MapMagic 2 vs WaveFunctionCollapse

MapMagic 2 is a node-based procedural generator for Unity terrain and game objects. Users build graphs from generator nodes such as noise, Voronoi, blending, curves, and erosion. Listed outputs include height, holes, textures, grass, custom outputs, objects, splines, and biomes. During play mode, it can generate new terrain tiles for endless maps. The Biomes and Functions module blends graphs using masks and moves complex generation into sub-graphs. MapMagic 2 is listed as compatible with Unity 2022.3.62f1 across Built-in, URP, and HDRP render pipelines; installation requires the.NET 4.x API Compatibility Level in the Unity Editor. The core asset costs nothing. Biomes and Functions costs $45, paid once and requires an existing MapMagic 2 installation. The bundle costs $157.50, paid once and includes MapMagic 2 with Objects, Splines, Biomes, and Brush modules. The bundle listing says full source code is included. Special nodes are named for CTS, MegaSplat, MicroSplat, and Vegetation Studio Pro, though full compatibility is not guaranteed.

WaveFunctionCollapse is a free tool for generating bitmaps from local patterns in an input image. It limits output to NxN pixel patterns found in that input, with optional rotations and reflections to expand the pattern data. During generation, it selects an unresolved region with the lowest Shannon entropy, assigns a state, and propagates the resulting constraints. The simple tiled model instead starts from tiles and adjacency data, and a symmetry system can shorten adjacency lists for symmetrical tilesets. Constraints let the method be combined with other generative algorithms or manual creation. The README describes it as suited to game level generation and pixel art, but less suited to large full-color textures. Models can work in higher dimensions, including voxel examples. The project links to an interactive browser version and lists adaptations for Unity, Unreal Engine 5, Godot 4, and Houdini. It supports Linux, macOS, web, and Windows; listed export formats are PNG and TXT. Generation can stop at a contradiction without producing output, and the project describes determining whether a valid bitmap exists as NP-hard. The software is MIT-licensed; the image samples and tiles are not included in that license.