Simple Gradient Map (SGM) Example

[WAS]

Just something I tried, as a proof of concept. I would love to make it more dynamic, but with shaders that isn't really possible. I would need to make a plugin or something to insert new shader groups (and if I did that, I'd just pile up surface layers alone with constant colours as placeholders for child inputs). Also this version I omitted each gradient's altitude setting and just made one to make it easier to use.

Have a great Sunday.

[WAS]

PS Interestingly, the "constant" colour for snow or whatever has to be masked when using the default shader. It was making all the other surface layers take on the same settings as the default shader! It seems like a bug to me, but I'm not sure. But all the other PFs would become reflective and have translucency. As a result, some Base colour shader shows while transitioning to snow. Though, you'd think an inverted mask of the same mask would make a whole thus have a perfect transition.

[Dune]

I don't actually understand what you want to do here. It looks like this is just altitude masking, which is built in in a surface shader. Or do I miss something?

[WAS]

It's kinda already stated. I was working on something I wanted to make more dynamic, but it's just not possible. But is a proof of concept. 

And understand how doing drawn out manual things like a bunch of surface layers to achieve a gradient map is absolutely ridiculous and the need to find better ways.

[Dune]

Dynamic in what way? Sometimes you write in 'riddles' that a non-English speaker as I am just don't grasp. The possibility to warp altitude parameters, have variable heights? That can be done already. So I just don't see what plugin you need...

[WAS]

Dynamic as in just what it means. Maybe not 4 inputs, but 5, maybe not 5 but 158, depending on settings. But TG can't just "Spawn" nodes based on others, so it's just not possible without making it a plugin. I tried a bunch of ridiculous conditional stuff but couldn't get it to work without pre-setting all the options and having the user input how many inputs they want to use, and the conditionals just get really slow when piled up. But a plugin just spit out those 158 surface layers based on one gradient map slider editor.

This however shows a fun way of controlling numerous surface layers via functions instead of having to go into each one and set manual settings, you could have one or a couple controlling dozens. This has nothing to do with warping anything so I don't know where that comes in.

[Dune]

Well, I wish you luck. It kind of sounds like the node we once had (long long time ago, I can hardly remember) that was a complete planet-mountain-detail thing.