World Building [RELEASED] Dungeon Architect

RELEASED: Now available in the Asset Store

Dungeon Architect is an editor extension that helps streamline your level creation process.

It helps you generate procedural dungeons (both at runtime or design-time) and gives you artistic control over the layout of the dungeon using various editor tools (like layout painter)

It has a intuitive graph based theme designer to interactively design the look and feel of your dungeons.

 

This is really cool and Needs more recognition in the Unity Community.

BUMP

 

Love the pictures on the Unreal site. This looks really good and yeah, it deserves more recognition here.

 

Thank you @HeadClot88 and @Teila I have a lot more updates which I'll post shortly

 

awesome work

 

Looks great
i think i saw something like the tiny keep algorithm for the main dungeon generation in the unreal video.
Btw can the volume customization (specifically the different themes one) be used during the generation too, or only afterwards manually? It would be cool if you could just set three themes (lab,general interior, courtyard) and have the generator do the work for you according to some params.
Cheers, cant wait to see more of it!

 

@antislash @moure Thanks!

@moure You are right I'm using an extension of TinyKeep's awesome dungeon algorithm. The author was kind enough to explain how it is done in this post which motivated me to create the UE4 plugin. I've added stairs and height variations, customizable geometry generation and built various tooling around it

I'll post more info soon

 

This video shows how you could use a platform volumes to influence the level layout in a productive and intuitive way. The geometry in the volume blends in seamlessly with the existing geometry in the scene. The volume can be resized to change the size of the room

 

Looking great @AliAkbar

 

Looks good! I currently use DunGen. Very curious to see more about this one. Love the video of adjusting the layout visually by dragging the room and adding side routes by marking desired path. Subscribing to thread to keep up to date on news!

 

Does this include a runtime editor, so players can create and modify areas?

 

@S4G4N, @Shawn67 Thanks!

@hopeful I'll add a runtime editor demo. It should be easy. There's already one for Unreal Engine.

 

Here's a demo on how you could "Paint" your dungeon using the editor tools

 

I noticed the Unreal one is in C++.. Are you porting to C# for the Unity version?

 

@Shawn67 Yes, I ported it over from C++ to C#. Most of the time went in designing the graph editor UI, which had to be done from scratch. Most of the features are ported over.

 

A procedural level created using Dungeon Architect

Awesome art by ManufacturaK4 (TopDown Dungeon Mobile)

 

Your scripts can now respond to various events from the dungeon generator. You might use this to populate your dungeons with game specific objects after the dungeon is built, or perform cleanup before it is rebuilt etc.

This example shows how waypoints are scattered throughout the level for the AI agents to patrol.

 

Building a game called Eternal Crypt using Dungeon Architect to sort out any issues / shortcomings I might face with DA before I release it

 

@AliAkbar That is the best way to develop a package/plug-in, putting it to use in an actual project and use it yourself to see what is missing or can be enhaunced

 

Looks awesome. I already got 2 different dungeon generators but that one looks very good. I might even get myself a 3rd one

 

Thanks!

 

Unity 5, as of this post, does not have support for runtime navigation mesh generation. You can generate navmeshes only from within the editor. This poses a problem for procedural levels generated at runtime (like in Dungeon Architect)

So, I've added Recast navigation support to Dungeon Architect so you can generate the nav-meshes for your dungeons at runtime (needed if you generate a random level at runtime). If you create it at design time, then you can continue to use the built-in unity editor's nav mesh if you choose to





For generating the nav mesh, the plug-in feeds the navmesh generator with triangles of all the meshes it has instantiated. Alternatively, you can also feed it with the collision volumes (instead of raw mesh triangles) by checking a config flag in the generator

 

Are you looking for Beta Testers yet? I would like to participate.

 

@AliAkbar

Anything new and exciting to show us

 

This looks totally amazing. Can't wait to hear more about this.... can you give us another update on where you are at with it please

and if you do want some help testing it with a wide range of users at different levels then I would love to help out!

 

Sorry guys for the lack of updates. Got caught up with other things last month. I'm working full time on this now.

I'd like to thank @S4G4N (3DForge) for offering me his modular assets for free to test Dungeon Architect and it's been very useful.

Here's a simple theme I created using @S4G4N's awesome TaD Sewer Kit.

I'll be starting a beta program soon and would love to get your feedback. I got a lot of interesting ideas from the UE4 version after users started using it there and will be implementing those here too.

More updates coming soon!

 

WOW,
Great to see you come back with more to show and even better news that the Tile A Dungeon - Sewer Kit works well with this great tool that you are developing.
The pack was designed with a simple to use modular backbone, one of the big reasons it received it's 80th 5 STAR rating today

Thanks for testing this out and showing further development

Cheers
Cobus

 

Awesome! Congrats, it's well deserved

 

What are the advantages to use this over something like DunGen?

 

@ephemeral life Thanks for your interest

I haven't used DunGen so I don't know how it compares.

