TC2 Node Painter - The TC2 extension for painting the world!

Have you ever wanted more control over your procedurally generated terrains in TC2?
Then this extension is for you!

This is an extension for Terrain Composer 2, a terrain generation tool developed by Nathaniel Doldersum, and only works with it!



What is TC2 Node Painter?

TC2 Node Painter allows you to paint TC2 nodes directly in the editor, greatly improving your terrain creation workflow, both procedural and manual.
Using this tool you can paint everything, from simple heights and splats over stone fields and forests to whole biomes with little setup required thanks to TC2's simple node editor interface.


How TC2 Node Painter can improve your terrain generation workflow:

• Paint anything - from stone fields, over forests, even whole biomes!
• Advanced conditional painting capabilities
• No need for an external image editor
• More precise positioning control than just noise
• Layer different painting sessions together non-destructively
• Works with multiple terrains out-of-the-box!

Why TC2?

• TC2 is as flexible as terrain generation could possibly get
• By utilizing the power of your GPU it is really fast
• The node-based structure allows for an easy setup
• It is a 'Blending Powerhouse', allowing you to paint anything through its mask

Website - Asset Store - Documentation​

All images made using TC2 default resources and presets:


Simple terrain height painting setup with auto-splatmapping and additional detail


Small biome painting setup with Mountain, Desert and Grass Biomes, assigning the canvas to both height and splat masks (possible to mask trees, grass, objects, etc. too)



Current Features

• Works on any TC2 node (e.g. mask) in every output
• Three formats: Color, Value (Height) and Multi-Mask (Splat, Biomes, ...)
• Multiple terrain tiles and any node transformation supported!
• Both scene terrain and GUI painting
• 4 selected unique painting modes including smoothen/contrast
• Shortcuts for almost everything
• Brush and color preset system
• Extendable brush database and adjustable brush functions
• Separate undo system for the canvas
• Realtime modifications and tools
• Raw/Image import and export
• Works at runtime with TC2
• Lots of settings to customize

What else to know about TC2 Node Painter:

• You can either apply it directly on nodes or specify seperate multiple node targets
• It is fully GPU powered using normal shaders and could be used at runtime
• It includes high quality 512 brushes from asileFX
• Includes a Gaussian-function brush with adjustable falloff
• Includes full clean C# and shader source code!

How would you use TC2 Node Painter?
I would love to hear your feedback and suggestions for additional features!

UPDATE 20.03: Package has been submitted! The waiting begins - on my side, work continues!
UPDATE 11.04: Package has finally been accepted to the AssetStore: http://u3d.as/LT6

Best regards,
Seneral

 

Hey!

Sounds like a perfect match for our game! Is it on asset store or it's in development?

 

Hey, thanks for you interest!
It's still a work in progress, although it won't take too long until release, about two weeks
I just have to implement one final feature which is needed for splat painting among others and finish the documentation!

 

Making good progress with multiple channels, had to do some restructuring to allow for unlimited channels because it basically requires multiple internal RenderTextures to work but it's functional now. Next I need to refine the GUI for it and get Import/Export working - it will function similar to splat maps of a terrain, just that it is not restricted to splats, but can be used for forests and whole biomes
Also working on getting a website running, it should be online soon.
I think I can hold my estimation for one more week, maybe two, then I'll submit!

 

@Seneral So does node painter help with spawning objects like GeNa? Could I use GeNa or manually place objects and have node painter process existing objects for and easy back and forth workflow?

I bought Gaia/GeNa/MegaSplat, but I'm finding TerrainComposer2 (and with TC2 Node Painter) could have a better workflow.

P.S. Do you think there's a possibility to integrate with MegaSplat?

 

Hey, thanks for your interest

It can indeed be used to have more control over object spawning - although the spawning routines are provided by TC2, but with TC2 Node Painter you can incorporate these capabilities into your manual workflow. So you could add a rule to paint more objects on flat ground than on slopes - in a non-destructive way!
Beware that TC2 does not have as extensive spawning capabilities as GeNa, as it's not dedicated solely to spawning - don't expect anything fancy like gravity placement.

TC2 Node Painter also does not have direct control over the terrain, it can only interact with TC2 - anything that TC2 supports, this tool supports too So it can't mask objects already placed manually or by GeNa, only if TC2 were to support that in the future.

