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Features

Eldiron is not just a map editor or scripting tool. It is a game creation framework built around one shared world model and several connected authoring systems.

This page highlights the main strengths of the current Eldiron workflow.

One World, Multiple Presentations​

The same game data can be presented in different ways:

  • 2D
  • 3D
  • terminal / text-style clients

That means sectors, linedefs, entities, items, scripts, and rules do not belong to just one visual mode.

A game can be explored graphically, or through text, using the same authored project data.

Playable Before Final Art​

One of Eldiron’s strongest advantages is that a game can already be:

  • prototyped
  • balanced
  • tested
  • and played

before the final visual assets exist.

Because of the text-style client and authoring metadata, you can validate:

  • movement flow
  • exits and room structure
  • combat and progression
  • messages and pacing
  • item and NPC interactions

without waiting for finished tiles, avatars, or UI art.

Unified Interaction Model​

Eldiron separates raw input from gameplay meaning through actions and intents.

This allows the same interaction model to work across:

  • keyboard controls
  • mouse clicks
  • UI widgets
  • terminal commands

So attack, use, take, movement, and other interactions do not need separate gameplay systems for each client type.

Behavior Nodes​

Author behavior with event-driven graphs for characters, items, instances and named areas. Nodes carry their settings and expose labelled outcomes. Template and instance graphs run independently, with template Startup first.

Live feedback highlights executed nodes and connections and displays event values. Committed edits update running behavior. See Behavior Nodes.

Shared Gameplay Systems​

Eldiron includes game-wide systems that reduce repetition across characters and items.

These include:

  • Rules for combat and progression formulas
  • Localization for shared runtime text
  • Audio FX for generated sound effects
  • Authoring for descriptive world metadata

Instead of hardcoding everything into per-character graphs, you can centralize shared logic and presentation.

2D and 3D Editing​

The Creator supports both 2D and 3D editing workflows.

You can:

  • build regions in 2D
  • inspect and edit them in 3D
  • place entities and items
  • test gameplay directly from the editor

This makes it possible to work visually while still keeping the project data flexible enough for non-visual clients too.

Procedural 3D Building Tools​

Eldiron also includes non-destructive 3D building tools that let you create structures and details directly from map geometry.

Examples include:

  • houses and room shells from geometry profiles
  • palisades along linedefs
  • fences along linedefs
  • roofs on selected structures
  • stairs on sectors
  • campfires and other scene details

This is useful because many 3D structures can be authored from the same map data you already use for gameplay and navigation, instead of being modeled as separate static assets first.

So Eldiron’s 3D workflow is not only about placing tiles in space. It also supports procedural scene building for things like:

  • houses
  • palisades
  • fences
  • settlement details

That makes it much faster to block out and iterate on playable 3D spaces.

Reusable Content​

Characters and items are created as reusable templates.

They can define:

  • attributes
  • scripts
  • visuals
  • input mappings
  • authoring text

and then be instantiated into regions as needed.

This makes it easier to iterate on gameplay without manually rebuilding content in every map.

Global Rules, Locales, and Authoring​

Game-wide data is organized clearly through dedicated project nodes.

Examples:

  • Settings
  • Authoring
  • Rules
  • Locales
  • Audio FX

This gives Eldiron a stronger structure than “everything lives in scripts,” and makes large projects easier to maintain.

Creator Workflow​

The Creator brings the main systems together in one place:

  • tools for world editing
  • docks for tiles, data, scripts, and authoring
  • a project tree for the whole game
  • in-editor play and debugging

That makes Eldiron feel less like a loose collection of tools and more like a unified creation environment.

What This Adds Up To​

Eldiron is strongest when you think of it as:

  • one world model
  • one interaction model
  • multiple presentation layers
  • shared systems for rules, text, and progression

That combination is what makes it possible to build games that are playable early, adaptable across client types, and easier to extend over time.