GeoData Heightmap Export

This repository converts DGM1 elevation tiles into Unity-ready 16-bit PNG heightmaps and a placement manifest. It relies on GDAL for mosaicking, resampling, and scaling to UInt16 ranges Unity expects.

Prerequisites

• GDAL installed with Python bindings (osgeo importable).
• Python 3.9+ available on PATH.
• DGM1 source tiles placed in raw_dgm1/ as dgm1_<utm_zone>_<easting>_<northing>.tif (with matching .tfw files).

Repository Layout

• raw_dgm1/ — input rasters (not versioned).
• work/ — intermediates such as dgm.vrt and _tmp.tif files; safe to delete/regenerate.
• export_unity/height_png16/ — final 16-bit PNG heightmaps for Unity import.
• export_unity/tile_index.csv — manifest mapping tile IDs to world bounds and global min/max used for scaling.
• export_heightmaps.py — main export script.
• AGENTS.md — contributor guide.

Quick Start

1. Build the VRT mosaic from raw tiles:

   gdalbuildvrt work/dgm.vrt raw_dgm1/*.tif
   

2. Export Unity heightmaps and manifest:

   python3 export_heightmaps.py
   

3. Import the PNGs into Unity Terrains using tile_index.csv for placement and consistent height scaling (0–65535).

Key Commands

• Refresh VRT: gdalbuildvrt work/dgm.vrt raw_dgm1/*.tif
• Run export pipeline: python3 export_heightmaps.py
• Inspect an output tile: gdalinfo export_unity/height_png16/<tile>.png | head

Workflow Notes

• The script computes a global min/max from the VRT to scale all tiles consistently; adjust OUT_RES, RESAMPLE, or TILE_SIZE_M in export_heightmaps.py if your AOI or target resolution changes.
• _tmp.tif files in work/ are transient; you can delete work/ to force a clean rebuild.
• Keep file names stable to avoid churn in Unity scenes; re-exports overwrite in place.
• Large raw datasets are intentionally excluded from version control—document download sources or scripts instead of committing data.***