I/ITSEC 2015: TerraSim Unveils Xtract for VBS3

At I/ITSEC 2015 (co-located with Bohemia Interactive Simulations [BISim] at booth 2248), TerraSim, a BISim company, showcases new and improved functionality in TerraTools 5.1, demonstrates upcoming product innovations, and unveils a new service for generating correlated terrain content from existing VBS environments.

TerraTools 5.1, the latest version of TerraSim's flagship terrain database generation software, contains over 300 new features, improvements, and bug fixes. Major highlights of TerraTools 5.1 include: New CDB Import plug-in; improved Batch Mode Manager custom cell selection and logging; improved VBS3 support for trench generation, multimap optimisations, and terrain packing speed improvements; and improved exporter support for Unity, JCATS, CTDB, X-Plane, and Steel Beasts Pro. TerraTools 5.1 features a new plug-in that imports geospatial data and model content from the Common Database (CDB) format into TerraTools. This content can then be processed and exported to one or more TerraTools supported terrain formats.

Key features include:

• Supports CDB version 2.1, 3.0, and 3.2
• Preserves geospatial source data and model attribution during import
• Supports sub-region import based on user-defined bounds
• Supports static CDB data layer import
• Elevation
• Imagery
• Raster and vector surface materials
• Geo-specific and geo-typical models
• Road, railroad, powerline, and hydrography networks
• Supports sublayer import
• Trench Generation Technology for VBS3

TerraTools 5.1 includes new automated trench placement technology that uses trench centerline data to rapidly and automatically place 3D trench models. A collection of trench component models representing both man-made and earthen trench types have been added to the TerraTools model library for placement. These trench models are fully functional in VBS3 and include destructible levels of detail. For added customization, users can import their own trench models into TerraTools for placement and export to VBS3.

TerraSim furthermore announces Building Designer, an upcoming stand-alone application that simplifies geo-specific building model generation. Building Designer will support common 2D and 3D building model formats for use across constructive, visual, and serious game runtime applications. For added customisation, users can export Building Designer models for enhancement in popular 3D modeling applications, such as 3ds Max and Oxygen.

At the show, TerraSim unveils Xtract for VBS3, a new service for constructing correlated terrain content from existing VBS terrains. Through this service, TerraSim can extract geospatial content – including elevation, phototexture, surface mask, vector content, and more – from legacy VBS environments for customers to then enhance and reuse in newer terrain environments.