Need Terrain Help

[raykos]

Hi all,
 
    I'm attaching some jpgs of a retaining wall I've built and would like to make a drawing of it, in order to do some "what ifs". 

    As the jpgs show, my backyard is flat for about 50', then comes the wall(2 terraces, 18" & 28"), which has a plateau(4' high) behind it, and on that plateau is a pond and the pond is fed by a 50' stream sloping upwards(3' slope) to a 4' high waterfall.

    Also included is my .bld. As can be seen, I've drawn the wall, but just can't figure out how to do the terrain.  I've tried using a plateau behind the wall, but a gap ends up between the plateau and the back of the wall.  So, if I try putting some plants right at the back edge of top terrace, they look like they're down in a ditch.  If I try moving the front edge of the plateau towards the wall, it ends up burying the wall?  Then, there's also the problem of making two slopes flow smoothly upward from the yard to each side and around the wall(see attached jpgs)?

   Any help appreciated...

  Thanks,
   Ray

[Allan Chesney]

Hi Ray,

Terrains can be quite a challenge! I am on the train at present and my phone does not know what to do with the BLD file (strange that!) so I cant see what you have done. However, you can use a floor elevated to the plateau height to backfill to the retaining wall. Obviously you can set it to the same texture (even if it tries to tell you that you cannot grow grass on a concrete floor!)

I will have to look at the other things later.

EDIT:
Well I had a bit of a look at the model when I got home and played with the terrain tools. I did not have much problem with the Plateau but the slopes are impossible, as they extend across the whole terrain and are cumulative.  There must be a way to do it but I can't work it out. There may be more possibilities using hills but in the end I gave up and did it with a Mansard roof(!!) on the same location level as the foundation.   Set the multiple edges that face the retailing wall to gable and adjust the slopes and heights on the three slope sections for the other sections.  The top slope has to be set to 1 degree to get it 'flat'.  Set the texture to grass of course. You would have to use an elevated floor for the pool or use a plateau as well for the centre section so it protrudes slightly higher than the roof.  I did not try it but you could also probably use the bullnose roof and get more gentle smooth cornered slope.

Have a go - it may do what you want.

Allan

[Doug.S]

also search this forum for terrain or similar words as I remember posting long ago some info and links to another forum that showed how to make retaining walls.