What might that be? (I wasn't around then )

Also, does anyone want to help me big time with this? I REALLY don't have time to learn a new program, so if I provide several drawn maps and detailed explanations of the entire world, can someone help me turn it into a heightmap? (It would take someones serious devotion for a couple week, maybe less, and I would forever be in your debt)

PSD files are not copyrighted... Many art programs can export in that format.

I would HOPE that they can decode a simple BMP heightmap.

The wording of "IBM" and RAW, implies that it is truly a BMP file, not actually a PSD file. (PSD has layers and tools and other useless junk, like a PNG file on steroids. The layers are saved as BMP or PNG internally.)

I was trying to find the tutorial, but the wiki seems to have shifted. Off the top of my head:

• Make plugin with worldspace, save.
  
• Reload CS, with new plugin as active file.
  
• Make manual edit to landscape of new worldspace, save, reload.
  
• Use heightmap editor without crashes.

I'll be testing this in a few minutes, once I get the CK set up on this computer.

A wise man once told me never to plan before you know the specs

GIMP (the free photoshop alternative) should be able to make Greyscale HM files just fine.

Of course, you'll want to read up on what a Heightmap actually is (a square arrangement of pixels that the game reads as white = highest point and black = lowest point), if you don't know how games determine in the backend what a terrain looks like. Most in-game terrain editors work by dynamically adjusting the actual Heightmap image behind the scenes (so if you use a raise terrain tool, it will lighten the area of the HM image the game reads behind the scenes).

Basically this works the same way, except you'll be making your own HM files in photoshop/gimp manually instead of using an in-game WYSIWYG editor. The disadvantage is that it's a little harder. The advantage is you can do so much more

Making Heightmaps has nothing to do with PSD files, most Heightmaps simply use BMP format or RAW format. Depending on the game, it's critical to know exactly what format you need, and what the byte order should be (16bits, 32 bits, etc).

Oh, Mr. Maegfaer was trying to explain this I think, though he left out step 3. PLEASE let me know if it works, then I'll kernoodle around. If I can get the heightmap editor to work fully (As it did in the CS for me) I'll be a happy camper and can rest easy...

Oh also, do you need to just do this once? Then whenever you load up you can use the heightmap without crashing?

Just once. Theoretically. Currently, after finishing step 3 and attempting to save the heightmap editor's heightmap, the CK hangs on a "File in Use" error from Steam. Clicking cancel gets it to finish working, but makes it crash right after. Better than crashing immediately, though I'll see if I can work something out.

Awesome, I'll dink around as well, hopefully together we can figure something out.

I had done stuff earlier (A random combination of making worlds, reloading CK, etc) and I didn't get the 'File in Use' error. However, it did just immediately crash... Maybe it's a mix or something. We must keep trying, for science!

Though the fact we get this weird 'File in Use' thing that i've never seen in a previous Kit makes me think it's a saving bug that they could fix, not a generic issue with the system as a whole. (Which they would not support or fix)

There may be a problem with trying to do the world bit by bit. The CK is like the CS will only handle a plugin of a certain size and at some point you will need to turn the plugin to a master file. I will try Gecko.

how do you turn a esp into a esm?

TES4Gecko can do that:

http://tes.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=8665

But I bet there are other simpler ways, I'm not really up to date yet with all the third party tools for Skyrim.

Anyway, I'm generating distant LOD terrain meshes for my MiddleEarth worldspace now, I have it as a Master file with Skyrim.esm as a parent. I pray this works...

i hope it does, ive tried making and exporting height maps from GECK and L3DT 11.11 but nothing seems to work =/ all i have to do is click the import button and the CK crashed -.-

I used L3DT as well (I think I'm the one who "introduced" it to the modding community), and you should import the heightmap through the newest version of TESAnnwyn, not through the heightmap editor.

Btw, LOD generation is done under World -> World Lod. Not in the Heightmap Editor anymore, although the old button still exists.

