For years now, my 3D engine of preference has been Unity3D and among the many challenges that come with creating 3D programs are ‘terrains’. Terrains are basically the landscapes that we wander around upon in Cyber Worlds, especially if a rural area with hills etc. is being created. Most cityscapes can exist upon a flat plane although if the streets or roads traverse a hill then a terrain will likely be employed to achieve the mesh to travel upon also.

Unity3D has a terrain feature built in and it has a range of brushes available with which to create hills and mountains. Some world builders are adept at using these brushes and get some very nice results and although I have tried these tools I found myself searching for an easier way to create cyber terrains and after many attempts, I finally discovered my tool of choice.

‘MapMagic’ is really quite remarkable. It has been created by one man, a Russian fellow called Denis Pahunov who has devoted years to it’s construction and this feature-rich asset is so useful that I will talk about the nuts and bolts a little here..

MapMagic is an add-on for the Unity Engine and although a little pricey ($75 US) from a hobbyist’s point of view, it is well worth the cash, let me explain why.

For a start it is a ‘terrain generator’ which means it creates terrains using algorithms. No brush work is required because the asset is ‘node based’. Node based simply means that boxes connected by cables have values in them (generally in numerical form) which can be altered to create different effects. These boxes are called ‘generators’ or ‘modifyers’ and the functions within them alter the appearance of the terrain.

An example is the ‘noise generator’ which generates detail. Other node generators are used to apply textures, rocks, grasses, trees, forests (or groups of trees) and all of the aspects one would expect in a cyber landscape.

So when one fires up MapMagic, a default terrain is created and by adjusting the already present generators or by adding more then very impressive results can be achieved.

 Infinity

Perhaps the most alluring feature of this asset is it’s ability to create ‘infinite landscapes’. That’s right, they never end in any direction and there can be rivers, seas, islands as well as different types of landscapes for one to come across. These are called ‘biomes’ and a desert can lead to a snowy mountains and then a forested region with valley lakes etc., just like in our physical world.

Towns, or buildings can also be either placed or generated as objects into these regions.

Compatibility

I have experimented with other assets to compliment MapMagic and found a number that work well. Weather, clouds, rain, fog plus a host of ‘post  processing effects’ can be added to scenes making them very realistic or if you like ‘stylised’.

One of my favourites is an asset called ‘Enviro’ which produces a day/night cycle as well as weather with storms, lightning and snow etc.

World building

Using a world building tool like MapMagic can save a lot of time and ensure some stunning results. I am not a game maker so much as an environment creator but I can see that future digital worlds created procedurally and randomly in this way are likely to become the pipeline for coming cyber developements. With MapMagic 2 about to be available (and it looks to have many improvements) the challenge of terrain creation is assured of being achievable and exciting.

Made in Unity3D with two assets, Map Magic and Game Creator.

About a year ago I self-published an EBook entitled ‘The Cyber Temple (the making of a digital ceremonial venue)’ and since then have been plodding along with a development of this idea. I took up the challenge of creating a second version of a 3D program that I published many years ago (2003) called ‘Invocation’. This old Windows PC program still works, even on Windows 10 and can be downloaded in the 3D Apps section of this site.

Invocation 2 though is a completely different beast and it solves many of the problems that I encountered with the original version by changing the 3D Engine and the programming language but the most profound change is that the program ‘fully’ automates a ritual.

After making the grand step of accepting that invocational rituals could indeed occur in cyberspace and that the energies of the universe can be contacted and utilised through this medium, I set about making a default venue and ceremony on which to build upon. This ritual is a simple invocation of ‘renewal of the Moon’ (suitable at the new moon) and the venue is about as basic as I could make it. Pre-recorded sound files are used for the invocations and the various commands etc.

To get all of the stages correct I made a prototype which responded to key presses and once that was all working properly, the full automation was put in place with ‘wait’ times so that things flowed at a suitable pace. The ritual from beginning to end takes about four minutes and or course there is no possibility of mistakes once the procedure is set in motion providing that the computer continues running.

If you have seen a cut scene in a game with moving cinematics then you will know what to expect with such a program. It occurs to me that a video of the automated program will suffice as well. The watcher just follows along until the end.

Four avatars are employed, my own and three NPCs which I refer to as ‘the sisters’. The utilisation of avatars in ritual requires another conceptual acceptance. At one point the combined energy of the avatars is used to invoke the spirit of renewal. This introduces something that has been around in Magic since the beginning (if indeed there ever was one). It’s called ‘Sympathetic Magic’ and when it is used an image or an effigy (sometimes called a Poppet) is infused with energy to effect a desired outcome. In the case of the Invocation 2 program the NPCs are the Poppets and were infused with energy when I made them. The potency of these characters depends on the amount of energy invested in them.

I chose to have four avatars because they can represent the elements, the directions and all associations that can be attributed to the four quarters.

As well as the default venue which is rather stark I have created a forest temple (I refer to these venues as temples even though some do not have roofs, walls etc.). The forest temple is housed in a ring of standing stones amidst pines and mountains. Another I have started is in a beech forest with a waterfall nearby. These nature venues are great and add important ambience to the ritual times.

The final aspect of Invocation 2 to talk about is the portal one passes through to get to the various temples. Styles of portals have always interested me and the default Invocation 2 portal is a a superb example of what can be achieved. One passes through an animated opening and is hurtled along  a wormhole to the temple scene where the Avatars are patiently awaiting to proceed. Sound effects are employed to intensify the journey.

All in all, I’m extremely pleased with the program. I have no doubt that improvements will occur and of course a collection of different temples and rituals will accumulate.  Thanks for reading.

Spent an afternoon on this..

A Virtual World I have been working on.

Along with the Space Temple there is now a Basement Temple incorporated into my new 3D Invocation Program. A maze of winding concrete and steel corridors arrive finally at the underground venue. (Great acoustics).
The ceremonial venue can be located in any 3D setting and a nature setting is in the works as well.

Introduction

The first portion of this work is chronological in order to give an idea of the stages I have navigated to arrive at this cyber approach to such an old functionality, the practice of ritual or ceremonial magic.
The casting of a circle, marking the directions, lights, sealing, cleansing and invoking are all covered in these pages but with a unique contemporary twist.
I have avoided discussing the high end occult uses for the venue but instead focused on the basics and a celestial ceremony. Even the assets displayed in the build are very basic and this is deliberate so as to avoid any personalisation of the construct.
Coming from a practitioner of the Western Tradition will of course influence the format to some extent, this is unavoidable and even appropriate but I expect that any tradition could pick up on this modus operandi and develop it to their own requirements.
I am using the First Person 3D format although Third Person and even Top Down formats are equally as possible.
As an occultist and a hobbyist programmer I appear to be handily placed to make such a program and as you will see, it has been on my mind for a long time to travel down this path and come up with an application that is useful and eventually, elegant. $5 HERE