Landscape Layer Debugger

Module: Art · Category: EnvironmentArt · Tool ID: LandscapeLayerDebugger

Walks every ALandscapeProxy in the level and surfaces paint layer health: layers exceeding per-component blend limits, unused layers wasting weight-map slots, components missing material assignments. Each issue can be navigated to (the underlying landscape and component get pinged), and unused layers can be removed in place.

Debugger open with a multi-layer landscape selected, landscape list on the left with component/layer counts, issues list on the right showing mixed severities.

When to use it

• Performance pass on a heavily-painted landscape: weight maps cost shader slots, every unused layer is overhead
• Pre-cook check: confirming all painted layers have material assignments
• Inheriting a landscape and wanting to see how many layers were authored vs. actually used
• Finding the source of “shader compile time blew up” issues: usually a landscape with too many active layers

What it isn’t for

• Don’t use this for landscape mesh / heightmap analysis. It’s paint-layer-specific.
• Don’t expect this to author layers. Paint layer authoring lives in UE’s Landscape mode.

Opening the tool

1. Open the EQLabs Hub and search for Landscape (or browse to Art → EnvironmentArt).
2. Click the tool card.
3. Make sure a level with landscape is loaded.
4. Click Scan Landscapes.

Interface tour

The panel is split into two list views:

Landscapes list (left)

Column	What it shows
Name	Landscape actor name
Components	Component count
Layers	Total paint layer count
Max Layers/Component	Highest layer count on any single component
Layer Names	Comma-joined list of paint layer names
Material Assignments	Material(s) assigned to the landscape

Issues list (right)

Column	What it shows
Landscape	Which landscape the issue belongs to
Layer	Specific layer name (when issue is layer-specific)
Issue	Description of the problem
Severity	Error / Warning / Info
Actions	Per-row action — typically Remove Unused Layer for unused-layer rows

What gets flagged

Severity	Issue
Error	Component exceeds the per-component layer blend limit (typically 8)
Warning	Layer is painted but assignment to material is broken or missing
Info	Layer exists but is never actually painted on any component (unused)

Issues list with several "Unused Layer" rows visible, one selected showing the Remove action button.

Workflow

Step 1: Scan

Click Scan Landscapes. Both lists populate.

Step 2: Walk Errors first

Per-component layer-limit Error rows are the most likely shader-compile issue. Each one tells you which component on which landscape has too many layers.

Step 3: Remove unused layers

Info-severity rows for unused layers can be removed in place via the per-row action button. Removing them frees weight-map slots immediately.

Step 4: Re-scan

Confirm the issue list shrinks. Save the level.

Settings reference

Field	What it does	Default
Max Layer Warning Threshold	Per-component layer count that triggers a Warning	8

Settings are persisted to [Project]/Saved/EQLabs/Settings/LandscapeLayerDebugger.json.

Output

• Two in-panel lists. Landscapes and issues, cleared on each rescan.
• Layer removal. Remove Unused Layer modifies the landscape directly. Marked dirty until Save.
• Undo. Wrapped in ScopedTransaction, reversible with Ctrl+Z.

Tips and gotchas

• Per-component layer limits are platform-dependent. Most platforms cap at 8 active layers per component. Mobile typically caps at 4. Check your project settings if unsure.
• An “unused” layer might be intentional. Sometimes layers are kept around as authoring placeholders or for future paint passes. The tool flags them; you decide whether to remove.
• Material assignment Warnings are usually broken references. Fix them in the Landscape’s material slot, not in this tool.
• Single-click pings the landscape; double-click opens the landscape’s actor properties for further inspection.

Related tools

• Foliage Placement Analyzer — the foliage-side counterpart for environment art performance
• Material Layer Studio. For the material side of landscape layer authoring.