Crackertoa Documentation

Procedural, Non-Destructive Crack Generation for Blender

Create realistic, game-ready cracks directly on any mesh using an intuitive point-and-click workflow. Every crack remains fully editable, allowing you to refine its appearance at any stage of your project without permanently altering the original mesh.

Version: 1.0.0
Compatible with: Blender 4.0+ (Extension support on Blender 4.2+)
Developer: Egret Studios

Table of Contents

1. Overview

2. Installation

3. Getting Started

4. Non-Destructive Workflow

5. Interface Reference

6. Procedural Textures

7. Output & Topology

8. Voxel Reconstruction

9. Attribute Tagging

10. Example Workflows

11. Troubleshooting

12. Keyboard Shortcuts

13. Known Limitations

14. Changelog

Overview

Crackertoa is a procedural crack generation tool for Blender that lets you draw realistic fractures directly onto any mesh.

Instead of manually cutting geometry, cleaning topology, and rebuilding damaged surfaces every time a revision is requested, Crackertoa allows you to simply draw a path and generate a natural-looking crack in seconds.

Each crack includes:

• Organic path variation

• Procedural branching

• Adjustable width and depth

• Recessed fracture floor

• Clean production-ready topology

Unlike traditional destructive workflows, Crackertoa keeps every crack fully procedural. Width, depth, branching, textures, and other settings remain editable long after the crack has been created.

Whether you're creating damaged concrete, broken walls, rocks, roads, ruins, cliffs, or stylized environments, Crackertoa is designed to fit seamlessly into professional production pipelines.

Installation

Blender 4.2 and Newer (Recommended)

1. Open Edit → Preferences.

2. Select Get Extensions.

3. Open the menu in the top-right corner.

4. Choose Install from Disk.

5. Select:

crackertoa-1.0.0.zip

Blender 4.0 – 4.1

1. Open Edit → Preferences.

2. Select Add-ons.

3. Click Install...

4. Select the same ZIP package.

5. Enable Crackertoa.

Open the 3D View Sidebar (N) and select the Crackertoa tab.

No internet connection, external libraries, or image assets are required.

Updating: If installing a newer version, remove the previous version first or restart Blender after installation to clear cached Python modules.

Getting Started

Creating your first crack takes only a few steps.

1. Select a mesh object in Object Mode.

2. Open the Crackertoa panel.

3. Click Start Crack Path.

4. Left-click on the mesh to place two or more points.

5. A live preview displays the crack path as you draw.

6. Press Enter, double-click, or click Apply.

7. Crackertoa generates the crack instantly.

Once created, adjust any parameter—including Width, Depth, Jitter, Branches, or Texture—and the crack rebuilds automatically.

To completely remove every generated crack and restore the original mesh, simply press Clear All Cracks.

Non-Destructive Workflow

One of Crackertoa's core features is its completely non-destructive workflow.

When the first crack is created, the original mesh is automatically stored as a hidden backup.

Each crack is then saved only as:

• Its drawn path

• Generation settings

Whenever any parameter changes, Crackertoa regenerates every crack from the untouched source mesh.

This provides three major advantages:

Nothing is permanently baked into the geometry unless you choose to do so.

Interface Reference

Crack Path

Crack Settings

Live Edit

Automatically rebuilds all existing cracks whenever a parameter changes.

Disable this option on heavy meshes for improved performance and use Rebuild Cracks manually instead.

Width

Controls the opening between the two sides of the crack.

Larger values create wider fractures.

Depth

Controls how deeply the fracture sinks into the mesh.

Higher values produce more dramatic cracks.

Jitter

Adds natural randomness to the crack path.

Low values produce cleaner fractures while higher values create rough, irregular cracks.

Branches

Controls how many secondary fractures split away from the main crack.

Branch Angle

Determines the average angle of secondary branches.

Natural variation is automatically applied to avoid repetitive results.

Procedural Textures

Crackertoa includes nine procedural texture generators.

