I've uploaded a tutorial on youtube showing how I make new maps. I also do a few other little bits and bobs. I usually speed up the video when it is boring, but you can play it slowly if you want to copy anything. This isn't a hand-holding tutorial, more a demonstration. If you have questions, feel free to ask, but I can't guarantee I'll be able to help.... The process (more-or-less): 1. Get HighDef's Loaded Template Map from the repository 2. Download L3DT 3. Create a Heightmap (if you have one already, make sure it is 2048x2048 or less, 512 or 1024 work, and import into LD3t) as in video (use whatever settings you like, but get it to create an Attributes Map too (pick a climate similar to the map style you want). 4.Export the Heightmap and Attribute map as PNGs to your level folder, or a folder in your level folder (e.g. Appdata/BeamNG/0.23/levels/MyMAP) 5. Separate the colours of the Attribute Map by terrain type. I.e. take all the grass (I use select by colour) and paste into a different layer or image. Then turn each of these to binary black/white with your favourite method and save as separate PNGs, named GRASS or ROCK, etc. makes it easier. These will tell Beam where to paint the different terrains, saving you the trouble. (You can also use images with the roads in white - I overlay a map on QGIS and then paint over the top - this will make road laying lots easier). 6. Then load up BeamNG and your level from HighDef's template 7. Import your heightmap and terrain maps (use the same metres per pixel as used when generating it, or it'll be a different size - set the height as you want it, but you can always change it - you want to get it right now though, as once you have roads/trees etc, you can't change it so easily...) 8. Assign your terrain types to your terrain maps as per video (pick the ones you want, you might notice I changed the mud to dirt when mud looked crap... NOTE: this is buggy as all buggery. The textures will not do as they're told and you will likely have to assign them several times, re-adding them in the Terrain Painter window (at least on my version). 9. Then place the water plane where you want it 10. Then we're on to laying roads... 11. This always used to cause me trouble, and I prefer the road decals to the mesh road, so this is the method I use: 12. Place a mesh road (use a wider road than the final road you want - i.e for a road width of 10, I use 15-20 for the mesh) where you want the road, it will lay a bit above the ground. 13. Lower it to the ground level (the more mesh parts you place, the more it will follow the terrain, and the less cut-throughs or raised sections you will have). 14. Apply lower to mesh AND raise to mesh at 100% all along your road. This brings the terrain to the mesh you just laid, and smooths it under the mesh. 15. Place your road decal over the mesh. 16. Then delete the mesh (Actually, I usually just drop it below the map, so I can bring it back later if I want to change something or I balls something up) 17. Apply the road texture (The ones in the Altitude map are excellent, with road lines included, but you will need to modify the materials file, and that is a whole new tutorial that I can't be arsed with right now). 18. Then paint the relevant/chosen material (asphalt/dirt/etc) under the road (this is what gives you the driving physics, so is essential). Just note that for some reason, although HighDef's template map is awesome, the asphalt prepped texture has ridiculous grip, so avoid it... 19. Your road is done. Just start adding trees, etc, with the forest tool and any other objects you want (as in video). If you want to change the name of the map and the image, etc. just copy an Info file from another map folder into this folder, and start changing the information. There will be a path for the image file in there, so you can take a photo/screenshot and use that. As noted above, you can use this for LIDAR data too. Well worth taking a look at QGIS and incorporating googlemap/openstreetmap layers. For LIDAR data in England (not rest of UK I'm afraid) - you can search the DEFRA Lidar database and download that in 5km squares. I usually use the 1m DTM files, and just load the TIFF into GIMP and save it as a PNG before importing into L3DT. I've probably missed loads, but I have to stop listening to that guitar loop now, so I'm gonna leave it there... Happy to discuss below, particularly if there are better ways to do some of these things that people know.
