev which could help you with texturing. It's basically a technique to decide which texture to use based on the slope and altitude of the surface. Maybe it's useful:

http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums ... id=3198944

[alexdbkim]

I truly lost my words in front of the power of Ogre =)

truly amazing!!

cheers,

[boyamer]

Anyone ported this to Shoggoth?

[Acolytee]

I have been able to compile the project just fine with CThugha version, the only problem encountered is the absence of media directory and that overhangTerrain.cfg string should be replaced by one pointing to terrain.cfg (ala media/terrain.cfg) so that terrain loads fine. Oh, and don't forget to add plugin into plugins.cfg file, otherwise you will get "cannot find factory" error.

[boyamer]

Would be nice if you put your code here,maybe we can fix that problem!
Thanks

[duke2]

Another possibility for overhangs is something that's been around in the 3D world for a bit - Vector Displacement. A Vector Displacement map, as opposed to a heightmap, looks more like a normal map. It specifies both Up-Axis height, as well as X/Y positions, in relation to the height. It may be possible to implement this for terrain, as XNormal has done for meshes (but it may not be suitable - it probably doesnt do LODing).

I recall first seeing it as a mental ray shader, and then it became more wide-spread as Luxology introduced it with Modo3. It's now possible to do Vector Displacement in VRay, Mental Ray (an official shader now), Mudbox, 3d-Coat, and other 3D software.

This is probably the best visual explanation:
http://www.spot3d.com/vray/help/150SP1/ ... m#Example8

[Acolytee]

Updated source for OverhangTerrainManager for Ogre 1.8 can be found here. Minor corrections to code:
new input manager created to avoid exception thrown in Editor' constructor
Changed config file to terrain.cfg
Added plugins_d.cfg and resource_d.cfg filse with proper plugins (only for Debug version, copy'n'paste for release and remove _D at the end)
Compiled from newest OIS source (not one inside Dependancies)

[PolyVox]

Another possibility for overhangs is something that's been around in the 3D world for a bit - Vector Displacement. A Vector Displacement map, as opposed to a heightmap, looks more like a normal map. It specifies both Up-Axis height, as well as X/Y positions, in relation to the height. It may be possible to implement this for terrain, as XNormal has done for meshes (but it may not be suitable - it probably doesnt do LODing).

It's an intereasting approach, and was actually used for the terrain in Halo Wars. There was a GDC 2009 presentation about it which you can see here: http://www.bonfire-studios.com/files/GD ... _final.zip

[ArKada]

Hi all !
I'm a french user of Ogre3D and i want to try this addon. I'm working on Ubuntu 9.10 64bits and i'm using Ogre 1.7.0
I have the source for Ogre 1.7.0. But i don't understand how to compile this addon.

Someone can help me ?

Greetings

Arkada aka Gouwi

[beaugard]

Hello there, Ogre people!

Just passing through and saw some people are still interested in this. It makes me very proud!

I was working on stuff related to this up until 1.5/2 years ago. I have a working version with Bullet physics and threaded isosurface construction, and paging of the isosurfaces to allow huge worlds, but without the terrain - only caves (the terrain stuff was just tacked on, it was never my main interest. I wanted Descent II with geomod!)

I never got around to porting this to linux, sadly, so I can't help you with your particular problem.

Anyway, it would be nice to return to this project. Right now my proper (=paid) job and family takes all my time.

[ArKada]

Okay beaugard =D
If you doesn't port this addon to linux, i think i will work on my own Terrain system !

Thanks for this pretty beautiful tools for Ogre 3D !

Greetings

Arkada aka Gouwi

[beaugard]

Yes, make your own. Mine was a hack in the first place.

[jacmoe]

I have a working version with Bullet physics and threaded isosurface construction, and paging of the isosurfaces to allow huge worlds, but without the terrain - only caves (the terrain stuff was just tacked on, it was never my main interest. I wanted Descent II with geomod!)

Would be cool if you've got time sometime to return to this project.

[beaugard]

Yes, I'd like to. Maybe not make a game out of it, but just some sort of demo thing. The problem is that it would take some effort to update it to recent Ogre/Bullet version (it was a long time ago...) and to work out the little bugs.

Also, it kindof was much cooler back then. Now it seems everyone is doing something similar (like fracture, red faction guerilla, probably more that I don't know about). The motivation was to make something that would really blow your mind, if I can't even do that...

