World Scale Planner — Version 1.0 (UE 5.4 - 5.8)

World Scale Planner is an editor-only landscape planning tool for evaluating world size in gameplay terms. It turns Unreal landscape dimensions into readable terrain, slope, travel-time, visibility, and landmark-density views; measures routes through points A and B with optional waypoints; and estimates walking, running, sprinting, and mounted travel time. The planner helps answer how large a world feels to traverse without changing the landscape or adding runtime systems to the game.

Installation

1. Close Unreal Editor.
2. Copy the WorldScalePlanner folder into your project's Plugins directory.
3. Use the package built for your version of Unreal Engine 5.4 through 5.8.
4. Open the project and verify that World Scale Planner is enabled in Edit > Plugins.
5. Restart Unreal Editor if prompted.

Opening the Planner

Open World Scale Planner from the Unreal Editor menu by selecting Tools > World Scale Planner. The planner opens as a dockable editor tab and can be placed alongside the Level Editor viewport.

Quick Start

1. Find the landscape: Select Find Landscapes, then choose the landscape from the top toolbar.
2. Build the map: Select Rebuild Map to sample the loaded landscape.
3. Place a route: Left-click once for point A and again for point B.
4. Shape the journey: Continue left-clicking to add ordered waypoints between A and B.
5. Compare map modes: Switch between Terrain, Slope, Travel Time, Visibility, and Landmark Density.
6. Calibrate movement: Enter the movement speeds used by your project and review the route-time estimates.
7. Add destinations: Select level actors and use Tag Selected as Landmarks, then assign names with Manage Landmark Names....

Interface & Map Controls

Interface Areas

Area	Purpose
Top Toolbar	Selects the landscape and map mode, rescans the level, rebuilds analytical data, and fits the map to the available space.
Map	Displays the sampled landscape, route, points, waypoints, landmarks, planning grid, mode legend, and distance scale.
Landmark Directory	Lists persistent landmark designations and names in the upper-left corner of the map. Large lists are shortened to fit the available height.
Right Sidebar	Contains map controls, landscape measurements, route results, movement profiles, overlay toggles, landmark actions, and the settings button.
Status Bar	Reports the result of the latest action, including point placement, waypoint changes, tagging, naming, and map rebuilds.

Map Input

Input	Action
First Left-click	Places point A, the origin for the route and point-based analytical modes.
Second Left-click	Places point B and calculates the initial A-to-B route.
Additional Left-click	Adds the next ordered waypoint before point B. The route becomes A → W1 → W2 → B.
Right-drag or Middle-drag	Pans the map.
Mouse Wheel	Zooms the map around the cursor.
Double-click	Moves the main Unreal Editor viewport to the selected world position.

Map Actions

Action	Description
Find Landscapes	Rescans the current editor world for loaded landscape actors.
Rebuild Map	Resamples landscape height, recollects landmarks, and rebuilds the analytical texture.
Fit	Resets map pan and zoom so the full sampled landscape fits in the map area.
Clear A / B	Removes points A and B, all waypoints, and the current route.
Focus Landscape	Frames the selected landscape in the main Unreal Editor viewport.
Undo Waypoint	Removes the most recently placed waypoint and recalculates the route.
Clear Waypoints	Removes all waypoints while keeping A and B, returning to a direct route.

Landscape Summary

The Landscape section reports the current sample in practical world units:

• Width and height in kilometers.
• Area in square kilometers.
• Elevation span in meters.
• Height coverage as the percentage of valid landscape samples.
• Map samples as the active analytical grid resolution.

Map Modes

Terrain

Terrain mode provides the base top-down landscape view. Elevation moves from dark lowland greens through earth tones to pale high elevations, with directional shading to make ridges and valleys easier to read. Use this mode for general orientation, route placement, and landmark planning.

Slope

Slope mode calculates local grade from neighboring height samples. Green represents gentler terrain, yellow marks increasingly steep areas, and red marks the steepest sampled terrain. The color range reaches its maximum at approximately 45 degrees, so steeper samples remain red.

Travel Time

Travel Time mode colors each valid map sample by radial running time from point A using the current Run speed. The legend updates with that speed and uses the following bands:

Band	Meaning
0–1 minute	Immediate surroundings.
1–3 minutes	Nearby destinations.
3–5 minutes	Short local journeys.
5–10 minutes	Medium traversal zones.
10–15 minutes	Longer uninterrupted travel.
15+ minutes	The most distant areas at the configured run speed.

