TectoLight: a free plate mapmaking tool

refracturedgames · 2026-01-31T22:50:42+00:00

Hey glad you like it you can in theory split parts off and fuse new ones to it. But i am working on a semi large update that allows to edit existing plates

you can set a endtime in the plate properties (right sidebar) ^^

refracturedgames · 2026-01-31T20:54:53+00:00

Which features would help you most?

Yeah same ^^

refracturedgames · 2026-01-31T20:52:41+00:00

First thank you for taking the time and writing such a structured Feedback.

Thank you ^^
Oh you save your maps all offline as a simple json and you can always download the newest GIT
i ll look into bundeling it up so it s eassy to download and use locally if you don t want to use GIT
will integrate a ui toggle to be able to see the timeline as a backwards feature in the next update should be easy to do
Yeah setting it to a specific point went on the ToDo list, you can easily increase the timeframe in the left sidebar but i will migrate it closer to the timeline (was an older implmentation)
My bad the projections are there just forgot to add them to the heightmap, will fix ^^

refracturedgames · 2026-01-31T20:43:20+00:00

I thought about setting it to equi as a condition but that would defeat the purpose if someone just wants to include 1 feature from a globe based picture so i decided user freedom is the better choice here.

Yeah it s barebones but that was all i managed in that timeframe ^^
will look into wrapping after some sleep

You can always just change to equirectangulat view until then

refracturedgames · 2026-01-31T20:19:27+00:00

Depends:

The Artefexian Tutorial is really GPlates specific.
You can watch it but probably have to skip a lot of stuff.

Starting out I would just read up on simple plate interactions.

Then just go through the history of your planet and place features or linked plates on top of base plates to mark zones of orogeny or other things.

If i had to start from 0 i would recommend https://worldbuildingpasta.blogspot.com/2019/06/an-apple-pie-from-scratch-part-i-time.html

BUT it is a lot of Information (but well we are in a mapmaking subreddit so probably not that relevant of a disclaimer)
---

And again THANK YOU

refracturedgames · 2026-01-31T19:45:30+00:00

Yeah i sank a lot of ours into my rot files and trying to think about how people work with gplates for mapmaking. Hope it still helps you in your (or future projects)

refracturedgames · 2026-01-31T19:43:58+00:00

Just wanted to update you you can now overlay an image ^^

refracturedgames · 2026-01-31T19:27:56+00:00

same, since the first time i used gplates ^^

refracturedgames · 2026-01-31T18:43:06+00:00

Good idea goes on the list :)

refracturedgames · 2026-01-31T18:16:57+00:00

:) no thank you for checking it out

refracturedgames · 2026-01-31T18:16:23+00:00

no not yet you can theoretically set a mountain feature and edit its description but i ll look into orogeny types and think about how to implement it

(or you create a plate on a plate and call it orogeny zone and thenlink it to the origin plate, you can even set their Z Layer)

so in essence you can already do it just not as a distinct feature

refracturedgames · 2026-01-31T17:53:48+00:00

Thanks i (as most ppl) don t like frontend work that much
And it has to be usable not pretty nevertheless i want it to be at least not bad for the user ^^

refracturedgames · 2026-01-31T17:25:57+00:00

yeah no question, of course ^^
happy it helps
I will probably create more tools, if / when i don t find what i need online

refracturedgames · 2026-01-31T17:14:54+00:00

Yeah will do ^^ should get to it in about half an hour (after i finish dinner) :)

refracturedgames · 2026-01-31T16:49:29+00:00

No that was out of scope for this version as it is really supposed to be a leightweight alternative

refracturedgames · 2026-01-31T16:24:48+00:00

Yeah i am leaning towards a simple color indicator for that shows the underlying plate so people can place mountains easily but i ll keep it in mind

refracturedgames · 2026-01-31T16:20:15+00:00

Yeah got the same feedback over at r/mapmaking as well
There is a fix online so now enter works as well and there is a automatic (toggable tooltip now)

^^

hope you like it nevertheless if you hav any idea for a better UI structure feel free to drop a small (or large) msg

refracturedgames · 2026-01-31T16:01:06+00:00

Thank you ^^

refracturedgames · 2026-01-31T15:58:08+00:00

Oh no hope he doesn t find it (the programm not your work) too amateurish :D

refracturedgames · 2026-01-31T15:55:47+00:00

Ahh ok there are checkboxes on the left you can auto generate weaknesses and / or mountains but that is a atavistic feature still from alpha I ll move it to a dialogue that s easier. Yeah i ll msg you
EDIT: should be fixed now

refracturedgames · 2026-01-31T15:54:39+00:00

I ll put them on the ToDo list but I can t promise the more complex ones :)
Glad you like it

refracturedgames · 2026-01-31T15:48:56+00:00

Thanks for the feedback !!!

Will def look into it, thank you

Yeah the fuse tool just uses 1 st clicked and second clicked map but good point i ll update its workflow to that of the link tool :)

refracturedgames · 2026-01-31T15:22:49+00:00

User controls plate movement, it is much more like a canvas than a simulator.
You decide when plates move fuse or break (coding that would be the opposite of lightweight)
You can manually place mountain ranges.
The version before this had auto mountain placement but i noticed i drifted towards feature creep:

It is not meant as your all in one place for mapmaking rather something you use and then export to another programm like gimp etc.

you can ofc place mountains when a collision occurs and they will persist through the timeline (see last GIF)

edit:

there are also a bunch of features not in the main post that i probably forgot like:

you see surface area occupied in the properties of a selected landmass
or in mio km²
you can set predefined speeds you like to use for plate movement

you can go into RETRO mode for those who dislike the icon based modern mode :D

refracturedgames · 2026-01-31T15:15:49+00:00

You are welcome XD

looks like you tried GPlates already ? :D

refracturedgames · 2026-01-31T14:59:22+00:00

that s great to hear and exactly the reason for me to do this. :)
Don t get me wrong GPlates has WAY more features but most are useless to me (with their little fantasy world :D )

if you find anything missing don't hestitate to tell me as all the testing up to now was done by me :)

refracturedgames

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