# Phase 3c: Terrain Texture Blending **Status:** Ready for review **Date:** 2026-04-10 **Prerequisites:** Phases 1-3a/3b merged (lighting + per-vertex terrain normals) **Primary reference:** `references/WorldBuilder/Chorizite.OpenGLSDLBackend/Lib/LandSurfaceManager.cs` + `Shaders/Landscape.{vert,frag}` **Deferred out:** Chunking refactor (moved to a hypothetical Phase 3d when streaming actually matters) --- ## 1. Goal Replace acdream's current "one terrain texture type per vertex, pick an atlas layer" with AC's real texture-merge blending: per-cell palette codes + alpha masks + up to 3 terrain overlays + up to 2 road overlays composited in the fragment shader. End result: no more jagged grass/dirt/sand seams, terrain looks like real AC. **Explicitly NOT in scope:** - Chunking / global VBO slot pools (zero visual benefit until we stream more landblocks) - Streaming, frustum culling, multi-draw indirect - Minimap / grid overlay / brush visualization (editor features) - Collision queries Keep the existing "one VBO per landblock" render structure. All the changes are inside how each landblock is meshed and shaded. --- ## 2. What changes architecturally ### Current (post-Phase 3b) ``` LandblockMesh.Build → 81 vertices (9×9 grid) each vertex: Position, Normal, TexCoord, TerrainLayer(uint) TerrainRenderer: one VBO per landblock Fragment shader: single sampler2DArray lookup ``` ### After Phase 3c ``` LandblockMesh.Build → 384 vertices (64 cells × 6 vertices) each vertex: Position, Normal, TexCoord, Data0, Data1, Data2, Data3 where Data0..3 encode: base + 3 overlays + 2 roads + rotations + split direction TerrainRenderer: one VBO per landblock (unchanged) Fragment shader: two sampler2DArray lookups (terrain atlas + alpha atlas), layered alpha-weighted composite ``` **Per-cell, not per-vertex:** every 6 vertices sharing a cell carry identical `Data0..3`. The vertex shader uses them to compute UVs + rotations for the fragment shader, which does the actual blend. --- ## 3. Core algorithm port All of these are **pure functions** lifted (with attribution) from WorldBuilder's `LandSurfaceManager.cs`. Live in a new file `src/AcDream.Core/Terrain/TerrainBlending.cs`. ### 3.1 Palette code ```csharp // Encodes 4 corner terrain types (5 bits each) + 4 road flags (2 bits each) // into a 32-bit hash. Same corners → same palCode → same blending choices. public static uint GetPalCode(int r1, int r2, int r3, int r4, int t1, int t2, int t3, int t4) { uint terrainBits = (uint)((t1 << 15) | (t2 << 10) | (t3 << 5) | t4); uint roadBits = (uint)((r1 << 26) | (r2 << 24) | (r3 << 22) | (r4 << 20)); uint sizeBits = 1u << 28; return sizeBits | roadBits | terrainBits; } ``` ### 3.2 SurfaceInfo (derived from palCode via `BuildSurface`) ```csharp public readonly record struct SurfaceInfo( byte BaseTexIdx, // 0..35, terrain atlas layer byte Ovl0TexIdx, byte Ovl0AlphaIdx, byte Ovl0Rotation, // 255 idx = unused; rot 0..3 byte Ovl1TexIdx, byte Ovl1AlphaIdx, byte Ovl1Rotation, byte Ovl2TexIdx, byte Ovl2AlphaIdx, byte Ovl2Rotation, byte Road0TexIdx, byte Road0AlphaIdx, byte Road0Rotation, byte Road1TexIdx, byte Road1AlphaIdx, byte Road1Rotation); // Ports WorldBuilder's BuildTexture + FindTerrainAlpha + FindRoadAlpha public static SurfaceInfo BuildSurface( uint palCode, TexMergeInfo texMerge, // from Region.TerrainInfo.LandSurfaces.TexMerge IReadOnlyDictionary