Here are some of the features of Dungeon Architect that will help you save time while building levels

Theming
DA uses a data driven theming approach where you design the look and feel of your dungeon. This lets you design complex visuals with a simple graph based approach. I didn't get to creating sample content for unity version yet, but here are a few themes I created for Unreal, which uses the same approach as we have in Unity version now. These levels are 100% procedural with different theme files:

Bonus: The creative and talented content creators can design their own themes and bundle them with their modular assets so we programmers don't have to design it ourselves


Tooling
You can paint your own layout, or modify an existing layout with editor tooling. You can also override the theme (look and feel) of certain parts of the dungeon. E.g. wood on one part, stone on another. You can also drop in a "Platform Volume" actor and move it around, and a room will be placed there and seamlessly connected with the rest of the dungeon

Extensibility
Dungeon Architect is designed to be modular and extensible. So, you are not restricted to the algorithms designed by the author. You can swap out the procedural dungeon layout generator with your own without changing a single line of code in the DA module (just drop it in the dungeon game object). This helps you (and me) create new algorithms for DA.
I plan to create a cave builder as well using cellular automata. It is already working in the UE4 version:


2D Support
You can create dungeons for your 2D games using sprites. The tooling (paint, volumes etc) will work seamlessly.
Here is an example of a 2D level generated by DA using the Cave Builder (Unreal). More info here. Coming soon to unity:


Customizable
If you don't want to write your own layout builder, you can customize and existing one by writing your own marker emitters. This reduces the barrier to entry as it is very easy to create. Marker emitters are simple scripts that you write and are invoked after the dungeon is build. This gives you an opportunity to inspect the dungeon model and emit your own markers. These markers are later picked up by the theming engine. More info on this later.
As an example, the Hell forge demo (first video) uses simple marker emitter scripts to help create good looking cave like structure and to find the lowest Y point in the procedural dungeon, to create a lava plane. More info here


P.S: Sorry for the UE4 plug, I'm still working on creating sample content for unity

 

This sounds great, I especially like the ability to use 2 themes in the same level. Can't wait to try it out.

 

Really loving the look of this and can't wait for you to start up a beta program.

Great job!!

I am pleased to hear that this works well with an off the shelf 3rd party set of assets as other procedural tools I have used have really fallen well short when I have tried to use a custom set of assets with them.

Great, also to hear you are back on to this project and I hope we see more soon!!

 

Thank you @MangeyD. I'll post more info tomorrow

 

Heres a quick video with 3DForge's TaD Sewer assets. In the end of it, I show you how theme override volumes work

 

I can just say WOW !!!

Seeing the package being used with such a cool tool in development really brings those many prefabs to life in a very powerful way and not how I ever thought they will be used
I won the www.tileadungeon.com domain with more sets on the way.
All of them will use the same backbone system, so this is awesome feedback and news to me

Thanks for showcasing the package, I am humbled

Cheers
Cobus

 

This could be the start of some seriously good times for procedural level design

 

Added 2D Support. A few small things still pending to finalize 2D support

You can drag / drop sprites assets into the Dungeon Architect Theme editor to create sprite nodes and the workflow is similar to 3D

I created a marker emitter that emits context based markers to beautify the boundaries of the map with more decorative sprites. The marker emitter script emits Corner_* markers based on their spatial locations, so the theme can pick it up and decorate the borders







Another theme:




Awesome art by Hyptosis

 

Added 2D physics support in the sprite nodes. Supports box, circle and poly colliders

 

This looks pretty nice.
I purchased Dungen because my project will use multiple procedural generated dungeons.
I love your graph based editor and how easy / user friendly it looks.
Since I am also using lot of 3DForge stuff like interiors I am really looking forward to see your asset in action.
Good, fast runtime generation is important for me. And of course an user friendly and easy to use asset.

Keep it up!
Ronny

 

Thanks @RonnyDance

I'm creating a theme based on @Mana Station 's awesome Multi-story dungeon asset. I really like this asset pack and I think it's underrated

Some screens:







I'll post a vid tomorrow. Some pending things before the theme is finished:

• Fill up the empty spaces in the dungeon (like the way it was done in the TaD Sewer theme) using a marker emitter
• Add more decorative props in the corridors. More variations

These themes will be available with Dungeon Architect Sample content so you can start creating levels immediately. (you will require the supporting asset packs ofcourse)

 

Added a reusable marker emitter script that finds empty space nearby and emit markers, which the theme graph can pick up and add objects to it

Default Dungeon:




Same dungeon with custom marker emitter to fill up the gaps with preset modules, to give it a multi-level look





Dungeon Paint Mode to modify the layout

 

These new screenshots are amazing!!

 

WOW, that looks great! I’ve never seen my asset used in that way before Really amazed that DA can also make backgrounds. Very handy feature.

Oh, I can't wait!

 

Video: Dungeon Architect with the Multi-story dungeon theme

In the video, at 03:00, I show you how to use the paint tool to draw your own dungeon layout

 

Created a new Terrain Transformer. It is a mono behavior that can be dropped in the dungeon object if you like it to transform and beautify your terrain (no terrain setup is required)


I'm working on creating a theme based on ManufacturaK4's awesome MOBA theme. The terrain transformer can do the following:

• Modify the height of the terrain according to the layout of the dungeon
• Creating slopes around the edges of the elevated platforms based on an input curve for more artistic control
• Has some basic painting features (it paints the slopes with the supplied cliff texture)

I'll add the following tomorrow to finalize this:

• The terrain transformer will support procedural painting of pathways with a different texture (e.g. sand in the corridors, brick inside the room etc)
• More decorative props to finalize this theme

Screens:

 

Asset Store is much bigger place for you to sell this tool. Good decision; although it'll be pirated as soon you give ppl beta access, you'll still make more return than in UE4's store.

 

I hope it's easy to make big open areas, my combat system won't work on smaller ones. I guess I could just delete some walls after the level is generated though. Can't wait to get my hands on this tool .

 

The pathways are now automatically painted with another texture, if you specify it. There are also options on how much space it should take.

The pathways are made to look more organic by applying a blurring filter on the 2D texture paint data so they look more natural, as opposed to straight lines aligned with the layout (visual explanation)

 

How to make the 3D Tiles ? What conventions must we follow to have them working and snapping perfectly with your tool ?
Is there some tutorial dealing with using our custom meshes and collision or showing the guidelines ?