Getting Started
with VNS 3: Fields
& Forest
Part 5E. Building Ecosystems (Overstory)
1. Select the Ecosystems
category in the Scene-at-a-Glance and Add Component of this type.
2. Name it Pine Burn.
3. On the Rules page,
change the Maximum Slope to 50°.
4. Go to the Material page.
Show Advanced Features and Show Material Controls
to bring up the Material details. Rename the Material Fire
Regrowth. Close the Material Controls.
5. The Overstory Ecotype will
be made up of pine snags and stumps from the burned forest. The
Understory Ecotype will include the young lodgepole pine that
took over after the fire. Go to the Foliage page, select
the Overstory category, and Add Ecotype  .
6. On the Settings page,
change the Absolute Size to Foliage Group and Absolute
Density to Foliage Group. This is the Forestry Edition.
The standard VNS edition does not have the Size Method and Density
Method controls.
7. An Ecotype is made
up of one or more Foliage Groups of Foliage Objects.
This Ecotype will have two groups. Add Foliage Group
 .
8. Name it Pine Snags.
9. Add another Foliage Group
and name it Pine Stumps.
10. Select the Pine Snags
Foliage Group and set the Group Max Height to 30
meters, Group Min Height to 20 meters, and the
Group Density to 30 stems per hectare.
11. Add Foliage Object  to insert
an object placeholder, which will default to the Image Object
type. We can populate the Foliage Group with Image Objects,
3D Objects, or both.
12. We'll use Image Objects,
so choose New Image Object from the dropdown list.
13. Make your way to the Components\Image\Foliage\StumpAndSnag
folder. Select PineSnag1.iff and Ctrl+click to
multiple-select PineSnag2.iff and PineSnag4.iff.
14. The Foliage Group list will
update with the three Foliage Object images.
15. Open the Image Object Library. There are the pine snag images we just
loaded. Let's add the stump images we'll use shortly.
16. Add Image Object to Library
 and multiple-select
PineStump1.iff, Stump2.iff, and Stump4.iff.
17. We've added new Image Objects,
so Load Fast, and Apply to All. Close the Image Object Library.
18. We'll use this Foliage Group
later, so save it as a Component. Select the Pine Snags
group and Save Foliage Group to disk  .
19. In the Component Signature window,
browse the Image for Thumbnail, navigate to the WCSFrames
folder, and load VNSLastRender.png.
20. Create a new category, Tutorials.
21. Add a description in the
Comments section and Save to Disk.
22. Select the Pine Stumps
Group and set the Group Max Height to 2 meters,
Group Min Height to 1 meter, and the Group Density
to 5 stems per hectare.
23. Add Foliage Object three times
to insert 3 object placeholders. We need to add as many Foliage
Objects as we need when the Image Objects are already present
in the Image
Object Library.
24. Replace the default "No
Image Selected" objects with the PineStump1.iff,
Stump2.iff, and Stump4.iff images from the dropdown
list. Save the project.
25. Open the YNP Environment.
Go to the Ecosystems page and Grab All. The Ecosystems
list controls render order.
26. As VNS renders each polygon,
it will first look at the Grassland Rules and see if the
polygon meets all the criteria. If it does, Grassland will be
rendered.
27. If not, the renderer goes
to the next Ecosystem on the list, Pine Burn. If the polygon
meets all the Pine Burn Rules, it renders. If not, Ground Effect
is rendered. Save the project
and render a preview.
28. So far, so good. We have
snags on the slopes with an occasional stump. The bright color
is Pine Burn Ecosystem Material diffuse color. It was generated
by VNS when the Ecosystem was first created. Your color is probably
different as it's randomly generated.
29. Let's replace the color with
a texture. A good place to start is the diffuse color of an adjoining
Ecosystem. Double-click the render foreground to open the Grassland
Ecosystem
Editor. Turn to the Material
page, select the Diffuse Color Texture Operations, and
Copy Texture.
30. Return to the Pine Burn
Ecosystem, select its Diffuse Color Texture Operations
and Paste Texture. Confirm the operation.
31. Select Diffuse Color Texture
Operations and Edit Texture to open the Texture Editor.
32. The Fractal Noise
is a mix of dark green and lighter green, which is too green
for the ground under a dense growth of pine trees. Let's change
the lighter green to a dark brown. Select the right color pin
and click its color well to open the Color Editor.
33. Select the RockTones
Swatch, pick a medium brown, and Keep.
34. Close the Texture Editor. Save the project and render a preview.
|
