This tutorial covers creating a new world, scene, and terrain, followed by sculpting, painting and procedural generation of the terrain using Visual3D's built-in Terrain Editor, as well as painting on and procedurally generating vegetation and land cover for it.

Video Tutorial for World Building and Terrain Creation

Part 1. World and Terrain Creation

Part 2. Sculpting the Terrain

This 4-minute video shows the first seven minutes of sculpting for Lizard Rock demo scene at double speed.

Part 3. Painting Terrain

User Control Highlights (from Part 1)

Terrain Editor User Controls (for Visual3D Game Engine) from Visual3D Game Engine Videos.

A shortened version of the full Terrain Editor Introduction Tutorial Part 1, to extract only the excerpts that show the crucial user controls, for moving the camera, adjusting the brush settings, and fixing mistakes with "undo".

Written Tutorial for World Building and Terrain Creation

Introduction: In this tutorial, we will walk you through the steps of creating a new scene based on Lost Isle, and then inside this new scene, you will create a mountain pass that meanders up the mountain side to near the peak, and then down the back side. You will be able to drive or walk this new path through the mountain, and enjoy the short-cut of not having to go around the mountain. Who doesn't like a nice scenic short-cut?

Step #1 - Start up Visual3D Tech Demos, with Architect Loaded.

Start Visual3D from the desktop link, and select the "Launch Architect" check box, select "Tech Demos" World, and then "Start world" button. This will launch into Tech Demos with Architect opened.

Step #2 - Create New Scene

From the Main Menu, select "Create New Scene" from one of two places: (a) the top menu green button, or (b) right-click on the World Explorer top node labeled "Tech Demos" and select from menu.

OR

Step #2B - Select New Scene Options

1. Type in a unique name for your new scene. I like the one we picked here. I has a familiar ring to it.
2. Select "Standard (Editable)" terrain type, and Add Water and LandCover. Keep the rest as Defaults.
3. Now click the "Create Scene" button.

Step #3 - Create New Terrain "From Existing"

1. From the "Create New Terrain" dialog, select "From Existing" so that we can start out with the Lost Isle terrain as our baseline. We are going to modify it.
2. Now select "Lost Isle" from the Environment selection dialog. (either double-click it, or single-click it followed by the "Select Asset" button at bottom right.
3. Then on the "Create Terrain From Textures", keep all the defaults. These already match up to Lost Isle, which is what we want here for a baseline.

 
Step #3 (Alternative 1) - Create New Blank Terrain

Step #3B (Optional) - Adding Tiles (or Heightmap Layers) to Existing Terrain

 

2.  Add a new tile in the Object Editor.

3.  Adjust the new tile (by default Tile1).
Enter World Cell Coordinate X = 1 and Y = 0. This means that all your terrain (with many tiles) is spaced by cells, and 0, 1 means that tile has 0 offset in cells by X axis and 1 offset in cells by Y axis. For instance, if you want to have a terrain with 2x2=4 tiles, your tile coordinates in cells will be: [0][0], [1][0], [0][1], [1][1].

4.  Edit (sculpt or paint) the new tile in the Terrain Editor.

a.  Make double click in the World Explorer.

b.  Use a context menu in the Object Editor.

 At the time of this writing this tutorial does not yet exist, and so we will give you some quick pointers here.

1. Use your Middle Mouse Button + Drag a lot --- this allows you to grab any piece of the terrain an pivot around it to get your perfect view angle!
2. Then use the Mouse Wheel to Zoom in and out!
3. If you wish to "Free Fly" around, use WSAD keys, and if you want to "levitate up/down", then press SHIFT key while using the Wheel Up or Down.
4. Right-Click + Drag to turn the camera.
5. Left-click to use the current brush -- so be careful! It's loaded!
6. If you mess up, don't hesitate to use Ctrl+Z to "undo". It really works!
7. To adjust the 3 main Brush settings, press the "Ctrl" key along with one of the 3 mouse buttons plus drag, to adjust these settings. Each Mouse button is bound to a separate setting as follows:
   1. Ctrl + Left mouse button + Drag : Adjusts brush Size. Drag right to increase, and Left to decrease.
   2. Ctrl + Middle mouse button + Drag: Adjusts brush Hardness. Drag right to Harden, and Left to Soften.
   3. Ctrl + Right mouse button + Drag: Adjusts the brush Speed/Strength (affects how fast the effect is applied)
8. Note that for all 3 adjustments, there is a separate visualizer shown on the brush to help you do everything local without the inconvenience of having to leave the render window to adjust these settings. This is very convenient!
9. When applying the brush (using Left-button press and hold), the SHIFT key can in many cases be used to "Reverse the direction" and the Alt key can "slow down the effect".

