Random Dungeon Generator

It was pretty easy - but as with any other asset I had to tweak it for a while before it looked right. All you have to do is essentially swap out the assets from the template resource folders using the guideline prefabs.

I'm not sure if I was doing it right though, as I could only ever create one style where I swapped out the template assets.

@Digitalforest Is there a way that I can define multiple styles, like the way the default assets are done? i.e. Dungeon, Armory, dining, etc...

 

Eyehawk, we explained in the documentation how you can add a new style. You should make a set of new models with a unique prename, like armory_ is, you can make any newstyle_ as long as you have all the needed models for the generator to find. chapter 2 goes into it. If you have any further questions after reading it let us know.

We are planning some changes to make it somewhat easier to add new styles in the new version, but sadly its taking a little longer. Vincent has paid work to do and im in the middle of moving to another country But, i got the corridor inlay system almost working so we should be able to show off some nice stuff soon.

 

You should make that clearer in your manual - there is no mention of the prename condition on pg 13 'Create a completely new dungeon'. There is some mention of this aspect in the 'adding models' section and chap 2, but clarifying it and tying it back to pg 13 will be helpful to other newbs like myself.

 

Well, we are making steps with the corridor inlay system, making things like this possible :



Its also my first attempt at modeling, so the image is by no way finished, but its just to show the possibilities. Rounded shapes and special intersections can be made and added relatively simple.

More to come

 

Ok, we pretty much finished the resize of our grid to give us more room for putting in the corridor inlay system. This results in giving more options for the width of the corridors and we had to make sure the connections to the rooms still went smooth. As a result we tested it with building a sewer system with round tunnels to really test our new piece of code. Here are some screens to show the effect. Beware, we still need to add details/textures/models to the models, these are just the outer shells functioning as placeholders


a sewer system using prefabs for corners and straight pieces


wider main corridors possible


even without objects and still using placeholders, the different options for the new generator is showing in more interesting rooms. here is one big room with rooms from another (locked) zone woven into it

Now we have to work on object placement and adding some more detailed models to finish of the styles. Not to forget, adding some more interesting places for light ! and yes, my screens are without shadows etc, as i'm using the non-pro version to make sure the generator can also be used by non pro users

more to come

 

Those screenshots looks very promising. Hurry up and finish the new version so I can throw piles of money at you!

 

well, trying out how easy/hard it is to add new models to the generator. We changed the system how it looks for walls, inlays, models and everything. Also trying to model some more scifi area's. Not yet properly textured, but it does look good fast with the added details we have using the corridor and room inlay system.



We are working on the system for objects and it should be finished somewhere next week. then we have to model the new styles for both the fantasy setting and scifi setting... and then we will probably find all kinds of tweaks before we are finished... but we see a lot of process. think i will try and post a list of all the features we actually have soon.

 

added some textures to the models and smaller details

 

directional tiles are also possible now, and this can give some nice effects.



still working on the ceiling tiles but the floor has some nice details now.

 

Looking fantastic. Can't wait for the new revision.

 

Just wondering if i buy this now will i have access to the updates (the Sci fi one is most appealing to me)
Thanks, looks very good!

 

Hi StaggerLee, We are currently planning to maybe split the generator in a base set with either fantasy or scifi models and have model expansions for the generator. As we have a lot more options for model placement in the new generator, the 3D models are taking a lot of time, of course resulting in much more diverse and nicer dungeons as before. We are still hard at work, but last 2 months a lot of other things got in the way. We are now planning a good month of 3d modelling around April and then we hope to have a better idea of the eta. So either wait a little longer before buying or be prepared to add a model pack when the new release hits.

 

If you are going to split that is cool. Then you can work on different packages to work with the generator. Just to clarify, you'll have the generator with one package then have additional add-ons for a fee. My only concern would be the cost of the additional packages but I am sure you'll not make it too expensive.
But from what it sounds like it would be a very interesting way to go.
Looking forward to it.

 

I think its a good idea. This way we do not pay for what we will only have to delete from our projects anyway.

