GenesisII generates photo-realistic and schematic images of landscapes from geographic data. In addition to rendering capabilities, GenesisII incorporates a wide range of tools to support landscape modeling and related tasks, such as VRML modeling and terrain editing. GenesisII describes a landscape surface using a landscape grid of heights that can either be generated by GenesisII or imported from another source such as a DEM (digital elevation model) file. GenesisII understands how landscapes are formed and will attempt to generate the details of the fractal surface in a realistic manner. It also has an understanding of ecosystems and will place vegetation with regard to surface features.

A range of factors controls how the landscape will look in the rendered image. The user can control atmosphere, clouds, and water in addition to camera and target placement. It also features an extensible plug-in architecture.