Holes scattered across complex terrain

Help! How do I...
#1

Hi!

So I have this terrain I’ve been working on, and there’s a problem that only shows in 8k resolution final build. Is there any way to remove these holes, procedurally, as a “post process”, without destroying the terrain profile?

Screen_holes_in_Terrain
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Screen_holes_in_Terrain_Plain
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More details on why I'm reluctant to edit the original nodes

I’m aware this is a known issue with the advanced perlin at low persistence value. I do not have any advanced perlin with low persistence value in my graph, except one. Allow me to explain the process:

  1. I created 3 different terrain in Gaea, exported as 8k exr maps (normalized for max height detail).
  2. Imported those 3 into WM as file inputs, plugged them into an advanced perlin as Shape guide, persistence guide, and distortion input.
  3. Tuned the Advanced perlin to get my final shape. Then did some heavy (50 nodes heavy) stuff in WM, and exported as a library.
  4. Holes appeared over entire terrain like indicated, mostly around erosion lines (done in WM).

I want to remove these holes as a post process, without touching the terrain as it stands. The holes appeared in WM, and the way it appeared I cannot edit without destroying the rough parts of the terrain. Thus my request.

#2

I think that trying to fix this in post (and probably ending up with a result you are not content with) will take more time than to rerender and fix it at the start. But make sure you identify the correct node, and not blindly alter the Advanced Perlin. Other devices known to introduce these artefacts are the Mimic and Thermal Weathering (old version) devices. Maybe those introduced the problem.

If it is the Advanced Perlin, I guess it is caused by your persistence guide. Use a clamp on the input, to ensure persistence is always at a certain level at which these artefacts do not appear.

1 Like
#3

@HYLK I’ve been trying to fix the graph for a month now. That’s not the way I want to go anymore.

While advanced perlin may have spawned the initial bump, all Strata, erosion, thermal, and snow nodes are contributing, turning those into black holes. I’ll basically have to edit every node (besides water and coast, and the initial 3 file inputs) . And changing the terrain seems inevitable that way. That’s why I’m asking about a post process that just messes with the holes, while leaving the rest of the terrain as-is.

#4

(Quick note, I cannot organically recreate the issue, nor have I ever experienced it, so I have no idea if this will work in practice)
Have you tried inverting the terrain, then using the built-in Local Heights macro to isolate the holes? If that works, you could then likely use something like a fairly gentle blur on the whole terrain, then mix that with the proper terrain only in the holes. The holes won’t have the same detail that the surrounding area does, but perhaps they’re small enough that it won’t matter?

Alternatively: I haven’t been using Gaea much at all, but I remember GeoGlyph fondly. If Gaea has anything similar to GeoGlyph’s KillSpike device/macro (or if you ever used GeoGlyph and still have it installed somewhere), you could probably build the terrain, export it, bring it into Gaea (or an older build of WM with GeoGlyph installed), invert it there, and run that process on it.

Both methods assume that the holes in the terrain are deep enough that inverting the terrain would make obvious spikes that would be easy to isolate. If the holes are shallower than they appear in the images, this probably won’t work.

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#5

@blattacker Yeah I tried the “hole isolation and blur” method already, doesn’t work with my usual tricks. The reason is exactly what you said, holes aren’t absolute, they have varying shallow depths.

#6

Guess I’ll leave this one Holey…

Seems like too much work for something barely noticeable in bright light.

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