World Marker & Anchor for Minimap

RTS World Anchor System

The RTS World Anchor System provides a way to integrate non-agent objects (buildings, towers, objectives, waypoints) with the Enemy Masses RTS features like Fog of War and Minimap. It consists of two components that work together:

• EnemyMassesRTSWorldAnchor – Marks individual objects that should appear on the minimap and/or reveal fog

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• EnemyMassesRTSWorldMarker – Defines the visibility and fog rules for a group of anchors

  • 

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Why This System Exists

In RTS games, you typically have many objects beyond just units that need to interact with the fog of war and minimap systems:

Object Type	Fog Behavior	Minimap Behavior
Player Buildings	Reveal fog around them	Always visible
Enemy Buildings	Don't reveal fog	Only visible when not in fog
Neutral Objectives	May or may not reveal fog	Often always visible
Watchtowers	Reveal large fog radius	Always visible
Resource Nodes	Don't reveal fog	Visible based on discovery

Without this system, you'd need to write custom code for each object type. The World Anchor System provides a unified, configurable solution that:

1. Centralizes rules – Define visibility rules once on a parent object (World Marker), and all child anchors inherit them

2. Supports factions – Different behavior for friendly, enemy, and neutral objects

3. Integrates with Fog of War – Anchors can reveal fog and respect fog visibility for minimap display

4. Works with the Minimap – Anchors automatically register with the minimap system

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When to Use This System

Use the World Anchor System when you have:

• Static buildings that should reveal fog and appear on the minimap

• Defensive structures (towers, turrets) that provide vision

• Objectives or capture points that players need to see

• Neutral structures that become visible when discovered

• Any non-agent object that needs fog/minimap integration

This system is for static or semi-static world objects. For moving units controlled by Enemy Masses, the RTS controller handles fog and minimap integration automatically.

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Architecture Overview

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    Scene Hierarchy                          │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  PlayerBase (GameObject)                                    │
│  └── EnemyMassesRTSWorldMarker  ← Defines rules for base   │
│      │                                                      │
│      ├── MainBuilding                                       │
│      │   └── EnemyMassesRTSWorldAnchor  ← Reveals fog      │
│      │                                                      │
│      ├── Barracks                                           │
│      │   └── EnemyMassesRTSWorldAnchor  ← Reveals fog      │
│      │                                                      │
│      └── WatchTower                                         │
│          └── EnemyMassesRTSWorldAnchor  ← Large fog radius │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

The World Marker acts as a rules provider for all World Anchors in its hierarchy. Anchors automatically find their parent marker and query it for visibility rules.

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Setup Guide

Step 1: Add a World Marker (Rules Provider)

The World Marker defines the rules for how anchors behave based on their faction.

1. Create or select a parent GameObject that will contain your anchors (e.g., "PlayerBase" or "EnemyBase")

2. Add the EnemyMassesRTSWorldMarker component:

   • Add Component → Enemy Masses → RTS → World Marker

World Marker Settings

Section	Property	Description
Minimap Visibility Rules
	Friendly Visibility	When player-controlled anchors appear on minimap
	Enemy Visibility	When enemy anchors appear on minimap
	Neutral Visibility	When neutral anchors appear on minimap
Fog Reveal Rules
	Reveal Fog For Friendly	Allow player anchors to reveal fog
	Reveal Fog For Enemy	Allow enemy anchors to reveal fog (usually false)
	Reveal Fog For Neutral	Allow neutral anchors to reveal fog
Fog Visibility
	Fog Provider Override	Optional reference to your fog system
	Fog Visibility Threshold	Alpha threshold for "visible" (lower = stricter)

Visibility Rule Options

Rule	Behavior
Always	Anchor always appears on minimap regardless of fog
OnlyWhenVisible	Anchor only appears when not covered by fog
Never	Anchor never appears on minimap

Step 2: Add World Anchors to Objects

For each object that should participate in fog/minimap:

1. Select the GameObject (building, tower, etc.)

2. Add the EnemyMassesRTSWorldAnchor component:

   • Add Component → Enemy Masses → RTS → World Anchor

World Anchor Settings

Section	Property	Description
Anchor
	Anchor	Optional transform for position (defaults to this transform)
Faction
	Faction	PlayerControlled, Enemy, or Neutral
Minimap
	Minimap Color	Color of this anchor's icon on the minimap
Fog of War
	Fog Reveal Radius	Radius in world units that this anchor reveals
Rules
	Rules Provider	Optional explicit reference to a World Marker
	Auto Find Rules Provider	Search parents for a World Marker automatically
Position Offset
	Position Offset	Offset from anchor transform for fog/minimap position
Gizmos
	Show Gizmos	Display fog reveal radius in Scene view

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Example Configurations

Example 1: Player Base

A player-controlled base where all buildings reveal fog and appear on the minimap.

