How to Clone Mountains with the Landscape Copy Tool

Imagine you are building a huge island. You spend hours making one perfect mountain. It is tall, rocky, and looks amazing. But then you realize your island is too flat. You want more mountains. Do you start from scratch? No way! That would take forever.

In this tutorial, we will learn how to copy a piece of terrain. You can take a small hill and paste it somewhere else. It is like using a cookie cutter on dough. You make one shape, then stamp it again and again. We will use the Landscape Copy Tool in UEFN. It makes building big worlds super fast.

What You'll Learn

• How to use the Copy mode in the Sculpt tool.
• How to pick a specific area of land to clone.
• How to paste that area to create new hills or valleys.
• How to smooth the edges so it looks natural.

How It Works

Think of the Landscape Copy Tool like a digital stamp. First, you press the stamp into the clay to pick up a shape. Then, you lift it up. Finally, you press it down somewhere else to leave an impression.

In UEFN, we do this with a Gizmo. A Gizmo is just a box you see on the screen. It shows exactly what part of the landscape you are copying.

Here is the simple plan:

1. Select the Area: You draw a box around a hill you like.
2. Copy the Data: You tell the tool, "Save this shape."
3. Move the Gizmo: You drag the box to a new spot on your island.
4. Paste the Shape: You tell the tool, "Put this shape here."

This is much faster than sculpting every single rock by hand. It is like having a magic copy-paste button for the ground.

Let's Build It

We are going to build a simple path with two identical rocks on it. One rock is the original. The other is a clone.

Step 1: Open Your Island

Open UEFN. Load your island. Make sure you are in Landscape Mode. This is where we change the ground.

Step 2: Create a Base Hill

Use the Raise tool. Click and drag on the ground. Make a small, round hill. It does not need to be perfect. Just make something that sticks up.

Step 3: Select the Copy Tool

Look at the toolbar on the left. Find the Sculpt tool. Click the dropdown menu next to it. You will see options like Raise, Lower, and Copy. Click Copy.

Now you see a wireframe box on your screen. This is your Gizmo.

Step 4: Fit the Gizmo

Move your Gizmo so it surrounds the hill you just made. You want to include the whole hill, but not too much empty ground.

Click the button that says Fit Gizmo to Selected Regions. This makes the box shrink or grow to fit your hill perfectly. It is like putting a lid on a jar.

Step 5: Copy the Data

Now that the box is around your hill, click Copy Data to Gizmo.

• What this does: It saves the height and shape of the ground inside the box.
• Note: If you have "Use Smooth Gizmo Brush" checked, the edges will blend in nicely. If not, the copy will have sharp square edges. For now, leave it off to see the difference clearly.

Step 6: Move and Paste

Drag your Gizmo to a new spot on the map. It can be far away. It can be on a flat area.

Click Paste Mode. Choose Raise. This means the copied hill will stick up from the ground.

Click the Paste button (or press the key shown in the tooltip).

Boom! A new hill appears. It looks exactly like the first one. You just cloned terrain!

Step 7: Smooth It Out (Optional)

If the new hill looks too blocky, go back to the Copy tool settings. Check the box for Use Smooth Gizmo Brush. Then, click Paste again in a new spot. The edges will fade into the ground. It looks more natural.

Try It Yourself

Now it is your turn to be creative.

Challenge: Create a "Rocky Path."

1. Make one large, jagged rock using the Raise tool.
2. Use the Copy Tool to clone that rock three times.
3. Place them in a line to make a path.
4. Try changing the Paste Mode to Lower for one of the copies. What happens?

Hint: If your copy looks weird, check if your Gizmo is too small. Try using Fit Gizmo to Selected Regions again. Also, remember that Paste Mode can be Raise, Lower, or Both.

Recap

The Landscape Copy Tool is your best friend for building big islands.

• Use the Copy tool to pick a shape with a Gizmo.
• Click Copy Data to save the shape.
• Move the Gizmo and click Paste to place it elsewhere.
• Use Smooth Gizmo Brush for natural-looking edges.

You can now clone hills, rocks, and valleys in seconds. Keep building and have fun!

References

• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/uefn/UE/building-virtual-worlds/landscape-outdoor-terrain/editing-landscapes/landscape-copy-tool
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/uefn/UE/ue-reference-environments-and-landscapes-in-unreal-editor-for-fortnite
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite/landscape-mode-in-unreal-editor-for-fortnite
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite/36-00-fortnite-ecosystem-updates-and-release-notes
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite/editing-landscape-material-in-unreal-editor-for-fortnite