The reliable way to turn a real place into a playable game map is to build it as aligned layers: an elevation raster for the ground, vector centerlines for roads, and closed polygons for buildings. Keep every layer in one WGS84 reference system, convert it to a local game origin, generate terrain first, then conform roads and buildings to that surface. Finally, tile the result, reduce detail by distance, add collision selectively, and test streaming at the distance your game actually uses.
You can do this with streamed 3D Tiles, an offline Blender import/export pipeline, or an Unreal editor tool that generates editable terrain, roads, and buildings. The best choice depends on whether you need a globe and runtime streaming, artist-controlled meshes, or a scripted Unreal build.
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Think in layers, not in one map file
A web map is a visual composition; a game world needs geometry, metadata, collision, and a coordinate system. Start by treating the source as three related datasets:
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- Roads: attributed LineStrings or centerlines with classes, lanes, and widths when available.
- Buildings: closed Polygon or MultiPolygon footprints with measured height or storey tags where available.
Keep the geographic data in WGS84 while you process it, then transform positions to a local origin near the playable area. A local origin prevents the floating-point errors that appear when an engine stores gameplay coordinates thousands of kilometres from (0,0). Preserve the original latitude, longitude, and source identifiers in metadata even after meshes are converted to local coordinates.
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Use the same bounding box, vertical datum, and unit convention for every layer. If the elevation source is in metres and a vector import is interpreted in degrees, roads and buildings will be offset or stretched. Reproject or resample the heightfield to the vector extent before generating meshes.
Choose an implementation route
Managed 3D Tiles: Cesium for Unity or Unreal
This route is designed for a georeferenced globe and runtime streaming. Cesium’s Unity quickstart can import Cesium World Terrain and Cesium OSM Buildings; it requires a Cesium ion account and lists Unity 2021.3.2f1 or later. The Unreal quickstart describes the equivalent setup—install the plugin, connect Cesium ion, add Cesium World Terrain, and add Cesium OSM Buildings—and was written for Unreal Engine 5.1, with later versions following the same general steps.
The Cesium for Unity documentation describes a full-scale WGS84 globe, 3D Tiles, cloud content, and optional commercial subscriptions. The plugin is Apache 2.0 licensed. This approach minimizes custom GIS conversion and is useful when the camera may travel over a large region or the world must remain geographically accurate.
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- Strengths: global coordinates, ready-made terrain and building tiles, runtime level-of-detail and streaming.
- Costs and constraints: you must manage an access token, network access or a self-hosted content plan, and your own gameplay meshes, collision, and offline-build strategy.
Blender preprocessing with blender-osm
The OpenStreetMap Wiki describes blender-osm as a GPL add-on with one-click download and import of OpenStreetMap and real-world terrain data. Its base edition supports many Simple 3D Buildings roof types and can place buildings on terrain automatically. The premium edition adds default materials, UV mapping, forests and trees, and projected satellite imagery.
Use this route when an artist needs to inspect, clean, decimate, texture, and export a static FBX or glTF scene before it enters the engine. It gives you direct control over topology and materials, but the work happens before runtime and must be repeated when source data changes.
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Large extracts need early clipping. The OpenStreetMap Wiki gives an example of more than 100,000 buildings in a 350 MB New York file; importing an area that large without filtering can overwhelm Blender and the target engine. Keep gameplay attributes in a sidecar database or custom properties after you simplify the render mesh.
Unreal editor automation with GeoScape
GeoScape exposes latitude, longitude, area size, and terrain-detail settings, with independent Terrain, Buildings, and Roads switches. It accepts public OpenStreetMap Overpass data and a global terrain-RGB elevation source. It can also parse GeoJSON FeatureCollections containing building polygons and road lines.
Its field mapping can assign height, storeys, width, and lanes attributes. A documented Python call is:
sub.build_location(-33.9249, 18.4241, 1.0, 4.0, True, True, True)For larger Unreal areas, the documentation recommends converting the result to World Partition and building HLODs. Keep Landscape always loaded while buildings and roads stream by cell. Public Overpass servers can be busy or rate-limited, so cache extracts for repeatable editor builds. A finer terrain-detail setting cannot restore landform detail that the elevation source never captured.
