BetaHeightForge

HeightForge Studio v2.0.0 Beta

Procedural Heightmap Generator for Indie Game Developers
Free to use · No account · No watermarks · No export limits

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[!] Beta Notice

This is a beta release. Core features are stable and usable, but rough edges exist.
If you find a bug, please open an issue — every report helps.

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[+] What’s New in v2.0.0

Save & Load

• Project files (.hfproj) — save your entire session and reopen it exactly as you left it
• All masks, parameters, node connections, and settings are preserved

Undo / Redo

• 20-level undo stack — Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y
• Undo snapshot is pushed before every brush stroke, not just on release

Export

• PNG 16-bit — direct import into Unity Terrain and Godot HeightMapShape3D
• TIFF 16-bit — industry-standard, compatible with Blender and Houdini
• EXR 32-bit — maximum precision for Unreal Engine 5 and VFX pipelines
• Export dialog with format and resolution selector (1K to 32K)

Biome Presets

Six hand-tuned starting points:

Preset	Description
Vulkaninsel	Steep caldera, dominant peak, sparse vegetation
Alpenregion	Broad mountain chains, dense forests, many rivers
Wüsteninsel	Flat terrain, minimal vegetation, wide coastline
Dschungelarchipel	Irregular islands, max vegetation, dense waterways
Tundra	Wide flat plains, sparse life, subtle elevation changes
Kontinental	Large landmass, mixed elevations, balanced biomes

Plugin System

• One-file Python plugins via plugin_api.py
• GitHub-backed plugin registry — install directly from the Plugin Manager
• on_heightmap_computed and on_mask_computed hooks
• Settings widget support (PySide6)

Performance & Stability

• Erosion pipeline now runs in a QThread — no more UI freeze during heavy processing
• Erosion errors surface as a dialog instead of crashing the app
• GPU kernel compile is tested on startup; falls back silently to CPU if unavailable

UI Polish

• Full menu bar with keyboard shortcuts
• Tooltips on all controls and workflow steps
• Unsaved-changes guard on window close
• Improved brush cursor rendering

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[i] Installation

Requirements: Python 3.11+ · Windows / macOS / Linux

# 1. Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/DuskforgeStudios/Heightforge
cd Heightforge

# 2. Install dependencies
pip install numpy opencv-python PySide6 opensimplex

# 3. Optional: 3D viewport
pip install pyqtgraph PyOpenGL

# 4. Optional: EXR export (Unreal Engine)
pip install openexr

# 5. Optional: GPU acceleration (NVIDIA)
pip install cupy-cuda12x

# 6. Launch
python main.py

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[~] Known Issues

• Tiled RAW export above 32K may be slow on CPU-only systems
• macOS: first launch may require pip install --upgrade PySide6 on some setups
• EXR export requires openexr which has an optional install step (see above)

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[=] Changelog vs v1.0.0

Area	v1.0.0	v2.0.0
Save / Load	-	+ .hfproj
Undo / Redo	-	+ 20 levels
Export formats	RAW only	PNG · TIFF · EXR · RAW
Max resolution	Tiled RAW only	32K all formats
Erosion threading	Blocking (UI freeze)	Background thread
Biome presets	-	+ 6 presets
Plugin system	-	+ GitHub registry

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[>] Roadmap (v2.1+)

• Standalone binary (no Python required)
• Random seed control in the UI
• More biome presets (arctic, canyon, oceanic)
• Community preset sharing
• Vegetation placement plugin (Premium)
• Volcano & Caldera plugin (Premium)

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[*] License

HeightForge is free to use for any project — commercial or personal.
The source code is proprietary. Redistribution or resale of the software is not permitted.

See LICENSE.txt for full terms.

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[?] Feedback & Community

• Bug reports: GitHub Issues
• Questions & Showcases: GitHub Discussions

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Built with Python + PySide6 · (c) 2026 DuskforgeStudios