Get current view in SU 8

[mozzie]

I want to do something similar to "Get current view" from Google Earth in SU8. Am I being dense (and/or blind), because I cant find it?
The "Add Location" process brings up a "Google Earth lite", but my workflow is badly compromised. As I use the GE tools to size and orient the image just how I like it, much of that functionality is not available.

Also, the search tool is very unsophisticated (I end up in random US locations (wrong hemisphere, wrong continent)), so I find I cannot get locations/ get my terrain imported efficiently.

Please tell me I'm dumb and how I can set up a view in GE and then get terrain and image into SU 8.

[Gaieus]

No, you are not dumb - this is how it works in SU 8 at the moment. Have you uninstalled your SU 7? (I see you still have that in your profile)

[mozzie]

Thanks Gaieus. I have spent more time working with the "Add Location" function and have a better understanding (I'm not as dumb as before).

You're correct, I still have 7.1 installed, so I can revert to that. I had read all the +ve & -ve SU8 threads and was hesitating over the upgrade but as I've been using the (rather involved) Go-To-School methods for adding colour to the SU6/7 B&W terrain, I hoped that the new import method would help me with this.

Unfortunately, the resolution of the imported terrain colour is not that good. I'm getting rather pixelated surface materials; I understand that the terrain detail is probably better in SU8, but the using colour overlay methods + b&w 7.1 terrain gives much better results.

I could probably adapt my workflow to the SU8 way of getting terrain and gain some time, but the drop in presentation quality is too much. I'll search around the forums and see if I'm missing anything. If not, I'll Go To School (and 7.1) again!

[TIG]

Use 'Model Info'...
Make sure you model is not 'Geo-Referenced'.
Then 'Add Location' - in the window that pops up enter a Zip/Post Code or approximate Long/Lat.
Zoom/Pan for your site, adjust the view so the center of the site is near the center of the image.
Adjust the size/extents etc and Grab it...
The image and ground-mesh are added to the model centered on the origin.
Move your model to suit the site if accurate GeoReferencing is crucial.

It seems simple enough

[Gaieus]

There is a much easier/quicker way to replace the BW image with the colour one (priour to v8), see here:
http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?p=200194#p200194

[jbacus]

@mozzie said:

Unfortunately, the resolution of the imported terrain colour is not that good. I'm getting rather pixelated surface materials; I understand that the terrain detail is probably better in SU8, but the using colour overlay methods + b&w 7.1 terrain gives much better results.

The resolution of both terrain mesh and raster image vary depending on location on earth (Google has better data in some areas than others), the current zoom level in the "Add Location" window and the size of the window on your screen at the moment when you press the 'Grab" button.

In general, the data returned by "Add Location" is both higher resolution and more accurate than what you were previously able to get from Google Earth. To maximize the resolution of your imported site context model, zoom in as close as you can and maximize the window size on your screen.

john
.

[mozzie]

I've now got it.

Thanks TIG (and additional gratitude/ kudos for you ruby plugins and contributions). Thanks also J Bacus, Gaieus.
For some reason, it's been a bit af a learning curve - I'm probably still dumb, but less ignorant thanks to you all and the forum!

TIG, the process you describe was pretty much the way I went about my first attempt. The breakthrough came when I read John Bacus' comment aand realised that by zooming in close I could improve the image quality, and that the new "Add more imagery" system allows me to quilt together a terrain. I work mostly with golf holes and imagery needs to be long and thin, so with a single image in SU7, the orientation was important. In SU8 this is no longer true.

BTW Gaieus, thanks for your suggestion for SU7, I had tried it but had more reliable results for the GTS method. But hopefully, its one for the history books.