TERRAFORMER

ACCESSORY PACKAGE FOR PROFANTASY SOFTWARE'S

FRACTAL TERRAINS PRO

Image Courtesy NASA/JPL

USER'S MANUAL
C.2008 By Bill Roach

Release: 0.001

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

License...........................................................................Pages 4 6

Disclaimer.......................................................................Page 7

Credits............................................................................Page 8

Introduction.................................................................Pages 10 17

So What's Wrong With The Gaia Shader?................Pages 18 24

Step 1: Installing The Lighting And Color,(.lgt), Files....Pages 25 34

Step 2: Using The Terraformer Image Climate Files, (TIC###).: 2a, Understanding The Concept Of The Image Climate File. Pages 35 43

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2b, Loading The Image Climate File...............................Pages 44 46

Step 3: Cloud Layering In Fractal Terrains Pro...............Pages 47 58

Terraformer Package Contents List. ................................Pages 59 - 61

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LICENSE
Fractal Terrains Pro, Campaign Cartographer 2 Pro, and Campaign Cartographer 3 are properties of Profantasy Software Ltd.. Bryce 5, Bryce 5.5, and Bryce 6 are properties of DAZ 3D. Astrosynthesis is a property of the NBOS software company. Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Notepad, and Windows Microsoft Paint are trademarks of the Microsoft Corp.. Photoshop is a trademark property of the Adobe Corporation. Paint Shop Pro is a trademark property of JASC. WILBUR is an application owned and authored by Joe Slayton.

#1, Image climate file ICJS0001 courtesy of Joe Slayton. The intented use of ICJS0001 as a Fractal Terrains Pro shader and all user created compositions and and works derived and produced from it's intended use - are unrestricted by this license. Distribution and modification of the ICJS0001 file itself is conditional upon attribution to Joe Slayton, and is also conditional upon the inclusion of this license agreement with all redistributed bundles specifically containing the ICJS0001 .bmp / jpeg image file.

#2, Real satellite and space imagery contained within the Terraformer package are courtesy of NASA /JPL/ NOAA and fall under the public domain provisions of such U.S. Government produced imagery and materials requiring conditional attribution if presented in unmodified form. Such images shall be recognizable by virtue of the presence of the terms NASA, JPL, and / or NOAA spelled out within their file name(s) as they are contained and labeled within the TERRAFORMER For Fractal Terrains Pro accessory package (see body of Terraformer User's manual for further clarification of conditions of use for NASA/ JPL/ NOAA imagery). Use of NASA /JPL/ NOAA images as either transparent cloud layer maps for Fractal Terrains Pro generated maps, or as sectioned / modified elements / components of composite textures as they would feasably be applied for use within Profantasy Software's Fractal Terrains Pro, are not restricted by this license.

#3, The user(s) may alter, modify, use, and distribute all Terraformer Image Climate .bmp / jpeg files (those image files with a TIC prefix in the file name such as TIC001 and TIC125 as examples) without restrictions and free of royalty requirements by any means or form.

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#4, The modification, and distribution of the Terraformer .lgt color scheme files fall under the authority of identically the same license agreement contained within the Profantasy Software's Fractal Terrains Pro proprietary software package insomuch as the body of that license itself may refer to, or pertain to such. The intended use of the Terraformer .lgt files - and all user created compositions and works derived / produced from their intended use - are unrestricted by this license. #5, Cloud maps (.bmp / jpeg image files) having the prefix HNXP spelled out clearly in their specific file names - are aggregate compositions created / generated under the direction of Hari Nair from public domain source satellite image fragments for the open source XPLANET PROJECT software program(s). Attribution is not required but would be greatly appreciated in situations where the cloud maps are displayed as is in any media, where they have not been applied as a transparency upon a flat map or model. #6, The same stipulations / provisions of this license pertaining to HNXP prefixed cloud Maps / image files (license stipulation #5) also applies identically to those images / cloud maps produced by Bjrn Jnsson, and that have the prefix BjrnJnsson spelled out clearly in their specific file names. #7, All other images contained within the TERRAFORMER Fractal Terrains Pro Accessory Package that are not feasably covered by the afore mentioned use conditions are without restriction of any kind upon their use or distribution. #8, This license strictly and specifically applies to only this first release alpha edition of the TERRAFORMER package designated Release 0.001, and it's contents as listed and defined within the user manual for Release 0.001, and does not apply / is non transferable to any future releases of the TERRAFORMER package / materials bundle. #9, Free, non-commercial distribution of this package is without restriction, provided that all package components / parts are included in the distributed package as they are listed in the TERRAFORMER For Fractal Terrains Pro User's Manual. #10, Profantasy Software LTD. May distribute this package in full - free - to the public and it's customer client base (not included in a commercial software bundle) without any restrictions whatsoever.

#11, Profantasy Software LTD. May use any included author created images and renderings for promotional purposes for Fractal Terrains Pro without renumeration, royalty, or fee requirement in the interests of promoting the continued existance and development of the Fractal Terrains Pro program.

