Build your first Dream object

Docs / Quickstart

A complete Dream file starts with dream 2;. Materials and objects have explicit IDs. Labels are for display; references always use IDs.

A tree that falls

This is the complete toppling-tree.dream example:

dream 2;
material bark(style=grain,colors=[#846044,#4b392c]);
material leaf(style=toon,colors=[#77a05b,#426b45]);
object oak(label="Oak"){
  measure(kind=tree,axis=y,meters=10);
  body(interaction=solid,radius=4,height=69);
  impact(mode=topple(speed=110,duration=1.1,lifetime=8));
  fragment tree(){
    part trunk(shape=cylinder,material=bark,at=[0,24,0],size=[6,48,6]);
    part crown(shape=icosphere,material=leaf,at=[0,52,0],size=[36,34,32],motion=sway(deg=2,hz=.2));
    part branch(shape=icosphere,material=leaf,at=[-12,44,3],size=[24,24,23],motion=sway(deg=1.5,hz=.17));
  }
}

The parts describe the shape. measure makes the assembled tree ten metres tall without stretching one axis. body supplies its collision cylinder. Everything in fragment tree stays connected when topple releases it.

The foliage keeps its sway during the fall. Place this asset with explicit prop ownership in a world with damage_pool=true. The complete street-tree example adds that world, a shared category rule and paid replanting.

Check the source from the repository root:

node scripts/dream.mjs check docs/examples/toppling-tree.dream

A successful check returns ok:true. This file defines an object, so it doesn't need a road or a world layout. compile shows the validated data the engine will receive:

node scripts/dream.mjs compile docs/examples/toppling-tree.dream

Put objects into a world

The complete world example has a player, circuit, ordered checkpoints, hills, water, a wooden bridge, ice, boost and a breakable table. Check it with:

node scripts/dream.mjs check docs/examples/dream-v2-world.dream

World positions are [x,y], measured right and down from the top-left. Inside an object, positions are [x,y,z] with Y pointing up. Assets face +X. This distinction matters when a local seat or wheel becomes part of a placed vehicle.

To explore the larger mock, run npm run dev and open the root page. Its entry file is open-world.dream. The host supplies its module registry; imports don't read arbitrary files or URLs.

Change a world safely

Check a revision before applying it. Full-world checks also test spawn clearance, the racing road, checkpoints and actor routes. A syntactically valid object can still block a road, so structural compilation alone doesn't make a world playable.

Next: compose objects · Build a world