Same goes for MegaSplat - I think TC2 will likely support it just as RTPv4 unlimited splats when it's out. TC2 Painter will be ready for unlimited splat painting on release, which could also be used for unlimited biome painting for example. If you meant to directly integrate with MegaSplat, it already has a good integrated painting too, so I don't see the need for it...

 

Thanks for the quick reply. I'll keep an eye out for TC2 node painter!

 

Neeeeeeeeeeeeeeded !!!!!!!

Thx Seneral for this great extension
After ~2 weeks...can't wait anymore...

 

Hey, don't worry I'm not too far from release
I underestimated the time needed for the first legal setup as a first-time Asset Store Publisher but once that's out of the way I'll be able to fully focus on the tool again.
Most functionality is done now, alot of time of the last week has gone into fully restructuring the tool to support multiple internal canvases (more than previously thought to make it fully optimized).
I'm wary with any more time estimations but maybe one more week if everything goes well.

I have some additional features people requested but I am not sure if I will add them right on release of if I should wait - for example starting off existing terrains (and manual changes already made to TC2-generated terrains). It might delay the release for another few days. What do you think?

 

We are just waiting for this great core tool to work. So new features are ok for later releases after "1.0".

 

I think it is better to take the needed time to release a solid first version...even if i can't wait
Thx Seneral for the reply.
I will be able to stop to refresh this page every hour...I'll start again next week xD

Have a nice day

 

Haha, glad you're eager for the release - trust me, I'm too
Sure, that extra feature can be emulated with a basic image editor, it's just a really nice convenience... but I'll definitely take my time getting the core solid!

 

What does this mean if absent? (Eg. When one uses node painter, it will blank the existing ...? Terrain?

 

Sorry, might have worded this badly.
A few people said to me they would already modify the terrain manually (with built-in terrain tools after disabling TC2). What they asked for is a shortcut to integrate their existing changes to height or splat into a canvas to use in Node Painter - So it's really just an automated scanning feature to allow those people to modify all procedural parameters even after painting manually.
I'll definitely implement this, but seeing you're already desperately waiting for some working version I'll leave it as an additional feature for 1.1

 

Ahha thanks for the clarification. Yes that seems like a 1.1 (subset of likely customers).

 

Awesome news!

I've finally got my website needed for the Asset Store up and running, you can access it at www.levingaeher.com!
Really happy about this, took quite a long time to get there (I chose to hand-write it). Feedback is very much appreciated

Also got the core Multi-Mask feature solid, although it's not quite ready for normal use yet as it's missing some features.
Add maybe two days at maximum for these, maybe another two for general polishing, documentation and PR, then I'd be ready to submit!

Will also have to talk with Nathaniel again in order to provide the best integration possible... Especially partial generation will greatly speed up painting with Auto-Generate turned on - currently, it re-generates the whole terrain, which makes no sense as you're usually just editing a small part of it.

Seneral

 

you can already do this through megasplats converter itself, if that is what your talking about...I use TC2 , then use the converter tool in mega splats..

 

Hey guys,

I decided to delay the release for another week - but don't worry, reasoning for this is I decided I needed atleast a week of beta. If you can't wait to get hands on the extension, you can contact me and I'll send you the beta once it's ready

Additionally the tool will greatly benefit from an upcoming TC2 update, so it might be best to wait - although earlier versions will of course be supported.

Finally, here's a teaser on the WIP Multi-Mask:

These work like splat-maps, but for anything you imagine (like biomes in this example)! In the screen above, 3 Channels -> 1 splat map is being used, but you can go as high as you want! Well, performance and memory will suffer with more than 4 textures - just think of storing 4x2048x2048 16Bit textures raw in memory for each undo step :O
Hope you like it - it's very much WIP right now in terms of features and UI.

Seneral

 

Hey, I would love to try this out, looks amazing and Ive been working with TC2 for a few days

 

Cool! You can send me a PM if you want to participate in the beta - still need some testers
Will be sending out the first beta this evening hopefully

 

Hello everyone,

Thanks to the beta testers the last days have been really successful and Node Painter is now in a fully stable state
There are some last things to finish off though so I'll expect submission at latest at the end of the week!

Best regards,
Seneral

 

This asset is really cool! I tested it and it works great!

