Terrain Type

What are Terrain types

Terrain types are definitions of how the ground behaves. Oftentimes, the (sub)soil consists of a mixture of various types of material. Each individual material can be considered a type of terrain, the combination of materials can be considered a type of terrain as well.

Terrain Types in the Tygron Platform

Terrain Types are abstract definitions of the properties of the ground. Every Terrain Type is either a surface Terrain Type or an underground Terrain Type. Each Terrain Type has a series of Attributes defining its exact properties and behavior, both for functionalities such as the generation of the default elevation model, as well as for calculation models ranging from the Average Overlay to the Water Overlay.

Terrain Types form an integral part of Terrains, defining their properties, effecting specific data spatially in the 3D World. Each Terrain has exactly 1 associated Terrain Type.

Surface

Surface Terrain Types represent the soil as as it lies on the very top of the Terrain. It is often a single layer such as Grassland, Concrete, or a Waterway. In most cases, the surface Terrain Type also affects the visualization of the 3D World. [[Water (Terrain Attribute}|Water]] is most obvious, as water will be drawn on top of the existing Terrain. However, all Terrain Types have a set texture which will be shown in any location where the Terrain is changed for a different Terrain Typpe. (Otherwise the default satellite map will be visible.)

The following Terrain Types exist for the surface:

EN	NL	Description
Breakwater	Golfbreker	A construction designed to protect the coastline from wave action.
Concrete	Beton	Commonly found in urban and industrial areas.
Dunes	Duinen	A naturally occurring landscape feature forming the division between the beach and the hinterland.
Grassland	Grasland	Area dominated by grass vegetation.
Open land	Open land	The default terrain type for land surface. If an empty world is generated, this type will cover the entire map.
Levee	Dijk	A construction usually built between a water body and low-lying land (polder) offering protection from flooding.
Sand	Zand	Area largely consisting of sandy sediment.
Sea	Zee	Water that is part of a sea or ocean.
Waterbody	Watervlakte	A water body which is often not part of a 'managed' water system.
Waterway	Waterloop	A waterway which is often part of a 'managed' water system

Each surface Terrain Type contains the following attributes: Template:Terrain attributes table start

BUILDABLE boolean Both Whether it is permitted to place Buildings here GROUND_INFILTRATION_MD m/day Surface The speed at which water can flow vertically from the surface to the unsaturated zone. GROUND_INFILTRATION_MD m/day Ground The speed at which water can flow vertically from the surface to the unsaturated zone. HEAT_EFFECT °C Surface Measure of impact on the Heat Overlay LIVABILITY_EFFECT Surface Measure of impact on the Livability Overlay. Polder water (Terrain Attribute) Safety (Terrain Attribute) TERRAIN_MIX Surface TEXTURE TYPE Integer Surface 0 to 2 Value used to select the terrain blend color. WATER nominal Surface Whether this Terrain Type represents a form of water (and what type). WATER_DEPTH_M m Surface The default depth of this water Terrain Type, relative to the surrounding elevation. WATER_EVAPORATION_FACTOR factor Surface How fast this terrain can evaporate water from the ground. The weather's evaporation speed is multiplied by this factor to determine the rate of evaporation. WATER_MANNING s/(m^1/3) Surface The Gauckler–Manning coefficient of the terrain, which is a measure of surface roughness. Used in the surface flow computation of the Water Overlay. Template:Table end

Underground

Underground Terrain Types represent the subsoil; everything beneath the surface. The underground Terrain Type is still considered present as much as the surface Terrain Type in the same location, but is not visualized directly in the 3D world. The layout of the underground can be seen using the Underground Overlay.

The following Terrain Types exist for the undergroud:

EN	NL	Description
Gravel	Grind
Clay	Klei
Chalk	Krijt
Loam	Leem
Loess	Löss
Unknown	Onbekend	Default, if no subsurface data is available.
Silt	Silt
Peat	Veen
Sand	Zand
Marine clay	Zeeklei

Each underground Terrain Type contains the following attributes: Template:Terrain attributes table start

ANGLE_OF_REPOSE angle (0-90°) Ground The different subsurface types each attain a value for the maximum slope (Dutch: talud). This value is used for creating the water edge steepness and indirect for the water depth. BUILDABLE boolean Both Whether it is permitted to place Buildings here GROUND_INFILTRATION_MD m/day Surface The speed at which water can flow vertically from the surface to the unsaturated zone. GROUND_INFILTRATION_MD m/day Ground The speed at which water can flow vertically from the surface to the unsaturated zone. PEAT_FRACTION fraction Underground The fraction of the subsurface which will be considered to be peat by the Subsidence Overlay. TOPLAYER_THICKNESS m Ground The depth of the clay soil layer, as considered by the Subsidence Overlay. WATER_STORAGE_PERCENTAGE fraction (m³/m³) Ground The percentage (as a fraction) of the ground layer volume which can be filled with water. A lower percentage means the ground layer will be able to store less water, and the saturated zone will rise higher with the same amount of water in the ground layer. Template:Table end

See also

• Terrain
• Elevation model

How-to's

• How to manually change the Terrain