Colony Buildings: Python Tooling

A suite of Python tools inside Unreal Engine 5 that gave artists full autonomy over building creation, maintenance, and validation

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The problem: manual building setup didn't scale

The PCG-driven upgrade system handled runtime beautifully, but building setup and maintenance was still a manual, technical process. Creating a single building meant hand-creating ~13 assets, spawning 4 actors, and wiring dozens of references, all in the correct order. With 16 buildings and growing, artists couldn't self-serve. Every new building or iteration required tech art support.

Before ~30 min Manual

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Python Tooling 5 Tools

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After <1 min Automated

Tool Suite

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Level Setup Wizard

One-click creation

Takes a building name and upgrade count, then creates the complete folder structure, Level Instances, PCG Data Assets, actors, and all reference wiring in under a minute.

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Building Maintenance

Safe iterative ops

Post-setup operations: regenerate Level Instances, update PCG parameters, add new upgrade levels. Auto-detects the selected building and validates before executing.

✓

Level Validator

Automated checks

Runs comprehensive checks across every building: required actors, PCG parameters, upgrade integrity, and index gap detection. Categorized report with per-upgrade breakdowns.

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Main Map Validator

Streaming audit

Ensures all building levels exist in the main game map's streaming hierarchy. Cross-references every base and upgrade level against the editor world.

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Architecture

Built for maintainability

Clean Python package with centralized config, naming conventions, dataclass models, and shared Tkinter styling. Integrated into the Unreal Editor menu bar.

Level Setup Wizard: Step by Step

▶ From building name to fully wired level in under a minute

Artist Input

Building name from gameplay tags + upgrade count

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Folder Structure

Persistent base level + non-persistent upgrade sub-levels

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Asset Generation

Level Instances + PCG Data Assets for each upgrade

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Actor Spawning

Building Manager, PCG volumes, placeholder actors

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Reference Wiring

Upgrade maps array, data asset links, PCG graph parameters

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Execution Report

Success/error logs + checklist of remaining manual steps

Tool Interfaces

Colony Buildings Python Tools — Level Setup Wizard, Building Maintenance dialog, Validation Report, and code view

Validation Report: Example Output

✓ Barracks, Upgrade Level 02

Errors Must fix before shipping 2 issues

✗ Missing required actor: BP_BuildingManager
✗ Broken reference: PCG_Barracks_L02 data asset not found

Warnings Should review 1 issue

⚠ PCG parameter drift: GlitchTrigger config differs from template

Passed Base level checks 4 checks

✓ Actor mobility settings correct
✓ No duplicate actors
✓ Main building tag: LocationTag.Barracks
✓ Streaming hierarchy present in main map

Impact

⚠ Before

⏱

~30 minutes

per building, manual process

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~13 assets

hand-created in the correct order

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5–10% error rate

on hand edits per pass

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Artists blocked

every iteration required TA support

✓ After

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<1 minute

automated via the Level Setup Wizard

✓

Zero config drift

validators catch issues before QA

✓

Artists self-serve

create and maintain buildings independently

✓

Scales to new maps

centralized config adapts without code changes

▭ Package Architecture

building_tools Shared config, naming conventions, dataclass models

level_validator Modular validators orchestrated by single entry point

ui_common Shared Tkinter styling matching Unreal's dark theme

parallel_menus Custom Editor top-level menu registering all tools

Validation & Repair Flow

Colony Buildings: Tooling and Level Maintainance with Python