Preset catalog

PostRoll ships 21 terrain presets, organised below by feel. Each combines a custom shader, a particle emitter, an optional managed light, and a tuned default for edge softness. All of them respect the per-region sliders on the terrain effects panel.

Fluids and surfaces

Lava

Bright magma flow with dark crack contours and a pulsing emissive boost. Spawns an orange flicker light by default. Use the Direction slider to set lava-flow direction along a channel.

Water

Animated caustic network over a depth gradient, with sparse twinkling specular sparkles. Direction sets the river current; Scale controls caustic density.

Marsh

Murky low-frequency surface with periodic bubble bursts. No directional flow — it’s a stagnant pool. Pair with low intensity for a dim, eerie wetland.

Ethereal Pool

Iridescent palette with a slow rotational warp and inner radial glow. Ships with a violet flicker light by default — turn off Animate light for a calmer surface. Reads as portal / planar gateway.

Toxic Waste

Radioactive contour rings (topo-map iso-lines) over bubbling green-yellow sludge. Counter-flowing churn animates along the Direction axis.

Sand

Wind-rippled dunes with heat shimmer and rare sun-glints on ripple peaks. Direction sets the wind axis (ripples form perpendicular to it, like real dunes).

Ice

Frosted level-set crack veins and pinpoint sun-glint sparkles. Very slow animation — ice doesn’t move much. No directional flow.

Blood

Dark viscous pool with glossy wet highlights and rare specular pinpoints. Slow flow along Direction for a creeping dripping spread.

Snow

Almost-still soft white drift with twinkling crystals. Use Direction to suggest wind drift. Light is off by default — snow is reflective, not luminous.

Mud

Slow viscous flow with shiny puddle sheen. Darker than the sand palette. Direction drags mud downhill. Useful for swampy ground or fresh tracks.

Acid

Sharp bright green with fast bubbling and crisp caustic sparkles. Spawns a green flicker light by default. Distinct from toxic waste — clearer, more aggressive, no sludge.

Magic and ritual

Holy Ground

Golden warm surface with a slow radial pulse from the polygon centre and rising warm motes. Spawns a tinted light by default. The classic blessed circle / shrine floor.

Cursed Ground

Dark shadowy surface with creeping black tendril veins (level-set crossings drawn dark instead of bright). Useful for desecrated areas or evil sanctums.

Rune Circle

Concentric glowing rings with eight slowly-rotating angular sigil bands. Bright cyan default — set Tint to red for fire, green for nature, etc. The default summoning / teleporter circle.

Crystal Field

Hard-edged angular cell regions with bright reflective edges and prismatic hue-shifting highlights. Sparse crystal flashes. Distinct hex grid feel — turn Edge softness down for sharp shards.

Sci-fi

Force Field

Hexagonal grid with energy pulses traveling along Direction. Random cell flicker. Reads as a containment field, shield wall, or energy barrier.

Cyber Circuit

Glowing circuit traces with bright “data packets” flowing along Direction. Neon cyan-green palette. Set Tint for faction colours.

Holographic Grid

Translucent wireframe with moving scan lines. Lower brightness overall — reads as a hologram or projected plan. Direction sets the scan-line direction.

Star Field

Dark void with bright pinpoint stars and a faint nebula tint. Twinkles. Crank Edge softness to 60 for a deep-space window feel.

Plasma Storm

Chaotic electric arcs (level-set crossings) with strobing flashes. Spawns a violet strobe light by default. Lower the Speed slider to 0.3 for a more readable surface — defaults to a wild storm.

Liquid Metal

Chrome swirl with prismatic chromatic-shift highlights. The “T-1000 puddle” feel. Direction orients the swirl axis.

Tinting tips

Every preset’s palette is a four-stop ramp. The Tint picker mixes a colour over the bright end:

A red Rune Circle becomes a fire / blood circle
A purple Holy Ground becomes shadow-blessed (or a Vecna-style profane shrine)
A red Force Field is hostile alarm; cyan is friendly containment
A green Liquid Metal reads as alien biological goo

Performance reminder

Up to 16 regions per scene can be active at once. Each region runs a small particle emitter, one shader pass, and (optionally) one dynamic light. Most scenes won’t ever come close to the cap.

Terrain effects — how to apply one
Lights — basics — lights spawned by terrain effects flow into the same lighting pipeline