Turn an authored Unreal Landscape into a persistent, runtime-editable world without switching to voxels.
TerraDyne is an MIT-licensed Unreal Engine 5.7 plugin for teams building survival, sandbox, and open-world games on top of Unreal Landscapes. It starts from the world you already authored, converts that terrain into a runtime-managed framework, and then layers persistence, replication, population state, procedural extension, and gameplay hooks on top.
| What you need | Link |
|---|---|
| Commercial build on Fab | 🛒 TerraDyne on Fab |
| Setup and usage manual | 📘 TerraDyne Manual |
| Demo walkthrough | 🎬 DEMO.md |
| Release notes | 🧾 CHANGELOG.md |
| Runtime-world docs | 🗺️ docs/runtime-world-framework.md |
Authored Unreal Landscape
↓
Landscape conversion + foliage transfer + paint capture
↓
Persistent runtime terrain
↓
Population state + procedural outskirts + gameplay hooks
This repo is no longer just a terrain deformation prototype. TerraDyne now targets a broader runtime world workflow:
- 🏞️ keep the authored Landscape pipeline
- ✏️ sculpt and paint terrain at runtime
- 🌿 carry over foliage and actor foliage
- 💾 save and restore world state
- 🌐 replicate terrain and world metadata
- 🧱 plug into survival and sandbox gameplay systems
- 🏗️ Authored world conversion Landscape import, paint layer capture, placed foliage transfer, actor foliage transfer, save/load, and replicated chunk state.
- ⛏️ Runtime terrain editing Raise, lower, smooth, flatten, paint layers, undo/redo, and runtime tool controls.
- 🌲 Persistent world population Register placed actors, place new runtime actors, persist harvest and destruction state, and restore regrowth-ready entries from saves.
- 🧬 Procedural extension Seeded outskirts, biome overlays, runtime spawn rules, optional edge growth, and PCG-ready point export.
- 🎮 Gameplay hooks Navmesh dirtying, AI spawn zone queries, build-permission checks, biome queries, Blueprint APIs, and terrain/foliage/population change delegates.
- 🧰 Designer workflow World presets, scene setup templates, and a full feature showcase flow for first-run evaluation.
- 🖼️ Hybrid visual path CPU-authoritative terrain with optional render-target-assisted visuals layered on top.
- Survival games that need editable terrain plus persistent world state
- Sandbox builders that want authored terrain instead of a voxel-first workflow
- Open-world prototypes that need runtime hooks for AI, spawning, and permissions
- Unreal teams who want Landscape-based production workflows with gameplay-friendly runtime systems
- Unreal Engine
5.7 GeometryScriptingVirtualHeightfieldMeshWin64is the currently packaged and validated target in this repository
| Option | Best for |
|---|---|
| GitHub repo | Source-first access, MIT license, and direct inspection of the runtime-world framework code |
| Fab version | Commercial distribution, polished marketplace delivery, and the version intended for users who want the store build |
- Copy the
TerraDyneplugin folder into your project'sPlugins/directory. - Enable
GeometryScriptingandVirtualHeightfieldMesh. - Regenerate project files.
- Build the
Development Editortarget for your project.
- Add
BP_TerraDyneManagerif you want direct terrain control. - Add
ATerraDyneSceneSetupif you want a template-driven setup flow. - Choose a scene template:
Full Feature Showcase,Sandbox,Survival Framework, orAuthored World Conversion. - Import an authored Landscape or initialize a runtime world directly.
- Press Play and use the TerraDyne panel to sculpt, paint, save/load, or run the showcase flow.
README.md→ product overview and entry pointDEMO.md→ showcase sequence and demo templatesCHANGELOG.md→ release historydocs/runtime-world-framework.md→ population, procedural, and gameplay-layer APIs
TerraDyneEditorbuilds cleanly on Unreal Engine 5.7Automation RunTests TerraDynepasses with 16 TerraDyne tests
MIT. Code by Andras Gregori.
