Venture Forth Blueprints Tutorial - 102 - Accompanying Materials

The 102 video goes over some of the slightly more advanced features for editing the game. In it, we'll explore adding water and lava, randomizing floors and ceilings, and generating massive rooms using the examples in the previous 101 Guide.

Quick Introduction

A bit of a precursor: Please reference the 101 guide when going through this one as it covers basics like the game's basic directories and how to find all these fancy files we'll be editing. This information WILL change as the game's Workshop feature becomes finalized, so be warned!

-- IVR

Chapter 1: Anatomy of a Cavern

In the previous guide, we left you with a very simplistic cave to explore. The primary problem with it is that it's boring. It's very hard edged and vanilla.

For simplicity's sake, we're going to keep the entry room, "Foyer," relatively unscathed. However, we're going to move ahead and adjust the hallway a bit. Here's the previous hallway for reference:

Layout: 
	|  H00
	|H01 H02
	|  H03
	|H04 H05
	|  H06
	|H07 H08
	|  H09
	|H0A H0B
	|  E01

Build: 
	H00
	H01->H02
	H03
	H04->H05
	H06
	H07->H08
	H09
	H0A->H0B
	H0B->E01

Shaking it Up

There are many ways to use the engine to powerfully adjust how a series of tiles appear in a level. For example, and this is something we'll address in a later chapter, it's very easy to add vertical changes to a tileset using only a few keystrokes. However, to adust the shape of the blueprint requires a more hands-on approach.

To make the hallway appear less manmade and more natural, I've gone ahead and messed with how the tiles are placed without actually removing or adding any tiles. Here's the code:

Layout:
	|  xxx H00  
	|xxx H01 H02
	|  H03
	|xxx H04 H05
	|  xxx xxx H06
	|xxx xxx H07 H08
	|  xxx H09
	|H0A H0B
	|  E01

Build:
	H00
	H01->H02 
	H03 
	H04->H05 
	H06 
	H07->H08 
	H09 
	H0A->H0B
	H0B->E01

Notice that the Build instructions are identical to those in the previous example. However, when you take the screenshot from within the game, you'll immediately see the difference.


Boom, a much more interesting room fit for a cave. It takes a few minutes to sculpt by hand but the results speak for themselves.

Chapter 2: Of Water and Lava

Now we'll move on to the section that I'd dubbed, "Main Hall," in the previous guide. As per the Hallway, I've spiced up the blueprint:

	|M01 xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx M02
	|  M03 xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx M04
	|M05 xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx M06
	|  M07 xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx M08
	|M09 xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx M0A
	|  M0B xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx M0C
	|M0D xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx M0E
	|  M0F xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx M0G
	|M0H xxx xxx xxx C03 xxx xxx xxx M0I
	|  xxx xxx xxx E01 xxx xxx xxx xxx

	|M01 xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx M02
	|  M03 xxx xxx xxx M04
	|xxx M05 xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx M06
	|  xxx xxx M07 xxx xxx xxx M08
	|M09 xxx xxx xxx xxx M0A xxx xxx xxx
	|  xxx M0B xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx M0C
	|M0D xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx M0E
	|  M0F xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx M0G
	|M0H xxx xxx xxx C03 xxx xxx xxx M0I
	|  xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx
	|xxx xxx xxx xxx C02 xxx xxx xxx xxx

So, there's a bit more action in the shape of the space to begin with. However, we're going to be adding some water, here. The first way we'll do this, because we do things gradual-like in here, is by simply adding the following line of code in the Build section. Now, we're going to separate the back roow (M01->M02) from the remainder by changing the level of the floor a half-step (-.5) in the Build section, like so:

Build:
	c=7
	M01->M02
	f=-.5
	M03->M04
	M05->M06
	M07->M08
	M09->M0A
	M0B->M0C
	M0D->M0E
	M0F->M0G
	M0H->C03
	C03->M0I
	C03->E01

This should give you a step upwards at the back of the room. To add water that fills the space up to this back step... simply add this to the first line in the Build section:

Build:
	c=7 w=0

This will give you a nice pool of water with a moderately dry spot on display. Here's a massively complicated way to replace this with lava (NOTE: you WILL appear waist-deep in lava when starting this level... be forewarned):

Build:
	c=7 l=0

Yup. w=water and l=lava. Minds blown, amirite?

