Our official logos and images in HD are free to download and use according to the guidelines.
Use of our logos requires full adherence to the simple guidelines: always us the latest official logos; never use our logos on any product, service, apparel, or any other merchandise without our explicit permission, or in any way that could imply that the content was authored or sponsored by Wysilab; never modify our logos, apart from homothetic resizing, or animate them.
Logos and imagesBelow you will find the latest news from Wysilab, our ever-increasing series of video tutorials, who's talking about Wysilab and Instant Terra in the news, and tips on Instant Terra. Watch this space to follow Wysilab!
Published by Wysilab on September 11, 2019
Published by Wysilab on September 06, 2019
Published by Wysilab on July 31, 2019
Published by Wysilab on July 31, 2019
With Siggraph 2019 in full swing in Los Angeles until August 1, Wysilab is pleased demonstrate Instant Terra v1.6 at booth 1110 to some of the biggest names in the film, animation, and video-game industries.
Alongside other innovators who are changing what’s possible in computer graphics, animation, VR, gaming, and emerging technologies, the Wysilab team demonstate the latest version of Instant Terra with high-rez color maps, water and cropping features, new imports & exports, fast-creation menu, Python/C# API... and much more.
Our new ready-to-use component libraries to use in Instant Terra projects have provoked much interest. The latest additions are the Tiling library to tile a terrain chunk and the More color ramps library with several new color ramp themes.
We are also demonstrating new features, nodes, and releases, which we release regularly based on our roadmap and user feedback. Let us know what you need. We're at Siggraph 2019 until Thursday, come and meet us at booth 1110.
Published by Wysilab on July 27, 2018
Published by Wysilab on July 23, 2019
Published by Wysilab on July 23, 2019
Two new ready-to-use component libraries are available to use in your Instant Terra project.
The Tiling library contains a component that tiles a terrain chunk, 2 components to test the tiling, and a utility node to make the border of a terrain tileable by symmetry.
The More Color Ramps contains several color ramp themes:
- Temperate: WestWorld, GIS bands, Cauldron, Settlers
- Cold: Sunny arctic, Cozy fall
- Arid: Bare lagoon
- Scientific visualization: JET, Firewatch
- Other: Lava, Solitude, Sand lime
Download components
Published by Wysilab on July 12, 2019
Published by Wysilab on July 12, 2019
Save the date!
Wysilab returns to SIGGRAPH.
From July 28 to August 1, Wysilab will be present at Siggraph 2019 in Los Angeles, in booth #1110.
Come and meet us, and watch a demo of the new features of Instant Terra v1.6 with high-resolution color maps and new nodes, water level features, terrain / mask cropping, raw file import, Alembic mesh export, and a new fast node-creation menu. The Python and C# API are available.
Get a preview of what's in store for the next release.
See you there!
Request a demo
Published by Wysilab on July 1, 2019
Published by Wysilab on July 1, 2019
Wysilab has released the next version Instant Terra.
Color maps: The size limitation on color maps has been lifted. Color maps of unlimited size are supported with no compromise on performance.
Multi file export color map: This node exports a color map as several files.
Constant color map: Creates a uniform color map that can be blended to create more complex colored patterns.
Split color map: Splits the red, green, and blue channels of an input color mask and outputs a mask from each of these channels.
Color map from masks: Uses three masks to construct the red, green, and blue channels of the output color map.
Display the water level: Display the water level and adjust it to achieve an effect on a terrain under different conditions.
Fast-creation menu: The Fast-creation menu lists the nodes compatible with the selected output connector.
Properties window: Dock and undock the selected node's Properties window.
Crop terrain: The Crop terrain node retrieves an input terrain and crops it in order to output only a part of the terrain.
Crop mask: The Crop mask node retrieves an input mask and crops it in order to output only a part of the terrain.
Multi file export normal map: This node export a normal map as several files.
Export Alembic meshes: Export meshes in the Alembic (*.abc) file format.
UVs: UVs are provided for meshes.
Raw import format: When importing a terrain or a mask, it can be imported as raw binary data.
Read more
Published by Wysilab on June 05, 2019
Published by Wysilab on June 05, 2019
Alexander Alza, Lead Environment Artist, recently had the opportunity to test Instant Terra Pro.
Alexander started with a heightmap downloaded from https://terrain.party/. From this base, he blended hydraulic and mountain erosion simulation, masks, and generators to create different effects: a layered effect, peaks and valleys, flattened elevation, a stylized crater...
We thank him for sharing his experience.
Read the article
Published by Wysilab on May 23, 2019
Published by Wysilab on May 23, 2019
The departmental radio station broadcast an emission this morning introducing Instant Terra.
"Wysilab allows video-game creators to design very large sets. This software, Instant Terra, is particularly suitable for larger studios. Beyond dimensions, every change to the decor is visualized instantly. Wysilab works with the Top 10 global studios. The company was created by two former executives of Ubisoft in 2017."
Listen to the podcast
Published by Wysilab on April 03, 2019
Published by Wysilab on April 03, 2019
Wysilab has released the next version Instant Terra with mountain erosion, lighting, and new export formats.
Mountain erosion: This new type of erosion lets users create young-fold mountains with sharp edges. An excellent way to build Alpine landscapes! If you liked the calculation speed of our other erosion simulations, you'll love the calculation speed of the Mountain erosion: it's even faster!
New export formats: Export heightmaps in the Raw32 format and meshes in the OBJ format.
Lighting: Set the sun's position and the ambient light color to get a better view of your terrains in Instant Terra. Set also the sky color.
Published by Wysilab on March 21, 2019
Published by Wysilab on March 21, 2019
With an experimental gameplay workshop, content fueled gameplay programming, and a game discoverability day and much, much more, GDC is the world's largest professional game industry event.
This year at GCD 2019 on March 18-22, 2019 in San Francisco, CA, Wysilab was met with a great response to its new licensing model and three tools adapted to the needs of the user.
- Instant Terra for creating terrains up to 8k x 8k
- Instant Terra Unlimited for building terrains of unlimited size are available with a perpetual license.
- Instant Terra Pro lets users with the most demanding projects to work on huge environments, import faster, and gain API access and premium support.
The Wysilab team looks forward to getting back in touch with all those interested in Instant Terra.
Published by Wysilab on March 13, 2019
Published by Wysilab on March 13, 2019
Wysilab has just released perpetual licenses! Unleash your creativity with Instant Terra and build terrains up to 8k x 8k. Need more? The sky's the limit with Instant Terra Unlimited where the terrain size is... unlimited!!!
Work with terrains up to 8k x 8k with Instant Terra or create terrains of unlimited size with Instant Terra Unlimited.
Instant Terra supports 64 million vertices and 128 million triangles. With Instant Terra Unlimited, work with up to 1 billion vertices and 2 billion triangles.
Perpetual license, free updates to any new editions for 12 months. After this period, upgrades will be available at a 50% discount.
Get your edition
Published by Wysilab on March 04, 2019
Published by Wysilab on March 04, 2019
Wysilab provides you with some useful, ready-to-use components to use directly in your projects. Download our component packages and get started.
Note: You need Instant Terra V1.4 to use the Components. Download it here.
Use our TransferDetails, SplitView, DisplayHelper, and Utility components packages in your project, set your own parameters, export them to use in other projects, and even share them between teams!
