(Translated automatically from Korean.)
Hello everyone!
Last time, we introduced the tile-based editing tool we use. This time, we'd like to introduce another tool our team utilizes for level creation: the vertex-based editing tool.
To briefly compare the two tools...
Tile-Based Tool
- Edited in standardized tile units
- Fast creation/editing/iteration
- Primary tool
Vertex-Based Tool
- Allows for highly flexible terrain creation
- Slow creation/editing/iteration
- Auxiliary tool
These are the differences.
Examples of Where the Vertex Tool is Used
When you look at terrain like this, the castle wall part is actually just a 2D decoration.
Visually, it looks like there is a flat surface on top of the wall that is parallel to the ground, but in reality, there isn't.
Because of this, shadows are not cast properly, and the wall is rendered in front of or behind the character depending on the character's Y-coordinate, causing many graphical glitches.
To render it correctly, we need to actually 'bend' the 2D image into a 3D shape.
And since these areas often go beyond the standardized tile system and lack regularity, we needed a more flexible tool.
The Vertex Terrain Editor
Seeing is believing. This is the vertex terrain editor.
During its creation, we referenced a level design tool called Doom Builder to keep the implementation as simple as possible.
What makes this tool unique compared to general 3D terrain editors is that it takes the characteristics of pixel art into account.
It tracks and restores the pixels at the very edges that would normally get cut off during the texture mapping process.
Even on diagonals like this, it bends the image so that pixels do not get buried underground.
Map Examples Created with the Vertex Terrain Tool
Thank you for reading!
