WorldLattice Documentation

Welcome to WorldLattice—a fast, rule-driven worldbuilding toy for painting samples and generating tiny, living worlds. This guide covers installation, core concepts, controls, and tips for creating the vibes you want.

Core Concepts

• Grid – A 2D tile grid where you paint. Each tile is a small “cell” in the world generator.

• Brush – The thing you paint with: usually a tile type or material (ground, water, rock, etc.).

• Sample / Pattern – Internally, WorldLattice looks at your painted grid as patterns and learns “how the world should look.” (Think: puzzle rules.)

• Generation – The step where your doodle becomes a 3D world using those patterns.

• Snapshot – A stored “state” of paint + generation. It lets you bookmark an interesting result and come back.

You don’t need to understand the math, but under the hood it’s basically a constraint solver (similar to Wave Function Collapse)

Controls

Mouse

• Left Click (Paint mode) – Paint with the active brush.

• Left Click + Drag – Paint continuously as you drag.

• Right Click – Erase (paint “empty” / air).

• Middle Click / Wheel Click – (Optional) Pan, if you’ve enabled it.

• Mouse Wheel – Zoom camera in/out.

Camera

• Hold Right Mouse + drag – Orbit around the world (Generation view).

• Hold Middle Mouse + drag – Pan the camera.

• Scroll Wheel – Zoom in/out.

Keyboard (typical layout)

• Q / E – Brush rotatio in Painting mode.

• Tab – Toggle between Paint and Generation.

• Ctrl+Z – Undo last paint or action.

• Ctrl+Y – Redo.

• G – Generate world from current painting.

• P – Capture screenshot.

Modes

Paint Mode

Paint Mode is where you doodle your intent.
While in Paint Mode:

• The center view shows the flat tile grid.

• Your brush cursor snaps to tiles.

• The bottom snapshot strip shows previews (if implemented).

What you can usually do:

• Paint tiles with left click.

• Erase tiles with right click.

• Change brush type (brush palette / toolbar).

• Clear the whole canvas (button like “Clear”).

• Create a snapshot of the current painting.

Generation Mode

Generation Mode is where the 3D magic happens.
When you switch to Generation Mode:

1. WorldLattice reads your painted grid as a sample.

2. It extracts patterns and rules from your doodle.

3. It runs the generator and builds a tiny 3D world.

In this mode you can:

• Orbit, pan, and zoom the camera.

• Regenerate (button like Regenerate or hotkey).

• Capture screenshots.

• Store or update snapshots tied to this painting.

If the generator fails or looks weird, try:

• Simplifying the painting (cleaner blobs, fewer tiny noisy dots).

• Using more filled areas and fewer isolated pixels.

Brushes & Tiles

WorldLattice is tile-based: each brush paints a tile ID onto the grid.
Typical brushes (examples – rename to your actual names):

• Ground – Basic solid tile.

• Water – Becomes ponds / rivers in generation.

• Rock / Cliff – Makes raised cliffs, walls, or rocks.

• Detail / Foliage – Small accents.

• Eraser / Empty – Clears a tile (air).

Selecting a brush

• Use the toolbar on the side: click the icon to select a brush.

Brush Rotation (if you add it)

• Q / E – Rotate the current brush (90° steps).

• The preview should show the orientation.

• This is useful for directional tiles (roads, cliffs, stairs).

Programming note for you:
Rotation is usually just changing the tile’s orientation index or mapping to a rotated tile ID, not rotating geometry at runtime. Internally it can be as simple as an integer (0–3) or a bitmask.

Snapshots

Snapshots are your save slots for ideas, not just one big save.
Each snapshot typically stores:

• The painting on the grid

• The parameters used for generation (where applicable)

• Maybe the last generated result (or a seed)

You’ll see them as thumbnail cards in a strip (bottom or side).

Creating a snapshot

1. Set up your painting.

2. Click + / New Snapshot.

3. WorldLattice captures the current state and shows a thumbnail.

Updating a snapshot

• Select an existing snapshot.

• Change your painting or regenerate.

• Click Update / Overwrite (or whatever button you expose).

Switching between snapshots

• Click a snapshot thumbnail to load its painting and world.

• Use arrow keys if you support cycling.

Treat snapshots as experiments, not precious saves. Duplicate and mutate them.

Painting Workflow

Here’s a basic loop:

1. Block out shapes

   • Big, simple blobs (islands, streets, platforms).

   • Avoid noisy, checkerboard clutter at first.

2. Add structure

   • Use different brushes for different “materials” or zones.

   • For example: ground center, rock border, water pockets.

3. Add hints

   • Place a few details where you want “interesting spots” (peaks, dense areas, edges).

4. Generate

   • Switch to Generation Mode and hit Generate.

5. Evaluate and tweak

   • If it’s too noisy → simplify the painting.

   • Too repetitive → add more variation in the sample area.

   • Generator stuck → clean up disconnected tiny islands.

This approach works because the generator is basically learning rules from your sample painting. Good sample → good rules.

Generation Workflow

Once you’re in Generation Mode:

1. Generate

   • Press Generate (or hotkey G).

   • Wait for the world to appear.

2. Explore

   • Orbit and zoom around the world.

   • Look for interesting silhouettes and details.

3. Regenerate with same painting

   • Hit Regenerate to reroll using the same sample.

   • You’ll get variants that follow the same style.

4. Return to Paint Mode

   • Press Tab to go back.

   • Make a small change (add/remove tiles).

   • Generate again and see how it affects the result.

5. Promote a result

   • If you love one world:

     • Capture a screenshot.

     • Optionally create / update a snapshot slot so you can revisit that setup.

Camera

In Paint Mode

• Camera may be fixed or simple (top-down orthographic is common).

• Zoom to focus on smaller areas when painting details.

Typical controls:

• Scroll Wheel – Zoom.

• Middle Mouse / Right Drag – Pan.

In Generation Mode

• Right Mouse + drag – Orbit.

• Middle Mouse + drag – Pan.

• Scroll Wheel – Zoom.

• Reset View button – snaps camera back to a default angle (top-down is nice).

Good camera defaults make or break screenshots, so set a flattering default angle and distance.

Saving & Loading (if implemented)

• Save – Stores snapshots, painting, and configuration in a file.

• Load – Restores previous work.

Screenshots & Sharing

WorldLattice is meant to be shared.

Taking screenshots

• Use the Screenshot button in the UI, or

• Press F12 (or your chosen key).

• The game saves an image file to a Screenshots folder next to the executable.

Sharing

• You can post screenshots and GIFs anywhere.

• I’d love to see them in #wl-share-your-world on the Discord server.

Settings / Options (lightweight)

Tips & Troubleshooting

My world looks messy / chaotic

• Your sample painting probably is too noisy.

• Try:

  • Larger blocks of the same tile.

  • Fewer isolated dots.

  • Removing “TV static” patterns.

Generation fails or gets stuck (if you expose this)

• Clear the grid and start simpler.

• Avoid conflicting patterns (e.g., impossible corners everywhere).

Note

Keep options minimal and understandable. This is a toy, not Blender.

Feedback & Support

Found a bug or have a feature request? Reach out on the WorldLattice Discord or the contact page.