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Object spawn on procedural terrain spawns on unspecified area

I've managed to put together a procedural terrain with defined regions and I am looking to procedurally place objects within the world within these regions. The regions are defined by their height and I am trying to utilise this to correctly place certain objects in certain regions however my result seems to come out slightly odd where objects are able to spawn outside the defined region height. I am using an AnimationCurve as a mesh height curve to prevent water areas from becoming terrain like. I am unsure if this is causing the issue behind in the correct placement. Would appreciate any insight into where I might be going wrong
Defined regions:
The Rock region is defined with a height of 0.7 and I try to spawn trees on the map only at a Rock location
Spawning object (Spawn 10) at rock location
int amount = 0;
for (int y = 0; y < mapHeight; y++)
{
if(amount < 10)
{
for (int x = 0; x < mapWidth; x++)
{
float currentHeight = noiseMap[x, y];
if(currentHeight.ToString("f1") == (0.7f).ToString())
{
Debug.Log(currentHeight.ToString("f1"));
Vector3 spawnPosition = new Vector3(Random.Range((x), (mapWidth / 2)), currentHeight, Random.Range(y, (mapHeight / 2)));
var block = Instantiate(AssetsToSpawn[0].AssetPrefab, spawnPosition, Quaternion.identity);
block.transform.SetParent(this.transform);
amount++;
break;
}
}
} else
{
return;
}
Result
Some seem to spawn in the right location albeit looking slightly weird but the one on the far left is finding itself on flat land, with water and sand; an area not defined as 0.7 or Rock type.

I think the issue lies in the line
Vector3 spawnPosition = new Vector3(Random.Range((x), (mapWidth / 2)), currentHeight, Random.Range(y, (mapHeight / 2)));
you seem to already iterate your map grid using x and y so why pick random positions on your map that might be anywhere between this current position and the center of the map?
I think you would rather want a random position within the current field and do e.g.
Vector3 spawnPosition = new Vector3(x + Random.Range(-0.5f, 0.5f), currentHeight, y + Random.Range(-0.5f, 0.5f));
Besides that why go through strings in
if(currentHeight.ToString("f1") == (0.7f).ToString())
I see that it's probably for the rounding but I would still prefer to rather do e.g.
if(Mathf.Abs(currentHeight - 0.7f) <= 0.05f)
which would have about the same effect but the threshold is better to control.
However, sounds to me like rock rather would be anything between 0.49 and 0.7 actually so actually it should be
if(currentHeight > 0.49f && currentHeight <= 0.7f)
Finally, unless you store somewhere which map position you already populated with a tree your outer for loop will always over and over enter at the exact same grid position, the first one that is encountered to fulfill your inner loop's condition!
So far you where always using the exact se position for all 10 trees, only the random position caused that it didn't seem so.