The TransferDetails library contains four similar components that work on both terrains & masks. Use these components to transfer details from a terrain or a mask to another one and use a mask to limit the effect to areas of the input. Set the details size to extract and whether to add or subtract them in the target terrain.
The Splitview library contains one component. Use it to compare two terrains using a virtual line that reveals or hides either of the two inputs. It embeds a utility component called SplitMask that generates a black and white mask on either side of a line.
The DisplayHelper library contains two components used to convert a mask into a colormap and display masks directly in a terrain to better visualize slopes, curvatures, and flowmaps.
The Utility library provides some basic, useful components.
- Blend and Blend With Mask used to mix two terrains or marks
- Select used to output the first or the second terrain or mask (acts as a switch)
- Invert terrain used to invert the heights
- Gaussian smooths approximations to get smoother terrains or masks
- Mask from border used to output a square mask that can be useful to exclude the border of the grid
Published by Wysilab on February 12, 2019
Published by Wysilab on February 12, 2019
Wysilab has just released Instant Terra v1.4 that let's you create and share components.
Create components from nodes in the graph to reuse in your project or export them to other projects!
Open the component graph, click on any node, and see what's going on inside in real time!
Create new component inputs and outputs, including terrain, mask, value, color map, and vector map.
Drive parameters within a component by linking value parameters to the node's optimal connectors.
Create component libraries to use in your project.
Export your components as .terralib files and import them into your other projects.
Use the Global libraries to automatically share your components among all your projects.
Download Instant Terra v1.4
Published by Wysilab on January 07, 2019
Published by Wysilab on January 07, 2019
Dessignare Media, providing news and training in Multimedia Art, Design and Animation promotes EOE using Instant Terra's technology.
The network specialized in the production, professionalization and dissemination of Multimedia Art, Design and Animation, promotes the release of Midgar Studio's Edge of Eternity, which use Instant Terra technology to create stunning terrain. In the article, they quote from Midgar Studio "The Instant Terra software that we recently started using and improved our landscapes! With Instant Terra, we generate and test our world quickly, which saves us a lot of time in the design phase of the terrain."
(Main article in Spanish)
Read more
Published by Wysilab on January 04, 2019
Published by Wysilab on December 12, 2018
Published by Wysilab on December 12, 2018
Midgar Studio, an independent game development studio based in Nimes in the South of France has released Edge of Eternity using Instant Terra's technology to create stunning landscapes. And Edge of Eternity is a finalist in IndieDB's Indie Game of the year!
In this epic JRPG adventure game, wage turn-based battles as you follow Daryon and Selene on their quest to find a cure to the all-consuming Corrosion in this grand tale of hope and sacrifice.
Get Edge of Eternity on Early Access.
Pictures speak louder than words, so here are some images from the game.
Published by Wysilab on December 03, 2018
Published by Wysilab on December 03, 2018
Wysilab has released v1.3 of Instant Terra. Import meshes, browse your nodes and resources in the Graph explorer, rock and hydraulic improved erosion, and mor
Import terrain from mesh
This node creates a terrain from an 3D mesh file. The mesh is transformed into a heightmap by computing a depth projection according to a viewing vector.
Interface improvements: Graph explorer and Models window
The Graph explorer is where you manage all the nodes and resources used in a project. It lists the various types of nodes as displayed in the Graph editor and updates in real time when you edit a node.
The Models window displays a list of all the nodes that you can use in a project. You can sort the nodes by category or alphabetically, search them, and drag and drop them into the Graph editor.
Improved erosion
We have improved the rock and hydraulic erosion nodes so users can access all the options they need through a series of sliders.
Ultra-fast import process
Import your different files in one shot. Even with GBs of input data you start working very quickly on your project.
The example below is an import of 16GB. Without accelerated import, it takes more than 3 minutes before you can start working on your project. With accelerated import, it takes just 6 seconds.
API for inregration in your pipeline
Use the simple, but complete Python API to automate the calculations and integrate Instant Terra PRO into your pipeline. Enterprise edition only. Not available in the trial edition. Contact us for a demo.
What's next?
Components: We're finalising the components feature that provide a powerful way to create new nodes to use in the graph. Components group component instance nodes, each with their own parameters.
Multi-scale erosion: We're in the R&D phase of multi-scale erosion. An enormous potential with this feature! Watch this space....
Published by Wysilab on October 10, 2018
Published by Wysilab on October 04, 2018
Published by Wysilab on October 04, 2018
Wysilab has released the intermediate v1.2.5 of Instant Terra.
Cellular noise terrain generator node
Instant Terra v1.2.5 introduces a cellular noise generator that uses the Voronoï regions to create bumps, flats, and cells.
Improvements on the Perlin noise, Billowy noise, and Ridged noise generators
We have improved the three noise generators to choose between a squared and smooth level of noise. The Smooth noise is recommended except in particular circumstances.
Improved Perlin noise
Improved Billowy noise
Improved Ridged noise
Control rock erosion by a mask
Paint erosion directly in a terrain using a mask.
Most parameters from any node can be driven by a mask. Now available for rock erosion, you can paint the mask on your terrain to control the effects of the erosion. The erosion is calculated in real time while painting.
New color map features
Instant Terra v1.2.5 includes the following color map features:
- Create a color map from a terrain and a color ramp.
- Blend color maps.
- Visualize color maps in the 3D view before exporting them.
New predefined color ramps
Five new color ramps, Arctic, Coastal cliff, Arizona, Forest hill, and Savanna are included in the new release and an updated Desert color ramp.
Create color ramps from any input image
The color ramp node now has a Pick color gradient option that allows you to draw a segment anywhere on the screen, including outside the Instant Terra window. A color ramp is automatically created from the colors under the segment.
Export all nodes
Now you can export in a single click all the export nodes present in the graph.
Published by Wysilab on September 19, 2018
Published by Wysilab on September 19, 2018
Let's talk about innovation with... Marianne Calva from Wysilab, publisher of Instant Terra.
Interview of July 6, 2018 by rOmain Thouy in Montpellier
Third article in a series of interviews conducted on innovation management in the creative industries field (video games, animated films) in our region [note: Occitanie].
Marianne Calva is the managing director of Wysilab, a software publisher for the video game or animated film industry founded in 2017. Instant Terra, the first Wysilab software, revolutionizes the creation of 3D virtual terrains by its speed of creation, whatever their sizes! It allows you to work directly in the desired final resolution with all its details. Version 1.0 was released in February 2018. Training: DEST in Computer Science Management (CNAM) and Master Multimedia Information System (University of Picardie Jules Verne), 15 years of technical missions in IT services, and a few years as a technical writer and then as an associate producer at Ubisoft.
"I have an atypical career path for someone in the video-game industry because I'm not a Gamer."
Her first game: Beowulf
Her first big hit: Motion Cloth, Ubisoft's internal tool used in the latest installments of Assassin's Creed and Far Cry for clothing simulation
Her latest big hit: Instant Terra v1.2
rOmain Thouy: Hello Marianne, first of all, how do you define innovation in your field?
