Edged VS Edgeless Terrains in Vue
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To begin this tutorial i shall first explain to you what a terrain with zero edges is so you can tell the difference between this and a terrain with edges.
Zero Edges
A terrain with zero edges is the classic mountain shape. It starts at the ground and works its way up to the peak from all 4 sides.
You can see in this image the edges of the mountain at its foot on all 4 sides are at zero altitude, hence it has no edges. This is the default type of terrain you will get whenever you create a new standard or procedural terrain.
Randomly Changing An Edgeless Mountains Shape
No two "edgeless" terrains are exactly the same, but the general mountain shape will always be there. If you want to change the shape of an edgeless mountain you can create a new random shape by double clicking on your terrain in a viewport and bringing up the terrain editor, then click on the "mountain" button on the left hand side of the screen as shown in this picture circled in red:
(click to enlarge)
Each time you click on the mountain button you will be presented with a new random shape. You can do this procedure with peak, eroded, canyon or any of the mountain types that are available to you. Its a good idea to flick through the random shapes until you find one you like. Also please note that the lunar and picture types are not available to you when you are using a procedural terrain.
Edged Vue Terrains
Although Edgeless or "zero edged" terrains are useful, edged terrains can provide a more realistic landscape.
Edged terrains are achieved by switching the "zero edges" button to off. This button is located above the mountain style button on the left of the terrain editor.
(click to enlarge)
Once you have switched this button off you will notice the terrain changes shape similiar to the above picture. All 4 sides have an edge, hence the name "edged" terrains. All styles down the left hand side are available in edged terrains except lunar and picture. This is because you can only create an edged terrain with a procedural terrain.
I have added a picture below to give you an example of the sort of terrains you can achieve using edgeless terrains. Its a very quick scene, but it shows you how you can create terrains that aren't your typical straight up - mountain type objects.
This concludes the edged vs edgeless terrain tutorial.
Chromesphere
