Unreal Engine: Open World Landscapes

Name: Unreal Engine: Open World Landscapes
Rating: 4.6 (1123 reviews)

Master Unreal Engine's Landscape editing tools to create massive environments like in "Breath of the Wild"

Created byGreg Wondra

Last updated 11/2025

English

What you'll learn

How to download, install, and setup a project using the Unreal Engine
How to create new landscapes
How to import existing (real world!) landscapes
How to stitch together multiple landscapes to create massive open worlds
How to sculpt mountains, valleys, plateaus, and caves
How to paint a terrain with mud, grass, rock, or snow textures
How to spawn different visual and audio effects based on the surface type a character is traveling upon
How to populate a landscape with grass, flower, bush, and tree foliage
How to populate a landscape with road, fence, and river splines
How to create a day / night cycle
How to add God rays and fog
How to visually profile and debug your landscape's performance

Course content

20 sections • 113 lectures • 15h 46m total length

Project Primer4:26
In this short video I'll be giving you a sneak peak as to what's to come as well as offer up some thoughts and insights as to how to get the most out of this course.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Navigate the Course
Download & Install3:59
In this video I'll guide you through the download and installation process for Unreal Engine 4. Unreal Engine 4 is FREE to download and install!

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Download & Install Unreal Engine 4
Project Creation4:29
In this video we'll create and name our project as well as determine where we'd like to store project files on our computer. This will be a "Blueprint" based project and will make use of the "3rd Person” template that comes with Unreal Engine 4.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Setup a Brand New Project
Set "Play" to "Game Gets Mouse Control" in Editor Preferences

New Landscapes14:17
In this video we'll create a new landscape using Unreal Engine 4’s Landscape Mode.
NOTE: In Unreal Engine version 4.25 and later, Epic Games altered the interface slightly.
To access "Landscape" mode, you need to select the "MODES" button across the top toolbar (sandwiched between the "Source Control" and "Content" options). Then, click the checkbox next to the "Landscapes" option that appears in the drop down.
Sorry for the inconvenience! Note that while the LAYOUT is a bit different now, the tools function all the same!

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Create a New Landscape

ASSETS ADDED...
Level: Map_01
Import Height Maps9:43
In this video we'll Import Height Maps in order to quickly recreate a real (or fictional) landscape.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Import Height Maps

ASSETS IMPORTED...
HeightMap_Good
HeightMap_Jagged
USA_HeightMap_01
USA_HeightMap_02
Custom Height Maps6:33
In this video we'll grab our own, real world, Height Map using a free online resource.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Make a Custom Height Map
Import a Height Map

ASSETS IMPORTED...
User Choice!

NOTE #1
As an alternative to Terrain.Party (which sometimes experiences issues) you can ALSO try using:
https://tangrams.github.io/heightmapper
....to grab some real world locale height maps. Simply zoom in / out on the area you'd like to sample and click on the "export" button in the far upper right.

NOTE #2
In the event of Terrain.Party experiencing issues, I've attached 2 other height maps I got off of the site you can try out.
Great Sand Dunes National Park (Colorado, USA)
Mt. Whitney Portal (California, USA)
Creation - Q & A10:51
In this video we'll address a few landscape related questions that typically come up after a landscape is initially created or imported.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Build Lighting
Add a Lightmass Importance Volume
Rotate a Landscape
Set Level Bookmarks
Alter Viewport Camera Speed (for faster "flying" around the level)
Landscape Creation

Sculpt Tool11:39
In this video we'll learn to use the Sculpt Tool. This is, perhaps, the most basic and widely used of all the sculpting tool....a MUST to understand!