Visibility

Visibility mode checks sampled terrain line of sight from point A. Visible samples are tinted green and samples blocked by terrain are tinted dark red. Cyan and violet rings show the configured object fade-start and fade-end distances. The on-map legend displays the current fade distances.

Landmark Density

Landmark Density mode measures every valid map sample against the nearest collected landmark. Green areas are close to a landmark; the overlay moves toward red as distance approaches or exceeds Target Landmark Spacing. Use it to find empty traversal zones, overloaded destination clusters, and areas that may need another settlement, encounter, vista, or point of interest.

Invalid Height Samples

Dark checkerboard regions indicate locations where loaded landscape collision height was unavailable. Load the relevant World Partition cells, verify landscape collision, and rebuild the map before using those regions for detailed route or visibility decisions.

Routes & Travel Estimates

Route Order

Place A, then B. Every later left-click adds an ordered waypoint before B while keeping the destination fixed. Waypoints are evaluated in placement order. Use Undo Waypoint to remove the latest point or Clear Waypoints to return to A → B.

NavMesh and Terrain Fallback

The planner requests a route through every control point using the current built navigation data. If every leg returns a complete NavMesh path, the route is shown in blue and the summary reports a NavMesh route. If any leg is incomplete, the planner uses the ordered waypoint chain with sampled landscape height. With no waypoints, the fallback is a direct terrain-sampled line from A to B.

Reported Measurements

Measurement	Description
Straight Line	Horizontal point-to-point distance from A to B, independent of waypoints and route shape.
Route Distance	NavMesh path length when a complete route exists; otherwise the terrain-sampled waypoint chain or direct terrain line.
Ascent	Accumulated positive elevation change along the evaluated route.
Maximum Sampled Slope	The steepest evaluated route segment, reported in degrees.
Walk / Run / Sprint / Mounted	Estimated duration at each configured movement speed, including the configured uphill time penalty.

Each route duration is calculated from route distance divided by the selected movement speed, plus the accumulated ascent multiplied by Uphill Time Penalty. The default penalty adds one second per meter climbed.

Landmarks

Tagging Actors

1. Select one or more actors in the level.
2. Choose Tag Selected as Landmarks in the Overlays section.
3. The planner adds the configured membership tag and assigns each new landmark a stable L-number.
4. Use Unreal Editor Undo if you need to reverse the tagging operation.

The default membership tag is WSP_Landmark. Stable identity and names are stored on the actor through WSP_ID= and WSP_Name= metadata tags. Because the ID stays on the actor, designations such as L1 and L2 survive rescans and editor sessions.

Naming Landmarks

Select Manage Landmark Names... to open the landmark panel. The first column shows the stable designation; the second column edits the user-facing name. The map directory always displays both fields. The Show names instead of designations on pins overlay chooses whether the pin itself shows L1 or a name such as Maenara.

Persistent and Selected Actors

Type	Behavior
Persistent Landmark	Uses the configured membership tag, receives a stable L-number, can be named, appears in the landmark directory, and persists with the actor.
Selected Actor	Appears temporarily with an S-number and its actor label. It does not receive persistent metadata until tagged.

Settings Reference

Select World Scale Planner Settings... inside the planner to open the complete searchable settings panel. Settings are stored per project and per editor user. Movement-profile values can also be edited directly in the right sidebar.

Movement

Setting	Default	Description
Walk Speed	2.0 m/s	Walking speed used for A-to-B travel estimates.
Run Speed	5.0 m/s	Running speed used for route estimates and Travel Time map bands.
Sprint Speed	7.5 m/s	Sprinting speed used for A-to-B travel estimates.
Mounted Speed	11.0 m/s	Mounted, vehicle, or other fast-travel profile used for route estimates.
Uphill Time Penalty	1.0	Additional seconds added per meter of accumulated ascent. Valid range: 0.0–5.0.

Analysis

Setting	Default	Description
Map Resolution	256	Width and height of the square analytical sample grid. Valid range: 64–512. Changing it resamples the landscape.
Target Landmark Spacing	2.0 km	Desired maximum distance to the nearest landmark used by Landmark Density mode.
Landmark Actor Tag	WSP_Landmark	Actor tag used to identify persistent World Scale Planner landmarks.

