Terrain Dialog

image of landscape dialog

The Terrain Dialog is the usually the first part of Terragen you will encounter. Here you can generate the terrain (or open existing ones), modify it in various ways or perform arithmetic with other terrains. You can also modify the surface map.

Terrain Generation - Terrain Modification - Terrain Combination - Surface Map

If water is present (i.e. the water level is greater than the lowest part of the terrain), the water will be shown on this dialog.

To view a large version of the heightfield map, click on the small version.  A new window will open with the large version and some additional options.

B&W/Cols. This is available on the large version of the heightfield map.  The heightfield map is drawn either with black & white shading or by colour shading. In both the images on the right, the leftmost colours represent low altitudes, and the rightmost colours represent high altitudes. Black and white shading is the default when the program starts. In B&W mode, water is shown blue. In Cols mode, water is shown grey. black and white gradient
Black & White Height scaling
colour gradient
Colour height scaling

*Camera/Target Positioning. This is available on both views.  Using this mode you can position the camera and the point that the camera is looking at. By clicking on the large terrain view with the left mouse button you can choose the camera position, clicking with the right button chooses the target. By hovering over the terrain view, you can find out the altitude of a point on the terrain - this is very useful for deciding the water level. For more information on Camera/Target positioning, see the Render Form. The camera's field of view is shown by the two angled lines on the terrain plan view.

*Sculpting Tools. This is available on the large view only.  There are three sizes of sculpting tool - Large, Medium and Small. When you click or drag with this tool you can raise or lower the terrain where you click. The left button raises the terrain, right button lowers it.

Import/Export of Terrains. You can import/export terrains as a raw binary file (8 bit per pixel) of resolution 257*257. You can also export the terrain in VistaPro-compatible binary format and Lightwave 3D Object (LWO) files.. The RAW option is very useful as it allows you to create greyscale images in a normal paint program and import them as landscapes. There are utilities that will enable you to convert USGS DEM (digital elevation map) files for import into Terragen to allow you to render real-world scenes. For more information, see the Terrain Resources page.

The button just below the terrain view displays the width of the terrain in metres. Click on it to change the scale used, or to change the resolution of the terrain. More.

Effects/Accessories. This allows you to select terrain plugins.

Terrain Genesis

image of terrain genesis dialog

Method. The method used to generate the terrain. The Subdivide & Displace method is the 'original' generation method. Ridged Perlin is an extension of Perlin Noise, and creates landscapes with more ridges(!). There are also Multi- versions of Perlin and Ridged Perlin now available which seem to generate more craggy, irregular landscapes. The best way is to experiment until you find results that suit you.

Action. Normally you will want to Erase First and generate new terrain. This starts from scratch with a new terrain. Generating features on the existing terrain generates a new random terrain and combines it with the existing terrain.

Realism. A higher setting generates a more realistic terrain with smoother transition between high and low. A lower setting can be used to create a more "craggy" landscape. Only available for the Subdivide & Displace method.

Smoothing. Adjusts how smooth the landscape will be. Setting this too high can interfere with the realism setting and create unwanted results. Only available for the Subdivide & Displace method.

Glaciation. Modifies the landscape by flattening valley bottoms and smoothing sharp changes in gradient.

Canyonism. Sharpens the valley bottoms, creating an effect similar to canyons in the desert (although usually not quite so pronounced)

In many ways, Glaciation and Canyonism work against each other. Applying both during the creation process can create a more realistic, balanced landscape as you might find in nature. If you wish to create an image of desert canyons you might wish to set glaciation low, and canyonism high, etc.

Size of Features. This slider controls how large the hills are, both in horizontal and vertical size.

Perlin Origin. Used in the generation of Perlin landscapes (and the Perlin variants). You should usually use the "random origin" feature unless you want to reproduce an earlier result. By changing these values slightly, you can move the landscape in small increments, which is useful when you have created a landscape with nice features which are partly out of view.

Terrain Modification

image of terrain modification dialog

Set Height Range. Scales the terrain so that it ranges between the values given. The initial values show the current height range.  This was called 'Bound Vertical' in versions before 0.9 of Terragen.

Scale Vertical. Scales the terrain by the percentage factor given. The Stretch button sets the scale value to 133.33%, the Squash button sets it to 75% and the Invert button sets it to -100%. Even after pressing the Stretch/Squash/Invert buttons, you still need to press the Scale Vertical button.

'Glaciate'/'Canyonize'. Applies Glaciation/Canyonization to the current terrain. This is different from applying these during the terrain generation process, where the effects are carried out half-way through the subdivision process.

Clear / Flatten. Clears the terrain.

Terrain Combination

image of terrain combination dialog

This dialog box can be used to combine two terrains in a more sophisticated way than the "Generate on top of existing" feature. There are four options - Addition, Subtraction, Highest and Lowest, with smoothing options for Highest and Lowest. The Combination Preview shows the result of combining the landscapes, colour coded to show whether the primary or secondary terrains are dominant for a particular position in the landscape.

Surface Map

For a full explanation of the Surface Map system, see the Surface Map Guide.

Landscape Settings

This is accessible via the 'Size' button on the main Landscape window.

Terrain Grid Points. Allows you to select the resolution of the terrain. The higher the resolution, the more detailed the landscape will be. However, larger landscapes mean longer rendering times. The unregistered version of Terragen is unable to use resolutions higher than 513x513, so these will be disabled.

Landscape Area. Sets the size of the terrain in "real units". Altering the total size changes the point spacing, and vice-versa.

Render Curved Terrain. Using this option, Terragen curves the terrain as in real life. You can specify the "planet radius" manually or by using one of the presets for Earth, Mars or the Moon.



render controls

landscape

water

clouds

atmosphere

lighting

image
menu items - working with files - faq - post-processing - index
©December, 2002 John McLusky