Level Design Terminology

Level Design Terminology - Sandbox2 Editor

CRYENGINE 3 Manual The CRYENGINE Manual is a comprehensive resource for learning how to use CRYENGINE Sandbox (up to version 3.8.6) and its tools.

The entire manual can be found here: http://docs.cryengine.com/display/SDKDOC2/Home Why are we referencing the Cryengine 3 manual and not version 2, it's because much of version 2 has been time warped from existence. Most all of verson 3 will apply to the Sandbox2 Editor. Some of the key things that you will be working within the Sandbox2 Editor are below:

~Level Design Terminology from Sandbox2 Manual~

ENTITIES and OBJECTS

Entities are everything that can interact with anything in any way, or things that are actions, events, or can lead to events. They can also be added and used in stream graphs, which makes them quite versatile objects. However, adding a lot of entities can slow down the work, so try not to fill your level with them. Examples: Triggers, Earthquakes, Destructible Objects, Lights
More info can be found here: http://docs.cryengine.com/display/SDKDOC2/Common+Entity+Parameters

Geometry entities (Geometry Entity)
Geometric entities are objects that can have physical properties applied to them, although they contain only a few basic parameters responsible for physicalization and manipulation. However, they do not greatly affect performance, which makes them ideal for most objects on maps. Examples: Crates, Furniture, Small Props A Geom Entity is a very simple entity that takes its physical parameters from its assigned geometry.
More info can be found here: http://docs.cryengine.com/display/SDKDOC2/Geom+Entities

Prefabs, prefabricated objects (Prefab)
Prefabs are groups of brushes and / or entities. For example, you can place a hut and decorate it with requisites and put furnishings inside, and then make a prefab of all this. If this prefab is in several places, even on several levels, and you decide to change something in the central prefecture, then this will be reflected in all prefabs of this type. Like archetypal entities, prefabs are good for reconciliation. Examples: Buildings, Water Towers, Bridges The Prefabs Library is a part of The DataBase View.
More info can be found here: http://docs.cryengine.com/display/SDKDOC2/Prefabs

Archetype Entity
Archetype entities are a class of entities that are constant throughout the game Crysis. If you change the entity property in the library of archetypes, this will affect all archetypes of this type that are placed at all levels. Archetype entities can also have special properties, for example, the pressure of a barrel of oil. They can be edited in the database and applied to the entities through the game. Examples: AI Grunts (Not for Mutiplay), Weapons, Explosive Barrels, etc. Archetype Entities are organized in libraries which can be created in The DataBase View.
More info can be found here: http://docs.cryengine.com/display/SDKDOC2/Archetype+Entity

Brushes, Brush
Brashes are static objects that can only be manipulated by the main methods (for example, whether they actually cast a shadow). However, some brushes can be set up so that they remain in a fixed position, but they can collapse, such as fences. Brush can not be added or used in Flowgraph, nor does it greatly affect performance. They use the same library as geometric entities, so the models that you want to place on your map from the library can be placed on any one. Examples: Walls, Sandbags, Buildings, Fences Typically brushes are static objects placed in the world. They are one of the cheapest rendered objects in the world as they don't have any of the entity or physics overhead of other objects.
More info can be found here: http://docs.cryengine.com/display/SDKDOC2/Brushes

MATERIALS
Material Editor
This is the database of all textures and shaders that can be applied to entities and objects. By default, it contains all the CryTek materials for Crysis, which can be used to create your own. In the materials editor, you can specify maps such as diffusion, normals, mirroring, and select shaders such as the Parallax Occlusion map for the material.
More info can be found here: http://docs.cryengine.com/display/SDKDOC2/Material+Editor+and+Shaders

Decals
Placing decals in a level is a simple way to break up uninteresting textures, as well as bring together various level elements like brushes and terrain. Decals are use throughout most Maps.
More info can be found here: http://docs.cryengine.com/display/SDKDOC2/Decals

Diffuse Maps
They add color to your material. This is an unprocessed image that you see on entities and objects. Often they are made from photographs. A Diffuse map is the most common kind of texture map. It defines the color and pattern of the object. Mapping the diffuse color is like painting an image on the surface of the object.
More info can be found here: http://docs.cryengine.com/display/SDKDOC2/Diffuse+Maps