Marianne Calva: Good morning. My definition of innovation is quite simple: to believe that anything is possible! For example, what Wysilab offers today [Instant Terra software] is something that seemed impossible to many people. When we promised the generation of a 32 Km x 32 Km terrain in real time, on a standard graphic designer's PC, we were told it was impossible. So, the point of departure for innovation is precisely not to say right away, it’s impossible!"
rOmain Thouy: How is this innovation carried out in the studio?
Marianne Calva: We are just innovative: no-one has ever done nor thought of what we do. We never work just on functionalities, but rather in speed of execution because every feature of the software must run in real time. We have built a tool that does, and must do, things "very fast". This is our main axis of innovation. And it is Alexis Vaisse who develops and embodies this innovation at Wysilab, which is essentially technological.
rOmain Thouy: Why is it so important to innovate?
Marianne Calva: To stand out! And to continue to innovate, we recently hired a researcher, a specialist in procedural terrain generation. Ninety percent of his work is devoted to innovation and it can be said that Alexis also spends 60 to 80% of his time on innovation. But each member of the team has a strong contribution to the innovation of our product. As our software is developed by an agile method, I intervene upstream in sprint planning. I participate in the overall vision of the product and I help to make the product ambitious. Finally, alongside the product owner [Alexis], I also participate in product validation.
rOmain Thouy: How do you innovate?
Marianne Calva: We do not have a particular method or process. During the sprint planning, we always plan a little time officially for research. We also try to have DoWhatYouWantDays, which are planned in our sprints and budgeted, and each person can use them freely. The principle is that each team member can take ½ to 1 day per sprint for research, without having to account for it or ask for permission to do so. For the moment, this approach is not yet very well exploited. It's something we established at Ubisoft with teams made up of seniors: by the reporting from very experienced seniors to seniors, everyone could develop their own idea when there was a disagreement on how to achieve a feature or solve a complex problem. In Wysilab, the only senior is Alexis, so there is no context where two seniors could propose different ideas or solutions for the same need. But that will come.
rOmain Thouy: So, Marianne, can you tell me a little more?
Marianne Calva: Before we started, we made several POCs [Proof-Of-Concepts or prototypes], bigger and bigger, until we achieved a beta version in October 2017. We then offered it as a free download on our website. This version has been downloaded more than 2000 times. The goal was to get feedback, but we had very little in the end. It may be related to a certain privacy culture that exists in the studios. As a result, we did things differently, and we recently conducted a more focused survey to get more relevant feedback.
Our first target is the big studios to which we proposed a customized version, and we were able to work directly with them afterwards. Our second target is for small studios, artists, and freelance developers. We also needed to have feedback on the installation and behavior of the software on different computer configurations, to identify those on which there were problems.
Our software allows us to receive reports of errors, crashes, and installation problems. Now, to evolve our software, we continue to realize POCs, dedicated to very complex problems: for example, at the moment, we are working on terrain erosion features. We are also monitoring our direct competitors and evolving our innovation process.
It is clear that we are very well positioned for the moment because we are the only ones to create terrains as big, so fast, and of such good quality. And our team has been strengthened with the arrival of the researcher we recruited recently. He participates in conferences, he has his network of researchers working in the same field, and he has found us articles on the subject that are poorly referenced, and that we would have struggled to find alone.
rOmain Thouy: How do you stimulate innovation at Wysilab?
Marianne Calva: The innovation is fundamentally there: the team is hyper-stimulated by the purpose of our software and the fact that it will be deployed in all major studios; it's really exciting! This excitement drives innovation for everyone! The Wysilabians are not blinkered and we all think that everything is tempting and possible! Now, it is true that we would like to be able to invest even more time on innovation, but as we are a young start up, we must above all ensure our revenue and therefore develop features to offer quickly a more developed product.
rOmain Thouy: Any scoops in the near future?
Marianne Calva: All our scoops are sealed by the confidentiality agreements signed with our customers and future customers. We would like to say more! What we can say is that we will release version 1.3 in November, which will offer several features that are highly expected from major studios, but also smaller ones, and we strongly believe that it will generate major interest. To keep up to date, subscribe to our newsletter.
rOmain Thouy: Thank you Marianne for sharing your vision of innovation. We wish you the best in the future!
Marianne Calva: Thank you Romain.
(Main article in French)
Read the article
Published by Wysilab on September 13, 2018
Published by Wysilab on September 13, 2018
RenduRu, the largest information resource in Russia on computer graphics and 3D technologies, promoted Instant Terra v1.2.
The article describes the updated tool for generating 3D terrain:
"The update is an experimental rock erosion system that is in the beta stage. The new node simulates the movement of rocks under its weight: a geological process, called thermal erosion, thermal shock, etc. The hydraulic erosion system also received an update with new presets, as well as the ability to export the flow map generated by the simulation as a mask.
In addition, a new set of computational nodes for performing basic mathematical operations has been added, as well as new nodes for multiplying masks or changing their minimum and maximum values.
Instant Terra 1.2 includes the ability to export normal maps in TIFF, jpg, TGA or BMP formats.
Instant Terra 1.2 is available only for Windows 7 and higher, only by subscription. Details can be found on the official website."
(Main article in Russian)
Read more
Published by Wysilab on September 06, 2018
Published by Wysilab on September 06, 2018
CG Channel, the community for entertainment artists, promotes the release of Instant Terra v1.2 as a fast, lightweight tool for creating terrains, particularly for real-time work.
Wysilab has released Instant Terra 1.2. The new update introduces an experimental new rock erosion system, still officially in beta.
The new node simulates the movement of sediment due to gravity: a geological process referred to as thermal erosion, thermal shock, material slippage or talus deposition.
The hydraulic erosion system also gets an update, with new presets for common types of weathering, plus the option to export the flow map generated by the simulation as a mask.
There is also a new set of Calculation nodes designed to perform basic mathematical operations; and new nodes to multiply masks or adjust their minimum and maximum values.
New output options include the ability to export normal maps in TIFF, jpg, TGA or BMP format, and to export as tiles when working with large terrains.
Improvements include the option to create and color code groups of nodes to keep a graph organized, and a new automatic backup system.
Published by Wysilab on September 05, 2018
Published by Wysilab on September 05, 2018
Erosion covers many naturally occurring phenomena, and different terrain types and climates will produce several different kinds of changes to a landscape. Most types of erosion dissolve material from steep slopes, transport it downhill, and then deposit it at lower altitudes. This creates paths from high altitude to lower parts of the terrain where the transported material is deposited.
Instant Terra’s new feature simulates realistic rock erosion through a series of iterations on the entire terrain that determine the movement of sediment due to gravity. This type of geological process is sometimes referred to as thermal erosion, thermal shock, material slippage, or talus deposition.
The simulation creates an accumulation of sediment at the base of crags, mountain cliffs, volcanoes, or valley shoulders due to small portions of the material from adjacent cliff faces crumbling and piling up at the bottom of an incline. Currently, increasing the number of iterations creates more erosion while decreasing the number of iterations results in less material transport.
Landforms associated with sediment accumulation are called talus deposits, or scree, and typically have a near-linear slope, where the maximum inclination corresponds to “the angle of repose” (the internal angle between the surface of the deposit and the horizontal surface). This talus angle depends on the material; for example, a classic value for sand-like sediment is 33°. Material with a low angle of repose forms flatter piles than material with a high angle of repose.
