yaze/docs/public/usage/dungeon-editor.md

F2: Dungeon Editor v2 - Complete Guide

Last Updated: October 10, 2025
Related: Architecture Overview, Debugging Guide

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Overview

The Dungeon Editor uses a modern card-based architecture (DungeonEditorV2) with self-contained room rendering. This guide covers the architecture, recent refactoring work, and next development steps.

Key Features

• Visual room editing with 512x512 canvas per room
• Object position visualization - Colored outlines by layer (Red/Green/Blue)
• Per-room settings - Independent BG1/BG2 visibility and layer types
• Flexible docking - EditorCard system for custom workspace layouts
• Self-contained rooms - Each room owns its bitmaps and palettes
• Overworld integration - Double-click entrances to open dungeon rooms

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Architecture Improvements

1. Room Buffers Decoupled - No dependency on Arena graphics sheets
2. ObjectRenderer Removed - Standardized on ObjectDrawer (~1000 lines deleted)
3. LoadGraphicsSheetsIntoArena Removed - Using per-room graphics (~66 lines)
4. Old Tab System Removed - EditorCard is the standard
5. Texture Atlas Infrastructure - Future-proof stub created
6. Test Suite Cleaned - Deleted 1270 lines of redundant tests

UI Improvements

• Room ID in card title: [003] Room Name
• Properties reorganized into clean 4-column table
• Compact layer controls (1 row instead of 3)
• Room graphics canvas height fixed (1025px → 257px)
• Object count in status bar

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Architecture

Component Overview

DungeonEditorV2 (UI Layer)
├─ Card-based UI system
├─ Room window management  
├─ Component coordination
└─ Lazy loading

DungeonEditorSystem (Backend Layer)
├─ Sprite/Item/Entrance/Door/Chest management
├─ Undo/Redo functionality
├─ Room properties management
└─ Dungeon-wide operations

Room (Data Layer)
├─ Self-contained buffers (bg1_buffer_, bg2_buffer_)
├─ Object storage (tile_objects_)
├─ Graphics loading
└─ Rendering pipeline

Room Rendering Pipeline

TODO: Update this to latest code.

1. LoadRoomGraphics(blockset)
   └─> Reads blocks[] from ROM
   └─> Loads blockset data → current_gfx16_

2. LoadObjects()
   └─> Parses object data from ROM
   └─> Creates tile_objects_[]
   └─> SETS floor1_graphics_, floor2_graphics_ ← CRITICAL!

3. RenderRoomGraphics() [SELF-CONTAINED]
   ├─> DrawFloor(floor1_graphics_, floor2_graphics_)
   ├─> DrawBackground(current_gfx16_)
   ├─> SetPalette(full_90_color_dungeon_palette)
   ├─> RenderObjectsToBackground()
   │   └─> ObjectDrawer::DrawObjectList()
   └─> QueueTextureCommand(UPDATE/CREATE)

4. DrawRoomBackgroundLayers(room_id)
   └─> ProcessTextureQueue() → GPU textures
   └─> canvas_.DrawBitmap(bg1, bg2)

5. DrawObjectPositionOutlines(room)
   └─> Colored rectangles by layer
   └─> Object ID labels

Room Structure (Bottom to Top)

Understanding ALTTP dungeon composition is critical:

Room Composition:
├─ Room Layout (BASE LAYER - immovable)
│  ├─ Walls (structural boundaries, 7 configurations of squares in 2x2 grid)
│  ├─ Floors (walkable areas, repeated tile pattern set to BG1/BG2)
├─ Layer 0 Objects (floor decorations, some walls)
├─ Layer 1 Objects (chests, decorations)
└─ Layer 2 Objects (stairs, transitions)

Doors: Positioned at room edges to connect rooms

Key Insight: Layouts are immovable base structure. Objects are placed ON TOP and can be moved/edited. This allows for large rooms, 4-quadrant rooms, tall/wide rooms, etc.

