Using the terrain editor

In building any game that involves an outdoor environment, a terrain editor is a must-have for any game developer. Unity has featured a built-in terrain editor since version 2.0, and this makes building complete environments quick and easy.

In Unity terms, think of a terrain as simply a game object that has a terrain toolkit component applied to it. Beginning as a Plane — a flat, single-sided 3D shape — the terrain you'll create shortly can be transformed into a complete set of realistic geometry, with additional details such as trees, rocks, foliage, and even atmospheric effects such as wind speed.

Terrain menu features

In order to take a look at the features outlined below, you will need to create a terrain. So let's begin by introducing a new terrain object to the game — this is an Asset that can e created within Unity, so simply go to Terrain | Create Terrain from the top menu.

Before you can begin to modify your terrain, you should set up various settings for...