Chief Architect Help Database - Article Number:  590

How to Generate Contour Lines

The information in this article applies to:
  • Chief Architect X5
  • Chief Architect X4
  • Chief Architect X3
  • Chief Architect X2
  • Chief Architect X1
QUESTION

I have added hills and valleys to my terrain and selected Terrain> Build Terrain  from the menu, but no contour lines are created in these items and they're not visible in 3D.  Why is this?

ANSWER

If you have added Terrain Modifiers such as Hills and Valleys to your terrain at the same location as a Flat Region, the flat region will have priority over the hills and valleys.

When working with Terrain Modifiers such as Hills and Valleys, it is important to remember that Chief Architect assigns a greater priority to the Flat Region  than it does to other types of modifiers. That means that if a flat region occupies the same space as a hill or valley, the hill or valley will appear flat in a 3D or camera view.

One solution to this issue is to move the flat region to a different part of the drawing, thus enabling the hills and valleys to generate as expected.  A second solution is to make the flat region smaller so that it doesn't surround the other Terrain Modifiers.

 

Remember that whenever a change is made to the terrain, you must select Terrain> Build Terrain  from the menu to apply the changes you have made to the drawing.



If you want your terrain to update when a 3D view is taken, select 3D> 3D Settings  to display the 3D settings dialog, check the option to Auto Rebuild Terrain, and click OK to apply the change.




Note: If your terrain is not displaying at all in your 3D Camera views, turn on the display of your Terrain layers in the appropriate layerset for the view.

Last updated on: Feb 19, 2013


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