How to prevent floating point error in point-polygon sliding collision detection

I'm trying to write a function to handle movement within a game I'm programming. What I have nearly works, but there are a couple situations where it breaks down.
I've coded up a minimal demonstrative example, presented below. In this example, I'm trying to calculate the travel of an object, represented by a point, and movement vector. This object's movement path is checked against a collection of polygons, which are broken down into line segments for testing. When this object collides with a line segment, I want it to slide along that segment (rather than stop or bounce away).
To do this, I check along my intended path for collisions, and if I find an intersection, I do a new test from that intersection point along the path of the line segment I've collided with, with the magnitude of the remainder of movement.
The problem arises when we slide along a line segment into a "pocket". Often times, the collision check will pass on both of the line segments that form the pocket, and the object will slip through. Because I'm travelling parallel to one of the line segments, and I'm intersecting with both line segments at an end points, I believe this issue is caused by floating point error. Whether or not it slips through, is caught, or is caught once and then slips through on the second check seems to be totally random.
I'm calculating intersection using a simple algorithm I found here: https://stackoverflow.com/a/20679579/4208739, but I've tried many other algorithms as well. All exhibit the same problems.
(Vector2 is class provided by the Unity library, it just holds x and y coordinates as floats. The Vector2.Dot function just calculates the dot product).
//returns the final destination of the intended movement, given the starting position, intended direction of movement, and provided collection of line segments
//slideMax provides a hard cap on number of slides allowed before we give up
Vector2 Move(Vector2 pos, Vector2[] lineStarts, Vector2[] lineEnds, Vector2 moveDir, int slideMax)
{
int slideCount = 0;
while (moveDir != Vector2.zero && slideCount < slideMax)
{
pos = DynamicMove(pos, lineStarts, lineEnds, moveDir, out moveDir);
slideCount++;
}
return pos;
}
//returns what portion of the intended movement can be performed before collision, and the vector of "slide" that the object should follow, if there is a collision
Vector2 DynamicMove(Vector2 pos, Vector2[] lineStarts, Vector2[] lineEnds, Vector2 moveDir, out Vector2 slideDir)
{
slideDir = Vector2.zero;
float moveRemainder = 1f;
for (int i = 0; i < lineStarts.Length; i++)
{
Vector2 tSlide;
float rem = LineProj(pos, moveDir, lineStarts[i], lineEnds[i], out tSlide);
if (rem < moveRemainder)
{
moveRemainder = rem;
slideDir = tSlide;
}
}
return pos + moveDir * moveRemainder;
}
//Calculates point of collision between the intended movement and the passed in line segment, also calculate vector of slide, if applicable
float LineProj(Vector2 pos, Vector2 moveDir, Vector2 lineStart, Vector2 lineEnd, out Vector2 slideDir)
{
slideDir = new Vector2(0, 0);
float start = (lineStart.x - pos.x) * moveDir.y - (lineStart.y - pos.y) * moveDir.x;
float end = (lineEnd.x - pos.x) * moveDir.y - (lineEnd.y - pos.y) * moveDir.x;
if (start < 0 || end > 0)
return 1;
//https://stackoverflow.com/a/20679579/4208739
//Uses Cramer's Rule
float L1A = -moveDir.y;
float L1B = moveDir.x;
float L1C = -(pos.x *(moveDir.y + pos.y) - (moveDir.x + pos.x)*pos.y);
float L2A = lineStart.y - lineEnd.y;
float L2B = lineEnd.x - lineStart.x;
float L2C = -(lineStart.x * lineEnd.y - lineEnd.x * lineStart.y);
float D = L1A * L2B - L1B * L2A;
float Dx = L1C * L2B - L1B * L2C;
float Dy = L1A * L2C - L1C * L2A;
if (D == 0)
return 1;
Vector2 inter = new Vector2(Dx / D, Dy / D);
if (Vector2.Dot(inter - pos, moveDir) < 0)
return 1;
float t = (inter - pos).magnitude / moveDir.magnitude;
if (t > 1)
return 1;
slideDir = (1 - t) * Vector2.Dot((lineEnd - lineStart).normalized, moveDir.normalized) * (lineEnd - lineStart).normalized;
return t;
}
Is there some way to calculate collision that isn't susceptible to this sort of problem? I imagine I can't totally eradicate floating point error, but is there a way to check that will at least guarantee I collide with ONE of the two line segments at the pocket? Or is there something more fundamentally wrong with going about things in this way?
If anything is unclear I can draw diagrams or write up examples.
EDIT: Having reflected on this issue more, and in response to Eric's answer, I'm wondering if converting my math from floating point to fixed point could solve the issue? In practice I'd really just be converting my values (which can fit comfortably in the range of -100 to 100) to ints, and then performing the math under those constraints? I haven't pieced all the issues together quite yet, but I might give that a try. If anyone has any information about anything like that, I'd be appreciative.

You have a line that, ideally, is aimed exactly at a point, the endpoint of a segment. That means any error in calculation, no matter how small, could say the line misses the point. I see three potential solutions:
Analyze the arithmetic and design it to ensure it is done with no error, perhaps by using extended-precision techniques.
Analyze the arithmetic and design it to ensure it is done with a slight error in favor of collision, perhaps by adding a slight bias toward collision.
Extend the line segment slightly.
It seems like the third would be easiest—the two line segments forming a pocket could just be extended by a bit, so they cross. Then the sliding path would not be aimed at a point; it would be aimed at the interior of a segment, and there would be margin for error.

Bezier along Terrain Surface

What’d be the best way to go, if i paint a bezier Curve (set start and endpoints) to Unity Terrain, and i want the curve to folow the ups and downs from the ground.
right now i partly achieve it like this,(need to connect the new Points from groundedPoints, as new Beziers)
int SegmentCount = Mathf.Floor(BezierLength / SegmentLength);
//Rounded to the next lower integer
var groundedPoints = new List<Vector3>();
for(int i =0; i<SegmentCount;i++){
Vector3 p = GetPoint(BezierPoints,i / SegmentCount);
p = p.RayCastDown();
//RayCasting Down to get the Point on the Terrain
if(i == 0 || i < SegmentCount -1){
groundedPoints.Add(p);
}else{
if(p.y != groundedPoints[groundedPoints.Count-1].y){
groundedPoints.Add(p);
}
}
}
it’s right now kind of not that accurate, but it, doesn’t have to be a real accurate solution.
Maybe someone can give me a hint? thanks

