Foliage and Scattering

Paint a patch of grass beside a path, then scatter the selected type over the ground. The Foliage system renders vegetation types. The Scatter tool places ordinary Scene content such as Objects or Models.

Prerequisites

Open a 3D Scene with flat or sculpted ground. Prepare a cutout Sprite or imported Model when needed. Use a small area and save a checkpoint before a dense fill.

Paint One Vegetation Type

1. Choose Terrain Mode and open Foliage.
2. Choose Add and give the type a distinct Name.
3. Set Source to Grass Card (Two Crossed Quads), Single Card (One Quad), or 3D Model (glTF).
4. For cards, choose Sprite (Cutout), Tint, and Card Size (m). For a model, choose its Model resource.
5. Select the Foliage tool. Set a modest brush radius and placements per dab, then Paint a small patch.
6. Select Erase, or Alt-drag, to remove part of the patch. Save and run the Scene to inspect it from the game Camera.

Expected result: the selected type appears on the ground, the erased region is clear, and the remaining patch survives save and reopen. Check the actual imported Model or cutout before filling a larger area.

Copy adds another type based on the selected one. Delete removes that type, its painted instances, and its fills. Use separate types when two kinds need different appearance or placement rules.

Control Placement

Setting	Effect
Scale Range	Variation in the type’s instance scale.
Random Yaw	Gives instances different facing directions.
Align to Slope	Tilts instances to follow the surface.
Max Slope (°)	A slope limit for scatter fills; painted foliage still lands where you paint it.
Height Range (m)	Optional lower and upper surface heights for fills. Blank permits any height.
Sink / Raise	Offsets the instance from its sampled ground height.
Scatter Density (per Block²)	The requested density for procedural fills.
Draw Distance (m)	The game’s culling distance; quality can scale it. The editor can show more than the runtime.

Begin with a narrow Scale Range and Sink / Raise 0. Adjust the offset after checking the art’s origin. A tree model whose origin is above its roots can look airborne even when its sampled ground point is correct.

The selected type also has shadow, wind, and seed controls. Check cards and Models in the running game; their geometry and supported effects differ. Increase density only after checking frame time on the target device.

Scatter Foliage Over the Ground

In the Foliage panel, set a low Scatter Density and choose Scatter Over Ground once. This adds a fill across the ground’s dimensions, or the Scene dimensions when ground is disabled. Inspect the painted-instance and scatter-fill counts before adding another fill: repeated clicks add fills.

Change the selected type’s Seed to re-roll its scatter deterministically. Keep the existing fill and seed while comparing density or placement limits. Adding a new fill assigns it another seed, so clearing and adding a fill can change the result even when the type’s Seed stays the same.

Clear Scatter removes the selected type’s procedural fills. Clear Painted removes its brush-painted instances. Use the appropriate control when preparing another comparison. A procedural fill isn’t a list of independent authored Scene Objects.

Check a region that crosses a slope or height limit. If the fill is empty, loosen one limit at a time and confirm that the selected type has a usable resource. Painted foliage doesn’t use every fill restriction, so a successful brush stroke alone doesn’t establish that the fill can plant there.

Scatter Ordinary Content

Choose Scatter in Terrain Mode and select its target in the toolbar. Configure Scatter Ring Radius, Scatter Placements per Dab, yaw jitter, and the minimum and maximum scale. Start with one or two placements per dab.

Scatter creates ordinary Scene content that can be selected and edited through Scene Explorer. Use it for individually editable rocks, trees, or other Objects. Check the target’s collision and Logic before placing many copies; every copy can add gameplay or physics work.

Foliage should be tested as vegetation. If a player must collide with or interact with a tree, use suitable ordinary Scene Objects and collision instead of relying on its foliage picture.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Check
A type has no picture	Check Source and its Sprite or Model resource.
A fill is empty but painting works	Inspect ground extent, slope and height limits, density, and seed.
Plants float or sink	Inspect the asset’s origin, Sink / Raise, and sampled terrain height.
Plants disappear in play	Compare Draw Distance, quality, Camera location, and runtime culling.
The Scene slows after scattering	Check the number of ordinary Objects, their components and Logic, and physics work.
Deleting a type removed a whole patch	Its paint and fills belong to that type; restore the checkpoint or Undo.