Step #5 - Let's Practice by making a simple Mound.

1. Using your newly acquired Camera manipulation skills, maneuver your camera down to the mountain side pictured below. The easiest way to do this is to Middle-Mouse Click the ground you want to move towards, and then roll the Mouse Wheel Up (or forward) until you zoom to that location. Very fast and convenient.
2. Make sure the "Sculpt" tab is selected in the Terrain Editor panel at the top left side of your tool set window. Then select the "Raise" sub-tab beneath it (both should already be selected normally).
3. To get some easier practice, let's start out with a sample mound. Pick out some flat territory near you, and start there.
4. First let's slow down the brush to about "10". To do this, with mouse in the render window, press CTRL + RightMouseButton + drag to the Left, until the Strength reads about "10".
5. Now place your circular brush where you want to create a mound, and press the Left Mouse button in short-spurts, and drag the mouse a bit as the ground rises.

Step #5B - Sharpen the Edges - Make it more Dramatic

1. Now that we have some odd looking mounds in our ground, let's do something more interesting with them.
2. Switch your brush type from "Raise" to "Smooth".
3. Note, that if you press SHIFT while applying this brush - it behaves in the opposite fashion to Smooth -- which we call "Sharpen".
4. Shift+Smooth = SHARPEN.
5. This is a great way to amplify the ridges and detail that are already there, to create a more dramatic mound.
6. Press SHIFT + LeftClick and slide your brush over top the mound until you get the effect you like.
7. If you don't like the effect, just press Ctrl + Z to Undo until it's back to a good state again. (our undo buffer right now is small, so don't count on more than 10 undo's at once)
8. Also, you might want to play around with the sub-settings for Smooth Brush, called "Filter Radius" (defaults to 3 meters) and "Anti-Spikes" (defaults to 1.0).
   1. Filter Radius affects the size of the filter, which is essentially the size of circle around which each point is being averaged against.
   2. "Anti-spikes" feature is meant to help you eliminate a common artifact of height maps known as "stair stepping" or "saw tooth ridges". If you see any "saw tooth" ridges, you'll know it instantly. And you can get rid of these by turning up "Anti-spikes" to 3.0 and turning down the "Filter Radius" to about 1.5. Of course many settings will work, and so it's just a matter of you getting the feel of it.
   3. Note, that if the Smooth brush is "going to slow" in areas where you are not dealing with spikes -- you can usually speed it up more, by reducing the "Anti-Spikes" to 0.0.

Step #5C - Now let's paint it to match the rest of the scene.

1. As you might notice, this new mounds now look just a little bit "mutant". They don't quite match the rest of the scene.
2. Enter "Procedural Brush". The key to making it match is to use the same Procedural Brush as has been used to the rest of the scene (except for the dirt road).
3. Select the "Paint" tab in the Terrain Editor. Then double-click the "<Procedural Brush>" shown in the "Texture Layers" below.
4. From the selection dialog, select "Lost Isle 3 - Procedural Paint 1 -.." option by double-clicking it.
5. Now this procedural brush will be active! Press the Left Mouse Button and drag the brush overtop your Mound, until it looks "just right".
6. You should see more Rock being colored onto this mound, to match the style of the other mountains and hills in this scene.
7. Now your mound looks more like all the others! Sweet, you did it!
8. How does yours look? Like a professional, eh?
9. Feel free to experiment with the various brush types on this mound. Go ahead and mess it up badly if you like.
10. It's important to experiment freely until you get comfortable with the tools.
11. Feel free to start over from scratch with a new scene as many times as you like. It's easy. It's fun. It's worth it! ;)
12. After you work this for a while -- you will have acquired yet another "great skill" to attract those of the opposite gender (... or the same in some cases).

Step #6 -- Now Let's make a Path!

1. Position your camera now back over by the mountain shown in the diagram below. We're going to make a Mountain Pass that you walk or drive on!
2. One of my favorite brushes to use for this is the "Flatten" brush turned down low, so that it behaves more like a "smudge tool".
3. You might have to watch the video tutorial (not published at the time of this writing) to see the best techniques for making a sloped path, as we are going to do now.
4. The secret is short and quick strokes with the Flatten brush turned down fairly low (usually 20 is a good place to start). As you get better with it, you can turn up the strength and achieve the same results even faster.
5. If you work really hard, and stay focused, you might become just as masterful as me at this! Won't you be proud then?
6. Again, I must remind you that mastering the Flatten brush, is considered yet another "great skill" useful increasing your romantic appeal. So take it very seriously, and great things will happen to you.
7. Check out the path I made in the diagram below using only the Flatten brush. Amazing, eh?

