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Gaea 2.0
In 2018, Gaea 1.0 started to change how terrains were created. Our signature erosion, data maps, color generators, and cutting-edge graph made a big impact.
Gaea terrains became a staple across several industries. In entertainment it found homes across various major IPs such as Game of Thrones, Star Wars, Top Gun, and more. In other sectors, it has been used by organizations such as Ford, Lockheed, NASA, Tesla, and many others.
Gaea 2.0 is geared for even greater impact. We rewrote the engine from the ground up to be lighter, more efficient, and flexible. This newer tech will outperform Gaea 1 by several magnitudes. The latest toolset will prompt you to rethink how you approach and work on terrains. You might even ponder, "Why wasn't this the norm years ago?!"
Download the press package
"All these new features are really hitting the points that
we've been longing for in terrain generation!"
Jianfeng (Allan) Li
Environment Generalist TD, DNEG / Gnomon Workshop Instructor
TOR Engine 2.0
Nearly 7 years ago, we wrote the Gaea engine to modernize terrain design and move it forward from its outmoded state.
With Gaea 2, we rewrote the engine to propel it to the next level.
The rewritten engine builds on emerging technologies and future-friendly workflows, with faster results and a smaller memory footprint. It opens up new avenues for us to keep adding new tools quickly, and for you to build your own tools with macros, scripting, and even compiled nodes with the Gaea Engine SDK.
Benefits
- Faster algorithm processing.
- New physics and simulations.
- Hybrid Builds (see God Mode below).
- Redesigned nodes to reduce learning curve.
- New shapes and processes not previously possible.
- Node modifiers to create lighter graphs.
- Macros, groups, scripts, and compilable nodes.
- GPU-enabled processes with CPU fallbacks.
"Gaea has become one of my favorite software packages."
Brandon Morfitt
Visual Effects Artist, Luma Pictures
Erosion_2
Gaea revolutionizes CG erosion - again - with a major new algorithm.
Instead of replacing our current Erosion, the new one will be available side-by-side giving you broader erosion capabilities and choices than ever. The existing Erosion_1 will also feature enhancements.
Here's an example of the new algorithm's versatility. Erosion_2 is used to erode the same terrain in 4 different ways.
Benefits
- Powerful new erosion options.
- Shapes previously unavailable in erosion.
- Better preservation of the original terrain character.
- Works side-by-side with Erosion_1.
- Easier to control and master.
- Fully deterministic without performance loss.
Performance
Erosion_2 can achieve speed boosts of up to 10x compared to the existing algorithm (Erosion_1 from Gaea 1.x). And this is just on the CPU!
It provides a powerful new balance between realistic results and arbitrary art direction. You can quickly create shapes that were either difficult or improbable in Erosion_1.
Speed comparison at 8192 x 8192. Results in seconds (less is better).
Terrain Workflow 2.0
With Gaea 2, we reexamined the terrain design process after gathering feedback from dozens of major studios and hundreds of artists. We aim to address the biggest problems artists face in achieving control over procedural shapes. The Primitive + LookDev workflow has been redesigned into a more versatile Primitives + Landscapes + Surfaces workflow.
A considerable hurdle while building a larger terrain is preserving specific shapes and surfaces. The new Surface nodes apply medium and small-scale detailing to any terrain after the fact. This feature, in conjunction with Erosion_2's shape preservation, frees you from worrying about surface details when working with the larger picture.
In this 3-step example, you see the base primitive, the eroded result (with shape preservation), and a Surface applied to a part of the terrain.
This effectively breaks the terrain construction process into large-scale and small-scale shaping, so you don't need to worry about preserving the intricate visual quality of the surface.
Specifics on this revolutionary process will be revealed soon.
This new workflow also aims to overhaul how large-scale terrains are made for modern games and visual effects.
Workflow 2.0 introduces new features such as God Mode, Hybrid Builds, and Team Terrains. These features address the key needs for creating consistent, art-directable worlds of any scale. Most importantly, it decouples outdated processes and workflows which have stagnated terrain design in general.
Benefits
- Visual tools to put together large worlds.
- Individual users can create super high resolution terrains.
- Teams can work on detailed worlds that span dozens of kilometers.
