Alright, so I'm making a map, and decided to use a height map. It does it's job and gets the shape in, but I've notices the cliffs turn out awful.

So can someone give me so tips or perhaps a tutorial on how to get the cliffs better? I need help getting the right shape and cliffs on my map, and essentially getting this map started in the right direction. I should be good with making the terrain, but I can't seem to get the basic shape and cliffs.
Edited by n00b4life95 on Feb 25, 2013 at 09:42 PM

The advice I can offer you is to break the entire map down into tiny sections. Build the map section by section. You just have to realize that complex geometry is formed by very basic shapes assembled in unique ways.

When building the sections, ignore Halo's geometry rules. Just get shapes down that mimic what you see in nature. Once you have that, you can address all of the errors and develop a working mesh.

Thanks for the tips, I did feel kinda overwhelmed because the map I'm making is fairly large, but I'm breaking it up now. I took a shot at modeling a cliff/pathway, and this is what I got.

http://s15.postimage.org/dtp6n5yd5/cliffs.png

Now, I know this isn't really that good, so I'm looking for advice on what I could improve on. Personally, I think the the basic shape I got going is pretty good :)

That's a great start. Just keep on trucking man.

Look at references for the type of environment you wish to build. I can not stress this enough. Grab 10-15 pictures of the biome you are building and emulate them for you map. Try to envision the world in your mind and how it was shaped. Was it a river slowly carving out a canyon or coastal erosion?

Just remember, you can build anything you wish. Forget the guidelines for how it must be built and just build it. You can have intersecting geometry, glaring holes in geometry. Just get the shapes man. Once you have the shapes and the mood, then you can build proper topology. Be sure to look at modeling videos so you can learn the tools you have at your disposal to build shapes. There is no 'proper' way to model any geometry; quicker, maybe, but that doesn't matter.

Take a look at this:
http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=74720

Notice how the environment was built? Very blocky representation and first and he slowly refines it. Take those same principles and build you environment.
Edited by Disaster on Feb 27, 2013 at 01:22 AM
Edited by Disaster on Feb 27, 2013 at 01:23 AM