Step #6B -Now Finish the Path!

1. Feel free to experiment with the various brushes to produce the desired effect.
2. Consider using the "SHARPEN" effect (SHIFT+Smooth == SHARPEN) along the edges of your path to raise the edges and create a nicer looking result, with more drama.
3. Carefully, with short-strokes of a low powered Flatten brush, carve your path up the mountain side, and meander as needed to create a more gradual pleasant slope.
4. Don't let existing peaks get in your way -- that's what "Flattening" is all about!
5. Visual3D makes you semi-god-like. You can flatten mountains with the click and stroke of your mouse-wielding wrist! So watch out that you don't hurt anyone too badly.
6. Please feel free to recreate your scene from scratch and try again many times, until you get it right.
7. For smaller scale mess-ups, just use Ctrl+Z to bring your terrain back to a "Good state", but remember the Undo Buffer only holds up to 10 actions. (It will be increased in the future.)
8. See the top-view below, how I masterfully carved a complete new Mountain Pass into my own new version of the Lost Isle terrain. Amazing!
9. Did you wet your pants yet? Not even a little? Come on, fess up.

Step #7 - What good is an Unpainted Path?

1. Are you ready to Paint? Great. This is yet another "Great Skill" that will help you be successful and popular in life.
2. Let's use our trusty Procedural brush, which may already be set to the correct "Lost Isle" default. If it's not, then select it now, as shown in step #5C above.
3. You should be getting better at this by now. Go ahead and paint the path with this brush. Wow, looks nice, eh?

Step #7B - Use the "Dirt Road" brush to Differentiate it.

1. Since the Path should differentiate itself from the rest of the mountain, I suggest you use the "Dirt Road Brush" now, and repaint all or parts of the path.
2. Do you like the new effect? I hope not... because who wants to paint with someone's else's brush??? Especially when you can customize your own. (shown in #7C below)

Step #7C - Modify the "Dirt Road" brush to be more to your liking.

1. Your current Active Brush settings can be found in the "Object Editor" on the right side of tool set.
2. With "Terrain Settings" selected (which should be by default), open up the "Procedural Painting" section by clicking the "+" plus sign.
3. Oh, oh!! This looks scary!!! This is where you see the less-elegant parts of Beta 6! We have plans to make this part more elegant for future releases.
4. But this will do for now. Don't be scared, "you can do it!" Just repeat this to yourself "I think I can, I think I can... " then "I know I can, I know I can..." And just like the little train, you will succeed!
5. Now just to warn you -- the skill you are about to learn here is a bit mathematical in nature. You will be tweaking percentages "%", Slope Ranges (degrees), and edge bias filters! (what the heck do you mean by edge???)
6. Here is how it works....
   1. Each Procedural Paint Brush consists of a set of "Altitude Layers".
   2. Each "Altitude Layer" consists of a set of "Layers" that are applied only to the Altitude range specified. This allows you to differentiate the Painting logic that is applied for each altitude! Nice... right?
   3. Each "Layer" allows you to specify a "Strength" and also an optional "Slope" and "Edge" filter. (see definition of these below)
   4. You can apply as many layers as you want! The possibilities are limitless! (who we do like some limits, so this isn't that exciting, now is it?)
   5. Ok -- are you still scared? A little? Well, keep pushing forward.
   6. Here are the definitions to learn here: (there will be a closed-book test, so be ready)
      1. "Slope" filter allows you to specify at which slope ranges the Paint will be applied. Range is from 0 to 90 degrees.
      2. "Edge" filter allows you to specify the "Edge bias" where Paint will be applied. So what is an Edge bias? In short, it is calculated by comparing the relative height of each terrain point to the points around it. For points that are "higher than average", they will have a positive edge value, while points that are "below the local average" will have a negative edge value. This allows you to differentiate between "Peaks" and "Valleys" or "Ridges " and "Trenches". This is very useful to be able to make your Paint "follow the contours". Notice how this technique is used in Lost Isle to make the "ridges are rock" while the "trenches are light colored grass". Looks nice, eh? Come on, you know you like it.
      3. "Max/Min Ramp" values is the range across where the Paint is faded in or out. Higher Ramp values mean "more gradual fading" while very low Ramp Rates mean "instant transition". Typically values range between 0 to 2. Note, that the Fade In/out start or end at the Filter boundary. (the feathering is "inward" not "outward" -- I hope that makes sense...?)
   7. NOTE: You can read the "Altitude", "Slope" and "Edge" value for any point in the scene by putting the mouse cursor over it and reading it from the bottom of the render window! Convenient, yes?
7. Are you worn out yet? Does your brain need some ice? Or maybe more likely, you might be asleep or in a trance by now.
8. Wake-up! It's time to fiddle with some values! If none of this makes sense, then just go crazy with modifying values randomly -- and after each set of changes -- try painting in the scene, and see the result!
9. Is it getting more fun yet? Keep on doing this - and eventually you'll create an effect that you like.
10. Ok -- backing up now -- you can do just something simple now with us.
11. Reselect the "Dirt Road Brush", and then open up "Altitude Layer 0", and then open up "Layers 1" (the Grass Layer). We want to make this dirt road "more grassy". (who likes all that dirt anyways?)
12. Change the Strength of this layer up to 500%, which will make it overpower the Dirt in some places (anywhere the slope is > 1 degree).
13. Now paint with it, and see much of your dirt turn to Grass.
14. Play with more settings until you achieve the right result, to match your tastes.

