BuildR 2 – Concepts

Building
A BuildR building exists as an in scene asset and contains all the data to create the building along with the generated mesh to be used by your game at runtime.

Volume
A volume is a 3D shape that makes up a BuildR building. There can be a single or multiple volumes that can create a single BuildRbuilding. The volume consists of a 2D footprint extruded over a number of floors. All floors in a volume are the same size. Volumes are by default attached to the ground but they can be attached above another volume. The volume also defines the minimum size of a wall section. Volumes are contained within each building.

Floorplan
Floorplans detail the inside of a building. Each volume will contain a floorplan for each floor. The floor plan defines rooms and vertical spaces like stairwells, lift shafts and atriums.

Facade
The facade of a BuildR building defines what the external face of a volume looks like. It holds a pattern of wall sections and can be expanded or contracted to fit within the dimensions of the facade it is attached to. The pattern is arranged into a grid structure. There is a specific slot for the ground floor so that a single facade can be used for both ground based facades and ones that begin a number of floors up. BuildR Facade designs are saved into the Assets/BuildR2/Facades folder.

Wall Section
A wall section defines a single piece of a facade design pattern. Wall sections could be a plain wall, a window, a door or even something else. BuildR Wall Sections are saved into the Assets/BuildR2/WallSections folder.

Window
A window is a basic opening in a wall section. It tends be centred closer to the top of the wall section. BuildR Wall Sections are saved into the Assets/BuildR2/Windows and Doors folder.

Door
A door is a basic opening in a wall section. It tends to be aligned to the bottom of the wall section so that it can be used easily as a door. BuildR Wall Sections are saved into the Assets/BuildR2/Windows and Doors folder.

Gable
Gable designs can be applied to a specific facade of a volume. They will render the facade above the parapet wall with the user design. A gable design is made up of five types of shape; Horizontal, Vertical, Diagonal, Concave and Convex. With these shapes it’s possible to create most designs we see from a simple “Crow Stepped” through to more elaborate Dutch variants. BuildR Gable designs are saved into the Assets/BuildR2/Gables folder.

Surface
A BuildR Surface handles how textures and materials are applied to buildings. It contains further information that allows the generator to account for the size of the texture and how it should tile. BuildR Surfaces are saved into the Assets/BuildR2/Surfaces folder.
Vertical Space A vertical space is an internal shape that cuts through multiple floors. It will bed used to define the position and shape of stairwells, elevator shafts and atriums.

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