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#12, Profantasy Software LTD. May distribute this package bundled with a commercial software package with no fees or royalty obligations - if the commercially bundled version contains ONLY the user's manual or a copy of the license agreement, the image climate files (those image files with a TIC prefix in the file name such asTIC001 and TIC125 as examples), the NASACM prefixed cloud maps, and the .lgt files. In this case Profantasy Software LTD. May edit the user's manual to conform to such exclusive material omissions / limitations, and omit any articles it sees fit including any cloud maps, image climate files, or .lgt files.

#13, Profantasy Software LTD. May distribute the entire full TERRAFORMER package bundled with a commercial product provided that Profantasy Software LTD. Satisfies / clarifies / resolves any commercial distribution issues with all other contributors except for the author (Bill Roach) and a free access copy of the TERRAFORMER package is also made available to the public in some form - in which specific case Profantasy Software LTD. May distribute the TERRAFORMER package with NO restrictions whatsoever.

#14, This package in whole may be distributed non commercially, provided that the package is complete and all materials listed in the manual are enclosed, and NO FEE IS REQUIRED FOR ACCESS TO THIS PACKAGE - OR ANY OF IT'S INCLUDED MATERIALS TO THE GENERAL INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC INCLUDING HOSTING ON WEB SITES OR PAGES REQUIRING REGISTRATION FEES OR SUBSCRIPTION FEES FOR MEMBERSHIP. This package and all included files may be hosted on a commercial or non commercial website or web page(s).

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DISCLAIMER: This package and all included files, applications, and software are provided as is. Installation and / or use of this package, or any element thereof, signifies that the user understands that use of this software is at the discretion and excepted risk of the user or users of this package. The author of this package (Bill Roach), or Profantasy Software Ltd., shall NOT be in any way held liable or responsible in any capacity, for damage to any computer(s) hardware or software that may result from the intended or unintended use of this package, or any of it's elements or contents therein. This package - in it's initial ALPHA RELEASE currently as of September 15, 2007 has no formal support, and being in the testing phase, is without gaurantees. Since this specific release is meant as a FREE as is resource, then there are no real or implied warranties assigned or claimable. For further information about Fractal Terrains Pro visit:

http://www.profantasy.com/products/ft.asp

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IMAGES AND TEXTURES:

Bill Roach, , NASA / JPL / NOAA, , (Real Images And Cloud Maps). Joe Slayton, , http://www.ridgenet.net/~jslayton/index.html Bjrn Jnsson (Cloud Maps), http://www.mmedia.is/~bjj/ Hari Nair / XPLANET PROJECT (Cloud Maps). http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~hari/ http://xplanet.sourceforge.net/

TECHNICAL CONSULTANTS:
Joe Slayton, , http://www.ridgenet.net/~jslayton/index.html

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Produced / Created By Bill Roach. .

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INTRODUCTION
ractal Terrains Pro is designed around creating maps for war games and role playing games. It's purpose is to create maps that convey important information about the game setting (game world) to players and game referees (game masters) alike concerning things like geographical features, weather patterns, environment types (climate zones), etc.. It's functions are primarily topographical and informational in nature, and are not really aimed towards creating anything as complicated or involved as life like simulations or photo realistic images per'se. Fractal Terrains Pro does however, provide the user with the ability to make custom color schemes for their maps using .lgt files , and image climate files . The program is enhanceable with user created elements, which is one of it's nicer aspects. F.T. Pro allows the user to create and integrate personalized map colors and textures into their work flow. The Terraformer package exploits this - so that the Fractal Terrains Pro user can produce maps that are extremely realistic looking, given F.T. Pro's current limitations. Terraformer is an ongoing experiment that I've been working on for quite a while now. It's all about using Fractal Terrains Pro to make maps of model worlds that have a realistic quality - by incorporating image climate files and color schemes that are directly sampled from actual space images of the Earth, (and other terrestrial planets), taken by satellites and space craft. The idea is to enable you to see what a fictional world might look like if it were a real world. Terraformer is a collection of shaders and other accessory materials made for use with Fractal Terrains Pro. It is a two part process that uses the included image climate files in conjunction with the included .lgt files to produce map colorations that are far more realistic and believable than what F.T. Pro's default shaders can currently do. I Have corresponded with other F.T. PRO users who have expressed a desire for this kind of program enhancement. I began this project because I wanted the same thing that they did. This is my way of starting the ball rolling on trying to answer that need a little better, for myself and anyone else who might be interested in producing maps like this.

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By making F.T. Pro capable of generating realistic looking world maps, you can do a lot of things. For example, you can take a map and label it - so that you can use it as a flat topographical map - then, take the same map (unlabeled), slap a cloud layer onto it in F.T. Pro's Image Overlay Window, and then wrap it around a model planet in a 3d modeling and rendering program like Bryce, (Bryce 5, Bryce 5.5, or Bryce 6.0), to render a nice space view of your world. This makes the map that you create more versatile and multi functional. If you use NBOS Software's ASTROSYNTHESIS 2.0 in conjunction with FT PRO and this accessory kit, then you can create planet blazons and planet reference views that are stunningly believable giving you some really awesome star system maps and animations.

