My feedback on the Terrain Tools Brush Filters

Hey all!

First of all, I just want to say that I love the brush filter feature (and all of the other additions in the terrain tools package).

But there is something that I just can't get comfortable with, and that's the animation curve on the brush filters.
Sure, animation curves fits some of the filters quite well, but not for the ones I use the most:

• Slope filter
• Height filter

It's hard to setup the animation curve just right in these scenarios, as I usually want to use linear numbers.
I can't understand why we can't have linear numbers instead? Like this:

• Height filter: From height -> to height
• Slope filter: From angle -> to angle

Would be much easier to edit and also much easier to understand.

Now to give you an example: I want to add a small filter to height, so I can paint sand on the lower parts of the terrain (beach). But there are so many steps involved to set it up correctly (t = time, v = value).

1. First create a key at: t=0, v=1
2. then another key almost on top of the first one at: t=0.02f, v=1
3. another one at just below to make a hard transition: t=0.021f, v=0
4. Then another key at the end. t=1, v=0
5. Oh and dont forget to flatten out the curve between each of these key points, or else the curve will be all over the place

(and it wasn't correct on the first try, so I had to go in again and move my curve key points around to try and get it right).
Would be so much simpler just having a from-to float. (maybe with an "easing/falloff" parameter, which I believe is the intention of having animation curves on this filter).

Anyway, I got that off my chest now. All in all, great job on the tool, hoping for UX improvements Can't wait to hear your opinions on this.

- Simon

 

Thanks for the great tool!

I agree the animation curves for Height and Slope are difficult to get working right / understand. I can get to work with trial and error but I don't really understand HOW I did it.

Height filter should be from height to height with fade off setting on the ends.
Slope filter should be from angle to angle with fade off setting on the ends.