putting roads on uneven terrain

[Anonymous]

Hello I am wondering if anyone would be able to help me.
I am building fairly large massing model with a topography that is not flat.
I have built the terrain and am now looking to model on top of that, the roads and other surface elements. The gravity tool only allows me to to stick one point of the road to the surface of the mesh and not to the whole thing, so my roads ae sticking up about 1m in some places.
it's kind of ugly.
I am looking for how to find out build this properly.
I have included an image of the model and the road sticking out of it.
don't laugh.
I need help.
thanks

[Anonymous]

sorry, that's a really ugly picture, here's a better one

[Erika Epstein]

Finklay wrote:
Hello I am wondering if anyone would be able to help me.
I am building fairly large massing model with a topography that is not flat.
I have built the terrain and am now looking to model on top of that, the roads and other surface elements. The gravity tool only allows me to to stick one point of the road to the surface of the mesh and not to the whole thing, so my roads ae sticking up about 1m in some places.
it's kind of ugly.
I am looking for how to find out build this properly.
I have included an image of the model and the road sticking out of it.
don't laugh.
I need help.
thanks

Findlay,
No one is laughing except when we remember getting results like that ourselves.
Is your road paralleling the surface of the sie mesh? If so, you could duplicate the site mesh, change its material to asphalt, raise it 5cm or some such small amount and then make it 5cm high. Then in plan ajdust or cut out the edges so it is just where you have road.

Or if the road is at the elevation you show, add some point to the site mesh and then raise the appropriate mesh points to the height of the road making the site angle up to meet the road.

The intention is to build it like it is or designed to be.

That is using the mesh tool which is quite maleable and easy to shape into almost anything.
You might also try out Architerra by Ciggraph.

[Oleg]

Finklay wrote:
I have built the terrain and am now looking to model on top of that, the ... other surface elements.

If you will need to duplicate numerous elements like posts or trees, try out our simple rxDuplicator Add-On at www.arexline.com
It has the advanced gravity options at duplicating (for Windows only)

[Anonymous]

Thank you Erika and Oleg for your suggestions,
Erika, I have already tried duplicating the mesh tool and then cutting out the roads.... and that worked great, except that I need to be able to deliniate pathways, alleys, parking lots, etc., (all on the surface and In different materials) and when I do it that way I'm only able to render everything as one colour.
However I think I may have figured out another way of making it work with the mesh tool. If I build a new road into the cut-out of the original mesh, using the mesh tool, than I can use the snaps and move the points to the right elevation... it's just a little tedious. Any other thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks,

[Karl Ottenstein]

Finklay wrote:
Thank you Erika and Oleg for your suggestions,
Erika, I have already tried duplicating the mesh tool and then cutting out the roads.... and that worked great, except that I need to be able to deliniate pathways, alleys, parking lots, etc., (all on the surface and In different materials) and when I do it that way I'm only able to render everything as one colour.

I'm not quite following, but I think you didn't completely understand Erika's suggestion perhaps. You can model everything that you described, but you have to do more than just duplicate the mesh and cut it up for each of these parts. To be visible, without strange surface texture things happening, you need to raise the mesh parts for these custom hardscape elements some small amount. That will let your colors and textures look correct. To be clean about it, also use solid element ops to subtract the hardscape mesh bits from the main mesh. (This last step seems necessary if you are going to render the assembly in Artlantis, which is unhappy about masses occupying the same space.)

Karl

[Anonymous]

thanks Karl, I think I understand. .... also I will not be rendering the project in art*lantis. I don't have that program, so I will just be doing it in archicad. The intention of the model is for doing an overall site analysis of building relationships and green spaces.

[Ted Taylor]

Finklay

Have you checked out Architerra 2.0? I believe it will do exactly what you are trying to accomplish by using its "Color Terrain Tool" which allows you to color the terrain surface. Besides you get Fabrizio, who apparently never sleeps and is available to walk you anything to do with any of the "Archi" products

[Fabrizio Diodati]

Thanks Ted,

I never sleep...
Looking at the bald Karl who lost his hair working with ArchiCAD probably I lost my sleep doing the same (unfortunately I already didn't have too much hair to loose so...)!