00:01 Hey, Scattle here and welcome to another
00:03 

00:03 tutorial in the automotive Unreal Engine
00:05 

00:05 series. This time we're diving into Gaya
00:07 

00:07 2.0 and I will show you how to generate
00:11 

00:11 simple but beautiful and procedurally
00:13 

00:13 generated terrains. This is the tool
00:16 

00:16 NASA uses to design planet
00:18 

00:18 visualizations. The tool Remedy
00:20 

00:20 Entertainment used to create the entire
00:22 

00:22 Cauldron Lake for Ellen Wakeake 2.
00:24 

00:24 Kojima Productions used it for Death
00:26 

00:26 Stranding, too. So, as you can see,
00:29 

00:29 we're not talking about some indie tool
00:31 

00:31 for hobbyists. We're talking about an
00:33 

00:33 industry standard.
00:35 

00:35 You can find the program at
00:36 

00:36 quadspinner.com.
00:38 

00:38 There's a totally free version you can
00:40 

00:40 use, but the export is limited to 1K,
00:42 

00:42 perfect for learning and seeing if the
00:44 

00:44 tool fits you. There's also an indie
00:46 

00:46 version for 99 bucks. And the best part,
00:50 

00:50 these are perpetual licenses. No
00:53 

00:53 subscriptions eating up my budget every
00:55 

00:55 month like like Netflix which I don't
00:58 

00:58 have time to watch anyway. The system is
01:01 

01:01 node based. You can change any decision
01:03 

01:03 at any moment. All right, we've talked
01:06 

01:06 enough. Should we actually make this
01:08 

01:08 terrain? Start up GA and make a new
01:12 

01:12 project. You see a black viewport and an
01:14 

01:14 empty graph in front of you. We start
01:17 

01:17 with a primitive. In my case, I'm using
01:19 

01:19 the ridge node. First, you need a mass
01:22 

01:22 to work with.
01:24 

01:24 On the right side, you have parameters.
01:26 

01:26 The first parameter we're interested in
01:28 

01:28 is seed. This is a random generator. I
01:31 

01:31 was looking for something with
01:32 

01:32 interesting collapse terrain.
01:35 

01:35 Then, let's add some erosion. Whether
01:37 

01:37 you use the wizard or erode directly,
01:39 

01:39 your call. Experiment with what fits
01:41 

01:41 better. Remember, you can change your
01:43 

01:43 mind at any moment, so don't overthink
01:45 

01:45 it. Right now, we're laying the
01:47 

01:47 foundation.
01:49 

01:49 Next, we can simultaneously add
01:51 

01:51 something irregular like rock noise.
01:54 

01:54 Once you're done playing around, connect
01:56 

01:56 these two terrains. The combine node
01:58 

01:58 works best for this. In this case, the
02:00 

02:00 screen option worked for me with ratio
02:02 

02:02 at one. Finally, you can always add a
02:06 

02:06 bit more erosion, short duration,
02:09 

02:09 slightly higher scale, and bigger bed
02:11 

02:11 load. Definitely something that will
02:14 

02:14 just gently smooth out the terrain.
02:18 

02:18 The default node settings are already
02:19 

02:19 pretty good. Gaya is tuned to give
02:22 

02:22 sensible results without tedious
02:23 

02:23 parameter tweaking. But if you need to
02:25 

02:25 dive deeper, the scene is yours.
02:29 

02:29 All right, that first ring went a bit
02:32 

02:32 too fast. Let's make another one. This
02:34 

02:34 time, I'll show you a slightly more
02:36 

02:36 complex workflow. We'll use the canyon
02:39 

02:39 node. In this case, I'll set it up to
02:41 

02:41 have a fairly deep and relatively
02:43 

02:43 regular depression. We'll also reduce
02:46 

02:46 valley to get the right effect. We don't
02:48 

02:48 want the Grand Canyon, but we also don't
02:50 

02:50 want a drainage ditch.
02:53 

02:53 Next, let's add ridge in parallel. No
02:56 

02:56 complications, just a white scale
02:58 

02:58 because I'm not interested in huge
02:60 

02:60 details right now. On the other hand,
03:03 

03:03 remember we're working
03:04 

03:04 non-destructively.
03:06 

03:06 Now, let's connect these two nodes. And
03:08 

03:08 again, in this case, screen at 100%
03:11 

03:11 works for me, but you can try something
03:13 

03:13 else. whatever fits your vibe.
03:16 

03:16 On the other hand, the whole thing is a
03:18 

03:18 bit too regular.
03:20 

03:20 Let's add something to diversify this
03:22 

03:22 terrain.
03:24 

03:24 Let's add a mountain. Why not? I want
03:26 

03:26 something big and tall. Let's also set a
03:30 

03:30 preset after erosion and keep going.
03:34 

03:34 Let's move it a bit to the corner. The
03:36 

03:36 transform node is perfect for this.
03:39 

03:39 Unfortunately, we have these damn cut
03:41 

03:41 offs that ruin the effect. It looks like
03:44 

03:44 someone copy pasted the mountain in MS
03:46 

03:46 Paint. Sure, we could use the road node,
03:49 

03:49 tell it to work only at a specific
03:51 

03:51 height, but why engage our hardware that
03:54 

03:54 much when there are simpler tools?
03:57 

03:57 Let's add a node called edge. In this
03:59 

