Editing Mission Builder (section)

=== Terrain Generation ===

First, we want to create a new area to set our track in.  This is done using the '''Terrain Terraform Editor''' mode.  Select this mode, and you'll see the bar on the right look something like this:

[[File:MB Screen2.jpg]]

The section at the bottom is the list of all transforms which will be applied to the terrain.  You can probably do some very clever things with this (at least if you're more skilled than I am) but we'll keep it simple.  If there are any transforms other than '''General''', delete them.  Now, click on '''General'''.  This shows the basic settings for your terrain.  '''Height Range''' is how high the other transforms are allowed to make mountains, and '''Min Terrain Height''' is how low the valleys can be.  It's worth setting the min height to be more than zero so that you can dig some pits later on, if you want to.  Set range to 25 and min to 50.  The slider sets the water level, but this is supposed to be a desert track (and I don't know how it works yet) so let's leave it on zero.

Now we need to create the terrain.  Click on the '''Operation''' button, and select '''fBm Fractal'''.  This uses a fractal algorithm to generate fairly realistic hills and valleys.  The default parameters should be OK to give us an area of low rolling hills (these are going to be sand dunes, maybe somewhere near Somerset).  Now hit "apply", and your terrain will be generated.  It should look similar to (but not the same as) this:

[[File:MB Screen3.jpg]]

If you don't like it, press the '''New Seed''' button to re-randomise, fiddle with the settings if you want, and hit Apply again.  Once you have something that looks OK, it's time to add some colour.