Runtime Modules in Gaia 2023

Applies to: Gaia (Pro) 2023

Gaia does not only do terrain creation, but also comes with runtime systems such as water or lighting. These systems are meant to complement the terrain and help you to get to a complete, good looking scene faster. Using the Runtime Modules is entirely optional - it is possible to just create a terrain with Gaia and use your own or other 3rd party runtime systems instead.

One of the new features in Gaia (Pro) 2023 is a modular runtime system: Thanks to the flexible setup process you can now choose which runtime modules you want to make available in your project, and which not. This allows you to install only modules you really intend to use and save storage space and asset import times, etc. for unwanted items. 

The Runtime Tab

To access the runtime modules in Gaia, click on the "Create Runtime (Optional)" tab in the Gaia Manager:



On this tab you will find a list of the installed runtime systems. If you hold this window next to the setup window, you can associate the entries with the installed components from the setup window:



The "Procedural Worlds Sky" is not installed in the example above, and therefore does not appear in the runtime modules list, but it would appear here if you install this component from the setup window.
The "Utilities" entry is an exception because this only contains lightweight functionality that is embedded within Gaia itself, so no extra install is needed.

You can activate and deactivate each of these runtime entries with the checkbox in front of the name, but also unfold the entry with the small "+" button to show additional options:



Adding & Removing Runtime Elements

You can add and remove Runtime Elements with the "Apply" and "Remove" button found in the unfolded options for that Element:



For example clicking "Apply" on Gaia Water will add the water to the scene. You can find such runtime elements in the scene hierarchy under the "Gaia Runtime" game object:



If you press the "Remove" button on that Element, the Water will be gone from the scene hierarchy again. Re-Applying a runtime element essentially resets it in the scene. If you find a runtime Element seems to be broken or missing for any reason, re-applying should fix this.

It is also possible to add all elements all at once with the "Create Runtime" button at the bottom of the window.

There is another shortcut for this in the Biome Controller: This has a "Create Runtime" button as well to apply all the runtime elements with their current settings as set up in the Gaia Manager:

This can be convenient when you are working with the world designer: You will automatically end up at the biome controller after your initial terrains were generated, so you can then directly spawn the biome and add all runtime elements without having to bring up the Gaia Manager again.

Getting more information about the Runtime Elements

Enable the help button to get information about the options of the Runtime Element. This will display help texts directly in the UI:



Here you will also find a link to another Canopy article. Each runtime Element has its own help article that goes more into detail about what that Element does and how to operate it.