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Note that the image climate files that I have created, and the .lgt files included in the Terraformer bundle, have been derived from sampled colors and textures taken from actual NASA / JPL imagery. These Files, with the exception of Joe Slayton's file, might contain colors that may not be properly interpreted by Campaign Cartographer 2 Pro due to their complexity (the number of colors that they incorporate). My shaders should be excellent for use as a tool for making alternative versions of maps of Fractal Terrains Pro worlds that will also be mapped in C.C.2 Pro as well albeit perhaps separately using more C.C.2 Pro compliant color schemes and shaders. None of these files have been C.C.2 file export tested as of yet however, so please feel free to experiment. Here are some examples of what the Terraformer shaders can do: The first example map (below) is a depiction of the world of Barsoom (Mars) from Edgar Rice Burroughs series of Mars / Barsoom serials published from 1912 to 1942, and are the inspiration behind Marvel Comics John Carter Warlord Of Mars long running comic book series.

I used the TIC037 image climate file, and the F.T.Pro default Lighting And Color .lgt shader Vaguely Mars to produce this map.

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The next example map (below) is a simple world map using the Terraformer .lgt lighting and color shader T_07, and the image climate file TIC125.:

As you can see, on flat maps these shaders work wonderfully, accentuating added text and graphics, and giving an overall excellent presentation. I had to define the desert climates within F.T. Pro itself because the climate zones for the ETOPO2 binary / hdr elevation files were not defined correctly by default. F.T. Pro did not recognize where the deserts should have been (roughly). While making these image climate files and .lgt files I used a lot of NASA / JPL imagery, and experimented a lot with mixing and matching textures to fit them correctly, and to properly blend them into the climate spaces of the default F.T. Pro image climate shader, (used as a template). I used the free open source graphics editing program The Gimp - in conjunction with a few free photoshop .8bf filters to fine tune the images for whatever desired effect that I wanted. The image climate files were pieced together initially in Microsoft Paint. The .lgt files form the foundations of the oceans and creating them was also a tedious and daunting task as well. I think so far it's really paid off nicely.

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I made the Terraformer shaders basically because I wanted to create universal maps that could be used either as flat maps or textures for 3D globe / planet images (dual purpose). These shaders work very well for 3D textures as you can see from this Earth globe (below) that I made using an exported spherical map from F.T. Pro incorporating my TIC125 image climate file, my T_07 .lgt file, and a very nice transparent cloud map that I improvised from multiple cloud maps and NOAA storm images, (this cloud map is included in the Terraformer package). The globe was then modeled, textured, and rendered in DAZ 3D's Bryce 5.5.:

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Below is an image of a terraformed Mars that I did using the same methods and Terraformer shaders that I used on my Earth globe. What you see are the results of how F.T. Pro generated the texture map.:

Here is another image of a completely fictional world using a map randomly generated by F.T. Pro again shaded using the same shaders as the previous two images, with the model rendered in Bryce 5.5.:

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Provided that your climate zones are properly done, and accurately defined, (mine really were not but the results were sufficient for this demonstration), any real world elevation file of an actual place that can be imported into Fractal Terrains Pro and textured using the right Terraformer shaders, should generate very realistic depictions of those places from a space borne perspective. Not exactly perfect simulations, but in my opinion, much better than what is currently available from Fractal Terrains Pro's default shader options. The Terraformer shaders took a great deal of time to make. Texture components for the Image Climate Files were cropped from locations within the source NASA / JPL images that, as closely as possible, matched the approximate climate zones to which those cropped textures would be assigned. At times some embellishments were done experimentally, (for example using a piece of temperate forest texture for savanna textures, or as a transition zone between tropical deciduous forest textures and dense tropical forest textures). Remember that the purpose of this kit is not for making purely topographical maps Fractal Terrains Pro can already do that. It is instead meant to give the F.T. Pro user the ability to generate maps that are far more aesthetically realistic than what F.T. Pro can produce using only it's default color options. Realism is the core objective of this experiment, perhaps not perfect realism but as real looking as F.T. Pro will allow, given it's limitations. The contents of this package represent the various experimental stages of developing my color schemes and image climates that I have worked on over a long period of time. There are currently over 125 image climate files, and 7 .lgt files contained in this kit. This is an ongoing project that I will hopefully be able to continue to improve upon and to expand as time permits. This manual assumes that you already have some basic knowledge and experience in using Fractal Terrains Pro. Nonetheless everything is explained clearly, and in a simple step by step way. It should be pretty easy to follow for those who have even a basic working knowledge of Fractal Terrains Pro.

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Many thanks to Joseph Slayton (author of the WILBUR mapping program and father of the F.T. PRO program engine) - for informing me about climate imaging, and contributing his image climate file to help to develop this tool kit for everyone to enjoy and to everyone at the F.T. Pro / CC2 / CC3 mailing group for their input as well. You are invited to distribute this package to other F.T. PRO users non commercially, (free of charge). I would also like to encourage you to build upon my work and efforts, and to expand upon them, by developing more color schemes, cloud maps, and image climate files for FT PRO, and making those files available to the general public as well. A good way to start is to contribute your files to the Profantasy Software's Map and Catalogue Library at this address: http://www.profantasy.com/library/upload.asp Thank you for using the Terraformer For Fractal Terrains Pro Accessory Package, I hope these accessories will help you in creating some really beautiful maps. B.R.

