Scatter
The Scatter tool (B) paints trees, rocks and grass onto surfaces you choose.
Scatter sets
Everything you scatter lives in a scatter set on its own layer. Its models show as cards in the Scatter panel, which opens with the tool.
| To | Do this |
|---|---|
| Start an empty set | + |
| Start from a preset | Preset: forest, pines, mixed woodland, detailed forest, low-poly trees, bushes, undergrowth, rocks, boulders or grass |
| Add models | Drag them in from the Models panel, or Add models… |
| Stop painting one model | Untick paint on its card. What it already placed stays |
| Tune a model | Open its card for weight, scale, spacing, align, tilt, sink, random yaw and a material override |
No foliage in the project yet? Terrain > Scatter > Install Nature Models copies the bundled trees and rocks into
res://godottrench/nature.
Targets
A set only lands on its targets, so a forest painted on a terrain never covers the house on it. Alt+click in a view, or use the eyedropper in the panel, to add or remove a target. A set without targets takes whatever its first stroke lands on. Another scatter set can be a target too, which is how grass grows on boulders.
Follow cursor ignores the targets and paints on whatever is under the brush.
Painting
| Input | Action |
|---|---|
| Left drag | Paint |
| Shift+left drag | Erase, from the active set only |
| Ctrl+wheel | Resize the brush |
| Fill targets | Cover every target in one go, within the slope and height limits |
In the panel's Brush section, density is attempts per 64 by 64 units, and each model's spacing limits how many fit. Exposed only skips spots with geometry above them, so grass stays out from under balconies and roofs.
Keep spacing to other sets is on by default, so no bush grows through another set's trunk.
In Godot
A set's Kind decides what Godot builds.
| Kind | Built as |
|---|---|
| props | MultiMeshes with one static body per instance sharing a collision shape, and shadows. Models whose scenes carry scripts are instanced one by one so the scripts run |
| foliage | MultiMeshes without collision or shadows, hidden beyond 2400 units by default |
Bake to entities replaces a set with one prop_model entity per instance, for when you need to edit single props.
The sea island tutorial walks through a full scatter setup.