Precision Elevation Pipeline: Switched to WCS 2.0.1 (GeoTIFF) in EPSG:4326 for elevation fetching, replacing unreliable WMS PNG/JPEG. This ensures accurate NoData handling and eliminates invalid terrain facets and spikes at seams.
Smooth Terrain Surfaces: Replaced coarse nearest-neighbor sampling with bilinear interpolation and increased elevation data resolution to eliminate "scan lines" and staircase artifacts at high settings.
Manual "GENERATE" Workflow: Enforced a strict manual generation gate. All settings in the offcanvas (Resolution, Exaggeration, Tiles, Sea Level, etc.) now only update the visual map selection and mark the model as "dirty," requiring a click on the "GENERATE" button to build the 3D model.
Settings Accessibility: Relocated "Boundary Diameter" and "Model Resolution" controls to the top of the settings panel so they remain visible regardless of accordion state.
Structural & 3D Printing Fixes: Resolved a long-standing bug where walls were missing on square models. Corrected embossed text orientation: it is now inset (sunken) into the base and readable from the bottom view.
UI Feedback & Stability: Added instant "Combining Generated Tiles..." spinner feedback for large multi-tile sets, fixed a bug where individual multi-tiles would not load in the 3D viewer, prevented map-through clicks on UI elements, ensured the generation modal remains visible after viewing a 3D model, fixed instant map updates when switching between hexagons and squares in Multi-mode, and updated all "View Model" buttons (including on-map tile labels) to consistently use the theme's primary blue color.
Map Labels Toggle: Added a new toggle in the bottom-left to quickly enable or disable street and place name labels on the map.
Google Places Fix: Resolved the "initPlacesAutocomplete is not a function" error by ensuring application logic loads before the Google Maps API.
UI Contextual Controls: Hidden "Circle" and "Custom" shape buttons when in Multi-mode to prevent invalid selection states. Enhanced the "Multi" mode toggle to be always clickable, automatically defaulting to a "Square" shape if an unsupported single-tile shape was active. Fixed a bug where the "GENERATE" button would persist after switching modes even if no shape was present on the map.
Copernicus DEM Switch: Fully transitioned to the high-resolution Copernicus GLO-30 dataset. This provides significantly more accurate elevation data globally—say goodbye to the holes and missing data issues common with ASTER!
Seamless Satellite Textures: Fixed a terrain classification bug where polygon facets on steep slopes would "poke through" the satellite texture. Textures now map perfectly to the top surface regardless of the terrain's incline.
Improved Mesh Generation: Enhanced internal tagging of terrain facets (top, bottom, walls) for more reliable material application in GLB and 3MF exports.
Universal Shape Clipping: OSM data (buildings, roads, water, trails) and scattered trees are now strictly and accurately clipped to the boundaries of ALL shapes (Square, Circle, Hexagon, and Custom). Improved clipping robustness for MultiPolygons and complex line intersections by utilizing high-precision LineString-to-Polygon intersection logic.
Missing Features Fix: Fixed a bug that caused roads, trails, trees, and embossed text to be missing from certain exported models (STL).
3D Viewer & Custom Shape Fix: Standardized on a right-handed coordinate system (North = +Y) to fully resolve the "flipped" appearance of custom shapes. The 3D viewer now defaults to a South-facing camera looking North for a natural map-like orientation.
Area Limit: All shapes, including circles and custom polygons, are now limited to a maximum area of 120km x 120km (14,400 km²) to ensure performance and model quality.
SweetAlert2 Integration: Replaced all native browser alerts and prompts with modern, theme-consistent SweetAlert2 modals for a smoother and more professional user experience.
Custom Shape Support: Introduced "Custom" shape mode powered by Leaflet-Geoman. You can now draw Polygons, Rectangles, and Circles (which auto-convert to polygons for easy editing) directly on the map.
Precision Texture Mapping: Satellite imagery is now strictly applied only to the top terrain surface of GLB models. It now always uses high-detail zoom 18 for the best possible quality across all models, with automatic downscaling for large areas to maintain performance.
Automatic Workflow: The model generation modal now automatically appears after drawing a custom shape or selecting a standard shape (Square, Circle, Hexagon), streamlining the export process.
Reliable Geoman Toolbar: Optimized the drawing tools to ensure they are always visible and correctly oriented in a vertical column when in Custom mode.
Elevation Data: Switched back to the reliable ASTER 30m dataset to ensure consistent performance while we finalize local Copernicus DEM support.
Progress & Readability: Removed progress bars in favor of cleaner status updates and enhanced UI readability with text shadows across map controls.
2026-02-27 – Usage Statistics & Global Activity Map
Interactive Stats Modal: Added a comprehensive "Stats" dashboard featuring Chart.js visualizations for daily activity, models generated, export formats, modes (Single vs Multi), and shapes.
Global Model Generation Activity: Implemented a "sexy" dark-themed global map visualizing real-time and historical model generation events.
Temporal Animation & Slider: Added a time slider and play/pause controls to the global map, allowing users to watch the growth of TerraPrinter usage across the world over time.
Map Fullscreen Support: Integrated a dedicated fullscreen button for the activity map, ensuring time controls remain accessible for a focused visualization experience.
Refined Visuals: Optimized map markers to a clean "pixel-sized" turquoise look and blended the map background with the site's dark theme for better aesthetic consistency.
Improved Feedback: Replaced the static "Generating..." text with a dynamic progress bar and descriptive status updates during model generation and export.
Terminological Update: Renamed "Events" to "Models Generated" throughout the statistics interface for improved clarity.