To begin a simulation, we need to decide which parts of the terrain are covered by sediment. Currently, Instant Terra transforms a fraction of the input terrain’s upper layer into sediment. This process is done uniformly across the terrain. The user can decide the quantity of rock to transform (i.e. the thickness of the sediment layer) from 0 to 100 meters. We want the user to be able to drive the initial sedimentation process non-uniformly with the help of input masks. The user will then be able to define which parts of the input terrain are initially covered by sediment and which parts are composed of hard bedrock.
One of the main advantages of our current tested implementation is its speed. It lets the user see the effect of the simulation in real time when the different parameters are modified.
We are also toying with an erosion bias parameter that influences the quantity of sediment to move (and bypass the laws of physics!) to favor more deposition or erosion.
Note that the current interface is temporary, we will make it more user-friendly at the same time as we will continue to improve our algorithms.
Check out our Development Team’s Blog and our roadmap on our website to find out other great new features and nodes in Instant Terra.
Published by Wysilab on August 30, 2018
Published by Wysilab on August 30, 2018
Instant Terra v1.2 is now available!
Organize your graphs by grouping nodes, drive node parameters through masks or formula, play with the new rock erosion simulation, and more!
Get Instant Terra v1.2Hydraulic erosion has been improved: This node includes new presets including Light, Balanced, Strata weathering, Diffuse weathering, Favor carving, Only carving, and Only fluid simulation.
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You can now compute and export the hydraulic erosion simulation flow map as a mask.
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We are thrilled to deliver a beta version of rock erosion simulation and although we have not yet finished optimizing it, it is already very useful and provides effective results:
Instant Terra v1.2 groups a new category of calculation nodes that compute operations on numbers.
Formula node: The Formula node allows you to create a formula that can be applied to several nodes at the same time.
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Parameter node: The Parameter node defines the minimum and maximum values of the output value, and the number of decimal places for these values.
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Constant node: The Constant node is a simplified Parameter node. It has one output node that is defined by a value entered in the parameters.
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Four nodes, Plus, Minus, Multiply, and Divide, provide mathematical operations on numbers and have no parameters.
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Optional connectors link to a formula or a mask node and replace the input value in the linked node. Blue connectors link to calculation nodes (Formula, Constant, etc.) and bi-color connectors link to either a calculation node or a mask.
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When using masks, you can drive one parameter of the output terrain to give a variable result over the terrain.
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In the Graph editor, you can group nodes to move them together and differentiate parts of a project. You can also create sub-groups of nodes within groups.
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Compute and export the normal map of an input terrain to be able to add surface detail such as bumps, grooves, and scratches to a model that catch the light as if they are represented by real geometry.
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This new node multiplies two input masks. At each vertex, the value of the output mask is the multiplication of the values of both input masks.
This new mask transformation node sets the minimum and maximum values of a mask.
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Tiled export (depending on your version): When working with large terrains or masks, automatically spilt your export files into several small files using the terrain and mask Multi file export node.
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Automatic backup: Instant Terra automatically backs up the current project in the same directory, once the project has been saved.
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Edit menu: The Graph contextual menu entries are now also found in the Edit menu.
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Import and export to relative directories: When you have saved your project, you can import or export files in the same folder as the project, or in a sub-directory.
Getting started tutorial: The Getting started tutorial helps you to become familiar with the Instant Terra interface and to create your first terrain.
Painted mask workflow: The Painted mask workflows helps you get started with painting masks in the 3D Viewport.
Compute and export normal maps: In this workflow, learn how to compute and export the normal map of an input terrain and export it to be able to add surface detail such as bumps, grooves, and scratches to a model.
Published by Wysilab on August 09, 2018
Published by Wysilab on August 09, 2018
Wysilab will be present at Siggraph 2018 in booth #739. Come and meet us, and watch a demo of the new features of Instant Terra v1.2 due for release soon. See how you can create 3D terrains faster and more efficiently, and view your changes in real time in the final resolution. The latest improvements including erosion simulation, feature "rock erosion" that we will demonstrate. Ask for a private demo at our booth.
Request a demo in our booth #739 or an online demo (if you can't make it to the show) during Siggraph 2018 and receive a 30% discount on Instant Terra on the first 12 months of any annual subscription (offer valid until August 24, 2018).
Request a demo
Published by Wysilab on July 12, 2018
Published by Wysilab on July 12, 2018
Chantal Marion, Vice-President Delegate for Economic Development, Higher Education and Research, Innovation, International, and Crafts, welcomed Wysilab and 21 other new innovative companies recently entering Cap Omega, Cap Alpha, and at MIBI. All of these companies today account for 122 job creations including 15 new companies at Cap Omega.
Read the article (in French)
Published by Wysilab on July 11, 2018
Published by Wysilab on July 11, 2018
Holder of a PhD in computer science from the University of Lyon, Jean-David Génevaux joined Wysilab's expanding team in earlier this year.
Specialist in representation, modeling, and procedural terrain generation, Jean-David is currently working on Instant Terra's rock erosion simulation.
The Wysilab team now reaches six members who combine their expertise and enthusiasm for terrain creation to build an ultra-fast tool. And it's just the start for Wysilab!
Published by Wysilab on June 04, 2018
Published by Wysilab on May 30, 2018
Published by Wysilab on May 26, 2018
Published by Wysilab on May 26, 2018
CG Channel, the community for entertainment artists, promotes the release of Instant Terra v1.1 as a fast, lightweight tool for creating terrains, particularly for real-time work.
Read the article
Published by Wysilab on May 24, 2018
Published by Wysilab on May 24, 2018
80 Level, the best source of information about the gaming industry and its recent trends, promotes the new features of Instant Terra v1.1.
New terrain generators: Ridged noise and Billowy noise. These noises are standard modifications of the Perlin noise algorithm. They produce sharp discontinuities and patterns that resemble crests or creases. They are often used to create hills and mountains.
Work with color maps on your terrains! Load an RGB texture either from an existing file or one generated in Instant Terra and use it as a color map on a terrain. If you mix two terrains, each with a color map, the color maps are also mixed.
Generate masks based on orientation… or on curvature. Generate a mask based on the curvature of the terrain. High curvature points are located at the terrain depressions and low curvature ones are located at terrain peaks. Zero curvature represent parts of the surface where the slope is constant. This operator is often used when texturing the terrain.
Disable a node in a graph to make it easier to test with and without a node.
View a terrain as a mask.
Use Min & Max nodes for terrain composition.
Read the article
Published by Wysilab on May 24, 2018
Published by Wysilab on May 24, 2018
See how our powerful tool with its whole new range of nodes, features, and updates can boost your productivity!
From $13.90 / €11.90 /month (Indie edition annual plan).
Get Instant Terra v1.1 or upgrade from v1.0 for free!If you have already used your full one-month evaluation license,
click here to request a new two-week evaluation license for version 1.1.
New terrain generators: Ridged noise and Billowy noise.
These noises are standard modifications of the Perlin noise algorithm. They produce sharp discontinuities and patterns that resemble crests or creases. They are often used to create hills and mountains.
Work with color maps on your terrains!
Load an RGB texture either from an existing file or one generated in Instant Terra and use it as a color map on a terrain. If you mix two terrains, each with a color map, the color maps are also mixed.
Generate masks based on orientation...
... or on curvature.
