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Defining Landscapes in Trainz: The Power of HD Terrain

Updated: Nov 8

We're excited to introduce a game-changing advancement in Trainz – HD Terrain. This revolutionary feature is set to redefine your virtual railroading experience with unparalleled realism and detail. Let’s explore what HD Terrain brings to your Trainz world.


Trainz HD Terrain HDT

A Leap in Terrain Detail

Redefining Realism: Say goodbye to jagged edges and unrealistic cliffs. HD Terrain offers an astounding 1600x more data density, allowing for incredibly detailed and richly textured landscapes.


Ultra Detail with Tessellation

Dynamic Terrain Shaping: HD Terrain introduces Tessellation, dynamically adjusting the number of polygons in the terrain. This innovation provides extraordinary detail up close and optimizes performance for distant views, ensuring a seamless and immersive experience.


Superior Precision in Texture Composition

Fine Control for Perfectionists: HD Terrain allows for unprecedented precision with a brush radius as small as 0.12 meters. This fine control enables you to create intricate and highly detailed ground texture compositions, bringing your scenes to life like never before.


Advanced Shadowing for Realism

Realistic Shadows: Combining real geometry shadowing with parallax soft shadowing, HD Terrain produces shadows that are more realistic and visually stunning. This advanced shadowing adds depth and dimensionality to your Trainz landscapes.


Creative Freedom with Color Tinting

Enhanced Scene Dynamics: The new "Color Tint" effect layer in HD Terrain empowers you to artistically enhance your scenes. Paint over ground textures to highlight areas, add darkness where needed, and unleash your creativity to elevate the visual impact of your routes.


Displacement + Parallax for Enhanced Terrain

Overcoming Limitations: The combination of Displacement and Parallax in HD Terrain addresses the limitations of previous terrain systems. Displacement adds real geometry, eliminating unnatural "jelly-like" textures on steep slopes and enhancing the overall realism.


Effortless Transition to HD Terrain

Auto Convert Your Existing Routes: Upgrading to HD Terrain is seamless in Trainz Plus. Simply load your existing routes, use S20's marquee tool to select baseboards, and convert them to HD with ease. Or you can just hit the Upgrade Route button in the menu bar!


High Performance

Efficient and Powerful: HD Terrain is designed for high performance. It renders more efficiently in a single pass and, with displacement mapping, offers a performance comparable to the 5-meter terrain system while achieving significantly better results.


Enhanced 3D Mini Map / Satellite Display

Retaining 3D Detail: The efficiency of HD Terrain allows the mini map to display full 3D details, moving beyond the limitations of 2D tiles and enhancing your navigation experience.


Full Compatibility with S20 Tools

Leverage Existing Tools: All S20 tools that work with the 5-meter terrain are fully compatible with HD Terrain, ensuring a smooth and familiar creation process.


Enhanced Texturing and Terrain Forms

Goodbye Artifacts: Enjoy smoother diagonal texturing and high-resolution blends, free from the constraints of previous terrain systems. Cliffs, cuttings, and embankments benefit from increased polygons, ensuring realistic terrain forms without parallax artifacts.


Accelerate Creation with Scrapbook Support

Streamline Your Workflow: Create and utilize HD Terrain scrapbook assets to expedite route creation, making your design process more efficient and enjoyable.


Always Improving

Note: The features of HD Terrain are continually evolving, enhancing your Trainz experience with each update.


Need Help?

Discover More: For tips and guidance on making the most of HD Terrain, visit our online documentation for helpful insights and strategies. https://info.trainzsimulator.com/trainz-plus#hdterrainstart


HD Terrain is not just an update; it's a transformation of the virtual landscape in Trainz, offering an unprecedented level of realism and control. We can't wait to see how you use these new tools to create breathtaking routes and scenes.


Happy railroading!

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