Scene makeup: Will my dream scenario be possible?

[TheBigCheese]

We're just saying "I'd do it like this" "I'd do it like that" again and again. If your system was already implemented, it'd allow many more people to do caves. Persoinally, I doubt it will be in Overgrowth , so I've presented alternatives. However, I'm not much of a coder, so I don't even know how easy or hard it would be to incorporate the layered heightmaps into an engine. If you make or find an engine with that, contact me. I might even make a tutorial for slopes or something.

Agreed. No use arguing over something that likely won't be implemented.

[m3nace]

dual heightmapping anyone?
or voxel editing of course

[mphasis]

In industry, they just use models of caves and put them on top of terrain.
It's not hard to do, that's why they do it in industry.
So if you want caves, do what they do in industry and make a cave model.
Overgrowth isn't about caves.
If you really wanted that effect right now without modeling you could work on making a cave roof skybox with high walls and dark land underneath.
Honestly just make a model.
Unless you want to make a system that creates cave models from heightmaps, which aren't really a great way to do 3d terrain modeling and weren't designed to do that in the first place.
Really, go make a model.
And from a programmer's point of view:
Make a model.
It'll work, caves and everything, and it'll be awesome.
Make a model.

[m3nace]

In industry, they just use models of caves and put them on top of terrain.
It's not hard to do, that's why they do it in industry.
So if you want caves, do what they do in industry and make a cave model.
Overgrowth isn't about caves.
If you really wanted that effect right now without modeling you could work on making a cave roof skybox with high walls and dark land underneath.
Honestly just make a model.
Unless you want to make a system that creates cave models from heightmaps, which aren't really a great way to do 3d terrain modeling and weren't designed to do that in the first place.
Really, go make a model.
And from a programmer's point of view:
Make a model.
It'll work, caves and everything, and it'll be awesome.
Make a model.

far from everyone in the industry uses models for caves, most use voxel editing in open worlded games, dual heightmapping is mainly mmo oriented and models are mostly for linear-based games, not enabling the player to watch the cave from different angles as some of them would look really awkward
so no, not everyone in the industry use models when it comes to caves

[mphasis]

not enabling the player to watch the cave from different angles as some of them would look really awkward

This makes no sense, are you thinking of a sprite?
A model is 3d, by the very nature of it you can look at it from more than one angle.

models are mostly for linear-based games

What is a linear-based game?
A game based on lines?
Like line rider?
I think you might mean a game with closed levels that you have a specific path through, like Half-Life 2? In which case they don't draw the whole building because you'll never see the top of it, efficient.

most use voxel editing in open worlded games

You mean Voxels?
As in: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voxel#Computer_gaming
There are about 10 games that actually use Voxels, Voxel Editing doesn't really make any sense in the other billion games that are released each year. If you were talking about making arbitrary meshes using Voxel Editing tools only inside the editor rather than actually using Voxels in game I could kind of see what you meant.

far from everyone in the industry uses models for caves

so no, not everyone in the industry use models when it comes to caves

I never said "Everyone uses models for caves in industry" in my experience it's common, when I've seen caves in games, and played with them in editors, I'm often playing with models.

dual heightmapping is mainly mmo oriented

I actually have no idea how a terrain system is mainly mmo orientated, nor do I really have any experience with dual heightmapping. Heightmapping is however very common, but will not produce caves by itself.

But honestly, if you want caves in Overgrowth, make a model.
Unless m3nace has a better idea that we can implement with the tools we actually have.