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Next Development Steps

High Priority (Must Do)

1. Door Rendering at Room Edges

What: Render doors with proper patterns at room connections

Pattern Reference: ZScream's door drawing patterns

Implementation:

void DungeonCanvasViewer::DrawDoors(const zelda3::Room& room) {
  // Doors stored in room data
  // Position at room edges (North/South/East/West)
  // Use current_gfx16_ graphics data
  
  // TODO: Get door data from room.GetDoors() or similar
  // TODO: Use ObjectDrawer patterns for door graphics
  // TODO: Draw at interpolation points between rooms
}

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2. Object Name Labels from String Array

File: dungeon_canvas_viewer.cc:416 (DrawObjectPositionOutlines)

What: Show real object names instead of just IDs

Implementation:

// Instead of:
std::string label = absl::StrFormat("0x%02X", obj.id_);

// Use:
std::string object_name = GetObjectName(obj.id_);
std::string label = absl::StrFormat("%s\n0x%02X", object_name.c_str(), obj.id_);

// Helper function:
std::string GetObjectName(int16_t object_id) {
  // TODO: Reference ZScream's object name arrays
  // TODO: Map object ID → name string
  // Example: 0x10 → "Wall (North)"
  return "Object";
}

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4. Fix Plus Button to Select Any Room

File: dungeon_editor_v2.cc:228 (DrawToolset)

Current Issue: Opens Room 0x00 (Ganon) always

Fix:

if (toolbar.AddAction(ICON_MD_ADD, "Open Room")) {
  // Show room selector dialog instead of opening room 0
  show_room_selector_ = true;
  // Or: show room picker popup
  ImGui::OpenPopup("SelectRoomToOpen");
}

// Add popup:
if (ImGui::BeginPopup("SelectRoomToOpen")) {
  static int selected_room = 0;
  ImGui::InputInt("Room ID", &selected_room);
  if (ImGui::Button("Open")) {
    OnRoomSelected(selected_room);
    ImGui::CloseCurrentPopup();
  }
  ImGui::EndPopup();
}

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Medium Priority (Should Do)

6. Fix InputHexByte +/- Button Events

File: src/app/gui/input.cc (likely)

Issue: Buttons don't respond to clicks

Investigation Needed:

• Check if button click events are being captured
• Verify event logic matches working examples
• Keep existing event style if it works elsewhere

Lower Priority (Nice to Have)

9. Move Backend Logic to DungeonEditorSystem

What: Separate UI (V2) from data operations (System)

Migration:

• Sprite management → DungeonEditorSystem
• Item management → DungeonEditorSystem
• Entrance/Door/Chest → DungeonEditorSystem
• Undo/Redo → DungeonEditorSystem

Result: DungeonEditorV2 becomes pure UI coordinator

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Quick Start

Build & Run

cd /Users/scawful/Code/yaze
cmake --preset mac-ai -B build_ai
cmake --build build_ai --target yaze -j12

# Run dungeon editor
./build_ai/bin/yaze.app/Contents/MacOS/yaze --rom_file=zelda3.sfc --editor=Dungeon

# Open specific room
./build_ai/bin/yaze.app/Contents/MacOS/yaze --rom_file=zelda3.sfc --editor=Dungeon --cards="Room 0x00"

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Testing & Verification

Debug Commands

# Verify floor values load correctly
./build_ai/bin/yaze.app/Contents/MacOS/yaze --rom_file=zelda3.sfc --editor=Dungeon 2>&1 | grep "floor1="

# Expected: floor1=4, floor2=8 (NOT 0!)

# Check object rendering
./build_ai/bin/yaze.app/Contents/MacOS/yaze --rom_file=zelda3.sfc --editor=Dungeon 2>&1 | grep "Drawing.*objects"

# Check object drawing details
./build_ai/bin/yaze.app/Contents/MacOS/yaze --rom_file=zelda3.sfc --editor=Dungeon 2>&1 | grep "Writing Tile16"

Related Documentation

• Architecture Overview (../developer/architecture.md) - Core architectural patterns
• Debugging Guide (../developer/debugging-guide.md) - Debugging workflows
• Legacy context - This document supersedes the legacy F1-dungeon-editor-guide.md.

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Last Updated: October 10, 2025
Contributors: Dungeon Editor Refactoring Session