What is Fantasy Planet Painter?
A program for making planets. You paint the big features — oceans, continents, mountain ranges — on a small grid of heights, and it generates a detailed world from them: terrain, coastlines, ice and climate, shown on a globe, through eleven map projections or in a 3D view. Version 2.0 can also grow countries, settlements and cultures on that terrain and draw them as a finished map.
What is new in version 2.0?
It is a new program, rebuilt from the ground up: a redesigned editor, the Physical World generator with elevations in real metres and an independent sea level, eleven map projections and a raymarched 3D view with clouds, climate colouring, world building (experimental), and new exports including 16-bit heightmaps and vector map layers. See Features.
I bought version 1.x on itch.io. Can I get 2.0?
Yes. If you bought it on itch.io before 18 September 2026, write to us for a Steam key.
Can I open the worlds I made in version 1.x?
Yes. World → Open reads .planet files from every earlier version and turns them into editable 2.0 worlds, and Export legacy .planet writes them back out for the older version and for World to Beyond.
Do I need a powerful graphics card?
No. Everything, including the 3D view, renders on your computer's processor. A faster processor renders faster, but no graphics card is required.
Which platforms does it run on?
The Steam page lists the supported platforms and system requirements of the current release.
How large can my exports be?
Images up to 8,192 pixels on their longest side (4,096 in Flat Land), 16-bit heightmaps at the same sizes, and map layers as vector SVG, which have no fixed size at all.
Can I use what I make in my book, game or campaign?
Yes. The license agreement says so plainly: you retain all rights to the maps and worlds you create with the software.
Are the world-building features finished?
Not yet, which is why they are marked experimental. In 2.0 you can generate a world with countries, settlements and cultures, choose what the map shows and restyle it. Tools to edit what it generates are in development; see the road map.
What is World to Beyond?
A free add-on, coming soon as a Steam DLC, that turns a painted planet into a playable map for Beyond All Reason and other Spring/Recoil games. See it on Steam.
Does Fantasy Planet Painter collect any data?
The program collects nothing about you. The Steam edition keeps a short log of your editing on your computer to award achievements, and never sends it anywhere. This website counts its visits with Google Analytics and collects no personal data. The privacy policy explains exactly what that means.
Where can I get help?
The program has a built-in guide under Help → Usage. There are tutorials on YouTube, documentation on the Methodox wiki, other painters on the Steam community hub, and you can always email us.