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part of OT terrain exportation

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foxfiles:
Do you preview a possibility for users, to select a part of the OT terrain, and export it to another application?

In the other(s) application, the user could use this terrain segment as reference for "large enrichment" ,
then export and import in OT terrain-less datas (collada or other formats, even why not in a proprietary OT format with classes or other definitions)

In other word, do you believe that OT will be its own powerful editor?

cameni:
The terrain in OT is defined procedurally, it's hard to export it to anything else. Perhaps as a mesh of some resolution, but that would either make the export huge if the most detailed level is selected, or lose detail with a coarse one. Not to mention the hassle of export-import.

Ultimately we will have to make ore powerful editing functions because of that, and because it will be better.

foxfiles:
Yes OT's terrain is procedural, BUT it comes on top or from SRTM elevation data, does it?
so it is a question of approx and tolerance... if one "designs" on top of STRM triangles, and import inside OT,
then its datas will be plus-minus position x,y,z correct ?
of course there is some strong probability that these datas will smash OT terrain, trees and other OT refinements.

If we use an example and let's assume that I want to create a game scenario in my own city of Luxembourg :
- one grey alien who is the worst fiscal evader of the galaxy, coming from zeta reticuli, wants to deposit 2 kg of anti-grav "Element 115 ununpentium" in a Luxembourg Bank (of course I'm just kidding)
- so he lands somewhere in OT Luxembourg and has to find the good Bank  ;D

if I want my storyboard to be believable, then my environment must be believable too; and SRTM is not good enough for that,
adding that I also doubt about Openstreemap for me to get a believable sufficient representation : so I would work with heterogeneous datas coming from various sources, in order to create datas that I hope to be re-usable in OT... other way I don't see.

What I mean is that I have no doubt that you WILL have powerful editing functions inside OT,
but what worries me is that You have so many things to develop
and I have to wait for these functions to be available  :-[ to start and work on my game...

Is it still too early for you to pre-define some data descriptors or specifications about future compatible OT classes or formats?

cameni:
SRTM are 90m, there's lots of detail being added in between. Compare the first and the last picture in this old visualization of procedural terrain in OT. The difference can be large, especially when you consider human scale (shown on the last pic as well).

Yes it's too early to release a scene descriptor format now, when it changes every so often. Besides, it's created for optimal traversal and rendering, not suitable as an exchange format. So it would be either investing time into the editor or into importer/exporter.

foxfiles:
Okay sorry, I had not seen your blog article where you describe very well the way you work with the original elevation dataset.
Indeed I agree now seeing that the added "noise" is out of tolerance for working out of OT with SRTM posts.

I also understand very well that it is too early, but maybe I do not use the right terminology,
 you should have already maybe few very simple 2D or 2D 1/2 topological primitives (points, arcs, curves) that can be mapped and used by your procedural terrain/algorithms ?

I did not yet look at how someone can create roads in OT but you should have a simple vector format to parse such datas or it can only be done "by hand" so far, with mouse clicks? there is no external datas for creating roads in OT?

Other question, would you write some specifications for an external developing company to develop (and invest time at your place) on the editor or on an exporter/importer, or on both ?
In other word, I think that you and your colleague(s), the core "dream" team, must stay focused on tracing the Big route, deciiding on the main concepts and work on the very advanced "procedural parts" of your engine; but why not sub-contract less difficult tasks ?

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