For users of AS18, AS3000 and Master Landscape Pro, HighRise will automatically build a berm which raises the ground level from the zero plane to where it should be on the building, as indicated by the basement depth setting from HighRise's first screen. For AS4000 and AS5000 users, the Topo Designer must be used to create the berm.
AS4000 and AS5000 users need to call the Topo Designer in the PowerTool bar (after HighRise has been exited, of course. Two PowerTools cannot be in use at the same time.) The Designer tools work differently than the older landscape tab tools. The older tools are additive - adding a four foot berm added the height to the terrain at all points within it's extent. In the new tool, the contours are absolute - the topo designer tries to keep the ground level exactly matched to the contour wherever it is, and to interpolate smoothly between it and the other contours drawn on the plan. That causes a clash wherever contours cross over each other - in real life, contours don't ever do that; they run parallel and nest within each other.
In any case, all that is needed to create a berm of a fixed height overall is to add that amount to all of the contours already plotted. To extend that height right to the edges of the plan, draw a rectangle around the plan's edge using the rectangle tool and set its height to the required berm height, as well as increasing all the contours inside it by the height. Click the Create topography button in the upper right corner, and close the designer, specifying that the terrain be saved.
With these changes in place, the structure should now have a terrain level that meets the structure at the basement depth that is the right basement depth.
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