Arid Planet

[Daniil]

Still, from a well-chosen orbital view it can provide a still very nice effect IMO.

I will have to come up with some alternative because i still want to create some type of channel effect along the slopes even if it is some noise and warping tricks. As how to go about that is anyone's guess.

Well, yes, for relatively low orbit it can be acceptable.
Here is a quick attempt. Of course better shading work is needed (with optional use of generated erosion maps), and may be also a masking of erosion.

Also it is need to tweak original terrain to achieve a better system of channels ending in the ocean.

Higher orbits will make more noticeable distortions.

Also, Chris, may be for your planet it is better to use some sort of Ulco's technology with using just maps generated by shader and then applying them as displacement.

[AP]

That is not bad for what it represents as i need nothing fancy, just rather basic patterns perhaps. I understand the ocean part of it where the coast needs more smoothed shapes and some deltas.

Ulco's technology? Did i miss something.

[Daniil]

Ulco's technology? Did i miss something.

Ulco's rivers (or at least part of them) weren't made by direct processing terrain by erosion shader. He extracted flow map from it and drove it into displacement shader which was processing the original terrain. That is what I know, although he mentioned that things are more complex than just it.

Daniil.

[AP]

Oh, yes, his river tests.   

[AP]

Much better.
...and your work inspired me 

That is always very good to hear such things.