Generate a mask based on the curvature of the terrain. High curvature points are located at the terrain depressions and low curvature ones are located at terrain peaks. Zero curvature represent parts of the surface where the slope is constant. This operator is often used when texturing the terrain.
Disable a node in a graph to make it easier to test with and without a node.
View a terrain as a mask.
Use Min & Max nodes for terrain composition.
See What's new in Instant Terra v1.1 for details on the new nodes and features.
Published by Wysilab on May 18, 2018
Published by Wysilab on May 11, 2018
Published by Wysilab on May 02, 2018
Published by Wysilab on April 26, 2018
Published by Wysilab on April 19, 2018
Published by Wysilab on April 18, 2018
Published by Wysilab on April 11, 2018
Published by Wysilab on April 04, 2018
Published by Wysilab on March 21, 2018
Published by Wysilab on March 21, 2018
Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole, whose goal is to become most attractive metropolitan areas in France and Europe as a key area for innovation and excellence, promotes the release of Instant Terra v1.0.
Here is a translation of the French article.
WYSILAB LAUNCHES THE FIRST VERSION OF ITS 3D TERRAIN GENERATION SOFTWARE
Wysilab has released the first version of its Instant Terra software for video-game studios and animation studios.
Instant Terra is the first installment of a new generation of tools that allows for the rapid creation of 3D digital landscapes, supporting very large terrains that meet the new ambitions of the digital creation sectors.
Wysilab, a French publisher founded by veterans of Ubisoft, supported and hosted by Business & Innovation (BIC) of Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole, has just released its first software, Instant Terra, software for digital creative professionals, i.e. video-game studios, animation, and special effects movie studios. This software automatically generates 3D digital scenery, or as professionals say, "a tool for the procedural generation of a terrain".
Instant Terra offers some very significant advantages:
* No size limit: Terra Instant supports terrain of several thousand square kilometers.
* Real-time display: with Instant Terra, the user is able to work smoothly by viewing live the impact of his tests, allowing validation of the settings as and when the tests are made.
* Work in the final resolution: all the work is done in final resolution, so the user can master every detail of his creation at any moment.
The first commercial version is available from the Wysilab website. A free trial version valid for one month can also be downloaded from the site.
Wysilab - Marianne Calva: 04 67 13 00 63
Cape Omega Benjamin Franklin Roundabout 34960 Montpellier Cedex 2
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
(Main article in French)
Read the article
Published by Wysilab on March 19, 2018
Published by Wysilab on March 16, 2018
Published by Wysilab on March 15, 2018
Published by Wysilab on March 12, 2018
3d1, the Portuguese source of 3D tutorials, promotes Instant Terra's tutorial videos. Read more
Published by Wysilab on March 12, 2018
3d1, the Portuguese source of 3D tutorials, promotes Instant Terra's tutorial videos in a short article describing the simple and intuitive system through a Nodes editor to produce complex terrain in 3D and with texturing.
(Main article in Portuguese)
Read the article
Published by Wysilab on March 7, 2018
Published by Wysilab on March 7, 2018
We've created the Instant Terra Development Team's Blog on our Forum. This is where you get a preview of the features currently under development or those that we will develop soon. Feel free to give your opinion in the comments. Our goal is to develop features that are the most useful to you, and for that we need your feedback.
Join the Forum
Published by Wysilab on February 27, 2018
Published by Wysilab on February 27, 2018
3dmotive, a source of game art and 3D tutorials, promotes enthusiastically the release of Instant Terra v1.0 as "awesome new software". It describes the node-based system to generate realistic landscapes with erosion patterns and that we can mix and match terrains to create something totally new.
Read the article
Published by Wysilab on February 26, 2018
Published by Wysilab on February 16, 2018
Published by Wysilab on February 15, 2018
Published by Wysilab on February 15, 2018
Svizze, a prime source of 3D art and computer graphic news, published an article on Instant Terra. The article includes Instant Terra's presentation video and specifies that we plan to include updates and improvements in 2019. Svizze links to our free trial available on our website.
Read the article
Published by Wysilab on February 13, 2018
Published by Wysilab on February 13, 2018
Published by Wysilab on February 6, 2018
Published by Wysilab on February 1, 2018
Published by Wysilab on February 1, 2018
We participated in Midinnov - the essential rendezvous of innovation in the Occitanie / Pyrénées-Méditerranée Region in Toulouse on Thursday, February 1, 2018 to present our innovative, ultra-fast, terrain-creation software, Instant Terra.
Organized by the Economic Development, Export and Innovation Agency, Midinnov aims to facilitate innovation in companies and help them move from idea to product. Occitanie / Pyrénées-Méditerranée is the region of innovation, the leading French region for R&D expenditure, the fastest business creation region, and the second region for the creation of start-ups. It brings together 29,400 researchers, two-thirds of them in the private sector.
More than 200 SMEs, SMIs, project leaders, and creators of innovative companies participated in workshops, demonstrations, competitions, and an evening dedicated to the 37th edition of the Les Inn'Ovations regional competition. In nearly 40 years, this competition has rewarded 152 companies, some of which are now among the jewels of our region.
The 11th edition of Midinnov once again offered a privileged space for promising companies to meet all the partners of innovation and find a suitable support. Wysilab was delighted to participate.
Visit the website
Published by Wysilab on January 30, 2018
Published by Wysilab on January 30, 2018
We have launched the new version of our website. We hope that the new website will help you quickly and efficiently access the information you need.
Enhanced navigation: The new site provides simple, intuitive navigation.
Mobile-friendly: We have made the website mobile-friendly so that you can view it on your smartphone or tablet.
Roadmap: Find out what to expect from Wysilab in the future.
Blog: Keep up to date with all the news, press releases, tutorials, & tips from the Wysilab team.
Documentation: Read the full online documentation on Instant Terra.
Forum: We want you to be part of our community, so we’ve made it easier with a link to the Forum at the top of each page.
And we’re not stopping here. Stay tuned, visit often, and drop us a tweet or join our Forum to send us your feedback.
Published by Wysilab on January 25, 2018
Published by Wysilab on January 25, 2018
Published by Wysilab on December 22, 2017
Published by Wysilab on December 22, 2017
The Japanese blog introduced Instant Terra beta v0.6 as the most acclaimed software among the terrain-creation software currently available. The blog refers to its users' positive experience of downloading Instant Terra:
"I downloaded it. It is insanely light with about 38 MB!!! I was surprised!! The download finished quickly!"
The article continues to give an overview of Instant Terra's features for new users: the Apply curve node, the Smooth node, and the Export nodes where it specifies that when exporting a mesh, it is saved as an .fbx to able to load into Unity.
The article created discussion among Instant Terra users.
(Main article in Japanese)
Read more
Published by Wysilab on December 8, 2017
Published by Wysilab on December 1, 2017
Published by Wysilab on December 1, 2017
In the middle of a freezing blizzard in the middle of Finland's winter, Wysilab attended Slush 17 in Helsinki from November 30 to December 1, 2017.
Slush 17 welcomed more than 17 000 visitors from 120 countries all over the globe. The event brought together the leading actors of the global tech scene for something very special: the world's leading start-up event. It gathered the top startups from Europe and key investors from the Nordics, Asia and Northern America, the international media, the most promising talent, its well-known partners, and all potential customers.