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So What's Wrong With The Gaia Shader?

ractal Terrains Pro already has a decorative shader in it's arsenal of coloration options designed to give generated maps an appearance of being Earth like. This shader is referred to as the Gaia View, and is found under F.T. Pro's Map Menu option Show Gaia.

The Gaia Shader is a good shader, and it really works well if the F.T. Pro user only wants to make their maps look pretty - and isn't all that concerned about how aesthetically realistic, or climatologically accurate the maps are. If however, you are a tad bit of a perfectionist, or if you want your maps to resemble real satellite images of truly Earth like worlds, then the Gaia shader has a few problems that causes it to fall well short of being adequate for quality simulations. Note that the only model of a real living world that we have to use as a reference is the Earth itself.

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Below is a comparison of three globe images. Notice the apparent differences between them all.:

The first globe from the right is a NASA / JPL real Earth image, presumably a composite made from separate real satellite mosaic images, and is a reliable depiction of what the Earth actually looks like. The second image is a model rendered using a texture map created in Fractal Terrains Pro, using the TIC125 shader and the T_07 .lgt lighting and color file. The third image is a model rendered using a texture map again created in F.T. Pro and using only the F.T. Pro Gaia shader to define the planet's surface . Upon close scrutiny several issues with the Gaia shader are noticeable,: #1, The oceans are too uniformly brightly colored. #2, The land areas not covered with vegetation are too dark and are not accurately colored at all, (too yellowish in some places, and too brownish in others). #3, There seems to be no strict correlation between climate zones and color / vegetation distributions. #4, The Gaia shader gives less of an apparent variety of coloration in general.

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One reason for most of these issues is very simple. The Gaia shader is based upon the limited 256 colors available in Fractal Terrain Pro's default color palette. Both the NASA / JPL images and the Terraformer shaders, (which are based upon those NASA / JPL images), contain many more colors and in R.G.B. Values that do not exist within the 256 color standard. Visual reality contains more than 256 colors. A good way to get an idea of what correct Earth colors look like is to study actual Earth images.:

The above images were taken by the Clementine spacecraft launched January 25, 1994. Note the colorations of the land masses and oceans, particularly in the image on the right. The Earth's oceans generally appear brighter in space images only in areas of the most solar reflection. The oceans are actually more darkly colored, (except in cases of extreme depth shallowness, such as along some coastal regions for example). There is subtle red over saturation in the image on the right but the image is, for the most part - pretty accurate color wise. Not all of the Terraformer shaders, (Image Climate files), are attempts at recreating exact Earth textures as some of the shaders are experimental in nature, (for example, TIC003, TIC004, TIC037, and TIC040 are experimental shaders). TIC037 was made from cropped sections of a NASA / JPL (Seal) texture map of the planet Mars. Most of the shaders actually are, however, efforts to simulate more Earth like terrains using various different approaches in order to make images more realistic and somewhat aesthetically reasonable insomuch as modeling worlds that are Earth like are concerned. They were created from sampling R.G.B. color values and cropped texture sections from actual NASA / JPL satellite images of the Earth.

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These shaders were developed to try to, as closely as possible, match or improve upon the approximate shadings found on NASA / JPL global cylindrical satellite composite map images of the whole Earth, (such as, for example, the global monthly images found at the Blue Marble Next Generation website at: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/ Newsroom/BlueMarble/BlueMarble_monthlies.html ).

Many different NASA / JPL maps, in differing resolutions, were used to make the Terraformer shaders. Below is a typical example of a NASA / JPL cylindrical global composite which were used as models / references for developing the Terraformer shaders.

NASA false colorizes many of the satellite images used to create these composite maps in order to accurize them i.e., to, as closely as possible, make them factual representations of the Earth's surface as it appears from space. These colors are based on real spectrographic data taken from multiple sources.

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If we compare a NASA / JPL map, (top below), with a Gaia shaded F.T. Pro map, (bottom below), we can then see the glaring inconsistencies between them.:

These maps simply do not match at all. The obvious conclusion is that the Gaia shaded map gets a grade of F on color accuracy, (if we use the NASA / JPL map as a control). Remember that for the sake of our argument here, we want to develop a shader that matches the NASA / JPL map's colors and color distributions as closely as possible and that will produce the best results, (given F.T. Pro's operational limits).

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If we again compare the NASA / JPL map, (top below), with a map generated in F.T. Pro using the Terraformer image climate file TIC125, and the Terraformer .lgt file T_07, (bottom below),we can then see a much better fit:.

The Terraformer shaded map here, gets a grade somewhere between a B -, and a C. It's not a perfect match but far better by leaps and bounds than an F.

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Some of the Terraformer shaders can actually produce maps that seem much closer to matching the NASA / JPL model than the previous demonstration. The ocean colors in the Terraformer shaded map on the previous page, (using the T_07 .lgt file), are actually closer to many real Earth images than what you see in the NASA / JPL global composite above it specifically in how the shallower waters are defined color wise. Some of the shaders produce results so close to actual real life satellite image color assignments that they could fool quite a few people. Given what Fractal Terrains Pro currently can and cannot do creating a map that is a perfect match to our NASA / JPL model is impossible, but developing a shader that can generate a map with colors and color distributions that comes very close to matching it is really quite doable, (as many of the Terraformer shaders show). In this respect, the Terraformer package can be considered a huge upgrade from the default Gaia shader found in Fractal Terrains Pro.

