GeoControl Interface
The user-interface in GeoControl is dominated by the generously sized terrain editor as shown in Figure 1. Along the top edge, you'll find a series of buttons to aid in the creation of your terrain, including the ability to change the terrain size. You'll also find GeoControl's excellent brush tools.
Figure 1 - GeoControl's Interface
The right edge of the GeoControl interface contains panels that allow for quick access to all of the settings you'll need to create the perfect terrain. After changes are made, you click the Generate button to create your terrain.
Creating Terrains
When you launch GeoControl, it will create a generic terrain for you. If you don't have any particular type of terrain in mind, this generic terrain is a great starting point. However, if you want to create a specific type of terrain, you can easily do that as well.
GeoControl comes loaded with a generous supply of quality terrain sets. You can access them by clicking on the Terrain Presets button in the upper-right of the Terrain panel. As shown in Figure 2, when you click this button, you'll be presented with a menu system that provides access to all of the included terrains.
Figure 2 - Terrain Presets Abound
After you choose a terrain preset, simply click Generate to create the terrain. Figure 3 shows a canyon created with one of the terrain presets in GeoControl.
Figure 3 - A canyon created with a terrain preset.
It may be a bit difficult to fully visualize the terrain using a top-down view such as the one shown in Figure 3. To get a better view, you can click the 3D button. When you do, GeoControl will render a 3-dimensional preview of your terrain. Figure 4 shows a 3D preview of the terrain shown in Figure 3.
Figure 4 - A 3D preview of the terrain shown in Figure 3.
In Figure 4, the edges of the terrain are clearly visible. Once you bring this terrain into a 3D landscape tool, camera positioning can easily resolve that. If it doesn't, no worries. You can easily increase the size of the terrain in GeoControl. In fact, GeoControl can create absolutely massive terrains up to 4096x4096!
1, 2, 3-- Previous | Next
|