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 Rockwall Details - Bursting out  Page 4 of 4
Bursting out One of the problems with the square brushing shearing method is that all of the template segments have to be moved in the same direction. For example if the template is moved upwards, all of the segments have to be move upwards together. This is the same for any direction the template is sheared / moved in.

One solution to this problem is to break the overall direction of the segments so that some of the segment go in a different direction. This can be used to create more unique brushwork or even add/remove segments.

In this example two of the new templates will be used to highlight the possibilities of breaking the brush shearing pattern. Take the bottom two segments of the templates and shear them outwards further so that they look similar to the image to the side.
 Triangle Power
Triangle Power To close up the gap in the brushwork some of the segments (as shown in the image to the side) will need to be cut up into triangle brushes. The red dots show where the clipper tool markers need to be and the blue lines shows the cutting angles. The numbers in green are cutting position used by this text.

Select both brushes, make a copy and then hide them from view. Select the left brush and cut from position 1 to 2. Select the right brush and cut from position 2 to 3.

Select both triangle brushes first and then use the 'un-hide' (SHIFT+H) function. With both triangle brushes still selected, use the hide function so that you are only left with the previously copied brushes. Select the left brush and cut from position 2 to 1. Select the right brush and cut from position 3 to 2.
 Point of no Return
Point of no Return Show all previously hidden brushwork so you are left with 4 triangle brushes. The square brushes have now been broken down into triangle form and will be easier to vertex edit into position.

Select all of the triangle brushes and press the 'V' key to enter into vertex editing mode. Select the point (Shown as a red dot in the image to side) and drag it forward to meet the existing brushwork. Press the 'V' key again to exit the vertex mode.

Check that the vertex mode has not created any damaged or broken brushwork by performing a brush cleanup on the map. In GTK this function is under the plugin menu, in SD radiant this function is on the toolbar as two arrows going round in a circle.
 Final view
Final view Once all the brushwork is in place and textured, the new wall detail can add a nice touch to any existing rockwork location. If this detail system is sprinkled lightly across an entire rock area then it can help break up the samey look found from using one template.

It is often tempting to leave a first pass on detail and move on to more interesting sections. By spending extra time creating more unique brushwork details, it will allow players to recognise areas much quicker and help gameplay.

Organic brushwork should always feel more random and certainly not go in straight lines. Adding additional cover spots to existing areas is always a good thing for gameplay and something which should be not overlooked.
Final view The square brush method of creating rockwork can be a fast and effective way of blocking out areas quickly. When coupled with the flexibility of triangle brushes for fine detail, it stops the whole map descending into a triangle brush soup. This allows the map to still be easy to navigate while editing.

A map can often go through a lot of different changes over time and the brushwork needs to be flexible enough to cope. It is always a good idea to keep all brushwork templates in their axially aligned form so existing sections can be changed quickly and easily.

Always make regular backups of your map and never work from one revision. It is always easier to roll back to a previous version than it is to create something from scratch again.
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