Ah, I have had problems with the LOD, thats interesting, I am reloading the CK (after the umteenth crash) to use that method. Have you tried LOD creation yet Maegfaer, I recall there were problems with it in the CS, memory issues.

I have just done cow mesogea 0,0 in Skyrim and taken my first spring in-world.

Well it says doing one cell will take 50 seconds, so doing a world the size of mine might just take a bit of time. It was better being able to do it four quads at a time. A little annoying, and another case of Bethesda tinkering until they broke it, making it so others couldnt use it, then using third party stuff that they dont release or talk about to get around it. Are they for real?

I calculated that doing a 256x256 map will take 18 hours. It would be funny if it wasnt so real. I hope I got the calculation wrong, but it sounds about right. It took much less than this by being able to select the quads I wanted to produce as LOD. I hope a third party tool comes along soon.

The editor states that producing 1 cell takes 50 seconds. An entire quad in the heightmap editor took less than that!

0.1 seconds here per cell, at level 1. It will definitely take longer at higher levels, it went to 0.2 seconds on level 2 and IIRC even 2 full seconds at level 4 (I did it for a test worldspace). I'm now doing it for my 224x224 MiddleEarth for a few hours already and it is over half now. But, don't let the percentages fool you. Higher levels take more time, and it calcualtes the percentage based on the amount of files it needs to generate. So going from 95% to 100% takes many hours.

If you run at 50 seconds for 1 cell at level 1, I suggest restarting the CK and trying again. 50 seconds per 1 cell will take more than a month to generate.

256*256 == 65536

65536 cells * 50 seconds == 3276800 seconds

3276800 / 60 == 54613 minutes

54613 / 60 == 910 hours

910 / 24 == 38 days

How do you mean level 1? I cant find levels on the menu, though I may be being a bit thick

Here it says level 1:

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg850/scaled.php?server=850&filename=lodx.jpg&res=medium

What I mean is how do I set the LOD editor in the CK to produce at different levels.

Menu: world - World LOD - lots of settings and selecting mesogea in the heightmap list comes back with a 50 second per cell. How do I select something to produce it faster, a different level as you say.

You don't, it will do all different levels of LOD automatically, and it starts with level 1. How much CPU does it use when generating? Here it takes about 90% of my 4100 mhz quad core.

This is the menu:
http://mesogea.spruz.com/user/380826/members/A7EDA3B7-F0E8-43D9-86CE-5576CA91B0E6/big_201220808413015.jpg

so basically I select the world space, and press generate?

Seems astounding that its saying 50 seconds per cell. I have re-started the CK but it still says 50.

Using 2 core processor at 2.8 speed. Interesting, however running it, its speeding through each cell, less than a second per cell actually. Very odd.

Also select distant terrain/water?

Done. Correct me if i am being stupid but as it says 50 seconds per cell, which is nonsense given that after ten minutes nearly 2 percent of the thing is finished at level 1, will it try to create at level 2 and upwards, and if so do I need to cancel it at any stage or just leave it to go through the motions?

I am hoping all of this will eventually benefit others. I can see quite a few people watching this thread so it may be a case of barging through the whole thing and hoping that by trial and error a working heightmap and LOD can be generated. If so then it will open up heightmaps for others to create without half as much difficulty.

Once a solid working method of how heightmaps and world editing is done for Skyrim, would someone please make an updated tutorial on the process?

Thanks!

Just let it go on until the very end, Skyrim has multiple terrain mesh LOD levels, you need all of them. It will take many hours to finish, probably about half a day, it will get slower on higher levels.

And yeah, this pioneering will be worth it. Someone's got to do it.

This has come at a great time lol. I had just set the LOD to run when the postie knocked at the door and delivered my windows 7 for the rig I am building. an i5 Sandybridge with 8GB, the best kit I could get for the money I have (cost enough!) and I reckon that would have knocked a bit of time off the whole thing. I might go out and buy the last bits (except the graphics card, intending to get a gtx570 - next pay day anyway).

Oh look just hit 3 percent. So the speedy bit is level 1, then it drops down the higher up the levels it goes. Might be a long day (and night)

nos da.