The hex map

The world is a grid of hexagons. Each hex has a biome — Green Plains, Dry Plains, Desert, Frozen Tundra, Jungle, Wasteland, Volcanic, or Ocean. The biome affects how the hex looks, how NPCs dress and talk, and what buildings the Location Wizard generates.

Enemies are placed by you when you create enemy templates — you choose which biomes they appear in.

Biomes

Telling which biome you're on. A hex's biome is shown by its art — the border and terrain drawn around the hex. Green Plains reads as grassland, Desert as sand, Ocean as water, and so on. There's no biome name in the HUD; you read it off the map.

Adding a new hex. Open worldbuilding mode. Every empty space touching your existing map shows a small + button. Click it and pick a biome for the new hex from the list.

Changing a hex's biome. A biome is set when the hex is created and can't be changed afterward. To swap one, delete the hex and add a new one in its place with the biome you want. Deleting a hex removes everything on it — see Deleting hexes for what's affected before you do it. The starting hex can't be deleted, so its biome is permanent.

Why hexes don't have interior texture. The area inside a hex's borders is deliberately flat — an Ocean hex looks like the starting hex apart from its edges. The map is drawn as a map, in the tabletop sense, rather than as terrain seen from above. Biome, roads, rivers, and stamps carry the detail.

Isometric and 2D views

Isometric and 2D views

The map renders in isometric perspective by default — buildings, hexes, and terrain all have depth and a tabletop feel. If you prefer a flat top-down view, toggle with the 2D/3D button in the bottom-right corner. Your preference is saved per browser.

Camera

Walking

Click somewhere on the map to start moving toward it. Your character walks at a fixed speed and the route trail is drawn behind you. Walking takes time — long trips can advance the time of day or trigger ambient events.

Encounters

Walking through a biome can trigger an encounter, but only if you've created at least one enemy template for that biome. Without templates, the world is safe to wander. See Combat for how encounters play out.

Settlements on the map

Settlements are outlined areas on the map — zoom in to see the layout with streets, buildings, and NPC tooltips. You don't "enter" a settlement separately; it's all part of the same map view. Walk to a building and click it to go inside.

Map themes

The hex map's visual style matches your world's genre:

Map themes affect the terrain tiles, roads, and visual presentation of the hex grid.

Idle timeout

Idle timeout indicator

If you're inactive for 5 minutes, the simulation auto-pauses so the world doesn't keep advancing without you. Any mouse, keyboard, or touch input resumes it immediately.