Advanced Grid / Dungeon Building and Design[]
Grids are simple and effective ways to create large sprawling dungeons in Titan Quest.
Advanced Grid / Dungeon Building and Design[]
The region maximum size of a grid is 64x64x10. This means 64 blocks x 64 blocks x 9 height levels. One can make a much taller grid easily by linking portals of a grid on top of a grid to make something rather huge if that is what you want. Honestly, 64x64 is massive in size (equal to 320 by 320 terrain, 1 grid square equals a square 5 meters on a side)…. Don’t let it fool you.
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Tip - You can set the Height to 10 but to avoid confusion, 9 works best if you want to use max height, otherwise the layers 1 and 10 get out of order in the layer tree. |
X = Length, Z = Width, Y = Height, all based on the isometric perspective shown.
Whether to make 1 huge grid or 10 smaller ones that connect, is up to you the designer. If you want to utilize multiple grid “tilesets” in this “dungeon” then you will need to chop up the grids in smaller sections and portal link them. Only 1 tileset will apply to 1 grid at a time. (Example, if you want a half cave / half catacomb dungeon, this will require 2 grids … 1 with the tileset system of the underground cave and then 1 with the tileset system of the Athens catacomb).
The Y Layer starts at “1” and goes up… to layer “9” (so layer 1 is always on the bottom, 9 on the top).
Isometric Grid Design Theory[]
For future reference purposes, this diagram model notes the 4 planes of isometric design whether 1x1 or greater (shown here is 3x3). We are not referencing height at all when it comes to proper design, that factor is not based on this. The focus on this theory is to keep “space gaps” in the Theta and Zeta planes for layer levels painted above and adjacent to the floor/feature below.
We will reference these 4 planes in the following guidelines - Depth and Height in Grids
The proper technique in designing isometric grids can gain you great height and depth. If done incorrectly, you will run into the ‘Camera Floor Zoom’ bug. This is what happens when you are walking along a corridor and the camera is overshadowed from an adjacent floor or crosswalk. This is as much as an engine bug as it is an isometric design flaw, so design carefully… Here is how...
In this example, we will create 2 levels (layer 1 and layer 2 as our test). Notice here we have a standard 2x2 base laid on layer 1 and then painted a new floor on layer 2.
Notice this is the INCORRECT way to do this. Why? You will get overshadowing on layer 1, which will have the Camera Floor Zoom bug.
Notice the shadow area in red… the area on layer 1 will be unplayable or cause camera issues. This is what we need to avoid…
Let's try again and make the walkway longer too using the proper method...
Notice we did NOT paint over the top of layer 1 at all….
Simple Rules of Grid Design:[]
1. Grid layers can be adjacent and higher only on the alpha and beta planes.
2. Grid layers must include 1 space gap per height layer level for the theta and zeta planes.
3. Grid layers can be higher on the theta and zeta plane than a nearby lower layer on the alpa and beta planes but you must take the space gaps into consideration. You will run the risk of overshadowing the lower layer farther away from the viewer visual origin...
Now, let’s add more and make layer 2 wrap around the top…like a balcony! Notice we left a 1 space gap for theta and zeta layer difference between layer 1 and 2…
Using this theory in design, it is very easy to make complex grids/dungeons and avoid isometric camera issues!
Now to finish off this guide, let’s create a total of 3 layers, with 1 space gap between layer 1 and 2 (and some murky water on layer 3 in the 6 little pits).
What can be done: an example[]
You can create large multilevel monoliths in no time sticking to the Isometric Grid Design Theory!
Iso View (Example dungeon shown of “Krull Dungeon” (64x64x9))