Terrain, Natural Landscapes and Lighting

For Level Design class.

Terrain, Natural Landscapes and Lighting

When it comes to terrain sometimes what it is used is called heightmaps. Heightmaps are   images used to serve or interpret terrains such as mountainous areas and rocky areas. Some advantages to modifying heightmap terrains is that they’re quick to do and texture. Some disadvantages are that sometimes they’re simple to do and require little effort to create larger versions of them, therefore, mistakes can often occur. A heightmap terrain uses same sized polygons which can end up in terrains looking and feeling unnatural. Therefore, it is recommended that heightmaps are left to use for smooth terrains like smooth hills. Also, for more complicated terrains, using noise features on the texture is not recommended because this too leaves an unnatural look and feel to terrain surfaces.
It is suggested that designers should try to smooth the terrain and hide the ugly edges as well as place rocks made from separate meshes on top of it. Getting a near perfect looking terrain is almost impossible to do. If a terrain requires it to be very rocky with steep surfaces the best thing to do is to model them separately and add the meshes later.
When texturing a terrain it is important to thing to do is create an effective composition of materials that reflect the theme and look of the level. They should complement each other. Otherwise the look of the level will feel inconsistent and maybe even confuse people. Another important thing is that the texture is painted good to translate effectively what the surface is supposed to look like. A designer can create good color variations that fit well together. But if it is painted bad then is just ruins it. Using multiple variations of a type of texture also helps define area borders with smooth transitions.
When it comes to rocks it is much more effective to model them than to use heightmaps. Otherwise attempting to use heightmaps for rocky terrains is impossible. It will never look good. When it comes to rocky terrains and heightmaps it is better to only use heightmaps on smoother surfaces of the area such as the floor where players will walk on. The type of rock should also reflect the type of environment the level is in. like the design of rocks that have been underwater once will look different in look and texture than mountain rocks that are under the sun all the time. Also the look of rocks can be able to determine if an area of a level is friendly or dangerous. The history of the place also can determine the look of rocks.
Horizons can help make the level area look bigger than it really is. One way designers do this is to make mountains and rocky areas so large and high that players won’t be able to see past them and see what is on the other side. The sky helps enhance this illusion as well. However, simple designs of a blue sky with a sun in the middle can make it looks boring. In order for a sky to look interesting is to  have interesting composition in it. This can include clouds to give it a gloomy or rainy look. Lighting is effective as well. The color composition should be interesting too. Like how does a cloudy sky look at dawn when the sun is going down.
Lighting is one of the most important things in the look and feel of a level. An important thing to lighting is that it always has to have a light source. Where is the light coming from? If there’s simply light somewhere and it can’t be determined where the light source is coming from then it can break the illusion and believability of the lit area. A good example of bad lighting is when the light source lights up more of the area than it should. The proportion of the lighting to its light source is important. It has to be believable. You can’t expect a small light bulb in the middle of a long corridor to light the whole corridor equally. The same goes for brightness. If the lighting of an area is brighter than the light source then it ruins it. Or if the light source is brighter than the area it is illuminating.