Step #8 - Build your Terrain, to make it look really nice. And do something productive while you are waiting! "A watched Terrain, never builds!"

1. Visual3D uses one of the most advanced terrain systems on the market. Did you know that?
2. Visual3D is capable of rendering terrains of unlimited sizes (only limited by disk size, RAM size, and detail to performance requirements).
3. But to see your terrain in this mode, there is a slight cost -- you must Build it! Typically, this takes a few minutes, for a single tile.
4. In a future release (hopefully Beta 7) you will be able to see examples of huge multi-tile terrains, with some support for setting them up inside Architect tool set directly.
5. Anyhow -- on to business now -- to see your terrain in it's full glory (most optimal format) -- you must click "Build/Apply" at top of screen, and then wait it out.
6. Go get some coffee, or relieve bodily pressures, or call your mother or someone dear to you. Don't waste these precious few moments by waiting on Visual3D.
7. Visual3D is here to increase your quality of life and your happiness. It is not here to waste your time, or make you wait.
8. So please, do not just sit there and stare at the screen -- it makes Visual3D feel very self-conscious and bad. Go find something to do for a few minutes, please!
9. Ok -- now you are prepped to do the build. Click "Build/Apply" and go do your thing!
10. If you haven't bought your own license to Visual3D yet, you should have just enough time to complete the transaction before the build completes. And when you do this, pat yourself on the back and say something nice to yourself. You have just done a very great thing, as your precious money will be used for food, shelter and internet service for the very dear developers who brought you this wonderful product. Just keep in mind all of the "Great Skills" you are learning, and appreciate the great successes Visual3D will bring to your doorstep. Now isn't that worth it?
11. OK -- now it's about time for the build to be done, so that you can see your terrain in all of its glory.

Step #9 - Aren't we done yet? Oh yeah -- LandCover! Now that's worth it.

1. Are you tired yet? If so, then lie down on the couch and make sure you have this document printed out. Then, I want you to place this document over top your face to make direct contact with your face during your nap. By the laws of Osmosis, the knowledge of this document will flow into your head until exactly half of the information is lodged in your brain, at which point equilibrium will be reached. By the time you wake up, you will have magically learned exactly half of everything there is to learn in this tutorial. Amazing! Danger!: If you already knew more than half of this knowledge, then don't try this, because the laws of Osmosis will work against you, and actually suck the information back out of your brain, and put it back into the document! Remember that you can only learn "half" of the information by this process! Ok, got it? By the way, that is why students who choose to study in this fashion (heads down asleep with face in the book), usually end up getting a 50% on the test.
2. Alright, now that your nap is done, it's time to add LandCover to our Mountain Pass Scene.
3. Click on the "Terrain" tab to top of Scene window, and then click the "LandCover" tab over in the "Terrain Tools" panel. See all the pretty colors?
4. If you remember when we selected "Create New Scene", we selected to "Add LandCover" which inherited the LandCover from Lost Isle. So we have the same Placement Map.

Step #9B - Houston we have a problem. There is land cover on our new path!