terrainTypeToLayer, IReadOnlyList cornerAlphaLayers, // atlas layers 0..3 IReadOnlyList sideAlphaLayers, // atlas layers 4..7 IReadOnlyList roadAlphaLayers); // atlas layers 5..14 ``` ### 3.3 FillCellData (pack into 4 uints) ```csharp // Per-cell shared-among-6-vertices data. Bit layout matches WorldBuilder's // Landscape.vert unpacking so the shader stays as a straight port. public static (uint d0, uint d1, uint d2, uint d3) FillCellData( SurfaceInfo s, CellSplitDirection split) { uint d0 = (uint)(s.BaseTexIdx | (0 /*base alpha unused*/ << 8) | ((s.Ovl0TexIdx | (s.Ovl0AlphaIdx << 8)) << 16)); uint d1 = (uint)( (s.Ovl1TexIdx | (s.Ovl1AlphaIdx << 8)) | ((s.Ovl2TexIdx | (s.Ovl2AlphaIdx << 8)) << 16)); uint d2 = (uint)( (s.Road0TexIdx | (s.Road0AlphaIdx << 8)) | ((s.Road1TexIdx | (s.Road1AlphaIdx << 8)) << 16)); uint d3 = (uint)(/*base rot=0*/ | (s.Ovl0Rotation << 2) | (s.Ovl1Rotation << 4) | (s.Ovl2Rotation << 6) | (s.Road0Rotation << 8) | (s.Road1Rotation << 10) | (((int)split & 1) << 12)); return (d0, d1, d2, d3); } ``` ### 3.4 Cell split direction (deterministic hash) ```csharp public enum CellSplitDirection { SwToNe = 0, NwToSe = 1 } // Ports WorldBuilder TerrainUtils.GetCellSplitDirection — the magic constants // must match exactly or our splits won't line up with server collision physics. public static CellSplitDirection GetCellSplitDirection( int landblockX, int landblockY, int cellX, int cellY); ``` ### 3.5 PseudoRandomIndex ```csharp // Used by BuildSurface to pick which of several alpha variants to use for a // given palCode, so visually similar cells don't all use identical blend masks. public static int PseudoRandomIndex(uint palCode, int max); ``` Every function above is **trivially unit-testable** with canned inputs. We'll seed golden values from an instrumented WorldBuilder run. --- ## 4. Per-cell mesh generation Rewrite `LandblockMesh.Build` to the new per-cell layout. Still one landblock → one `LandblockMeshData` → one VBO (so `TerrainRenderer` stays unchanged at the draw-call level). ```csharp public static LandblockMeshData Build( LandBlock block, int landblockX, int landblockY, // for split-direction hashing float[] heightTable, TexMergeInfo texMerge, IReadOnlyDictionary terrainTypeToLayer, IReadOnlyList cornerAlphaLayers, IReadOnlyList sideAlphaLayers, IReadOnlyList roadAlphaLayers, Dictionary surfaceCache) // palCode → SurfaceInfo, shared across landblocks { // Pre-sample the 9×9 heightmap (existing Phase 3b logic, unchanged) var heights = new float[9, 9]; // ... var vertices = new List(64 * 6); var indices = new List(64 * 6); for (int cy = 0; cy < 8; cy++) { for (int cx = 0; cx < 8; cx++) { // 1. Gather 4 corner TerrainInfos (x-major, block.Terrain[x*9+y]) var tBL = block.Terrain[cx * 9 + cy]; var tBR = block.Terrain[(cx + 1) * 9 + cy]; var tTR = block.Terrain[(cx + 1) * 9 + (cy + 1)]; var tTL = block.Terrain[cx * 9 + (cy + 1)]; // 2. palCode + SurfaceInfo (cached) uint palCode = TerrainBlending.GetPalCode( tBL.Road, tBR.Road, tTR.Road, tTL.Road, (int)tBL.Type, (int)tBR.Type, (int)tTR.Type, (int)tTL.Type); if (!surfaceCache.TryGetValue(palCode, out var surf)) { surf = TerrainBlending.BuildSurface( palCode, texMerge, terrainTypeToLayer, cornerAlphaLayers, sideAlphaLayers, roadAlphaLayers); surfaceCache[palCode] = surf; } // 3. Cell data (shared across all 6 vertices of the cell) var split = TerrainBlending.GetCellSplitDirection(landblockX, landblockY, cx, cy); var (d0, d1, d2, d3) = TerrainBlending.FillCellData(surf, split); // 4. 