Planetscaping Tool

The Planetscaping Tool allows direct editing of an object's surface properties using the cursor. This includes adding, removing, or changing the state of any phase of water on the surface, adding or removing elevation, and increasing or decreasing temperature. The affected area on the surface is indicated by a circle around the cursor.

Tool Details

Location

The Planetscaping button is located in the Tools menu in the bottom bar.

The Planetscaping Tool settings menu

Settings

The Planetscaping settings menu has two parts: on the left is a panel showing the different surface properties that can be edited with the tool, including:

• Temperature,
• Elevation,
• Water Vapor,
• Liquid Water, and
• Ice.

The panel on the right includes tabs at the top allowing you to select different Planetscaping modes. The rest of the panel shows settings based on the selected surface property and mode. Possible modes and their settings include:

• Add/Remove will increase or decrease the value or amount of the selected property as you hold down the tool while the cursor is over the object's surface.
  • Change Rate (such as Pressure Change when Water Vapor is selected) sets how fast the value will change over time
  • Radius represents the size of the affected area on the surface
  • Auto Radius will set the Radius value based on the object's size
  • Smoothness will determine how sharply the effect will drop off at the edge of the affected area. A Smoothness of zero creates a sharper edge, while a Smoothness of one creates a smoother edge.
• Set will set the value or amount of the selected property to an exact value.
  • Value (in Temperature, Depth, or Pressure units) indicates the value to set the property to. The eyedropper button to the left of the input text box will allow you to sample the value at a given point on the surface by clicking on the surface. This will automatically fill in the value.
  • Radius represents the size of the affected area on the surface
  • Auto Radius will set the Radius value based on the object's size
  • Smoothness will determine how sharply the effect will drop off at the edge of the affected area. A Smoothness of zero creates a sharper edge, while a Smoothness of one creates a smoother edge.
• Vaporize/Freeze/Melt will change the water in the affected area to the indicate phase
  • Radius represents the size of the affected area on the surface
  • Auto Radius will set the Radius value based on the object's size