Layers

The Layer tab is where you can perform manipulations on a specific layer's geometry. This section contains "core controls" that are essential for fully controlling the layer's behavior (although this does not include its interaction with other layers).

Within this tab, you can adjust the layer's height values, noise types, noise sub-types, and transform values for location, rotation, and scale. Additionally, advanced controls are available for making more precise adjustments to the sub-noise values of the geometry. These controls are not necessary and are hidden by default, but provide greater flexibility for generating specific results.

It is important to note that not all layer types have the same controls. For example, a Noise layer has more controls available in this section than a Heightmap layer. Group layers, on the other hand, only have transform controls that apply to all layers within the group.

Notice

These controls may change over time. Please make sure you're on the latest version of the tool to ensure what you see in these docs are what is available in the addon. If we've missed something from these docs, please use the feedback form at the bottom to advise of the changes we must make. Thank you.

Group¶

The Group layer is a layer that contains other layers.

Any transforms, blending, or modifiers applied to a group layer will apply to all layers inside the group layer.

The ROOT layer is also a group layer. Clicking the Home button at the far left of the layer list's breadcrumbs you'll be taken to the top most level where you can access the ROOT layer and apply modifiers to the entire terrain. No other layers are allowed on this root level, nor can you move or remove the ROOT layer.

Noise Data¶

Noise Basics¶

Height Multiplier¶

This value will change the height intensity/strength. This will NOT move the height upward only; it's designed to multiply the lowest and highest values, meaning if a value is above 0 then it will positively increase, if a value is below 0 it will negatively decrease. Bear this in mind if you wish for no value to go below 0.

See the Height Anchoring menu to enforce different height adjustment behaviors.

Midlevel¶

This value adjusts the "mid-level" (where the middle of the mesh is in 3D space on the Z axis). Increasing this value will move the mesh higher, and decreasing this value will move the mesh lower. The main use-case for this is to re-adjust the terrain if you wish to have one layer at a different midlevel to another.

Seed¶

This value provides a totally new noise. This is useful if you wish to quickly try out similar yet different lands.

Scale¶

Adjust to resize the noise pattern, however, this ends up somewhat dramatically changing the terrain like the Seed value. This is because random values are added to the coordinates of a surface to create noise patterns.

Altering the scale impacts the spacing between the noise values by adjusting the virtual size of the surface. Decreasing the scale causes the noise to appear more spread out, while increasing the scale makes it more compact.

Additionally, it's important to note that changing the scale may affect the terrain's overall appearance. Thus, it's recommended to experiment with different settings to achieve the desired outcome.

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Detail¶

Detail in the context of noise textures typically refers to the level of complexity or intricacy in the generated texture. Higher detail levels generally mean more small-scale variations and more complex patterns. In some noise functions, this might be controlled by the "octaves" parameter, where more octaves lead to more detail.

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Roughness¶

Roughness controls the amplitude of the smaller detail. With higher roughness, the texture will have more contrast and appear more chaotic. Lower roughness values will make the texture smoother and more blended. This is often controlled by a parameter called "persistence" in many noise functions. Roughness is also a key property in physically based rendering (PBR) materials, controlling how rough or smooth a surface appears, which in turn affects how it reflects light.

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Distortion¶

Distortion refers to the warping or twisting of the noise pattern. Adding distortion can create more organic or unpredictable patterns, which can be useful for creating natural-looking textures like rock surfaces or turbulent water. Distortion is often achieved by using one noise function to warp the coordinates used by another, which can give a more natural, organic appearance to the result.

Noise Types¶

These are visualisations of the main noise function. Not the Sub-noise options

Noise¶

Noise Type	Example
fBM
Multifractal
Multifractal
Rigid Multifractal
FBM
Hybrid Multifractal

Magic¶

Depth	Example
0
1
2
3

Voronoi¶

Type	Distance Metric	Example
F1	Euclidean
F1	Manhattan
F1	Chebychev
F1	Minkowski
F2	Euclidean
F2	Manhattan
F2	Chebychev
F2	Minkowski
F1	Euclidean
F1	Manhattan
F1	Chebychev
F1	Minkowski
Distance to Edge
Sphere Radius

Height Map¶

Opacity¶

How much this layer is visible

Image¶

Choose an image already opened in Blender to displace the terrain. Start typing to search for an image. See Height Map Picker to use installed height maps.

Height Map Picker¶

Image picker UI with the Height Map picker to the far right

To select a height map installed in TrueTERRAIN 5, access the Image picker and click on the square located to the far right. This action will prompt a popup window to appear, enabling you to choose from the available height maps currently installed in the system.

Extension¶

How the image is extrapolated past its original bounds

Repeat: Repeat the image horizontally and vertically (tiling).
Extend: Extend the image by repeating the pixels on its edges.
Clip: Clip to the original image size and set all the exterior pixels values to transparent black.
Mirror: Repeatedly flip the image horizontally and vertically.