Tutorials

09. Quick Reference / Overview

In a nutshell, Crackpot Assembly allows you to create customizable modular environments which you can download for 3d printing. Additionally, the site also allows you to share your creations with the community by making them public, to view Public Assemblies, and to download Public Assemblies to either print on your own and/or to Edit as you see fit Here’s a step by step guide explaining the nature of this website/system/service. Please refer to the Glossary of Terms if necessary.

 

MODULARITY

Refers to the capability of connecting pieces together in order to  assemble an environment. With Crackpot Assembly this can be done both horizontally and vertically. There are a several essential pieces:

 

CONNECTORS

With each .zip file we include several different kinds of connectors.  Two of them are OpenLOCK clips created by Printable Scenery, and one is a variation that I came up with.  They each have their pros and cons, and you can decide for yourself which method works best for you.

 

Double: very solid connection but harder to disassemble; good for relatively permanent assemblies
Magnet: weak connection, requires magnets and epoxy, but very easy to assemble/disassemble
Crackpot Pegs: a compromise between the two

 

BASE TILES

One of these base tiles correlates to 5’ on a typical TTRPG grid.

  • There’s one cavity on each side for the connectors to  connect to
  • On the underside there are four cavities for Corner Pegs to fit into
  • Each Base Tile has a submerged area in the middle for the rare cases when a tile needs to show that something goes below ground level (like stairs leading down)
 

 

CORNER PEGS

Corner pegs can be found on Riser tiles, and on any Tiles using Corner Elements
Corner pegs are used in order to build elevation into your Assembly.
 
 
 
 
 

Customization

Crackpot Assembly offers unparalleled customization for modular environments. From top to bottom you can decide exactly which Element or set of Elements you’d like to build your Tile with. It works like this. Each Tile is built with Elements. Elements are items like a Floor, a Wall, a Window, a Prop, etc. These Elements are organized into Element Classes.
 
 
 
 

 

ELEMENT CLASSES

In the diagram below you’ll see a partial list of the Element Classes available.

 
 
 
The full list of Element Classes is:
  • Cap Full Height
  • Cap Full Height w Door
  • Cap Half Height
  • Cap Half-Height w Door
  • Cap Half-Height w Window
  • Corner Full Height
  • Corner Full Height w Door
  • Corner Half Height
  • Corner Half Height w Door
  • Custom
  • Door
  • Floor
  • Molding
  • Molding w Door
  • Prop Accessory
  • Prop Structural
  • Stairs Down
  • Stairs Up
  • Wall Full Height
  • Wall Full Height w Door
  • Wall Half Height
  • Wall Half Height w Door
  • Window

Each Element class has numerous Elements within it to choose from (sometimes hundreds). All told I think we have about 1000 Elements for Early Access, but this list will continually grow, and potentially can grow quite rapidly. Using our Builder Tool you get to create the Tile you want and save it to your Custom Tile library.

 

In this example you’ll see a few of the choices you have for selecting what kind of door you’d prefer.

 
 

Assemblies

Assemblies are the collection of Tiles that are placed on the grid in the Builder Tool. They are your 3d map/dungeon/environment.
I encourage you to start experimenting by selecting some Public Tiles and placing them on the grid. Get used to the controls of placement, rotation, elevation, deletion, and then you can move on to the more complex task of Creating Custom Tiles, Editing Custom Tiles, and managing your Assemblies. For the moment we’ve supplied over 100 Public Tiles. Simply click on the Public tab, and you’ll get the whole list. You can narrow down your search by using the Search field and typing in Style_01, Style_02 through to Style_08.

Filtration

Filtration is the means by which you can reduce and narrow down the results when searching either through the Elements or Tiles menu in the Builder Tool.

Elements are all supplied by Crackpot Assembly. As such, they are all Public.

You have the option of favouriting any number of Elements by clicking on the star icon on every thumbnail. You are told which Elements are In Use when you are Editing a Tile. Its very handy when you want to search for other items in the same style, or if you want to duplicate items.



Tile Filtration works very much the same way, though there’s an additional Custom tab for any Tiles you create of your own. Note that if you Edit a Public Tile and save it, it will be added to your library as a Custom Tile.


Glossary of Terms

Base Tile – the piece at the bottom that the connectors go into, and that all the Elements are built on top of.
Builder Tool – the beating heart of the website really; where you create or edit any Tile, put together any Assembly, and manage your creations.
Connector – the piece which allows two Tiles to stick together.  You get a choice of three connectors.  Two are original OpenLock connectors, and the third is Crackpot’s variation
Element – the bits and piece your use to create a Tile.  They are Floors, Walls, Windows, Props, and all sorts of other things.
Filtration– the way you refine/reduce your search results
Tile – a collection of Elements atop a Base Tile.
Assembly – a collection of Tiles Viewport – the 3d visualization of your Tiles and Assemblies.