Asking about worldspace planning, landscaping, when to add meshes

[Deleted45994732User]

I'm asking how do I plan my world level and how to know when the heightmap editing phase is complete? I used to draw what and where I wanted the POIs to be in ms paint before using the heightmap editor to begin crafting the world, then make small changes with the landscaping tool. When is it truly time to start placing meshes? Not the size of the Wasteland, more like a DLC size like Point Lookout. In other words, best workflow?

[madmongo]

I personally try to get all of the major landscape features done (mountains, valleys, lakes, rivers, etc). Then I add a bit of randomness to the heightmap using the landscape editor just to make the terrain look a bit more realistic. Adding randomness to a landscape with meshes is going to result in weird things like your meshes getting buried completely or have them floating above the ground.

 

Once that is done and I am happy with the landscape, I check it into my esm using version control and make a backup copy of it (always make a backup of your esm before doing this since if things screw up really bad it can basically become unsalvageable).

 

Once that is done, then I add meshes and make necessary changes using the landscape tool in the render window.

 

It works for me.