- Team members can work on different parts of the terrain simultaneously.
- Teams can integrate source control into terrain projects.
- Infinite "base" terrain.
- Multi-resolution workflow with a consistent scale across assets.
- "Glue" tech seamlessly merges disparate terrains together.
- Export as hybrid-resolution meshes (Nanite-friendly) or tiles.
- Automatically rebuild updated portions of a terrain.
With God Mode, you can modify specific portions of large scale worlds and the surroundings will react to your changes. Separate biomes and areas can be managed independently while sharing procedural characteristics.
Unreal Engine Tools
Gaea 2 will include a full-featured Bridge to UE5 that will make importing, re-importing, and terrain modifications a straightforward process.
The Bridge can automatically import the terrain (mesh or heightfield) and set it up with the right materials and masks as you had set up in Gaea. You can even expose specific properties from your Gaea terrain and edit them without having to leave UE.
Making tiny adjustments to a procedural terrain can be a cumbersome job. With the Gaea Terrain Modifiers in UE, you will be able to make adjustments by hand right inside your game and not have to worry about modifying anything in your terrain graph. Gaea will automatically learn what changes you have made and apply them procedurally to your terrain graph.
Pre-orders available.
- NEW USERS who buy Gaea 1.0 will get a FREE upgrade to Gaea 2.0
- EXISTING USERS get a 30% discount when pre-ordering Gaea 2.0
Click here to PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY now!
Upgrade Path
We have kept the Gaea upgrade path straightforward and fair, in tune with our software licensing ethics. Over the last 4 years, Gaea 1.0 gave dozens of updates including annual major feature bumps, and hundreds of smaller features throughout its life cycle.
Gaea 2.0 will remain proudly perpetual. You own your license after purchase, and don't pay again until the next major version. All feature updates in between the major versions are free.
Questions + Answers
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When will Gaea 2 be released?
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Gaea 2 is scheduled for release in late Q1 2024.
More precise dates will be announced soon. Subscribe to the news to be notified. -
What is Early Access?
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Early Access grants you access to Gaea 2.0 ahead of release to explore all the new features and functionality. It gives you an opportunity to learn the new aspects of the application to prepare yourself and your projects for the final release, as well as train yourself with the new toolsets.
Unlike a Beta, it is your own permanent license and commercial use is also allowed.
Early Access will only be availabe to users who pre-order Gaea 2 during CyberWeek (20 to 30 November). See the Pre-Order section above. -
When will Gaea 2 Early Access begin?
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Early Access will become available approximately 2 months prior to release. However, as Gaea 2 is still under development, there may be minor changes to the release timeline.
More precise dates will be announced soon. Subscribe to the news to be notified. -
How can I get Early Access?
- Early Access is only available to users who pre-order Gaea during the Cyberweek Sale between 20-30 November, 2023. You can pre-order your copy here.
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Can I read the Gaea 2.0 License Agreement?
- Yes, you can read the Gaea 2.0 End-User License Agreement with the updated terms and conditions at this link.
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I just purchased Gaea 1! Now I have to pay again?
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Your investment is safe! You will receive a steep discount whenever you choose to upgrade in the future. See the Upgrade Path section above.
Gaea 1 remains a powerhouse for terrain design and will be relevant for a long time. In fact, some of the latest tools in the 1.3 update were backported from Gaea 2.
There are many changes in Gaea 2 that will make Gaea 1 files, several techniques, and learning resources incompatible. Having Gaea 1 + 2 in your toolkit makes you stronger than ever to tackle any terrain situation you encounter! -
Will Gaea become a paid subscription?
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No. Gaea remains a proudly perpetual license.
We will be introducing new low-cost rental licenses for short-term use. -
Will Gaea become available on Linux and Mac?
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At the moment, Gaea remains a Windows-only application so that we can stay on schedule and deliver the features we have planned.
We are planning a Linux version in the near future. -
Is Gaea 2.0 GPU-powered?
- Yes. Several heavy processes in Gaea 2.0 are accelerated by GPU processing, with a CPU-fallback. We also use cutting-edge CPU technologies to provide dramatic acceleration even without using the GPU. You will find that Gaea 2.0 performs much faster than Gaea 1.0 across the board.