Genesis4 - FAQ
Section 1. General 1.1 What are the systems requirements for GenesisIV? 1.2 How does GenesisIV use GIS data? 1.3 What is the difference between the different version of GenesisIV? 1.4 What database does GenesisIV use? 1.5 What happened to GenesisII? 1.6 Upgrading from GenesisIV version 6.0.4 or earlier Section 2. Techniques and Tips 2.1 What is the optimal grid size to use? 2.2 How do I join two or more tiles together? 2.3 Can I use USGS DEM data? 2.4 BMP files do not import correctly from Wilbur 2.5 My Overlay rendering has strange green/magenta colors Section 3. Troubleshooting 3.1 GenesisIV fails on startup
1.1 What are
the systems requirements for GenesisIV?
Apart from the graphics card, GenesisIV does not have any significant
system requirements. A system with a 1GHz or better processor and
adequate RAM - 256Mb or more - running Windows 2000 or XP should
be adequate. However faster processors and more RAM will increase
rendering speeds.
GenesisIV requires OpenGL, and a modern graphics card that supports
the GL Shading Language extensions provided by OpenGL 1.4 is prefered.
If your graphics card does not support OpenGL shaders then GenesisIV
can be run in 'no-shaders' mode. No-Shaders mode is differs only
in the way that atmospherics are processed in the photorealistic
renderer, where results will be somewhat slower for the whole landscape
and less accurate for vegetation and models. Except for more 'extreme'
atmospheric settings the accuracy will have no-noticable effect.
We are constantly checking out new graphics cards for compatibility with GenesisIV standard (i.e. with shaders) mode, our minimum confirmed specification is currently a nVidia FX5200, although we have had reports of the software running successfully on nVidia GeForce 4Ti. It is very important that you have the latest drivers for your card. The OpenGL Shading Language extensions are relatively new and drivers are being reqularly updated.
We have a list of cards that GenesisIV has been tried on. We would recommend nVidia 6x00 or better cards as these tend to have the best OpenGL implementations. A 6200 card can currently (November 2005) be obtained for between $100 - $150, and prices are regularly reduced.
1.2 How does
GenesisIV use GIS data?
GenesisIV uses the concept of terrains to model GIS data. Terrains
are roughly equivalent to the GIS layer concept of a layer, and
each terrain has a set of properties associated with it such as
surface color, texture and vegetation that control how the landscape
surface is drawn. Terrains are mapped onto a landscape surface using
shapes such as polygons, polylines or points and these shapes can
be imported from GIS files such as ArcView SHP and MapInfo MIF.
Our import facilities allow you considerable control over the import
process, including filtering values.
1.3 What is
the difference between the different version of GenesisIV?
We produce three versions of GenesisIV: Freeware, Professional and
Enterprise. The differences are itemised more full in our product
features table, but basically the Freeware version is available
for anyone to download and use to enhance their understanding of
the world, evaluate when considering purchase of the commercial
versions, or simply to have fun! The Professional version offers
additional features for the serious Educational or non-GIS user,
and the Enterprise version is aimed at GIS and similar professionals
who will be regularly using the system.
1.4 What database
does GenesisIV use?
GenesisIV currently uses the Open Source Flash Filer database because
of it's speed and close integration with Borland Delphi (our major
development language). The data structure for GenesisIV is open
and extendable. We do intend to implement GenesisIV with one of
the larger Open Source databases in the near future, but currently
the commercial use licence for MySQL is not suitable for us and
the native windows version of Postgres has not yet been proven sufficiently
stable or easy to integrate when distributed with an application.
If you have a need to use GenesisIV with either of these databases
then please contact us.
1.5 What
happened to GenesisII?
GenesisII was the previous commercial release of our landscape visualization
system. We changed the name for this release partly because there
are now rather a lot of unrelated products and websites using the
same name, and partly because this release is a virtually complete
rewrite of the application. GenesisIII was an inhouse version that
was never commercially released.
1.6 Upgrading
from version 6.0.4 or earlier.
GenesisIV holds all information in a relational database, stored
in the db folder in your GenesisIV install directory. Initial releases
of GenesisIV used a standalone server - Flash Filer - to communicate
with the database. Releases after 6.0.5 no longer require this server.