The map above is a good example of how using real Earth image derived shaders can help you model fictional worlds in F.T. Pro that are extremely realistic looking and believable. This is the idea behind Terraformer. The Terraformer accessory package is the product of much research and experimentation and the results thus far seems to have turned out pretty good.

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Step 1: Installing The Lighting And Color, (.lgt), Files.

he Terraformer shading system is a two part operation. The Image Climate Files will define the land textures of your model world, and the lighting and color, (.lgt), files will define the ocean and water body colorations. However, before doing anything, you have to unzip the Terraformer Package to a file folder on your desktop. Assuming that you are reading this manual somehow without having moved the contents of the Terraformer kit to a desktop folder we'll now briefly go over doing this. First you have to create a New Folder on your desktop. Within Windows Vista, this is done by right clicking the desktop screen moving your cursor over the New popup menu option and then left clicking (or selecting) Folder from the popup menu that trees out from the Newpopup menu option.:

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Earlier versions of the Windows Operating System, (XP, NT, 2000, ME, Windows 98, and Windows 95), should follow roughly the same general method for creating new desktop folders. Next you simply rename the new folder TERRAFORMER, or something else that's sufficiently distinctive, and using whatever zip utilities you might have handy unzip / decompress / extract the contents of the Terraformer zip file to your new desktop folder.

Next you'll want to open your new TERRAFORMER folder and locate a file folder within it that is labeled with the file name LGT. This is where you will find your Terraformer Lighting And Color files, (.lgt files). Now open the LGT folder. You should now see a list of .lgt files labeled T_01 through T_07. Some of these .lgt files have much larger file sizes than typical F.T. Pro Lighting And Color files.

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This is something like what you should see when you open the LGT folder.:

Next you want to access the Edit menu option Select All in the File Explorer window, in Vista this can be done by pressing the Alt button on your keyboard to call up the explorer window menu tabs.:

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You can also select all of the .lgt files by depressing your left mouse button (two button mouse or track ball), and carefully dragging your screen cursor / pointer over the files in one direction. This can be tricky and takes some practice. The selected files will then be highlighted. Next after all of the files are in selected mode again - you want to access the Edit Windows Explorer menu option and then you want to left click, (select), the Copy To Folder option on the Edit pull down menu.:

You will be installing the .lgt files from the Terraformer LGT file folder to the Coloring folder in your Fractal Terrains Pro (FT) program file directory. This is the first step in using the Terraformer shading system. Again these .lgt files will form the colors for your oceans, seas, and other major bodies of water on your map(s).

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When you click the Copy To Folder option you will see the following pop up screen entitled Copy Items (In Windows XP / Vista).:

Locate your FT, (Fractal Terrains Pro), program folder and it's subdirectory folder labeled Coloring. Left click on Coloring to highlight it then click on the Copy button to begin copying your Terraformer .lgt files into the Fractal Terrains Pro Coloring subdirectory program folder. That's it. You can also do it the hard way by opening the FT / Coloring folder, and the Terraformer LGT folder in separate Explorer windows and then dragging the files from the LGT folder to the FT/Coloring folder manually, or, you can just use the old tried and true copy and paste method by just copying the files, opening the FT/Coloring folder, and then simply pasting them in there.

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Now you have to verify that our install was successful, and test the files out in F.T. Pro. First open F.T. Pro, and either generate a new world or, such as in this example select binary world - and use the ETOPO2 world terrain elevation file that is included on the F.T. Pro disk (it really doesn't matter either way). Now select the Map menu option.:

Next - From the Map pull down menu Let's select the Lighting And Color option.

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The Lighting And Color pop up window should now appear. If the installation was successful, the Terraformer .lgt Lighting And Color files should appear listed on the left column scroll screen.:

The Terraformer .lgt files all differ only in the ocean colorations and color levels per file. The land area colors (above sea level) are all roughly the same. The .lgt file closest to matching our model NASA / JPL map featured back on page 21 is T_01, while arguably - the most dramatic and best of the bunch visually is T_07. The T_07 shader may actually be a better choice because of more diverse color variation, and it's apparant resemblance to many real Earth images, when used in conjunction with global binary elevation files such as ETOPO2 .

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Now you're going to select one of the Terraformer .lgt shaders on the left column scroll screen by left clicking on it, (standard two button mouse or trackball), in this case, we'll choose T_07.:

Notice the color bar on the right indicating the colors per altitude level. Each .lgt file was created by sampling R.G.B.,(Red,Green,Blue), color values from source NASA / JPL images. We are not so much interested here in the land color values produced by the T_07 shader, as we are the water colorations, or sea color values. Now we will click on the Load button, and then the Apply button, and then we will close the Lighting And Color pop up window.