Route comparison
| Decision factor | 3D Tiles with Cesium | Blender with blender-osm | GeoScape in Unreal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary use | Georeferenced runtime globe and streaming | Artist-controlled offline scene preparation | Scripted Unreal editor generation |
| Runtime streaming | Built in for tiled content; network or self-hosted content is required | Not inherent; export and implement engine streaming yourself | Use World Partition and HLODs after generation |
| Editing control | Gameplay-layer meshes and collision remain your responsibility | Highest direct control over cleanup, decimation, UVs, and materials | Editable Unreal layers with configurable mappings |
| Building-height availability | Depends on streamed source coverage | Uses imported tags and roof data where present | Maps height/storey fields when the source provides them |
| Engine support | Unity and Unreal workflows are documented | Any engine that imports the exported format | Unreal editor workflow |
| Network dependence | Access-token and content-delivery plan required for streaming | Can be fully offline after source download | Overpass and terrain downloads can be rate-limited; cache inputs |
Plan the data before generating meshes
- Define the playable extent. Choose a centre point, width and height, and a buffer beyond the camera’s farthest view. Prototype a dense city area between 0.5 and 2 km before attempting a whole metropolitan region.
- Choose the engine and coordinate policy. Decide whether geographic coordinates remain live at runtime or are converted to a local origin during import. Record the origin, units, vertical datum, and axis conventions in project metadata.
- Acquire separate source layers. Download an elevation raster or terrain tiles, then obtain OpenStreetMap, GeoJSON, or another vector extract for roads and buildings. Do not treat a rendered map image as a substitute for attributed geometry.
- Clip immediately. Apply the same bounding box to every source. Keep a larger source buffer for terrain and roads, but trim the final gameplay area to avoid generating invisible geometry.
- Validate attributes. Count buildings with height or storey values, roads with width or lane values, and features with invalid or open geometry. Export a report so missing data is a deliberate fallback rather than a surprise.
- Record provenance. Store the provider, extract date, bounds, coordinate reference system, vertical units, and licence alongside the asset build.
Build the terrain first
Prepare the heightfield
Inspect the elevation source for its coverage, horizontal spacing, vertical units, no-data values, and vertical datum. Fill or mask no-data holes before meshing. Resample the raster to the game extent while preserving enough samples for the steepest slopes and roads that matter to play.
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Choose vertex spacing as a gameplay decision. A close spacing captures kerbs and short ramps but increases vertices, collision work, and streaming cost. A coarse spacing is efficient for distant land but can make a road visibly float or cut into a hillside. GeoScape exposes this trade-off as “Terrain Detail (m/vertex)”; the setting changes mesh resolution, not the information present in the source.
Convert to the game coordinate system
Keep latitude and longitude for source references, but subtract a local origin before writing engine positions. Apply the same scale and axis conversion to every feature. If the engine uses centimetres while the source is in metres, convert once at the import boundary and document it.
Generate and validate the terrain
- Create a heightfield or tiled terrain mesh from the clipped raster.
- Set the terrain’s minimum and maximum elevation explicitly; an incorrect range compresses relief or creates extreme spikes.
- Generate normals, tangents, and a material mask suitable for the engine.
- Check the mesh against a few known coordinates and verify that the highest and lowest points agree with the source.
- Walk or drive the terrain in-engine before importing roads and buildings. Fix origin, scale, and vertical errors now, because every later layer depends on this surface.
Turn road data into drivable geometry
Use attributed centerlines
For driving, collision, navigation, or lane logic, use road centerlines rather than painted pixels. Group segments by road class, lane count, and width. Preserve one-way, bridge, tunnel, and surface tags where available; they affect routing and how the mesh should meet the terrain.
Generate ribbons or spline meshes
- Clean LineStrings, split them at intersections, and remove duplicate or self-crossing points.