4 corner positions + per-corner central-difference normals // (Phase 3b logic lifted into a helper) var posBL = CornerPosition(cx, cy, heights); var posBR = CornerPosition(cx + 1, cy, heights); var posTR = CornerPosition(cx + 1, cy + 1, heights); var posTL = CornerPosition(cx, cy + 1, heights); var nBL = CentralDiffNormal(heights, cx, cy); // ...same for BR, TR, TL // 5. Per-corner UVs in cell-local [0,1] space var uvBL = new Vector2(0, 0); var uvBR = new Vector2(1, 0); var uvTR = new Vector2(1, 1); var uvTL = new Vector2(0, 1); // 6. Two triangles per split direction // SwToNe: (BL,BR,TR), (BL,TR,TL) // NwToSe: (BL,BR,TL), (BR,TR,TL) void Emit(Vector3 p, Vector3 n, Vector2 uv) { uint idx = (uint)vertices.Count; vertices.Add(new Vertex(p, n, uv, d0, d1, d2, d3)); indices.Add(idx); } if (split == CellSplitDirection.SwToNe) { Emit(posBL, nBL, uvBL); Emit(posBR, nBR, uvBR); Emit(posTR, nTR, uvTR); Emit(posBL, nBL, uvBL); Emit(posTR, nTR, uvTR); Emit(posTL, nTL, uvTL); } else { Emit(posBL, nBL, uvBL); Emit(posBR, nBR, uvBR); Emit(posTL, nTL, uvTL); Emit(posBR, nBR, uvBR); Emit(posTR, nTR, uvTR); Emit(posTL, nTL, uvTL); } } } return new LandblockMeshData(vertices.ToArray(), indices.ToArray()); } ``` 384 vertices, 384 indices, 64 cells per landblock. The `surfaceCache` is passed in from `GameWindow` so all 9 landblocks share the same palette → SurfaceInfo cache. WorldBuilder does this too — palCode hashing is deterministic so two different landblocks with the same corner config hit the same cached SurfaceInfo. --- ## 5. Vertex format change `src/AcDream.Core/Terrain/Vertex.cs`: ```csharp public readonly record struct Vertex( Vector3 Position, // 12 Vector3 Normal, // 12 Vector2 TexCoord, // 8 uint Data0, // 4 uint Data1, // 4 uint Data2, // 4 uint Data3); // 4 // Total: 48 bytes (was 36) ``` Drops `TerrainLayer` since the shader now reads layer info from `Data0`. **Breaking change for `GfxObjMesh`:** static meshes also use `Vertex`. Their normals etc. stay put, but they now emit `0, 0, 0, 0` for `Data0..3`. The `mesh.vert`/`mesh.frag` static-mesh shaders don't reference those attributes so they're ignored — but the VAO binding layout must include them (stride = 48, attribute 3-6 still enabled, they just carry dead bytes). Alternative: give static meshes their own vertex struct so we don't waste 16 bytes per mesh vertex. Deferred — Phase 2+ mesh memory isn't a bottleneck, and a unified struct is simpler. --- ## 6. TerrainAtlas grows an alpha atlas `src/AcDream.App/Rendering/TerrainAtlas.cs`: ```csharp public sealed class TerrainAtlas : IDisposable { // Existing public uint GlTerrainTexture { get; } // 512×512 × 36 layers, RGBA8 public IReadOnlyDictionary TerrainTypeToLayer { get; } // New public uint GlAlphaTexture { get; } // 512×512 × 16 layers, RGBA8 (R=G=B=A=alpha) public IReadOnlyList CornerAlphaLayers { get; } // layers 0..3 public IReadOnlyList SideAlphaLayers { get; } // layers 4..7 public IReadOnlyList RoadAlphaLayers { get; } // layers 5..14 (up to 10) } ``` Loading procedure (`Build` grows): 1. Same as today for the 36 terrain layers. 2. Iterate `Region.TerrainInfo.LandSurfaces.TexMerge.CornerTerrainMaps` — for each, load the referenced `SurfaceTexture` dat, decode to grayscale (single channel), upload as layer N of the alpha atlas where N = insertion order. 