Building Zones

Building Zones

A zone (or area) is a logical grouping of rooms that share a setting, theme, and difficulty level. Zones are defined by the area field on rooms — there’s no separate zone entity.

Zone Design Principles

1. Theme consistency — All rooms in a zone should feel cohesive (same atmosphere, enemy types)
2. Logical navigation — Players should be able to navigate without getting lost
3. Difficulty curve — Zones should have a clear level range for enemies
4. Entry and exit points — Every zone needs an entry from the previous zone and an exit forward

Example World Structure (Veilspan)

Z00: Catacombs (Tutorial, Level 1-2)
    → Z01: Meadows & Forest (Level 2-4)
    → Z02: Oldtown (Level 2-4, hub area)
        → Z03: Gloomfen Marsh (Level 3-5)
            → Z19: Gloomfen Depths (Level 5+)

ID Conventions

Use consistent room ID patterns within a zone:

Zone	ID Range	Example
Catacombs (Z00)	R0001–R0099	R0001 (Awakening Chamber)
Meadows (Z01)	R0101–R0199	R0101 (Emergence Point)
Oldtown (Z02)	R0201–R0299	R0201 (Town Gate)
Gloomfen Marsh (Z03)	R0301–R0399	R0301 (Marsh Gate Trail)

Zone Map Design

Before creating rooms in the Creator UI, sketch your zone layout:

[Entry Room] — east — [Path Room] — east — [Boss Room]
                          |
                        south
                          |
                      [Side Room] — south — [Secret Cache]

Use coordinates (x, y, z) to match the layout in the Creator UI world map:

Entry Room:  x=0, y=0, z=0
Path Room:   x=1, y=0, z=0
Side Room:   x=1, y=-1, z=0
Boss Room:   x=2, y=0, z=0
Secret Cache: x=1, y=-2, z=0

Zone Content Files

World content is version-controlled in the zones/ directory:

zones/
└── Z03_gloomfen_marsh/
    ├── README.md          # Zone overview and lore
    ├── rooms/
    │   ├── R0301_marsh_gate.md
    │   ├── R0302_bog_path.md
    │   └── R0310_deep_marsh.md
    ├── npcs/
    │   └── ENM_marsh_wolf.md
    └── quests/
        └── QST0301_marsh_expedition.md

The YAML export in data/ is generated from these Markdown files via the exporter tool.

Creating a Zone: Step by Step

1. Plan the layout on paper or in a diagram tool
2. Create rooms in the Creator UI with consistent area field
3. Set coordinates to match your layout plan
4. Link exits between adjacent rooms
5. Add spawners with appropriate enemies for the zone’s level range
6. Add quest-giver NPCs in key rooms
7. Test navigation — walk through every exit manually
8. Add atmosphere scripts to room entry events

Zone Transitions

Connect zones via explicit exits. Zone transitions are just regular exits between rooms in different areas:

Oldtown Gate Room (area: oldtown)
    ↓ south exit
Marsh Gate Trail (area: gloomfen)

Consider adding transition narration via an onEnterScript on the first room of the new zone:

-- Fires when player enters the first marsh room
local charID = ctx.character.id

tales.game.msgToCharacter(charID,
  "\nThe cobblestones give way to muddy earth beneath your feet.\n" ..
  "The air grows thick and damp. You have left the safety of Oldtown behind.")

-- Auto-grant zone exploration quest
if not tales.quests.isActive(charID, "QST0301") then
  tales.quests.grantQuest(charID, "QST0301")
end

Next Steps

• Creating Rooms — Room configuration reference
• NPCs & Spawners — Zone population
• The Content Editor — Using the visual tools