New Map Sculpting Software

[Mavichist]

Hi Everybody!

For the last month and a half I've been working on a map sculpting program called GenBrush. The project is very new and things are currently geared toward rapid prototyping. As a consequence, the program presently has a clunky, nuts-and-bolts feel to it, but I'm getting a lot done.

The software is, first and foremost, for height map painting, but generators exist within it as well. Height maps can be colourized using gradients and colour graphs, which sample from height, humidity and temperature data.

GenBrush has a slew of different features currently, including normal map generation, 3D rendering, shading options and special map filters. It contains a myriad of brushes and generators, import options and customizability.

My aim with the software is to provide a different kind of workflow than has been historically available, erring on the side of painting, sculpting and manipulating height data, rather than hyper-realistic global simulations. There are already powerful simulators out there that do this job already, such as Wilbur, WorldEngine and WorldMachine. I'd rather not re-invent the workflow that these titans have already established, but there are some map-wide simulations I do have my sights set on.

I have a Patreon page up and running for anyone who wants dive in and offer a bit of support. I'm offering complimentary access to development versions of the software to all patrons, as well as a direct line to myself on the dedicated Discord server. All are welcome on the server, feel free to clamber aboard and take a look at the recent progress, ask me questions, or scream at me.

Screenshots!

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/13...p/mp4/file.mp4

[Redrobes]

Oh this is very cool. Realtime shader based height map modifications ? Particularly like the erosion stuff.

[- JO -]

Really nice project !

[Mavichist]

It's real-time, yep. It's mostly GPU-based calculations so it's quick too (most of the time).

Thanks!

[Rwhyte]

That looks great! It seems both flexble and intuitive. Interested to watch how this develops! Would you be able to import existing heightmaps to render and modify?

[Mavichist]

Thanks!

Yes, you absolutely can import from existing height data. Any image can be imported from, using a couple of different methods.

[Mavichist]

I've just finished a mesh exporting script as well, so you can export the topography as a .obj file!

[Redrobes]

Nice. Are the height maps imported / exported as 16 bit heights or 8 bit. Usually in height maps you use a 16 bit or float value for them but often with fragment shaded effects the height map is stored as a texture. But I know that it is possible to have float textures - its just not common.

[Mavichist]

I'm using shader buffers, not textures. There are certain advantages, even though I'm forgoing innate sampling functions and whatnot. 8 bit causes stepping and other visual artifacts. 16 bit... I didn't try it, I don't know whether it would be accurate enough. At the moment I'm using 32 bit.

[Rwhyte]

Nice, that export looks good. 16 or 32 bit was going to be my next question. As I understand it, 16 bit would still only provide integer heights? (though much greater range over 8 bit), and depending on the scaling of the scene, that could still lead to stepped terrain. And so with 32 bit, you can have decimal heights with very subtle vertical detail. Plus, a lot of existing elevation data is in a 32 bit image format, and there’d be no need to convert or rescale. All very promising!