Nice examples. I've been exploring the app as well, but many functions have yet to be implemented. Sadly I'm among a fair number of initial users who find key nodes cause crashes (the new erosion node for one), additionally the export function is also problematic on my machine. There is no .ter output option at present, I'll request that, and I'm sure others will as well. I wouldn't use "arcane" to describe the interface, to me it's very lovely and a pleasure to visualize the evolving terrain forms. There are a number of options to shade the terrain; flat, specular, tiled texture (eventually capable of imported textures), a couple of pseudo colored terrains, even a 'Zbrush' like clay. It is interesting to note that Danil's erosion codings are being incorporated into Gaea. As Dax explains Gaea is a 'platform' and will include various solutions to terrain creation. Gaea works with heightfields and is very much a set of 2D layers being modified by filters, so lateral displacements ala TG are not available. But who knows what will evolve over time. Gaea promises to have a complete library of presets to serve as starting points for the terrain generation process and the line-up of filters is really and truly impressive. Terracing, whether it's in World Machine or TG, or Houdini, always seems a bit artificial to me. Not in Gaea however, the ability to progressively vary the 'steps', and the addition of a 'Sub-terrace' node make the best terracing effects I've ever seen. Gaea has some very interesting node linking techniques and it's node network is visually attractive as well. It also offers a 'Layers' workflow for the node resistive. Like World-Creator, Gaea has implemented some of the Unity Interface technology. While TG can still do things that the other Terrain creation apps can't do, what it (Gaea) does is provide a very facile creation environment with immediate visual feedback and loads of proprietary filters to simulate real world geological structures (and certainly the ability to get as weird as you can imagine). Plus it is constructed as an additional complimentary tool to World Machine/Quadspinner.