Building Schema Reference

This document describes every field in building.schema.json, the canonical schema for defining buildings and structures in DINOForge.

Overview

Buildings are static structures placed on the map that provide resource production, troop training, research, and defensive functions. Each building is defined in a YAML file under buildings/ in your pack.

Buildings must:

• Have a unique id within the pack
• Have a human-readable display_name
• Define their costs and production (if applicable)

File Format and Location

File: packs/<pack-id>/buildings/<building-id>.yaml

Example:

id: clone_barracks
display_name: Clone Barracks
building_type: barracks
description: Trains clone trooper infantry units

cost:
  food: 0
  wood: 100
  stone: 80
  iron: 40
  gold: 10
  population: 0

health: 300
production:
  infantry_slots: 4
  training_speed: 1.0

Required Fields

id

• Type: string
• Min Length: 1
• Pattern: ^[a-z0-9_]+$ (lowercase, underscores, no hyphens)
• Description: Unique building identifier within the pack
• Example: clone_barracks, droid_factory, galactic_senate

id: clone_barracks

display_name

• Type: string
• Min Length: 1
• Description: Human-readable name shown in-game (UI, menus, tooltips)
• Example: Clone Barracks, B1 Factory, Droid Control Ship

display_name: Clone Barracks

Optional Fields

description

• Type: string
• Description: Flavor text or tooltip description explaining the building's purpose and effects
• Example: Trains elite clone trooper units. Increases unit morale by 10%.

description: Trains clone trooper infantry units

building_type

• Type: string
• Description: Functional category for organization and filtering
• Common values (not enforced, use what fits your game):
  • barracks — Unit training
  • factory — Unit manufacturing
  • economy — Resource production
  • defense — Defense structures
  • research — Technology/research
  • command — Command center
  • storage — Resource storage

building_type: barracks

cost

• Type: object
• Description: Resource cost to construct this building

cost.food

• Type: integer
• Minimum: 0
• Description: Food cost
• Default: 0

cost.wood

• Type: integer
• Minimum: 0
• Description: Wood cost
• Default: 0

cost.stone

• Type: integer
• Minimum: 0
• Description: Stone cost
• Default: 0

cost.iron

• Type: integer
• Minimum: 0
• Description: Iron cost
• Default: 0

cost.gold

• Type: integer
• Minimum: 0
• Description: Gold cost
• Default: 0

cost.population

• Type: integer
• Minimum: 0
• Description: Population slots required (typically 0 for buildings)
• Default: 0

Example:

cost:
  food: 0
  wood: 100
  stone: 80
  iron: 40
  gold: 10
  population: 0

health

• Type: integer
• Minimum: 0
• Description: Total hit points. Building is destroyed when health reaches 0.
• Typical ranges:
  • 100-200: Light structures (walls, watchtowers)
  • 300-600: Medium structures (barracks, factories)
  • 800+: Heavy fortifications (fortresses, command centers)

health: 300

production

• Type: object
• Additional Properties: integer
• Description: Resource or unit production rates. Keys are arbitrary production types defined by your modding scheme.

Common keys (examples — customize as needed):

• food_per_tick — Food generated per game tick
• wood_per_tick — Wood generated per game tick
• infantry_slots — Maximum infantry units in training queue
• training_speed — Multiplier for unit training speed (1.0 = normal)
• research_speed — Multiplier for research speed
• morale_bonus — Morale boost to nearby units
• armor_bonus — Armor boost to nearby structures

Example:

production:
  food_per_tick: 2
  wood_per_tick: 1
  infantry_slots: 4
  training_speed: 1.0

Another example (economy building):

production:
  food_per_tick: 5
  wood_per_tick: 3

Defense building example:

production:
  armor_bonus: 5
  morale_bonus: 10

Complete Examples

Military Building — Barracks

id: clone_barracks
display_name: Clone Barracks
building_type: barracks
description: Trains clone trooper infantry units. Increases nearby unit morale by 15%.

cost:
  food: 0
  wood: 100
  stone: 80
  iron: 40
  gold: 10
  population: 0

health: 400

production:
  infantry_slots: 4
  training_speed: 1.0
  morale_bonus: 15

Economy Building — Farm

id: moisture_farm
display_name: Moisture Farm
building_type: economy
description: Extracts water and cultivates food. Generates consistent food supply.

cost:
  food: 0
  wood: 50
  stone: 40
  iron: 0
  gold: 0
  population: 0

health: 200

production:
  food_per_tick: 3

Defense Structure — Turret

id: combat_turret
display_name: Combat Turret
building_type: defense
description: Defensive turret with automated targeting. Guards the area.

cost:
  food: 0
  wood: 0
  stone: 60
  iron: 80
  gold: 20
  population: 0

health: 250

production:
  armor_bonus: 8
  fire_range: 10
  damage_output: 8

Command Center — Senate

id: galactic_senate
display_name: Galactic Senate
building_type: command
description: Command center for faction leadership. Increases research speed and provides vision.

cost:
  food: 0
  wood: 200
  stone: 150
  iron: 100
  gold: 50
  population: 0

health: 600

production:
  research_speed: 1.3
  vision_range: 50
  morale_bonus: 25

Manufacturing — Droid Factory

id: droid_factory
display_name: B1 Battle Droid Factory
building_type: factory
description: Mass-produces B1 battle droid units for rapid deployment.

cost:
  food: 0
  wood: 80
  stone: 100
  iron: 120
  gold: 40
  population: 0

health: 500

production:
  droid_slots: 6
  training_speed: 1.2

Design Patterns

Tier 1 (Early Game) Structure

cost:
  wood: 50
  stone: 30
  iron: 0
  gold: 0
health: 150
production:
  basic_slots: 2

Tier 2 (Mid Game) Structure

cost:
  wood: 100
  stone: 80
  iron: 40
  gold: 10
health: 400
production:
  standard_slots: 4
  speed_bonus: 1.0

Tier 3 (Late Game) Structure

cost:
  wood: 200
  stone: 150
  iron: 100
  gold: 50
health: 800
production:
  elite_slots: 6
  speed_bonus: 1.3
  vision_range: 50

Validation Rules

When validating building files, DINOForge checks:

1. Required fields present: id, display_name
2. ID format: Matches ^[a-z0-9_]+$
3. Type correctness: All numbers are integers, cost is object with number values
4. Numeric ranges: health >= 0, cost values >= 0
5. Production values: All production values are non-negative integers

Best Practices

• Balanced costs: More powerful buildings should cost more
• Health values: Reflect structural durability (walls are fragile, fortresses are resilient)
• Production naming: Use descriptive keys like training_slots instead of generic value1
• Descriptions: Always include flavor text describing the building's function
• Consistency: Use the same cost multipliers across all buildings of a tier
• Production bonuses: Keep bonus values reasonable (10-30% range for most modifiers)
• Building types: Use consistent naming across your pack for organization

Relationship to Units

Buildings typically:

• Train units (via infantry_slots, droid_slots, etc.)
• Boost nearby unit performance (via morale_bonus, armor_bonus)
• Provide economy (via *_per_tick production)
• Support research and tech advancement

Reference the Unit Schema Reference to understand units trained by buildings.

See Also

• Unit Schema Reference
• Creating Packs
• Quick Start
• Asset Pipeline — Add 3D models to buildings