Procedural Terrain Generator

Project Goals

Create a fully procedural terrain generation system that can produce varied, realistic landscapes while remaining artist-directable.

System Architecture

The generator consists of several modules:

• Height field generation with noise
• Hydraulic erosion simulation
• Sediment deposition
• Vegetation scatter system
• Material blending based on slope

Technical Challenges

Key problems solved:

• Performance optimization for real-time use
• Artist control vs procedural variation balance
• Realistic erosion patterns
• Seamless tiling for large worlds

Implementation

Built using Houdini’s Height Field toolkit:

• Custom HDAs for tool ecosystem
• Parameter-driven for art direction
• Export pipeline to game engines
• LOD generation for distance

Results

The system successfully generates varied terrain while allowing artists to guide the overall aesthetic through intuitive controls.