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Next you're going to go back and access the Map menu bar option again, and scroll down to find the Show Altitude option. The Show Altitude option colors your map according to the Lighting And Color scheme that you chose in the Lighting And Color pop up window. Click on Show Altitude. :

The Lighting And Color option basically allows you to customize the map coloration options for several different kinds of topographical map views including climate zones. You can only use flat colors when customizing color palettes through this screen, (not textures) however, so we will not be using climate color customization through the Lighting And Color option. The altitude colors are what gives your seas and oceans their coloration when you create a map using the Terraformer Image Climate files, (TIC###) to texture the land masses according to climate within Fractal Terrains Pro.

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Your Altitude map should now be on the screen, and it should look something like this.:

The Terraformer .lgt files alone will produce very impressive maps that reveal land surface elevations quite nicely however these .lgt files are primarily meant to be used with the Terraformer Image Climate files (TIC###) when creating a map that is meant to portray a relatively accurate representation of an Earth like world. You can use either just the Terraformer .lgt shaders, or only the Image Climate files to make some very nice maps, but you really don't get the full impact of what these shaders can do until you use both types of shaders together. Next we will cover using the Terraformer image climate files. This is a much simpler operation than installing the .lgt files because by unzipping the Terraformer package into a desktop folder you have already basically installed the Terraformer image climates. You merely have to access them in your TERRAFORMER folder from within Fractal Terrains Pro in order to use them.

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Step 2: Using The Terraformer Image Climate Files, (TIC###).:

2a, Understanding The Concept Of The Image Climate File.:
ractal Terrains Pro uses a unique alternative method of shading maps that surprisingly enough, is probably one of it's least known and least used, yet most incredible features. F.T. Pro can actually take any bitmap or jpeg image, (scaled correctly) read it in sections and then use it to shade the land features of a generated map. This feature is accessed under the Map/Show Other Shader/Show Image Climate drop down menu options tree.:

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When you select Show Image Climate within F.T. Pro from the Map/Show Other Shader/Show Image Climate drop down menu options tree - you will then see the Alternate Climate Coloration pop up window appear.:

Note the patch work test pattern image made up of geometric shapes, each filled with a different and unique color that is displayed by default. These represent the default colors of F.T. Pro's Climate Palette. Each color actually represents an individual climate zone. If you choose the Show Climate option under the Map drop down menu, your map's land areas will be shaded with these default colors.

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The climate zones, (biomes), as they are displayed in the Alternate Climate Coloration window, are shown here labeled for you.:

Irregardless of what image, (bitmap or jpeg), that you might choose to load in as a shader in the Alternate Climate Coloration window, F.T. Pro will always read the image to conform to this general pattern and distribute those partitioned image sections belonging to each climate zone across the map accordingly in the form of a surface texture. When making your own Image Climate files you can use the F.T. Pro default climate shader image as a template, (a template is provided with the Terraformer bundle - in the IMAGE_CLIMATES folder, under the file name TICT). The structure of the Alternate Climate Coloration window is based upon a rudimentary form of the Whittaker biome distribution model. This model was developed by American ecologist Robert H. Whittaker. It calculates where a climate zone, (biome / ecosystem), should be located on a typical x,y graph, where x is the temperature, and y represents the precipitation.

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The climate zone positions on the graph, (it's boundaries), are plotted according to values of precipitation (rainfall) vs. temperature, with the origin of this graph, (point (y=0,x=0)), located at the upper left corner of the image window. The graphic below is an illustration of the basic concept of the Whittaker model as it would apply to any Image Climate file loaded into the Alternate Climate Coloration window.:

As you proceed towards the right from the origin, the temperature rises. As you proceed down from the origin, the precipitation increases. Theoretically, in general, the warmer and wetter an environment is, the more abundant, and more diverse, the vegetation becomes, (more generally stated the more complex and multi layered the local biomes tend to be biodiversity tends to increase under these conditions).

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In the lower left corner of the Alternate Climate Coloration window, there are three values that are displayed for Temperature, Rainfall, and Climate.:

moving your screen pointer around on the displayed Image will cause these values to rapidly change. This is because you are moving your screen pointer across an x,y graph where arbitrary locations have x, (Temperature), and y (rainfall) coordinates. By clicking the Show Grid box on the A.C.C. window you can add a grid pattern overlay to the image that will help you to track these value changes more clearly as you move your screen pointer around, which is a huge help in designing your own image climate files.

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This graphic shows image climate file TIC125 - with the grid box on - in the Alternate Climate Coloration window.:

If you want to design your own image climates, then you can use the afore mentioned features within the Alternate Climate Coloration window to check and recheck your work, as you develop them. The A.C.C. window features can help you to tweak your images in a separate graphics editor for added realism and effect - by giving you the visual data that you might need, to know where to put the right colors for the best map render. This is why these features are here. Fractal Terrains Pro provides you with the flexibility to use your own custom map textures and to help you to make them as realistic (or fantastic) as you want them to be.

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Back on page 37, you read that any bitmap (.bmp) or jpeg image can be loaded into the Alternate Climate Coloration window, and the A.C.C. Window will read the image in terms of assigning different sections of the image to different climate zones on the resulting map. To demonstrate this let's start with the image of a woman's face.:

Fractal Terrains Pro will read the image and distribute pieces of that image across the generated map in the form of surface textures assigned broadly to climate zones, but more specifically, to values of x and y. Every tiny part of the image has a temperature value (x), and a precipitation value (y). Every (x,y) coordinate on the picture has corresponding values of temperature and precipitation (rainfall), so that the pieces of the image will be painted onto your generated map according to how you have painted or designed your map's climate zones in F.T. Pro.

