Microstation Connect Draping Issues

Hi Everyone

I wonder if anyone can shed any light on a problem I am experiencing using MicroStation Connect?  I have a really large terrain model that I want to use for a visualization.  I have surfaces which I am stitching together as a mesh.  Generally I work in AECOSIM BD, but as the meshes are so large I am trying to use MicroStation Connect - it seems to handle the meshes better.  The problem is that our system is not set up for Connect yet, and I am struggling with the materials.  Usually our drape is set by Part and Family.  In this instance, I have assigned the dcdrape material from the old palette to the  material.  I can see (by turning the drape on and off in the raster dialog) that it is working as the raster file disappears and the terrain changes color, but it becomes a solid green rather than an image.  Not sure what is causing this, I wondered if I need a different drape palette?

Also, once I have finished with the terrain model I will need to export it to LumenRT. The ribbon in MicroStation Connect does not have an option for Large Model Export - any idea where to find this?

Any advice would be gratefully received

Thanks

-W

Parents
  • Hi Wendy,

    Things changed for CONNECT Edition with regard to dcdrape. What you need to do is create a new material using the material editor. Click on the pattern map icon and in the map editor instead of selection image in the drop down choose special then you can set that to dcdrape. The old dcdrape required a pma file that does not work in CE so you will need to use this new method.

    In CE you don't need to use large model export the large model export was to get around memory limitations in 32 bit MicroStation.

    Cheers,

    Jerry

    Answer Verified By: WendyH 

  • Jerry,

    I see you have another type of material listed in your screenshot which doesn't appear in my Mstn CE updt3. Is this something new which will replace old dcdrape ?. TBH I tried dcdrape in CE and it works but results although better than old dcdrape in V8i version are more than disappointment (when exporting to LumenRT)....creating material from image and elevation drape type of mapping with multiple meshes renders much better results but requires significantly more time to set up. If Bentley could improve image quality in CE dcdrape material and LumenRT exporter (UV mapping is already there Mstn exporter just needs to create 4k by 4k texture from raster images...) that would save us a tremendous amount of time...
  • Hi, I am finding issues with the quality of the drape too. I am trying to export a piece of terrain a bit over 100km2 to LumenRT for an animation. I have read that there is a limitation on the resolution with dcdrape. Is there any way around this?
    I came across a post that details how to do an STM. Do I need Descartes to do this, and should it be installed with CE or ABD? (My plant has been modeled in ABD and I am using CE to work on the mesh as it is very large. CE handles the mesh better.) Will it provide a better drape resolution and will that be able to be exported to LumenRT?

    That said, I am also struggling to smooth the mesh to my satisfaction. I have a 5m mesh which I have stitched into 4 sections, but it crashes when I try to subdivide it. The results in LumenRT are quite blocky and faceted - I don't think the facet smooth tool works either as it is not being rendered. I had thought to purchase a higher resolution satellite image, but if the resolution if the dcdrape is inherently limited, it wont help me.

    Thanks
    -W
Reply
  • Hi, I am finding issues with the quality of the drape too. I am trying to export a piece of terrain a bit over 100km2 to LumenRT for an animation. I have read that there is a limitation on the resolution with dcdrape. Is there any way around this?
    I came across a post that details how to do an STM. Do I need Descartes to do this, and should it be installed with CE or ABD? (My plant has been modeled in ABD and I am using CE to work on the mesh as it is very large. CE handles the mesh better.) Will it provide a better drape resolution and will that be able to be exported to LumenRT?

    That said, I am also struggling to smooth the mesh to my satisfaction. I have a 5m mesh which I have stitched into 4 sections, but it crashes when I try to subdivide it. The results in LumenRT are quite blocky and faceted - I don't think the facet smooth tool works either as it is not being rendered. I had thought to purchase a higher resolution satellite image, but if the resolution if the dcdrape is inherently limited, it wont help me.

    Thanks
    -W
Children
  • Wendy,

    The best option for achieving best possible quality is to divide your mesh into smaller chunks and do the same with your raster images. Ideally you would like to have 4k by 4k raster images but with 100km2 area that may be a lot of work. Si the workflow would be to:
    1) Use Descartes to stitch your raster images into one big file then divide it into smaller chunks (10k by 10k) and do the same with your mesh. I use for this OpenRoads terrain modeller. Then you will have to create materials using these 10k images and use the elevation drape method. If you try one big raster image LumenRT will degrade its quality just the same way dcdrape is doing it.
  • Thanks Kris, I am going to give it a try, also with Descartes for the rasters. Wish me luck! I fear that the mesh will improve in Microstation but still be blocky in Lumen - I think the faces are flatter somehow once exported to Lumen.
    -W