[DGD] using NURBS to generate virtual landscapes

[Noah Gibbs]

  In general, this kind of thing winds up being a lot, LOT more than you need for geometric consistency.  The problem is that you need to usefully generate text descriptions of the hillsides and whatnot, and NURBS give you *way* too much information in a form that's hard to analyze.  You're usually better off using something simpler, like simple grid-based subdivision (remember plasma fractals?) that's easier to generate a description for.

  In other words, first figure out how your MUD will describe this stuff, and then come up with a model that will very conveniently generate that description.  NURBS are not that model.

--- On Tue, 3/17/09, Shentino <shentino at gmail.com> wrote:

> From: Shentino <shentino at gmail.com>
> Subject: [DGD] using NURBS to generate virtual landscapes
> To: "All about Dworkin's Game Driver" <dgd at dworkin.nl>
> Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2009, 12:22 PM
> Beckoning to me from the past, I hear NURBS, used in Rhino
> to generate 3D
> models.
> 
> It just occured to me that a super fancy mud might use them
> to generate
> hills and mountains and whatnot.
> 
> First, any technical aspects to worry about besides NURBS
> itself (which I
> still have to grok).
> 
> Second, does anyone have/has anyone had any experience in
> this sort of thing
> and/or possible insights?
> 
> It's still a bit hazy, but I would like to be able to
> write a geometrically
> consistent game, possibly on top of kotaka or phantasmal. 
> Having NURBS
> generate geometry and whatnot would be really cool for
> modelling landscapes
> without the "curse of a million polys"
> 
> Geometric consistency would be to satisfy any
> propeller-headed guys who
> would be clever enough to use stuff like triangulation and
> whatnot to find
> treasures, monsters, or fallen allies.
> ___________________________________________
> https://mail.dworkin.nl/mailman/listinfo/dgd