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Again here is the woman's face, only this time with the default climate zones and a reference grid superimposed over it.:

Here you can see roughly how the image will be divided up by F.T. Pro. This is how F.T. Pro reads the image and translates the picture data in order to use it as a climate based map shader. The default climate zone areas are more or less broad generalizations but more precise and comprehensive climate zones can be created in a separate graphics editor with a little homework.

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Here is the global map render done in Fractal Terrains Pro based upon the image of the woman's face.:

As you can see the results are chaotic, but interesting nonetheless. Just to recap any jpeg or bitmap image can be used as a climate shader in Fractal Terrains Pro. You are by no means limited to using the basic 256 color F.T. Pro palette to texture your maps. The true colorations that you see on actual satellite images of the Earth are caused by four factors,: #1, geography, #2, ecology, #3, atmospheric conditions, and #4, albedo (solar reflection / refraction). These same four factors also determine the Earth's climate zones to a large extent. How a planet appears in space in mostly dependent upon it's own unique climatology. If you are creating image climate files to make maps of Earth like worlds, then the best source of textures for cutting and pasting together a decent Image Climate file would be good high resolution color images of the Earth's surface. Luckily those are pretty easy to find over the internet, and most of them are public domain / open access images. Next we are going to briefly cover the simple operation of loading an image climate file into Fractal Terrains Pro, so that you can shade your map's land areas.

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2b, Loading The Image Climate File.:

Loading in an image climate file is very easy. Simply open the Alternate Climate Coloration window and click the button at the bottom of the window that reads Load Image From Disk....:

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When you click Load Image From Disk - you need to only locate the image that you want in the Select Climate Image File pop up Window in whatever folders / subdirectories that you have them stored in. Select the desired image file, and then click the Open button in the Select Climate Image File window.

When you see your image climate file displayed in the Alternate Climate Coloration window simply click the Ok button.

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Remember that in order to get the full effect of the Terraformer shading system, you'll have to first set the .lgt file for your ocean / sea colors first. If you have already done this in the Lighting And Color window as this manual has already showed you, (beginning on page 25) then you should see your ocean colors when you select the Show Altitude option under the Map F.T. Pro menu option. You can do this to check and see if your .lgt file selection is correct. After you have selected your .lgt file in the Lighting And Color window you simply load in your image climate file in the Alternate Climate Coloration window click Ok - and there you have it. The land areas of your map will be textured, and your ocean / sea colors will be defined. Next we are going to cover cloud layering...

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Step 3: Cloud Layering In Fractal Terrains Pro.:

dding a cloud layer to your map is like putting a cherry on top of an ice cream sundae, it's the perfect finishing touch. Fractal Terrains Pro gives you several different options in it's layering window that can put many different kinds of potential cloud cover effects conveniently at your fingertips, (depending upon your available cloud maps and color images). Here are a few examples of various cloud map configurations that were done using the Terraformer cloud map resources with Fractal Terrains Pro.:

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Many of the Terraformer cloud maps were created from NASA cloud map images, NOAA satellite weather images, and parts of Hari Nair's Xplanet cloud maps that are generated periodically from mosaic satellite images through links at the Xplanet web site. Some of the cloud maps are straight forward, unmodified examples from NASA, Hari Nair(Xplanet), and from Bjrn Jnsson's composite / derivative compilations. The Terraformer package contains many useful cloud maps and color maps that should provide you with an abundance of cloud layering options. To begin applying a cloud layer to your map, let's locate the Image Overlay window.:

You'll want to select the Image Overlays F.T. Pro menu option, and then click on the Show Overlay Window drop down menu option.

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Notice the buttons at the bottom of the window labeled Add, Edit, Show, Hide, and Set Active. To simply add a cloud layer to your map, you need only really concern yourself with the Add and Edit buttons for now. Go ahead and click the Add button.:

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You should now see a new pop up window the Edit Image Overlay window.:

The only parts of this window that you should be concerned about at this point is the Ok button - the Opacity slider control - and the Import Color Image, and Import Opacity Image buttons at the bottom of the window. The edit image overlay window can be used to add overlays with transparency maps of any type properly scaled - to your map, but it's most visible function is the addition of cloud layers. Make absolutely sure that the Visible box is checked in the upper left corner of the window!

