Procedural Landscapes with Overhangs

Overhangs have been a major stumbling block in the context of terrain synthesis models. These models resort invariably to a heightfield paradigm, which immediately precludes the existence of any type of overhang. This article presents a new technique for the generation of surfaces, with the ability to model overhangs in a procedural way. This technique can be used generally to model landscape elements, not only terrains but also the surface of the sea. The technique applies non-linear deformations to an initial heightfield surface. The deformations occur after the surface has been displaced along some specified vector field. The method is conceptually simple and enhances greatly the class of landscapes synthesized with procedural models.