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Waypoints and paths
Many objects need positions besides their own: a guard walks inside its boxes, a beetle jumps along a patrol path, a camera zone covers a box, a checkpoint stores where the llama respawns, a cut scene flies its camera along a route. The game stores all of these as waypoints – points linked into chains. This chapter explains how chains work and how to edit them with the Waypoint paths tool.
What waypoint chains are
A waypoint (also called a node) has a position, a turn (yaw) and a tilt (pitch), plus a few fields whose meaning is not known yet. Every node can point to a next node; following these links from a first node gives a chain. An object refers to the first node of its chain.
- One object uses at most one chain.
- Several objects may share one chain (the original levels do this in places).
- A chain without an object is allowed but does nothing.
In the Outliner the chains are listed under Waypoint chains. In the viewport nodes are drawn as small markers joined by lines.
Chain roles
What the nodes mean depends on the object type. The Inspector names the role in the waypoint row and in the Waypoint chain section:
| Role | Used by | Meaning of the nodes |
|---|---|---|
| patrol path | JumpingBeetleBlue, Spider … | Points the character walks or jumps to; patrols wrap from the last node back to the first |
| camera positions | Llama (first node), cut-scene cameras, CutSceneTrigger | Camera position; node yaw and pitch give the view direction |
| respawn point | CheckPointPost | Where the llama reappears, and which way it faces |
| box area (two opposite corners) | Secret, CameraSide, CameraLift, ObjectDontDropInBox, FallOffNoHurt, guards … | Two nodes span a rectangle on the ground (x and z only); some types use several pairs (guards walk inside their boxes and must start inside one) |
| point list | ForcePlayerMovement, WaterReboundPoints | Target points |
| waypoint chain | other types | Meaning unknown – keep the original layout |
For types that are not decoded, the editor guesses: camera objects get camera positions, types whose originals always have exactly two nodes get box area.
Showing waypoints
By default the viewport shows only the chains of the selected objects and nodes – a big level has hundreds of nodes. To see all of them:
- View → Show waypoints of all objects, or
- the Show all chains button of the Waypoint tool (it toggles the same setting).
Two layers (options bar → Layers) control the drawing:
- Waypoints – the node markers and connecting lines,
- Path directions – arrows along the chain, a dashed segment from the last back to the first node for patrol paths (they wrap) and a short tick at each node showing its yaw.
Click a node marker to select the node. Hidden or locked objects' nodes are not pickable.
Waypoint tool (N)
The Waypoint paths button of the toolbar or key N starts the tool. It edits the chain of the selected object, or the chain the selected node belongs to. The options bar reminds you of the mouse actions: Click: add node · Ctrl+click: insert before · drag: move · Backspace/Del: remove.
Adding nodes
- Select the object (click it while the tool is active – clicking an object selects it).
- Click on the ground. The new node is added after the selected node, or at the end of the chain if the object itself is selected. If the object has no chain yet, the click creates one with this first node.
- Keep clicking to add more nodes; each new node becomes the selected one, so the chain grows in the order you click.
Ctrl+click inserts the new node before the selected node instead (before the first node if the first one is selected).
The new node copies the pitch and the unknown raw fields of the last node of the chain. With Follow floor on it sits on the floor under the pointer; grid snapping applies (Ctrl inverts it – note that Ctrl+click therefore also inverts snapping).
Moving and deleting nodes
- Drag a node to move it. With Follow floor on it keeps its height above the floor as you drag over hills and steps. Each drag is one undo step.
- Backspace (while the tool is active) or Delete / Edit → Delete removes the selected nodes and relinks the chain: the previous node now leads to the following one. The next node becomes selected, so you can delete several in a row.
- Esc clears the waypoint selection; pressing it again (or Q) leaves the Waypoint tool and returns to Select.
- Moving the owner object with the Place tool moves the whole chain along (option Move waypoints along).
Waypoint tool options
| Option | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Follow floor | New and dragged nodes stay on the collision floor (on by default) |
| Orient new nodes | A new node faces away from the previous node, i.e. along the path (on by default) |
| Reverse | Reverses the order of the chain; the object then starts at the former last node |
| Show all chains | Toggles between the chains of the selection and all chains |
Waypoint chain section
When a single node is selected, the Inspector shows the section Waypoint chain:
- Node i of n, the object(s) using the chain and its role – or not used by an object,
- Select object – selects the owner,
- Edit path – switches to the Waypoint tool,
- ◀ / ▶ – select the previous / next node,
- Delete node – removes this node and relinks the chain,
- Look through – shows the view from this node (camera nodes, see Look through camera).
The node's position, yaw, pitch and raw fields are in the general properties below.
Linking chains to objects
The waypoint row of Object parameters (see Objects) connects chains and objects:
- Create path / Edit path – start the Waypoint tool for this object.
- Unlink – the object no longer uses its chain; the nodes stay in the level (for example to give them to another object).
- Delete path – removes the chain's nodes.
- Link… – opens Link to a waypoint chain with all chains of the level, nearest first: first node id, number of nodes, distance from the object and which objects use it (or unused). Choose one and press OK.
Edit → Duplicate gives the copy its own copy of the chain. Deleting an object also deletes chains that no other object uses.
Chains must be stored in one piece
The game does not really follow the next links when it loads a level: it links node number i to node i + 1 in the level's node list whenever next is set. A chain therefore has to be stored contiguously – all its nodes one after the other.
The editor keeps chains contiguous when you add, insert or delete nodes. Older projects or unusual edits can break this; then Level → Check for problems reports an error Waypoint chain at … is not stored in one piece, and building is blocked. Run Tools → Repair waypoint chains – it reorders the node list so every chain is in one piece (the status bar says Waypoint chains repaired, or All waypoint chains are stored in one piece when nothing had to be done).
Example: a patrolling enemy
- Click JumpingBeetleBlue (or another enemy with a patrol path) in the Objects panel and place it with the Place tool.
- Press N. The beetle stays selected.
- Click four points around the area the beetle should cover. Watch the arrows: the dashed segment closes the loop back to the first node.
- Press F5 to try it: the beetle jumps from node to node.
Waypoint checks
The Problems panel reports:
| Message | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Chain not stored in one piece (error) | Run Tools → Repair waypoint chains |
| … needs n waypoint(s) (…), has m | The type reads more nodes than the chain has |
| … uses only n waypoint(s), the chain has m (info) | Extra nodes are ignored by the game |
| … box nodes come in pairs | Box zones need an even number of nodes |
| … never appears: the game removes it at level start (error) | A guard without boxes, with an odd node count or starting outside all of its boxes; use Box around it in the Inspector |
| … stays hidden until event bit n is set (info) | A guard waiting for an event; set Event bit to 0 to have it active at once |
| … has no waypoints; all original … objects have a chain | Most likely the type needs one |
| Respawn node is n cells away (info) | A checkpoint's respawn point far from the post |