 

I've been following this project for a while. I don't know if it is going to provide what I'm looking for. What I'd like is for it to be something like the UMA project, but for building scenes. (If you're not familiar with UMA, it's a collaborative Unity asset suite for creating procedural humanoids of varying dimensions and features either randomly or according to a specific recipe.)

What this would mean is - in addition to randomly generating scenes based on a suite of available room models - the asset would also be able to create, save, and load recipes for specific layouts. This would enable me to keep all of my rooms and hallways as separate models on disk, using the generator to combine them either randomly or according to a specific recipe at runtime to make each level.

Let's say I have a RPG type game that requires encounters in offices, sewers, and spaceships. I could have a small group of lobbies, meeting rooms, elevators, and so on that get re-used in various configurations for the offices, a small group of brick-lined, water-filled tunnels to compose my sewers, and control rooms, engine rooms, walkways, and technical tunnels for my spaceships. These different groups of assets could be combined in a variety of ways either randomly or according to specific recipes to make maybe hundreds of unique layouts of different sizes.

I'm not the only one who could use something like this, am I? It seems this method could be used to create catacombs, fortresses, cavern complexes, laboratory complexes, and so on. And instead of saving the actual scene - using however much room that takes - you save and load only the recipe, which would be a readable text file.

You could even use this system in a game to allow players to design, save, and play in their own concepts, made from building blocks you'd provide.

In relation to current issue of whether the sci-fi / fantasy / tunnel / whatever models should be supplied with the generator ... since I would be deploying my own models, my preference for the generator would be to have it ship with only barebones examples for each of the different types of room / hallway that the engine supports ... if that's how this works ... so it can run a fully-functioning demo. Then I'd model my designs on those templates.

If the assets are kept separate, people can purchase assets that are geared to the generator, for mobile or for desktop, according to their needs. These could be either assets prepared by Digital Forest, or perhaps by other modelers out there in the Unity-verse.

IMO, the sci-fi setting that has been shown here looks pretty good.

 

From my beta testing of this it can do about all that you listed. We are making part of what you listed here and it works well now. What we are adding is very small mod's to this kit. And what we are missing is being added in the next update. Exactly what you are asking for can be done without much extra work. I can only say that much without giving away my full use of it.

 

^^ Nice!

I had a feeling this asset was going to develop in that direction.

 

Well, here is what we have now. We can currently put in a wishlist as we call it of different parts that then will be used for the generation of one zone. This list contains: straight corridor, left corner, right corner, t crossings, x crossings, rooms, staircase up, staircase down and what we will add is a template room choice. Some parts can have additional corridors spawn, like the crossings, those can then be setup with the side corridor list, containing straight corridor, left, right and rooms. This to prevent side corridors to keep spawning additional side corridors. When generating the generator will try and put in all the parts from the list. But, sometimes it can get stuck, if you use to many prefabs like staircases and template rooms. This will stop the building of the current main or side corridor.

This setup is used for as many zones as you like, we added some additional choices of course, you can set the preferred direction of x crossings for example, so that the main corridor always goes straight. Also you can select to have a room at the end of the zone, or at the end of side corridors. This makes it possible to have better control over the actual generated zone. This recipy can then be used for generating this piece of zone (see example screenshot)



Each dead-end will then be used as a potential starting point for another zone. And you can have each zone have a preferred zone to which they want to be attached. So you can have 3 zones, and both zone 2 and 3 can be attached to zone 1. If zone 1 has 2 endpoints both zones will be attached, but if zone 1 only has one endpoint, zone 3 will attach itself to whatever zone it comes after, in this case zone 2.

Our goal is to have an actual sequencer where you can put in a wished part step by step and basically just build a dungeon zone completely as you wish it. but this is still in the pipeline and probably wont make it into the current version as building the needed assets is taking a little longer then we hoped.

