Creating terrain from topo maps
#1
Posted 28 January 2014 - 12:35 AM
I've managed to get my hands on some quite detailed topographical maps for real life sites. Will there be a way to use that information to generate terrain?
For example 1 local course which will require a complete redesign shortly in real life I have a topo at 25cm intervals for the entire 110acre site. Heights range from sea level up to 24 metres above sea level so there is quite a lot of elevation change.
1) will this info be able to be imported somehow? If so do I need the topo lines "separate" from any background info or must it be in a particular file format?
2) failing some sort of import option, how tough will it be to manually manipulate the terrain using the contour info (which I imagine would be extremely time consuming)
Can anyone guide me on what I may or may not be able to do. No need for too much jargon at this stage please, I'll figure that out later.
Thank you.
#2
Posted 28 January 2014 - 03:00 AM
A contour map isn't any good, you need the elevation data it was created from, the DEM.
Unity only allows import of 8-bit or 16-bit RAW files for the terrain, so you have to somehow get your elevation data in that form. Early vids of PP's Terrain Importer suggested it could convert ASCII text and grid formats to the correct RAW, so you may have to use another converter first (maybe http://www.hangsim.com/3dem/ ) to get it to a format Terrain Importer understands.
Or the route I went below (3m elevation data from the NED) as TI isn't out yet, I converted the data to 32-bit GeoTiff, then converted that in WorldMachine to 16 bit GeoTiff (as Photoshop does weird things with 32 bit files), then have Photoshop convert it to RAW. There's always a way!
But the whole while you'll need to keep the elevation data matched with the overhead imagery.
Olympic - (Ctrl-F5 if it doesn't appear to load. There are no boundary fences - don't walk off the edge of the world.)
#3
Posted 28 January 2014 - 04:14 AM
I guess I need to spend some time understanding how unity works and then see if I can solve the issue that way. Perhaps I can try and get something more basic out of bing or similar and then "add " more detail myself later.
Cheers, brumner
#4
Posted 28 January 2014 - 09:45 AM
#5
Posted 28 January 2014 - 10:15 AM
#6
Posted 28 January 2014 - 11:38 AM
Let me know how you go as I'm in Australia too. When I looked late last year, Australia's governmental agency only had 30m data available to anyone, with the higher resolution only available to government. This map, dated Dec 2013, shows the areas in my state available in much higher resolution (I'm thinking 1m data) and NSW apparently introduced an Open Data policy in Sep 2013, so I might ring up tomorrow and to see if anything is publicly available yet.
#7
Posted 28 January 2014 - 12:36 PM
Yes Please let us know how you go. Where do you live and what course were you planning on doing? I plan on doing Bonneville at Coffs Harbour and by the look of shimonko's link I might be able to get the data. Planning to go down and play on March 10 and take photos.
Peter
#8
Posted 28 January 2014 - 07:08 PM
Hi Guys,
Or should I say G'day mates ?
I signed up with the NEDF portal for Australia as an international user. (http://nedf.ga.gov.a.../main/home.page)
I am waiting to hear back as to the 'formats' of the data that is & may be available from them. It would appear to be Lidar data only. Depending on what formats are available, you may be able to use P.P.'s Terrain Importer to get it into a useable format for C.F.
Their site is still 'under construction' to a certain extent & is not very 'user friendly' at the moment (IMHO) & trying to get specific area info is 'challenging' to say the least.
When I get an answer back I'll let you know.
John
Win 10 64bit
#9
Posted 28 January 2014 - 08:47 PM
LiDAR is best, but indicated as only available to government. They state they only give the 30m SRTM to non-government. I tried before registering with that site but heard nothing back.
Update: tried registering again, got approval the next day so they must be back from holidays.
#10
Posted 28 January 2014 - 08:53 PM
Yes Please let us know how you go. Where do you live and what course were you planning on doing? I plan on doing Bonneville at Coffs Harbour and by the look of shimonko's link I might be able to get the data. Planning to go down and play on March 10 and take photos.
Peter
Bonville is sheer heaven - my fav in Australia. I remember my first time there and my non-golfing wife asked the pro shop what she can do in the area while I play. They said just ride in the cart. She loved it!
- Unique likes this
#11
Posted 29 January 2014 - 05:09 AM
I called up the guy behind the LiDAR data capturing for NSW (as depicted in the pdf I linked above), asking if it's publicly available under this Open Data scheme. Not yet apparently, 6 months they're looking at.
#12
Posted 29 January 2014 - 05:34 AM
I'll contact dpipwe ( the govt dept) next week when I get back home. So the liDAR is best? If not available like NSW what is the next best.
#13
Posted 30 January 2014 - 07:20 PM
Hi Guys,
I had a reply from the Admin guy at NEDF. The LiDar is restricted to "Gov" guys but 1sec SRTM DEMs data is available.
It is a bit of a hassle 'searching' on their site at the moment, not every search parameter is working & you can get funny results or no results, but the guy said the best way to search was using "keywords" or the mapping select bounding box.
So far I'm striking out trying to get some data from the east Perth, but I'll keep trying.
John
Win 10 64bit
#14
Posted 11 February 2014 - 09:00 AM
I too registered with NEDF and have received my first requested data back. It appears that the data is in adf format. Do I need to download arcGIS to open this (say in 60 day trial version) or could I do it some other way?
No idea on the quality of the data yet or even if I got the exact location I need as I had to use the very vague keyword process.
What can I do with this data now ( assuming it is remotely useful)
#15
Posted 11 February 2014 - 01:05 PM
It sounds like you've just got the elevation data, which is what people are finding also from the UK with their service.
You'll need to get the photographic overhead imagery as well. I did my Aussie course using elevation data and imagery both from Bing (but wrote code to do it like TI does rather than use arcGIS/Global Mapper), so unaware of what NEDF supply.
It can get complicated, so first see if NEDF have decent quality imagery of the same area.
#16
Posted 11 February 2014 - 03:09 PM
Hi shimonko,
Today I booked in to play at Bonneville on Monday 10/3/14. I don't know how far away you are but there is a bunch coming from Sydney and a bunch from here in Brisbane staying overnight and playing Monday. You are welcome to join us if you want.
Also, thank you for the Muirfield data and instructions as I was able to load into unity no problems
Cheers Mate!!!!
Peter
#17
Posted 11 February 2014 - 09:26 PM
My pleasure regarding Muirfield. I'll send you a PM.
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