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Sculpt Landscapes UP and DOWN
Erase Tool4:42
In this video we'll learn to use the Erase Tool. With this tool, we can reset areas of our landscape height map back to its default height.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Use the Erase Tool
Scale Brush Sizes with Hotkeys
Set Editor Startup Map

ASSETS ADDED...
Level: Map_Sculpting
Smooth Tool4:43
In this video we'll learn to use the Smooth Tool. This tool is used to smooth out areas of a landscape that appear more lumpy or jagged than desired.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Smooth Landscapes
Make "Switchbacks" in Landscapes
Flatten Tool13:05
In this video we'll learn to use the Flatten Tool. This tool excels in ensuring various areas, sections, or slopes in your landscape are perfectly flat.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Flatten Landscapes
Make Plateaus in Landscapes
Make Terraces in Landscapes
Make Sloped Slabs in Landscapes
Ramp Tool4:48
In this video we'll learn to use the Ramp Tool. This tool enables you to quickly create smooth gradients from one elevation to another.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Make a Ramp in Landscapes
Erosion Tool13:27
In this video we'll learn to use the Erosion Tool. This tool enables you to apply realistic erosion effects across your landscape...preventing them from appearing too lumpy or unrefined.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Make Realistic Shaped Mountain Ranges
Hydro Erosion Tool13:40
In this video we'll learn to use the Hydro Erosion Tool. This tool simulates the effects that rain has on landscapes and provides more realistic grooves and channels where applied.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Carve Channels / Groves into Landscapes using Hydro Erosion
Noise Tool4:55
In this video we'll learn to use the Noise Tool. This is a GREAT go-to tool to use for adding quick, random hills and valleys to your landscape.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Make Random Undulations in Landscapes
Retopologize Tool5:54
In this video we'll learn to use the Retopologize Tool. This tool is used to fix up areas of your landscape that appear stretched or jagged due to drastic changes in elevation (like cliff sides).

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Reduce Texture Stretching
Sculpting - Q & A11:00
In this video we'll address a few more landscape related questions that typically come up after students learn how to use the sculpting tools.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Edit Landscape Hot Keys
Adjust a Character's "Walkable Floor Angle"
Edit Landscape Max LODs
Turn off / on Auto Exposure
Landscape Sculpting Tools

Sculpting - Circle Brush4:21
In this video we'll learn to use the Circle Brush when sculpting. This is your default brush when using the Sculpting Tools. Use of the Circle Brush gives you access to different Brush Falloffs.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Use the Circle Brush Type
Use Different Brush Falloff Types
Sculpting - Alpha Brush7:23
In this video we'll learn to use the Alpha Brush when sculpting. With this brush you can easily add texture variation throughout your landscape. It's also a go-to brush type when wanting to define an island shape or carve out a lake.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Import Textures
Sculpt a Landscape using a Texture

ASSETS ADDED / CREATED...
Texture: T_AlphaBrush_01
Texture: T_AlphaBrush_02
Sculpting - Pattern Brush10:14
In this video we'll learn to use the Pattern Brush when sculpting. With this brush you can easily add a texture pattern across the entirety of your landscape.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Import Textures
Sculpt a Landscape using a Texture

ASSETS ADDED / CREATED...
Texture: T_Colors
Sculpting - Component Brush4:39
In this video we'll learn to use the Component Brush when sculpting. With this brush, you can raise or lower 1 or more landscape components at a time.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Raise / Lower Landscape Components

Blueprint Brush Setup9:16
In this video we'll learn to access and add a Blueprint Brush to a landscape.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Add the Landmass Plugin
Add a Blueprint Brush to a Landscape

ASSETS ADDED...
Level: Landscape_BlueprintBrushes
Blueprint Brush Effects10:10
In this video we'll learn where and how to edit some key Blueprint Brush effects in order to quickly and convincingly sculpt a landscape.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Edit Blueprint Brush Effects

Material Shortcut10:16
In this video we'll provide a quick and easy way of creating a Landscape Material for you to use (allowing you to SKIP OVER the next 2 "Material Creation" tutorials)!

