Crystal Rift: Dungeon Editor and Steam Workshop Guide

Build your own dungeons in Crystal Rift, share them on the Steam Workshop, and play dungeons made by other players.

This guide covers:

Building a level pack in the dungeon editor
Publishing it to the Steam Workshop (and updating or removing it later)
Finding, subscribing to and playing other players' level packs
Saving and loading your progress in a level pack

Part 1: The Dungeon Editor

Opening the editor

From the main menu choose Start Editor. You have five slots. Each slot is a separate dungeon, and each dungeon can have many levels. Pick a slot and press Edit.

The first time you open a slot it starts as a small default room. Everything you build is kept in that slot until you change it.

How a level pack works

Players start on level 1. Make sure level 1 has a Player Spawn block (or a Stairs Up block) where you want them to begin.
Put a Stairs Down block where you want a level to end. Taking it moves the player to the next level.
Taking the stairs down from your last level finishes the pack, and the player is returned to the main menu with a "Level pack complete!" message.
Each level is a 50 x 50 grid of blocks: floors, walls, doors, traps, monsters, items, triggers and more.

Building

You build by standing in the dungeon and placing blocks on the square in front of you. While editing you can walk through walls (ghost mode), so you can reach anywhere.

The block bar along the bottom of the screen has ten categories. Choose a category, then step through the blocks in it.
Place puts the selected block on the square in front of you. Placing a block over an existing one replaces it.
Rotate turns the block in front of you.
Undo and Redo step back and forward through your changes.
Copy takes the block in front of you and its settings. Paste puts it down somewhere else.

Editing in VR: the tool palette

In VR, a tool palette floats just above your free hand (the one not holding the laser). Raise that hand, point the laser at a button and pull the trigger. Pulling the trigger on the palette never places a block.

Test Play – Play the level as a player would (see below)
Save – Save the level you are on
Map / Fill – Open the full map, or fill an area
Undo / Redo – Step back and forward through your changes
Copy / Paste – Copy the block in front of you, and paste it somewhere else
Rotate L / Rotate R – Turn the block in front of you
Open/Shut – Flip how the block in front of you starts (its Status)
Ghost – Ghost mode on or off
Set Target / Del Target – Pick the current target on the map, or delete it
Prev Level / Next Level – Save, then move up or down a level

The palette moves to whichever hand is free, so if you swap the laser to your other hand, the palette follows.

Block properties

Many blocks have settings: which way a door starts, what a lever opens, what item is on a shelf, the colour of a crystal or torch, and so on. Switch the block bar into Properties mode to edit the block in front of you. Move up and down to choose a property, and left and right to change it:

Rotation – Which way the block faces
Status – How the block starts, for example a door open or closed, or a trapdoor open or shut
Trigger – How a switch, plate or button behaves: Toggle, Pressure, Open, Close, One-off or Per life
Target – Which of this block's targets you are editing (a block can have several)
Target Location – Opens the map so you can pick the square this block acts on
Target Type – What happens to the target: Toggle, Open, Close or Destroy
Target Delay – A delay before the target reacts
Inventory – The item on a chest, shelf, plinth, alcove, bench or table (crystals, keys, potions, notes, skulls...)
Colour – The colour of lights, crystals, torches, fog and more
Action – A block-specific value: which sign text, which music track, monster behaviour, and so on
Speed – How fast moving parts move

Linking switches to doors (targets)

Levers, buttons, pressure plates and similar blocks act on targets:

Stand in front of the lever (or plate, or button).
Choose Target Location (keyboard: T). The map opens.
Move the marker to the door, trapdoor or other block you want it to work, and press Select.
Set the Target Type (Toggle, Open, Close) and, if you like, a Target Delay.
To add a second target, step to the next target (], or Properties > Target) and repeat. Delete the current target with K.

Signs and notes: they use your clipboard

Wall signs and readable notes take their text from your clipboard when they are created (unless you pick one of the game's built-in sign texts with the Action property). To write one:

Type your text in any program (Notepad works) and copy it (Ctrl+C).
Place the sign, or the chest, shelf, table or other container holding a note.
Walk up to it and check the text is what you expected. It is now stored in your level.

