Terragen is a scenery generator program for Microsoft Windows and

Mac OS X macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and la ...

developed and published by Planetside Software. It can be used to create renderings and animations of landscapes.

History

Released in stages (tech preview and beta) to a participating community, Terragen 2 was released to pre-purchasers on 2 April 2009. Terragen 2 is offered in feature limited freeware and full-featured commercial licenses. Planetside Software released the first public version of Terragen 2 after more than three years of development of both the core technologies and the program itself. Since then there have been several released updates to both licenses of the software along the development cycle with a series of technology previews and a beta release. The "final" build was released on April 23, 2009, and more updates, including feature modules, are expected to be released later. Planetside released Terragen 3 in August 2013. Version 3.1 was released in February 2014. Version 4 was released in 2016.

Terragen Classic

Terragen Classic is popular among amateur artists, which can be attributed to it being

freeware Freeware is software, most often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines ''freeware'' unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for t ...

, its intuitive interface, and its capability to create

photorealistic Photorealism is a genre of art that encompasses painting, drawing and other graphic media, in which an artist studies a photograph and then attempts to reproduce the image as realistically as possible in another medium. Although the term can be ...

landscapes when used skillfully. It can also use

DEM DEM was the ISO 4217 currency code for the Deutsche Mark, former currency of Germany Computing * Digital elevation model, a digital representation of ground-surface topography or terrain ** .dem, a common extension for USGS DEM files * Discret ...

(digital elevation model) files, and other graphic surface maps for rendering. A commercial version of the software is also available and is capable of creating larger terrains, renders with higher

image resolution Image resolution is the detail an image holds. The term applies to digital images, film images, and other types of images. "Higher resolution" means more image detail. Image resolution can be measured in various ways. Resolution quantifies how ...

, larger

terrain Terrain or relief (also topographical relief) involves the vertical and horizontal dimensions of land surface. The term bathymetry is used to describe underwater relief, while hypsometry studies terrain relative to sea level. The Latin wo ...

files, and better post-render

anti-aliasing Anti-aliasing may refer to any of a number of techniques to combat the problems of aliasing in a sampled signal such as a digital image or digital audio recording. Specific topics in anti-aliasing include: * Anti-aliasing filter, a filter used be ...

than the freeware version. The terrain is generated from a two-dimensional

heightmap In computer graphics, a heightmap or heightfield is a raster image used mainly as Discrete Global Grid in secondary elevation modeling. Each pixel stores values, such as surface elevation data, for display in 3D computer graphics. A heigh ...

. The program contains facilities for importing and exporting heightmaps to images, for use in other programs.

Use in media

Rendering software contributed by PlanetSide proprietor Matt Fairclough was used by

Digital Domain Digital Domain is an American visual effects and digital production company based in Playa Vista, Los Angeles, California. The company is known for creating digital imagery for feature films, advertising and games from its locations in Californ ...

for effects in ''

Star Trek Nemesis ''Star Trek: Nemesis'' is a 2002 American science fiction film directed by Stuart Baird. It is the tenth film in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, as well as the fourth and final film to star the cast of '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. It was wr ...

''. Terragen Classic was used in ''

The Golden Compass ''Northern Lights'' (titled ''The Golden Compass'' in North America and some other countries) is a young-adult fantasy novel by Philip Pullman, published in 1995 by Scholastic UK. Set in a parallel universe, it follows the journey of Lyra Be ...

'', the 2006 remake of ''The Wicker Man'', games, and many TV commercials. An image from what is now known as Terragen Classic appeared on the April 16, 2001, cover of ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...

'', and Terragen was used for animations in

Brandy Norwood Brandy Rayana Norwood (born February 11, 1979), better known by her mononym Brandy, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, actress and model. She is known for her distinctive sound, characterized by her peculiar timbre, voice-layer ...

's "What About Us?"

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

. The classic version was also used by numerous artists, such as Joan Fontcuberta ("Orogenesis" series), and the French photographer Mathieu Bernard-Reymond ("Vous êtes ici" series and "Pôle" series). Terragen Classic was used to create skyboxes for 3D

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

s such as ''

Serious Sam ''Serious Sam'' is a video game series created and primarily developed by Croteam. It consists predominantly of first-person shooters. The series follows the advances of mercenary Sam "Serious" Stone against Mental, an extraterrestrial overl ...

''. The software was used by Devastudios to create the mountainous scenery in the intro used by Paramount Pictures for its centennial anniversary in 2012 with '' Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol'' in 2011, which would be carried on for

Paramount Players Paramount Players is an American film production label of Paramount Pictures, focusing on "contemporary properties" while working with other Paramount Global brands. The name alludes to the company's earliest origins as Famous Players Film Compa ...

, Paramount Television Studios and

Paramount+ Paramount+ is an American subscription video on-demand service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures (including CBS Studios), Paramount Media Networks (formerly Viacom Media ...

. Devastudios also used the software for the sky and clouds in the revamped version of the 2019

Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of ...

logo in 2021 with '' Locked Down'', which would later be carried on for

Warner Bros. Television Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...

New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after ...

and

Warner Animation Group The Warner Animation Group (WAG) is an American animation studio serving as the computer-animated feature film label of Warner Bros.' theatrical film production and distribution division, Warner Bros. Pictures. Established on January 7, 2013, ...

References

External links

Planetside's Terragen websiteLuc Bianco’s Terragen gallery
* {{Fractal software Freeware 3D graphics software Global illumination software Fractal software

History

Terragen Classic

Use in media

See also

References

External links