We want to sell the base packages in either scifi or fantasy style with 2 maybe 3 different styles in the set. then we will add sets that people can purchase separately to add to their generators. the current version also makes it easier to add models as the generator automatically tries to use models stored in a folder in the resource map. There are some rules to these models, but mainly they can just be dragged and dropped into the folders. More details will be in the documentation.

more to come

 

Good work D4Games. Any idea on an ETA for the new functionality? I'm hoping to have a shot at a kickstarter in the next couple of months and would love to showcase the new RDG features

 

The main thing I'm looking for is a level generator that can load and assemble rooms in a specific order at runtime, with the added ability to randomize elements. So I'm sad to see it won't be in the coming build, but I'm glad to see it's on the list for possible inclusion in the following version.

 

I am pleased at how fast this app is being developed as it is. For a team that needs models made as well as the coding they are doing an amazing job.

Just the features they listed will make for a robust game. We are doing some mods on it now ourselves that open us up to quite a bit more features.
My guy has started working on an in game UI editor to give players the choice on the dungeons they would like to play in.

Keep it up guys.

 

That sounds awesome dreamlarp - I'd be interested to see your mods when you have a demo going.

I'm surprised that this asset isn't more popular considering that there isn't anything else nearly as good on the store.

 

As you can see the guy we have working on this and Spaceunity is just getting our editor going. But we will have one for runtime also that looks much better for both apps/

 

Ok, so i have been modelling for one of our scifi settings. Its turning into a bit industry looking scifi. Texturing still needs to be done, but most of the models are placed using our new inlay system, making sure that there is always a clear path through rooms. but it can make the scene look nice and crowded.



Still a bit away from completion, but it at least also gives us some time to dig up some remaining bugs in the generation process.

more to come

 

I was liking the sci-fi style you had going earlier, with the curves. I hope you don't lose that entirely, as the industrial type look is pretty easy to come by and I've already got assets for that.

But, of course, do what you need to do.

 

Looking fantastic guys! You have my full support.

 

Ok, we restarted some of our modelling work, as we didnt texture much yet anyways we discussed a new style based loosely on the more hightech style of previous tries. And here is the result. Again, still need some proper texturing, but it looks a lot more hightech then before.

 

This looks good! I can definitely see a use for this style of art.

The more industrial stuff isn't that bad (with the pipes, platforms, pressure tanks, and pillars), and I'm pretty sure it could see some use by folks, but this other style with the occasional curved surface and glow gives a nice high-tech look that I don't recall seeing elsewhere on the asset store.

 

.... My jaw hit the flaw. Beautiful work.

 

Hi guys! Things are going well with the dungeon generator, we're making a lot of progress. I've been quite busy with other projects, which resulted in Daan doing all the work for the past few months... But this month I've got a lot of spare time, so I will try and make up for it!
I will mainly be working on texturing of the sci-fi and.... surprise.... drumroll..... I've been working on a new theme.... an Aztec temple!!! For the ones who want to walk around in a Indiana Jones/ Lara Croft kinda place.

The programming part is now in Daans hands, but I help out where I can, by working on de subscripts, like object placing and advanced doors.

The models for the Sci-Fi style are almost done, which means soon the quality of the sceenshots will increase even more when we start texturing the stuff.
As for the Aztec style, here are some spoilers... I love the new way of adding parts, which I now super-easy, you just need to add a prefab in the correct folder!

We'll keep you posted! Thanks for all the positive comments!

 

While I don't want to diminish the awesome work you guys have been doing on these theme packs, I want to say as a hopeful future customer that I'm pretty much only interested in the actual Random Dungeon Generation, and will be mostly using my own art. So I really hope you don't delay the release too much just to make a bunch of different theme packs, or that you include like five theme packs and bump the price way up, because then it probably wouldn't be worth it for me or any of us who have existing assets we want to use. I hope you release the core Dungeon Generator as its own thing, and then release packs for it separately later.

 

We're planning on selling the Dungeon generator as a stand alone tool and creating separate packs like the sci-fi, Aztec etc.
Our old dungeon generator has some limitations and was pretty difficult to expand with your own models (compared to the new version.)
We are currently thinking about adding a basic theme with the dungeon generator to get you started. Everyone who has already purchased the dungeon generator will then have the new version as a (huge) update and can simply purchase the theme's they want separately.

