Simulate instead of sculpt
Have our algorithms work for you.
Use tools like erosion to create realistic CG landscapes. Then export to Unity, UE4, or your favorite 3D tool.
For nearly a decade, World Machine has been the go-to terrain generation tool for AAA games, VFX, and independent artists.
The latest version brings powerful new physically based materials, and one-click export to glTF.
Discover why thousands of artists create their worlds with World Machine.
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World Machine has allowed me to quickly and efficiently create massive game areas both terrestrial and otherwise. The feature set and work flow get better with each release. A must have tool for any environmental artist.
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I have used World Machine on a number of film projects and find it an invaluable asset for environment creation.
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World Machine was instrumental in creating the terrain for our Supersonic Sled demo. We needed a very large landscape and wanted something natural-looking but with enough control that we could place canyons and hills exactly where needed. World Machine handled all of that beautifully.
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World machine gives us the power to create very realistic terrains in a short amount of time. ... Its erosion filters are the best I have seen but also give a lot of control over the final look. i would recommend this to any development studio that needs very realistic terrains, quickly!
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World Machine works well with our proprietary terrain editor in that we can not only create height maps, but alphas for our terrain paint layers as well. This saves a bundle of time and with results that look more detailed and professional.
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I have been using World Machine since version 1.25 and haven't found anything else that can compete for ease of use, versatility and stunning results.
How It Works
Unlike traditional brush-based terrain editors, World Machine uses a procedural approach. Shape the terrain using basic building blocks such as fractals... then hit them with simulations of nature to create realistic features.
Simply wire together action boxes to create your world.
Here's a great landscape created in less than two minutes.
Shape
Import a hand drawn mockup if you'd like, or design completely within World Machine. You have plenty of tools available to tame those crafty fractal generators.
- Load from a file, or guide mountains with our tools
- Detail with fractal noise, then erode the results
- Sketch the location of major rivers and have them carve river valleys.
- 70+ tools available for your use.
Discover more features
Texture
Create superb texturing by using information gathered during erosion.
Get nice results quickly by using some of our built-in macros and presets, or dive in deep and create sophisticated texturing networks of your own.
Whether megatexture or splat-map based, you'll create some awesome texture coverage for your terrain model.
Use
Import into your 3D app in a few simple steps. We provide workflow guides for the most popular software.
Export meshes, heightmaps, megatexture-style bitmaps, splat or weightmaps.
Or maybe some vegetation distribution or special zones.. the possibilies are endless.
Fast Procedural Terrain
A full suite of procedural tools for creating terrain from nothing. Or load from a file for a starting point.
Draw Rivers, Sketch Mountains
Tame procedurals by controlling how and where they work
Simulate Nature
Simulate the real world: erosion, talus slopes, snow.. Let us take care of the natural effects for you.
Graph-based Workflow
Non-destructive editing of your terrain by connecting together device nodes
Better Texturing
Sophisticated color schemes beyond height and slope controls
Export to Unity, Unreal Engine, Maya, 3DSMax...
Export your terrain to use with virtually any 3D software or game engine using heightfields, meshes, textures, weight maps...
A Few Stories
In VFX...
Frederick Hopp and EightVFX used World Machine to help put together a television ad for HP's Summit on the Summit initiative.
World Machine's graph-based approach and rapid previewing is a huge help, allowing you to experiment with many different looks on the fly. The result... well, watch the video.
Frederick comments,
The miniature mountain is modelled in WM, as well as the background
behind the people climbing, and the background of the packshot.
Shaded
and rendered in Maya/MentalRay.
In Games...
Game designer Matthias Worch used World Machine to create terrain for the game Lair.
Why did you choose World Machine?
We were making flight games, [and] our editor had the industry standard array of terrain tools ... those tools quickly proved inefficient when we switched to the next generation of console hardware.
How did World Machine improve your work and workflow?
I'd back up a step, and say that World Machine made things possible that wouldn't have been possible at all. The erosion allowed us to create terrain detail that would have been impossible to paint by hand, and the "basic coverage" macros quickly generated masks we could use to generate textures to go along with the heightmap data. We had various macros that would take basic height data from the level designer and would spit out fully eroded and masked out terrains
Better terrain awaits. Get started for free.
The Basic Edition of World Machine is free for personal, noncommercial use.
Or buy a full license to unlock all of WM's abilities.
Download Basic Edition Purchase Now!