These textures influence crack width, depth, branching, and overall surface variation.

Because every texture is generated procedurally, no external image files are required.

Influence

Blends between manual settings and procedural texture values.

• 0 = Manual settings only

• 1 = Fully texture-driven

Texture Scale

Controls the size of the procedural pattern.

Lower values create larger features.

Higher values create finer detail.

Preview Displacement

Temporarily bakes the texture field into vertex colors, allowing you to preview displacement before generating the final crack.

Output & Topology

Crackertoa is designed to generate production-ready geometry.

Every crack is rebuilt using an optimized topology pipeline.

Features include:

• Quad- and triangle-only output

• No Ngons

• Local remeshing around the crack corridor

• Quad reconstruction where possible

• Automatic tapering at crack ends

• Manifold validation after every rebuild

Triangles appear only where mathematically required during the cutting process.

For workflows requiring completely uniform topology, use either Voxel Reconstruction or Triangulate Output.

Triangulate Output

Converts the final mesh into fully triangulated geometry.

Recommended for export to:

• Unity

• Unreal Engine

• Godot

Voxel Reconstruction

Voxel Reconstruction rebuilds the final result using Blender's OpenVDB voxel remesher.

This produces a clean, uniform quad mesh across the entire object.

Recommended for:

• Rocks

• Cliffs

• Concrete

• Sculpting bases

• Retopology workflows

Important Notes

• Keep Voxel Size smaller than the crack Width.

• Large voxel sizes may close the crack opening.

• UVs and custom attributes are discarded during voxel remeshing.

• Best suited for closed meshes.

Attribute Tagging

When Tag Crack Geometry is enabled, Crackertoa creates two custom attributes.

These attributes can be used for:

• Material masking

• Geometry selection

• Shader effects

• Export filtering

Voxel Reconstruction removes these attributes as part of the remeshing process.

Example Workflows

Hero Assets

1. Draw the crack.

2. Adjust Width and Depth.

3. Increase Jitter.

4. Select Voronoi Crackle.

5. Fine-tune using Live Edit.

Game Assets

1. Generate the crack.

2. Enable Triangulate Output.

3. Keep Tag Crack Geometry enabled.

4. Export to your game engine.

Sculpting Base

1. Generate the crack.

2. Enable Voxel Reconstruction.

3. Reduce Voxel Size below the crack Width.

4. Continue sculpting.

Heavy Meshes

1. Disable Live Edit.

2. Adjust all desired settings.

3. Click Rebuild Cracks once.

Troubleshooting

Crack Path Button Is Disabled

Ensure:

• A mesh object is selected.

• You are in Object Mode.

• Another crack session is not already active.

Crack Is Too Small

Increase the crack path length or reduce the Width value.

Crack Closed After Voxel Reconstruction

Voxel Size is larger than the crack Width.

Reduce the voxel size and rebuild.

Triangles Are Visible

This is expected.

Knife cuts cannot remain entirely quad-based.

For uniform topology use:

• Voxel Reconstruction

• Triangulate Output

Changes Did Not Apply After Updating

Restart Blender after installing the updated version.

Manifold Warning

If Crackertoa reports non-manifold edges, inspect them using:

Select → Select All by Trait → Non-Manifold

If reproducible, report the mesh and settings for investigation.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Known Limitations

• Original mesh backups are stored per object.

• Voxel Reconstruction removes UVs and custom attributes.

• Live Edit may become slower on extremely dense meshes.

• Physics-based fracture simulation is not included.

• Animated crack growth is not included in Version 1.0.

• Multi-object crack propagation is not supported.

Changelog

Version 1.0.0

Initial release featuring:

• Interactive path-based crack generation

• Fully non-destructive workflow

• Real-time live editing

• Procedural branching

• Nine procedural texture generators

• Quad-dominant topology pipeline

• Optional Voxel Reconstruction

• Attribute tagging

• Manifold validation

• Triangulated output for game engines

© Egret Studios — Crackertoa