TerrainForge
Free-form terrain brush for Valheim: 9 operations (flatten/raise/lower/smooth/ramp/shore/paint/restore/snow), 5 shapes, undo/redo, path ramps, terrain stamps (copy/paste), snapshots, radial menu, presets, 14 languages (auto-detect), server + client.TerrainForge
A free-form terrain brush for Valheim. Flatten, raise, lower, smooth, build ramps (two-point, fixed-angle and path), shape shorelines, paint and restore terrain of any size — beyond the vanilla ±8 m limit — with undo/redo, five brush shapes, a radial menu, saved profiles, terrain stamps (copy/paste), terrain snapshots and 14 in-game languages with auto-detect.
📖 Full documentation & translations (14 languages): Wiki — see the Documentation languages list below.
What's New in 0.3.5
- Terrain stamps — rectangle selection (A→B) — with the Rectangle shape, mark corner A (right-click once), aim at B and press
Ctrl+Shift+Cto copy exactly that rectangle, cropped to the vertex level (no whole 64 m tiles, no surrounding untouched terrain). Pasting writes only inside the copied region. - Free camera (
F) fixed — while flying, right-click no longer triggers lock-on, brush drift or a screenshot;Ctrl+wheel adjusts the brush radius; brush adjustments take priority. - Docs & wiki in 14 languages — README and CHANGELOG in English, and the full manual on the Wiki (
Home+ 13 translations).
Description
TerrainForge ships its own TerrainForge Rod (a Hammer clone) as the brush tool. It is handed to you automatically when you join a world and everything is explained in an in-game Help tab (menu key, default F5).
Why client AND server
Terrain edits are stored in the world and the server replicates them to every player. Because the game clamps edits to ±8 m, TerrainForge must also be installed on the server; otherwise the server regenerates the clamped terrain while clients see the full edit → desync.
Requirements
- BepInEx 5 (x64, Mono) on both client and server. Thunderstore users already have it.
- Jotunn (
ValheimModding-Jotunn) — registers the custom tool. It is listed inmanifest.json; Thunderstore installs it automatically.
Installation
- Download the latest version from Thunderstore or GitHub Releases.
- Place it at:
- Client:
...\BepInEx\plugins\TerrainForge\TerrainForge.dll - Server:
<server>\BepInEx\plugins\TerrainForge\TerrainForge.dll
- Client:
- Restart the game / server.
⚠️ Must be on both (client and server) for edits greater than ±8 m and correct replication.
Usage
Equip the TerrainForge Rod (given on world join; get it again with F8), aim at the ground and hold right-click to sculpt.
While aiming, a solid ring marks the real brush area, with faint guides in the operation color (full-strength zone, max radius, max aim distance). For Ramp, the real A–B corridor is drawn while you mark. The HUD (bottom-right) shows operation, radius, shape, paint and undo/redo counters; a second line shows the aimed height, current target and local slope in degrees. Guides can be disabled in Preview > Show guides.
Controls
| Action | Default key |
|---|---|
| Apply brush | Hold Mouse1 (right-click) |
| Radius + | = (also Ctrl + wheel) |
| Radius − | - (also Ctrl + wheel) |
| Cycle operation | , |
| Cycle shape | . |
| Cycle paint | / |
| Use aimed height (instead of your feet) for Flatten | Hold Left Shift |
| Undo last stroke | Ctrl+Z |
| Redo undone stroke | Ctrl+Y |
| Fix / release Flatten height (eyedropper) | G |
| Cycle ramp mode (two-point / fixed-angle / path) | H |
| Adjust fixed-ramp angle (with Ramp selected) | Hold Alt + radius keys / wheel |
| Radial operation menu (hold, release to confirm) | Q |
| Adjust mode (wheel = radius, zoom frozen) | V |
| Fine radius steps (0.1 m) | Hold Shift + wheel / radius keys |
| Copy terrain (Stamp) | Ctrl+Shift+C |
| Paste terrain (Stamp) | Ctrl+Shift+V |
| Get the TerrainForge Rod | F8 |
| Open the keys + help menu | F5 |
Extra keys (no default, assign them in KEYS):
- Direct operation: Flatten, Raise, Lower, Smooth, Paint, Restore, Ramp, Shore, Snow
- Next / previous profile
- Next / previous stamp (history)
Operations
Operations cycle: Flatten, Raise, Lower, Smooth, Ramp, Paint, Restore, Shore (flattens toward the water level + margin, for beaches) and Snow (paints snow like Paint but snow only; Shift removes it and restores the original ground).
Details
- Flatten — follows the ground under the crosshair by default and adapts to what you aim at (e.g. a ramp). Hold
Left Shiftto level at your feet. - Raise / Lower — raise or lower terrain according to the falloff mode and power.
