Creating Realistic Outdoor Scenes

By : Matt Murphy

FOREWORD:

Ever wonder how Epic can make those walls, cliffs, terrain, and just about everything else outside look so real? Well after a little experimentation I've found a way that really works. Basically what I did was I created a grayscale image, then imported it into Terra Edit using that I imported into UnrealED. Right now I'll show you how to do this, but first you will need UnrealED of course, Terra Edit, and a paint program. I will be explaining on how to make the grayscale images using Adobe Photoshop but this is possible in Paint Shop Pro. I just find it easier in Adobe Photoshop. Ok, now onto the tutorial.

DIRECTIONS:

Part 1: Creating the Grayscale

First open up Adobe Photoshop, or whatever paint program your using, and create a new image that is 512x512 and that has a black background. Next set the Red, Green, and Blue values to 64, 64, and 64 for the foreground color. To do this using Adobe Photoshop look below:

You should end up with a gray color. Ok the next part is freehand so select either the Paintbrush tool, or the Airbrush tool. Now, in the same little box where you selected your color, click on the brush tab and select the little box that has a circle in it with the number 45 as in below:

Now on your image start painting some random lines or create a little scene. Note: The lighter the gray color is the higher in elevation it will be in UnrealED so black is sea level and white is mega high or something (never used white before). Anyways when you have something similiar to below you can continue.

Now change your foreground color again to the following values: R-16, G-16, and B-16 (Red 16, Green 16, and Blue 16), and also change your brush size smaller to about 35. Now you'll notice that you have a darker gray color. This will be terrain just above sea level while the black color will be at sea level. Now again draw on your image but this time in between the lines like so:

Now expand the image and use the Selection tool and select the entire image. Then create a new image that is 256 by 256 and has a white or colored background. Now paste your previous image onto the new image. Then go to the Edit menu, down to Transform, and select on Scale. Then resize the image to 256 by 256. Now again maximize your new image and use the Selection tool and select the entire image. Create yet another new image that is 256 x 256 but this time make it a grayscale image. See below for illustration.

Copy the old image onto your new image. Now go to the file menu and select Save a Copy. Save it as a .BMP file. Then select the following properties and click on Ok.

Part 2: Importing it into TerraEdit

Now go ahead and close Photoshop if you want and open up TerraEdit. Go to the file menu and select Import. Then open your file and you should see a small little box appear asking you for a grid scale and size. Set it to the following: Grid Scale:64;Grid Size:32x32. See below for illustration:

Then press ok and you should see your terrain appear. This is how the one I made turned out:

Now if you wanted to make any revisions either go back and modify that grayscale or create a new one or you can modify it in TerraEdit. Use the directional keys to move the red arrow around. Press the Enter key to move the point a unit up and press the Shift key to move a unit down. You can also smoothen out your terrain easily by going to the Tools menu, then into Filter, and select Smooth. Then go to the File menu and choose Export. Save it as anything you want but just remember where you saved it. And make sure you chose Export and not Save!

Part 3: Importing it into UnrealED

Now go ahead and close TerraEdit and open up UnrealED. Now create a cube that is 8192 x 8192 x 8192. Next open up the GenEarth.utx texture file and find the texture called 'Dirt1'. Click on that texture and add the cube into the world. Now go to the Brush menu and select Import. Now find the file you saved from TerraEdit and click Ok. You should then see a box with some options on it. Click on the following ones.

When using UnrealED 1.0

When using UnrealED 2.0

Now you'll notice that the brush is only 1/8 the size of the cube in area. This can be fixed. Right click on the brush and go into its properties box. Then click on the plus sign next to the word Brush, then go into MainScale, then Scale, and set the X, Y, and Z values all to 4. See below for illustration.

Now align the brush to the bottom of the cube and so that all four sides of the brush are inline with all four sides of the cubes. Once aligned correctly select the texture called 'MGrass7' from the GenEarth.utx group and subtract the brush. Excellent, now you've got your outdoor floors. Use the camera to take a look around your terrain. From there you can add lighting, trees, bases, bushes, water/lava, or just about anything to make it look more realistic. I will be explaining these in a later tutorial so for now you are on your own, but I don't think its to hard to figure out. To make realistic walls, all you need to do is a a very light gray, almost white color to the outside perimeter of your grayscale and it will be as if you are in a valley. Below are some examples of grayscales.

CONCLUSION:

Now you should know the basics of creating realistic outdoor landscapes. Future tutorials will include such things as rocks, river systems, cliffs, lighting, and more. Realistic mapping takes time to master so don't expect to be an expert at it soon. This tutorial is just made to point you in the right path.

OTHER:

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Questions/Comments email me at [email protected] .

This tutorial is not supported by Legend Entertainment or Epic Games.