Gaea 2.3.0.1

Gaea 2.3 is a major step forward in the Gaea 2.0 lifecycle. We are introducing Macros and advanced automation for power users, new artistic tools for Erosion and other simulations, improved support for Regions and large scale worlds.

This version also includes a large number of stability improvements and fixes as requested by the community, as well as several Quality-of-Life improvements.

NOTE: If you are using Gaea 2.2 in production, you should be able to move to 2.3 without any issues. But we highly recommend testing a project or two to make sure your pipeline holds.

Updates in 2.3.0.1

FIX: Macro did not generate UI on creation.
FIX: Improved error handling when calculating expressions during build.
FIX: Expression could crash with junk variables or when left blank.
FIX: Holding ALT in Draw window would open window menu instead.
FIX: Cancelling Delete All Variables dialog could still delete variables.
FIX: Save File is called before Exporting Macro.
FIX: Macro should not show Add Port menu.
FIX: Adding a Port could crash Gaea.

Updates in 2.3.0.0

Macros

See the Macro Documentation for more details on the macro system, including how to create your own macros.

New features

Macros. Create and reuse graphs using your own Macros.
New Lake node mode: "Simple", with fast lake generation.
New 2D Viewport Gizmos for added precision and usability.
Swap added to Compare.
New node: ColorThreshold, for generating masks from color values.
16K baking is now supported.
New progress dialog for long operations such as Bake, Export, and Cache.
You can now filter for bypassed nodes.
Added warning when Region builds are under 4K.

Node improvements

Lake: improved colorization.
Lake: improved preview colors with a focus on depth perception.
Median: revamped with new "Advanced 2" mode.
Erosion2: adds "Extra Deposits".
Erosion2: adds "No Erosion" mode.
Debris: now supports removal control via a dedicated input.
Snowfield: includes experimental Taper options.
Texture nodes now use new Slope code, old nodes will keep using old Slope.

Viewport and gizmo improvements

Faster viewport rendering during interactive operations, including Draw, Transform, and more.
Improved visual feedback when using double-click to connect nodes.

Build, region, cache, and export improvements

Build dialog now shows region and region resolution if a region is being built.
Build Settings window: region reference image is now shown only when the Region Manager is shown.
Region text updated from "remaining standard" to "Whole terrain".
Caching behavior reworked for better stability, especially around baked data.
Tiled build handling received multiple fixes, including leading-zero naming and better behavior in edge cases.
Export and bake-related crash points were addressed.
Declare Input/Output variables as optional for Bridges.
Disabling nodes under "Nodes to Export" now properly excludes them from build/export.
Build Open now correctly opens the actual build folder.
Some baked nodes would show data incorrectly.

UI and workflow improvements

New command to create Bridge or Macro connector Nodes.
Data View has a new filter Nodes with Modifiers.
Improved orphan variable warning with a non-intrusive message.
Random Seed input improved: click for new seed, right-click to edit as text.
Compute tab now shows more detailed error information.
Added an option to suppress the "Delete orphan variables" dialog.
Group icons now display correctly in headers and the data view.
Interface scaling and floating mode behavior were improved.
Some VRAM usage and preview/update behavior were improved.
Improved startup resilience in some edge cases.
Better handling for older files and graph import edge cases.
Improved crash details if Gaea fails to start.
Option to disable 3D gizmos and use 2D only.
Improved License Authorization.
Improved License Management through the Help menu.
Warn when user tries 16K build.

Platform and backend updates

CUDA updated to 12.8.
HIP updated to 6.4.
Expanded support for AMD GPUs and APUs. See end of document.
Gaea now targets the latest C++ runtime.
Includes a security fix for IM, GHSA-6hjr-v6g4-3fm8 and GHSA-98cp-rj9f-6v5g.

