Animating Terrain Filtering

By animating the shape of a terrain object's Filtering Graph you can create some very specific geometry effects.

For example, you can make specific areas of your terrain sink to simulate the damage caused by an earthquake. To create this effect you would darken only areas you want to sink in the Filtering Graph. Likewise, you create the effect of ridges forming by lightening specific areas of the graph. For example, the gradual appearance of stairs in this terrain was created by adjusting the filtering graph at different points in the timeline.

You can also use the Filtering Graph to gradually raise or lower the entire terrain over the course of your animation.

To animate terrain filtering:

1. Click a terrain object.
2. Click the triangle icon in the Animation Controls and make sure Auto-Key is enabled.
   
   
3. Click the button that appears next to the terrain object's bounding box. The Terrain Editor appears.
4. Move the Current Time Indicator to the point in the Timeline where you want the terrain to change.
5. Click the Filtering tab.
6. Adjust the shape of the Filtering Graph or select a preset filter.
   
   
7. Click on Apply to apply the filter.
   
   
8. Move the Current Time Indicator to a different point on the Timeline.
9. Change the shape of the graph again.
10. Continue moving the Current Time Indicator and changing the terrain's graph until you have the desired effect.
11. Click the OK icon to exit the editor.

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