RAW file.. Interleaved or not ?

Simple question but not clear in the WIKI unless I missed it.

Should RAW terrain files be interleaved or non-interleaved ?

I created some for use on the preview grid to test the estate features, i found out the defaults in photoshop cs2 were ok although not sure if the bit depth could be changed i left it as is

Size 256 x 256
Channels 13
Interleaved
8 Bit
Header 0 bytes

quick reply !

thanks

I am having a very strange problem trying to make raw terrain files with Photoshop CS. I made the file, saved it using the default settings described above, and submitted it to the Lindens. They applied it and the island was much too low in the water. I reread the wiki file and redid the raw file. I sent off an improved file (making use of the height multiply factor for added detail) but the same thing happened. It was much too low in the water.

Today I went into Photoshop and opened the raw file up. Channels 12 and 13 contain the correct information. Channels 1(red) and 2(green), though, give darker readings with the eyedrop tool - even though they look the same.

Checking the land in SL again it now appears as though the incorrect readings in channels 1 and 2 are what have been used.

What on earth is going on here? How are the values in channels 1 and 2 changing and how can I stop them?

What I did originally was: I opened a 256 x 256 greyscale image. I created the necessary 13 channels. I pasted the greyscale height map into channels 1 and 12. I filled channel 2 and 13 with a grey value of 32, and channel 3 (water) with a grey value of 20. I filled the other channels with black or white as needed. I saved as a raw file using the suggested defaults.

I'm finding Photoshop is not really a very useful tool for this job, I'm looking around for some other app ( Mac ). I'm tempted just to ask the the land to be flattened and raised to half height so I can use the full range if I want to. And to landscape by hand. It's something I enjoy doing anyway in perverse sort of way

Ironically this is more or less what I tried to do

My height map is supposed to provide a series of plateaux of different heights, where I need flat land for buildings. My hope was that I would then do all the fine-tuned landscaping manually without needing to try to build precicely flat areas.

It worked as I hoped - with the one difference that some of the building areas are under water, and the relative heights are squashed because the height multiplier went much darker (ie smaller).

Since I don't intend to make a habit of building terrains I would be happy to find any way of doing it that worked. Photoshop seemed to work perfectly right up until the files were applied

Yes i had trouble with highlevels, although i had the ease of using the 1.9 estate tools, which will let you upload and download the raw file from the simulator instead of having to ask linden to do it, you'll also be able to bake the final desired map then redownload it etc.

I applied my greyscale terrain detail to channel 1 and made sure channel 2 contained sufficient grey for the height i think i used rgb 25,25,25, a black channel2 will provide no height

Can anyone use the 1.9 estate tools? If so how?

I ask because I am having to do all this at second hand through Lee Linden, and I do not mind experimenting with this myself at all. In fact it would be simpler and quicker to upload the files, figure out the problem, download them and THEN (when they work) send them to Lee to apply to the islands.

And my channel 2 was set to 32, and all my height values were multiplied by 4, as per Ryan Linden's advice in the RawTerrainFile entry in the wiki. What is happening though is that the WRONG multiplier seems to be being applied to the wrong height values giving much smaller values than I have specified.

At least in my experience, a value of 32 in channel 2 DIVIDES the height values by 4.

Here are the descriptions for the channel 2 numbers

Scale Value Multiplies Terrain
8 x 1/16 (finely detailed, low lying terrain)
16 x 1/8
32 x ¼ (useful balance of vertical resolution and height range.)
64 x1/2
128 x1 (easy to visualize, terrain value = height in meters)
192 x1.5
256 x2 (high mountains)

I think when 1.9 hits the grid the terrain section will be updated alot as estate owners are able to quickly upload and test out their maps, also people may start sharing terrain maps etc.

Sorry Dana, that was a typo - or a head-mistake. I meant "divide".

My multiplier is set to 32, the sea level is set to 20 and the greyscale value of the coastal land is set to 92, which should be 23m (3m above the sea). In SL it is showing as 7m - suitable for renting to dolphins perhaps.

I appear to have created Atlantis which kinda changes my plans