bzw - Man Page

The BZFlag world file format describes a world environment that is used by the BZFlag game server, bzfs. X BZW file format

The BZFlag world file format describes and environment that includes the game map, physical world attributes, and automatic world weapons. The map may contain a variety of "obstacles" like buildings, pyramids, and meshes.  These obstacles make up the world that the BZFlag tanks will drive around in.  Map attributes may be set to create worlds of various sizes, the default size is 800x800.

Here is small example world:

# simple world containing a box, pyramid, and mesh
world
 name Simple World
 size 100.0
end
box
 position -20 -20 0
 size 10 20 10
end
pyramid
 position 20 20 0
 size 10 10 20
end
mesh
 vertex -10 0 0
 vertex 10 0 0
 vertex 0 10 0
 face
   vertices 0 1 2
 endface
end

The .bzw file is a plain text file with a relatively simple file format.  The format of this text file consists of any number of objects listed in any order (except that physics, textureMatrix, dynamicColor, and material must come before they are referenced) separated by newlines and grouped into blocks of types. The list of world types consists of:
world
options
waterLevel
dynamicColor
textureMatrix
transform
material
physics
define
group
mesh
meshbox
meshpyr
arc
cone
sphere
tetra
box
pyramid
link
teleporter
base
weapon
zone

Each object is described by placing the type on one line, the word end on a following line, and a list of attributes for that object, one per line, in between. The exceptions to the rule are define and face, which are concluded with enddef and endface.  Attributes may be listed in any order. Attributes have default values, and if that is good enough, the attribute need not be listed.

Words are always specified in lowercase. Line comments can be specified by placing a # sign at the start of the line.

For documentation purposes, you can tag each object by adding a name attribute. There is no set limit to the number of times you may use any of the objects except for the world, options, and waterLevel objects, they can only be specified once. The options object contains command line arguments that are used to configure the server's game mode, but can not contain server specific options such as -p, -passwd, and -conf.

In the following examples, the values are the defaults.

The World object
Header for the world.

world
 name example_world
 size 400.0
 flagHeight 10.0
end

The Options object
A world file interface for setting command line options for BZFS.

options
 -set _tankSpeed 36
 -j +r -ms 3
 +f GM{5} +f SW{5}
end

The Water Level object
Sets how high the water is, in a matter of units.

waterLevel
 name example_waterlevel
 height -1.0 # anything below 0 turns it off
end

The Group Definition object
Defines a group, which may include other group instances
This does not place any objects into the world, a group instance must be used to generate world objects from a group definition.

define <example_groupdef>
 # You can add any object to a group definition,
 # except for the following types:
 #   textureMatrix
 #   dynamicColor
 #   material
 #   physics
 #   links
 #   weapon
 #   zone
enddef

The Group Instantiation object
Instantiates a group, and possibly modifies subobjects

group <example_groupdef>  # a valid group definition reference
 shift 0 0 0          # (repeatable)
 scale 1 1 1          # (repeatable)
 shear 0 0 0          # (repeatable)
 spin angle nx ny nz  # (repeatable)
                      # angle degrees about vector n
 team 0        # change all base colors within group
 tint 1 1 1 1  # hierarchically tints objects within this group
 drivethrough  # make all subobjects drivethrough
 shootthrough  # make all subobjects shootthrough
 ricochet     # make all subobjects ricochet  phydrv example_phydrv     # reassign any valid physics drivers
 matref example_material # set material properties

                           # (except for the color)
matswap oldMat newMat #replace a given material in the instance
end

The Dynamic Color object

dynamicColor
 name example_dyncol
 # there are 4 channels that can be modified:
 #   red, green, blue, alpha
 # there are 5 types of commands per channel:
 #   limits, sinusoid, clampUp, clampDown, sequence
 # except for "limits" and "sequence", the commands are repeatable
 # if a sequence is used, then clampUps and clampDowns have no effect
 # sequences can use three states (0, 1, 2).
 #   0 - equivalent to an active clampDown
 #   1 - equivalent to no clamps
 #   2 - equivalent to an active clampUp
 # if both clampUp and clampDown are active, the value is (min+max)/2
 # the sinusoid function starts at the max value
 # the sum of a channel's sinusoids is clamped between 0 and 1
 red limits 0 1               # min/max limits
 green sinusoid 0.1 0 0.25    # period, offset, weight
 blue clampUp 0.1 0 0.75      # period, offset, width
 alpha clampDown 0.2 0.5 0.5  # period, offset, width
 red sequence 0.0 0.0 2 0 1 1 2 0 ... # period, offset, list of states
end

