#04 - Filters, Distributions and Effects

In this tutorial, I'll show you how to use filters in World Creator to create completely different terrain styles, even when starting from the exact same base terrain. This will help you understand how powerful filters really are and how you can shape your terrain into almost anything you imagine. Before we start adding and experimenting with filters, let's first clarify what filters actually are and why they are so important in World Creator. In simple terms, fillers are tools that modify your terrain in a specific way. They allow you to shape, refine, stylize, or simulate natural processes directly on your terrain. Instead of manually sculpting everything from scratch, filters apply mathematical algorithms to transform the terrain for you. You can think of filters as building blocks. Each filter changes the terrain in a specific way, and by combining multiple filters, you can create very complex and unique landscapes. Filters are applied in a stack, meaning they're executed from bottom to top. Each filter builds on top of the result of the one below it. This layered workflow gives you full creative control while keeping everything non-destructive and flexible. And because World Creator works in real time, you can experiment freely and instantly see how each filter affects your terrain. Now that you understand what filters are, let's add one to our terrain. To add a filter, look at the filter layer and click the small plus icon. As soon as you click it, a menu opens. At the top, you'll see a search field and below that, a list of filter categories. All filters in in World Creator are organized into categories to help you find what you're looking for more quickly. For example, you'll find categories for erosion filters which simulate natural processes like hydraulic or thermal erosion, shape filters which modify the overall form of your terrain, effect filters, which create stallized or specialized visual results, and many more depending on the version you're using. This structured organization makes it much easier to explore the available tools without feeling overwhelmed. If you already know the name of a filter, you can simply type it into the search field. Otherwise, you can browse through the categories and explore what's available. One very powerful feature is that you don't even have to add a filter to see what it does. Simply hover your mouse over a filter. And thanks to World Creators real-time generator, you'll immediately see a live preview of how that filter would affect your terrain. This allows you to experiment quickly and safely before committing to any changes.