How Do You Raise or Lower Terrain in Unity?

To raise or lower terrain in Unity, you'll primarily use the Terrain tools within the Unity Editor.

Here's a breakdown of the process:

1. Select the Terrain Object: In your Unity scene, select the Terrain object you want to modify. This will bring up the Terrain tools in the Inspector window.

2. Access the Terrain Tools: The Inspector window will now display the Terrain settings. Look for the brush tools along the top of the Inspector. These tools allow you to sculpt the terrain.

3. Choose Your Tool: The primary tools for raising and lowering terrain are typically:

   • Raise/Lower Terrain: This is usually the first tool and the most commonly used. Clicking and dragging on the terrain with this tool will either raise or lower the terrain based on your settings (brush size, opacity, etc.). Holding Shift usually inverts the function, allowing you to lower the terrain when the tool is set to raise it, and vice versa.
   • Set Height: This allows you to set a specific height for the terrain under the brush.

4. Adjust Brush Settings: Within the Inspector, you'll find settings for your selected tool that control how it affects the terrain. Common settings include:

   • Brush Size: Determines the area affected by the brush.
   • Opacity: Controls the intensity of the effect. Higher opacity means faster and more pronounced changes.
   • Brush Type: Select from various brush shapes and falloffs. Different brush types create different effects and can be useful for creating smoother or more jagged terrain.

5. Sculpt the Terrain: Click and drag the selected brush tool over the terrain in the Scene view to raise or lower the terrain. Experiment with the brush settings to achieve the desired effect.

6. Other Useful Terrain Tools:

   • Smooth Height: This tool averages the height of neighboring terrain points to smooth out rough areas.
   • Paint Details: Allows you to add details such as grass, flowers, and rocks.
   • Paint Texture: Lets you paint different textures onto the terrain.
   • Flatten: Flattens an area of the terrain to a specific height.

Example:

Let's say you want to create a small hill.

1. Select your Terrain object.
2. Choose the "Raise/Lower Terrain" tool.
3. Adjust the brush size and opacity to your liking.
4. Click and drag the brush over the area where you want to create the hill.
5. Hold down Shift and click and drag around the base of the hill to create a smoother transition to the surrounding terrain.
6. Use the "Smooth Height" tool to further smooth out any jagged edges.

Summary:

Raising and lowering terrain in Unity is done through the Terrain tools in the Inspector. Selecting the "Raise/Lower Terrain" (or similar) tool, adjusting the brush settings, and clicking/dragging on the terrain in the Scene view allows you to sculpt the heightmap. Remember to experiment with the different tools and settings to get the desired results.