Beta version 0.6 is released

[Marianne Calva]

Instant Terra beta version 0.6 is now available.
Download it now from our website for free.
You will find here the main improvements since beta 0.5.


Hydraulic erosion
This erosion simulation version is the first step in a more complete erosion system that will be developed in a future release.

What is it?
This hydraulic erosion simulation creates realistic effects by rainfall and river flows.
Three modes are available:

• Using presets: 5 different presets are available, each one creating a different erosion and deposition result.
• If you want to tweak the results of the preset you have chosen, you can adjust the four parameters available to achieve a more accurate result.
• We also provide an advanced tab where you can adjust a number of internal parameters.

See our complete documentation on erosion by clicking on "?" in the top right of the edition window.
 

What is next?
We have great plans for the erosion simulation. We want to provide you with the best performance and the most realistic end result. This version is only the very first step of the future complete solution.
 
Work in progress:
- Thermal erosion: Effects of thermal erosion added to hydraulic erosion will provide a very realistic end result.
 - More explicit parameters: We want to create self-explanatory parameters to replace the current internal "technical" parameters that may be difficult to master.
 - Multi-scale erosion: We are developing multi-scale erosion simulation. With this model, the erosion will be computed several times, but on different scales starting at a very large scale and ending with smaller areas. The goal is to generate an overall effect, for example for large valleys, and to add gradually more and more details.
 - Using masks to set the parameters: You will be able to drive any erosion parameter by an input mask. For example you will be able to use a mask to define where and how much the rain falls, to define the hardness of the rock, etc.
 
 After these improvements, we will work on other kinds of erosion: ice, snow, and coastal erosions are in our roadmap.
Curves
Several improvements have been made to the Curve Editor:
- You can now edit your curve in Point mode (like a Bezier curve). You can switch to manual editing if needed.
 - When you move the mouse over the terrain, the height under the mouse is shown as green points on the curve.


Handling in the 3D view

A gizmo is available in the 3D view to let you move the terrain directly when using the Full Composition node.
     
     
Name & comments

With this version, you can set a name and add comments to a node.
 
     
       
Perlin noise: rotation

You can specify a rotation angle in the Perlin noise generator node.
 
                  
Cameras


You can now save and use several cameras, and set a custom field-of-view value.
   

     
Also available in this version

• Import a DEM file to read files from USGC (U.S. Geological Survey);

 

• Export in the RAW format;

 

• Mesh export: Compatible with Maya 2014 and 2015, and 3DS Max 2014 and 2015.

     
What is next?
We are preparing our major release V1.0 for the beginning of 2018.

It will be available in different versions to fit every kind of user and project, for sale or for monthly rental.
 Stay tuned for more details about the first commercial release!