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Add Content Packs
Recreate a Material from a Copy / Pasted Text File

ASSETS ADDED / CREATED...
Asset Pack: Infinity Blade: Grass Lands
Asset Pack: Open World Demo Collection (Kite Demo)
Asset Pack: Paragon: Agora and Monolith Environment (Paragon Props)

Material: M_Landscape
Material Creation #111:22
In this video we'll begin creation of a Landscape Material. This material will be set up in a very specific way to enable to us to control what textures we'd like to (eventually) paint onto the surface of our landscape and how those textures will look and interact with one another.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Add Content Packs
Create a Landscape Material
Add Landscape Layers Blend Nodes (to a Material)

ASSETS ADDED / CREATED...
Asset Pack: Infinity Blade: Grass Lands
Asset Pack: Open World Demo Collection (Kite Demo)
Asset Pack: Paragon: Agora and Monolith Environment (Paragon Props)

Material: M_Landscape_Created
Material Creation #29:36
In this video we'll continue creating our Landscape Material by adding Textures and hooking them up to our Landscape Layer Blend nodes.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Add Texture Sample Nodes to Landscape Material
Apply a Material to a Landscape

Paint Layers7:57
In this video we'll learn to create Landscape Layer Info Objects out of the various textures contained inside out Landscape Material. This is an essential step that needs to be done in order to "paint" a given texture onto the surface of our landscape.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Create Landscape Layers
Paint Tool12:26
In this video we'll learn the basics of painting various layers we've created info objects for (grass, gravel, rock, etc.) onto the surface of your landscape.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Paint Texture Layers onto a Landscape
Remove Texture Layers from a Landscape

Clear Landscape of a Layer Type
Fill Landscape with a Layer Type
Texture Sizing9:38
In this video we’ll learn a how to control the size of Landscape Layer Textures by utilizing Landscape Layer Coords and Scalar Parameter nodes inside of our Landscape Material.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Control the Size of Landscape Layer Textures
Texture Variation12:38
In this video we’ll learn a method of adding variation to each Landscape Layer Texture inside of our Landscape Material so that tiling issues are greatly reduced.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Add Visual Variation to Landscape Layer Textures
Painting Restrictions7:57
In this video we'll learn what Painting Restrictions you can apply in order to prevent unwanted or uneccessary layers from appearing on areas of your landscape.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Apply Painting Restrictions
Smooth Tool (Painting)7:26
In this video we'll learn to use the Smooth Tool while Landscape Painting. This tool is used to smooth the transistion between different Landscape Layers.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Use the Smooth Tool when Landscape Painting
Flatten Tool (Painting)7:47
In this video we'll learn to use the Flatten Tool when Landscape Painting. This tool enables you to sample a portion of your painted landscape in order to apply it elsewhere.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Use the Flatten Tool when Landscape Painting
Noise Tool (Painting)6:25
In this video we'll learn to use the Noise Tool when Landscape Painting. This tool is used to add some quick, random variation to your painted layers.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Use the Noise Tool when Landscape Painting
Visibility Tool4:18
In this video we'll learn to use the Visibility Tool. This is the tool to use if wanting to poke holes in your landscape (to create caves).

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Edit Landscape Material to Enable Hole Creation in Landscape
Poke Holes in Landscape (for caves!)
2-Sided Material3:03
In this video we'll learn how to make a 2-Sided Material. With a 2-sided material, you can see the "back" of a material. This proves useful for water materials or, in our case, our landscape material.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Make a Material 2-Sided
Painting - Q & A12:30
In this video we'll answer some questions that commonly come up when students are learning how to paint their landscapes.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Allow more than 4 Layers of "Paint" onto a Landscape Component
Access Landscape Layer Usage Mode
Identify & Manage "Orphaned" Layers
Set a Landscape Layer's "Hardness"

Painting - Circle Brush2:49
In this video we'll learn to use the Circle Brush when Landscape Painting. This is your default brush when using the Sculpting Tools. Use of the Circle Brush gives you access to different Brush Falloffs.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Use Different Brush Falloff Types
Painting - Alpha Brush3:30
In this video we'll learn how to use the Alpha Brush when Landscape Painting in order to give your landscapes a more organic look and feel.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Paint Landscape Layers with an Alpha Brush
Painting - Pattern Brush4:49
In this video we'll learn to use the Pattern Brush when Landscape Painting. With this brush you assign a texture of your choosing which allows you to paint a specified pattern onto your landscape.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Paint Landscape Layers with a Pattern Brush
Painting - Component Brush3:11
In this video we'll learn to use the Component Brush when Landscape Painting. With this brush you can paint a specific layer onto a Landscape Component quickly and easily.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Paint Landscape Layers with a Component Brush

