IcoModel Beta
A new interesting project popped-up on codeplex. Daniel Hoctor released the first beta version of IcoModel. The original announcement on the xna forums explains what IcoModel is all about:
What is IcoModel?
IcoModel is a free, open source terrain system that provides an easy way to create and manage dynamic terrain in the form of a globe. The IcoModelProcessor has been designed specifically to work with geodesic spheres; the mesh is broken down into sectors--the pentagons and hexagons that make up the sphere--which the IcoModel class uses to manage the terrain.How does it work?
You simply load a non-textured, UV Mapped, geodesic sphere mesh via the IcoModelProcessor. Then you create an effect key that represents the different terrain types in your project. From that point on, you can assign any sector an effect key index, at any time. When you call IcoModel's draw function, each sector will be drawn according to its current effect key index.
You can see a video of IcoModel at work below:
P.S. Thanks to Mike (Bob Taco Ind) for the tip!