The general tone was dark and ominous, in accordance to the central theme this year. On the main hall, there were separate areas for networking and several soundproof booth/cubicles available for attendees, generally occupied due to high demand.
The moments of fame at Slush 17 were short, and the pace of the program was fast. The program encouraged sharing a memorable story or lesson instead: real-life cases, stories of impact, proven scientific results, personal experience, data-backed findings, the wow factor, and exclusive content – something that can encourage the audience to solve the biggest problems of our planet.
The visitors are often founders of startups and investors looking for potential business, and new graduates looking for jobs. The core segment of Slush is an innuendo to help people find matches investors. In fact, more and more start-ups flourishing from the event is to Slush's advantage, as success stories of startups getting funds is marketing gold.
Slush is built for entrepreneurs by entrepreneurs. Whether you were looking for investors, customers, media exposure or mentoring, Slush offered something for all industries.
Motivational speeches and business stories in an inspirational atmosphere marked the experience more vivid than regular exhibitions, as well as the enthusiasm.
We look forward to braving the Nordic weather for Slush 2018.
Published by Wysilab on November 14, 2017
Published by Wysilab on October 13, 2017
Wysilab has released Instant Terra beta version 0.6. Download it from our website and begin creating your terrains up to 8K x 8K.
Here the main improvements since beta 0.5:
This erosion simulation version is the first step in a more complete erosion system that will be developed in a future release. It creates realistic effects by rainfall and river flows.
Using 5 presets, each one creating a different erosion and deposition result;
If you want to tweak the results of the preset you have chosen, you can adjust the four parameters available to achieve a more accurate result;
We also provide an advanced tab where you can adjust a number of internal parameters.
See our documentation on erosion simulation.
We have great plans for the erosion simulation. We want to provide you with the best performance and the most realistic end result. This version is only the very first step of the future complete solution. Work in progress includes:
Thermal erosion added to hydraulic erosion to provide a very realistic end result;
More explicit parameters to create self-explanatory parameters to replace the current internal "technical" parameters that may be difficult to master;
Multi-scale erosion that will be computed several times, but on different scales starting at a very large scale and ending with smaller areas; to generate an overall effect, for example for large valleys, and to add gradually more and more details;
Using masks to set the parameters.
After these improvements, we will work on other kinds of erosion: ice, snow, and coastal erosions are in our roadmap.
Several improvements have been made to the Curve Editor: This node modifies the terrain profile by changing the heights of all the vertices on a curve that define the terrain heights.
You can now edit your curve in Point mode (like a Bezier curve). The control points are displayed in increasing subdivisions of five, from 5 to 50 points. A higher number of control points gives you more control over the changes you make to the curve.
You can toggle between the Point and Manual modes as many times as you like and add, remove, and edit the points. When you move the mouse over the terrain, the height under the mouse is shown as green points on the curve.
See our documentation on applying curves.Several other improvements have been made:
Handling in the 3D view: A gizmo is available in the 3D view to let you move the terrain directly when using the Full Composition node. See our documentation on nodes.
Name & comments: With this version, you can set a name and add comments to a node. See our documentation on nodes.
Perlin noise rotation: You can specify a rotation angle in the Perlin noise generator node. See our documentation on Perlin noise.
Cameras: You can now save and use several cameras, and set a custom field-of-view value. See our documentation on cameras. Import a DEM file to read files from USGC (U.S. Geological Survey). See our documentation on importing files.
Export in the RAW format and Mesh export compatible with Maya 2014 and 2015, and 3DS Max 2014 and 2015. See our documentation on exporting files.
Published by Wysilab on October 13, 2017
Published by Wysilab on October 5, 2017
Published by Wysilab on October 5, 2017
A Japanese user successfully used Instant Terra to generate terrain data from Antarctica oceanographic data.
"Easy authentic terrain creation with Instant Terra! With the latest DCC tool, Instant Terra, create terrains intuitively in the world. Easy, real terrain creation!
I tried using terrestrial data of Antarctica to create terrain data. We used data created for the Antarctic project "HOH", which is planned with members of the organization "Wabisabi", including Oceanographer Y Okinawa who is active in North America, It is a contour map of the surface of the earth below the ice of Antarctica, which the author and Y have originally created."
(Main article in Japanese)
Read more
Published by Wysilab on October 5, 2017
Published by Wysilab on October 5, 2017
RenduRu, the largest information resource in Russia on computer graphics and 3D technologies, introduced Wysilab's first public beta version of Instant Terra. The article describes Instant Terra as a new tool for creating embossed meshes and maps, designed to help artists create landscapes with real-time preview and unlimited size, as well as resolution. Currently, the beta version is limited to the import and export of terrains and masks of 8k.
(Main article in Russian)
Read more
Published by Wysilab on October 2, 2017
Published by Wysilab on October 2, 2017
Kirill Tokarev from 80Level interviewed Alexis Vaisse and Marianne Calva, the co-founders of Wysilab about their new terrain creation tool for games. Developed by Ubisoft veterans who wanted to create accessible and powerful landscape modeling tool, the article announces that Instant Terra is now in beta, and recommends that users check it out.
The interview describes Alexis and Marianne's extensive experience and expertise in the video-game industry and their previous projects within Ubisoft.
Stumped by the limited, slow, and complex tools that exist, they founded the idea of Instant Terra on the desire to meet these new challenges, leading us to embark on the adventure of starting a business with a purpose: to provide a new user experience with a terrain generation tool based on innovative technologies sweeping the limits.
The interview goes on to describe Instant Terra's multitude of features for creating realistic terrains including erosion simulation, painting a mask directly in the 3D view...
The co-founders are convinced that Instant Terra will change your way of working!
Read more
Published by Wysilab on September 22, 2017
Published by Wysilab on September 8, 2017
Published by Wysilab on August 22, 2017
Published by Wysilab on August 4, 2017
Published by Wysilab on August 4, 2017
Wysilab exhibited at SIGGRAPH 2017 in Los Angeles in booth 1142, giving live demonstrations of our terrain creation software, Instant Terra. We were met with great enthusiasm for Instant Terra and received numerous subscriptions for updates on the beta release, which will be released on November 14, 2017. We look forward to receiving your thoughts and ideas on our Forum.
SIGGRAPH is the world’s largest, most influential annual conference and exhibition in computer graphics and interactive techniques:
Five days of research results, demos, educational sessions, art, screenings, and hands-on interactivity featuring the community’s latest technical achievements, and three days of commercial exhibits displaying the industry's current hardware, software, and services.
The wide array of program content included talks, workshops, technical papers; posters; panels, and more. Live streaming sessions allowed those who could not make the conference to watch a variety of SIGGRAPH 2017 sessions available via live stream on YouTube and Facebook.
Published by Wysilab on August 3, 2017
Published by Wysilab on August 3, 2017
Studentfilmmakers, the leading educational resource for film and video makers, promoted Instant Terra in their Technology news section. Posted by Judy Michelle Solis, Editor, the article features Instant Terra's presentation video and describes how the idea of Instant Terra was founded.
Read more
Published by Wysilab on July 24, 2017
Published by Wysilab on June 19, 2017
Published by Wysilab on June 19, 2017
At the MIFA 2017, 3DVF, the largest French-language community portal for digital images and creation, discovered Instant Terra.
