I'm considering the possibility of converting topographic data points into 3ds max coordinates to recreate a real life area. I'm not sure if the data that is publicly available would be high enough resolution, but it's a good concept, and my initial research looks promising. I would probably start by modeling the Virgin Falls park in White County TN.

Has this been attempted before? Thoughts?

You mean like ripping google maps' models of world terrain? I'm sure there would be a lot of errors, the best option would be to use it for size reference.

There is one precedent to what you're looking for: Red Feather Ranch by DocOctavius (2004).
According to the readme, he based this map around the terrain of real-life Red Feather Lakes, Colorado, USA... though he made the terrain by hand and memory.
(That's really impressive, if you ask me! o.o)
It's a great map for something made so long ago... Honestly, it's a shame that nobody plays on it.




(Thanks to DocOctavius and Halomaps)


However, the one problem for you is that he didn't use topographic data...
Which is where I come in :P *plays Superman music*

Another project I've put my hands into in the past, FlightGear, actually has a topographic data-to-Blender converter.
(and as far as I'm aware, Blender can export to a format that 3DS MAX can support!)

FlightGear is a free flight simulator that lets you download scenery data from around the world (though its accuracy varies depending on where you are; France and Austria have it lucky).
A plugin made by this one FlightGear user lets you convert that scenery data into a Blender model, which you could use for your map.

The one major problem is, you're gonna have to get FlightGear (which is a huge program, and their resolution of Tennessee scenery'll only be so accurate), Blender (kinda hard to learn.. but totally worth it in the long run) and this one plugin.
Good news for you, everything up there is free (just make sure you release the contents under the GNU GPL license). Bad news, .... make sure you have at least 10GB or so of open space on your harddrive, and a decent processor. And a hell of a lot of time.


It's a complex procedure, but it'll probably be better than using raw topographic data from the USGS (US Geographic Survey) or... modeling on your own o.o

EDIT: I guess Bourrin33's method would be simpler...
I'll leave some links to this method, just for the records then.
FlightGear free flight simulator
FG to Blender scenery conversion (you may want to ask Tuxklok, the plugin maker, for help)
Tuxklok's Plugin in the FlightGear Wiki
Blender
Edited by renegade343 on Dec 27, 2012 at 04:02 PM

Take a topographic map with the height level lines, + use the 3ds max terrain modifier and you're done , but you'll realize that the topography of the earth is horribly boring, like this :

Sounds like a good idea. Might have better luck with terrain if you did the Grand Canyon or some other magnificent structure.

Actually I take it back, the Grand Canyon would be too huge for Halo, like playing Hugeass, but you get the idea, choose a location with lots of stuff in it.
Edited by Pepzee on Dec 27, 2012 at 02:52 PM

If you made a map that's either overlooking the canyon from the top, or is at the Colorado river on the bottom and you want to use the Canyon as a background, then it could work.

If you want somewhere interesting for both gameplay and looks, then how's the rock formation at Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe/Zambia)...


...or the Huangshan mountain range (Anhui, eastern China; an inspiration for the Hallelujah Mountains in "Avatar")?


(Though it's fine if you'd still like to do Tennessee. Good luck, either way ^^)

Victoria Falls would make an awesome map, but I'm going to try the Virgin Falls park first. It turns out topography is done via satellite now, and NASA makes their data freely available. I have a text file with a 216x108 matrix of data points for about a 4x2 mile area, so that should be excellent resolution. Now I just have to figure out how to make the data points in 3ds Max and connect them into faces via a program, macro, or plugin...

Virgin Falls comes out of a complex cave, falls 110 ft, runs 30ft while turning in a 180 degree semicircle, then drops into a 50 ft pit with another cave. The park has other interesting caves and water features. If I can do it justice, the map will be epic.

I want to recreate a hill that is behind my house. Rather large, about a mile wide mb?

This was designed as a tutorial for working in UDK but you could easily apply it to working in max.
http://www.tt-forums.net/viewtopic.php?t=27052