XGrid is a highly modular framework designed to be an exceptional starting point for your next grid based game. It draws inspiration from franchises like Fire Emblem and beloved classics like Final Fantasy Tactics. This framework has a large number of out of the box features that players and devs have come to expect from modern grid based games.

A Robust Grid Zoning System

This framework's zoning system is built to enable level designers to quickly take their ideas and execute them in the level builder. Devs can use simple overlap volume blueprints to designate impassable terrain and strategic terrain types. They can also conform grid cells to sloping and elevated terrain to give their levels a strong sense of verticality.

Grid View and Cinematic Combat

XGrid supports combat at the grid-level view, as well as cinematic combat on battlefields. The transition from grid to battlefield view is seamless, allowing for immersive gameplay. Each of the unique out of the box character units come with their own fully commented cinematic attack sequences, as well as more modest grid level attack sequences. These sequences are fully animated, have Niagara VFX systems, and have straightforward implementations that are both replicable and customizable. The cinematic combat system has camera utilities for positioning and panning to bring your attack sequence ideas into the game without having to worry about complicated vector math.

Skills, Items, and Status Effects

Skills(Spells/Abilities/etc.), items, and status effects are par for the course in today's strategy game environment. This framework allows for the quick development of all three. Skills and items can be single target or area of effect, and can be offensive or supportive. Your clerics can have healing and support spells. Your mages can shoot fireballs that inflict burn and lightning strikes that paralyze. Your swampy terrain can inflict a slow or poisoning effect on units that enter it. Skills and items are easily customizable and include fully commented blueprint examples for their visual effects.

Asset Creation Pipelines

XGrid has simple yet flexible pipelines for creating new characters, items, skills, status effects, terrain types, enemy AI behavior, and more. These pipelines prioritize taking your ideas and quickly translating them into functional aspects of your game. Each asset type has a corresponding asset development video, where I walk through the asset creation stages. These pipelines offer a practical way forward for teams on a tight timeline, but are flexible enough to allow for creative game design. Many new skills, items, and status effects can be made by simply adding an entry to an enumeration and filling out a data table row.

Smart and Configurable Combat Rule System

This framework supports multiple rule types for grid based combat. It supports counterattack style combat (a la Fire Emblem) as well as double attacks (for units with speed advantages over their targets). The counterattack logic includes expected behavior for ranged units that outrange their targets. All of these rules can be enabled or disabled with a simple click of a checkbox in a data table.

Intelligent Game Manager

XGrid's game manager facilitates the turn based transition of actions between a player team and an AI controlled enemy team. It comes with multiple victory/defeat conditions, including eliminating all members of a team, capturing a strategic objective, or eliminating a team's leader. It also processes status effects with turn durations.

Enemy AI

XGrid offers an enemy AI system that combines both targeting priorities and general enemy behavior. Both targeting priorities and behavior types are enumeration based and afford easy extension. You can assign these enumeration values for enemy units when they spawn, and add your own targeting and behavior types to further develop your enemy's strategy and tactics. These functionalities are fully commented for clarity and ease of use.

Blueprint and C++ Pathfinding

XGrid offers out of the box blueprint pathfinding using an A* algorithm. It also supports a free C++ plugin that can be easily added and configured to boost your game's performance for pathfinding on larger levels. I have not seen C++ pathfinding available through other grid based frameworks, even though it is certainly required for projects with larger grid sizes and unit counts.

VFX

XGrid comes with many out of the box Niagara assets and fully commented blueprints that control them. These VFX assets are used with items, skills, and both cinematic and grid-level combat.

User Interface

XGrid's user interface allows the player to pleasantly control player unit actions and see all relevant information regarding terrain, combat, skills, items, and status effects. Progress bars are animated and placed pleasantly in both user interface elements and in the 3D game world. Status effect icons glow and display information when focused by the player.

Discord Support and Learning Resources

Working with a game framework can put devs in a precarious position. XGrid is well organized and commented, but often times this isn't enough for devs to master the framework. That's why I run a discord server where I can respond to questions either through text or over an audio call. I frequently check the discord for questions, and have even helped some devs work through new mechanics they designed for their own projects. I love building games, and don't mind taking the time to make sure you feel confident developing with this framework. This support is not unlimited-- I can't help you build your entire game. What I can do is answer framework specific questions and point you in the right direction to make your own mechanics.

I also offer tutorial videos for making in game assets. There are currently seven tutorials covering the basics of using XGrid. Some examples include grid setup, the terrain zoning system, and asset creation (characters, items, skills, status effects, etc.). Three more videos are in production based on feedback from developers.

External Links

Discord Support
https://discord.gg/tZtM5UQPjN

Promo Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0PO8PoK_Gk

Documentation

https://www.unrealization.com/xgrid

Tutorial Playlist

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJUAfT-ptkeDmor0vBTVXeIPaUpX5KCyv

Cinematic Combat Tutorials
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJUAfT-ptkeDy3Yf1fapZr58_QTOSEofw&si=o3ppT322NemgLx9c

C++ Plugin Configuration Guide

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBw1D51NpZM

Unrealization Webpage

https://www.unrealization.com/

AI Generated Asset Notice

Some status effect and item icons in the framework user interface were created based on images generated by an AI image model.

I am currently seeking an artist to replace these assets. Feel free to send an email and a portfolio link to the email below if you want to help me redo these icons on commission.

Questions, comments, or concerns?

Send an email with the subject Support, Consultation, or Inquiry to [email protected]