We'll work as hard we can on getting the programming done, but because of all the changes we need to do a lot of testing and make sure the tool is as user friendly as possible, that's why we also need to create theme's to make sure you can create any dungeon you want.

We promise we won't get sidetracked

 

This sounds good ... pretty much what I was envisioning! I would like to have the flexibility to use the RDG with several environments - caverns, sewers, warehouses, labs, and so on - using my own art, though I may get tempted into buying the sci-fi set on its own merit as it looks pretty cool.

I also still hope there might be a way to load / store specific maps that the RDG can assemble at runtime. It seems like there should be a way to piggy-back on the existing system to get that done. For instance, if the randomization process was separated from the generator, the randomizer could create a text-based object file (phase 1) that would then be fed into the generator (phase 2) to make the map. Once you have an object file, it would then be relatively easy to load / save / change these to make specific maps at runtime, even if you have to edit them by hand. It would also make it possible to have a server randomly generate a map for a multi-player scenario and then feed the object file to the clients for generation ... thereby getting all players on the same random map.

As for the plain vanilla building set that would come with the RDG, may I recommend something like a basic office setting? That is, a featureless squared-off sort of room with walls, ceiling, and floor, configured variously as end piece, walk-through, t-intersection, and x-intersection. Then maybe some special room configurations as examples, like an entry/exit, a multi-level room, a slope or some stairs if you can change elevation, and pairs of elevator / teleporter rooms, too, if such are used to allow passage to otherwise inaccessible areas of a map (the separate map levels could be considered as multiple random maps in one scene, joined by elevator / teleporter pairs as entry/exits).

The user could take these very basic rooms and change the dimensions, add lighting, textures or substances to the surfaces, and then toss in some thematic bric-a-brac to turn them into just about anything ... office, dungeon, castle, spaceship, sewer, whatever.

 

I'm really interested in the separate packs. Your dungeon generator has worked well for me on mobile by the way. My dungeons are running well on iPhone 5. I just tweaked the shaders and the size of the textures. Thank you for your good work. : )

 

Any update? Any possibility the new version will be released this month?

 

+1 I'd also be interested to know some rough dates

 

Hey all,

we have finished the biggest parts of scripting. We have a few details left, like adding some sliders to influence object amounts and add a better random shuffle for better random dungeon setups before generating. After that we need to work on documentation and add some basic styles to deliver with the base package. Then we will try and release it to work on some additional style packages which we will release separately as discussed. We have two of these styles in the making, one scifi and the Aztec style.

We are aiming to release within the month and it does look good, but no guarantees just yet. (but it does look good

Hope you can all wait this long and we will update you when we start the documentation

 

Awesome! I had a feeling it would likely arrive in May.

 

Very sparse documentation...

How do I change the player to use my own controller? I see a public GameObject named playerCharacter but do not see anywhere this can be used to point to my player controller.

When I use this in a game, is it like I generate a dungeon then include that generated dungeon in my game or will the dungeons in my game also be random?

 

Hi Bigdaddio,
We are building a new version of the dungeon generator where things like adding your own player will be much more straight forward. We hope to get it finished this month. It will also make adding your own models easier. For now this is the easiest way to get your own player into the generation part:

-Open the 'dungeongeneratoreditor' script located in scipts/editor/dungeongeneratoreditor.cs and disable line 7 by adding // in front of it. This will disable the editorscript and if you would click on the dungeongenerator prefab in the hierarchy and look in the inspector window, you will find a 'player character' variable where you can drag your own player prefab. After you did this, reactivate line 7 and it will now place your prefab into each dungeon you generate.

As for the dungeon you generate, you can either save the scene with the generated dungeon you liked and then delete the Dungeon generator script in that scene. This will give you a fixed dungeon. (you can then of course also just put your own player in there and delete the one that was generated by the dungeon.
If you keep the Dungeon generator script in the scene it will trigger a new random dungeon on play if the character walks into the endzone (the green particle effect) If you look at the code inside that prefab you will see how you can create a dungeon with your own script in runtime.

