Chief Architect Help Database - Article Number: 715
How to Smooth Terrain and Control it Precisely
The information in this article applies to:- Chief Architect X5
- Chief Architect X4
- Chief Architect X3
- Chief Architect X2
- Chief Architect X1
When I add terrain points, lines and splines my terrain will often appear erratic; creating slopes, valleys and peaks in areas where I don't necessarily want them. How can I quickly smooth out my terrain and bring it under control?
Chief Architect will create a smooth curve through elevation points, lines, and splines. Often, if not enough data is available you will get seemingly unexpected results. These results are predictable and controllable by using more elevation lines, and to group the terrain lines in sets of four.
To create a terrain perimeter
- To begin, launch Chief Architect and either Open
the plan in which you would like to smooth your terrain, or start a new plan by selecting File> New Plan
from the menu.
- To model terrain within Chief Architect you will first need to create a terrain perimeter.
If you do not already have one in your design, to create a terrain perimeter, from the menu select Terrain> Create Terrain Perimeter.
This will create a default rectangular Terrain Perimeter of 50'x100', however, you can customize both the size, and shape of your Terrain Perimeter, if so desired, by using its existing edit handles in combination with the Change Line/Arc
and Break Line
edit tools.
Add terrain lines and set elevation height
- To add a terrain line, from the menu select Terrain> Elevation Data> Elevation Line
.
- Next, click and drag an elevation line from left to right, so that the elevation line spans the entire width of the terrain perimeter.
- To set the elevation height, using the Select Objects
tool, select the elevation line then click on the Open Object
edit button to display the Elevation Line Specification dialog.
- Click on the Elevation tab, and in the Elevation field, erase the existing value and type in the elevation you want.
For this example, we will enter 20".
- Once you have entered the new value, click the OK button to apply the change and close the dialog.
To exercise maximum control over your terrain, we will use a series of elevation lines, rather than a single elevation line. For this example we will create four lines; each of the four elevation lines should have the same elevation and should be located no more than six inches from each of the others in the group.
By using groups of four elevation lines placed closely together, we are able to show the terrain editor within Chief Architect how to make the desired smooth transitions between elevations.
To create a slope
- To create three additional copies your elevation line, spaced exactly 6" apart, select your elevation line and select Multiple Copy
, then Multiple Copy Interval
. Set the General Objects Primary Offset to 6" and press OK.
- Click and drag the elevation line until you have a series of elevation lines.
- Select each elevation line, click Open Object
- Repeat this last step until you have set the heights of each line.
Last updated on: Mar 29, 2013
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