Dungeon Builder

And finally, the Dungeon Builder. The whole reason you're here, amirite?

The Dungeon Builder Widget currently consists of 2 modules, the Path Creator and the Dungeon Creator.

There are 3 planned modules, which will come in a future update:

- Path Finder: For setting up Door Guides and a visual Path Guide.

- Lock & Key: For adding locked doors and keys/unlock parameters.

- Lay of the Land: Minimap creator.

As a note, all of these can technically be implemented by you (excluding Lay of the Land) as the system stands right now. You can look at how the Path Spline was created in the Demo Level for what will eventually become Path Finder, and you can look at the Boss Doors in the same level for a primitive view on how Lock & Key will be implemented.

Let's start with the Path Creator.

Path Creator

The Path Creator's sole function is to organize all of the Cells you've built into one distinct Path. It has 6 different categories, one if which will be available in a future update. The categories are:

Start: The first placed Cell in a Path.
End: The last placed, or Boss, Cell in a Path.
Height: These Cells allow floor changes.
Special: When a Cell is not a Start, End, or Height Cell, a Special check will run. If the check passes (based on your specifications), a Special Cell will be placed.
Path: For everything else, a Path Cell is placed.
Fill (future update): Once all Builds have finished, the Dungeon will fill remaining (based on your specifications) open Grid Slots with these Cells. These can be continuations of your current Builds, or they can be inaccessible, purely cosmetic Cells.

You can cycle through these different Categories using the buttons along the bottom of the Widget. You can also name your Path using the Path Name property at the top, which will become important once you start placing your Paths into Builds in the Dungeon Creator.

The only category that is required to have at least 1 Cell is the Path category. The others are Optional.

Be sure to Save the Path once you're finished by using the button in the bottom right.

Dungeon Creator

The Dungeon Creator is the culmination of all of the previous tools we've used. It combines the Cells, with their Cell Blocks and Openings, into a Path, which we created in the previous step, to create one or more Builds that have a single pathway through them. This will all make more sense as we go through the process.

Let's jump in.

Settings

Once a Dungeon Settings Blueprint has been created or selected, you'll be taken to the Settings Mode.

Here, you can enter a name for your Dungeon at the very top.

You must set the specific Cell Block that has been used in the Cells you plan to use for this Dungeon. The Dungeon uses this information to create its grid.

You can also set the Grid Size for your entire Dungeon here. This is how many potential Slot locations you'll have for your Cells. For every 1 value of the Z size, a new Floor is created.

There is a setting for Streaming Mode, which has two options: Connected Cells and Distance.

Connected Cells has a Depth value that determines how many layers of connected Cells will show. For example, a value of 1 will take the current Cell you are in and the ones it is connected to, and make everything else hidden. A value of 2 would get the Cell you are in, its connected Cells, as well as their connected cells, etc.

Distance has a flat Distance value that will hide Cells further away than the value you add here.

Finally, there is a Debug Mode that allows you to choose between 5 different display options for the Cell Block's built in Widget. They are:

Floor
Path Index
Cell Type
Path Name
Difficulty

The Cell Block is the only required setting for this page. Once this is selected, the Builds Mode will unlock.

Builds

The Builds Mode has 3 submodes: Paths, Settings, and Height/Special. A fourth Fill option will be available in the future.

We'll start with the Paths submode.

Paths

When entering the Paths submode, the Widget will automatically create a slot for every Floor of your Dungeon (Grid Size Z). Here, we can take those Path Blueprints we created previously and tell the Dungeon which Floors we'd like to have each one of them.

You can select which Path to place using the property above the Floors, and then assign it by clicking on any of the Floor numbers. There is also an Apply to All option that allows you to quickly assign your selection to all of the Floors at once.

The Widget will automatically put you into Main Build mode, and this is the only required Build to create a Dungeon. However, you also have the option to add additional, Sub Build, paths that branch off of your Main Build, and can even connect back to it or each other.

You can add a new Sub Build by clicking the Add Sub Build button at the top. You can remove a Sub Build using the Remove Sub Build button next to it. You can switch between any of the added Builds by clicking on its respective button. This panel will persist through all 3 modes.

Builds - Settings

Settings Mode is slightly different from the other two options, in that there are different settings available for Sub Builds than there are for Main Builds. I'll cover them separately here.

Builds - Settings - Main

Both Build options have a Min and Max Path Length. If the Max value is less than the Min value, it will be ignored.

Also note, the Path is not guaranteed to be this length. If there is ample space on the current Floor and the "Nearest End" End Type is selected, then it will match this value. For any other scenario, the Dungeon will extend or shorten this path length (to an extent) as necessary to attempt to complete the path.

