The "Storm Zone" Tool: Mastering Landscape Region Selection in UEFN

Imagine you’re playing a match where the Storm isn’t just a circle that shrinks over time—it’s a custom-shaped death zone that only kills people standing on the grass, while leaving the rocks completely safe. Or maybe you want to paint mud only on the steep slopes, not the flat spawn pad.

In Fortnite, we usually paint entire landscapes uniformly. But what if you want to target specific areas without affecting the rest of your island? That’s where the Landscape Region Selection Tool comes in. Think of it as drawing a temporary "Storm Circle" or a "Trigger Volume" around your terrain so you can sculpt, paint, or copy only what’s inside. No more accidental grass painting on your enemy’s spawn point.

What You'll Learn

• How to use the Region Selection Tool to isolate specific parts of your terrain.
• The difference between Positive Mask (edit inside) and Negative Mask (protect inside).
• How to use these selections as Masks for other tools like Copy or Mirror.
• How to clear your mess and start fresh.

How It Works

In UEFN, the Landscape tool is like your paintbrush, your sculpting chisel, and your terrain editor all rolled into one. Usually, whatever you touch changes the whole landscape. But sometimes, you only want to change one specific hill or one specific patch of dirt.

The Region Selection Tool lets you draw a boundary on your map. Once that boundary is drawn, you can tell other tools: "Only work inside this line" or "Never work inside this line."

Here is the game mechanic analogy:

• The Selection Boundary is like the Storm Zone on the minimap. It defines the area of effect.
• Positive Mask (Use Region as Mask) is like the Storm killing players inside the zone. You are actively applying changes within your selection.
• Negative Mask is like a Safe Zone or a Healing Pad. You are protecting the area inside the selection from any changes, while freely editing everything outside of it.

The Key Settings

When you have the Region Selection tool active, you’ll see a few critical options in the toolbar:

1. Clear Region Selection: This is the "Reset" button. It deletes your Storm Circle so you can draw a new one. Use this if you messed up your boundary.
2. Use Region as Mask: This is the toggle that turns your selection into an active filter. When ON, subsequent tools (like Sculpt, Paint, or Copy) will only affect the area inside your boundary.
3. Negative Mask: This flips the logic.
   • Off (Positive): Edit inside the box. (Like the Storm).
   • On (Negative): Edit outside the box, but protect the inside. (Like a Shield Bubble).

Let's Build It

Let’s build a simple scenario: The "Rock-Only" Ramp.

We want to create a ramp made entirely of rock, but we want to ensure we don’t accidentally paint any grass on the flat ground nearby. We’ll use the Region Selection Tool to isolate the ramp area, then paint rock only there.

Step 1: Set Up Your Landscape

1. Open UEFN and load your island.
2. Make sure you have a Landscape actor in your scene. If you don’t have one, go to the World Partition tab and create a new Landscape (see Reference 4 for settings).
3. Open the Landscape Mode by clicking the "Landscape" tab in the top toolbar (or press Ctrl+Shift+L depending on your keybinds).

Step 2: Draw Your "Storm Zone"

1. In the Landscape toolbar, find the Select tool (it looks like a square with arrows).
2. Click the dropdown next to it and select Region Selection.
3. Click and drag on your terrain to draw a rectangular (or freeform, depending on your brush settings) boundary around the area where you want your rock ramp to be.
   • Pro Tip: Zoom in close so your selection is precise. This is your "Safe Zone" or "Kill Zone" boundary.

Step 3: Activate the Mask

1. With the Region Selection tool still active, look at the settings panel (usually on the right or top).
2. Check the box for Use Region as Mask.
   • What just happened? You’ve told UEFN: "Everything I do next is trapped inside this box."
3. Leave Negative Mask unchecked. This means we want to edit inside the box.

Step 4: Paint Rock (Inside the Box)

1. Switch to the Paint tool (the paintbrush icon).
2. Select Rock (or any material you want) from your Landscape Layers.
3. Paint over your terrain.
   • Watch closely: You will notice that no matter where you paint, the rock only appears inside your selected boundary. The grass outside remains untouched.
   • Why? Because the Region Selection is acting as a Mask. It’s filtering out any paint strokes that try to go outside the box.

Step 5: Try Negative Mask (The Shield Bubble)

1. Keep the Region Selection active.
2. Check Negative Mask.
3. Try painting again.
   • Result: The rock will not appear inside your box. It will only appear outside. The box is now a "protected" zone. You’ve successfully shielded that area from your paintbrush.

Step 6: Clear and Reset

1. When you’re done, click Clear Region Selection.
2. The mask is gone. You can now paint freely across the entire landscape again.

Try It Yourself

Challenge: Create a "Mud Slide" area.

1. Draw a Region Selection around a steep hill.
2. Set it to Positive Mask (edit inside).
3. Paint Mud only on that hill.
4. Now, switch to Negative Mask and try to paint Snow on the same hill.
5. What happens? Why?

Hint: Think about which tool is "winning" the conflict. If the Region Selection is set to Negative Mask, it’s protecting the hill. You might need to clear the selection or switch to Positive Mask to override it.

Recap

The Landscape Region Selection Tool is your best friend for precision editing. It works like a Storm Circle or Trigger Volume for your terrain tools:

• Use Region as Mask turns your selection into a filter.
• Positive Mask (unchecked) means "Edit Inside."
• Negative Mask (checked) means "Protect Inside / Edit Outside."
• Always remember to Clear Region Selection when you’re done, or you’ll be stuck in that zone forever!

References

• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/uefn/UE/building-virtual-worlds/landscape-outdoor-terrain/editing-landscapes/landscape-sculpt-mode/landscape-region-selection-tool
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/uefn/landscape-mode-in-unreal-editor-for-fortnite
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/uefn/editing-landscape-material-in-unreal-editor-for-fortnite
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite/generating-new-terrain-in-unreal-editor-for-fortnite
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite/editing-landscape-material-in-unreal-editor-for-fortnite