⛰ | The Art of Terrain

–INTRO–

Terrain is a very important tool in GKC. It’s the foundation of every game. Because of this, it’s essential to know how to properly use it

In this guide, we’ll cover the do’s and don’ts of terrain, as well as some tips and tricks


#1. LAYER YOUR TERRAIN

This one’s a real no-brainer, yet it makes all the difference in your map [1]

Examine pictures A and B

A:
Screenshot 2024-09-20 6.55.11 AM

B:
image

which one is better? I don’t even have to tell you.

Yet again, this makes all the difference on your map
Please please PLEASE layer your terrain


#2. THE TYPES OF TERRAIN :mountain:

No, I don’t mean individual types of terrain like [ Frozen Lake ] or [ Dark scrapes ]
I’m talking about the two general groups of terrain.

CORNERED & ROUNDED

Cornered terrain is your more block shaped stuff. Rounded is more natural and well… rounded

image - Cornered terrain [ blastball court ]

image - Rounded terrain [ Asphalt road ]

Click the drop-down below for a full categorization of every terrain

–CORNED TERRAIN–

image - Blastball Court

image - Boardwalk

image - Castle Tile (Green)

image - Castle Tile (Purple)

image - Castle Tile (Red)

image - Cinema Carpet

image - Concrete

image - Dark Scraps

image - Disco

image - Dungeon (Blue)

image - Dungeon (Grey)

image - Dungeon (Green)

image - Dungeon (Purple)

[ WIP ]

Now when using terrain, it’s important to be mindful of the categories, especially with 3D terrain, and some other special cases, like these two examples:

image

image

They both look kinda janky, and even though the terrain matches, the categories don’t mix well together.

This is why it’s best to keep your cornered and rounded terrain separate [2]

This rule isn’t really that strong or direct, it kinda depends on the situation.
HOWEVER, 3D terrain is much more strict

Basically, when picking two combos for your 3D terrain, NEVER use a rounded and cornered terrain together. Put a category with another of its type.

want proof? here:

image

:nauseated_face:


#3. NATURALITY OF TERRAIN :mountain:

Remember that whole thing on cornered and rounded stuff? Yeah. There’s even more to it with 3D terrain. Especially cornered.

Basically, there’s this thing called

NATURALITY

  • Rounded terrain is more natural

  • Cornered terrain is more man made

So, don’t use cornered terrain for natural shapes. [3]
But guess what? this rule above applies for 3D terrain too!

#1
image

#2
image

As you can see, #1 looks good, but #2 looks blocky and janky. It just doesn’t work as well in your brain.

This isn’t true for rounded terrain, however. it’ll work in natural or man made shapes.


#4. OTHER SMALL THINGS ABOUT TERRAIN

#1A:

Don’t use a crappy color palette. Use stuff that looks good and blends well together, unlike the image below:

image - the forbidden combo…


#1B:
So have you ever heard of this thing called “wall limit”? Well, It SUCKS you can only use 2500 wall blocks before it stops you.

But, you can save more space for walls by removing unnecessary wall terrain

If you have a block like below, remove the wall terrain in the middle and replace it with floor.

image


#1C:
If you didn’t already know this, terrain is actually very expensive memory-wise.

Floor terrain is +2 memory

Wall terrain is +3 memory

image

These might seem like small numbers, but they can add up very quickly.
Take the 4x4 above.

It has 4 floor terrain and 12 wall terrain

(4 x 2) + (12 x 3) = 44

that’s just a small chuck of terrain, and it’s been modified to be more memory efficient.


Disclaimer:
all steps marked with a :mountain: are associated with 3D terrain. For more info on it, click the link below.

How to make 3D terrain [2/10 or :blue_square: ]


Other great guides on terrain:


  1. Yes, this has been covered before, but it is SO SO IMPORTANT ↩︎

  2. unless you cover up the edges, like using a cornered terrain as a wall, and the rounded as the floor. ↩︎

  3. Rounded works fine in more man made shapes ↩︎

32 Likes

Amazing guide! I love it!

3 Likes

Another amazing terrain guide! Your title should be 3D terrain master!
(Wait do you already have that title? My bad.)

3 Likes

Another amazing guide from the 3D Terrain Master!
yay

I love it too!

Edit: lol
:parrot:

6 Likes

Thanks!

Now that I’ve finished this, I can do my homework that I put off :skull:

11 Likes

:+1:

Nice!

2 Likes

cool guide!

2 Likes

I love your smore pfp @nagyeyelo.

3 Likes
Off-topic

I just realized I actually have that smore from like a school contest.

2 Likes

No fair. I WANT THAT SMORE!

3 Likes

I’m putting this in my game now lol

4 Likes

Well don’t say that I didn’t warn you when you get negative no plays.

6 Likes

Time to add the list…
with pictures…

also bump.

3 Likes

BUMP!
erm guys you better be bookmarking this guide

4 Likes

Σ bump.

I added #1C, because memory is no joke. One of my friends saved 14% percent by removing the floor of his map and using the map settings instead.

3 Likes

I remember when I first started gimkit creative I didn’t know that was an option :skull:

6 Likes

Wait, @Cellofive left too? What? Is there a leaving spree?

1 Like

yeah, but some are staying. take me for example, I was gonna leave but this happened.


you just need a good kick of dopamine and endorphins.

2 Likes

:+1:

2 Likes

:skull: why is everyone asking if cello left in my guides?

Idk if he’s left. Cello’s attempted to leave before, but this could be the final straw.

4 Likes