Recent posts
#1
I figured out the HM scale issue. When you export "ter" format from WM it embeds the world extents that are specified in the project settings dialog. Default is 12k. It's independent of heightfield resolution so that number can be set to whatever you want to create the desired pixel/vertex density per meter as that is what Terragen will use to determine your terrain extents on the default planet.
I am using Y planar mapping
I am using a distance shader to blend differently scaled versions of the texture to camoflauge tiling issues. (I come from Unreal background)
I am not sure what I was doing wrong before because now my terrain retains its shape. I think I must have disconnected or neglected to wire the computer terrain node into the default shader main input.
Thank you everyone.
#2
Many of the parameters like the Default shader's "Colour image" that accept an image map will default to the object's uv coordinates. In order to be able to scale the texture I find that it's better to assign the texture map via an Image Map shader that is assigned to the Default shader's "Colour function" parameter. Within the Image Map shader you have control over the placement and scale of the image on the terrain.
Terragen's default unit is 1 meter. If you want one pixel of your square 16,384 height map to cover 1 meter of terrain then set both inputs of the "Size" parameter in Image Map shader to 16384.
#3
Last post by Dune - October 30, 2025, 02:49:02 AM
Do you add the default shader as a child to a surface shader after the terrain has been made, and after the compute terrain? Then a transform shader shouldn't mess with any previous displacements.
You can also use an image map shader to import your texture. Scaling can be done within.
You should take care that image maps/textures are repetitive, so I wouyld always prefer a procedural approach for bigger rock textures, or at least mix them in.
You also have to take care that later textures have their own displacements, so you might need to smooth the rock displacement, for a field of grass for instance. Or separate them using a merge shader with a controller (image map, or fractal, or slope by distribution shader).
The latter question, I don't know how to answer - I hardly ever work with imported HM's.
#4
I'm trying to build a layered terrain texture with some PBR textures. Tiff format authored in Substance Designer. Color/Roughness/AO/Height
Using a custom ter built in WM.
What I want to accomplish is having my rock shader be my "alpha" layer. In other words, sit on the whole terrain, and then build a few generic dirt and grass textures to help imply coverage for a scene I'm working on as an enviro map.
I can't find a built-in way to scale my texture tiling in the default shader, and tutorial has suggested using a "Transform Input Shader" after the default shader to handle scaling my texture repeats.
But when I connect my TIS the terrain loses its height information and becomes a planar surface.
I want to eventually use a distro shader to add in the dirt and grass as layers each on top of the stone respectively.
Is there a better way to do this than stacking default shaders with masks?
I also want to make my terrain scale in TG one meter per pixel. The HM is 16,384 and it seems to be limited to 12,000 in world for custom terrains? I can't find a way to change it.
#5
Last post by pokoy - October 25, 2025, 06:50:00 AM
Quote from: Matt on October 24, 2025, 07:44:21 PMNo offense taken, so don't worry about that. Thanks for the considerate reply.
I think we will be able to show a lot of these things coming together next year, and I hope that will allay some of your concerns. Terragen 5 will have all the power of the TG4 node-based interface (we are conscious of that being a familiar mode to many of you) as well as new modes of interaction.
Thanks Matt, looking forward to it.
#6
Last post by Dune - October 25, 2025, 02:54:37 AM
As a matter of fact I have been reluctant about the change of UI, Pokoy, as the current UI has everything I need. But that's personal indeed (there are 'bigger powers'). And I'm also in line with your trust, especially after Matt's continued assurances.
#7
Last post by Matt - October 24, 2025, 07:44:21 PM
No offense taken, so don't worry about that. Thanks for the considerate reply.
I think we will be able to show a lot of these things coming together next year, and I hope that will allay some of your concerns. Terragen 5 will have all the power of the TG4 node-based interface (we are conscious of that being a familiar mode to many of you) as well as new modes of interaction.
#8
Last post by pokoy - October 24, 2025, 07:27:36 AM
Matt - please take my note with humor if possible, sorry if it sounded offensive. However, please note the underlying critique is targeted towards the fact that TG has seen only minor improvements, with requests for substantial features reaching far into the past, some being close to 10-15 years.
I guess everyone's priorities will vary, but to me TG Sky is just not something I'll ever find useful, especially since it doesn't offer anything over TG except for a different UI.
As for the UI, I don't see how TG Sky's UI will be suitable for all the functionality that TG provides (and needs to provide). While TG Sky is built around a render preview with only a few parameters exposed to the main UI, TG's main UI element is and will probably always need to be the node editor with lots of UI elements that would not fit visually into TG Sky right now - these two are entirely different paradigms and I personally struggle to see how TG in its full extents will translate to TG Sky.
That said, I trust in your vision, still, for those waiting to see substantial updates to TG the wait has been very long, while the switch to a subscription based model turned out to be costly without much return (again, everyone's priorities will vary). There were features brought to TG that I personally value very much, it's just that a new TG based on its UI is close to unimaginable to me. Maybe you have something to show so users can discuss and give you early feedback.
Please don't take this personally as it's my personal opinion only. Especially since I know a single developer can't move everything forward at once, it all takes its time.
Sorry for bringing this up and hijacking the thread.
#9
Last post by Matt - October 23, 2025, 08:55:20 PM
@midnight.mangler Thank you for reporting this and not just forcing it through with higher render settings. There was a bug which only occurs when using the Path Tracer, and was reducing the scattering quality in clouds on pixels (or subpixels) where there was a surface behind the clouds.
Technical details: Clouds are not directly rendered by the path tracer, so we would not expect the clouds to look any different when using the path tracer. But path-traced surfaces are illuminated by the clouds (i.e. the surfaces scatter paths that may go into the clouds), and the path tracer adaptively adjusts a variable to speed up the cloud samples during this process. The bug was accidentally leaving this variable in the wrong state and it affecting the appearance of clouds that are visible directly to the camera, where it should not.
I think there will be an update to 4.8 very soon to fix this.
#10
Last post by Matt - October 23, 2025, 06:40:39 PM
Here's a mini roadmap in visual form:
The above doesn't mark out VDB import, but maybe we might be able to include it somewhere like indicated below. To be decided...