[Xypher]

Just a suggestion, but if you made it polymorphic just as a proof of concept that would certainly blow my mind! I've always wanted to see a more accurate rendition of the Scorched Earth terrain destruction done in 3d. Scorched3D only makes craters >.<

You could start with basic "I dug a hole so the overhang has to fall" concept. Shrink the lower vertices toward the top verticies and build up the dirt below. Maybe add in a nice shadered particlesystem for the dirt falling based on the texture of the underside of the overhang and splat a dirt mound type texture on the terrain where it landed?

You could also determine if a volume of earth has been separated from the actual heightmap and use an "OMG I'm an island!" idea to do the same type of thing.
"Vertex Soup" islands which define the material content of the volume in question with callbacks to combine with the ground. Be great to see a game where mining and collecting things is more dynamic using this concept.

Lots of neat stuff you could do with this idea, I just don't have the mathematical know-how to quite get it dones. Matrix math still vexes me, thanks premade class structures that take the calculus out of programming!

Don't get discouraged just because its been done before, just make it BETTER!

[PolyVox]

I don't like to detract attention from beaugard's excellent work but, seeing as he is not maintaining it, you might also be interested in my own terrain library if you are trying to do overhangs, caves, and dynamic modification. It uses voxels rather than the metashapes which beaugard uses, but it is very similar in term of the resulting capabilities.

It is written in platform and API independant C++ with no external dependancies, and is under the zlib license. I use it in my own Ogre-based game engine and you can find out more here and here.

[beaugard]

@xypher: sure, there are lots of cool things you could do with this. The fact that the technology has lost a bit of glamour is not really why I am giving it a rest. The truth is that I have infinite amounts of fun programming work to do, which has the added advantage of being paid as well as having some (remote) possibility of actually helping other people (it's cancer research). Also, I now have two sons...

@PolyVox: don't worry, it's a good thing to inform about an active project. btw, the idea of caving in tunnels should be quite straightforward to implement with an actual voxel system, right?

[Xypher]

Well hey, congrats! And keep up the cancer research coding!
If I was in your shoes I'd certainly put cancer research over Ogre additions any day...unless you were to combine the two like you SHOULD be doing! Joking of course.

[PolyVox]

btw, the idea of caving in tunnels should be quite straightforward to implement with an actual voxel system, right?

I think it's still pretty complex, though probably easier than with a metaball system. I've implemented very little physical response with the exception of rigid bodies bouncing around the environment. Actually, the best physics I have seen is in Ken Silverman's Voxlap system, even though it is several years old. That guy was a genius

[CallForSanity]

I put the code on https://code.google.com/p/ogre-overhang-terrain/ to keep the project alive and to encourage further development. I might be using it in another project.

[duststorm]

I put the code on https://code.google.com/p/ogre-overhang-terrain/ to keep the project alive and to encourage further development. I might be using it in another project.

Good idea!
Does it work with recent Ogre versions (1.7 or even 1.8 )?

[drwbns]

Hey guys, I got this plugin working with 1.7.2 and I was wondering how it would be possible to change from a meta ball to say a cone shape or a cube shape. I've seen this in other voxel terrain editors and wondering if anyone had any idea on how to make it a shape. I'd like to see this project continue with improvments such as ray casting to ground level, shape changes, smoothing additions and maybe even mesh exporting. I think it would make a great addition to Ogre...

[drwbns]

For some reason I can't get a vector3 if I raycast onto newly built terrain, which means I can only add or subtract 1 level. Any ideas on how I can fix this? I've tried setting query flags to new terrain, but it didn't help.

[Beauty]

Long time ago I added a tiny wiki page for this interesting Terrain Manager.
Today I added more information to the page.
For this I scrolled through all posts and I'm happy to see that somebody put it into a public repository and someone else could compile it against Mogre 1.7.
Also I found a demo video on youtube (now embedded to wiki page).

Hey guys, I got this plugin working with 1.7.2

I propose to add a tag to the old version (related to Ogre 1.4) and to put the 1.7 code into the repository. So also other people can use or improve it.

For some reason I can't get a vector3 if I raycast onto newly built terrain, which means I can only add or subtract 1 level. Any ideas on how I can fix this?

A few days ago I recognized that ray queries with the Terrain Scene Manager returns imprecise values by ray query (up to 1 Ogre unit). Precise results you only get by vertical rays.
The Overhang Terrain Scene Manager is based on the TSM. So it should have the same issue.
I wrote/published a code, which improves the ray query results for terrain.
Look here: http://www.ogre3d.org/forums/viewtopic. ... 00#p444900

I'm not shure, if you problem is related to this issue, but maybe my code helps.