3. Same for `SideTerrainMaps` (appended after corners) and `RoadMaps` (appended after sides; layers may overlap per WorldBuilder's `5 + index` convention). --- ## 7. TerrainRenderer VAO update `src/AcDream.App/Rendering/TerrainRenderer.cs`: ```csharp uint stride = (uint)sizeof(Vertex); // now 48 // aPos _gl.EnableVertexAttribArray(0); _gl.VertexAttribPointer (0, 3, Float, false, stride, (void*)0); // aNormal _gl.EnableVertexAttribArray(1); _gl.VertexAttribPointer (1, 3, Float, false, stride, (void*)(3 * sizeof(float))); // aTex _gl.EnableVertexAttribArray(2); _gl.VertexAttribPointer (2, 2, Float, false, stride, (void*)(6 * sizeof(float))); // aData0..3 (uint attributes need VertexAttribIPointer) _gl.EnableVertexAttribArray(3); _gl.VertexAttribIPointer(3, 1, UnsignedInt, stride, (void*)(8 * sizeof(float))); _gl.EnableVertexAttribArray(4); _gl.VertexAttribIPointer(4, 1, UnsignedInt, stride, (void*)(8 * sizeof(float) + 4)); _gl.EnableVertexAttribArray(5); _gl.VertexAttribIPointer(5, 1, UnsignedInt, stride, (void*)(8 * sizeof(float) + 8)); _gl.EnableVertexAttribArray(6); _gl.VertexAttribIPointer(6, 1, UnsignedInt, stride, (void*)(8 * sizeof(float) + 12)); ``` Binds both texture arrays before drawing: ```csharp _gl.ActiveTexture(Texture0); _gl.BindTexture(Texture2DArray, _atlas.GlTerrainTexture); _gl.ActiveTexture(Texture1); _gl.BindTexture(Texture2DArray, _atlas.GlAlphaTexture); _shader.SetInt("uTerrain", 0); _shader.SetInt("uAlpha", 1); ``` `StaticMeshRenderer` bumps to the same 7-attribute layout even though mesh.vert/frag don't use attribs 3-6 (they'll just sit ignored). --- ## 8. Shader rewrite ### terrain.vert ```glsl #version 430 core layout(location = 0) in vec3 aPos; layout(location = 1) in vec3 aNormal; layout(location = 2) in vec2 aTex; layout(location = 3) in uint aData0; layout(location = 4) in uint aData1; layout(location = 5) in uint aData2; layout(location = 6) in uint aData3; uniform mat4 uModel, uView, uProjection; out vec2 vBaseUV; out vec3 vWorldNormal; flat out uvec4 vPacked0; // base(tex,alpha) ovl0(tex,alpha) -- each 8 bits flat out uvec4 vPacked1; // ovl1(tex,alpha) ovl2(tex,alpha) flat out uvec4 vPacked2; // road0(tex,alpha) road1(tex,alpha) flat out uvec4 vPacked3; // rotations + split direction void main() { vBaseUV = aTex; vWorldNormal = normalize(mat3(uModel) * aNormal); vPacked0 = uvec4( aData0 & 0xFFu, (aData0 >> 8) & 0xFFu, (aData0 >> 16) & 0xFFu, (aData0 >> 24) & 0xFFu); vPacked1 = uvec4( aData1 & 0xFFu, (aData1 >> 8) & 0xFFu, (aData1 >> 16) & 0xFFu, (aData1 >> 24) & 0xFFu); vPacked2 = uvec4( aData2 & 0xFFu, (aData2 >> 8) & 0xFFu, (aData2 >> 16) & 0xFFu, (aData2 >> 24) & 0xFFu); vPacked3 = uvec4( aData3 & 0xFFu, (aData3 >> 8) & 0xFFu, (aData3 >> 16) & 0xFFu, (aData3 >> 24) & 0xFFu); gl_Position = uProjection * uView * uModel * vec4(aPos, 1.0); } ``` ### terrain.frag (sketch — exact compositing math is 1:1 from WorldBuilder's `Landscape.frag`) ```glsl #version 430 core in vec2 vBaseUV; in vec3 vWorldNormal; flat in uvec4 vPacked0, vPacked1, vPacked2, vPacked3; out vec4 fragColor; uniform sampler2DArray uTerrain; // 36 layers uniform sampler2DArray uAlpha; // 16 layers // Lighting (unchanged from Phase 3a tune) const vec3 SUN_DIR = normalize(vec3(0.5, 0.4, 0.6)); const float AMBIENT = 0.25; const float DIFFUSE = 0.75; vec4 sampleT(uint layer, vec2 uv) { // Uniform