Overgrowth

http://blog.wolfire.com/2009/10/sculpting-for-fast-level-layout/

Posted by Aubrey

http://cdn.wolfire.com/blog/terrain/mudboxsculpt.jpg

It would be really hard to add terrain tools to our engine and keep the quality we have for the terrain, but sometimes it is still nice to layout a level using sculpting tools. I have recently been testing out doing basic layout in Mudbox before making a height map in xNormal, and finally running it through World Machine 2. This workflow is a bit awkward, but still allows us to automatically generate a lot of nice terrain data, and so is actually still faster than many other methods. Here is a comparison with the Mudbox sculpt on the top, and the same terrain in the engine:

http://cdn.wolfire.com/blog/terrain/sculptterrain.jpg

Some small details are lost, but it is still nice to be able to have control of the layout, and work with a tool for sculpting as advanced as Mudbox. Here is the new level I am working on that takes advantage of this technique!

http://cdn.wolfire.com/blog/terrain/overgrowthscreenshot00085.jpg