Firstly i would recommend using Centripetal Catmull–Rom spline because it follows points more strictly, and need less points to generate(also only draws between p1 and p2), but i dont know what you want to achieve so:
I would transform your bezier into a 2d bezier, and only work in 2d space with it, then when you draw(render it visually) you give it a Y value by using https://docs.unity3d.com/ScriptReference/Terrain.SampleHeight.html
I do this with my splines, and it gives a quite accurate spline in the end(road generation)
PLEASE NOTE!:
That the implicit Vector2 and Vector3 conversion will not fit your needs, you need to add an extension method to convert Vector3 to Vector2 :)
(Vector(x,y,z) will be Vector(x,y) but you need Vector(x,z))
Edit 1:
Codesample how to read out a terrain actual height, via Terrain.SampleHeight(); by a Vector2 coordinate that you are sure is above a terrain, if the Vector2 is not above the terrain it will give you back null or the closets terrain height to it im not sure which one atm(can't test it now) :)
public static float GetPoint_On_Terrain(Vector2 point){
float terrainHeightAtPoint = Terrain.activeTerrain.SampleHeight(new Vector3(point.x, 0, point.y));
return new Vector3(point.x, terrainHeightAtPoint,point.y);
}

How to find closest point on multisegment line

I'm trying to find a solution for best performance.
I need to find closet point on multisegment line (List points) to given point.
My line have thousands of points and I need to check distance to this line few times per second. So solution need to be very fast.
Right now I have something like below. It works but it is going to be slow when line have 10000+ points.
Maybe someone have idea how to make it faster?
public static float GetSqrDistXZ(Vector3 a, Vector3 b)
{
Vector3 vector = new Vector3(a.x - b.x, 0, a.z - b.z);
return vector.sqrMagnitude;
}
public static Vector3 NearestPointOnFiniteLine(Vector3 start, Vector3 end, Vector3 pnt)
{
Vector3 line = (end - start);
float len = Mathf.Sqrt(line.sqrMagnitude);
line.Normalize();
Vector3 v = pnt - start;
float d = (v.x * line.x) + (v.z * line.z);
d = Mathf.Clamp(d, 0f, len);
return start + line * d;
}
int pointsCount = line.points3.Count - 1; // line - List<Vector3> points.
float[] distances = new float[pointsCount];
for (int i = 0; i < pointsCount+1; i++) {
if (i >= 1) {
distances [i - 1] = GetSqrDistXZ (point, NearestPointOnFiniteLine (line.points3 [i - 1], line.points3 [i], point));
}
}
int minListIndexLeft = System.Array.IndexOf (distances, Mathf.Min (distances));
float minimalDistance = distances[minListIndexLeft];
Vector3 closestPoint = NearestPointOnFiniteLine (line.points3[minListIndexLeft], line.points3[minListIndexLeft+1], point);

You'll want to think about space partitioning. In this example I'm going to assume a 2D space, but this works in 3D just as well. Also there are much better solutions like BSP trees and stuff, but we'll keep it simple here.
Imagine putting a grid over your 2D space. Every segment (distance between 2 points) of your line intersects with one or more cells of that grid. What you have to do is to store the intersecting segments for every cell. If your line does not change, you can do that in one single pass on startup, or even store that information statically in an Asset.
But once you have that information, all you have to do is calculate the cell that your point is inside and then only check the line segments that intersect with that specific cell or a number of direct neighbours (see below). This makes finding the closest point lightning fast in comparison.
If you play with this idea on a piece of paper you may come across cases where this solution does not yield the closest point, because it did not consider a neighboring cell that contained a closer point. The easiest way to solve this is the following approach:
1. Find cell C, which is the cell your point is in
2. Let cellRange = 0
3. Let point B be undefined
4. Find closest point P among all segments that intersect cell C and its neighboring cells of range cellRange*
5. If B is the same as newly found point P then P is the solution. You are done.
6. Increase cellRange by 1
7. Let B = P
8. Repeat from step 4
* "neighboring cells of range cellRange" means:
cellRange 0: only cell C, no neighbours
cellRange 1: cell C and direct neighbours
cellRange 2: cell C, direct neighbours and their direct neighbours
...
This solution basically checks if increasing the search range improves the solution. As soon as increasing the range did not improve the solution, you found the closest point.

