Thin Flows

Overview

The Thin Flows Erosion filter offers a highly adjustable particle-based erosion and thinking of it as a simulation running many individual droplets is key to understanding all of its properties. The filter simulates a water droplet with a set amount of water that influences its carrying capacity and speed. The droplet moves downwards under the influence of gravity, eroding and depositing sediment in its path.

Parameters

Property
Description

Seed

Changes the seed for the rain droplet distribution and other parameters used in the simulation.

Rain

Property
Description

Rain Map

Allows you to specify a mask to control where rain drops are spawned.

Rain Strength

This lets you adjust the amount of droplets spawned on the terrain. You can also further modify the rain strengths on each level step in the level step editor below the slider. The level step that a droplet runs on heavily impacts the structures the filter will produce. Lower levels generate wider crevices and sedimentation, while higher levels create more intricate details.

General

Property
Description

Acceleration

How fast a droplet accelerates due to gravity. This has an influence on the speed and distance it can travel.

Density

The density of a droplet influences the speed and acceleration of a droplet.

Friction

How much speed is lost in each droplet step.

Initial Water

Sets the amount of water a droplet has when it is spawned. The water influences its maximum lifetime and the amount of sediment it can carry.

Max Length

Sets the maximum travel length of a droplet in pixels.

Evaporation

How much water is lost at each stage of a droplet's journey.

Sediment Transport

Property
Description

Transport Rate

Modifies the amount of sediment a droplet can carry.

Sediment Loss

This describes a constant percentage of sediment that a droplet will lose in every movement step it takes.

Erosion Multiplier

A factor that affects the final amount of sediment eroded from the terrain. Any other value than 1 can disturb the equilibrium of the filter and add/remove matter from the terrain.

Deposition Multiplier

A factor that affects the final amount of sediment deposited onto the terrain. Any other value than 1 can disturb the equilibrium of the filter and add/remove matter from the terrain.

Flow Modifications

Property
Description

Flow Rotation

Alters the starting direction of a particle.

Random Rotation

Normally, a droplet will have a downslope path when spawned. Increasing this value will randomize it.

Wind Direction

Allows you to set a wind direction, which will influence a particle's movement direction.

Wind Strength

Controls how strongly droplets will be affected by the wind.

Results

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