Why is this different? Well, one reason is that it uses a 'texture splatting' technique which allows you to 'paint' MULTIPLE textures on to a landscape in realtime with WYSIWYG results. You can even vary the base color of the textures as you go (for example use one grass texture, but make some areas look 'dead' by coloring them brown). You simply can't do this with any other DB terrain/landscape editor.
Further reasons are listed below, and many are unique to A.L.E
Go to
http://www.dyvision.co.uk/ to download a demo or find out more.
You can also download an FPS showcase 'game' made in 1 day using ALE at
http://www.dyvision.co.uk/alegamedemo.zip
The next update adds the ability to export landscapes as .x meshes that are fully compaible with Dark Basic / DBPro (or any engine/app that can import DirectX .x files)!
FEATURE HIGHLIGHTS :
Terraform huge landscapes in REAL-TIME with WYSIWYG results.
Use up to 6 individual textures to directly paint your landscape with no loss of quality or speed.
Automatic optimization usually reduces polycount by about 50% on exported models with absolutely no visible artefacts!
Set the suns position, then lightmap the entire landscape within seconds.
Use vertex colors to add even more variation to your creation. Add virtually limitless variation to your textures in realtime with no performance overhead.
Intuitive & productive interface - Click a point on the landscape to see it transform instantly.
AutoSmooth tool - automatically refine your work!
Import / export heightmaps compatible with most other 3D software.
Export worlds in .b3d format.
Placement of 'Props' (such as trees, buildings, waypoints) on the landscape
Full world editor functionality (Load, position, scale, name, set to ground, rotate, clone, delete)
Place multiple objects in seconds using a 'PlaceMap'
Props can cast shadows on to the landscape.
Export 'prop' setup file (simple ASCII text file containing all required data in plain English - loader function for Blitz included). This allows you to access ALL settings made within ALE including fog/CameraRange/player height etc. from within your own engine.
Export options :
No Lightmap (strips lightmap from landscape. Useful if you are using an external lightmapper)
Copy All Media (Creates a directory with the same name as your landscape and copys all required models/textures to it)
Do Not Optimize (If you just want to preview your landscape quickly the optimize phase can be skipped)
Make Self Tileable (Use a landscape as a repeating 'tile' - edges match seamlessly)
Edge To Zero (Any landscape with this function applied will seamlessly tile with itself or any other)
Hide Lightmap (So you can see dark areas when painting)
Roam the scene 'on foot' or in free-flight mode as you edit. Build the world around the
player 
www.dyvision.co.uk
