If you download this software please let me know (see 'SUPPORT') if:
- It actually compiled on your machine
- It works with your VRMLs
Installation is via the usual './configure && make && make install'. Further instructions can be found in 'INSTALL'. For instructions on how to run this program, see the manual:
man ./man/mesh2hmap.1
This program was designed for creating heightmaps from meshes for the 'Tribes' inspired game 'Legends'. Legends uses a 256x256 PNG image as a heightmap for the terrain. I wanted to make some particular terrain geometry in a 3D modeller and convert it to a heightmap.
The program converts a 3D mesh into a 2D heightmap. The mesh is in the form of vertices and polygons, which are defined by indeces to the vertices. Currently this program can parse the mesh from a VRML file or a plain text file using a 'native' file format. VRML is a widespread format and most 3D formats can be converted to it.
The code is extremely messy, largely undocumented and hard to understand. Unless you're familiar with C and pointer arithmetic, don't even try to understand it. This program should be split into three files: Main; Mesh Parsing; and Heightmap Generation.
I think this would make a useful Blender export script. If anyone would like to do this, let me know, and I'll document what the algorithm is doing in English (see 'SUPPORT').