Height Lab

Released: May 1, 2024
Platforms
Last updated: 15 Sep 2026, 01:24 GMT

Updates & announcements

18 posts

04 Oct 2025Developer post
Security patch
Hello fellow game developers. It has come to my attention that there is a potential security exploit in the UnityPlayer.dll. Unity has already released a patch, and this is what they had to say on the subject: "A security vulnerability was identified that affects games and applic
30 Nov 2024Developer post
Version 1.3.5 hot fix
Hot fix Fixed an issue that was keeping the user from selecting any of the EXR outputs.
Hot fix

Fixed an issue that was keeping the user from selecting any of the EXR outputs.
Original post
15 Nov 2024Developer post
Version 1.3.4 update
Update Variable values can now be changed by dragging the value. Cursor changes to drag icon when dragging a value, and to rotate arrows when dragging in the preview window. Expression layer preview no longer shows parenthesis around individual layers. Dragging in the preview win
Update

Variable values can now be changed by dragging the value.
Cursor changes to drag icon when dragging a value, and to rotate arrows when dragging in the preview window.
Expression layer preview no longer shows parenthesis around individual layers.
Dragging in the preview window now extends to the edge of the main application window.
Original post
01 Nov 2024Developer post
Version 1.3.3 update
Update Added Lens shape. Added more noise examples. Added Surface and Waves examples. Added new built-in variables to get expression layer information: LYR, LYRZ, LYRS Added more math constants: SQRT2, L2E, L10E, LN2, LN10 Opening a project asks if you'd like to restore the examp
Update

Added Lens shape.
Added more noise examples.
Added Surface and Waves examples.
Added new built-in variables to get expression layer information: LYR, LYRZ, LYRS
Added more math constants: SQRT2, L2E, L10E, LN2, LN10
Opening a project asks if you'd like to restore the example back to default now.
Fixes

Opening an Example saves a recent project icon now.
Fixed a horrible bug that caused the project to keep displaying an IO error due to a read only file.
DEMO

Files can now also be saved as TGA and PNG.
Original post
21 Oct 2024Developer post
Version 1.3.2 update
Fixes Fixed a copy/paste issue. UI was not updating correctly after moving an item.
Fixes

Fixed a copy/paste issue.
UI was not updating correctly after moving an item.
Original post
18 Oct 2024Developer post
UI Overhaul | Output Properties
Inspector Panel Properties populate in an inspector panel now. It cleans up the interface and makes more room for the other panels. Outputs Add Output type by just clicking a button now. This is straight forward compared to before. Added properties to the Outputs. To normalize a
Inspector Panel
Properties populate in an inspector panel now. It cleans up the interface and makes more room for the other panels.
Outputs
Add Output type by just clicking a button now. This is straight forward compared to before.
Added properties to the Outputs.
To normalize a Height Map, just tick the Normalize checkbox.
To flip Normal directions, just tick X, Y, or Z checkboxes.
Other Improvements

Reduced the amount of texture RAM used by Outputs.
Added more error handling.
Files are now saved as tmp before overwriting the project. This offers even more redundancy to project files.
Enjoy!
Original post
06 Aug 2024Developer post
Demo Store Page
Announcement The demo is now its own store page - this way reviews can be left without having to own Height Lab! Thank you, thank you!
02 Aug 2024Developer post
Version 1.2.4 released
Fixes and Updates Updated tooltip for duplicate/copy/paste buttons for Variables.
Fixes and Updates
Updated tooltip for duplicate/copy/paste buttons for Variables.
Original post
26 Jul 2024Developer post
Version 1.2.3 released
Fixes and Updates Multi selection for: delete, property changes (except text), visibility for layer, and enable/disable for outputs is now possible. Multiple items that use dropdowns with mixed values show as mixed (a horizontal line) in places where, values, are, mixed. Multiple
Fixes and Updates

