NEWS

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Update Released: Edit Wall Segments & New Tool: Shapes

We asked you, what features we should focus on next and your answer was clear: 
More stuff for the map editor!

Today we have applied a new update to the editor, that covers the first draft of the features, that you have requested.

Select and edit wall segments

Edit wall segments

 

You can now select wall segments and edit them:

  • Split wall segments
    When you select a wall segment you can split it and thus create new anchor points
  • Select, move and delete anchor points
    By clicking on an anchor point, you can select, move and delete that point.
  • Hide wall segment
    You can select wall-segments and hide them to connect rooms or create passages.

This brings the editor to a complete new level of flexibility and we can't wait to see what you are going to create with those new options! 

Create stunning new rooms and labyrinths

 

Now that we have the technical means to address wall segments, we are going to continue with the other requested features that are related to that. So stay tuned for the next update.

Shapes

There is also another new feature, that we have implemented: Shapes.

Draw Shapes

 

To give you some insight:

We were extremely unhappy with the things that you can/can't do with the walls tool when it comes down to all the different variations of room types and their effects on the GM-Notes or Viewer. 

So we revisited the tool and started to apply some core changes with the hopes to be more flexible in the end. Being able to edit the inner and outer walls, as well as the advanced room mode were part of that workover.

But there was still one room mode that was just not performing as we wanted it to be: "Room without walls". 

No matter how we adjusted this mode, it always lead to an extremely high number of problems. Just to name a few:

  • A room without a wall does not work well with adjacent walls. 
  • A room without a wall does not fit "into" another room properly. 
  • A room without a wall causes a lot of problems when used as an element of decoration once you start the viewer. 

Here is a good example of how a room without a wall looks, opposed to how it SHOULD look:

Left: Room without wall, Right: Shape

 

Now, here is the question we asked ourselves:

What IS a room without a wall? 
Or to ask a highly philosophical question: If a room has no walls - is it still a room?

We looked at some examples, where rooms without walls were used in DUNGEONFOG:

  • They were used as patios. 
  • They were used as raised or lowered platforms. 
  • They were used as bases/pedestals. 
  • They were even used to create stairs. 

All those use-cases are PART of a room somehow, but not a room itself. 
A patio could be part of the STAGE. A platform or pedestal is most likely part of a room. And so on. But all those "rooms" were basically used as props.

So we came up with the following answer:

  • A room is a space that is contained by walls or the remnants of such.
  • A space that has intentionally no walls at all, should not be classified as a room, but as a decoration element.

Adding shapes, should gives you even more flexibility when it comes down to the variety of different spaces and objects. Having the possibility to hide wall segments deepens this flexibility too. And both new options work a lot better with the GM-Notes and the Viewer.

I am excited to see how you are going to work with this new tool in the future and we will see if we were finally able to tame that beast once and for all, or if we will need more adjustments in the future.