SphericalDistort
Plugin information
| Authors | Aaron and Tillot |
|---|---|
| Description | Applies a spherical distortion to a heightfield and water map. |
| Menu option | 'Extensions→SphericalDistort' |
| Download link | SphericalDistort-bin.zip |
| Source code | Over here |
What does it do?
A picture tells a thousand words, so here's three thousand:
| Before | After (pos. radius) | After (neg. radius) |
|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
As you can see, SphericalDistort distorts the heightfield as if it were on a sphere.
Using SphericalDistort
When you select the 'Extensions→SphericalDistort→Apply spherical distortion' option, you will be asked to enter the sphere radius, which is measured in kilometres. Regarding the radius:
- The default value is the radius of Earth (6400km).
- A negative value will create an inner-sphere effect, or can be used to un-do a positive distortion.
- You should not use radii smaller in magnitude than about 4x the largest side-length of your map, as heightfields tend to look a bit silly when tilted too far (see screenshots above).
Extended clipping options (by Tillot)
I hacked the source for the SphericalDistort plugin to allow for limiting the curvature in the x,y, or at some specified radius. This allows for 'pieces' of a sphere to be generated kind of like a cookie cutter. The option is available using the 'Extensions→SphericalDistort→Apply spherical distortion (extended options)' menu option.
Here's the heightmap:
Here's a terrain screenshot:
This plugin doesn't currently allow removing the surrounding terrain edges, but will some day (see to-do list).
If the terrain is converted into a poly mesh it would then be as simple as using poly editing tool like Maya, Max, Lightwave, or Blender to cut out the pieces and stitch them together into a sphere.
To-do list
- Run in L3DT's worker thread.
- Make last used settings persistent.
- Export clipped area.
- Set MAPFLAG_INVALID for TN, LM and TX (if UseLM enabled).
Changes
2009/03/26
- Changed function arguments to VarID_hvars from VarID_maps.
- Updated to Zeolite v2.7.1.
2008/12/03
- Added support for 'undo'.
2006/11/21
- Fixed fault with variable renaming in extended version.
2006/11/16
- Changed to include Tillot's modifications.
2006/10/23
- Changed radius from metres to kilometres.
- Distort the water map too.
- Updated MAPFLAG_MODIFIED for HF & WM, so maps are saved after distortion.
- Released with L3DT v2.4b build 5.
2006/10/22
- Released.