01
Build and edit terrain
Shape landscapes in 3D using the terrain editing tools.
Terrain system · In development
Terraform
A real-time terrain system with an authoring tool built on top, for creating landscapes and working with real terrain data.
Development capture
The project
Terraform is a real-time terrain system with an authoring tool built on top. Create landscapes or import Norwegian terrain data, then explore and edit the result in 3D.
The editing tools are already usable during development, but Terraform is not yet publicly available. We are continuing development toward release.
02
Bring in real terrain
Import Norwegian terrain data to explore and edit real landscapes.
03
Make water behave
Lakes and rivers respond to terrain edits. Breach an outlet and the lake drops; dig across a river and it finds a new path.
Performance
Built for scale from day one.
Terraform was built for performance from day one. It runs on Unity's Data-Oriented Technology Stack (DOTS), with entities, components, systems, and parallel jobs. Terrain data is GPU-native, and large worlds stream in in real time as you move.
The CPU handles logic and orchestration: the chunks, layers, and patches that organise the world. Compute shaders do the heavy lifting. Our test world covers 40 × 40 km of real Norwegian terrain and runs at over 150 fps on a MacBook Air.
- DOTS · Entities, components, systems, and parallel jobs.
- GPU-native terrain · Height tiles stream from disk to the GPU once. Terrain data is never copied back.
- Instanced rendering · Chunk meshes and trees draw as instances, with shaders handling displacement and colouring.
- Compute shaders · Layer compositing, terrain and water sampling, modifiers, and instance compaction.
System map
One landscape, many cooperating systems.
See how the parts of Terraform work together. Select a module to read more.
Working system In development System input