World Marker Settings:

• Friendly Visibility: Always

• Enemy Visibility: OnlyWhenVisible

• Neutral Visibility: Always

• Reveal Fog For Friendly: ✓

• Reveal Fog For Enemy: ✗

• Reveal Fog For Neutral: ✗

World Anchor Settings (per building):

• Faction: PlayerControlled

• Fog Reveal Radius: 15 (main building), 8 (barracks), 25 (watchtower)

Example 2: Enemy Base

An enemy base that doesn't reveal fog and only shows on minimap when discovered.

World Marker Settings:

• Friendly Visibility: Always

• Enemy Visibility: OnlyWhenVisible

• Neutral Visibility: Always

• Reveal Fog For Friendly: ✗

• Reveal Fog For Enemy: ✗

• Reveal Fog For Neutral: ✗

World Anchor Settings (per building):

• Faction: Enemy

• Fog Reveal Radius: 0 (no fog reveal)

Example 3: Neutral Capture Point

A neutral objective that's always visible but doesn't reveal fog until captured.

World Marker Settings:

• Neutral Visibility: Always

• Reveal Fog For Neutral: ✗

World Anchor Settings:

• Faction: Neutral

• Fog Reveal Radius: 0

When captured, change the faction via script:

// When player captures the point
anchor.SetFaction(RTSWorldAnchorFaction.PlayerControlled);

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Scripting API

EnemyMassesRTSWorldAnchor

// Properties
RTSWorldAnchorFaction Faction { get; }      // Current faction
Vector3 WorldPosition { get; }               // World position (with offset)
bool RevealFogOfWar { get; }                // Should this anchor reveal fog?
float FogRevealRadius { get; }               // Fog reveal radius
bool ShowOnMinimap { get; }                  // Should this anchor show on minimap?
Vector3 MinimapPosition { get; }             // Position for minimap icon
Color MinimapColor { get; }                  // Minimap icon color

// Methods
void RefreshRulesProvider();                 // Re-cache the rules provider

EnemyMassesRTSWorldMarker

// Query methods (called by anchors)
bool ShouldShowOnMinimap(EnemyMassesRTSWorldAnchor anchor);
bool ShouldRevealFog(EnemyMassesRTSWorldAnchor anchor);

Changing Faction at Runtime

using Arawn.EnemyMasses.Runtime;

public class CapturePoint : MonoBehaviour
{
    private EnemyMassesRTSWorldAnchor _anchor;

    private void Awake()
    {
        _anchor = GetComponent<EnemyMassesRTSWorldAnchor>();
    }

    public void OnCapturedByPlayer()
    {
        // Use reflection or expose a setter if needed
        // The anchor will automatically update its behavior
    }
}

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Integration with Other Systems

Fog of War Integration

The World Anchor System integrates with fog of war through two interfaces:

• IRTSFogRevealer – Allows anchors to reveal fog

• IFogVisibility – Allows the marker to query fog state

Anchors automatically register with the RTSWorldUnitRegistry when enabled, and the fog system reads from this registry.

Minimap Integration

Anchors implement IRTSMinimapIcon and register with the RTSWorldUnitRegistry. The minimap controller queries this registry to display icons.

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Best Practices

Use hierarchy-based rules: Place one World Marker on a parent object (like "PlayerBase") and all child anchors will automatically use its rules. This keeps configuration centralized.

Tune fog reveal radius carefully: Large radiuses reveal more of the map but may reduce strategic depth. Consider smaller radiuses for most buildings and larger ones for dedicated vision structures (watchtowers).

Don't forget to set factions correctly: An anchor with the wrong faction will use the wrong visibility rules. Double-check factions on enemy buildings especially.

Fog Visibility Threshold: Lower values (like 32) mean anchors hide more quickly as fog rolls back in. Higher values (like 128) keep anchors visible longer during refogging. Adjust based on your fog speed.

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Troubleshooting

Anchor not appearing on minimap

1. Check that the anchor's faction matches the visibility rules

2. Verify the World Marker's visibility rule isn't set to Never

3. If using OnlyWhenVisible, ensure the area is revealed by fog

Anchor not revealing fog

1. Check that Fog Reveal Radius is greater than 0

2. Verify the World Marker has "Reveal Fog For [Faction]" enabled

3. Ensure a fog of war system is present in the scene

Anchor not finding its World Marker

1. Make sure Auto Find Rules Provider is enabled

2. Ensure the World Marker is on a parent or in the same hierarchy

3. Try manually assigning the Rules Provider reference

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See Also

• Fog of War System – How fog of war works

• Minimap Controller – Minimap configuration

• RTS Controller – Main RTS control system