I'm using a fairly simple algorithm that is based off of Trent Polack's implementation as defined in his book "3D Terrain Programming". The algorithm simply iterates through each triangle row and column and interpolates the height of the of surface at that point and determines its pixel from the textures that affect that height. For example, if we have 3 textures, grass, dirt/rock, and snow that affect the following height ranges:
=Grass=
Optimal: 20
Min: -15
Max: 50
=Dirt/Rock=
Optimal: 115
Min: 20
Max: 175
=Snow=
Optimal: 175
Min: 115
Max: 255
Pseudo overview
Loop(through each element row of the map){ Loop(through each element column of the map) { Loop(through each texel of the corresponding destination texture area) { Loop(through each layer) { Calculate blend percentage of layer based on height Calculate blended RGB value from source texel Add blended RGB to overall texel RGB } Set texel RGB in destination texture } }}This algorithm has generated the following images from my terrain editor (work in progress [wink]).
Shot 1
Shot 2
Shot 3
There is no detail texture yet, and I have disabled lighting from my previous work to help simplify the new engine architecture implementation testing and the procedural texture generation. I plan to do some more research into procedural texture generation and implement slope variation and other variables into the algorithm to produce a more natural looking terrain. That's all for now.
