Choose a target scope

Select a whole vector layer for one consistent first pass, a category when mapped groups need different behavior, or one object for a deliberate exception. The active target appears in Modifiers and Collections, so confirm it before clicking Apply.

Persistent settings such as Buffer, Height Offset, Object Distribution, and collection assignments remain attached to their target. Depth and Grade are one-shot operations that change working terrain immediately.

Create forests with native trees

Select the Forests layer, a forest category, or individual forest polygons. Open Modifiers -> Object Distribution, choose practical spacing and distribution settings, and apply. Then open Collections -> Trees, choose the SnowRunner tree collection and model variants, and apply them to the same target.

The distribution produces deterministic placement candidates and the collection supplies stock SnowRunner plant brands. Export writes those exact candidates as native Plants with terrain-sampled heights. Very small spacing can create tens of thousands of trees, so test density on a limited target before applying it to every forest.

Forest polygons do not silently create bushes or ground vegetation. Undergrowth is controlled only by the explicit Undergrowth raster, which keeps tree placement and procedural floor cover independently editable.

Carve and assign water

Select a water Polygon or a buffered water LineString. First apply Modifiers -> Depth to carve the working terrain. Then apply the persistent Height Offset that places the water surface relative to the original bank-level terrain. Finally open Collections -> Water and apply a SnowRunner water mapping.

All three parts have separate jobs: Depth changes terrain, Height Offset defines the exported River height, and the Water collection marks the feature as an actual water surface. SnowRunner export includes only water features that have both Height Offset and a complete Water collection assignment. A line also needs Buffer because it otherwise has no water width.

Inspect shore contact and crossings from a low angle. For line water, vector node order controls the exported river direction. Export uses the authored footprint and working terrain; it does not carve an extra default riverbed or guess a missing surface height.

Grade building foundations

Select the Buildings layer, a building category, or the polygons you intend to place. Open Modifiers -> Grade before assigning models. Median is a dependable height mode for ordinary footprints; Edge blend controls how far the flat foundation transitions back into the surrounding terrain.

Grade writes into working terrain once. Fix a bad footprint before applying it. Moving the vector later can move its model assignment, but it does not move the already graded patch of terrain.

Place SnowRunner buildings

With the prepared building target selected, open Collections -> Buildings and choose a SnowRunner collection. Apply at layer or category scope for automatic footprint matching, or select one polygon and choose an exact stock model for an override.

Inspect footprint fit, rotation, model origin, terrain contact, doors, and vehicle clearance. Export preserves the chosen stock-model binding, center, rotation correction, scale, and model-origin offset. An automatically matched building is a starting point, not a promise that every unusual footprint is correct.

Buffer road centerlines

Select Roads or a road category and open Modifiers -> Buffer. The radius is half of the intended surface width: a 4 m radius creates an area about 8 m wide. Apply different values to primary, secondary, and narrow roads when their real widths differ.

Buffer is persistent and follows centerline edits. During SnowRunner export, the buffered road footprint contributes its mapped asphalt, gravel, or dirt material to the native terrain blend. It does not create a SnowRunner road overlay, automatic ruts, or a guaranteed drivable roadbed; use SnowRunner Editor for important overlay and drivability work after export.

Review vectors and derived objects

Toggle imagery, vector overlays, Meshes, and water separately. Confirm that the material footprint is correct without imagery, forest models do not block important routes, buildings sit on their graded foundations, and water does not float above or disappear below the banks.

If geometry is wrong, edit the vector. If a tree or building choice is wrong, change its collection assignment. If ground height is wrong, correct working terrain. Keeping those responsibilities separate makes the exported result predictable.