Dev Diary #16: A game-agnostic map tool, settings owned by the game

In short: MKA Engine's map tool is no longer embedded in one game's settings folder: every command explicitly receives the game folder it works with, and there is no default game. The game owns its map settings and the intermediate outputs that depend on them; defining a setting twice or leaving a required one out is an error. The tool also has a small standalone example game.

Think of a workshop that prints a grand strategy map. The workshop provides the cutting and packing machinery; the game's own files say which coastlines, borders and regions to use. This week we reorganized the map tool to preserve that separation: the tool is general, while settings and game-specific map content belong to the game.

The game folder is explicit on every command#

Previously the tool and one game's folder were intertwined. That made it harder to serve a second game: it was unclear where the tool ended and the game's settings began.

Now every game-dependent command receives the game folder explicitly. There is no default game or hidden alias. The tool can also run with a small pilot game of its own, so trying the pipeline does not require the Mandates of History folder.

The game owns its settings#

Raw world data alone is not enough to build a map. The game chooses which border year to use, how locations are partitioned and which rules prepare intermediate layers. Those settings therefore live in the game's folder; the tool reads and applies them.

The same rule applies to intermediate outputs that depend on those settings. An output that uses a game's setting as input is written to the game folder too. Every setting and output has one owner: a setting cannot be defined separately in both the tool and the game; if a required setting is missing, the tool reports an error. That prevents two sources from silently producing different maps.

A concrete example is the state borders used by the province hierarchy. The game must choose which year's borders to use; the game also decides whether provinces may cross those borders. The tool does not make that choice on its own.

One tool, different game folders#

The map tool provides a method for building a world map; it does not carry Mandates of History's region definitions by itself. The pilot game lives alongside the tool so the pipeline can be tried independently. Mandates of History's map settings remain in the game's own repository and folder.

The point of this separation is not to redesign one game's map. It is to develop the tool's method and the game's choices without mixing them up. When another game provides its own settings folder, the tool can use that game's rules.

What it costs#

• Not verified with a second real game. The tool ran with the pilot game and Mandates of History settings; it was not run end to end with the full settings of another game.
• No map benchmark. This change concerns structure and ownership; build time and memory were not compared.
• The game maintains its settings. If the game's map settings are missing or conflict, the tool does not resolve the choice on the game's behalf; it surfaces the error.

Frequently asked questions#

For the map tool and MKA Engine overview, see the MKA Engine page. An earlier diary on map-key persistence: Permanent keys on a game map. For questions or comments, reach us through the contact page.