tiling for now; can add per-layer uTexTiling[] later if needed. return texture(uTerrain, vec3(uv, float(layer))); } vec4 sampleA(uint layer, vec2 uv) { return texture(uAlpha, vec3(uv, float(layer))); } // Port of WorldBuilder maskBlend3: three-layer alpha-weighted composite. vec4 combineOverlays(vec2 uv, uint t0, uint a0, uint t1, uint a1, uint t2, uint a2) { // ... see references/WorldBuilder/Chorizite.OpenGLSDLBackend/Shaders/Landscape.frag // for the exact math; port verbatim with attribution in a comment } vec4 combineRoads(vec2 uv, uint t0, uint a0, uint t1, uint a1) { // Port of WorldBuilder combineRoad: inverted-alpha multiply } void main() { uint baseTex = vPacked0.x; vec4 baseColor = sampleT(baseTex, vBaseUV); vec4 overlays = vec4(0.0); if (vPacked0.z != 255u) // ovl0 present overlays = combineOverlays(vBaseUV, vPacked0.z, vPacked0.w, vPacked1.x, vPacked1.y, vPacked1.z, vPacked1.w); vec4 roads = vec4(0.0); if (vPacked2.x != 255u) // road0 present roads = combineRoads(vBaseUV, vPacked2.x, vPacked2.y, vPacked2.z, vPacked2.w); // Composite: base × (1-ovlA) × (1-rdA) + ovl × ovlA × (1-rdA) + road × rdA vec3 b = baseColor.rgb * ((1.0 - overlays.a) * (1.0 - roads.a)); vec3 o = overlays.rgb * ( overlays.a * (1.0 - roads.a)); vec3 r = roads.rgb * roads.a; vec3 rgb = b + o + r; // Phase 3a lighting float ndotl = max(dot(normalize(vWorldNormal), SUN_DIR), 0.0); float lighting = AMBIENT + DIFFUSE * ndotl; fragColor = vec4(rgb * lighting, 1.0); } ``` --- ## 9. Tests ### 9.1 Pure logic (`TerrainBlendingTests`) - `GetPalCode_AllGrass_MatchesGolden` — hand-computed bit value - `GetPalCode_DeterministicFromInputs` - `GetCellSplitDirection_Deterministic` - `GetCellSplitDirection_ProducesKnownValueForHoltburgCell` — golden from WorldBuilder instrumented - `FillCellData_AllGrass_EmitsBaseOnly` — `d0.baseTex = grass, d0.ovl0Tex = 255` - `FillCellData_GrassBorderingDirt_EmitsOverlay` - `PseudoRandomIndex_InRange` ### 9.2 Mesh generation (`LandblockMeshTests` rewritten) - Old "81 vertices per landblock" asserts replaced with "384 vertices per landblock" - `AllSixVerticesOfACellShareData0123` — within each 6-vertex stride, Data0..3 are identical - `SplitDirectionFlipsTriangleOrder` — with a stub cell that hashes NwToSe, the emitted triangle corners differ from SwToNe - Flat landblock still produces coherent mesh (no NaN normals, positions in expected range) ### 9.3 Atlas build (`TerrainAtlasTests`) - Extend existing tests: alpha atlas has ≥ 14 layers, each non-empty - Corner/Side/Road layer index lists have expected sizes ### 9.4 Visual smoke (no automated harness) - Fly around Holtburg; terrain type boundaries should blend smoothly - If roads exist in the loaded landblocks, they should overlay terrain correctly - Lighting still works (Phase 3a/3b preserved in the rewritten fragment shader) --- ## 10. Execution order (best sequence to catch bugs early) 1. **Palette math, pure CPU** — write `TerrainBlending` + unit tests first. No GL, no visuals. Just prove the palCode/FillCellData math is byte-identical to WorldBuilder via golden values. Commit as `feat(core): terrain palette blending math (Phase 3c.1)`. 2. **Alpha atlas loading** — extend `TerrainAtlas` to load the alpha maps from the Region dat. Add a debug output mode (optional: render alpha atlas full-screen as a grid) to verify the loaded masks look right. Commit as `feat(app): alpha atlas texture array (Phase 3c.2)`. 