BZW(5) BZFlag BZW(5) NAME bzw - BZFlag world file format DESCRIPTION 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 de- fault 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 con- cluded with enddef and endface. Attributes may be listed in any order. At- tributes 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 at- tribute. 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 proper- ties: 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 ex- amp_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 on- cap 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 trig- ger 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 spe- cific 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 FILE SYNTAX 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> <inte- ger>{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 SEE ALSO bzflag(6), bzadmin(6), bzfs(6) BZFlag 2.4.26 2026-08-27 BZW(5)
NAME | DESCRIPTION | FILE SYNTAX | SEE ALSO
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