diff --git a/src/Renderer.ts b/src/Renderer.ts
index 60117b0..e2987fd 100644
--- a/src/Renderer.ts
+++ b/src/Renderer.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,12 @@ import type { WebGLRenderTarget } from "three";
 import * as THREE from "three";
 import type { SceneCollection } from "./App";
 import Config from "./Config";
+import {
+    FOOD_QUALITY_MASK,
+    FOOD_QUALITY_SHIFT,
+    TERRAIN_TYPE_MASK,
+    TERRAIN_TYPE_SHIFT,
+} from "./constants";
 
 interface Resources {
     worldRenderTarget: THREE.WebGLRenderTarget;
@@ -10,6 +16,7 @@ interface Resources {
     antsComputeTarget0: THREE.WebGLRenderTarget;
     antsComputeTarget1: THREE.WebGLRenderTarget;
     antsDiscreteRenderTarget: THREE.WebGLRenderTarget;
+    antsPresenceRenderTarget: THREE.WebGLRenderTarget;
 }
 
 export default class Renderer {
@@ -207,6 +214,10 @@ export default class Renderer {
             REPELLENT_THRESHOLD: Renderer.convertNumberToFloatString(
                 Config.repellentThreshold,
             ),
+            TERRAIN_TYPE_SHIFT: String(TERRAIN_TYPE_SHIFT),
+            TERRAIN_TYPE_MASK: String(TERRAIN_TYPE_MASK),
+            FOOD_QUALITY_SHIFT: String(FOOD_QUALITY_SHIFT),
+            FOOD_QUALITY_MASK: String(FOOD_QUALITY_MASK),
         };
     }
 
diff --git a/src/__tests__/constants.test.ts b/src/__tests__/constants.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dae213d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/__tests__/constants.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+import { describe, expect, test } from "bun:test";
+import {
+    CELL_FOOD_BIT,
+    CELL_HOME_BIT,
+    CELL_OBSTACLE_BIT,
+    FOOD_QUALITY_MASK,
+    FOOD_QUALITY_SHIFT,
+    TERRAIN_TYPE_MASK,
+    TERRAIN_TYPE_SHIFT,
+} from "../constants";
+
+describe("cell metadata bit layout", () => {
+    test("bit fields do not overlap", () => {
+        // cell flags occupy bits 0-2
+        const cellFlagsBits = (1 << (CELL_OBSTACLE_BIT + 1)) - 1;
+        // terrain occupies bits 3-5
+        const terrainBits = TERRAIN_TYPE_MASK << TERRAIN_TYPE_SHIFT;
+        // food quality occupies bits 6-13
+        const foodQualityBits = FOOD_QUALITY_MASK << FOOD_QUALITY_SHIFT;
+
+        expect(cellFlagsBits & terrainBits).toBe(0);
+        expect(cellFlagsBits & foodQualityBits).toBe(0);
+        expect(terrainBits & foodQualityBits).toBe(0);
+    });
+
+    test("terrain type can encode 8 values", () => {
+        for (let t = 0; t <= 7; t++) {
+            const packed = t << TERRAIN_TYPE_SHIFT;
+            const unpacked = (packed >> TERRAIN_TYPE_SHIFT) & TERRAIN_TYPE_MASK;
+            expect(unpacked).toBe(t);
+        }
+    });
+
+    test("food quality can encode 0-255", () => {
+        for (const q of [0, 1, 127, 255]) {
+            const packed = q << FOOD_QUALITY_SHIFT;
+            const unpacked = (packed >> FOOD_QUALITY_SHIFT) & FOOD_QUALITY_MASK;
+            expect(unpacked).toBe(q);
+        }
+    });
+
+    test("all fields round-trip together", () => {
+        const food = 1;
+        const home = 1;
+        const obstacle = 0;
+        const terrain = 5;
+        const quality = 200;
+
+        const packed =
+            food +
+            (home << CELL_HOME_BIT) +
+            (obstacle << CELL_OBSTACLE_BIT) +
+            (terrain << TERRAIN_TYPE_SHIFT) +
+            (quality << FOOD_QUALITY_SHIFT);
+
+        expect(packed & 1).toBe(food);
+        expect((packed >> CELL_HOME_BIT) & 1).toBe(home);
+        expect((packed >> CELL_OBSTACLE_BIT) & 1).toBe(obstacle);
+        expect((packed >> TERRAIN_TYPE_SHIFT) & TERRAIN_TYPE_MASK).toBe(
+            terrain,
+        );
+        expect((packed >> FOOD_QUALITY_SHIFT) & FOOD_QUALITY_MASK).toBe(
+            quality,
+        );
+    });
+});
diff --git a/src/constants.ts b/src/constants.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f2b3cc9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/constants.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+// cell metadata bit layout for world texture R channel
+
+// bits 0-2: cell type flags
+export const CELL_FOOD_BIT = 0;
+export const CELL_HOME_BIT = 1;
+export const CELL_OBSTACLE_BIT = 2;
+
+// bits 3-5: terrain type (0-7)
+export const TERRAIN_TYPE_SHIFT = 3;
+export const TERRAIN_TYPE_MASK = 0b111; // 3 bits
+
+// bits 6-13: food quality (0-255)
+export const FOOD_QUALITY_SHIFT = 6;
+export const FOOD_QUALITY_MASK = 0xff; // 8 bits
diff --git a/src/shaders/world.frag b/src/shaders/world.frag
index 94a10ba..6febbf8 100644
--- a/src/shaders/world.frag
+++ b/src/shaders/world.frag
@@ -24,5 +24,13 @@ void main()	{
         isFood = 0;
     }
 
-    FragColor = vec4(float(isFood + (isHome << 1) + (isObstacle << 2)), scentToHome, scentToFood, repellent);
+    int terrainType = (cellData >> TERRAIN_TYPE_SHIFT) & TERRAIN_TYPE_MASK;
+    int foodQuality = (cellData >> FOOD_QUALITY_SHIFT) & FOOD_QUALITY_MASK;
+
+    // reconstruct cell data preserving all bit fields
+    int newCellData = isFood + (isHome << 1) + (isObstacle << 2)
+        + (terrainType << TERRAIN_TYPE_SHIFT)
+        + (foodQuality << FOOD_QUALITY_SHIFT);
+
+    FragColor = vec4(float(newCellData), scentToHome, scentToFood, repellent);
 }