2026-02-21 – Multi overlay, satellite texture, and multi‑tile stability
Floating Multi overlay: When Multi mode is active, Rows/Columns and Multi actions now appear in a small floating overlay on the map. They return to the panel in Single mode.
No map interference: Clicks, touches, scrolls, and drags on the overlay no longer trigger map panning/zooming beneath it.
Mobile friendly: The overlay is collapsible and draggable (constrained within the map) so it won’t block content on small screens.
Satellite texture parity: Preview texture now uses the currently visible basemap and zoom, stitches all needed tiles to cover the entire selection (including hexagons), and renders in the correct sRGB color space for brightness that matches the map.
Unlit material for fidelity: Terrain preview with satellite texture uses an unlit material (no tone mapping) for a near 1:1 visual match with Leaflet.
Multi‑tile export stability: Fixed a “Maximum call stack size exceeded” error when aggregating large facet arrays by appending in a safe loop instead of using spread arguments.
2026-02-14 – UI/UX Workflow & Control Refinement
Bottom Control Bar: Moved the Mode and Shape selection buttons to the bottom of the map to prevent overlap with search and settings on mobile.
Radio-Style Controls: Mode (Single/Multi) and Shape buttons now behave like strict radio buttons, ensuring clear visual state.
Smart Panel Management: The settings panel now automatically hides when the download/view modal is shown, keeping the workspace clean.
Restored Modal Triggers: Ensured the download modal correctly pops up after map clicks or major setting applications.
Z-Index & Interaction Fixes: Improved reliability of modal backdrops and offcanvas interactions on mobile.
2026-02-13 – UX Refinement & AR Finalization
Compact UI Layout: Unified Mode and Shape selection into a single, smaller top bar for better visibility on all screens.
Smart Modal Logic: Prevents automatic pop-ups when switching shapes and ensures background backdrops are always properly cleared.
Definitive AR Mounting: Finalized the Z-up native export and orientation logic so models mount perfectly flush against walls (Art mode) and sit flat on floors.
Mobile Combined View: Fixed the "View Combined Model" feature for mobile devices, ensuring all layers (trails, trees) are correctly aggregated.
Map Interaction Fixes: Prevented UI button clicks from triggering map events and resolved shape-switching script errors.
Hexagonal & Circular Bases: Added support for non-rectangular shapes, perfect for "Terrain Coins" and hexagonal gaming tiles.
Smooth Wall Edges: New high-resolution clipping algorithm for perfectly smooth vertical sides on circular and hexagonal models.
Hexagonal Multi-Tile Mode: Generate large-scale staggered honeycomb grids that fit together seamlessly.
Combined Model Export: Stitch multiple tiles into a single seamless GLB, STL, or multi-material 3MF file.
3D Text Embossing: Add custom labels and location names directly to the base of your 3D models.
Satellite Texture Overlay: Preview realistic terrain in the 3D viewer with Esri World Imagery.
Advanced Layers: Integrated hiking trails from OSM and experimental tree scatter for enhanced architectural detail.
Geometry Optimization: Added Laplacian smoothing to reduce artifacts and high-resolution clipping with bilinear elevation interpolation.
Saved Locations: Bookmark and return to your favorite geographic coordinates and settings.
AR Preview: View your models in Augmented Reality with support for Floor and Wall (Art) placement modes. Corrected wall orientation to ensure models mount flat by their base.
Centered 3D Viewer: Natively centered GLB export for stable rotation and consistent AR placement.
2026-02-13 – STL Export & UI Enhancements
Added "Download STL" option for single-tile and combined models
Improved export reliability for models with OSM features (buildings, roads, water)
Renamed combined download buttons for better clarity (3MF vs STL)
Fixed binary STL generation logic to handle missing or disabled layers
2025-07-05 – 3MF Fixed
Solved a big issue with 3mf generation, please email jordan@jordanharding.com if you spot any bugs.
2025-07-04 – Various Upgrades
Various bug fixes
Made terrain elevation optional, when unchecked, it will simply generate a flat surface.
Added many new low-resolution options for generating low-poly models
Added vertical exaggeration sliders for buildings, roads, and water. Terrain already exists.
2025-07-03 – New Domain, New Features
Moved everything from stlmap.ca to terraprinter.com
Added options for custom coloring custom elevation ranges.
Rebuilt the UI
2025-06-27 – Drag + URL Fixes & Final Polish
Fixed URL-linked pages not showing rectangle
Resolved recentering after drag in single tile mode
Boundary diameter slider now correctly resizes tile
2025-06-24 – UX & Spinner Enhancements
Centered spinner with progress text
Hid view/download buttons during model generation
Live loading text for building/road/water layers
2025-06-18 – GLB & 3MF Rendering Fixes
Fixed GLB coloring and transparency
3MF export per-part with correct slot metadata
Used elevation-aware terrain coloring in GLB
2025-06-01 – OSM Feature Integration
Water, roads, and buildings from OpenStreetMap
GeoJSON parsing and triangulation
Z-snapping to terrain surface
2025-05-29 – 3MF Export with AMS Support
3MF zip generation using JSZip
Color-separated parts with AMS metadata
Included metadata.xml and rels files for Bambu Studio
2025-05-01 – Format Export Upgrades
Added GLB export with Three.js support
Preview using GLB for elevation coloring
Fallback to STL supported
2025-04-22 – Single Tile Mode
Toggle between single and tile creation modes
Draggable single-tile rectangle with auto-centering
Persist state via URL hash
2025-04-10 – UI and Usability Enhancements
Slider inputs for exaggeration, tile size, and resolution
TerraPrinter