Installation

Dependencies

• Blender 2.79
• BlenderGIS addon
• Blender virtual_reality_viewport addon

1. Installing and setting up Tangible landscape addon in Blender

• Create a folder on your hard drive (eg., D:\TL_coupling). This is the same folder that is shared and synced with Tangible Landscape computer.
• Create two sub-directories of "Watch" and "scratch" (case sensitive) inside the folder created in the previous step.
• Download the repository as a Zip file (3D_immersion_TL.zip)
• Open Blender user preferences (Alt + Ctrl + U) > Go to add-ons tab > Install from file (bottom center of the panel) > locate the 3D_immersion_TL.zip file > press enter
• Select on the addon to activate it.
• In the Preferences tab > Coupling folder > browse and locate the folder created in the first step (e.g, D:\TL_coupling)
• In the Coordinate reference system field type-in the 4 digit EPSG code related to your GIS dataset. The provided examples use 3358.
• Click on Save User Settings on the bottom left corner of user preferences

2. Installing and setting up BlenderGIS addon

• Install and activate BlenderGIS addon (for detailed instruction see BlenderGIS wiki)
• Go to Preferences > BlenderGIS preferences > Spatial reference system > add your EPSG 4 digit code and a description (e.g., 3358 , NAD 1983)
• From the Import/Export panel deactivate Adjust 3D view and Force textured solid shading.
• Click on Save User Settings on the bottom left corner of user preferences

3. Installing and setting up Blender virtual_reality_viewport addon (optional)

• Install and activate VR addon (for detailed instruction see addon installation guide)
• Click on Save User Settings on the bottom left corner of user preferences

4. Optimizing the blender scene

In this step we adjust system settings to optimize the viewport rendering performance.

• In the Blender User Preferences > System :
  • In General section > adjust DPI to increase/decrease icon size based on your preferences and monitor resolution.
  • In OpenGLsection > deactivate Mipmaps , GPU Mipmap Generation, and 16Bit Float Textures.
  • Set Selection to Automatic.
  • Set Anistropic filtering to Off.
  • Set Window Draw Method to Automatic and No MultiSample.
  • Deactivate Text Anti-aliasing.
  • In Texture section set Texture limit size to Off.
  • Set Images Draw Method to GLSL.
• Click on Save User Settings on the bottom left corner of user preferences.

5. Setting up Tangible Landscape connection

• Install the latest version of the Tangible Landscape
• In Tangible Landscape addon panel in GrassGIS activate Export folder for Blender coupling and type-in the path to shared folder created in step 1 (see Tangible Landscape Wiki for more comprehensive instructions).
  • Note: if you are using separate computers for GrassGIS and Blender (recommended) then use the network shared path. For better performance we suggest creating the source folder in the Blender computer.