How To Make A Multi-Biome Open World Map - Unreal Engine 4 [Part 1]

Hello guys and welcome to my new tutorial series on how to make your own multi-biome open world map in Unreal Engine 4. I will show you guys how to create the proper heightmaps in world machine, setup the landscape material using Quixel Megascans, and import the heightmaps into the engine. In future tutorials, we will cover landscape LODs, procedural grass, trees etc.

Download The Project Files:

World Machine File:

Community Ocean:

[lucaspreiser]

The best way I've found to optimize the resolution is to go to the create new landscape tab and play with the settings until you get the one you want. For instance if you change the section size to 127 x 127 and sections per component to 2x2 and leave the number of components to 8x8 it gives an overall resolution of 2033x2033. Then when you go to World Machine set the resolution to 2033 and multiply by the number of tiles you want to have. Say you want 10 so 10 x 2033 gives you a landscape of 20, 330m or 20.33km. When you import it to Unreal it automatically converts the tiles to what you originally tested for in the beginning. Great tutorial very helpful.

[rcklarue]

excellent video. I look forward to watching the rest of this series. thank you.

[pfitzuk]

yes defiantly like to see a world machine tutorial for an open world map awsome work dude

[wolfiedgrt]

Thanks @Smart Poly, can't wait for the next video 👍

[phantomwolfx]

Thank You for showing us how to do this, I was able to fill my world with my auto landscape and painted layers i made!

[ryansaper]

Does the latest version have this drawing tool? I can't find anything. I can get to layout view, but that's it. Where is it hidden in the latest version?

[mirhammendoza]

Nice! I'm keeping watch.
edit: I still have to learn world machine though, before I can do this.

[malebeery]

my approach to fix landscape size and resolution:
- adjust the landscape "size" from the create or import settings.
- adjust the "resolution" from the landscape settings from the manage menu in the landscape menu and by making sure that you select "resample" when adjusting the new size so that it don't effect the size but only effect the resolution.
- example : so if you adjust the size of the landscape using "resample" then you can have a landscape with 63x63 quads per section or 127x127 quads per section or whatever while still have the exact same size of the original landscape that you created before you did the adjusting.
- when creating height map in external software use the same size and resolution that you decided that you will use in unreal for the landscape, and checking it is the same when exporting the height map and when importing it into unreal, and then if you need use the "resample" settings. this way you can make sure the details will be maintained and correct.

[scottbez]

great tutorial - what fps are you getting with 16 terrain materials?

[metallmad]

thanks for the tutorials, I'm a developer and started to learn design just a year ago, I'm wondering which is better World Machine or World Creator, they're both similar in pricing but I find World Creator more neat

[Creating_Space]

you just uploaded this a week ago? Meaning, this isn't a 5 year old somewhat out of date tutorial channel? Subbing 😀

[helmuthpetelin]

Hey can you build the terrain with the indie version of World machine or do you need the professional version?

[Paul-hwkc]

How could you create a wrap around world effect?

[maks]

Do you have a update on ue5 for this tutorial series?

[redguard]

have you looked into using brushify to help you when making such large maps? I have been wondering if someone could export a world machine map into ue4 and then use brushify.

[bode]

Can u tell me how to get the orange guide lines that show the distance measurements please?.. I cannot figure out how to pull them up & I want to be ale to know the size of the world I am building.. I don't know why they're aren't there unless it's a separate thing I have to activate.. Thanks

[declanhillman]

WHEN IMPORTING THE FILE INTO UNREAL IM GETTING COMPONENTS 0X0 AND CANT IMPORT, IM JUST TRYING TO IMPORT ONE HEIGHT MAP FOR AS i HAVE A AUTO MATERIAL FOR THE LANDSCAPE.

[mrconcept]

Hey is this all doable with the normal ersion of WM or do you need pro?

[Allie.TRANSCEND]

@
Smart Poly In terms of scale I ran into the same issue within Unity, however I easily overcame this dilemma by simply setting up the heightmap to be a resolution of 4069x4069 and than I sliced it up into smaller sections of at least 2x2 or 4x4 and than re-scaled each section back up to a resolution of 4069x4069, after that step I stitched together multiple terrain objects inside Unity in a 2x2 or 4x4 formation each matching the resolution of the sliced sections I created.
Now the problem with this method is you will lose detail in the heightmaps but at the same time this can be made back up by applying decent textures and normal maps to them, I find PBR textures are the best as apposed to a more conventional way of using tiled photo's but who does that anymore right ?

[risanad]

it would be great if you could upload the process of making the terrain in world machine cause I am kind of stuck trying to make the terrain in world machine