The Lava Pit

So, let's do a quick experiment. I'm going to give you a lava pit. It's super easy. First, place a TAG identifier in the middle of your room: I've called mine, PIT.

	|M01 xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx M02
	|  M03 xxx xxx xxx M04
	|xxx M05 xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx M06
	|  xxx xxx M07 xxx xxx xxx M08
	|M09 xxx xxx xxx xxx M0A xxx xxx xxx
	|  xxx M0B xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx M0C
	|M0D xxx xxx xxx PIT xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx M0E
	|  M0F xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx M0G
	|M0H xxx xxx xxx C03 xxx xxx xxx M0I
	|  xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx
	|xxx xxx xxx xxx C02 xxx xxx xxx xxx

Now, in the build section, remove your previous lava or water level, then tack on a couple simple lines of code at the end so that it looks like this:

Build:
	c=7
	M01->M02
	f=-.5
	M03->M04
	M05->M06
	M07->M08
	M09->M0A
	M0B->M0C
	M0D->M0E
	M0F->M0G
	M0H->C03
	C03->M0I
	C03->E01
	f=-4 l=-3
	PIT

And there you have it, a lava pit to trap and kill your players maliciously!

Chapter 3: Rocky Landscapes

Up until now, we've only seen very flat cavern floors. This is obviously a bit unrealistic. I mean, that's what we're going for here, right? Realism? Right!

Whether or not you completely (nope) agree with that statement (I don't), we've got some ridiculously easy ways to integrate some flavor into the floors. Delicioso!

And... here's the incredibly tough line of code you add where you want to define your floors. Note that we're significantly lowering the ceiling for this example. Also note that I've removed both the pit and the step in the back row:

c=3 rc=1 f=-.5 rf=-1 
M01->M02
M03->M04
M05->M06
M07->M08
M09->M0A
M0B->M0C
M0D->M0E
M0F->M0G
M0H->C03
C03->M0I
C03->E01

Time to check that shizz out. Notice how the in-game map beautifully reflects the changes in the landscape brought on my this incredibly simple and procedural landscape alteration tool. Also, in case you hadn't yet discerned: rf=randomize floor and rc=randomize ceiling. Note that the value automatically pushes the randomized items away from the baseline... so a negative value in the floor will pull the randomized pylons up towards the ceiling and vice versa.


Another helpful note is that a player can automatically walk up a step of .5 height. So, if you want the player to be able to always smoothly walk across a randomized floor, use a value of .5 or lower. If you go higher than this, just be aware of how extremes can affect your level design since this stuff is procedural. A too-low or high RNG can ruin a player's ability to reach a required platform, so make sure to do your playtesting and listen to feedback.

The final touch for a level like this is to use this as a platforming tool by simply shoving in some water or lava, or both! Just tack your favorite water/lava level in the same line as the deiling/floor definitions.

Chapter 4: Don't go Chasing These Things

Now, I'm going to leave some of the code at the end of this guide as a bit of a mystery. The connecting hallway in that section is a relatively simple piece of artistry that you should be able to produce with all that I've written thus far. Please do direct any and all questions over to me as you have them. My guides aren't perfect (that's the truth), after all.

The game engine is powerful and you could easily make a room that spans the entire volume of the potential game area. This would be... rough. Just time-consuming monotony, that. And pretty useless. Walking around would be a chore and a half.