There are 3 Start Types for the Main Build:

Random Start: The Dungeon will pick a random Slot on the Grid.
Random Start Outside: The Dungeon will pick a random Slot on the outside of the Grid (excluding Top and Bottom).
Specific Start: Allows you to enter a specific Grid Slot to start the Build at.

For Random Start and Random Start Outside there is also a Min and Max Floor Range. You can use this to limit the two Random options to specific Floors.

There are 3 End Types for the Main Build, and they are exactly the same as the Start Types. The only difference is that the Floor Range options are not available for the two Random End Types.

Builds - Settings - Sub

The Sub Builds have an additional option, Stop Dungeon Build On Fail. This is disabled by default, but you can enable this to prevent the Dungeon from finishing if this specific Sub Build does not successfully finish (due to lack of space or connections).

They also have different Start Types and End Types from the Main Builds.

The Start Types are:

Random Path: Selects a random Build to start from.
Specific Floor: Limits the Random Build selection to a specific Floor Range.
Specific Cell Type: Searches for a specific Cell Type (Start, End, Height, Special, Path) to connect to. This also has Floor Range settings.
Specific Path Random: This allows you to select a specific Build to connect to. It will pick a random Index within this Build to start on.
Specific Path Index: Much like the previous setting, but it allows you to specify the Path Index (using a range) to connect to.
Specific Path Percent: Similar to the previous setting, but allows you to specify a Percentage instead of a Path Index.

The End Types are:

Dead End: Similar to Nearest End, and this should match your Path Length.
Connect to Random Path: Selects a Random Build to connect to.
Connect to Last Path: Connects to the previous Build.
Connect to Specific Path: Allows you to specify a specific Build to connect to.
Connect on Specific Floor: Allows you to specify a Floor to connect on, and the Dungeon will find a Build on that Floor.
Connect to Cell Type: Similar to the "Specific Cell Type" Start Type, but without the Floor Range.

Special/Height

The Special/Height Mode allows you to finally specify how those Special Cells you added are handled. It also allows you to specify how often Height Cells will be used.

The Floor Minimum Min value determines how many Cells must be created on the current Floor before a Height Cell can even be considered. This resets once the Dungeon successfully changes Floors. The Max value enables a random range and limits how high that range can go.

Once a Height Cell is being considered to be placed, the Height Chance is the chance that the Height Check is successful.

When a Cell is not a Start, End, or Height Cell, a Special check will run. If the check passes, a Special Cell will be placed. The Special Cell Type determines what that check will be, and has 6 options. They are:

Random Chance: Takes the Chance value here and runs a Random Weighted check.

Random Increase: Takes the Chance value here and runs a Random Weighted check. If it fails, it will add the Increase value to the Chance the next time it runs the check. If it succeeds, the Chance value is reset back to its default value.

Random Exponential: Similar to Random Increase, but instead of adding the Increase value to the Chance value, it multiplies the Chance value by the Multiplier value.

Random Minimum: This has two values, Min and Max. Min is the required amount of Special Cells that must be placed. The Dungeon will attempt to space these out evenly. For example, if your Path Length is 10 and the Random Minimum is 2, the Dungeon will attempt to place a Special Cell within the first 5 Cells and the last 5 Cells. Be aware, this is dependent on there being enough space at that specific Slot for the Special Cell, so it is entirely possible for this to fail. In this case, it will revert to a Path Cell. The Max value is the maximum amount that can be placed. In the case that multiple lower percentage checks are still successful, you can limit the total amount of Special Cells that can spawn using this value.

Incremental Length: Every Nth value (the Length Value) a Special Cell will be placed.

Incremental Percent: The same as Incremental Length, but using Percentages instead.

Cache, Save, and Test

The Dungeon Settings Blueprint allows you to cache some specific data which, in most cases, can significantly speed up your build time. There are a few instances where you'll want to recache this data:

Upon first creating and adjusting your Dungeon Settings Blueprint.
After changing the Grid Size of your Dungeon Settings Blueprint.
After adding or removing a new Build.
After changing any of the Path selections, or Floor selections, on the Paths tab.
After changing the Cell Size of any of your individual Cell Blocks.
After changing the Base Size of the used Cell Block.
After changing the amount/location of Openings within any of your Cells.

After Caching, there is no need to Save, as this achieves the same function.

There is also a Test button at the bottom right. This allows you to spawn a temporary Dungeon into your current Level and simulate a full build.

Tada!

And with that, you should have all of the knowledge you need to start building your own Dungeons. More features, videos, and tips will be added in the future, so be sure to check back here occasionally, or join the Discord to be notified.

We'd love to have ya!

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