The Texture Matrix object

textureMatrix
 name example_texmat
 scale 0.0 0.0 1.0 1.0  # u/v freqs, u/v scales
 spin 0.0               # rotation freq
 shift 0.0 0.0          # u/v freqs
 center 0.5 0.5         # dynamic u/v center (for spin and scale)
 fixedscale 0.0 0.0     # time invariant u/v scale
 fixedspin 0.0          # time invariant rotation
 fixedshift 0.0 0.0     # time invariant u/v shift
end

Material Properties

Material properties may be set on several types of objects, including meshes, mesh faces, arcs, cones, spheres, and tetras. Here are the properties:

material
 name example_material
 resetmat                  # restore default values
 matref material_name      # copy another material's properties
 ambient  0.2 0.2 0.2 1.0  # ambient color
 diffuse  1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0  # diffuse color (main color)
 color    1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0  # synonym for 'diffuse'
 specular 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0  # specular color
 emission 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0  # emission color
 shininess 0.0             # shininess (0.0 – 128.0)
 texture filename     # set working texture
 # - non-interlaced PNG
 # - http:// or ftp:// hyperlinks can be used  (no spaces)
 # - BZFlag default texture names can be used  (.png not required)
 addtexture filename  # add texture
 notextures           # specify that no textures are to be used
 notexalpha           # don't use the texture's alpha channel
 notexcolor           # the color is not applied to the texture
 # if a texture is specified, but not found, the default texture
 # will be used. if the default texture is also not available, then
 # the color will be used (untextured)
 spheremap            # use spherical texture coordinate mapping
 texmat -1            # texture matrix  (-1 for none)
 dyncol -1            # dynamic color  (-1 for none)
 noradar              # do not display on radar  (except normal mode)
 noshadow             # do not render shadows
 noculling            # do not cull by face winding  (double-sided)
 nosorting            # do not do front-to-back alpha sorting
 nolighting           # disable lighting
 alphathresh 0.0      # alpha thresholding value
 groupalpha           # sort translucent faces as a group
 occluder             # faces with this material will occlude
end

The Physics Driver object

physics
 name example_phydrv
 linear  0.0 0.0 0.0  # x/y/z linear velocities
 angular 0.0 0.0 0.0  # rotation freq, x/y coordinates
 slide 0.0            # time until max velocity  (> 0.0 enables)
 death Message goes here.
 # the 'death' property requires a non-blank message
end