Normal and Bump Maps
They add textures, and they allow you to display a larger number of geometry on a low polygon mesh, they do this, by providing information about the light on the surface of the mesh. Normal maps represent a mixture of blue, green and red light, and reacts depending on the height of the surface. Normal mapping is one of the standard techniques used in CRYENGINE to add details to a surface without increasing the number of polygons. A normal map can represent surface details like wrinkles, scratches and beveled edges by storing the corresponding surface normals in a texture.
More info can be found here: http://docs.cryengine.com/display/SDKDOC2/Normal+Maps

Specular Maps
It simulates the strength of the reflection of light, which will fall into it, not many objects spread the reflected light uniformly on its surface. Maps of specularity have black and white colors, and the whiter the color, the stronger the reflection of light. In most cases, the conversation is referred to as "speculator".
More info can be found here: http://docs.cryengine.com/display/SDKDOC2/Specular+Maps

Maps of Parallax Occlusion
They strengthen the normal and bump maps, providing greater depth. They work by calculating the angle to the surface and combining it with a height map that is in the alpha channel of the normal map.
More info can be found here: http://docs.cryengine.com/display/SDKDOC2/Parallax+Occlusion+Mapping

FORMS, VOLUMES and AREAS
Forbidden Area
This area defines the space in which players can not enter. This is useful to avoid unnecessary collisions with objects, or to restrict free movement.
More info can be found here: http://docs.cryengine.com/display/SDKDOC2/Advanced+AI+Behavior#AdvancedAIBehavior-ForbiddenAreas
More info can be found here: http://docs.cryengine.com/display/SDKDOC2/AI+Control+Objects#AIControlObjects-ForbiddenArea(Obsolete)

Forbidden Boundaries
Forbidden boundaries are objects of the "form" type that can be used to determine the boundaries in your level, for which players will not go over. In contrast to the restricted area. Do not try to leave the area inside the forbidden border.
More info can be found here: http://docs.cryengine.com/display/SDKDOC2/AI+Control+Objects#AIControlObjects-ForbiddenArea(Obsolete)

Visibility Scope (VisArea)
This is an area in which space inside is completely excluded from the outside world. Including light source, rendering (ocean, landscape, sun, caves etc.). Therefore it is useful to determine the interiors in which VisArea wraps itself with the walls of the interior.
More info can be found here: http://docs.cryengine.com/display/SDKDOC2/VisArea+and+Portals

Portals
Portals together with VisAreas form "windows". For example, connected together two VisArea, in fact, will display only one player. They can be used for building windows, and will allow the light to enter the room. They are critical to achieving an effective area of ​​visibility. In the life of modders there is a proverb: "Where there is VisArea, there will be a portal."
More info can be found here: http://docs.cryengine.com/display/SDKDOC2/VisArea+and+Portals

Areas of Occlusion (Occluder Areas)
Although the occlusal areas are already embedded in the brush, you can place your own. The occlusion area hides any object that is 100% in a certain area, thus improving the frame rate.
More info can be found here: http://docs.cryengine.com/display/SDKDOC2/Area+Objects#AreaObjects-OccluderArea
More info can be found here: http://docs.cryengine.com/display/SDKDOC2/Area+Objects

Shape
This area has many uses, and is often associated with triggers, to activate the action, when the entities of the form are reached.
Shape tool allows for the creation of Primitives, Curve, Disc, Line, Rectangle, Box, Sphere, Cylinder and Cone. It's limited to your imagination as to what you can create.
More info can be found here: http://docs.cryengine.com/display/SDKDOC2/Shape+Tools

STREAM GRAPH
Flow Graph
The stream graph is a convenient visual script system implemented in CryENGINE 2. It is used to create such aspects of the level as mission logic, triggers, activation of the scripted sequence and animation. In the terminology of modellers, it is common to use the name "flow-graph".
More info can be found here: http://docs.cryengine.com/display/SDKDOC2/The+Flow+Graph+Window

Nodes
These functions can put an entity on a map, or from a large list into the engine itself. Examples: DepthOfField
More info can be found here: http://docs.cryengine.com/dosearchsite.action?queryString=Nodes&startIndex=0&where=SDKDOC2

Links
This is the connection between two nodes in one visual chain.
More info can be found here: http://docs.cryengine.com/display/SDKDOC2/Grouping+and+Linking+Objects

Ports
Input and output ports that connect nodes.
More info can be found here: http://docs.cryengine.com/dosearchsite.action?queryString=Ports&startIndex=0&where=SDKDOC2