Here is a translation of the article from French:
"The MIFA, the professional side of the Annecy Festival, is an opportunity every year to discover new technologies. The 2017 edition allowed us to meet Wysilab, a French company based in Montpellier. It is currently working on the development of Instant Terra, a 3D terrain creation tool for video games, animation, and VFX.
Concretely, Instant Terra relies on the height maps - vector displacement maps - which makes it possible to easily import the terrains in current 3D tools. The co-founders - Marianna Calva and Alexis Vaisse - are from the video game industry (they both worked at Ubisoft): a legacy that is reflected in the main strength of Instant Terra, namely the real-time preview of the lands created, even in the highest resolutions (32k, even 64k).
Still in private beta, Instant Terra will be launched in public beta in the fall, then in final version by the end of the year. The licenses will be offered for purchase, with prices adapted to the size of the client, and rental for flexibility.
The addition of scattering tools is expected in the long term: a next major release will allow, among other things, to manage the vegetation. An official website is already in place and you can be notified of the launch of the public beta."
(Main article in French)
Read more
Published by Wysilab on May 22, 2018
Published by Wysilab on June 17, 2017
Published by Wysilab on June 17, 2017
Wysilab exhibited at the International Animation Film Market (MIFA), the global reference for animation films, in Annecy and presented live demos of Instant Terra. On booth 5.005A, we were pleased to present live demonstrations of Instant Terra.
We were met with great enthusiasm for Instant Terra and received numerous subscriptions for updates on pour beta released, scheduled for November 14, 2017.
The festival is the world's top reference for animation films: check out the latest animated gems, find out about current and future trends, meet up with your favorite film directors and up-and-coming talents, track down new associates and partners... in the fun and friendly atmosphere of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
Competitions, events, exhibitions, and special programs peppered the festival, To wind up the six days of intense screenings, rich in discoveries and emotions, the annual closing ceremony revealed the much awaited winners of Annecy 2017.
Read more
Published by Wysilab on June 6, 2017
Published by Wysilab on June 2, 2017
Published by Wysilab on June 2, 2017
Wysilab received support from Créalia in the form of the Innovation loan for its new generation of ultra-fast tools for 3D digital decorations.
Créalia is an Initiative France platform. Specializing in the financing of innovative companies in the OCCITANIA - Pyrenees Mediterranean region, it grants zero-rated personal loans of up to € 100 000 per project. CRÉALIA is an essential link in the project finance chain innovations in OCCITANIA - Mediterranean Pyrenees.
Three high-potential regional companies, including Wysilab, received the "Innovation" Créalia loan of € 170,000.
"The jury of the regional seed fund Créalia has granted € 170 000 Innovation Loan Innovation on May 30 to 3 regional companies with potential," announced the president of the regional fund, Stéphane Marcel. With a budget of € 6m to support companies with its "Innovation Loans" of up to € 100 000, Créalia "targets 120 companies supported within 3 years," said its President.
The three companies supported, which operate in distinct sectors of activity - 3D, commerce, and health - testify to the potential of the digital and the creativity of the French Tech. They each received between € 50 000 and € 70 000.
The first of these companies, Wysilab, is a software development company hosted by the Montpellier BIC. The start-up is particularly specialized in the development of a new generation of ultra-fast tools for 3D digital decorations. These tools are intended for professional artists in the digital industry: video game studios, animation, special effects, etc. Wysilab has created Instant Terra, a solution to create 3D digital landscapes with no limit in size and in a very fast way. "The Créalia fund essentially allows us to leverage our capital and obtain regional support, especially for a first patent," explains Wysilab.
(Main article in French)
Read more
Published by Wysilab on May 29, 2017
Published by Wysilab on May 29, 2017
Neozone's freelancer Jordan interviewed the Wysilab co-founders and published an article on Wysilab Instant Terra in the cinema section. Below is the transcript translated from French.
Marianne Calva and Alexis Vaisse responded very kindly to my questions about their project. The latter consists of software: Instant Terra. As its name indicates in part, it is about terrain creation. The applications are numerous and the innovation proposed by Wysilab will most likely change the performance of 3D image generation in the medium term and in the long term. Today, creating realistic digital terrains is a long process. This leads to additional delays in creation and therefore the release of the games we expect. Instant Terra revolutionizes the creation of 3D terrains with a smooth, ultra fast process regardless of the size of the terrain. The generation of very large terrains is possible and the changes made during the creation are visible in real time. I had the pleasure of asking them a few questions to learn more.
First, can you introduce Wysilab, your journey so far? How did the idea of Instant Terra come to you?
We are both alumni of Ubisoft and we worked on a clothing simulation tool (Motion Cloth), and yes, it is with the use of Motion Cloth that the clothes of the last Assassin's Creed moved. But also the flags of Far Cry 4, etc. All this came after the development of Motion Physics, the physics engine used in a dozen games at Ubisoft.
We rubbed shoulders with artists who worked on games based on a very large terrain (Steep, Ghost Recon Wildlands, to name a few).
They struggled with the existing tools because these tools were overwhelmed by the new ambitions in terms of size and realism. This regularly led to computing times of 10 hours => a whole night! To recalculate all the terrain after making a modification of a parameter. It is understandable that in these conditions, the artists had to limit their ambitions, which caused a lot of frustration.
These tools are based on a logic that limits their ability to evolve. It has become clear to us that a new generation of tools, redesigned entirely with a new approach, is needed to meet the needs. We left Ubisoft in 2016 to create Wysilab, and to develop our software based on innovative solutions. Pretty quickly, Alexis found how to optimize the computation time so that they are 10 to 20 times faster, so we could predict to recalculate a large lot in one hour instead of one night, or for a smaller field in 5 minutes instead of one hour.
That alone was already very appreciable, but it was not enough. We really wanted the artist to control what he was doing. It must be understood that the quantity of data is enormous; for the tools on the market it is mission impossible to update in real time all this mass of data on the whole terrain as and when changes made by the user.
Imagine for example in Photoshop, you make a change to the colors and you would not see the result on your entire image. It would take several minutes or hours to see if the new color suits you, and then you could continue... It would be rather painful.
Our Instant Terra software lets you update and visualize the terrain in real time just as Photoshop can see the result of each of your changes, and this, regardless of the size of the terrain up to thousands of km².
As I understand it, this is a generation of land for several areas: the video-game industry, CGI, and VFX Studios. Can you tell us about the technology used without revealing too much?
The calculations are parallelized to the maximum. We use all the available power of the processor (CPU) and the graphics processor (GPU), optimizing their exploitation dynamically according to the configuration of the computer and resources available at any time.
But that is not enough if we do not have algorithms whose whole logic tends to optimize performance. We must therefore be very creative to find for each calculation the approach that will be the least expensive in terms of resources, without degrading the quality of the final result. A challenge every moment.
Does the technology manage the water bodies? (seas, oceans, deep sea) Also, waves and marine activity?
This is planned and it will be the case eventually. We can manage several levels of water to not be limited to the sea. We can have lakes at different altitudes. For waves and marine activity, no, it's not in the scope. That said, the phenomenon of coastal erosion will be taken into account for realism. Our tool is an offline tool: it is used to generate pre-calculated data.
Imagine that one wants to model a fault, until it depth can one model with instant Terra?
