Can terrain be permanently damaged by terraforming?

[Rolig Loon]

No terrain changes are permanent, so you can't break your region by digging huge holes or building mountains.  It can take some gymnastics and patience to make everything look normal again, as you discovered, but you can always do it.  My own back-to-square-one method is to carve a small area to about the average elevation that I would like to be ground zero.  Then, set the terraform tool on Flatten, make a moderate sized tool, and turn the strength way up. Center the tool on that small area and start moving it around and around, gradually flattening the region outward from that spot.  It doesn't take long to get everything as flat as a pancake.

[Rolig Loon]

No terrain changes are permanent, so you can't break your region by digging huge holes or building mountains.  It can take some gymnastics and patience to make everything look normal again, as you discovered, but you can always do it.  My own back-to-square-one method is to carve a small area to about the average elevation that I would like to be ground zero.  Then, set the terraform tool on Flatten, make a moderate sized tool, and turn the strength way up. Center the tool on that small area and start moving it around and around, gradually flattening the region outward from that spot.  It doesn't take long to get everything as flat as a pancake.

[Lindal Kidd]

The problem you saw was caused by the terraforming limits.  On the Mainland, the limits are +/- 4 meters, from the spot at which the land was originally created by Linden Lab.  It's possible to run up against these limits, as you discovered.  Stay within the limits, and you can make the land nice and smooth, although possibly not quite at the elevation you would prefer.

I use a different method than Rolig (well, I use her method too, but here's an even faster way.)

• Select all of your parcel (assuming it's not odd-shaped.  If it is, you'll have to do this in two steps.)
• Set the tool strength high
• Choose Flatten
• Without moving your cursor out over the land, select Apply.  The entire selection will be affected by the tool.
• Flatten things out as much as you can.  If you run up against the terrain limits, switch your tool to Raise or Lower, reduce the tool strength, and Apply.  Repeat a couple of times until things are as flat as possible.
• Use Smooth and the bulldozer to even out any sharp edges or cliffs.  I hate those, they make the sim look "bombed out."

There's a sim where you can practice terraforming.  I'll send you landmark in world.

 

[Rufferta]

Thank you both very much. Some practice on the sim taught me that while it took me only a few seconds to make high towers and deep holes, it took me the greater part of an hour before I figured out how to flatten it out again. I shall try to be very careful...