Multi selection for: delete, property changes (except text), visibility for layer, and enable/disable for outputs is now possible.
Multiple items that use dropdowns with mixed values show as mixed (a horizontal line) in places where, values, are, mixed.
Multiple Layers and Variables can now be copy/pasted.
Duplicate, Copy and Paste buttons added to Variables.
Undo/Redo completely disabled while in any dialog box. Before this you could undo and not even see it happen.
Scrolling Layers and Variables (that is if the list is long enough) no longer force a re-render.
Manual Update

Updated images that show Variables with new ones that show duplicate/copy/paste.
Original post
12 Jul 2024Developer post
Version 1.2.3 BETA release
I'm currently implementing multi select for this next release. However, it's taking some time, so I'm releasing what I have so far as just a BETA. Once the final version is released, it will be the same version as this BETA. I guess all I'm doing here is providing you with what I
I'm currently implementing multi select for this next release. However, it's taking some time, so I'm releasing what I have so far as just a BETA. Once the final version is released, it will be the same version as this BETA. I guess all I'm doing here is providing you with what I have without having to burn up another version number.
Demo users and paid customers can access the BETA by going to Height Lab in their Library and doing the following:

Right click Height Lab
Click on Properties
Click the Betas tab
Change Beta Participation to "beta - public beta"
Right click Height Lab
Click Manage->Uninstall
Reinstall
Items that are in this BETA will eventually be in the official 1.2.3 release. What a cool version number ;)
Fixes and Updates

Multi selection for: delete, property changes (except text), visibility for layer, and enable/disable for outputs is now possible.
Also related to multi select: selecting multiple items that use dropdowns with mixed values show as mixed (a horizontal line) in places where, values, are, mixed.
Undo/Redo completely disabled while in any dialog box. Before this you could undo and not even see it happen.
Scrolling Layers and Variables (that is if the list is long enough) no longer force a re-render.
P.S. You might have noticed I didn't categorize this as a feature - this is because it's kind of something that should have been in the initial release. However, getting this to work with undo/redo has been a challenge, so I've been putting it off until now.
Original post
30 Jun 2024Developer post
Version 1.2.2 hot fix
Hot fix Refactoring the undo/redo system broke recent history. Other fix Undoing Welcome dialog changes no longer crash the app.
Hot fix

Refactoring the undo/redo system broke recent history.
Other fix

Undoing Welcome dialog changes no longer crash the app.
Original post
28 Jun 2024Developer post
Version 1.2.1 released
Features Rolling Backups can be loaded from the Welcome dialog now. Height Lab will remember and display up to 10 backups along with how long ago it was last saved. This is good for restoring short term backups. Fixes and Updates Backup count is now a slider, and the range is fro
Features

Rolling Backups can be loaded from the Welcome dialog now. Height Lab will remember and display up to 10 backups along with how long ago it was last saved. This is good for restoring short term backups.
Fixes and Updates

Backup count is now a slider, and the range is from 3 to 10.
Brightened tab/toggle buttons a little bit more.
Backups only save when a change has been made to the project.
TextEdit boxes play nice with undo/redo and properly go out of focus.
Navigation is now disabled when editing text.
Lists no longer disappear when loading a project.
Fixed Templates panel navigation.
Thumbnails are now updated every time a project is saved.
Manual Update

Updated the page on Backups. Now it describes what a rolling backup is and shows that the backups can be viewed and opened from the Welcome Dialog.
Original post
24 Jun 2024Developer post
Update coming Friday, June 28th
Announcement All the features planned for Height Lab, and one extra, are done and in! I hope you enjoy all of them and find them very useful. Further updates will just be of bug fixes and very minor tweaks here and there. With that said, here's that unexpected extra unplanned fea
14 Jun 2024Developer post
Version 1.2.0 released
Features Added Settings dialog box. Now you can tweak settings to fit your needs. Reverse yaw, pitch, and zoom direction, set the new "View Aligned" rotation mode, change rotation and zoom smoothing, and change the number of backups. Added view aligned rotation option. Variable v
Features

Added Settings dialog box. Now you can tweak settings to fit your needs. Reverse yaw, pitch, and zoom direction, set the new "View Aligned" rotation mode, change rotation and zoom smoothing, and change the number of backups.
Added view aligned rotation option.
Variable values accept simple math expressions. Type in something like 4/2 and when ENTER is pressed it'll become 2.
Fixes and Updates

