Assets
Ratchet and Clank maps are composed of a variety of different assets. Assets can be sounds, textures, models, code, or any form of data.
NOTE: For a more complete guide on the underlying data please refer to the wrench docs.
There exist 5 types of models. Each type renders geometry but has additional features and/or limitations that make it useful for specific usecases.
NOTE: For more information on Tfrags, Ties, and Shrubs please refer to this presentation: https://www.slideserve.com/dcallaway/the-technology-of-jak-amp-daxter-powerpoint-ppt-presentation
Developed by Naughty Dog for the Jak and Daxter series, Tfrags are essentially groups of faces that transition between of high and low geometries as the camera moves closer/further away.
tfrag-lod.mp4
Demonstrating the transition between LODs. The curved edge gains and loses an extra vertex per edge.
Tfrags are not instanced and as such tend to be used for unique geometry like terrain and some buildings. For an instanced version of Tfrags refer to Ties.
Tfrags are difficult to edit because the original geometry has been grouped into arbitrary fragments to optimize rendering. The door to a building, for example, may partly share a tfrag with some faces from floor of the building, and some faces from the outside ground. Making it difficult to simple move or delete the building, since some of the terrain would be moved with it.
Editing tfrag textures will be converted and packed when the map is built. Refer to the Texture Editing guide for more information on texture editing.
Tfrags use occlusion to minimize overdraw. You may view which octants will render a given tfrag by checking the Render Octants toggle in the TfragChunk component.
TIEs (Tfrag Instance Engine) are Tfrags that can be drawn multiple times with different transformation matrices and vertex colors. This makes them particular useful for custom maps as we can simply create a new instance of an existing Tie and place it where we like.
Insomniac levels often contain Ties whose transformation matrices cannot be decomposed into a Position, Rotation, and Scale without losing information. The Reflection matrix contains the extra information about how the instance is placed so that the Tie will render correctly in Forge and in game. However the matrix introduces some challenges/limitations.
Generally, the Reflection matrix is only useful for imported instances. For custom placed instances, it is recommended to clear the matrix.
Forge supports generated uniform vertex colors for any Tie instance. Instances that were imported from a level may contain non-uniform vertex colors. If left unchanged, Forge will export the instance with the non-uniform vertex colors. Forge will not properly render these colors in the editor, however. Always test your map on PS2/PCSX2 before finalizing any changes.
Ties use occlusion to minimize overdraw. You may view which octants will render a given Tie by checking the Render Octants toggle in the Tie component.
Ties may optionally have instanced collision. By default, when a level is imported, all collision is imported as a single static object. Instances such as Ties do not have any collision. You may enable an instanced collider, which will be generated from the rendered geometry with a default collision ID.
You may also override the default collider with a custom one using the
Instanced Collider Overridefield in the inspector.
Shrubs are more simple, instanced geometry. They do not tessellate like Tfrags and Ties. Most don't have any additional LODs while some do in the form of billboards. Despite the name, Shrubs can be used for a variety of organic and inorganic objects. They tend to be small and numerous, though there are exceptions.
Insomniac levels often contain Shrubs whose transformation matrices cannot be decomposed into a Position, Rotation, and Scale without losing information. The Reflection matrix contains the extra information about how the instance is placed so that the Shrub will render correctly in Forge and in game. However the matrix introduces some challenges/limitations.
Generally, the Reflection matrix is only useful for imported instances. For custom placed instances, it is recommended to clear the matrix.
Shrubs may optionally have instanced collision. By default, when a level is imported, all collision is imported as a single static object. Instances such as Shrubs do not have any collision. You may enable an instanced collider, which will be generated from the rendered geometry with a default collision ID.
You may also override the default collider with a custom one using the
Instanced Collider Overridefield in the inspector.
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Render Distance | How far the camera must be for the Shrub to not be rendered. |
| Tint | The color of the instance. |
Mobys are non-static objects that can move, rotate, scale, spawn, despawn, and execute their own code, per instance. Examples are Ratchet, every gadget, every projectile, every mob, every vehicle, bolts, etc.
Because a Moby has its own code and its own properties (PVars), it is very easy to crash the game when editing/importing them.
PVars are a block of data that is associated with a Moby instance. This data is different for each Moby class. Meaning a puma will share the same data structure as other pumas, but a different data structure than a hoverbike, for example.
Well that depends. Much of it could be unused. Much of it could be used as a working buffer during runtime. But much of it is often used for configuration.
You can edit a Moby's PVars in the Inspector. These are populated from a json file in Forge. These are incomplete, meaning that there will by Mobys that do not have PVars in the Inspector, but they do in game. There will also be Mobys that have PVars in the Inspector, but some fields that are used in game are missing.
You are welcome to open an issue asking for missing PVars to be added for a Moby. We also accept PRs :).
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Draw Distance | How far away the camera must be for the Moby to not be rendered.255 is always rendered. |
| Update Distance | How far away the camera must be for the Moby update function to stop executing.255 is always update. |
| Occlusion | Occlusion ID of the Moby. Often shared with other Mobys. |
| Light 1 | Which World Light (index) to use. |
| Color | The color of the instance. |
The Sky is a special object that is rendered in the background. It is a mesh usually consisting of layers with different angular velocity. It uses vertex colors to blend the different layers together.
The Sky is currently not editable in Forge. To use another Sky, you must import from another level.