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First you'll import a color image, which will provide the coloration of your clouds. This image could be merely a jpeg or bitmap that is nothing more than a solid color, (for example, white), or - you can use the cloud map (opacity map), itself as the color layer, (either method works). In this case however, you will be importing a plain color map, (white). You should first click the Import Color Image button in the lower left corner of the Edit Image Overlay window.:

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After clicking the Import Color Image button, the Load Image File window will pop up. Locate the CLOUD_MAPS folder in your Terraformer desktop folder, (through the Load Image File window), and open it. Now select the CloudColor1 image file, and click Open at the bottom right corner of the Load Image File window. Within your Terraformer CLOUD_MAPS folder there are four cloud color image files labeled from CloudColor1 to CloudColor4. For this example you will be using the white cloud color image file, (CloudColor1).:

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Now Fractal Terrains Pro will ask you if you want to use the upper left pixel of the image as the color that denotes transparency, (for example if the extreme upper left pixel of the image is black, then black will be translated to be the transparency color for that image). This is unnecessary if your using an opacity map, (transparency map), so since we will be importing a separate transparency map, (cloud map), click the NO button on the query window.:

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Next you will import the opacity image, (transparency map / cloud map). This is your actual cloud map. The cloud maps are all in black and white. By default F.T. Pro will read black as being transparent, and white as being opaque. Since the cloud map itself is not being imported as the color image as well then it only serves as a transparency map and nothing else. If you had chosen a color other than the white image, (CloudColor1), as your imported Color Image - than the resulting clouds, as they would appear on your map, would be rendered in that color. Click on the Import Opacity Image button.:

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After clicking the Import Opacity Image button you should now see the Load Transparency Image File pop up window appear. Just as you did in the Load Image File pop up window previously, locate your Terraformer folder in the window, then your CLOUD_MAPS folder, and then as an example select the StormyEarth1 image file. Now click the window's Open button in the lower right corner of the window.:

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Now you will return to the Edit Image Overlay window. Note that CloudColor1 is listed in the Name box. This is because you imported the color image first, so by default F.T. Pro is calling this layer CloudColor1. You can change this if you'de like, but in this case we'll leave it as is. Also notice in the Edit Image Overlay window that the Opacity slider control is at 100%. That means that the opaque (solid) areas of the cloud map has zero transparency. Next you will click the Ok button in the upper right corner of the window.:

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Now you will have come full circle and you are back once again at the Image Overlays pop up window. Notice that CloudColor1 is now listed as the first (and in this case only), layer in the list.:

Your new cloud layer / atmosphere should also now be visible on your rendered map in Fractal Terrain Pro's main viewing window. The job is essentially done. If you aren't happy with it then you just select the layer name in the list box by clicking on it and highlighting it, (in this case CloudColor1), and then proceed to click the Edit button at bottom left of the Image Overlays window. You would then be redirected back to the Edit Image Overlay window where you can repeat the entire process for a new cloud layer, change the color of your clouds by importing a new color image (then re-importing your opacity image), or change the transparency of your clouds with the Opacity slider control. There are several other adjustments that can be made and for more information on those features you can consult your Fractal Terrains Pro user's guide.

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If you'll recall back on page 51, it was mentioned that you can also import a cloud map as a color image instead of a solid single colored image, and then import the same map as an opacity image (transparency). This technique does work, but depending on the cloud map that you use, sometimes you can get results that are very natural looking and other times you might get gray outlines or shadows that can clash with the world features, and stand out too much. It's good to experiment with both methods, especially if you have new cloud maps that you have collected. We have just covered the basics of cloud layering in Fractal Terrains Pro. You can consult the Fractal Terrains Pro user's guide for further information on the topics that we have covered thus far.

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Terraformer Package Contents List:

he following is a list of the complete contents of the Terraformer Accessory Package For Profantasy Software's Fractal Terrains Pro Release 0.001.: #1, Terraformer Read Me file in .txt format,

#2, Terraformer User's Manual in .pdf format,

#3, Terraformer LGT folder containing:

#3a, Lighting And Color file T_01.lgt,

#3b, Lighting And Color file T_02.lgt,

#3c, Lighting And Color file T_03.lgt,

#3d, Lighting And Color file T_04.lgt,

#3e, Lighting And Color file T_05.lgt,

#3f, Lighting And Color file T_06.lgt,

#3g, Lighting And Color file T_07.lgt,

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#4, Terraformer IMAGE_CLIMATES folder containing:

#4a, ALTOPO.bmp alternative topographical image climate file,

#4b, ICJS0001.bmp image climate file by Joe Slayton,

#4c, TERRAFORMER image climate files TIC001.bmp to TIC125.bmp (125 image climate files in .bmp, (Windows bit map), format), #4d, TICT.jpeg image climate file template,

#5, Terraformer CLOUD_MAPS folder containing:

#5a, BjrnJnssonVenus.jpeg colored cloud map,

#5b, BjrnJnssonVenusALPHA1.jpeg cloud map,

#5c, BjrnJnssonVenusALPHA2.jpeg cloud map,

#5d, Color images CloudColor1.jpeg to CloudColor4.jpeg, (four color images),

#5e, Hari Nair / Xplanet cloud maps HNXP1.jpeg to HNXP11.jpeg, (11 clouds maps in the series),

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#5f, JPLVenus.jpeg colored cloud map,

#5g, JPLVenusAlpha.jpeg cloud map,

#5h, NASA cloud maps NASACM1.jpeg to NASACM5.jpeg, (five cloud maps in the series),

#5i, Cloud maps StormyEarth1.jpeg to StormyEarth4.jpeg, (four cloud maps in the series).

#5j, Experimental cloud map TERRAFCM1.jpeg,

#6, Terraformer Promo Image Tpromo.jpeg.

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