The Mesh object

mesh
 name example_mesh
 # Material properties applied to a mesh apply to all faces
 # that follow the setting. Mesh faces will alter their own
 # properties without affecting the state of the mesh properties.
 # The same pattern is used to apply physics drivers.
 vertex 100 200 300  # add a vertex              (repeatable)
 normal 1.0 0 0      # add a normal              (repeatable)
 texcoord 0.1 0.75   # add a texture coordinate  (repeatable)
 inside 5.5 4.5 1.2  # add an inside point       (repeatable)
 outside 0 0 1000    # add an outside point      (repeatable)
 shift 0 0 0           # (repeatable)
 scale 1 1 1           # (repeatable)
 shear 0 0 0           # (repeatable)
 spin angle nx ny nz   # (repeatable)
 phydrv example_phydrv # assign a physics driver
 smoothbounce          # ricochets use normals
 noclusters            # render each mesh face individually
 face  # start a face   (repeatable)
   # the front-face winding is counter-clockwise
   vertices 1 4 0 3 5   # list of vertices (requires at least three)
   normals 2 6 0 4 7    # list of normals              (optional)
   texcoords 0 3 2 4 9  # list of texture coordinates  (optional)
   phydrv example_phydrv  # assign a physics driver
 endface  # end the face
 #
 #  This next element can be added to increase the rendering speed
 #  of the mesh object. If the client is capable of using this data,
 #  then it is used to draw the mesh instead of the face information.
 #
 drawInfo
   dlist                      # display list for all material sets
   decorative                 # older clients with not see this mesh
   angvel <degrees/sec>       # rotation about initial Z axis
   extents <minX> <minY> <minZ> <maxX> <maxY> <maxZ>
   sphere <x> <y> <z> <radiusSquared>
   corner <v> <n> <t>         (repeatable)
   vertex 0.0 0.0 0.0         (repeatable)
   normal 0.0 0.0 0.0         (repeatable)
   texcoord 0.0 0.0           (repeatable)
   lod                        (repeatable)
     lengthPerPixel <value>
     matref <name>            (repeatable)
       dlist                  # display list for this material set
       sphere <x> <y> <z> <radiusSquared>
       points    0            (repeatable)
       lines     0 1          (repeatable)
       lineloop  0 1          (repeatable)
       linestrip 0 1          (repeatable)
       tris      0 1 2        (repeatable)
       tristrip  0 1 2        (repeatable)
       trifan    0 1 2        (repeatable)
       quads     0 1 2 3      (repeatable)
       quadstrip 0 1 2 3      (repeatable)
       polygon   0 1 2        (repeatable)
     end  # matref
   end    # lod
 end      # drawInfo
end        # mesh

The Arc object

arc
 name example_arc
 divisions 16   # number of subdivisions
 flatshading    # flat shading  (smooth is default)
 angle 360      # the sweep angle
 ratio 1        # (outrad - inrad) / outrad
 position 0.0 0.0 0.0
 size 10 10 10
 rotation 0.0
 shift 0 0 0            # (repeatable)
 scale 1 1 1            # (repeatable)
 shear 0 0 0            # (repeatable)
 spin angle nx ny nz    # (repeatable)
 phydrv example_phydrv  # assign a physics driver
 smoothbounce           # ricochets use normals
end

The Cone object

cone
 name example_cone
 divisions 16   # number of subdivisions
 flatshading    # flat shading  (smooth is default)
 angle 360      # the sweep angle
 position 0.0 0.0 0.0
 size 10 10 10
 rotation 0.0
 shift 0 0 0            # (repeatable)
 scale 1 1 1            # (repeatable)
 shear 0 0 0            # (repeatable)
 spin angle nx ny nz    # (repeatable)
 phydrv example_phydrv  # assign a physics driver
 smoothbounce           # ricochets use normals
end

The Sphere object

sphere
 name example_sphere
 divisions 4    # number of subdivisions
 flatshading    # flat shading  (smooth is default)
 position 0.0 0.0 10.0
 size 10 10 10
 radius 10      #  sets all size values to this value
 rotation 0.0
 shift 0 0 0            # (repeatable)
 scale 1 1 1            # (repeatable)
 shear 0 0 0            # (repeatable)
 spin angle nx ny nz    # (repeatable)
 phydrv example_phydrv  # assign a physics driver
 smoothbounce           # ricochets use normals
end

The Tetrahedron object

tetra
 name example_tetra
# there must always be 4 vertices
 vertex -10.0 -5.0 0.0
 vertex +10.0 -5.0 0.0
 vertex 0.0 10.0 0.0
 vertex 0.0 5.0 10.0
 shift 0 0 0            # (repeatable)
 scale 1 1 1            # (repeatable)
 shear 0 0 0            # (repeatable)
 spin angle nx ny nz    # (repeatable)
end

The Box object
Adds a simple block.

box
 name example_box
 position 0.0 0.0 0.0
 size 30.0 30.0 9.42
 rotation 0.0
end

The Pyramid object
Adds a triangular shaped object.

pyramid
 name example_pyramid
 position 0.0 0.0 0.0
 size 8.2 8.2 10.25
 rotation 0.0
end

The Teleporter object
Adds an object that places a tank at another teleporter in a different area when ran through.

teleporter [name]
# the [name] tag is used for linkage
 name example_teleporter
 position 0.0 0.0 0.0
 size 5.06 4.48 20.16
 rotation 0.0
 border 1.12
end

The Link object
Adds a route to teleport a tank between two teleporters.

