ArchiTerra: Are architerra hotspots linked to the terrain?

[Anonymous]

Hi,
I've used ArchiCAD for several years now, but I'm a beginner in using ArchiTerra. I think ArchiTerra is a great product, but the documentation provided with the plug-in could use some enhancing.

After studying through try-and-error -method I'm now finally able to import a DXF and use the various tool objects included with the plug-in. Some of the basic concepts are a bit unclear to me, though, and I wish that someone could clarify them.

I have a surveyor file that is incomplete in some areas. Some z-level points are missing so i need to add them manually. Do i need to do this with the ArchiTerra Point tool BEFORE i generate the terrain, or can I somehow add the missing points afterwards?

I've searched the forum and noted a similar problem in one thread. A Cigraph employee advised there to add the points manually using basic ArchiCAD mesh editing features. I'm confused though, because when I add these missing points manually, obviously there are no 'ArchiTerra-hotspots' generated. Will this lack of ArchiTerra hotspots cause problems? Do the objects attached to the mesh (AT_painter, AT_contourlines, roads, buildings, etc..) need the ArchiTerra hotspots to function properly?

From my quick exploration into the subject it seems that the objects (at least the AT_painter) don't need the ArchiTerra hotspots to function, which leaves me to wonder what the ArchiTerra hotspots are used for. Are they needed just for generating the original terrain mesh, and if so, can they be discarded afterwards?

It also seems that after the original terrain is created, editing these ArchiTerra hotspots will not update the generated mesh. Instead I have to directly edit the generated mesh.

Do i need the ArchiTerra hotspots at all after the mesh has been generated?

FYI I'm using ArchiTerra 3 + ArchiCAD 12.

[Fabrizio Diodati]

Hi,

here I am.

[...] I think ArchiTerra is a great product [...]
Thanks a lot!

I have a surveyor file that is incomplete in some areas. Some z-level points are missing so i need to add them manually. Do i need to do this with the ArchiTerra Point tool BEFORE i generate the terrain, or can I somehow add the missing points afterwards?

You have to do this BEFORE if you use the ArchiTerra point.
You have to do this AFTER if you will manually add this point to the Mesh by using the ArchiCAD standard procedure.
The ArchiTerra Hotspots (which store the level data too) represent just the survey: they are the way you use to build up the terrain.
After the Mesh creation there is no more relation to these elements so:

Will this lack of ArchiTerra hotspots cause problems? NO
Do the objects attached to the mesh (AT_painter, AT_contourlines, roads, buildings, etc..) need the ArchiTerra hotspots to function properly? NO

[...] what the ArchiTerra hotspots are used for. Are they needed just for generating the original terrain mesh, and if so, can they be discarded afterwards? YES

Do i need the ArchiTerra hotspots at all after the mesh has been generated? It depends on you... but for sure you don't need them to edit/modify the mesh.


Friendly
Fabrizio