Visibility

Setting	Default	Description
Observer Eye Height	1.7 m	Height above point A used for terrain line-of-sight sampling.
Object Fade Start	5.0 km	Planning distance at which distant objects should begin fading. Drawn as the cyan visibility ring.
Object Fade End	10.0 km	Planning distance at which distant objects should be fully faded. Drawn as the violet visibility ring.

Map

Setting	Default	Description
Planning Grid Spacing	1.0 km	World distance between planning-grid lines.
Show Planning Grid	Enabled	Displays the distance-planning grid over the map.
Show Landmarks	Enabled	Displays tagged landmarks and currently selected actors on the map.
Show Landmark Names On Map Pins	Disabled	Uses landmark names on persistent pins instead of stable L-number designations.

Analytical Assumptions

System	Assumption or Limitation
World Units	Calculations use Unreal's standard conversion of 100 centimeters per meter.
Landscape Sampling	Analysis uses loaded landscape collision height. Unavailable samples are displayed as checkerboard regions.
Travel Time Map	Radial bands use horizontal distance from A and the Run speed. They do not follow the A-to-B route.
Route Estimate	Uses complete current NavMesh data when available, otherwise an ordered terrain-height sample. It is not a gameplay movement simulation.
Slope	Derived from adjacent analytical height samples. Resolution affects how much local detail is represented.
Visibility	Tests sampled terrain only. It does not include meshes, foliage, fog, atmosphere, streaming state beyond loaded terrain, or camera/rendering behavior.
Fade Distance	Rings are visual planning guides. They do not change culling, LOD, HLOD, fog, or material fade settings.
Landmark Density	Uses distance to the nearest collected landmark relative to Target Landmark Spacing.

Compatibility & Architecture

Item	Current Support
Unreal Engine	5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7, and 5.8 with a separate package for each engine version.
Platform	Win64 Editor.
Module	WorldScalePlannerEditor, loaded only in Unreal Editor.
Runtime Impact	None. The plugin has no runtime module and is not required by packaged game targets.
Landscape Support	Loaded Unreal Landscape actors with available collision height.
Navigation	Uses current built NavMesh data when a complete path exists through all route control points.

The editor module owns the Tools-menu action, dockable tab, landscape discovery and sampling, analytical textures, route queries, landmark metadata, settings panels, overlays, and editor-viewport focus actions. Analytical data is transient and is rebuilt from the current editor world.

Troubleshooting

No landscapes are listed

• Open the level that contains the landscape.
• Select Find Landscapes after changing levels or loading additional world content.
• Confirm the Landscape actor and required World Partition cells are loaded.

The map contains dark checkerboard regions

• Check the Height Coverage value in the Landscape summary.
• Load the affected World Partition cells.
• Confirm landscape collision is available, then select Rebuild Map.

The route does not follow roads or walkable paths

• Read the final line of the A → B Route summary to see which route method was used.
• Build or update navigation data for the current level.
• Confirm every route leg can produce a complete NavMesh path.
• Add waypoints to represent the intended journey when NavMesh coverage is unavailable.

Travel times feel too fast or too slow

• Enter the measured movement speeds used by your character, mount, or vehicle.
• Adjust Uphill Time Penalty to match the project's traversal model.
• Remember that Travel Time map bands are radial; use the route summary for route-aware estimates.

Visibility results do not match the level viewport

• Visibility mode evaluates terrain, not buildings, foliage, fog, atmosphere, or rendering occlusion.
• Place A at the intended observer location and set the correct Observer Eye Height.
• Load the required landscape cells and rebuild the map.

Landmarks or names are missing

• Enable Show tagged and selected actors.
• Use Tag Selected as Landmarks for persistent landmarks.
• Open Manage Landmark Names... to assign or verify names.
• Confirm the actor still has the configured membership tag and its WSP_ID= metadata.

Landmark Density is red across most of the map

• Add or load the intended landmark actors.
• Rebuild after changing the editor selection.
• Increase Target Landmark Spacing if long gaps are intentional for the project.

Map rebuilding is slow

• Reduce Map Resolution while making broad world-scale decisions.
• Use a higher resolution only when local terrain detail materially affects the analysis.
• Limit loaded world content to the landscape area currently being evaluated when appropriate.

Back to top