03:59 case, the default options are more than
04:01 

04:01 enough. And what? We have a mountain
04:04 

04:04 that beautifully blended into the ground
04:06 

04:06 level. You can't see the seams.
04:09 

04:09 So, what now? We made a great crater. We
04:12 

04:12 made a cool mountain. Let's connect
04:14 

04:14 them. Combine again, but this time let's
04:17 

04:17 add the shaper option and set it to some
04:19 

04:19 negative value. This will smooth out the
04:22 

04:22 terrain a bit. Next, let's add clamp and
04:25 

04:25 raise the lower values a bit. Don't
04:27 

04:27 forget to ground all of this because the
04:30 

04:30 floating mountain is a cool concept for
04:32 

04:32 sci-fi, but not for automotive
04:34 

04:34 visualization, unless you're shooting
04:36 

04:36 for Cyber Truck on Mars, but that's a
04:38 

04:38 different tutorial.
04:40 

04:40 And finally, let's add the erosion node.
04:43 

04:43 Let it run a bit longer and increase the
04:45 

04:45 bed load. Those are the soft flat
04:47 

04:47 terrains where everything slides down.
04:51 

04:51 And what? Now we have a nice slightly
04:53 

04:53 mountainous terrain. And what used to be
04:56 

04:56 a canyon can now be used as a place to
04:58 

04:58 lay out a road. Perfect for automotive
05:01 

05:01 shots. A natural road created by nature
05:04 

05:04 like Steel View Pass, but you designed
05:06 

05:06 it yourself.
05:09 

05:09 When the terrain shape is ready, it's
05:11 

05:11 worth coloring it to preview how it'll
05:13 

05:13 look.
05:15 

05:15 So, in the coloriz tab, let's drop in a
05:17 

05:17 set map and set some preset right away.
05:21 

05:21 Gaya has a ton of color presets from
05:23 

05:23 real satellite data. Just click and you
05:26 

05:26 get authentic colors without hours of
05:28 

05:28 painting in Photoshop.
05:30 

05:30 The only problem is that it textures our
05:32 

05:32 terrain from top to bottom. It didn't
05:34 

05:34 calculate anything.
05:37 

05:37 Fortunately, there's also the texturizer
05:39 

05:39 node. Let's add it before set map. Wa,
05:42 

05:42 what a difference. It analyzes our
05:44 

05:44 terrain and creates several mask maps.
05:47 

05:47 For example, it separately marks steep
05:49 

05:49 slopes, flat planes, high altitude
05:51 

05:51 areas, etc. These masks are so-called
05:55 

05:55 splat maps or material distribution
05:57 

05:57 maps. Based on them, the next node set
05:60 

05:60 maps applies colors taken from real
06:02 

06:02 satellite data. But for now, these
06:05 

06:05 colors are just an example of how the
06:06 

06:06 terrain might look after applying
06:08 

06:08 materials in Unreal Engine. And speaking
06:10 

06:10 of Unreal, let's talk about export.
06:14 

06:14 Technically, you can set any node to
06:15 

06:15 export by pressing F3, but I like using
06:18 

06:18 the export node. Since we'll be using
06:20 

06:20 the mapping UE, let's change the preset
06:22 

06:22 to match it. So, here we click on
06:24 

06:24 Unreal. Finally, let's change the
06:27 

06:27 quality to 4K. Set the export format to
06:30 

06:30 R16, meaning raw file in 16 bits, and
06:33 

06:33 specify we want a height map. Choose
06:35 

06:35 your folder and save. Click build. This
06:38 

06:38 will take a few minutes depending on
06:40 

06:40 your resolution and hardware. Go make
06:42 

06:42 yourself a coffee or do 10 squats.
06:49 

06:49 All right. So now fire up Unreal Engine
06:52 

06:52 landscape mode in the toolbar, then
06:54 

06:54 manage, new, import from file.
06:58 

06:58 Click select height map and choose your
06:60 

07:00 height map. Math sometimes comes in
07:02 

07:02 handy here, but for now we won't get
07:04 

07:04 picky with details. Click import and
07:07 

07:07 done. Remember, you can always change
07:10 

07:10 the scale of your landscape. Obviously,
07:12 

07:12 it's best to do this during terrain
07:14 

07:14 generation, but know that it's also an
07:15 

07:15 option. But now you can apply your
07:18 

07:18 landscape material and then add foliage
07:21 

07:21 either manually or using PCG. But relax,
07:25 

07:25 we'll tackle that in the next episodes.
07:28 

07:28 So, why GAA for automotive? Because
07:31 

07:31 automotive visualization demands premium
07:33 

07:33 quality. You can't have a $200,000
07:36 

07:36 product shot with basic terrain. Gaya
07:38 

07:38 gives you Hollywood level terrains for a
07:40 

07:40 fraction of the cost. If you do
07:42 

07:42 automotive visualization professionally,
07:44 

07:44 GA is an investment that pays for itself
07:46 

07:46 on the first project. And that's it. I
07:50 

07:50 hope I managed to guide you through the
07:52 

07:52 whole process of creating landscape in a
07:54 

07:54 clear and accessible way. If you enjoyed
07:58 

07:58 this tutorial, feel free to subscribe to
07:60 

07:60 my channel. I'm Carl Mhallik. Thanks for
08:03 

08:03 watching and see you next time.