3. **Vertex format + mesh generation** — rewrite `Vertex` struct, `LandblockMesh.Build`, and the VAO bindings in both `TerrainRenderer` and `StaticMeshRenderer`. The old terrain.frag will still render (reads only baseTex from Data0, ignores overlays) so the world should still look recognizable — just with per-cell texture choices instead of per-vertex. Commit as `refactor(core+app): per-cell terrain vertex layout (Phase 3c.3)`. 4. **Shader rewrite** — the new terrain.vert/.frag with full blending. This is the visual-win commit. Iterate with you watching. Commit as `feat(app): per-cell terrain blending shader (Phase 3c.4)`. 5. **Memory + state doc** — update `MEMORY.md`, write `project_phase_3c_state.md`. Each step is ~a few hundred lines, testable in isolation, and preserves a runnable program after commit. If step 4 looks wrong, we haven't broken steps 1-3. --- ## 11. Risks | Risk | Mitigation | |---|---| | Bit layout in `FillCellData` drifts from the shader's `uvec4` unpack | Unit-test the CPU packer round-trip: `Pack → Unpack (same shifts as GLSL) → SurfaceInfo` and assert equality | | `GetCellSplitDirection` magic constants copied wrong → wrong triangles | Golden-value test for ~5 known (lb,cell) → split from a WorldBuilder instrumented run | | Triangle winding flipped → culled terrain (screen goes dark) | Disable face culling for the bring-up; enable once visually correct | | Alpha atlas channel swizzle wrong (stored red but shader reads alpha) | Dedicated debug shader output mode showing only the alpha sample; short iterative loop | | `TexMerge.TerrainDesc[i].MTileSize` unavailable in our DatReaderWriter version | Grep the reference crate first; fall back to uniform 1.0 tiling if missing | | `StaticMeshRenderer` and `TerrainRenderer` VAO layouts drift apart after shared Vertex extension | Keep attribute enables identical in both; add a test that both call the same attribute-setup helper if drift becomes a concern | | Visual iteration on blend math takes many runs | Leave the grayscale-lighting debug toggle easy to re-enable; have a "show alpha only" flag ready | --- ## 12. Deliverables checklist - [ ] `src/AcDream.Core/Terrain/TerrainBlending.cs` + `SurfaceInfo` + `CellSplitDirection` - [ ] `src/AcDream.Core.Tests/Terrain/TerrainBlendingTests.cs` with golden values - [ ] `Vertex` struct extended (+16 bytes) - [ ] `LandblockMesh.Build` rewritten to 64-cell layout - [ ] `LandblockMeshTests` migrated to 384-vertex expectations - [ ] `TerrainAtlas.Build` loads corner/side/road alpha maps, exposes `GlAlphaTexture` + index lists - [ ] `TerrainRenderer` + `StaticMeshRenderer` VAO bindings extended (stride 48, 7 attributes) - [ ] `terrain.vert` + `terrain.frag` rewritten with blending - [ ] Visual smoke: Holtburg terrain boundaries blend smoothly - [ ] Memory update: `project_phase_3c_state.md` + `MEMORY.md` index entry --- ## 13. Not in 3c, tracked for later - **Phase 3d (if/when we need it):** chunking — global VBO slot pool, `TerrainChunk`, `TerrainGeometryGenerator` stateless chunk builder, multi-draw indirect. Pays off once we stream >20 landblocks. - **Phase 4:** networking (design doc already at `docs/plans/2026-04-10-phase-4-networking-design.md`). Foundry statue comes online here. - **Phase 5:** character appearance + animation. - **Phase 6:** collision / physics (port ACViewer `Physics/`).