(A bit more weighty than other sets of commandments, but then, we're all paid by the kilogram here on the forum! :)
These all apply to Punch! versions prior to AS4000, where the tools mentioned here were discontinued and the Topo Designer, a separate PowerTool, took over the terrain definition.)
I. |
The Punch! world consists of a cube of brown "dirt" topped with the grass upper surface. The surface is flat and defines the Zero Plane - the universal elevation reference (see the Ten Commandments of the Vertical). Later, when the terrain has been sloped and bermed, it moves away from the Zero Plane, which is itself unmovable. You can see the grid in ClearView; in AS300 only when there is a berm applied. When you cut a hole in the terrain and look inside, all you'll see is the brown cube, which can be thought of as the brown side of the "hole" you dug in the terrain. Unfortunately this allusion is sometimes spoiled by basements extending below the ground, but it works well in the absence of a 3D analog to a solid dirt mass.
|
II. |
The top surface ("terrain") is divided up by a 36 inch grid system, originating in the northwest corner of the terrain. On a maximal lot (500'x500') that makes 167x167 grid squares, or 28,224 grid intersections ("vertexes"). Only at these intersections may the vertical elevation at that point be defined; The points in between are interpolated from these defined points. The grid system may be viewed directly by using ClearView; in addition, if the size of your lot is evenly divisable by 6 feet in both directions, then a 36"x36" plan grid will coincide with this terrain grid, making it visible on the plan if needed. (The terrain grid originates at the upper left corner of the lot; the plan grid originates at the lot center, so the grid size has to be as specified for them to match up.)
|
III. |
Punch! provides essentially two methods for setting the vertex elevations. Slopes set all vertexes according to a uniform formula (or three such, in the limited slope's case). Berms add a fixed positive or negative value to all the vertices within their bounds. This results in terrains which are modelled by one yard square flat plates that always meet at their edges (in some cases, a corner plate has to be broken into two triangles to make the edges match). Punch! adds shading to soften the edges, but they are really there.
|
IV. |
The fixed slope tool defines a direction ("azimuth") where the downward slope is greatest, the angle of that slope, and the line along which the slope intersects the zero plane. In effect, the entire surface elevation is lowered and raised as the arrow is moved in and against the arrows direction; moving it the perpendicular direction has no effect.
|
V. |
The limited slope tool also has azimuth and angle, and defines three slope regions separated by two parallel lines that originate at the head and butt of the arrow and extend perpendicularly in both directions off the lot. Either of these lines may be moved completely off the lot, reducing the number of regions to two (or even one, trivially). Used by itself, the region in the middle experiences a slope; the other two are flat, the one behind the arrow untouched, the one ahead lowered by the slopes's total drop.
|
VI. |
The straight topography tool allows the user to draw an enclosed polygon on the terrain surface and assign it a positive or negative height. All the vertexes within the plygon (or on the line) are raised by that height whihc, if negtive, creates a depression rather than a berm. The curved tool acts in exactly the same way except that it affects all the vertexes contained within the enclosed curved surface. The resulting berm is, of course, only an approximation of the curve.
|
VII. |
The elevation of any point on the grid is the sum of all the slope effects plus the heights of all the berms which encompass that point. All the effects are added together to determine the point's elevation.
|
VIII. |
A corollary to all the forgoing is that no change in elevation can take place in less than a 36" north-south or east-west span, and only between the locations of the grid squares; this makes truely vertical "cliffs", for example those backing up a retaining wall, impossible using the terrain alone. Various special methods exist to cover appearances locally, but they do not affect the grid system itself.
|
IX. |
"Float on topography" is a term meaning that the elevation of an object is determined by computing the terrain elevation at that point and applying it to the object. It is "turned off" by applying some constant elevation instead. This should be thought of as a one-time command to Punch! to compute the elevation at the point and apply it to the object. If the terrain changes afterwards, it will need to be done again to reset the new object elevation.
|
X. |
Exterior wallsets (see the Ten Commandments of Walls) and the excavation tool can cut holes in the terrain. This is done by making the terrain over the region transparent, not by actually eradicating it; this has effects on various Punch! actions, such as applying a texture while pointing through such a hole. The excavator has an additional "floor" drawn at a positive or negative height from the terrain elevation of the point where the excavation drawing was started, shaped according to the plan shape of the cutout and constructed flat.
|
XI. |
Fills and paths are surfaces drawn 2-3" inches above the terrain as measured at the handles of the fill or path. Since it is not measured at *all* of the points the fill covers, a bumpy terrain can poke through fill or a path. Increasing the handles will make the fill more compliant to bumpy terrain, but, of course, handles cannot cover the whole surface (they are around the edge of a fill, and down the center of a path), so bumpy terrain will defeat fills.
|
XII. |
A positive berm over the entire surface of the world has the net effect of raising or lowering the Zero Plane in all locations, so that can be used to set the Zero Plane to some useful place, like the top of the basement floor in a house. Then all elevations are positive and have a basis in reality, rather then being arbitrary.
|
XIII. |
An apparent bug in LiveView has it always chopping of the right edge of any lot view. The size of the deleted area is the last row of terrain grid cells, of whatever width is left over on that edge. |
XIV. |
[This is copied from the Basics page.] It is much more convenient to draw a plan when the main house axes are square with the horizontal and vertical directions on the monitor. This may require that you let the true north direction "float" while drawing the house, and adjust it later if you want true north upwards, as it is on maps. There are two sets of functionality to assist with that. The Design->Rotate Entire Plan... command will rotate everything on your plan except the landscape features; that allows you to play "what-if" on the direction your house will face. Once you have determined that, and it's not in one of the cardinal directions, then everything can be rotated so the house is square by the following procedure:
- On the first floor, draw a rectangle around everything (including landscaping) using the rectangle tool on the CAD/Detail plan. You will need to be able to see everything in order to do this; turn on all the plans-visible in the CAD tab, and make sure that Design->Visible Floors->View All Floors is set for each floor, and then draw the rectangle to take in all active and inactive (pale blue) objects.
- Expand the lot size so that rotating will not force anything off the side when it is all rotated.
- Use Edit->Select All and then Edit->Rotate... to rotate this floor as desired.
- Click on an edge of the rectangle and use Edit->Move To Floor->UpperFloor to move the rectangle to the next floor up.
- Repeat these last two steps for the seccond and (if necessary) the third floors.
- Delete the rectangle, reset the visible plans in the CAD/Detail tab, prune the corners of the plan landscaping, and decrease the Lot size as desired.
Messy, but doable.
|
