How to Find the Terrain’s Material Instance

To access the Material Instance that is applied to the terrain, first click on the landscape when it has a M⁴ preset applied to it, scroll down to a section called “Landscape Material” in the details panel, then click on the Magnifying Glass Icon next to the Landscape Material settings. This will take you to where the material instance is located within the project, open up the Material Instance by double clicking it within your Content Browser.

Material Instance Settings Overview

Once you have the Material Instance opened, it will look like the image to the right. In here you will find Performance Toggles, Advanced Material Settings and Texture Swapping Parameters. Each type as well as what layer of the auto material it applies to are categorized within the group names of each area.

For example, we will find Flatland coloring and texturing settings under the “3a. Flatland Coloring & Texture Settings”. The “3a.” as well as all of the other numbers that proceed each group are just there for organization purposes. Another example – “4a. Foothill Coloring & Texture Settings” houses all of the Material Instance coloring and texturing settings for the foothills. Parameters are organized in these groups so that it’s a little to understand what they’re applying to, just at a glance, and so they’re easier to find when looking for them.

1a. Main Auto Material Settings

The first and most important area that you’ll find within the Material Instance is the group called “1a. Main Auto Material Settings”, these parameters control the over all slope detection and height detection of the material and were made separate from the Blueprint so that Landscape Grass Type foliage could work with them. If they were put within the Blueprint, procedural Foliage placement would not work with the auto material.

1b. Feature Toggles/Performance Settings

This area houses all of the fine tuning performance settings for the Auto Materials. These toggles are what is being changed automatically when you go to select a performance preset within the Material Blueprint. Depending on your project’s needs, you may or may not want to toggle off more feature than the 8 default presets allow, so this section allows for that customization. Every feature that is toggled adds and extra element of realism/tech to the terrain material. It’s also important to note in this section, that the more features that are enabled on a terrain material, the heavier it becomes in performance cost, so feel free to toggle off what you do not need.

2a. Splatmap & Auto Mask Settings

This section references the Splatmap abilities of the terrain materials. In this area you can apply a specific Splatmap texture from a 3rd party software such as “World Machine” or “World Creator 2” and have it additively effect (use the auto detection AND the Splamap) or have it ONLY effect (use JUST the Splatmap to detect different regions) the texturing layers of the terrain. To access and change the texture that is applied as a Splatmap, press one of the two toggles that is at the top of this group.

2b. Procedural Foliage Placement Settings

Here we will find advanced masking controls for the Procedural Foliage Placement system (Landscape Grass Type). The toggles tell the system which type of biome to select placement from. The files that will allow you to place any foliage mesh that you want on to the terrain can be found in the “M4/FoliageSystems” folder within your content browser. Opening up one of the “Landscape Grass Type” files will allow you to select the size, density, and mesh that is applied to that area.

3a. Flatland Coloring & Texture Settings

Here, as the name implies, we will find the Flatland coloring settings, as well as the Texture parameters for the layers that are applied to the flat areas of the terrain. The Flatlands, as they are in this project, are explained as the areas that are not slopes or beaches or mountain tops, but that have things on them such as dirt and grass. The Flatlands are separated into two categories – one for the top layer (Grass) and one for the Bottom layer (Dirt). These are not simply named “Dirt” or “Grass” because, depending on what type of material you want applied to them (such as sand and dirt in the Desert Preset) their identification changes. So the words “Top” and “Bottom” were used to signify a material agnostic, two layer system.

3b. Flatland Transitions & Advanced Settings

Here we’ll find the transition settings between other layers and the Flatlands, these parameters don’t need to ever be touched as a lot of the settings in the Material Instances have their optimal setting selected by default. They are simply here if you ever want to dive further into the project and customize it in any manner that you see fit. The textures in this area are used for masking purposes and they apply to the different transitional regions between materials on the Auto Layer.

4a. Foothill Coloring & Texture Settings

Here, the Foothill texture settings are housed as well as minimal settings for the coloring itself. Since most coloring parameters are mainly handled in the Material Blueprint for Foothills, it’s not necessary to have many Material Instance settings in this area.

5a. Cliff Coloring & Texture Settings

Here, the Cliff texture settings are housed as well as one setting for the Tri-Planar Projection itself. Since most coloring parameters are mainly handled in the Material Blueprint for Cliffs, similar to the Foothills section, it’s not necessary to have many Material Instance settings in this area.