Trying to accurately measure 3D distance from a 2D image

I am trying to extract out 3D distance in mm between two known points in a 2D image. I am using square AR markers in order to get the camera coordinates relative to the markers in the scene. The points are the corners of these markers.
An example is shown below:
The code is written in C# and I am using XNA. I am using AForge.net for the CoPlanar POSIT
The steps I take in order to work out the distance:
1. Mark corners on screen. Corners are represented in 2D vector form, Image centre is (0,0). Up is positive in the Y direction, right is positive in the X direction.
2. Use AForge.net Co-Planar POSIT algorithm to get pose of each marker:
float focalLength = 640; //Needed for POSIT
float halfCornerSize = 50; //Represents 1/2 an edge i.e. 50mm
AVector[] modelPoints = new AVector3[]
{
new AVector3( -halfCornerSize, 0, halfCornerSize ),
new AVector3( halfCornerSize, 0, halfCornerSize ),
new AVector3( halfCornerSize, 0, -halfCornerSize ),
new AVector3( -halfCornerSize, 0, -halfCornerSize ),
};
CoplanarPosit coPosit = new CoplanarPosit(modelPoints, focalLength);
coPosit.EstimatePose(cornersToEstimate, out marker1Rot, out marker1Trans);
3. Convert to XNA rotation/translation matrix (AForge uses OpenGL matrix form):
float yaw, pitch, roll;
marker1Rot.ExtractYawPitchRoll(out yaw, out pitch, out roll);
Matrix xnaRot = Matrix.CreateFromYawPitchRoll(-yaw, -pitch, roll);
Matrix xnaTranslation = Matrix.CreateTranslation(marker1Trans.X, marker1Trans.Y, -marker1Trans.Z);
Matrix transform = xnaRot * xnaTranslation;
4. Find 3D coordinates of the corners:
//Model corner points
cornerModel = new Vector3[]
{
new Vector3(halfCornerSize,0,-halfCornerSize),
new Vector3(-halfCornerSize,0,-halfCornerSize),
new Vector3(halfCornerSize,0,halfCornerSize),
new Vector3(-halfCornerSize,0,halfCornerSize)
};
Matrix markerTransform = Matrix.CreateTranslation(cornerModel[i].X, cornerModel[i].Y, cornerModel[i].Z);
cornerPositions3d1[i] = (markerTransform * transform).Translation;
//DEBUG: project corner onto screen - represented by brown dots
Vector3 t3 = viewPort.Project(markerTransform.Translation, projectionMatrix, viewMatrix, transform);
cornersProjected1[i].X = t3.X; cornersProjected1[i].Y = t3.Y;
5. Look at the 3D distance between two corners on a marker, this represents 100mm. Find the scaling factor needed to convert this 3D distance to 100mm. (I actually get the average scaling factor):
for (int i = 0; i < 4; i++)
{
//Distance scale;
distanceScale1 += (halfCornerSize * 2) / Vector3.Distance(cornerPositions3d1[i], cornerPositions3d1[(i + 1) % 4]);
}
distanceScale1 /= 4;
6. Finally I find the 3D distance between related corners and multiply by the scaling factor to get distance in mm:
for(int i = 0; i < 4; i++)
{
distance[i] = Vector3.Distance(cornerPositions3d1[i], cornerPositions3d2[i]) * scalingFactor;
}
The distances acquired are never truly correct. I used the cutting board as it allowed me easy calculation of what the distances should be. The above image calculated a distance of 147mm (expected 150mm) for corner 1 (red to purple). The image below shows 188mm (expected 200mm).
What is also worrying is the fact that when measuring the distance between marker corners sharing an edge on the same marker, the 3D distances obtained are never the same. Another thing I noticed is that the brown dots never seem to exactly match up with the colored dots. The colored dots are the coordinates used as input to the CoPlanar posit. The brown dots are the calculated positions from the center of the marker calculated via POSIT.
Does anyone have any idea what might be wrong here? I am pulling out my hair trying to figure it out. The code should be quite simple, I don't think I have made any obvious mistakes with the code. I am not great at maths so please point out where my basic maths might be wrong as well...

You are using way to many black boxes in your question. What is the focal length in the second step? Why go through ypr in step 3? How do you calibrate? I recommend to start over from scratch without using libraries that you do not understand.
Step 1: Create a camera model. Understand the errors, build a projection. If needed apply a 2d filter for lens distortion. This might be hard.
Step 2: Find you markers in 2d, after removing lens distortion. Make sure you know the error and that you get the center. Maybe over multiple frames.
Step 3: Un-project to 3d. After 1 and 2 this should be easy.
Step 4: ???
Step 5: Profit! (Measure distance in 3d and know your error)

I think you need to have 3D photo (two photo from a set of distance) so you can get the parallax distance from image differences