Check what is on your clipboard before you place a sign or note. Whatever is there goes into your level, and anyone who plays your pack can read it. Crystal Rift will not publish a level with a sign or note longer than about 8,000 characters, because text that long is almost always something pasted by accident.

The full map

Press M to open the full map of the level. You can pan and zoom around it, place yourself anywhere with Select, and use F (Fill) to fill an area. The map is also used to pick target locations.

Levels, saving and testing

Save Level (O, or the pause menu) saves the level you are on. Save before changing level.
F5 and F6 move up and down a level, so you can build level 2, level 3 and onwards.
F2 switches between editing and playing. Use it to test your level as a player would: monsters move, traps fire and doors open. Without a keyboard, use Test Play (on the VR palette, or in the pause menu while editing) and Back to Editor (in the pause menu while testing).
Open Save Folder in the pause menu shows where your slot's files are kept.

Editor controls

These are the default bindings. You can change layouts in Options > Controls. The keyboard and mouse give you the most complete control. In VR, the laser chooses blocks and works the tool palette over your free hand, which covers everything in this table except the Properties-only settings.

Place block – Keyboard and mouse: Enter · Gamepad: B · VR: Right trigger / A
Choose a block category – Keyboard and mouse: 1 to 0 · Gamepad: D-pad / right stick left and right · VR: Point the laser at the block bar and pull the trigger
Step through blocks – Keyboard and mouse: Press the category's number again (Shift+number to go back), or the mouse wheel · Gamepad: D-pad / right stick up and down · VR: Laser on the block bar
Rotate block – Keyboard and mouse: R (Shift+R the other way) · Gamepad: Y · VR: Palette > Rotate L / Rotate R
Properties mode – Keyboard and mouse: Tab · Gamepad: X · VR: Right B
Undo / Redo – Keyboard and mouse: Z / Shift+Z · Gamepad: Properties > Undo · VR: Palette > Undo / Redo
Copy / Paste block – Keyboard and mouse: Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V · VR: Palette > Copy / Paste
Start status (open/closed) – Keyboard and mouse: N · Gamepad: Properties > Status · VR: Palette > Open/Shut
Trigger type – Keyboard and mouse: H (Shift+H back) · Gamepad: Properties > Trigger · VR: Properties > Trigger
Pick target on the map – Keyboard and mouse: T · Gamepad: Properties > Target Location · VR: Palette > Set Target
Next / previous target (next adds a new one after the last) – Keyboard and mouse: ] / [ · Gamepad: Properties > Target · VR: Properties > Target
Delete target – Keyboard and mouse: K · VR: Palette > Del Target
Target type – Keyboard and mouse: P (Shift+P back) · Gamepad: Properties > Target Type · VR: Properties > Target Type
Target delay – Keyboard and mouse: L (Shift+L down, Ctrl for x10, Alt to reset) · Gamepad: Properties > Target Delay · VR: Properties > Target Delay
Item – Keyboard and mouse: I (Shift+I back) · Gamepad: Properties > Inventory · VR: Properties > Inventory
Colour – Keyboard and mouse: C (Shift+C back) · Gamepad: Properties > Colour · VR: Properties > Colour
Action value – Keyboard and mouse: V (Shift+V back) · Gamepad: Properties > Action · VR: Properties > Action
Move speed – Keyboard and mouse: J (Shift+J back) · Gamepad: Properties > Speed · VR: Properties > Speed
Ghost mode on/off – Keyboard and mouse: G · Gamepad: Properties > Ghost · VR: Palette > Ghost
Full map – Keyboard and mouse: M · VR: Palette > Map
Map: pan / zoom – Keyboard and mouse: W A S D / Q E · Gamepad: Right stick / bumpers · VR: Thumbstick
Map: select / cancel – Keyboard and mouse: Enter or Space / Esc · Gamepad: A / B · VR: Trigger / Menu
Fill area – Keyboard and mouse: F · VR: Palette > Fill
Save level – Keyboard and mouse: O · Gamepad: Pause menu > Save Level · VR: Palette > Save, or Pause menu > Save Level
Previous / next level – Keyboard and mouse: F5 / F6 · VR: Palette > Prev Level / Next Level (saves first)
Switch between editing and playing – Keyboard and mouse: F2 · Gamepad: Pause menu > Test Play / Back to Editor · VR: Palette > Test Play; Pause menu > Back to Editor

Part 2: Sharing your level pack on the Steam Workshop

Publishing

Save your level, then go back to the main menu and choose Start Editor.
Next to each slot that has something in it there is a Publish button. Press it.
Crystal Rift tells you how many levels will be published and how many signs and notes contain text. Read it, then press Publish.
Wait for the upload to finish. When it's done, your new item's Workshop page opens in Steam.