How to Find the Terrain’s Material Instance

To access the Material Instance that is applied to the terrain, first click on the landscape when it has a M⁴ preset applied to it, scroll down to a section called “Landscape Material” in the details panel, then click on the Magnifying Glass Icon next to the Landscape Material settings. This will take you to where the material instance is located within the project, open up the Material Instance by double clicking it within your Content Browser.

Material Instance Settings Overview

Once you have the Material Instance opened, it will look like the image to the right. In here you will find Performance Toggles, Advanced Material Settings and Texture Swapping Parameters. Each type as well as what layer of the auto material it applies to are categorized within the group names of each area.

For example, we will find Flatland coloring and texturing settings under the “3a. Flatland Coloring & Texture Settings”. The “3a.” as well as all of the other numbers that proceed each group are just there for organization purposes. Another example – “4a. Foothill Coloring & Texture Settings” houses all of the Material Instance coloring and texturing settings for the foothills. Parameters are organized in these groups so that it’s a little to understand what they’re applying to, just at a glance, and so they’re easier to find when looking for them.

1a. Main Auto Material Settings

The first and most important area that you’ll find within the Material Instance is the group called “1a. Main Auto Material Settings”, these parameters control the over all slope detection and height detection of the material and were made separate from the Blueprint so that Landscape Grass Type foliage could work with them. If they were put within the Blueprint, procedural Foliage placement would not work with the auto material.

1b. Feature Toggles/Performance Settings

This area houses all of the fine tuning performance settings for the Auto Materials. These toggles are what is being changed automatically when you go to select a performance preset within the Material Blueprint. Depending on your project’s needs, you may or may not want to toggle off more feature than the 8 default presets allow, so this section allows for that customization. Every feature that is toggled adds and extra element of realism/tech to the terrain material. It’s also important to note in this section, that the more features that are enabled on a terrain material, the heavier it becomes in performance cost, so feel free to toggle off what you do not need.

2a. Splatmap & Auto Mask Settings

This section references the Splatmap abilities of the terrain materials. In this area you can apply a specific Splatmap texture from a 3rd party software such as “World Machine” or “World Creator 2” and have it additively effect (use the auto detection AND the Splamap) or have it ONLY effect (use JUST the Splatmap to detect different regions) the texturing layers of the terrain. To access and change the texture that is applied as a Splatmap, press one of the two toggles that is at the top of this group.

2b. Procedural Foliage Placement Settings

Here we will find advanced masking controls for the Procedural Foliage Placement system (Landscape Grass Type). The toggles tell the system which type of biome to select placement from. The files that will allow you to place any foliage mesh that you want on to the terrain can be found in the “M4/FoliageSystems” folder within your content browser. Opening up one of the “Landscape Grass Type” files will allow you to select the size, density, and mesh that is applied to that area.

3a. Flatland Coloring & Texture Settings

Here, as the name implies, we will find the Flatland coloring settings, as well as the Texture parameters for the layers that are applied to the flat areas of the terrain. The Flatlands, as they are in this project, are explained as the areas that are not slopes or beaches or mountain tops, but that have things on them such as dirt and grass. The Flatlands are separated into two categories – one for the top layer (Grass) and one for the Bottom layer (Dirt). These are not simply named “Dirt” or “Grass” because, depending on what type of material you want applied to them (such as sand and dirt in the Desert Preset) their identification changes. So the words “Top” and “Bottom” were used to signify a material agnostic, two layer system.

3b. Flatland Transitions & Advanced Settings

Here we’ll find the transition settings between other layers and the Flatlands, these parameters don’t need to ever be touched as a lot of the settings in the Material Instances have their optimal setting selected by default. They are simply here if you ever want to dive further into the project and customize it in any manner that you see fit. The textures in this area are used for masking purposes and they apply to the different transitional regions between materials on the Auto Layer.

4a. Foothill Coloring & Texture Settings

Here, the Foothill texture settings are housed as well as minimal settings for the coloring itself. Since most coloring parameters are mainly handled in the Material Blueprint for Foothills, it’s not necessary to have many Material Instance settings in this area.

5a. Cliff Coloring & Texture Settings

Here, the Cliff texture settings are housed as well as one setting for the Tri-Planar Projection itself. Since most coloring parameters are mainly handled in the Material Blueprint for Cliffs, similar to the Foothills section, it’s not necessary to have many Material Instance settings in this area.

6a. Beach Coloring & Texture Settings

Here you will find the texture parameters for the Beach Area on the Auto Material Layer. All other settings for the beach are housed in group 1a. within the Material Instance, as well as in the Material Blueprint, under the “Beaches” heading.