Hope this helps you out!

 

Ahh I figured it out! Thank you

I actually dropped my player in and just changed the code a little to find and use my controller. The regenerating dungeons are perfect and exactly what I was looking for. I really look forward to your new update with the prefab rooms.

 

Well, we did a lot of scripting over the last week. Only 8 points left to go, but some are pretty big and might result in some additional points to pop up. But we have the generation process pretty well fixed now.
Will make a formal list of all our options but now we have the biggest things in, beeing:

> Can setup zones using a "wish"list including staircases, template rooms and just finished, endrooms per zone
> Generator will generate a save path that should always result in a walkable path from start to end
> Can set zones locked or unlocked
> Locked zones will drop a key in the previous zone on spots that are reachable by the main path with a backup location for safety
> Generator finds all available styles in the resource folder, but even if the folder has no actual models yet it will always build a closed dungeon using generic walls, floors and ceilings. This makes it possible to add models to a certain style as you go along
> Generator automatically uses a model if its in the correct resource folder. Only templates and advanced objects need a script to be setup for correct placement in the dungeon.
> Template rooms have an easy to use setup script including a full preview option
> Advanced objects have an easy to use setup script including a full preview option
> Example models used by the generator: Bridges, Railings, wallinlays in rooms to round of edges, walls etc, Pillars with full range of options concerning rotation, Doors to connect to zones and corridor inlay options
> Made a drag and drop field for the Player used by the generator
> At the end of the dungeon there is a "teleport pad" to start a new dungeon for runtime generation of the same zone setup

More to come soon. We are working on adding the basic styles as we had in the previous version and i'm working to make a simple save/load option for the different zones wishlist. Then we will start documentation and push the new version towards the people of unity

Regards,
D4Games

 

I was working on a TemplateRooms generator when I saw your dungeons and liked that it was already working and I must say better and further along than mine. So when will we be able to get our hands on this next version with the templated rooms? I am really looking forward to that.

 

Hello,

I am making a game that takes place in a cave complex environment.
Can the generation connect modules back to existing placed modules to create loops or the generation works its way only expansively, growing from one point and on?

Thanks

 

Hi Digital Forest, These are great new features. Do you have an ETA for when the template rooms will be complete? I'm really keen to test it as I'm planning on using RDG for the foundation of a Kickstarter project in late July.

 

Hi nuverian

Yes it can create loops. In fact you can even have multiple zones that you can put on 'locked' which will result in a key being placed in the dungeon that you will need to find first to open the door to the next zone. Even in that case you can have a the dungeon cross itself and it will create a closed area around it so you still need the key. If can also produce bridges when a corridor goes straight through a room, and closed bridges if that room of of another zone and is locked

 

Hi Eyehawk,

The template rooms are up and running. It works the same way as the new staircases. You need to assign an entry-point and 1 or more exit-points. With our new system you can assign each wall and ceiling of this template room to be potentially open or closed, which means that if you close all connections you will get that template room always as a separate room, but if you leave some parts open, it can merge the room inside other rooms. This is a fantastically powerful tool, because is gives the ability of creating things like a quarter part of a room which can smoothly be attached to the rest of the dungeon. This gives endless varieties to the dungeon and doesn't feel like a copy paste effect so much as with some other generators.

To give it even more variety you can place Object holder inside template rooms, so that can randomly place objects in the template itself. This way you you can have your own custom room to sometimes have a banner and other times a torch attached to the wall.

 

Fantastic! This sounds like just the thing to make this great asset even better

Looking forward to the end of the month!

 

He're a little preview of what our new Dungeon Generator can do: http://youtu.be/leEbCcNEKaA

An official trailer will be made when we're finished, so this is a behind the scenes version just for you guys
This is the Armory style that was also in our previous version.

 

Wow!! That new update is going to be Epic!! :mrgreen:

Are the big rooms and lifts part of the templates? Also I really like that loading screen when the level is being generated - will that be integrated into the PC standalone player?