# Teleporter names are terminated with either :f (forward)
# or :b (backwards). The forwards link points to 0 degrees,
# and the backwards link points to 180. Links are made by
# pattern matching the teleporter names. The '*' and '?'
# globbing characters can be used to make multiple matches.
# If there are multiple matches for the "to" link, then the
# destination will be selected randomly between the matches.
# in-game.

# NOTE: bzfs -d -d -d -d will print the linkage table.

link
 name example_link
# this will link all teleporters randomly to all other teleporters
 from *
 to   *
end

# or, to link  between known teleporters examp_tele1(front) and examp_tele2(back)

link
 name  example_realLink
 from examp_tele1:f
 to examp_tele2:b
end

The Base object
Creates a team base where the corresponding team's flag is stored. The oncap option will fire a world weapon of the specified type when the team flag for this base is captured.

base
 name example_base
 position 0.0 0.0 0.0
 size 60.0 60.0 0.0
 rotation 0.0
 color 0
 oncap V
end

The Weapon object
Creates a world weapon, or a weapon fired automatically by the world. The weapon can either be timed or be event driven. Timed weapons should use the initdelay and delay fields. Event driven weapons need to use the trigger option to define what the trigger event is. Valid trigger events are; OnCap, for flag capture events. OnSpawn, for player spawn events. OnDie, for player death events. If the weapon is to be triggered only for a specific team then the eventteam option should be used with a team number (1 to 4). An eventteam value of -1 will trigger this weapon for any team. -1 is the default eventteam value.

weapon
 name example_weapon
 position 0.0 0.0 0.0
 rotation 0.0
 tilt 0.0
 initdelay 10.0
 delay 10.0 3.0 5.0 3.0
 type V
 trigger flagcap
 eventteam V
end

The Zone object
Specifies a certain range in the world, and what attributes that range has.

zone
 name example_zone
 position 0.0 0.0 0.0
 size 1.0 1.0 1.0
 rotation 0.0
# where players may spawn
 team 0 1 2 3 4
# where flag may spawn
 flag GM SW good bad
# dropped team flags will fly to the closest safety zone
 safety 1 2 3 4
# attach a flag to this zone (always spawn in this zone)
 zoneflag GM 3  # type, count (type can be a team flag, ex: R*)
end

The symbol '?' means that the item is optional.

The notation {a..b} means that the number of times the item can be present must be between 'a' and 'b', where '*' mean infinity. ('?' is equivalent to {0..1})

angle := <float>

2dpoint := <float> <float>

3dpoint := <float> <float> <float>

rgbColor := <float> <float> <float>

alpha := <float>

rgbaColor := rgbColor alpha? | <color_name> alpha?

channel := "red" | "green" | "blue" | "alpha"

(BZWReader.cxx/parseNormalObject)

allObjects :=

 "box"
| "pyramid"
| "base"
| "link"
| "teleporter"
| "mesh"
| "arc"
| "meshbox"
| "cone"
| "meshpyr"
| "sphere"
| "tetra"
| "weapon"
| "zone"
| "waterLevel"
| "dynamicColor"
| "textureMatrix"
| "material"
| "physics"
| "transform"

(BZWReader.cxx/BZWReader::readWorldStream)

Note: Blank lines and lines starting with # are discarded.

worldStream :=

 "end"
| allObjects
| "define" <group_name>
| "enddef"
| "group" <group_name>
| "teleporter" <name>?
| "options"
| "include" <filename>
| "world"

(ParseMaterial.cxx/parseMaterials)

material :=

object
| "matref" <material_name>
| "resetmat"
| "dyncol" <dynamic_color_name>
| "ambient" rgbaColor
| ("diffuse" | "color") rgbaColor
| "specular" rgbaColor
| "emission" rgbaColor
| "shininess" <float>
| "texture <texture_name>
| "notextures"
| "addtexture" <texture_name>
| "texmat" <matrix_name>
| "notexalpha"
| "notexcolor"
| "spheremap"
| "noradar"
| "noshadow"
| "noculling"
| "nosorting"
| "nolighting"
| "alphathresh" <value>
| "groupalpha"
| "occluder"
| "shader" <shader_name>  # NOT IMPLEMENTED
| "addshader" <shader_name>  # NOT IMPLEMENTED
| "noshaders"  # NOT IMPLEMENTED

