Topo problems

[Anonymous]

I cannot figure out how to create roads on a topo, at least correctly. The way I have gone about it so far is by creating a polyline that follows the topo and then with the magic wand cut a hole through the mesh of one topo set to be grass and then place that topo over a copy topo that is lower and set to look like asphalt .... everything works fine in plan but then when I go to generate in 3D window this message comes up .... Invalid polygon, self intersection or hole intersects boundary. (Terrain) ... any ideas?

[Djordje]

murphcw wrote:

I cannot figure out how to create roads on a topo, at least correctly. The way I have gone about it so far is by creating a polyline that follows the topo and then with the magic wand cut a hole through the mesh of one topo set to be grass and then place that topo over a copy topo that is lower and set to look like asphalt .... everything works fine in plan but then when I go to generate in 3D window this message comes up .... Invalid polygon, self intersection or hole intersects boundary. (Terrain) ... any ideas?

ArchiTerra.

[Anonymous]

It depends on what you mean by "proper" roads. ArchiTerra is the power tool for the purpose and the way to go if you need to do a lot of it. But you can get serviceable results manually with the mesh tool. Rather than cutting through a perfectly good mesh (and risking messing it up) I have taken to modeling the road as a shallower mesh and subtracting it from the terrain. Another trick I have used is to paint the surface features onto the topo by editing a survey image in Photoshop and applying it as a texture.

[Anonymous]

Follow this link:

http://www.aecbytes.com/tipsandtricks/2006/issue10-archicad.html

This is the method I use, and I have always had great results.

Best of Luck!

[Thomas Holm]

LINZ wrote:
This is the method I use, and I have always had great results.

AAAHHH! Perfect! I never get too old to learn! Two SEOs in a row, and you've turned a flat slab into a path that follows the terrain! Thanks!

Personnally, I hate Architerra. For me, it's just been another way (than cutting through) to mess up a perfectly good mesh. But if you have the surveyor's point list that Architerra is originally meant to handle, and create the original mesh that way, then it may be OK. Just don't use it to edit an Archicad-created mesh!

[Rod Jurich]

Thomas wrote:

LINZ wrote:
This is the method I use, and I have always had great results.

AAAHHH! Perfect! I never get too old to learn! Two SEOs in a row, and you've turned a flat slab into a path that follows the terrain! Thanks!

Thomas wait 'til you are my age then you may make a claim about that time.
This and making the SEO layer wireframe , are a couple of excellent tips. Thanks Linz.

[Andy Thomson]

several ways to skin this cat, all essentially the same method...

http://www.archicad.ca/?p=12

[Rod Jurich]

andyro wrote:
several ways to skin this cat, all essentially the same method...

http://www.archicad.ca/?p=12

Thanks Andy, better still.