I may be wrong, but while teaching people WorldMachine i find the most un-clear part of worldmachine in lack of examples that demonstrate multy biomes and multy object worlds (because usually create single-biome world or island is not enough)
A lot of people while learning WM wants to understand how to create maps that contains of a couple of biomes, for example stereotipic: cold/normal/hot biome gradient map, with some hand-placed objects like: snow mountain/grass plain/lava volcano accordinally
Why thats important?
Usually multy-biome maps uses some masking technicks, that are important to understand for new users. I may pray that currently each advanced user of WM have developed own unique comfortable way to select biomes, and objects masks. (At least this situation i spectate while discussions in WM Community discords) No one did have example to learn how to do it “properly”, from WM box, lol. It significantly prolongate learning curve, so think thats important point
I agree, an official example tutorial for a multi biome/climate tutorial project (or a set of projects) could potentially cover a lot of topics that are hard to learn for newbies. For example proper usage of River and Water tools, using those to drive erosion effects properly, masking, etc.
In any case World Machine 40 series is a lot different than those old tutorials available, so imo it needs a full refresh on those examples and macros included with world machine. Maybe we can create a new post collecting ideas for packaged content included with world machine?
In the meantime, we had some extra content hosted in the files section of our FB group about World Machine. If you’re on facebook, you’re welcome to join the World Machine Software group, though it’s now as silent as these forums. Once you join, check the featured posts, there’s a document I created collecting some stuff from the community.
EDIT: Scratch that featured doc on FB, the google drive content (Example files) by Adam has been deleted apparently. Now there’s just @HYLK 's LTE tutorials linked in there. Not much useful now for anyone besides very new users of WM.
What kind of examples of multi-biome blending are you looking for?
A biome is essentially the climate of a region. In the context of World Machine we’ll include the influence over the terrain forms, not just the texturing, etc.
You’re right that every artist probably has their own workflow for doing this, and that it would be helpful to have some guidelines around it.
The fundamental questions to me are:
Scale. Biomes can be small or large, but they tend towards large. Modelling continents and entire worlds has a whole different set of challenges than regions.
Are you trying to blend together different terrain shape primitives, or are you concerned with texturing (both is of course an answer )
Art Direction / Realism - are we trying to make something that looks like nature, or more stylized?
The answers to each question basically will push your workflow in one direction or another.
My suggestion directed only to need to show idea. Showcase of biomes could be done even in 500 pixels scale. Main idea and showing of different technics is most important, rather than do it on monster scale. Example for middle and large scale worlds could done later.
Due to that texturing is result of heightmap blending - i think the most important part is to show how to blend different areas and receive their masks borders. With mask any dude could go alone and do own coloring - with mask its simple. Receiving of mask for each area, in way that not consume all your PC RAM - was the biggest problem for me in start. You can not imagine those millions of shitty ways to receive biomes mask that i created while learning (it could be another forum post idea, lol)
Idea of blending and receiving of mask is main objective. Even biomes of heightmaps penises will be good, if it will properly display education idea. So - any landscape forms blending will be good (sorry for absurd example, just want to add more humor)
You may say - so, if you want just blending and mask, why for you not enough of my example worlds with usage of Chooser or Combiner? - i will answer - aaa, usualy good maps is not just blending of two things. Good map is 999 biomes blended together, and current Example world with Chooser can not fully cover this topic - how to combine 999 biomes to produce good mask for comfortable texturing and other stuff
My current workflow is ultra comfortable for me and allow me to do such biomes combination in minutes: (screenshots below)
I think currently no one of Example worlds in WM could explain how to do such maps - everyone needs to create own ways. Due to that you(developer) hold that business in solo, it maybe hard for you to show all 999 ways, but even showcasing of one basic concept could be good. Even if you will look on my maps and Zhyrr`s you will see that we use not same tricks to produce masks for biomes and objects inside them
)
