Tutorial: Setting up and importing Splat Maps from World Machine In this tutorial I will be going over how add more detail to your world using the terrain tools to smooth and clean up your terrain, and using Splat Maps to add levels of close up texture. You will learn how to do the following: Create Splat Maps in World Machine. Import the masks into lumberyard. Apply textures to the terrain. Prerequisites This will be building upon the first tutorial in this series, so if you have not worked through the previous tutorial, then do that now. For the sake of this tutorial we will be using the free version of World machine, and one free Macro. The free version of world machine can be downloaded here. The macro we will be using is called Extended Overlay, and it can be downloaded here Once you have installed world machine, you need to move the Macro into the Macros folder in the world machine program files. You must have the following before starting this tutorial: World Machine installed Watch the World Machine Basics tutorial. The Extended Overlay Macro installed. Completed the Terrain Basics tutorials. Step 1: Defining the Splat Maps in World Machine The first step in the tutorial is building on the world machine file we used in the previous tutorial. To add Splat Masks 1. Open up the world machine level from the previous tutorial. You should have something that looks like the image below.
2. Next you will need to increase the area you have to work with in the output panel. To do this you click on the read output box corner, then hold and drag the box to the dimension you want. 3. Next you need to add three Select Height devices to the output panel. In the top navigation bar, go to Selector>Select height. 4. Left click three times in the output panel, to drop three select height devices. Right click to deselect the select height device.
5. Next we will want to add three new Height Output Devices. To add three new Height Outputs. In the top navigation bar go to Output>Height output. 6. Left click three times in the output panel, to drop three Height Output devices. Right click to deselect the Height Output device.
Step 2: Wiring up the Select Height and Height Output Devices. Now we have all the devices we will need to output out Splat Masks, we will need to wire them up in a specific way to make this all work, but they are all wired exactly the same way. To wire these up: 1. The Primary Output from the Erosion device connects to the input on the select height devices. (do this three times) 2. The Output of the Height Selectors connects to the Primary input on the Height Output Devices. You should have something that looks like this now:
Step 3: Setting the Height Selector Devices Values and Outputs. Next you will adjust the height of the Select Height devices, (it helps to have a pad and pen nearby to record your heights.) Each Select Height device will correspond to a certain height value that will have a certain type of texture applied. To set the Select Height device values: 1. Double click on the top Select Height Device to open the options panel. 2. Move the height sliders to the top of the value range. Maximum height 2625, and Minimum height 1500. 3. Double click on the next Select Height Device to open the options panel. 4. This will be the middle value. Maximum height 1800, and Minimum height 800. 5. Double click on the last Select Height Device to open the options panel. 6. This will be the lowest height value. Maximum height 1000, and Minimum height 0. The next part of the process is outputting the three splat masks from the Height Output devices. You will need to do this process three times, and give each splat mask its own name. I will be calling these High, Mid and Low. To output spat maps: 1. Double click on the top Height Output Device to open the options panel. 2. Set the file type to BMP. 3. Click the Set button to choose a location to save your splat masks and then name them. 4. Click the Write Output to disk button to save the mask. 5. Repeat these steps for your mid and low masks.
Step 3: Applying the Splat Maps in Lumberyard Now we are all done in World Builder, next you will want to open up our level from the previous tutorial in Lumberyard. Once we import our splat Maps we will get a nice amount of close up detail to look at. To Import the splat maps. 1. Open the Terrain Texture Editor. Terrain>Terrain Texture Layers
2. Next add two new layers to the editor by clicking the Add Layers button twice. 3. Double click on the layers in the editor to rename them. I name them: Sand, Grass, and Stone.
4. Next assign the splat masks to each layer. Assign Splat Map> navigate to your save location. Do this for each texture layer. I am setting up my layers like this: Sand = Low, Grass = Mid, and Stone = High. Step 4: Applying Materials to your Terrain Texture Layers. Now that each layer in the Terrain Texture Layers panel has had its splat map assigned, we can start to assign the materials for each layer. I will be using the materials that come with the getting started assets, which are included in Lumberyard. To assign the Materials to the layers. 1. Open the Material Editor. View>Open View Pane> Material Editor.
2. You may need to resize your windows to get them to fit on the screen side by side. 3. Next you need to pick the materials you want to use. Under Materials>getting started. We will be using the textures called grass_1 and Ground_stones-rough_1. You can add some color to these textures by clicking the tint button in the Material Settings section of the Material editor, and choosing a color you like. 4. With the material selected in the material panel and the Terrain Texture layer selected in the Terrain Texture Layers panel, you need to click on the Assign Materials button to apply that material to that layer.
5. Repeat step 4 for all the texture layers in the Terrain Texture Layers panel. I am assigning the Ground_stones-rough_1 material to the Stone and Sand layers, and the grass_1 material to the grass layer. 6. The final step is to click the assign splat maps button in the Terrain Texture Layers panel.
Congratulations! You have successfully applied your splat masks to the terrain, you should see something like this image below with different layers of materials at different heights. Related Tasks and Tutorials Now that you have completed working with splat maps, see what else you can add to your game: Getting Started Lighting Getting Started Designer Objects Audio Adding Ambiance to a Level Want to learn more about Lumberyard? Visit the complete Lumberyard Tutorials Page. We d love to hear from you! Head to our Tutorial Discussion forum to share any feedback you have, including what you do or don t like about our tutorials or new content you d like to see in the near future.