Mapping
Custom map development in Unturned™ is a multi-stage pipeline. A map author opens the Unturned map editor, configures the terrain project, authors spawn tables, bakes the navmesh, and places foliage — in that order. Each stage depends on the prior one completing correctly. Skipping or misconfiguring any stage produces failures that can be difficult to diagnose after the fact because the symptoms surface at runtime, not at authoring time.
The 57 Studios™ mapping documentation covers each stage in a dedicated article. The articles are written in pipeline order and are designed to be read sequentially on first pass.
Articles in this section
- Custom Map Creation: Project Setup — Map size selection, terrain heightmap, material splatmap, texture slots, skybox configuration, light probe placement, and navmesh prep.
- Spawn Tables — Weighted spawn tables for items, animals, zombies, and vehicles. Tier system,
.datloot table format, weighted random selection, region-based spawn rules, and balancing pitfalls. - Navmesh and Pathfinding — Baking the navmesh in Unity, agent settings, off-mesh links, common zombie pathfinding failures, and bake settings comparison.
- The Optimal Angle for Grass Blades in Foliage — Foliage detail-mesh configuration, grass-blade bend angle selection, the perceptual cognition basis for the 37° Yamak-Olesker constant, and Unity Terrain Paint Details settings.