 

Are you converting to a mesh to use with MegaSplat? Ideally, we could assign a MegaSplat material to TC2 in the settings, and then paint with Node Painter instead of using MegaSplat's tooling. That way we won't have to convert anything.

 

Yes, that would be really cool.. but that definitely needs closer interaction between MegaSplat and TC2, because MegaSplat works on different data than standard unity terrain (which is why it needs converting in the first place).
Nathaniel is currently quite busy though and as far as I know MegaSplat has no direct integrations yet, but in general I think he would be happy to integrate both tools (he plans to do something similar when RTPv4 comes out with unlimited splats).
So - we've to see. Currently, a manual conversion is needed. I don't own MegaSplats (yet) but I'd imagine when a conversion takes a few hundred ms or less then an automatic conversion would be feasable as TC2 generates really fast, but anything above a second would make it a pain to use...

 

To all eagerly awaiting TC2 Node Painter:
I'm currently polishing UX and now finish up the performance integration between TC2 and Node Painter, so I'll probably be able to submit to the AS on Sunday - hopefully being approved a week later

 

Also, Node Painter's tools are way better than MegaSplat's for painting.

 

Well, having you as a beta tester definitely made this possible in the first place
Glad to know, thank you!

 

ya but I don't have any issue with doing so, same as GAIA, and that was the point was to have it be able to use any type of tool that uses Unity Terrain , or what ever.. So I personally don't feel it needs to be intergrated, I feel this is good enough.. But hey if someone went a step further I wouldn't be unhappy...But I feel this works just fine.

 

its very easy to use actually. We use it for all of our terrains .. even for mobile, once he added the tool to convert it, it made my life and others easier. Ya Nath may want to, as GAIA i believe did or is adding Mega Splats support beyond what the converter can do. For myself, it don't matter as I feel it works great for us.. and it don't take that much time.

@doq , can't comment about the painting, as I don't use Mega Splats for painting. Mega Splats supports all platforms which is a must for us...RTP does not. So we do not use it , I also do not use JUST TC2, and I use Magic Map for slopes and Erosion, things TC2 is missing..

 

Well TC2 is magnitudes faster than Gaia and it'd be great to work realtime on the terrain without having to convert each time. Sure, maybe it's just a matter of adaption, but i'd prefer to get realtime response
And it has the plus side of having direct control over all 256 splats - currently, any of these tools generate normal 8 splats and MegaSplats somehow artificially interpolates them by adding additional textures with noise to enhance the result - but having direct control over all textures to really dig into dozens of different biomes would be so much more powerful and better which is worth getting the integration alone imo

Indeed, good points - currently don't use any of these terrain shaders due to focussing on editor development but yes, RTP can be a pain. Don't have MegaSplats yet, but will likely check it out. But once RTP get's a new GUI and unlimited splats it's better (add. features) when you're not developing for mobile.
Yes, TC2 lacks some features - but all are going to be added at some point. Some more placement features would be great to have - until then, Gena will probably be essential.
And yes, erosion is also missing - after release of the TC2 Node Painter I do have a tool already far in development that I even started before Node Painter that will solve this issue - yes, another extension again, but still, a viable option for TC2
It is a fast and acurate GPU erosion simulation - you can check out the details and the water simulation demo on my webpage. Basic erosion is already implemented in the WIP project though so it won't take too long
Yet, until then, MapMagic is probably the best for erosion Btw, is MapMagic's erosion GPU-powered or CPU like the rest of the tool? From what I've seen it's pretty fast so I assume GPU.
Seneral

 

GAIA has changed that.. Which is being done as we speak. They them selves has added Real time.. . So that will change with GAIA. Far as integration goes , I was just stating, I don't have an issue and don't see why it needs it.. again that just an opinion But if someone did it, I wouldn't unhappy either.. It don't take long now and its not hardly any work at all... Its really easy. If it was hard I would be on board and if it took much more time...

SADLY TC2 was very buggy for mobile and still is in some ways...I been a TC user for many years and love it, sadly I can't use it for everything I want.. since some things are way easier in other programs, Just like some things are easier in TC2 than other programs.

 

Sure no problem - although I still think it the direct splat map control over all 256 instead of only 8 still kills it
Anyway, got kinda off-topic

 

Oh ya if it was supporting the whole 256 of what Mega Splats can do, then yes I would be all for integration. That part for sure.. That is what is lacking integration. anyways ya we got off topic.

