The dsh Terrain Building Test

[gteacher]

Maybe to help, I made a video which visually demos how chief calculates the pad elevation. Glenn's plans are more detailed but sometimes a visual helps to understand.

The video is a little long winded, because I'm just slow, but I think it covers most bases. I did discover a update problem which was giving strange results. This may be some of Scott's problem.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/30269729/Pad%20elevation.mp4

MP4 file

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/30269729/Pad%20Elevations.wmv

WMV file

In any event, when Chief does update properly, the calculations appear consistent and correct. Problem is not in cals, problem is in correct updates.

[Glenn Woodward]

Lew,

Thanks for the lesson, and I do like your anology with the boat.
But you missed the meaning of my post - I was trying to get people to look at how things work from a different perspective in the hope it may make this whole thing easier to understand - apparently not!

Gerry,
In your video when you are looking at the section about at 12:37:08, you talk about Chief showing the cut and fill.
As far as I know, Chief doesn't do this.
Are you sure that what you are seeing isn't the terrain in elevation?

Can you post that plan so that I can have a look?

[lbuttery]

But you missed the meaning of my post - I was trying to get people to look at how things work from a different perspective in the hope it may make this whole thing easier to understand - apparently not!

Glenn:

for most chiefers the primary focus is on the house and while using auto-calc the terrain is their secondary focus

thus, they drop in a little elevation data (regions, lines) to get the 3D to look ok and
are not concerned with real world sea level values etc

for them your thought process would make the most sense

all values are RELATIVE to the default of 0" sea level


but in reality chief's primary focus is on the terrain and its relation to sea level and then the
seondary focus is on how the house elevation is calculated from those sea level values

since this is the way chief approaches it I think its good for chiefers to understand that
chief uses 0" sea level for the auto-calc


because once auto-calc is off it is a whole new ballgame....

at that point chief uses ABSOLUTE sea level values for the terrain elevation data (regions, lines)
and for the pad elevation and BOTH MUST be entered


so I think the switch in thought process fom RELATIVE to ABOSLUTE
can cause confusion for some chiefers

thus, I like to think in terms of ABSOLUTE at all times with the understanding that
while auto-calc is on chief is displaying the data as RELATIVE values

when auto-calc is off then chief works in ABSOLUTE and displays in ABSOLUTE



Lew