World Machine is finally coming to Linux and Mac
The website demo for World Machine. The veteran terrain generation software will become available for macOS and Linux as well as Windows in the upcoming Dragontail Peak releases.
Veteran terrain generation software World Machine is finally coming to macOS and Linux after over 20 years as a Windows-only application.
The upcoming Dragontail Peak releases will feature “some of the largest changes that have ever been made to World Machine”, including support for Apple Silicon Macs and Linux systems.
One of the original terrain generation tools for games and VFX
First released over two decades ago, World Machine is one of the original terrain creation tools.
It makes it possible to create CG terrain using a combination of manual input and node-based procedural workflows, with users able to import a base mesh or rough one out by hand, then run simulations on it to mimic the effect of erosion, snow deposition and water action.
As well as the terrain geometry, the software can generate PBR textures.
The results can be exported as 3D meshes in glTF or OBJ format, or as 2D textures – including heightmaps and splat maps – in EXR, PNG and TIFF format.
The terrain can then be used in DCC application – the online feature list namechecks 3ds Max, Blender, Cinema 4D and Maya – or game engines like Unity and Unreal Engine.
The testimonials on the product website are now very old, but the software has been used by AAA game developers and VFX studios.
Still updated regularly, just with little fanfare
World Machine Software has tended to operate under the radar, with little publicity for new releases: it isn’t unheard-of for users to post on the forum to ask if Stephen Schmitt is still alive.
The last time we covered the software on CG Channel was in 2021, with the Mt. Rainier release, but there have been two major new versions of World Machine since then.
Artist Point, released in 2022, added PBR rendering. Hurricane Ridge, released in 2024, added new erosion and thermal weathering models, and made some major performance updates.
Now coming to macOS and Linux after over 20 years as a Windows-only application
And this week, Schmitt reactivated the World Machine blog to make a major announcement: that the formerly Windows-only software will support macOS and Linux.
The upcoming Dragontail Peak release will make World Machine available on Apple Silicon Macs and on x64 processors under Ubuntu.
No date is given for the release, and neither the macOS or the Linux editions will be available with the first public build.
However, the blog post mentions alpha testers, so the new version is presumably currently in closed alpha.
More major changes due in the Dragontail Peak releases
Schmitt describes Dragontail Peak as featuring “some of the largest changes that have ever been made to World Machine”, including two other unspecified major development initiatives.
No details have been announced so far, but we’ll update this story if they are.
Price, system requirements and release date
World Machine is compatible with Windows 10+. The Dragontail Peak update is in closed alpha, but no date has been announced for the public release.
An Indie licence, which enables you to build terrains on two CPU cores, costs $119. A Professional licence – which removes the CPU limit, and adds tiled terrain export – costs $299.
There is also a free edition for non-commercial work, which restricts the terrain generated to 1,025 x 1,025px resolution.
Read more about the upcoming Dragontail Peak update on the World Machine blog
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