Generating Pipelines, Fences, Powerlines

Fences, pipes and other such objects are placed along line segments selected from vector data sources (*.shp files).

The basic workflow is as follows:

First, we create a basic object, that will be used as a building block for generation — any *.node file containing a single root-node with any hierarchy.

This step is the same as Adding a Vector Data Source and Specifying Tags for Roads.

Now, we must add basic objects created at the first step and bind them to the tags created at the second step.

1. On the Sources panel, select the Vector data source type and the following settings will be displayed in the Vector tab of the Parameters panel.

2. Add a basic object for generation by clicking Add button on the Parameters panel and specify object's name. You can add as many objects as necessary.

3. For each basic object specify the following parameters:

   

   Name	The object's name, which is displayed in the Objects list in Sandworm and in World Nodes when the terrain is generated.
   Tag	The tag for the selected object from the list of created tags.
   Type	Type of the vector object to be generated. In this case, we are generating Points.
   Node	The path to the basic object's *.node file.
   Enabled	When toggled on, the objects of this type will be generated. When toggled off, the objects of this type are not generated and won't exist in the world containing the generated terrain.
   Use as Fence	Toggling on this option allows creating a line of identical objects along the selected vector data.
   Auto size	Enables or disables autosize mode for node placement. When this mode is enabled, basic objects are placed with zero-spacing so that bounding boxes of the first and the last basic objects are aligned with start and end points of the line segment respectively.
   Step	Distance between two adjacent basic objects, in units.
   Start offset	Offset of the first basic object's pivot from the start point of the line segment, in units.
   End offset	Offset of the last basic object's pivot from the end point of the line segment, in units.
   Fit to size	Enables stretching/shrinking of basic objects so that they are placed along line segments without spaces between them.
   Collider	Flag indicating if collisions for the generated object are to be detected. Notice Available only for geometry type.
   Drop to ground	Flag indicating if the generated object will be aligned with the terrain surface.
   Height offset	Distance from the terrain surface along the Z-axis, in units. Notice If the generated object is partially under the ground, increase this value to lift it above the terrain surface.
   Bake to cluster	Flag indicating if the generated objects will be baked to a Mesh Cluster. Notice The option is available only when the specified *.node file contains a static mesh. Baking to a Mesh Cluster shouldn't be used for large areas because of the coordinates precision limitations.
   Forward axis	Axis along which the basic object is to be tiled: X, -X, Y, -Y.

Placing Billboards#

Now you need to configure the output settings and generate (or regenerate) the terrain which contains these vector objects by clicking the Generate button.

By default, the generated objects are added to the world hierarchy as NodeReferences. However, they can be baked to a MeshCluster, if the corresponding option is enabled.

Vector Objects as NodeReferences	Vector Objects as MeshCluster