Your level pack is published as public, so anyone with Crystal Rift can find it. The first time you publish, Steam may ask you to accept the Steam Workshop terms of service. Your item stays hidden until you do.

Published slots show (on Workshop) next to their name.

Giving it a title, description and pictures

Crystal Rift gives your pack a starting title such as "YourName's Crystal Rift Level Pack". To change it, open your item's Workshop page (in Steam, or from Steam Workshop > My Level Packs > View in the game) and use the owner controls on the right to:

change the title and description
add screenshots or videos
change who can see it: Public, Friends only, Unlisted or Hidden

Changes you make on the page are kept when you upload a new version from the game.

Updating your level pack

Make your changes in the same editor slot and save. Then in Start Editor, the button next to that slot says Update. Press it to upload the new version. Subscribers receive it the next time Steam updates their items.

Removing your level pack

In the game go to Steam Workshop > My Level Packs and press Unpublish next to the pack. This permanently deletes it, along with its ratings and comments, and everyone subscribed to it loses it. If you only want to hide it, change its visibility on its Workshop page instead.

Part 3: Playing other players' level packs

Finding level packs

From the main menu choose Steam Workshop:

Browse lists level packs on the Workshop. Use the Sort button to switch between Top Rated, Most Subscribed and Newest. Press Subscribe to add a pack, or View to open its Workshop page.
Subscribed lists the packs you have subscribed to, with their download status.
My Level Packs lists the packs you have published.
Open Workshop opens the Crystal Rift Workshop in Steam, where you can browse, search, rate and subscribe too.

You can also subscribe on the website: Crystal Rift Workshop. Packs you subscribe to there appear in Subscribed in the game.

A newly published pack can take a few minutes to appear in Browse.

Playing a level pack

Go to Steam Workshop > Subscribed.
Press Play next to the pack. If it hasn't finished downloading, Crystal Rift downloads it first.
Choose a difficulty, just like a new game.

When you finish the last level you return to the main menu. Please rate the packs you enjoy on their Workshop pages. It helps other players find them.

Saving and loading in a level pack

If a level pack has save points, use them as normal. A pack's saves are kept separately from your main Crystal Rift saves, so they never overwrite each other.
To continue later, choose Load Game from the main menu. Once you have saves in a level pack, a Saves: button appears at the top. It switches between your Crystal Rift saves and the saves for each level pack you have played. Pick the pack, then the save.
If you open Load Game from the pause menu while playing a pack, it shows that pack's saves first.

Unsubscribing

In Steam Workshop > Subscribed, press Unsubscribe. This also deletes your saved progress for that pack.

Tips for great level packs

Test every level from start to finish with F2 (or Test Play) before you publish. Check that the stairs down can be reached and every door has a way to open it.
Light your dungeon. Wall torches, braziers and coloured lights make a huge difference in VR.
Use signs and notes to tell a story, and give hints for your puzzles.
Start easy. Your first level teaches players how your dungeon works.
Write a good description and add screenshots on the Workshop page, so players know what they are getting into.

Troubleshooting

"Steam is not running": start Crystal Rift from your Steam library. The Workshop needs Steam.
My pack doesn't appear in Browse: new items can take a few minutes to show up. Check My Level Packs, which lists your items straight away.
Publishing refused because of a long sign or note: one of your signs or notes picked up a lot of text from your clipboard. Find it, copy the text you actually want, and place it again.
"That level pack is no longer installed" when loading a save: subscribe to the pack again, play it once, then load your save.
My item is hidden: open its Workshop page and accept the Steam Workshop terms of service.

Have fun, and we look forward to playing your dungeons!

- Psytec Games