Planetside Software updates Terragen Sky
Planetside Software has updated Terragen Sky, its new tool for creating and rendering skies.
The software, currently available in early access, makes the sky generation capabilities of Terragen, Planetside’s landscape generation app, accessible using a simplified UI and workflow.
New features in the latest update include better live syncing with applications like Unreal Engine, support for 32K output, and output in HDR format.
(Full disclosure: the release actually came out in September, but Planetside has just featured it in its newsletter on Terragen 4.7, which was released this week.)
Generate photorealistic CG skies for VFX, visualisation and motion graphics
Unlike Terragen, which also generates terrain and instances objects like rocks, Terragen Sky is focused on creating CG skies, and features a more streamlined UI and intuitive workflow.
As well as sky elements for matte paintings or backdrops for VFX, Terragen Sky can generate 360-degree HDRIs that can be used as environment lights in DCC tools and game engines.
You can read more about it in this story on the original early access release.
New since the original release: 32K rendering, .hdr output, and better live sync with UE5
Terragen Sky’s Live Send 360 feature exports the current sky as a 360-degree snapshot, creating a live link with applications that automatically update environment images, like OctaneRender, Unreal Engine and V-Ray.
In the latest update, it gets new options to control when the software re-syncs, including when the sun position changes, as shown in the video at the top of the story.
In addition, it is now possible to render in .hdr format, and for users of Terragen Professional, the maximum render resolution has been increased to 32K (32,768 x 16,384px).
Pricing, release date and system requirements
Terragen Sky is available in early access for Windows only. Planetside Software hasn’t announced a final release date yet.
The early access build is free to anyone with a current subscription to or a current maintanance contract for Terragen.
Terragen itself has a new price structure, which you can read about in this story.
Read more about the new features in Terragen Sky on Planetside Software’s blog
Read the online documentation for Terragen Sky
Have your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we don’t post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.