(WorldFileObject:.cxx/WorldFileObject::read)

object := "name" <name>

(WorldFileLocation.cxx/readWorldFileLocation::read)

location :=

 ("pos" | "position") 3dpoint
| "size" 3dpoint
| ("rot" | "rotation") <float>
| "shift" 3dpoint
| "scale" 3dpoint
| "shear" 3dpoint
| "spin" angle 3dpoint
| "xform" <transform_name>
| object

(WorldFileObstacle.cxx/WorldFileObstacle::read)

obstacle :=

 "drivethrough"
| "shootthrough"
| "passable"
| "ricochet"
| location

(CustomArc.cxx/CustomArc::read)

meshbox :=

 "divisions" <integer>
| "angle" angle
| "ratio" <float>
| "texsize" <float> <float> <float> <float>
| "phydrv" <physics_driver_name>
| "smoothbounce"
| "flatshading"
| material
| ("top" | "bottom" | "inside" | "outside" | "startside" | "endside") material
| obstacle

arc :=

 "divisions" <integer>
| "angle" angle
| "ratio" <float>
| "texsize" <float> <float> <float> <float>
| "phydrv" <physics_driver_name>
| "smoothbounce"
| "flatshading"
| material
| ("top" | "bottom" | "inside" | "outside" | "startside" | "endside") material
| obstacle

(CustomBase.cxx/CustomBase::read)

base :=

 "color" <integer>
| obstacle

(CustomBox.cxx)

box := obstacle

(CustomCone.cxx/CustomCone::read)

meshpyr :=

 "divisions" <integer>
| "angle" <float>
| "texsize" <float> <float>
| "phydrv" <physics_driver_name>
| "smoothbounce"
| "flatshading"
| material
| ("edge" | "bottom" | "startside" | "endside") material
| "flipz"
| obstacle

cone :=

 "divisions" <integer>
| "angle" <float>
| "texsize" <float> <float>
| "phydrv" <physics_driver_name>
| "smoothbounce"
| "flatshading"
| material
| ("edge" | "bottom" | "startside" | "endside") material
| obstacle

(CustomDynamicColor.cxx/CustomDynamicColor::read)

dynamicColor :=

 object
| channel "limits" <float> <float>
| channel "sinusoid" <float> <float> <float>
| channel "clampup" <float> <float> <float>
| channel "clampdown" <float> <float> <float>
| channel "sequence" <float> <float> ("0" "1" "2"){1..*}

(CustomGate.cxx/CustomGate::read)

teleporter :=

 "border" <float>
| "horizontal"  # NOT IMPLEMENTED
| obstacle

(CustomGroup.cxx/CustomGroup::read)

group :=

 "team" <integer>
| "tint" rgbaColor
| "phydrv" <physics_driver_name>
| "matref" <material_name>
| obstacle

(CustomLink.cxx/CustomLink::read)

teleporter_spec :=

 <integer>
| <teleporter_name_with_wildcards> (":f" | ":b")?

link :=

 "from" <teleporter_spec>
| "to" <teleporter_spec>
| object

(MeshDrawInfo.cxx/MeshDrawInfo::parseDrawCmd)

drawInfoCmd :=

 "points"    <integer>+
| "lines"     <integer> <integer> <integer>{2}*
| "lineloop"  <integer> <integer>+
| "linestrip" <integer> <integer> <integer{2}*
| "tris"      <integer> <integer> <integer> <integer>{3}*
| "tristrip"  <integer> <integer> <integer>+
| "trifan"    <integer> <integer> <integer>+
| "quads"     <integer> <integer> <integer> <integer> <integer>{4}*
| "quadstrip" <integer> <integer> <integer>{2}+
| "polygon"   <integer> <integer> <integer> <integer>{3}*

