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Building terrain

A build is a deliberate export from the active graph into Workspace.Terrain. It does not continuously synchronize: you can keep editing and previewing the project without touching the last built terrain.

Every build uses the graph's hidden-from-palette Build Map node as its contract:

  • Height is required.
  • Material is required.
  • Sea Level is optional; without it, the project setting is used.

Select Build Terrain on the Build tab. Atlas clears Workspace.Terrain, evaluates at one sample per 4-stud terrain voxel, writes land in chunks, and fills empty voxels below the water plane with water. Use Cancel Build to stop a running build; cancellation can occur between work chunks rather than instantly.

Before building

Save the place or make a backup. Atlas intentionally replaces the entire Terrain container, not only the configured bounds.

Large Width × Depth regions take longer and require more memory. Use a small test region while tuning, inspect all three preview channels, and only then switch to final bounds. Parts, models, roads, and vegetation are outside the build output.

Before a final build​

  1. Save the place or create a backup.
  2. Inspect Height for the overall silhouette and values crushed at black or white.
  3. Inspect Slope for cliffs that are too harsh at the chosen physical bounds.
  4. Inspect Material for full coverage and plausible water, shore, rock, and snow regions.
  5. Confirm the Build Map Height, Material, and optional Sea Level wires.
  6. Set final Width and Depth only after the graph is stable.

If you cancel or dislike a completed build, use Studio Undo before making unrelated edits. See Prepare a final build for a production checklist.