- Choose a width in this order: an explicit width attribute, a width derived from lanes and a documented lane-width rule, then a class-based fallback.
- Sample the terrain along the centerline at intervals related to curvature and grade. Insert extra samples at sharp bends, crests, and vertical transitions.
- Offset left and right from the sampled tangent to create a ribbon, or feed the points to a spline-mesh generator.
- Apply a small, consistent clearance above the terrain to prevent z-fighting, then add shoulders, curbs, markings, and barriers as separate detail layers.
- Resolve intersections explicitly. Trim overlapping ribbons, create junction polygons, and assign priority where roads cross.
- Handle bridges and tunnels as separate structures. A bridge deck should not be clamped to the valley floor, while a tunnel entrance needs a cut or portal rather than a road buried under terrain.
When a provider supplies only a centerline, label the resulting width as estimated and send uncertain segments through an art or design review. GeoScape’s input model supports road LineStrings plus width and lanes fields, which lets the same source drive both geometry and gameplay metadata.
Extrude buildings from footprints
Clean the footprint geometry
Require closed polygons, repair self-intersections, remove zero-area rings, and normalize winding order. Separate multipolygon holes so courtyards remain open. A building footprint that is valid in GIS can still fail a game mesh generator if its rings overlap or contain tiny spikes.
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Choose a height fallback
- Use a measured height attribute when present.
- Otherwise convert storeys with a project-defined storey height and retain the original storey count.
- If neither exists, use a conservative class or regional default and mark the building as estimated.
- Reserve detailed facade and interior assets for selected hero buildings; use a simple massing mesh for distant cells.
GeoScape documents Polygon and MultiPolygon inputs with height and storey mappings. blender-osm supports multiple Simple 3D Buildings roof shapes and automatic placement on terrain, which can provide better silhouettes than a flat extrusion when roof tags are available.
Conform buildings to the ground
Sample the terrain under each footprint. On gentle slopes, translate the building to the average ground height. On steep slopes, split the footprint into stepped sections or create a foundation volume so the mesh does not float at one corner and bury itself at another. Do not silently flatten a large hillside; that produces visible gaps and incorrect entrances.
Generate collision separately from the render mesh. A convex or simplified building shell is usually enough for navigation and broad-phase physics, while selected buildings can receive detailed collision only where players enter them.
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Most apparent “bad GIS data” is actually a reference-system mismatch. Verify these items before debugging geometry:
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- The longitude and latitude order is consistent; many GeoJSON pipelines use longitude first.
- The terrain and vectors share the same bounding box and datum.
- The local origin is near the play area and is applied identically to terrain, roads, buildings, spawn points, and navigation data.
- Vertical units are not mixed between metres and centimetres.
Place three test markers—one near the origin, one at a known corner, and one at a distant corner—and compare their engine positions with a GIS viewer. A constant offset indicates an origin problem; a growing error indicates projection, scale, or axis-order trouble.
Tile the world for performance
Choose a cell layout
Split terrain, roads, buildings, textures, navigation data, and metadata using the same grid. A cell should be small enough to stream quickly but large enough that roads and buildings do not cross dozens of boundaries. Keep a small overlap or shared-border rule so terrain seams and road junctions match exactly.
Assign detail by distance
- Near cells: full road markings, curbs, collision, selected facade detail, and high-resolution terrain.
- Mid-distance cells: simplified road ribbons, merged building masses, reduced material slots, and limited collision.
- Far cells: low-detail silhouettes or impostors; omit interiors and small props.
Run geometry reduction before export, not only after the engine import. Merge static materials where possible, remove hidden faces, and keep gameplay attributes outside the render mesh. Generate HLODs for Unreal World Partition projects; for other engines, use equivalent hierarchical proxies and distance-based activation.
Stream and test at the real play distance
Measure load time, memory, visible pop-in, and collision availability while moving at the fastest expected player or vehicle speed. Test diagonal movement across cell corners, because that is where simultaneous loads and seam errors are most likely. An offline mesh that looks correct in an editor viewport is not finished until it streams acceptably in a packaged build.
