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FireRat edited this page Jun 27, 2026 · 3 revisions

FireMaze

Blender Version License

A Blender 4.2+ extension for generating, editing, and customizing tile-based mazes. Supports rectangular and polar (circular) grids, two construction modes (thin walls and cube pillars), 10 generation algorithms, procedural rooms, looping and obstacle controls, image masking, custom collection randomization, interactive viewport editing, real-time pathfinding guides, vertex painting, prop/decor spawning, multilevel mazes with stairs, and full session save/load to disk.

FireMaze


Features

Grid Types

  • Rectangular Grid — Standard width × depth cell layout. All algorithms, rooms, loops, entrances/exits, and masking supported.
  • Polar (Circular) Grid — Concentric rings with radially-divided sectors. Sector count increases outward for a natural circular look. Three tile alignment modes: Procedural Only, Trapezoidal Scaling, and Polar Bending (Warp).

Wall Construction Modes

  • Thin Wall Mode — Walls rendered as thin box segments along grid lines with customizable thickness. Classic dungeon-layout aesthetic.
  • Cube Mode — Walls as full tile-sized cubes centered on grid cells. Respects exact layout dimensions.
  • Tiled Height — Optionally stack walls in tile-height increments for consistent UV mapping.

10 Generation Algorithms

Algorithm Style
Depth-First Search Recursive backtracker; long winding corridors
Kruskal's Random edge merging; short corridors, many dead-ends
Eller's Row-by-row, memory-efficient; distinct row structure
Binary Tree Simple/fast; bias toward north/east corridors
Prim's Randomized MST; balanced, highly branching
Hunt-and-Kill Random walk + scan; long winding corridors
Sidewinder Row-by-row horizontal runs; strong horizontal bias
Wilson's Loop-erased random walk; unbiased uniform spanning tree
Recursive Division Recursive subdivision with single doors; nested chambers
Growing Tree Hybrid frontier (50% DFS / 50% Prim's); highly customizable

Each algorithm exposes bias parameters (0.0–1.0) to control straightness, direction, selection, merge probability, and other behavior.

Procedural Rooms

Carve open rectangular clearings within the maze. Configurable count (1–50) and size bounds. Rooms auto-connect to the corridor network and respect image masks.

Loops & Isolated Obstacles

  • Loop Probability — Removes extra walls to create non-perfect mazes with multiple paths.
  • Isolated Wall Probability — Places standalone pillar obstacles in open cells.

Entrances & Exits

Two modes: Find Center (path from edges to the maze center) and Find Exit (path from edge to edge). Configurable sides (N/S/E/W/Random), multiple entrances/exits (1–10), and emergency exits for rectangular grids.

Interactive Viewport Editor

Modal editor for painting walls directly in the 3D viewport:

  • Left-click — Toggle wall on/off.
  • Shift+left-click — Cycle custom mesh indices per face.
  • Stair tool (multilevel only) — Click to place/remove stairs; shift+click to rotate orientation.
  • Incremental rebuild with dirty-cell tracking for instant response.
  • Auto-exits on workspace switch or Esc/Enter.

Guide Path

BFS-based shortest path from entrance to exit(s) or center. Three display styles:

  • Curve — NURBS path.
  • Tube — Solid mesh tube.
  • Ribbon — Flat ribbon. Optional sine-wave animation with configurable amplitude and frequency.

Custom Tiles & Collections

Assign individual meshes or entire collections (randomized distribution) for floors, walls, roofs, stairs, and ramps. Face cycling per cell direction. Instanced Pillars mode for whole-mesh cube pillars. Clean Wall Corners extends faces at thin-wall intersections to close gaps.

Vertex Painting (4 Modes)

  • Ambient Occlusion — Darkens corners and seams.
  • Texture Blend Weights — RGBA encodes Moss/Cracks/Wetness/Soot maps.
  • Path Highlight — Greens floor tiles along the shortest path.
  • Distance Gradient — Black-to-white based on BFS distance from entrance.

Prop & Decor Spawner

Automatically place torches on walls, chests in dead-ends (oriented toward the open direction), and doors at entrances/exits. Density controls per prop type. Props grouped under scoped sub-collections.

Multilevel Mazes

Up to 20 floors with stair/ramp connections. Configurable stair footprint (1×1 spiral, 1×2 straight, 2×2 U-turn), direction, and style (stair or ramp). Floor thickness adds visual depth with physical slab geometry between levels.

Shape Boundaries & Image Masking

  • Shape Boundaries — Diamond, Triangle, and Hexagon outer silhouettes with rotation (0°/90°/180°/270°).
  • Image Masking — Black-and-white image defines walkable areas (white = walkable, black = blocked). Supports invert.

Session Management

  • Save Session — Exports all settings, pointers, and full grid data to .json.
  • Load Session — Restores a complete maze from a .json file.
  • Autosave / Crash Recovery — Automatically saves on every generation. Restore or discard after a crash.
  • Image Export — Save maze layout as PNG or in-memory Blender Image datablock.

Post-Processing

  • Merge objects (single wall object or full merge).
  • Remove doubles (vertex welding).
  • Lightmap UV generation (Smart UV Project or Lightmap Pack).
  • Planar dissolve (coplanar face optimization).
  • Collider generation (floor/walls/roof with optional merge and optimization).

Quick Start

  1. Install — Zip the FireMaze/ directory and install via Edit → Preferences → Get Extensions → Install from Disk....
  2. Open the panel — In the 3D Viewport, press N to open the sidebar and select the FireRat tab.
  3. Configure — Pick a Grid Type (Rectangular or Polar), set dimensions, choose a Wall Mode (Thin or Cube).
  4. Generate — Click Generate Maze. The default Depth-First Search algorithm works well for a first run.
  5. Edit (optional) — Click Interactive Edit to paint walls in the viewport. Left-click toggles walls; Shift+left-click cycles meshes.

Wiki Pages

Page Description
Features & Settings Full reference of wall modes, grid types, all 10 algorithms with bias parameters, rooms, loops, entrances/exits, guide path, custom tiles and collections, and detailed transforms
Usage & Management Object categories, material slots, collection structure, session save/load, autosave recovery, image export, and scene cleanup
Interactive Editor Viewport editing controls, stair placement, incremental rebuild, dirty-cell tracking, and edit helper mesh
Vertex Painting & Post-Processing All 4 vertex paint modes, lightmap UV generation, object merging, collider generation, and planar dissolve optimization
Prop & Decor Spawner Torch, chest, and door placement rules, density controls, dead-end detection, and sub-collection scoping
Multilevel Mazes Floor configuration, stair and ramp styles, floor thickness, and level navigation in the viewport editor
Shape Boundaries & Image Masking Diamond/triangle/hexagon boundary shapes with rotation, image mask workflow, and invert options
Polar (Circular) Grids Rings, sectors, custom tile alignment modes (Procedural, Trapezoidal, Warp), and polar-specific properties
FAQ & Troubleshooting Common issues, performance tips, crash recovery workflow, and known limitations

Links

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