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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

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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

To select a height map installed in True-Terrain 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.

Height Multiplier

Increase/decrease the maximum height of this layer.

Midlevel

Boost overall height. This is just addition.

Outside Height

Change the height outside of the image. Useful when the blending is set to maximum or minimum. Only works if the Extension is set to clip.

Size

Effectively a duplicate of the scale setting in the transform area. This setting helps keep the transform data similar and as expected across layers. Also, some modifiers work better with this separation and will provide expected and consistant results across all layer types.

Transform

These settings will move, resize, and rotate the height map around.

Gizmo

The transform settings are also controlled by the onscreen transform gizmo. The gizmo will stay at the direct center of the height map.

Unique to the Height Map layer's gizmo is the white outline which will show the dimensions of the height map. Useful for knowing the bounds of the height map when they are obscurred by other layers.

Material Settings

When employing True-Terrain for both geometry and shading, with the layer being a height map, the application utilizes this height map as a bump map in the shader! This approach enables the rendering of intricate details present in the height map but not entirely visible due to terrain resolution limitations. The controls to manage this bump map can be accessed through the provided settings:

Detail Type‍

Choose the type of image the application should use

• Height Map: Use the same image this layer uses as the detail
• Normal: Choose a normal map to use instead. CURRENTLY DISABLED

Strength‍

Strength of the detail effect.

Plateaus

This layer will scatter procedural plateaus across your terrain.

Height Multiplier

Increase/decrease the maximum height of this layer.

Plateau Scatter Type

• Fixed: Use a static number of plateaus
• Density: Use a number of plateaus that should exist per Blender unit

Plateau Count (Fixed Scatter type only)

The number of plateaus to add to the terrain

Count Density (Density Scatter type only)

The amount of plateaus per Blender Unit. Default is set to approximately 6 plateaus per 1000 units

Distance Min

The minimum distance a plateau can be from another plateau. This may reduce the number of plateaus even if Plateau Scatter Type is set to fixed.

Seed

Randomize the positions of the plateaus

Radius

The size of each plateau.

The following settings are visible in the drop down area to the left of the Radius setting

Cap Radius

Don't allow the base radius to be larger than half the distance between the center of a plateau and its nearest neighbor. Currently radius variance will expand beyond this.

Radius Variance

Vary the radius of each plateau.

- Range

The amount subtracted from the Radius setting to vary each plateau between.
Ex: Radius=200m, Variance Range=40m, Each plateau's base radius will be between 160m and 200m

- Amount

Easily reduce the amount of variance. Somewhat redundant but gives an easy way to do it.

- Seed

Randomize the variance per plateau

Radius Noise

Edit the settings of the procedural noise that helps give the plateaus their shape.

KNOWN ISSUE: Rotating the layer will change the shape of the plateaus.

- Amount

Reduce the strength of the noise on the plateaus. An amount of 0 will be rectangle like shapes.

- Scale

Change the scaling of the noise. The larger the noise the more the column like plateaus there will be.

- Seed

Randomize the noise per plateau

Height

The max height a plateau can be.

The following settings are visible in the drop down area to the left of the Height setting

Height Variance

- Amount

The amount a plateau can deviate from the max Height. (Height - Variance Amount)

Ex: Height=300m, Variance Range=40m, Each plateau's max height will be between 260m and 300m

- Min Amount

Don't allow a plateau to go below a certain height. Allows for multiple plateaus to be at lower heights.

- Seed

Randomize the height per plateau

Slope Factor

The sharpness of the slope of the plateau cliff

Surface Factor

Increase or decres the surface level of the plateau's top

Alluvial Fan

The alluvial fan is the eroded sediment that piles up around the base of a plateau.

Use Alluvial Fan

Enable or disable the fan.

Height %

Percentage of the plateau's height that should be covered by the alluvial fan.

Slope Factor

How steep the fan is. Sorta like how far out from the plateau the fan reaches but may also change the highest point it reaches.

Smoothing

Blur/smooth out the fan. Useful if plateaus are too close together and jagged lines appear at their borders.

Noise Amount

Add noise back into the fan. Useful when the Smoothing factor is in use.

Alluvial Fan Terracing

Often the alluvial fans of plateaus have terracing or stepping to it.

Use Alluvial Terracing

Enable or disable fan terracing.

Terrace Height

Distance between each flat surface

The following settings are visible in the drop down area to the left of the Terrace Height setting

Terrace Height Variance

Adjusts the height range (variance +/- the Terrace Height) for terrace randomization per plateau.

- Amount

Easily adjust the variance amount.

- Seed

Randomize the terrace height per plateau.

Width

Increase/decrease flat surface area

The following settings are visible in the drop down area to the left of the Width setting

Width Variance

Adjusts the width range (Width +/- variance) per plateau

- Amount

Easily adjust the variance amount

- Seed

Randomize the terrace width per plateau

Offset

Move the terraces up or down without adding more in

The following settings are visible in the drop down area to the left of the Offset setting

Offset Variance

The amount +/- offset a plateau's offset can be randomized by.

Amount

Easily adjust the variance amount

Seed

Randomize the terrace offset per plateau

Texture

Height Multiplier

Increase/decrease the maximum height of this layer.

Midlevel

Boost overall height. This is just addition.

Texture Type

Choose the type of texture to use.

Pick RGB

Instead of using the `Fac` output of the textures choose from the RGB values if the node outputs a color. Typically allows for different results from the same settings.

Texture Settings

Here will display the available settings for the active texture type. See the Blender manual for each texture's settings.
Brick
Checker
Gradient
Magic
Noise
Voronoi
Wave
White Noise