Insydium buys Terraform4D

X-Particles developer Insydium has bought promising Cinema 4D terrain-generation plugin Terraform4D.

Its creator, former Maxon and Laubwerk dev Frank Willeke, joins the firm as senior software developer.

Just five months old when Insydium bought it
The buyout gives Terraform4D one of the fastest turnarounds from launch to acquisition in recent CG software history.

Willeke only left his previous job at 3D plant specialist Laubwerk, where he developed the SurfaceSPREAD and SplineSPREAD scattering tools, to work on Terraform4D full-time last June.

Terraform4D shipped in December 2020, getting a single 1.1 update before Insydium snapped it up.

A non-destructive art-directable terrain generator that plays nicely with Cinema 4D’s native tools
A “versatile, art-directable terrain generation system for Cinema 4D”, Terraform4D enables users to build detailed terrains using a non-destructive layer-based workflow.

The plugin provides a range of generators, making it possible to create terrain using procedurals, bitmap textures, guide splines or gradients.

Once generated, terrains can be customised by applying filters and blending terrain layers.

The software supports Cinema 4D’s key toolsets: this video shows the software’s MoGraph motion-graphics system in use to scatter trees across Terraform4D terrain.

Pricing and system requirements
Terraform4D is compatible with Cinema 4D R20+ on Windows and macOS. It supports the Corona Renderer, Redshift, U-Render and V-Ray renderers. It currently costs €79.99 (around $97).

Read Insydium’s official announcement that it has bought Terraform4D

Read an overview of Terraform4D’s features on the old product website

See videos of Terraform4D’s key features on the product’s YouTube channel