Editing Template Editor (section)

== Object Settings ==

=== General ===

The list of allowed objects can be customized, as well as object generation parameters. Object customization can be set at template level - settings will apply to the whole map - and/or at zone level. It takes the form of an ordered list of rules.

RMG has an initial, default list of available objects, along with default parameters for objects. You can add custom rules to amend this list or/and these parameters. There are two types of rules you can add:

* "Disable" rules: remove an object (or a group of objects) from the list;
* "Enable / Edit" rules: add an object to the list and/or change the parameters for this object. Rules are applied in the order they are listed, each rule taking precedence over the previous ones. In some cases, rules order matters. For example, if you want to disable all objects except a few, you need to first add a "disable everything" rule, and then add rules to re-allow specific objects. Whereas if the "disable everything" rule is at the end of the list, all objects will be disabled regardless what the previous rules are.

Rules defined at template level apply before rules defined at zone level. It means that zone-specific rules always override general rules.

Rules of type "Disable" can target a single object, but also groups of objects of the same kind (for example, all [[Pandora's Box]], all Creature Banks, etc). You can also disable all objects at once.

However, only objects that follow the [[#treasure_generation|regular generation process]] can be disabled. Object rules cannot be used to disable:

* Towns/castles;
* Mines and [[#mines|the few resources that come with]] - those will not be affected even if the resource type is disabled;
* Unprotected [[Keymaster's Tent]]s [[#border_guard_connection|dedicated to zone connections]] - but [[Keymaster's Tent]]s [[#keymasters_tent_the_object|dedicated to protect valuable objects]] can be disabled. These objects are managed using other zone and connection settings. In addition, via zone settings it is not possible to preclude [[#quest_artifact_for_seers_hut|Seer's Huts]] and groups of objects that may appear due to the presence of [[#keymasters_tent_the_object|Keymaster's Tent]] located in another zone (unless, of course, by disabling [[Seer's Hut]] quest artifacts or [[Keymaster's Tent]] for the entire template).

Rules of type "Allow / Edit" require to set object parameters: value, frequency, maximum count on the map and per zone (maximum count on the map can only be set at template level, and not at zone level). If the object is already part of the allowed objects list, then its parameters will be overridden by the custom ones. Otherwise, the object will be added to the list with the custom parameters.

Parameters can be left unchanged by setting them to "default". A parameter set to "default" will not be changed when the rule is applied. If the new object is added, "defaulted" parameters will have the values from the template settings (the list of objects that is created by adjusting only template level rules to default list). If there is no such object in this list, "defaulted" parameters will have the default, hard-coded value (see [[#object_default_settings|here]]). Thus, by setting all parameters to "default", you can simply allow the object to be generated in a standard way.

Dwellings, [[Pandora's Box]] with creature reward, and [[Seer's Hut]] quest artifacts with creature reward can be disabled, enabled, or customized individually (for each creature type), but also by entire level. If so, parameters defined for an entire creature level will be individually applied to each object, for each creature. It is recommended to use this mechanism instead of customizing individual objects, because each zone can only host objects with creatures from [[#zone_faction|a single faction]].

=== Restrictions ===

Adding an object to the list of allowed objects does not guarantee that it will actually appear on the map / in the zone. Here are some of the limitations that should be considered when managing objects:

* Many objects can only be generated on specific terrain types (see [[#object_default_settings|this section]]). This cannot be changed. However, it is possible to select appropriate terrain types in zone settings, in order to guarantee that a specific object can be hosted in a specific zone.
* Many objects have restrictions on the maximal count on the map and per zone. These cannot be changed.
* As stated in [[#treasure_generation|this previous section]], objects are always selected within a range of values. If an object has a value that exceeds all three treasure ranges of a zone, then the object cannot be selected when filling the zone. And even if object value exactly matches the maximum of the treasure range, the chances for the object to be selected for this range are very small, unless both minimum and maximum values of the treasure range are the same. If an object has a value lower than one quarter of the lowest treasure maximum, then the object cannot be generated as "first choice", but only as a complement for an object group. If the minimum value of all ranges is greater than 500, then objects of value 100 are almost never generated, because they cannot be selected as "first choice", and can hardly be selected as a complement for an object group, due to the generation rules described [[#treasure_generation|before]].
* When setting the list of objects in a zone, one must ensure that for any value in any treasure range, there is at least one object that fits between 25% and 100% of this value, and is not limited in number. Otherwise, RMG may not be able to create any object for a given random value, and after several failed attempts, zone filling will stop, even if more objects could eventually have been generated with other random values. To avoid such situation, it is recommended to always enable a sufficient number of objects of different values. It is also recommended to avoid very wide treasure ranges (like 100-30000), because it increases the chances of randomly picking a value that is not suitable for any object. Instead, try to use several shorter ranges that match the values of allowed objects.
* It is recommended to ensure that in each zone, there is a sufficient number of one-cell objects - that is, with a single trigger cell and without obstacle cells (for example, Resources, Artifacts, [[Pandora's Box]], [[Serpent Fly Hive]] and fit into treasure ranges. Otherwise, due to the amount of obstacles in the zone, RMG cannot place large objects properly, and may interrupt object generation, leaving some areas empty.
* For external dwellings, for [[Pandora's Box]] with creatures, and for [[Seer's Hut]] quest artifacts with creatures, value cannot be customized. It is calculated based on the number of zones with towns/castles of different factions. But you can adjust the treasure ranges of zones so they include required values.
* When maximal number per zone is defined for [[Pandora's Box]] with creatures and for [[Seer's Hut]] quest artifacts with creatures, it could be doubled if only level of unit is selected. F.e. if only 1 level 2 pandora is allowed, two will be created instead - one with archers and one with marksman (upgraded level 2). Similarly, selecting f.e. max of 1 quest artifact for level 5 may create 3 boxes on neutral zone - troll, gold golem and fangarm.
* External dwellings, [[Pandora's Box]] with creatures and [[Seer's Hut]] quest artifacts with creatures can be generated only in zones where [[#zone_faction|zone faction]] is the same as creature faction. But it is possible to [[#force_neutral_creatures|force zone faction to be neutral]].
* Sometimes an object is rarely generated due to its low frequency. Increasing object frequency increases the probability of generation.
* Entrance to a building will not be generated directly above another building entrance, at least 1 square will be left. F.e. shrine will not be placed directly on top of another shrine. This doesn't count pickable objects or terrain. [pending for tests]