In the code example I've attached, I've included a very large room with a ceiling height of 40. This doesn't sound large, but you can't see the ceiling at all, not really even halfway up. In the next guide, I'll be including some platform elements that will allow you to more fully explore rooms like this but for now, it's just a mighty large room.

Perhaps the most outstanding feature of this large room is the waterfall. Waterfalls are VERY easy, but require some minding. Here's a quick and easy way to make a waterfall that you can apply to something like the completed level seen in the tutorial video. Let's use the vanilla version of the Main Hall as an example:

	|M01 xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx M02
	|  M03 xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx M04
	|M05 xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx M06
	|  M07 xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx M08
	|M09 xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx M0A
	|  M0B xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx M0C
	|M0D xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx M0E
	|  M0F xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx M0G
	|M0H xxx xxx xxx C03 xxx xxx xxx M0I
	|  xxx xxx xxx E01 xxx xxx xxx xxx

For the Build section, we'll simply generate a waterfall using the back wall. All I'm doing is defining a high water level and then removing that water level. I'm adjusting the floor to give the impression that the water is resting on something solid instead of just materializing in thin air (not that there's anything wrong with that).

Additionally, I add a small level of water to the remainder of the level to ensure the water appears to be actually going somewhere and not just disappearing into the ground inexplicably (again, not that there's anything wrong with that).

Build:
	c=4 f=3.5 w=3.75 rc=1
	M01->M02
	f=-.25 w=0 rf=-.5
	M03->M04
	M05->M06
	M07->M08
	M09->M0A
	M0B->M0C
	M0D->M0E
	M0F->M0G
	M0H->C03
	C03->M0I
	C03->E01

Give that sucka a shot! Play around with it. Make lava falls and crazy stuff. Plaster your creations for all the world to see!!!

The Code

As long as you have your file structure set up properly, this should run just fine. Please leave comments if this isn't working for you.

Landmark: The Floor is Lava
	Layout:
		Section: Foyer
			|  F01 C01 F02
			|F05 xxx xxx F06
			|  F07 E01 F08

		Section: Hallway
			|  xxx C02  
			|xxx H01 H02
			|  H03
			|xxx H04 H05
			|  xxx xxx H06
			|xxx xxx H07 H08
			|  xxx H09
			|H0A H0B
			|  C01

		Section: Main Hall
			|M01 xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx M02
			|  M03 xxx xxx xxx M04
			|xxx M05 xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx M06
			|  xxx xxx M07 xxx xxx xxx M08
			|M09 xxx xxx xxx xxx M0A xxx xxx C05
			|  xxx M0B xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx C04 M0C
			|M0D xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx M0E
			|  M0F xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx M0G
			|M0H xxx xxx xxx C03 xxx xxx xxx M0I
			|  xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx
			|xxx xxx xxx xxx C02 xxx xxx xxx xxx

		Section: Offshoot
			|    T01 xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx T02
			|  C05                         xxx             T05 C06
			|xxx                             xxx         xxx
			|                                  T03 xxx T04

		Section: The Falls
			|xxx xxx xxx xxx TF1 xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx TF2 WF1
			|  xxx xxx TF3 xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx TF4 WF2
			|xxx xxx TF5 xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx TF6 WF3
			|  xxx TF7 xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx TF8 WF4
			|xxx TF9 xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx TFA WF5
			|  TFB xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx TFC WF6
			|TFD xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx TFE WF7
			|  TFF xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx TFG WF8
			|TFH xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx TFI WF9
			|  TFJ xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx TFK WFA
			|TFL xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx TFM WFB
			|  TFN xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx TFO WFC
			|TFP xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx TFQ WFD
			|  TFR xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx TFS WFE
			|TFT xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx TFU WFF
			|  TFV xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx TFW WFG
			|TFX xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx TFY WFH
			|  TFZ xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx FA1 WFI
			|FA2 xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx FA3 WFJ
			|  FA4 xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx FA5 WFK
			|FA6 xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx FA7 WFL
			|  FA8 xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx FA9 WFM
			|FAA xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx FAB WFN
			|  FAC xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx FAD WFO
			|C06 FAE xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx FAF WFP
			|  ♥♥♥ xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx FAH WFQ
			|FAI xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx FAJ WFR
			|  FAK xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx FAL WFS
			|FAM xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx FAN
			|  xxx xxx xxx xxx FAO xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx FAP
			|xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx FAQ xxx xxx xxx xxx FAR
	Build:
		# Set the water floor
#		W=-.25