Updated examples to match the documentation.
Added labels to the buttons in the Welcome dialog box.
Moved Background Blur into settings, and renamed it to Environment Blur.
Updated Bar description again.
Added seconds to render complete message.
Tightened up double clicking for recentering.
Original post
31 May 2024Developer post
Version 1.1.2 hot fix
Hot Fix Added size option to new Bar shape. To refresh an example after being opened once, simply delete it out of the example folder and reopen. Manual Update Updated verbiage for the new Bar shape. Breaking Changes The new Bar shape syntax has changed. To fix, replace func(x, n
Hot Fix

Added size option to new Bar shape. To refresh an example after being opened once, simply delete it out of the example folder and reopen.
Manual Update

Updated verbiage for the new Bar shape.
Breaking Changes
The new Bar shape syntax has changed. To fix, replace func(x, n) with func(x, 1, n). See the manual or function legend in Height Lab for an explanation of the new syntax.
Original post
31 May 2024Developer post
Version 1.1.1 released
Features Added Bar and Donut shape. Added size option to Cone, Pyramid, and Sphere. Added a backup feature. The AppData folder now contains a history of 6 backups. Any of the files can be copied and renamed back to the original file name. Instructions to do this have been added t
Features

Added Bar and Donut shape.
Added size option to Cone, Pyramid, and Sphere.
Added a backup feature. The AppData folder now contains a history of 6 backups. Any of the files can be copied and renamed back to the original file name. Instructions to do this have been added to the manual.
Fixes and Updates

Pressing CTRL+E was throwing an exception when there were no Documents in the project.
Cleaned up tool tip for the export button.
Updated examples to reflect the new Cone, Pyramid, and Sphere functions. To refresh an example after being opened once, simply delete it out of the example folder and reopen.
Manual Update

Added verbiage for the new Bar and Donut shape.
Added verbiage for the new Cone, Pyramid, and Sphere variants.
Added instructions for restoring from a backup.
Breaking Changes
The new Cone, Pyramid, and Sphere syntax has changed. To fix, replace func(x, y, n) with func(x, y, 1, n). See the manual or function legend in Height Lab for an explanation of the new syntax.
Original post
17 May 2024Developer post
Version 1.1.0 released
Features Added a layer preview section under the expression text box. This preview displays the layers as an expression, that way it's much easier to see how layers relate to one another and the order they are evaluated. Fixes and Updates Renamed the license from "Full" to "STEAM
Features

Added a layer preview section under the expression text box. This preview displays the layers as an expression, that way it's much easier to see how layers relate to one another and the order they are evaluated.
Fixes and Updates

Renamed the license from "Full" to "STEAM COMMERCIAL". That way the commercial part is more obvious. It says Height Lab is for commercial use in the EULA, but not everyone reads those.
A tooltip has been added to the preview area that states you can rotate the model with the left mouse button, the background with the right, and that double clicking resets the rotation.
The color change of pressing a button is now more obvious.
The OperatorType and OperationOrder drop downs get disabled now if the first layer is selected. This is because the first layer doesn't actually use those options.
Controls look disabled when they are disabled now.
The template button will now disable when there are no templates.
Hand typing the directory into the new project dialog will now create a directory if it doesn't exist.
All paths get validated now.
Relative paths now work across the board.
Hiccups in the progress bar for rendering is fixed.
Height and Normal filters are saved into the Template now.
Path text boxes no longer grow out of view when selecting long paths.
Added more exception handling for file io operations.
Manual Update

Added an explanation for the built in variables x, y, cx, and cy.
Renamed Step By Step to Getting Started.
Updated art to match new changes to the application.
Original post
14 May 2024Developer post
An update is coming Friday, May 17th
Improvements/Fixes The UI had some quirks about it - like the button press wasn't very obvious, and controls didn't really look disabled when disabled, so expect those and some other UI polishes to come your way. Response to user feedback In addition to that, I added a little pre