World Machine : The Premier 3D Terrain Generator

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.

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!