		# Set the lava floor
		L=-.25

		# Set the ceiling at 2 for the Foyer and Hallway
		C=2

		# Randomize floor and ceiling for Foyer and Hallway
		RF=.25 RC=.5

		# Foyer, starting with the opening to the hallway
		F01->C01 
		C01->F02 
		F05->F06 
		F07->E01 
		E01->F08

		# Connecting the Foyer to the Hallway
		C01->C02

		# Hallway
		H01->H02 
		H03 
		H04->H05 
		H06 
		H07->H08 
		H09 
		H0A->H0B

		# Connecting the Hallway to the Main Hall
		C02->C03

		# Increasing the ceiling for the Main Hall
		C=4

		# Randomize the ceiling for the Main Hall
		RC=2

		# Set the floor median at just under that of the standard 0 level
		F=-.5

		# Randomize the floor for the Main Hall
		RF=-1

		# The Main Hall, starting the with "back" of the room
		M01->M02 
		M03->M04 
		M05->M06 
		M07->M08 
		M09->M0A 
		M0B->C04 
		C04->M0C 
		M0D->M0E 
		M0F->M0G 
		M0H->C03 
		C03->M0I

		# New Floor Level and randomizer
		F=1.5 RF=.5

		# New Ceiling Level and randomizer
		C=2.5 RC=.5

		# Remove Lava Level
		L=-1000

		# The Offshoot
		C04->C05 
		C05->T01 
		T01->T02 
		T02->T03 
		T03->T04 
		T04->T05 
		T05->C06

		# New Ceiling Level
		C=40

		# New Floor Level
		F=-5

		# New Water Level
		W=-4

		# New Randomized Floor Level
		RF=-1

		# The Falls
		TF1->TF2 
		TF3->TF4 
		TF5->TF6 
		TF7->TF8 
		TF9->TFA 
		TFB->TFC 
		TFD->TFE 
		TFF->TFG 
		TFH->TFI 
		TFJ->TFK 
		TFL->TFM 
		TFN->TFO 
		TFP->TFQ 
		TFR->TFS 
		TFT->TFU 
		TFV->TFW 
		TFX->TFY 
		TFZ->FA1 
		FA2->FA3 
		FA4->FA5 
		FA6->FA7 
		FA8->FA9 
		FAA->FAB 
		FAC->FAD 
		C06->FAE 
		FAE->FAF 
		♥♥♥->FAH 
		FAI->FAJ 
		FAK->FAL 
		FAM->FAN 
		FAO->FAP 
		FAQ->FAR
		WFH->WFG

		# New Floor Level
		F=20

		# New Water Level
		W=22

		# Building the actual waterfall
		TF2->WF1 
		TF4->WF2 
		TF6->WF3 
		TF8->WF4 
		TFA->WF5 
		TFC->WF6 
		TFE->WF7 
		TFG->WF8 
		TFI->WF9 
		TFK->WFA 
		TFM->WFB 
		TFO->WFC 
		TFQ->WFD 
		TFS->WFE 
		TFU->WFF 
		TFW->WFG 
		TFY->WFH 
		FA1->WFI 
		FA3->WFJ 
		FA5->WFK 
		FA7->WFL 
		FA9->WFM 
		FAB->WFN 
		FAD->WFO 
		FAF->WFP 
		FAH->WFQ 
		FAJ->WFR 
		FAL->WFS