(MeshDrawInfo.cxx/MeshDrawInfo::parseDrawSet)

drawInfoSet :=

 "matref" <material_name>
| "dlist"
| "sphere" 3dpoint <float>
| drawInfoCmd

(MeshDrawInfo.cxx/MeshDrawInfo::parseDrawLod)

drawInfoLod :=

 "lod"
| "lengthPerPixel" <float>
| drawInfoSet

(MeshDrawInfo.cxx/MeshDrawInfo::parse)

drawInfo :=

 "drawInfo"
| "dlist"
| "decorative"
| "angvel" <float>
| "extents" 3dpoint 3dpoint
| "sphere" 3dpoint <float>
| "corner" <integer> <integer> <integer>
| "vertex" 3dpoint
| "normal" 3dpoint
| "texcoord" <float> <float>
| drawInfoLod

(CustomMesh.cxx/CustomMesh::read)

mesh :=

 "face"
| face
| "endface"
| "inside" 3dpoint
| "outside" 3dpoint
| "vertex" 3dpoint
| "normal" 3dpoint
| "texcoord" <float> <float>
| "phydrv" <physics_driver_name>
| "smoothbounce"
| "noclusters"
| drawInfo
| material
| obstacle

(CustomMeshFace.cxx/CustomMeshFace::read)

face :=

 "vertices" <integer>{3..*}
| "normals" <integer>{3..*}
| "texcoords" <integer>{3..*}
| "phydrv" <physics_driver_name>
| "smoothbounce"
| "noclusters"
| "drivethrough"
| "shootthrough"
| "ricochet"
| "passable"
| material

(CustomMeshTransform.cxx/CustomMeshTransform::read)

transform :=

 "shift" 3dpoint
| "scale" 3dpoint
| "shear" 3dpoint
| "spin" angle 3dpoint
| "xform" <transform_name>
| object

(CustomPhysicsDriver.cxx/CustomPhysicsDriver::read)

physics :=

 "linear" 3dpoint
| "angular" <float> 2dpoint
| "radial" <float> 2dpoint  # NOT IMPLEMENTED
| "slide" <float>
| "death" <string>
| object

(CustomPyramid.cxx/CustomPyramid::read)

pyramid :=

 "flipz"
| obstacle

(CustomSphere.cxx/CustomSphere::read)

sphere :=

 "divisions" <integer>
| "radius" <float>
| ("hemi" | "hemisphere")
| "texsize" <float> <float>
| "phydrv" <physics_driver_name>
| "smoothbounce"
| "flatshading"
| material
| ("edge" | "bottom") material
| obstacle

(CustomTetra.cxx/CustomTetra::read)

Note: At most 4 vertices can be specified.
Note2: material will apply to all vertices when specified first, otherwise like "normals" and "texcoords" they apply to the previous vertex.

tetra :=

 "vertex" 3dpoint
| "normals" 3dpoint
| "texcoords" 2dpoint
| material
| obstacle

(CustomTextureMatrix.cxx/CustomTextureMatrix::read)

textureMatrix :=

 "fixedshift" 2dpoint
| "fixedscale" 2dpoint
| "fixedspin" angle
| "fixedcenter" 2dpoint
| "shift" <float> <float>
| "spin" <float>
| "scale" <float> <float> <float> <float>
| "center" 2dpoint
| object

(CustomWaterLevel.cxx/CustomWaterLevel::read)

waterLevel :=

 "height" <float>
| material
| object

(CustomWeapon.cxx/CustomWeapon::read)

weapon :=

 "initdelay" <float>
| "delay" <float>{1..*}
| "type" <flag_short_name>
| location

(CustomWorld.cxx/CustomWorld::read)

world :=

 "size" <float>
| "flagHeight" <float>
| object

(CustomZone.cxx/CustomZone::read)

zone :=

 "team" <integer>{1..*}
 "flag" ("good" | "bad" | <flag_short_name>){1..*}
| "safety" <integer>{1..*}
| "zoneflag" <flag_short_name> <integer>?
| location

bzflag(6), bzadmin(6), bzfs(6)

bzadmin(6), bzflag(6), bzfs(6).