To patch an existing copy
- download the patch zip file and overwrite the genesis4.exe program with the one in the zip file.
- In windows explorer open up your GenesisIV install directory (c:\program files\genesis4 by default) and remove the g4server.exe program.
- Replace the GenesisIV shortcuts (which will point to g4server.exe) with new shortcuts to the genesis4.exe program.
2.1
What is the optimal grid size to use?
GenesisIV works best with square grid sizes between approximately
200 and 800 points in size (or the equivalent if a rectangular grid
is used) and is probably optimal around 250-450 points. Larger grids
are slow to draw and render, whilst smaller ones tend give less
realistic results when fractalized. GenesisIV is not restricted
to regular square grids - but these are probably easiest to handle.
2.2
How do I join two or more tiles together?
Joining digital imports together requires a little work but is not
generally too difficult. The steps are
- If the data files to be imported are not in USGS, NTF or XYZ format import each and export in XYZ format first. This step is necessary so that you can set import offsets later.
- Create a new map of the correct size and dimensions.
- Assuming we're working at the corners of four maps it's usually best to start with the lower left import first. Choose import and when the import dialog box appears check 'load into current map' and set the 'origin X and Y coordinates' to 0 (the default). On subsequent loads you need to ensure that the 'overwrite existing data' box is unchecked but this doesn't matter for the first import. In most circumstances you'll also want to set the 'start from X or Y offset' values to some figure greater than zero so that only the top right section of the source map is imported. Click OK.
- The data is imported into the bottom left corner of the map and the process needs to be repeated for the other 3 sections.
- To import the bottom right section you need to import the source map with the 'Origin X Coordinate' in the import dialog set to the position of the first undefined height to the right of the previous import. The simplest way to find this is just to run the cursor over the map and read the x offset of the first null height. Once this value has been obtained choose import and in the dialog box set the 'Origin X Coordinate' to the value just obtained and the 'start from X offset' value to the value of the overlap in the source tiles. Ensure that 'overwrite existing data' is unchecked and click OK.
- Import the remaining quadrants in a similar manner. The only complication for this arises (unfortunately) with 7.5 degree USGS dems. These files are not necessarily rectangular grids as the east/west edges are defined by longitude values. Often this results in the edge two or three columns on either side having insufficient values for a full column and the values that are imported may be placed at an incorrect Y position. Our usual way of handling this is to import as described above, set any incorrect grid points to null, and interpolate the missing values. The errors introduced by this fix are generally small enough to be undetectable under most circumstances.
2.3
Can I use USGS DEM data?
Certainly. GenesisIV supports both the 1 degree and 30 Metre (7.5')
dems. However there are several points worth keeping in mind to
get the best results with USGS dem data.
Size: 1 degree USGS dems are very large - a 1201 x 1201 grid (hence 1,442,401 points) and loading and rendering times can be slow. It's suggested that you select a smaller section of a dem for rendering.
Aspect: USGS dem are based on circular (i.e. degrees) not linear (i.e. absolute spacing) grids, and the distances between grid points running North-South is different to that running East-West. GenesisII grid point spacing should be set up to reflect this.
30 Metre dems: 30 metre dems do not usually contain exact square or rectangular grids as the edges are defined by longitude - the extreme 2-3 east and west columns will usually be incomplete. If you need to render the whole dem simply delete any misaligned grid points and interpolate.
SDTS dems: GenesisII cannot yet use dems in the new Spatial Data Transfer Standard format. Use the sdts2dem.exe utility to convert into standard dem format. Note that the dems converted from SDTS format using the Microdem program on the USGS site do not import correctly into GenesisII or Landscape Explorer 2000
2.4
BMP files do not import correctly from Wilbur
Wilbur does not export the BMP file format correctly. Import the
image into Paintshop Pro (or similar) and save.
2.5
My Overlay rendering has strange green/magenta colors
This is a problem in some systems when running in 'high color' mode.
Switch to true color.
3.1
GenesisIV fails/crashes on startup
You probably have a database or graphics card issue. Please check
out our tutorial on these problems.