An experiment was conducted to explore the replacement of textures in the distance with color nodes, which are then applied as landscape layers using weight maps generated in World Machine or other software. The objective was to create a surreal and ambiguous effect that conveys a sense of fantasy.
Weight maps can be produced for various physical features such as water flow, erosion, wear, wetness, etc. and imported into Unreal as landscape layer weights, driving texturing, snow buildup, normals, and wetness effects. By blending these maps with textures using macro variation, the landscape can appear more detailed than it actually is.
This approach involves utilizing a texture for gradient coloring, which is mapped to the Z-axis based on the world position. However, if I were to revisit this approach now, I would make it more flexible by employing color curves that map the colors based on minimum and maximum world height, remapping those values to 0 to 1 of the curves.
These images show a flow and wetness map being used to drive the appearance of moisture on the landscape. This could also drive water meshes, and flowing water effects.
In the images below, the alpha of the wetness is first turned down and then on the right it is intentionally highlighted to show the mask.
