Let me show you Gaia scatter a toolset I've been working on which allows you to paint objects on a surface ( here, a terrain ). It's really a big test or R&D kind of stuff, I'll explore more features soon ( like LOD system based on a camera position, edition of already drawn strokes etc… ).
I started it before the release of H16 so it's not fully compatible with the new terrain tools but I'll also change that asap
It's based on digital assets driven by a python interface, that means that you keep control on everything all the time. As it's simple digital assets you still can create and edit your layers manually if you really need it !
In the meantime, feel free to have a look on the video here.
Cheers,
Guillaume