🏝️Terrain Painter

Here we will break down each public parameter of the TerraForgeTerrainPainter component

The TerraForgeTerrainPainter component is the main component in Terrain Painter. Terrain Painter is a procedural terrain coloring tool that is currently in BETA.

There are serialization problems in Terrain Painter. We will try to fix them in the next update.

Terrains Grid Generator does not support different Terrain Painter coloring presets. At the moment it is only possible to apply the Terrain Painter coloring preset to all terrains in the grid at once.

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"Terrain Layers" Window - an array consisting of elements of the Terrain Layer type with additional modifiers. It also has separate buttons for creating, deleting, and editing individual layers. The order of the layers matters - the bottommost layer is considered the base layer and cannot have modifiers applied to it, as it is applied to the entire terrain area. Layers can be enabled and disabled using the activity button (shaped like an eye) next to each layer.

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"Modifiers" Window - an array of modifiers for the active terrain layer. These are needed to adjust and add various rules for layer application on the terrain surface. To open the Modifiers window, select one of the layers in the "Terrain Layers" window.

Each element in the modifiers array has various parameters:

• Activity - controls the influence of this modifier on the layer. It is toggled on and off using the activity button (shaped like an eye).

• Name - the name of the layer. It does not affect anything and is for your convenience. By default, it copies the name of the modifier type.

• Blend Type - there are 3 types of blending: Multiply, Add, Subtract.

• Modifier Type - there are 3 types of modifiers: Height, Noise, Slope.

When creating a new element in the modifiers array, you need to choose one of the types. In TerraForge version 2.0.0, there are some inconveniences with serialization. Modifier files are saved in TerraForge 2\TerraForge Systems\Terrain Painter\Created Modifiers. Each modifier is attached to a specific terrainData file. To learn how to remove unused or invalid terrain modifier assets from the project, visit this page.

Let's go over the parameters for each modifier type:

• Height - Adds the ability to adjust the minimum and maximum application heights with smooth transitions.

  • Parameters:

    • Min - The minimum height value.

    • Min Falloff - The falloff value at the minimum height.

    • Max - The maximum height value.

    • Max Falloff - The falloff value at the maximum height.

    
• Noise - Adds the ability to create a mask for the layer in the form of noise with smooth edges, etc.

  • Parameters:

    • Noise Type - there are 2 types of noise available: Simplex and Gradient.

    • Noise Scale - controls the noise scale.

    • Noise Offset - the offset of the current noise.

    • Levels - the levels of the noise represented as a range.

  

  
• Slope - Adds the ability to adjust the minimum and maximum application angles with smooth transitions.

  • Parameters:

    • Min Max - The minimum and maximum slope angles to be affected by the modifier.

    • Min Falloff - The falloff range for the minimum slope.

    • Max Falloff - The falloff range for the maximum slope.

    

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Procedural Painting Application Window:

• Auto Repaint - Automatically repaint the terrains if their heightmap is modified. When enabled, it adds a special component to the assigned terrains - Terrain Change Listener.

• "Apply Texture Layers" Button - Triggers a complete repaint operation. Typically needed if the terrain was modified in some way, yet no changes are made in the TerraForgeTerrainPainter component.

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Terrain Assignment Window:

• Terrains - an array of assigned terrains to which procedural painting will be applied.

• "Automatic Assignment of Terrains" Button - If the tool does not automatically assign the desired reliefs and modifiers, you can update them manually. This is often required when creating a new terrain with generation or updating its terrainData.

• "Refresh Modifiers" Button - An additional button used to fix serialization errors with modifiers in some cases.

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Additional Settings:

• Splatmap Resolution - The resolution of the splatmap for the terrains (from 64 to 1024).

• Color Map Resolution - The color/base map is a pre-rendered texture for the terrain color (resolution from 16 to 2048). This is shown on the terrain in the distance. High resolutions usually have little benefit.

• "Recalculate bounds" Button - If the terrain size has changed, the bounds must be recalculated. The white box must encapsulate all terrains.