 

Glad to see your tool coming along so nicely Seneral.

 

Thank you
Again, would not be possible without the amazing beta team I was lucky enough to get!

 

beta teams are important, we have over 100 on our current mobile games and Console ..Something most mobile games lack, and some consoles even,, sadly..

 

Hard to manage such a sheer amount, but vital. I got 6 testers but considering the scale of the tool more than enough

 

@Seneral

Hey,

I remember that we were talking about paint tool for T2 some time ago on its forum and now I see that you are creating this extension. Great!

I have a question. Is it possible to use standard image output when painting? I mean standard image, one color per pixel, not raw image. I'm using TC2 image node with colormaps to generate biomes by generating specific biomes on pixels with a specific color.

Or maybe your approach is different? On the screenshots it looks like you are painting grayscale masks for one or multiple nodes.

 

Hey,
good question - and I'm glad to say it was never easier to blend biomes!

Here is the updated version of the above biome painting example in the OP - a MultiMask format has been added since then, allowing you to blend... well... alot of channels and don't care about splat maps, assignment or synchronisation - it's all done automatically


Here are some notes on what's going on:


So you just tell how many channels you want (in this case three, but it would be ok for up to 16 or potentially even more) and then specify the target nodes - in this case two for each channel, height and splat, but you could also have grass, trees, objects, etc all in one
NodePainter then does everything else for you - it manages the channel 'splat' maps, makes sure each node get's only the channel it's supposed to get and keeps the nodes in sync

Hope that's what you wanted to hear - GUI is still subject to change a bit over the weekend.
I'll also do proper setup videos/tutorials on release

Seneral

 

Hello everyone,

Made good progress and I'm ready to submit - but there is one point I missed which causes delay of around 4 days.
For the tool to work properly TC2 needs an update (which basically just increases performance but is critical). I send it to Nathaniel, the developer of TC2 yesterday, but until it's publicly available it may take a few days - and the AssetStore review team definitely needs this update, so I have no choice other than wait and be on the safe side.
Hope everyone understands
On the other hand, that gives me a bit more time to develop the documentation and videos until release

Best regards,
Seneral

 

Hello once again,

I finally submitted the tool today!
Really happy how it turned out
I'll now continue working on the videos and tutorials

Seneral

 

Hi,
is there an alternate link for downloading your asset because Unity seems to need a while?

 

No public link - it will be commercial after all
I don't expect the submission process to take much longer, so unless you are on really tight schedule it would not make much sense.

For everyone's information: WLan fell out this weekend for our port only and I don't expect it to be working anytime soon... Responses might be a bit slower than usual because I only have limited access to internet through mobile:/

Also I'm currently working on some videos which I'll likely publish in the next few days - including tutorials

 

hello,

in waiting asset validation. could you please share some videos ?

++

 

Hi,
Sorry I'm still working on them.
Yes, review seems to take much longer than usual... mid third week now, will shoot them an email if I get no response by the end of the week...

 

Hello Seneral,
I am very much looking forward to try out the Node Painter! Have you heard anything back from the asset store people? I never thought it would take that long to validate an asset... Anyway, I will go on checking this post for updates and I hope it is released soon.

 

Noticed your asset on the store 15 minutes ago, while looking for something else. I did not know what it does, but I bought it anyways to add to my collection since I already own TC. I managed to do some quick painting of my existing terrain. Surprisingly very easy to install and understand. I will mess around with it more after opening the pdf and reading a bit of the docs.

Looks very promising and I think it will become a must buy for Terrain Composer owners.

 

Hello everyone!
I have great news, TC2 Node Painter has just been accepted to the AssetStore this morning! It's available here for 15$ as an extension to TC2

I'm really glad that it's finally live, although it took quite a while... Unfortunately, as I'm currently on a trip, I wasn't able to finish off the release trailer on time, I will fix that as soon as I come home (which will be the 18th). Hope you understand

Best regards,
Seneral

 

Ha, even faster than me - thanks for your purchase, @SuperNewbee
Great it's already found on the AssetStore...
Let me know if you run into issues!

 

Thanks for this great tool, it's really a game changer for us.

p.s. Is it intended that all painted stuff gets resetted when doing the following steps?

1. paint on one node in edit mode
2. go in playmode
3. go out of playmode

all painted stuff gets reset if you haven't saved the scene before step 2.