Fixes

Graph, nodes, and editing

Mouse wheel zoom did not work when hovering Notes.
Pasting a node after Cut did not retain connection, and connecting an existing node to a pasted node could crash.
After moving a selected node to another graph, it was not removed from the group.
When switching between graphs, collapsed group children could become visible.
SoftClip did not honor Ratio.
Canyon Eroded2 mode was not working.
Wizard2 had an unnecessary extra UI group.
Mixer did not preserve properties when duplicating or copying.
Mixer via MultiMix did not create different layer colors.
CLUTer kept invalidating children on select.
DotNoise could fail if Size was too low.
Replacing a node with a macro could crash Gaea.
Combine did not blend with black when secondary ports were unconnected.
Heightfield nodes that accept Color input could incorrectly be allowed as Underlay.
Duplication did not carry over some properties.
Plates could go into an infinite loop at extreme scale.
Handle out-of-range scales and values in several Generators.
Potential data conversion error when copy/pasting complex nodes.
Bookmarks did not update after node rename.
Remove primary port name not working for Unreal and Unity.
Corrected unexportable logic.
Curve node did not update when Fit Curve command was used.
Draw node data was wiped when unbaking or baking Draw node.
Search preset could not be created.
Out-to-Out connections did not update preview.
Searching for portals could cause a crash.
Collapsing a group would leave ghost lines.
Gaea could crash if Mesher was bypassed.
Gaea could become unstable if Output nodes were baked.
Rare Mesher crash fixed.
Gizmo did not work in old-style Crater.
Duplicated nodes did not contain original portals or connections.
SatMap Clipping slider behaved incorrectly.
Dropping a node on another node now connects them correctly.
Dropping nodes could create extra copies in some cases.
Some old Gaea 1 Halftone maps were broken and were removed.
Switching tabs should not reset Node Tree in Data View.
Node connected at the end was shown as Orphan.
Search could write incorrect node if mouse was over an item.

Region, build, cache, and export

Region build reliability fixed.
Tiled Export crashed when Flip Y axis was enabled.
Dragging Region could cause a crash in some situations.
Running a build with a baked Export node could cause a crash.
Region build would not work.
Build result was not set correctly at the end of standard build.
Progress would clear after some nodes were finished.
Loaded cache would ignore certain render overrides and show as heightfield.
UDIM order was incorrect.
16K Meshes could fail.

UI, windowing, and viewport

Maximized window could bleed into nearby monitors.
LazyMenu could crash if the 2D viewport was open and selected from LazyMenu.
Viewport area element icon checked state was not set initially.
Dragging misalignment in rare cases fixed.
High-precision numbers could appear visually truncated.
Re-embedding viewport after changing interface scale could cause a crash.
Interface scale was not preserved when choosing Floating mode.
Minor VRAM improvement in UI.
Viewport AO and Shadows checkboxes were broken.
Crash when creating excessive tabs.

Files, loading, saving, and startup

Do not warn about autosave if file was recently saved.
Autosave warning interval is now remembered across sessions.
Node help did not go to the correct URLs.
GRAW could crash if Meta sidecar file was missing.
Open/Save dialog could fail if last path became unavailable.
Gaea could crash on startup if an MRU file on a network path was unavailable.
Older files without Macros would not load.
Updates were stored in the root folder instead of Updates.

Commands, shortcuts, and edition restrictions

DotNoise ("dot"), Filter ("fi"), Math ("mth"), Meshify ("msf"), MeshWarp ("mw"), and SuperColor ("spc") shortcuts changed to avoid conflict.
Bind Variable option was visible to Indie users.
Duplicate shortcut entry in Help.
Unnecessary "Validation Failed" message when using the Build tab.

Houdini

Create Bridge command to easily create connector nodes with appropriate names and settings.
Range values could break.
Several bugfixes in Gaea2Houdini based on user feedback.
Gaea/Watson Diagnostics now includes Gaea2Houdini checks.

Stability

Better startup resilience in edge cases.
Diagnostics still warn user if they're on an older build.
Draw node stability improved.
Crash when Underlay is unbuilt or outdated fixed.
Several crash cases around viewport embedding, baking, portals, underlays, and file loading were addressed.

AMD Compatibility

AMD GPUs

AMD Radeon AI PRO R9700
AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT
AMD Radeon RX 9070
AMD RX 9070 GRE
AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT
AMD Radeon RX 9060

AMD APUs

AMD Ryzen AI Max+ Pro 395
AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395
AMD Ryzen AI Max Pro 390
AMD Ryzen AI Max 390
AMD Ryzen AI Max Pro 385
AMD Ryzen AI Max 385
AMD Ryzen AI Max Pro 380

Compatibility and Production Safety

If you are using Gaea 2.2 in production, you should be able to move to 2.3 without any issues.

But we highly recommend testing a project or two to make sure your pipeline holds.

Useful Hint: Gaea will always save a recovery copy when opening a file made in an older build.

This website is best viewed in a landscape orientation.