DEM Tutorial

Written by Richard Garber

Ever see those MSTS screen captures where the terrain looks absolutely realistic? Considered doing a prototype route but wondered how will you get the terrain to look as it should? The answer is DEM (Digital Elevation Modeling). But how do you do it?

For a $5 (US) donation, you can learn the method of applying DEM to your route using the DEM Tutorial. It provides a straight forward easy to learn approach to a process that in itself is rewarding, and can be quite addicting. The DEM Tutorial teaches Lawrence Kellie's (whom I have nicknamed the DEM Guru), incredibly easy DEM applying techniques. This technique is so simple and safe to use you can even apply DEM to only one tile if you need too! You'll also learn Lawrence's solution for mixing different resolutions of DEM. And if you are budget conscious, Lawrence uses programs which are freely available on the web, and even has graciously created a site where you can download the programs needed all in one place!

The DEM Tutorial is a 45 page PDF, with plenty of pictures and graphs detailing the steps Lawrence showed me. His instructions were so effective, that after doing one small section I found myself able to do the rest of the route myself. Paul DeVerter reviewed the material to make sure the DEM Tutorial was easy to understand for novices and offered his own insights to make the material even clearer.

In the DEM Tutorial I forgo all the fancy words and provide you the simple steps that Lawrence showed me. I also included my own method of keeping my data organized which was so helpful for me in understanding the process.

You can find out more information about the DEM Tutorial on my web site:

www.edmfamily.com/msts/index.htm and look for the DEM Tutorial link.

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