Grass Overview3:49
In this video we'll take a look at how Grass Types can enhance our painted Landscape Layers by adding meshes on top of linked layers.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Install Asset Packs

ASSETS ADDED...
Asset Pack: Open World Demo Collection (aka "Kite Demo")
Asset Pack: Megascans - Meadow Pack (optional)
Asset Pack: Megascans - Garden Lawn (optional)
Grass Creation #114:02
In this video we'll at how to create a Grass Type and link it to a Landscape Layer inside our Landscape Material.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Create a Landscape Grass Type
Add Landscape Grass Type to Landscape Material

ASSETS ADDED...
Landscape Grass Type: LG_Grass_01
Grass Creation #27:50
In this video we'll demonstrate how you can create a Grass Type for other Landscape Layers you'd like to assign meshes to.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Create a Landscape Grass Type
Add Landscape Grass Type to Landscape Material

ASSETS ADDED...
Landscape Grass Type: LG_Path_01
Fields5:53
In this video we'll learn how we can create fields in our landscape by configuring a newly created Grass Type in specific (but simple) way.

THIS LESSON TEACHES HOW TO...
Create a Landscape Grass Type
Edit Landscape Grass Type to make Fields

ASSETS ADDED...
Landscape Grass Type: LG_Field_01

Requirements

SUGGESTED: Basic computer knowledge
SUGGESTED: Desktop PC with Windows 7 (or later) 64-bit - OR - a Mac with Mac OS X 10.9.2 or later
SUGGESTED: 8 GB RAM
SUGGESTED: Quad-core Intel or AMD processor
SUGGESTED: DirectX 11 compatible video card
SUGGESTED: Unreal Engine version 4.23 or later

Description

In this game design course, you will learn how to use Unreal Engine's Landscape and Foliage Editing tools so that YOU can build open world environments like seen in "Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild." Knowing how to use these tools is a critical skill for those aspiring to be Level Designers or Environment Artists!

This course contains over 113 fun-to-follow video lessons! You'll learn how to:

Download, install, and setup a project in the Unreal Engine
Create a new landscape
Import existing (real world!) landscapes
Stitch together multiple landscapes to create massive open worlds
Sculpt mountains, valleys, plateaus, and caves
Create a landscape material
Paint landscape surfaces with mud, grass, rock, or snow textures
Utilize Blueprint Brushes to sculpt and paint a landscape
Spawn different visual and audio effects based on the surface type a character is traveling upon
Populate a landscape with grass, flower, bush, or tree foliage
Populate a landscape with road, fence, and river splines
Use numerous Sculpting and Foliage tools within Unreal (including Procedural Foliage tools!)
Create a day / night cycle
Add fog & God rays
Stream sections of your Open World in and out
Visually profile and debug your landscape's performance
And more!

With the knowledge gained in these video lessons, you'll have the necessary skills to start building your OWN open world environments!

Who this course is for:

Beginner Game Designers interested in creating open world games
Beginner Level Artists interested in crafting realistic outdoor environments
Beginners looking to expand their knowledge of Level Design
Beginners looking to expand their knowledge of Unreal Engine's tool sets (Landscape & Foliage Tools especially)

Unreal Engine: Open World Landscapes

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Project Setup3 lectures • 13min

Landscape Creation4 lectures • 41min

Landscape Sculpting Tools10 lectures • 1hr 28min

Landscape Sculpting Brush Types4 lectures • 27min

Blueprint Brush Sculpting2 lectures • 19min

Landscape Material Creation3 lectures • 31min

Landscape Painting11 lectures • 1hr 32min

Landscape Painting Brush Types4 lectures • 14min

Blueprint Brush Painting1 lecture • 17min

Landscape Grass4 lectures • 32min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: