Convert to a 3D Game

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Reminder - Keep Daily Backups

When working on a strategy game with a kit as big as the Complete Kit - always keep a working daily backup! Save yourself the trouble of rolling-back changes and losing work.

A few of our kit owners have asked a question like this example:

On the technical side, I would like to change the camera to a perspective camera and use your grid system to snap 3D objects / buildings instead of sprites, do you think it's possible ?

Short answer: Yes. It's possible. Here is what a full 3D conversion would mean, what would change, and what would stay the same:

Replace 2D Sprite Processing with 3D Object Processing

Converting from 2D would be simple, but pretty big. You'll first want to replace the sprite processing that we have with 3D object processing - not such a big deal, since most of these operations are Unity and not 2D Toolkit dependent (parents, children, components, etc).

Adjust the Camera

First of all, with 3D, 2DToolkit is no longer needed, and this includes the camera, which is pointed in front right now. In a perspective view, the ground will be perpendicular to our current view, and the camera would have to look down on that, in order to use gravity for everything.

Convert the Building Grid

The buildings movement would also change, but remain in steps (snap at predetermined incremented values). This assumes that in places where you can build, the terrain is rather plane, even if it is terraced at different elevations. We recommend your buildings to have 'weight' and glide following the terrain shape.

PvP and NPC Pathfinding

The pathfinder would have to be reoriented on a different axis, but it would remain perfectly plane, with corresponding obstacles on it to tell the units where to go.

For Advanced Developers

The above is just a brief summary of the key changes. Because our kit was designed for 2D, it won't be easy for a full 3D conversion unless you understand Unity. For experienced developers, yes, a full 3d conversion is technically possible once you become familiar with the source code available in the kit.

Need development help?

We work with a development company familiar with the City Building Kit source code that is available for custom jobs or scripting assistance. If you need help with a 3D conversion, please contact us at help at citybuildingkit.com and ask for information about hiring our development team for custom work.