   Creating game terrain
  I was wondering how game terrain is created in the industry, for an MMORPG for example. Is it modelled in Maya/Max and exported as a heightmap(s)?If so, how is scenery placed? 
  huge topic. ill give you a quickstart guide and some search options.typical implementation is a heightmap.you can use the all new and blazingly fast search feature(thanks devs) here at gamedev and search for "terrain tutorials" and get a first rate education on the available options out there.here''s the path i took while learning.generating the 2D heightmap - (assuming you understand your API of choice, this boils down to a simple double rolled for/loop)generating the height values to fill the heightmap:lots of techniques out there for this.key searchwords: diamond square, plasma, deposition map, .raw filethe method ive used is a derivative of an algorithm i found on the net. search for "robot frog terrain tutorial" it gives you really good results, and since its mathematically based, you can reproduce your efforts at any time by using the same random seed and smoothing factors.(im convinced that Planetside uses this,or a very similar technique)next step is to learn how to page your terrain together and stitch the pages together. if you plan on using an LOD scheme, you need to tackle it at or before this point.then you get into texturing. i recommend a method called "texture splatting" made popular by Charles Bloom.(you can optimize his technique dramatically if you are using DirectX, but ill let you figure that out for yourself)once you''ve gotten to this point you''ll have a great looking landscape system together. but the journey(if it is at all like mine) is taxing, and well worth it.Best of Luck Dredd________________________________________"To die with your sword still in its sheath is most regrettable" -- Miyomoto Musashi ;  Thanks Dredd. It looks like the terrain is more of the programmers'' responsibility than the artists.So basically the artist just comes up with the textures? Ie. Are most terrains these days procedurally generated? ;quote:Original post by MessageBox  Thanks Dredd. It looks like the terrain is more of the programmers'' responsibility than the artists.So basically the artist just comes up with the textures? Ie. Are most terrains these days procedurally generated?   That depends. A terrain is often generated in a heightmap editor. Some heightmap editors are only using drawing tools and brushes, which would give the artist a lot of work. Other editors can generate random terrains through mathematical procedures like midpoint displacement.When an editor has this mathematical terrain generation feature, it also offers the manual "brush" editting tools too.In all cases, textures can be automatically generated through some sort of raytracing mathematics. Also shadows can be generated with mathematics. "My basic needs in life are food, love and a C++ compiler"[Project AlterNova] [Novanet];  Say for MMORPGS such as Everquest 2, Warhammer, World of Warcraft, have you any ideas as to what methods these games are using? BTW, if the textures are generated procedurally as you say, I presume for the end product they''re baked rather than computed on the fly?Note: I''m talking exclusively about terrain in games, not dedicated terrain engines. ;  Some games use a loose heightmap, where each pixel represents a control point rather than a vertex.  The heights between these control points are interpolated.  This is what Medieval: Total War appears to do, at least.  I suspect many others do, too.  It reduces the size of terrain data files, after all. ;  Anyone else got any more info on this subject?Specifically, scenery placement. 