The limits in the positive or negative altitudes make it possible to model without any problem all the existing reliefs on Earth, and more still.
From what I read, Instant Terra is endowed with realism and takes into account erosion. This means that if one day a video game comes out with a real periodicity, we can imagine that the sets change depending on the seasons or events such as earthquakes?
For the moment Instant Terra generates only the bare ground, so the relief. And this is not impacted by the seasons. For a staging on earthquakes, it would be necessary for the artist to make a "before earthquake" terrain then change some parameters to generate an "after earthquake" terrain.
Realism is controlled through the simulation of natural events. A digital terrain has a realistic appearance or not. Sometimes we do not know exactly why the digital terrain does not seem credible.
In real life, our landscapes are millions of years old. They have been shaped by time. They have suffered erosion and aging due to rain, snow, frost, heat. Rocks and sediments have settled in the valleys. The coasts have been eroded by the action of the waves. And all that depends on the relief, the climate, the nature of the soil ...
To make a realistic digital terrain, you have to know how to make it undergo these natural aging processes, a little like a film that would be accelerated. It is the quality of the different erosion algorithms that will provide a realistic final rendering or not.
What can the ultra-fast generation of terrain (20 times faster than other systems)?
In the field of video games, there is a race for bigger and bigger fields, from hundreds to thousands of km². Divide the calculation time by 10 or 20 allows both to play obviously on the profitability (the same result is achieved faster), but also on the final quality: with the same working time, or with less time, the artist can go further in quality, further in details. He is no longer forced to compromise to limit himself to what his current tool allows him to do. Thanks to the real-time preview, the artist masters his creation and can afford to experiment without losing hours on each test. He can explore new paths and go further in his creativity.
The video shows a manipulation on a field of 16k x 16k is potentially 256 km² and handling remains seamless (even though it was recorded on an undersized laptop compared to a classic PC graphic designer).
Can the terrains self-generate without developer intervention?
Instant Terra is classified as a procedural generation tool. The fields are generated from rules (dimensions, minimum and maximum heights, ...). Each rule is a node, and the sequence of nodes form a graph whose result is the final terrain. A tool like Instant Terra provides dozens of possible combinable nodes, each with its parameters. Among these nodes, there are actual generation nodes, which creates a terrain from "nothing" actually from a noise applied to a surface. The Perlin noise for example, is a classic in the procedural generation. We can generate a terrain without manual intervention, but Instant Terra gives a maximum of control to the artists: one can combine one or more very detailed terrains having a significant resolution with a bigger ground and of less important resolution. Typically the action will happen in a very detailed terrain, surrounded by vast landscapes less detailed because they are far away. In addition, the artist has the possibility to define masks to control the places where the terrain will be impacted by the calculation. We can protect certain parts for which the artist wishes a total manual control outside the tool.
Can any PC show what Instant Terra can do?
The usual PC configuration of a graphic designer is largely enough to take advantage of all the advantages of Instant Terra.
What do you have to do for the release?
We started a private beta program in May with some large accounts who were very interested in our tool. The first feedback after the closed beta are very good. (Editor's note: Marianne told me again recently that users are already super enthusiastic). Then we will be in public beta during the third quarter of 2017. These two stages will allow us to refine and finalize our tool before a first release scheduled for the end of the year. In particular, we have work at the interface, because we have of course started to demonstrate our performance. Now that we have the expected results, we have to work on our user interface. We absolutely want our tool to be simple and pleasant to use.
Available in 2017, in which future video games or supports will we see your engine? Do you have any leads?
Yes, but... hush! In any case, we have had promises! We hope that the results of our software will be visible in the first games or movies from 2018.
Star Citizen maybe?
No comment.
To follow your adventure and support you, what can we do?
You can follow us on social networks: Facebook, Twitter... Interested graphic designers are encouraged to use the beta version (free) as soon as it is available and to give us feedback to help us improve our offer.
Thank you very much for our exchange.
Thank you Jordan.
Instant Terra is compatible with the usual graphic design tools: 3 Autodesk 3DS MAX, Autodesk Maya M, SideFX Houdini, Isotropix Clarisse iFX, Unreal Engine, Unity.
Thank you to Fabien for putting us in touch and thank you to them for sharing their project that will revolutionize certainly the digital world.
We will follow them in their evolution. I am very happy to share this with you.
(Main article in French)
Published by Wysilab on May 22, 2018
E-tribArt Institute, offering professional training from software learning to the analysis of sophisticated techniques, promotes Instant Terra.
Here is a translation of the article from French.
Instant Terra, 3D Terrain Creation
Discover a new 3D production tool: Instant Terra. Dedicated to video game studios, CGI and VFX, this is a 3D terrain creation tool that increases your productivity and creativity.
With this tool, it is possible to create your terrain quickly and transparently, regardless of its size. The size and the resolution are unlimited. Interesting features include real-time preview and high-speed production.
Based on innovative technologies, Instant Terra offers some advantages:
Unlimited size and resolution: Do not let your computer determine the maximum size of your terrain.
Your terrain can contain billions of quads: the software remains fluid.
Full-screen, real-time preview: modify a parameter and display the result immediately.
No preview window: the result is already visible in your main window.
Ultra-fast production: your terrain is ready and you now want to use it for the rest of your production. Instant Terra generates terrains much faster than existing solutions.
The workflow is seamless, even with billions of vertices. Master your creative process: The full-screen preview is updated in real time, even at the highest resolutions. You can generate your terrain up to 20 times faster than any procedural tool.
Contribution: Create your own terrain from scratch and use the different nodes to build it, or you can import your own land and work on it.
Operations: Instant Terra is a nodal tool. It offers non-destructive design updates, reuse and automated realism.
Realism: simulate the natural effects of weather, such as erosion of the rain or erosion of the wind. Your terrain seems realistic because it has aged according to the natural laws of geophysics.
Compatibility: Terra's instant export is compatible with all major formats and you can easily work on your terrain with your usual DCC, such as 3DS Max or Maya.
Instant Terra is developed by the studio Wysilab, created by Alexis Vaisse and Marianne Calva. Alexis previously worked at Ubisoft and has 20 years of experience in software development for digital creation in the video game industry. He is both an expert programmer and a project manager. Marianne Calva has worked for more than 15 years working in software companies and has also spent the last 10 years at Ubisoft. As associate producer, she was responsible for organizing and monitoring the project, technical documentation, and communication within the projects.
To learn more about Instant Terra, visit the dedicated website!
(Main article in French)
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Published by Wysilab on March 5, 2017
Published by Wysilab on March 5, 2017
Wysilab presented Instant Terra at the Game Developers Conference, the world's largest professional game industry event in San Francisco, California from February 27 to March 3, 2017.
We had great interest in Instant Terra beta v0.6, due for release on November 14, 2017, and numerous subscriptions to our newsletter to keep up to date with our developments.
The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is the world's largest professional game industry event. GDC attracts over 26 000 attendees, and is the primary forum where programmers, artists, producers, game designers, audio professionals, business decision-makers and others involved in the development of interactive games and virtual reality gather to exchange ideas and shape the future of the industry.
Game Developers Conference organizers are pleased to announce that the remarkable talks and presentations delivered by game industry notables at GDC 2017 are now available to watch on the GDC Vault.
Published by Wysilab on September 8, 2017