So in order to learn the Terrain Tool you can either watch this tutorial 👆 or read the summary of the video 👇
Getting Started If you want to create a terrain in Unreal Engine 5 very easily, Dash is the way to go. Just type Terrain in Dash and press Enter. This will create a procedural terrain and also open up the Terrain Tool where you can customize the terrain to make sure it suits your UE5 environment.
If you have closed the Terrain settings panel, you can always select the terrain in the viewport and a little setting icon will appear in Dash that will bring back the settings for the terrain. You can of course create several terrains inside of one environment if needed and customize them individually. First Adjustments Now that we have our terrain set up, let's begin making adjustments. To get a better view of the entire terrain, press the "F" key to zoom out to its extent. In the Terrain Tool, you have an array of settings, by clicking and dragging on any of these options, you can make gradual adjustments. Holding the "Ctrl" key while dragging increases the sensitivity of the adjustment while holding the "Alt" key significantly amplifies it. Trying this with the scale setting is a great start. Changing the UV scale before applying the material is a straightforward process. Simply click and drag to set your preferred scale. Once you have applied a material to the terrain you can also make further adjustments within the Material Tool using Dash.
Creating Unique Terrain Features If you want to create more interesting terrain features, Dash provides several properties you can manipulate:
The "Curved" property allows you to adjust the outer points of the mesh, making it sink like a mountain or rise like a valley.
The "Sink" property controls the height of the generated procedural terrain.
The "Subdivision" property adds or reduces geometry in the terrain mesh, depending on the scale of the value you apply.
The "Turbulence" property creates moderate noise in the mesh, allowing you to simulate mid-level detail and create intricate patterns in the terrain.
The "Height" property generates large-scale noise based on the turbulence value you input, making it ideal for creating hills and valleys.
The "Mid Turbulence" property adds fine noise detail to the terrain height, giving you precise control over the final geometry.
The "Seed" property generates a randomized procedural variant of the terrain mesh, giving you limitless creative possibilities.
Applying Textures and Materials To add texture to your UE5 terrain, open the Content Library within Dash. Browse through the available terrain textures and select one that suits your needs. Simply drag and drop the chosen texture onto the terrain to apply it.
If you don't have a material to work with, you can download some free materials from Bridge or switch to the Polyhaven view inside the Content Library (By pressing the arrow in the top right corner of the Content Library). This will provide you with a wide range of materials to experiment with and enhance your terrain designs and in general your full Unreal Engine environment.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out in our Discord! / The Polygonflow Team