Toolkit and asset pipeline for automatically tiling 3D gridmap environments, from tile modeling through rough block-out to dynamic re-tiling.
Same as in two dimensions, have users to decide the region of corners and leave the computer to pick the appropriate tiles.
In 3D, some parts become more difficult and some easier: We don't need to consider crossovers between all different kinds of regions, because we only need to consider inside walls, (floor, ceilings), and we can normally get away with only rendering the region the camera is in. (This one's a bit of a head-scratcher: Exteriors are just the interiors of the outdoors.)
The number of corners make the tile-sets annoyingly large however. With four corners in 2D and two region types, we get 2**4, or 16 different tiles, without symmetry, and 6 if using all symmetries.
(none, 1-corner, 2 contiguous, 2 opposite (checkerboard), 3-corners, full) Or, if you prefer, (all sea, a corner of sand, straight beach, touching corners, a corner of sea, all sand).
In 3D, that's eight corners, and 2**8, or 256 different tiles, without symmetry, and 22 if using all symmetries. (One of which is the tile without any transition in it, used for both empty and full)
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Example (21) models for using all symmetries
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Utility for stepping through the 256 corner combinations to make / inspect a tile mapping table
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Auto-tiler capable of generating both insides and outsides
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Project is simple at all stages, and easy to modify
To use this, first examine the demo_scene in auto_map and copy what you need and adapt it to your own project. The reason for this recommendation is that requirements for different uses are going to diverge to the point where trying to support them directly is hopeless.
One simple way to get something useful is to simply sketch out a nice
level in the editor by dropping some cubes in the SourceMap and simply
copy the resulting gridmap(s) to your game. (The AutoMap script is a
@tool and renders the InnerMap and OuterMap a few times a second)
At present, there's only the full symmetries mesh library, but there's nothing to stop you from making one with a different choice. Patches welcome!
To make a mesh library, load the included blender file and model away.
If you're modeling, I don't need to explain how the mesh edges need to match up, but it is hard, and there are a lot of tiles. I would start with the all-symmetries meshes and modify the boundaries to be more like the style I intend. Make one example of the most common interior corner, but don't bother to copy it out until you know you can make acceptable geometries for the strange saddle-shape cases.
Again, note that all walls are interior walls, as the exterior walls are just the interior walls of the outdoors. Since walls run in the middle of the unit cube, they're set back from the exact center, a bit like the middle field of a tri-color Nordic cross flag.
In Blender, name the meshes sensibly, it seems to control the order
meshes get put in the mesh library later. (Generally, try to get
everything right as far upstream as possible) Select the actual tile
meshes (and whatever supplementary tiles you want in the mesh library)
and exclude markers and dummies you use only for modeling. Export as
glb, making sure to (a) export selected and (b) save the export
settings.
In Godot, open the glb file using the "New Inherited Scene" context
menu action and export using main menu -> Scene -> Export as -> MeshLibrary.
Load the MapConfigurator scene and (IMPORTANT!) uncomment the input lines for saving the table, the FILE_NAME constant and set your mesh library on the GridMap.
Run it and go through the 256 cases, and for each, choose the correct mesh of the 22 (or more, if you have less symmetry) and set it in the correct orientation (of the 24 possible) to cover the visible balls and red labels. (IMPORTANT!) Save. Preferably early, often, and in version control.
Yes, this is tedious, but it not quite as horrible as it sounds, especially if you don't screw up the mesh naming if/when you go back and edit them.
Pro tip: Since the mapping resource file is JSON, you can work out some of the data in the programming language of your choice so you don't have puzzle each and every last one into place.
This is where paths will diverge because use-cases are different, but one way is to set the mesh libraries on the InnerMap and the OuterMap, and the table file and plonking down cubes in the SourceMap to design something and copy the result.