After tinkering for a few days, I feel like I've come a long way with the basics, while recognising how much deeper you can go. Watching artists like Maarten Nauta build node trees that are ten times larger than mine, I can't quite cogitate how much nuance I'm lacking in my builds.
There are still many areas I need to learn:
Combine:
Fully understand the Combine node. It's about the most important of all nodes as it controls how different nodes are mixed together through blending modes:
BlendBlends the values of the two inputs.AddAdds Input2 to Input1.ScreenAdds Input2 to Input1 without overexposing the output.SubtractSubtracts Input2 from Input1.MultiplyMultiplies Input1 by Input2.DivideDivides Input1 by Input2.MaxSelects the higher of the two inputs.MinSelects the lower of the two inputs.SqRtThe square root of the two combined terrains.PowerUses Input2 to create exponents of Input1.DifferenceCreates the difference of the two inputs.InsertInsert relatively flat and isolated shapes into an uneven surface, such as sand dunes, while retaining the flatness of the rocks..EmbedEmbed any shape into any other terrain by performing a height-preserving add function.
Output
Outputs are clamped by default. This means the output is bounded between 0 and 1, preventing odd side effects. Remove Clamp if you think the blend is removing too much displacement, but use the Autolevel feature from the Enhanced drop-down.Keyboard shortcuts: https://docs.quadspinner.com/Guide/Interface/Keyboard.html
Better terrain blending: I need to learn how to mask!
See Modify Shapes.
Rock scatters: Another feature that appears to be stronger in Gaea than World Creator, although not by much.
Biomes: How to create different landforms through masking -- I assume that it's mask-based, like World Creator.
Materials: I've hardly touched materials because I use True Terrain for that. I should still get some hands-on, given that Gaea appears to be really good at creating surface weathering.
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