Engine-specific build sequences
Cesium workflow
- Install the Cesium package or plugin for the selected engine and connect a Cesium ion account.
- Add Cesium World Terrain and Cesium OSM Buildings from the documented quickstart flow.
- Set the project’s origin and gameplay reference so player logic operates in a stable local frame while the globe remains WGS84 georeferenced.
- Keep custom roads, gameplay buildings, navmesh, and collision in engine-native layers that can be streamed or baked independently of the 3D Tiles.
- Plan for token security, network failure, cache policy, and an offline or self-hosted content strategy before shipping.
Blender workflow
- Install blender-osm and define a tight import rectangle.
- Download the OSM and terrain data, then import terrain and buildings together so automatic placement uses the same surface.
- Inspect roof types, repair bad footprints, delete irrelevant objects, and decimate distant geometry.
- Assign materials and UVs; use projected imagery only when its provider terms permit the intended distribution.
- Export tiled FBX or glTF, preserving object IDs and source attributes in custom properties or a sidecar file.
- Import the tiles into the engine and add engine-specific streaming, collision, navigation, and lighting.
GeoScape workflow in Unreal
- Set latitude, longitude, area size, and terrain detail in the GeoScape settings.
- Enable Terrain, Buildings, and Roads independently while prototyping, so a bad layer can be isolated.
- Supply cached Overpass or GeoJSON data and map height, storeys, width, and lanes fields.
- Run the documented Python build call or the equivalent editor action, then inspect the generated Landscape, roads, and buildings.
- Convert larger results to World Partition, keep Landscape always loaded, and stream buildings and roads by cell with HLODs.
Common failures and precise fixes
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Roads are offset from terrain | Different origin, projection, or axis order | Compare three known markers, then reapply one WGS84-to-local transform to every layer. |
| Buildings float or sink | Footprints were not sampled against the final terrain | Resample ground height per footprint and add a foundation or stepped sections on steep slopes. |
| Road width looks inconsistent | Missing or mixed width attributes | Use explicit width first, then a documented lane or class fallback; flag estimates for review. |
| Terrain has spikes or holes | No-data cells or incorrect elevation range | Fill or mask no-data values, validate min/max elevation, and regenerate the heightfield. |
| Intersections overlap or flicker | Independent ribbons were never trimmed or given clearance | Build junction polygons, trim overlaps, and apply a small consistent vertical offset. |
| Import or download fails | Extract is too large or a public service is busy or rate-limited | Clip the area, cache the source, retry later, and generate in tiles. |
| Far buildings consume too much memory | Hero-level geometry is used everywhere | Merge and decimate distant cells, reduce materials, and use HLODs or impostors. |
| Fine terrain detail does not improve the view | The elevation source lacks that detail | Acquire a higher-resolution or better-coverage elevation source; changing vertex spacing alone cannot invent information. |
Licensing, attribution, and repeatable builds
OpenStreetMap roads and buildings are covered by the ODbL. GeoScape’s licensing guidance tells users to review attribution and share-alike obligations before distributing generated content. Elevation, imagery, and terrain tiles have separate provider terms. A map that is free to view on the web is not automatically licensed for baked textures, exported meshes, or commercial redistribution.
Keep attribution with the shipped build where required, and retain a machine-readable record of the dataset date, extract bounds, provider, source URL, coordinate reference system, and licence. If a provider changes its terms or retires an endpoint, the record tells you exactly which assets must be rebuilt.
Which workflow should you use?
- Choose Cesium when a geographically accurate globe and runtime streaming matter more than offline mesh editing.
- Choose blender-osm when artists need to clean, decimate, texture, and export a controlled static scene.
- Choose GeoScape when the target is Unreal and you want repeatable, scripted generation of editable terrain, road, and building layers.
Regardless of route, the durable pipeline is the same: bound the area, acquire elevation and vectors separately, align them in WGS84, convert to a stable local origin, generate terrain before dependent layers, define fallbacks for missing attributes, and design tiling and licences before content production scales up.
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