How best to setup sloped terrain for multistory house?

[Doug.S]

I'm starting a new design of a house set into a hill with full basement at one end (walk out) and other end will be a crawl space.

Should I start with terrain?  or  Design the house and then add terrain? (and use cut-out around house?)

What is best way to set "locations"? ....

- terrain and basement at level = 0? (add hills)   

- Or set main floor to level = 0 and basement to -10' (for 10' ceilings) and use valleys in terrain (as well as cut-out)?

- Or does it not really matter where to start and at what level for basement/terrain?

I'm trying to not start wrong and have to correct or re-start again later.

Doug.S

[CBarn]

Doug, did you ever come up with a solution for this problem? 

I have a similar situation ... two story house where most of the first story is half-way underground, but the ground slopes down at the driveway to meet the garage on that level.  At first I tried setting the basement level as 3 feet below ground, but the terrain wound up cutting through the level and I couldn't see anything on the floor.  Clearly the wrong approach (although I'll admit, I'm a novice and probably messed it up!)

[Doug.S]

I had to do something...and "slope" tool was not doing what I needed.

I did find a tut on the Envisioneer forum with a fairly good solution.

If you have (and I do) the terrain contour plot, its simply a matter of creating wide flat plateaus, one for each contour, stacked at contour heights, and aligned with the contour plot map and the remaining 3 sides of each plateau extended beyond the whole terrain.

The resulting slope is a series of steps...not as good as a real constant slope, but reasonable for now.

A better slope tool with width control is sorely needed.