1. Notice from the diagram above, how we have LandCover on our new Path. This is not good. We want a clear path.
2. So before we go further, let's erase this Landcover. Click the "<Erase>" brush from the Terrain Editor panel.
3. Then LeftClick + Drag to Erase the LandCover from the near ramp we built.

Step #9C - Now Let's See our LandCover in Run Mode.

1. Note that for Beta 6, LandCover objects will not spawn while in Terrain Editing mode. They only spawn in Run Mode. This will be fixed for a future release, for your convenience.
2. Click on the "Run" tab at top of Scene Window.
3. A warning should show (as seen below) to indicate that you have not yet defined LandCover Objects to be placed. So you have a Placement Map -- but no Objects defined yet.
4. Notice in the Object Editor, that the "Object Definitions" list is currently empty.

Step #9D - Select a Predefined Object Collection -- "Birch Tree Sample" -- Yuck!

1. To select a predefined set of Objects, click the "..." next to "Object Definitions" in the Object Editor, as shown below.
2. Then select the "Birch Tree LandCover Sample 1" collection from the dialog, as shown.
3. When you are done, the result will instantly show up in the scene! Nice... err, maybe not -- looks kind yucky to me.
4. Not that I have anything against Birch Trees, but according to my taste -- they just don't seem to fit here in our version of Lost Isle with this paint palette.
5. Just looking at it makes me want to heave. Please change it, please change it....!! Please. Don't tell me that you like it -- I know you are lying.

Step #9E - Make a better selection. Let's pick the Lost Isle collection.

1. More love has clearly been poured into the Lost Isle Collection. Let's choose it instead.
2. For fun, let's do this in another way. Try this instead.
3. Find "Lost Isle Dying - Objects" collection in the Asset Explorer. It's found under "Environments->Landcover->LC Object Collections".
4. Or you can just type "Dying" into the Filter at top, and it will show you the few selections that match. Or you can use Group Filter to only show you the LandCover types.
5. Once you find it, Drag&Drop it from the Asset Explorer onto the Scene Window, while in Run Mode.
6. Instantly, the LandCover collection will change over to the new collection. Elegance, right? You know it.
7. Ahh, now that looks nice. Now don't be shy -- move your camera over near the trees and see the shadows, and all their glory.

Step #10 - "Let's take a Ride in an Automobile, Let's take a Drive in a car!"

1. Now it's time to test out our craftsmanship by driving over top it with a dune buggy.
2. Move your camera to the base of your ramp.
3. In "Asset Explorer" type the word "Buggy" into the filter box, and you will see the "Buggy" entity showing below.
4. Now Drag/Drop the "Buggy" entity near base of your new ramp.
5. Are you ready to take a short-cut through the mountains?

Step #10B - All Aboard!

1. Double-click your buggy to take control of it
2. Use the WASD keys to steer and accelerate it. Use <Space> for "braking" and "B" for the horn ("[B]eep!").
3. Drive your buggy through the mountains up one side, and down the other.
4. How was it? Do you need to make changes to your path? If so -- have at it! We must make this a fun path to drive.

Step #11 - Oops, we forgot to clear the Trees on the other side!!

1. Unless you took care of this without me telling you (and if so, "good for you!"), you will now notice that there might be trees populating the down ramp on the other side of the mountain.
2. Now take a breath, and don't freak out. We can deal with this.
3. Ah yes, here's how. Switch into Terrain Edit Mode, and Select the "LandCover" tab from Terrain Tools (just as before).
4. Now you will see the coloration on your ramp. Use the "<Erase>" brush as you had before, to clear the plants away from your path.
5. Now click "Run" tab, and that's all there is to it!
6. Save your scene, so that later you can show off the results of your "Great Skills" and watch your romance life flourish.

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Step #12 - Have some fun!

Don't forget to play around with your new creation. Drop in some buggies, and away you go. To bring a buggy to life, just double-click it, and then press <Escape>. This activates its own primitive AI, so that it will begin to drive solo. Then you can drop in a buggy for yourself, and join the fun.

The End:

That's it. I hope you enjoyed the tutorial. Now that you have new "Great Skills", put them to work for you, and tell us about your great success on our forums!

We would love to see screenshots of your original creations, posted to our forums -- whether grand or ugly! All submissions are welcomed.

http://game-engine.visual3d.net/forum/

Older Tutorials and Documentation

• Creating a New World
• Importing a New Terrain
• Adding an Asset to your World
• Advanced Terrain Detail Editing
• Ground Cover Placement via Object Brushes and Procedural Filling
• Description of Water Settings