CompuServe Messages

>> Can someone reccommend a good >>fractal program (shareware or commercial) >>that can generate some realistic lawns, >>dirt, desert brush, trees, as seen from an aerial view? Maybe Vista Pro? Not sure, but it's worth checking out. I have used Schreiber's 3D Surf program which can generate rolling landscapes randomly. Also, on the Rendering Plant BBS we have terrain meshes from military sources that may be of the right type. Another way for you to create fractal landscapes (for free!) is to use Fractint to create a fractal height field, then export to DXF at the detail level you want. The materials that come with Schreiber 3D Surf can do lots of lawn/dirt/forest floor/asphalt etc. types of ground cover, probably good enough for your needs. They even made this material library available to those who are using the "Demo" version of their IPAS routine. So that may work. For brush, trees, and other terrain features, I'm pretty sure you'll have to lay that in yourself. Yost group's disk 5 of IPAS routines can auto-generate most of the plant forms you want. It can even create a forest. It may be what you're looking for. I know that Digimation discounts most of the above IPAS routines – if you need their phone number let me know. Jim