- Smooth — averages each point with its neighbours (a real blur), smoothing ridges, steps and noise. Hold to smooth progressively. Modes:
Full(both ways),Ridges only(lowers only),Dips only(fills only). Shape Line + Smooth = smooth along a path. - Ramp — three modes (
H): two-point (mark A and B, joins both heights with a straight slope), fixed-angle (B gives direction and length, height followsRamp angle, adjustable withAlt+ radius), and path (mark a curve A→B→C…, double-press to close). The brush radius sets the ramp width and softness only softens the side edges. Preview: filled semi-transparent corridor + height rings at A and B. - Shore — flattens toward the water level + margin (beaches/coastlines), with softness blending like Flatten.
- Paint — types: Dirt, Cultivated, Paved, ClearVegetation, DeepSnow, Reset.
- Restore — returns the terrain to its original state.
- Snow — paints snow like Paint but snow only;
Shiftremoves it and restores the original ground.
Shapes
Circle, Square, Line, Rectangle, Polygon (key .).
Line/Rectangle: two Apply presses (A and B; line half-width = brush radius, corners define the area with soft edges).Polygon: adds a vertex per press and closes on a double-press (3+ vertices).- All area operations apply over these footprints with undo support.
Falloff modes (Raise/Lower)
Cycle in SETTINGS → "Raise/Lower falloff":
| Mode | Effect |
|---|---|
| Pointy (original) | Central peak, controlled by "Falloff power" |
| Flat | Uniform disc, same weight across the whole radius |
| Smooth | Cosine bell, smooth transition |
| Linear | Decreases in a straight line from centre to edge |
In-game languages
15 options: Auto, English, Español, Français, Deutsch, Русский, 中文, 繁體中文, 日本語, 한국어, Polski, Português, Türkçe, Українська, Italiano — default Auto.
Auto-detect: by default Auto detects the language configured in Valheim via reflection. If a language has no complete translation, it falls back to English.
Documentation is available in other languages on the Wiki. See the Documentation languages list at the bottom of this page.
Snapshots (Backups)
SNAPSHOTS tab in SETTINGS: give it a name to save all edited tiles to BepInEx/config/TerrainForge/snapshots/<name>.dat, then load it later (even in another save). Import restores with ownership and is undoable; unloaded tiles warn cleanly.
Stamps (Copy/Paste Terrain)
STAMPS tab in SETTINGS.
- Copy with a rectangle selection: switch the shape to
Rectangle(key.), press Apply once to mark corner A (no edit is made), aim at corner B, then pressCtrl+Shift+C→ copies exactly that rectangle (cropped to the selection, it does not drag whole 64 m tiles or untouched ground around it). Ctrl+Shift+Vshows a ghost (wireframe) preview at the crosshair;Q/Erotate,Alt+wheel rotates continuously,Shift+wheel scales, click confirms.- Pasting writes only inside the copied region; it does not erase terrain outside it.
- History of 10 stamps in RAM: "Next stamp" / "Previous stamp" keys cycle them.
- Save a stamp to disk (
.stampinBepInEx/config/TerrainForge/stamps/, max 12), load it into the clipboard, list and delete from the UI. - Stamp tool: in SETTINGS → "Stamp tool" (4 options):
Same as brush(default),Any,Pickaxe,TerrainForge Rod. The HUD showsSTAMP READY [2/5]when the right tool is equipped and the clipboard has stamps; otherwise it warnsStamp: tool not equipped.Ctrl+Shift+C/Vdo nothing without the tool equipped.
Preview
- Solid ring: the real generated area.
- Faint guides: full-strength zone, max radius, max aim distance.
- For Ramp: the real A–B corridor (edges + semi-transparent fill) + height rings at A and B.
- For Flatten/Shore: a marker ring for the target level.
- Blocked by server/ward: guides in grey.
- Underwater: the preview floats on the surface.
In-game menu (F5)
3 tabs with a global scroll (mouse wheel):
| Tab | Purpose |
|---|---|
| KEYS | Rebind keys: click → press a key/button; Esc cancels. Combos: hold modifiers, then the main key. Mouse buttons supported. |
| HELP | Complete reference of operations, controls, preview, multiplayer and saving. |
| SETTINGS | Everything editable live: sliders, toggles, cycles, profiles, stamps, snapshots, language. Saved on close. |
ESC button: the pause menu has a "TerrainForge" button that opens the menu.
Server + Client
- Required on both for edits greater than ±8 m and correct replication.
Serversection (authoritative via config sync):AllowTerrainEdits(default on)AdminOnlyEdits(default off)RespectWards(default on)RadiusCap/DeltaCap(0 = no limit)
- A server without the mod ignores the section → the client still works for testing.
Performance
TilesPerFrame (1–32, default 4): tiles per frame on large strokes. Prevents lag.
Changelog
See CHANGELOG.md.
Links
- Thunderstore: https://thunderstore.io/c/valheim/p/MRAnalytics/TerrainForge/
- GitHub repository: https://github.com/marceloanton/TerrainForge
- Wiki / documentation: https://github.com/marceloanton/TerrainForge/wiki
- Donations: cafecito.app/byrka
Documentation languages
English (this page) · Español · Français · Deutsch · Русский · 中文 · 繁體中文 · 日本語 · 한국어 · Polski · Português · Türkçe · Українська · Italiano