As with all Yaml:
Tab is not allowed
# is used for comments that aren't read by the game


I generally don't mess with these 2 lines, they mess up the transitions between planet and space. Larger is bigger.


This setting requires some calculations.
9.81ms^2 is our standard Earth gravity and Empyrion uses this value as well.
A value of 1.0 gravity in-game equals -9.81 in the playfield.yaml file.
Therefore, for whichever in-game value you would like simply multiply that by -9.81 and use that result.
E.g. for a gravity of 1.5:
1.5 x (-9.81) = -14.72 (rounded to 2 decimal places) Enter -14.72 in your playfield.yaml.


Density affects Range of weapons on a planet
AtmosphereO2 changes the value on the in-game maps, Affects Emergency O2 Generator Production
Breathable True, you can breathe on this planet without a helmet, set to False and you always need to wear a helmet


These have no real effect but they do show in the planet data section of the map



DayLength: No functionality yet.
PlanetType: No finctionality yet. (Remark by SQuarrels: PlanetType does however currently have a visual impact, most noticeably to that of water, if set to Lava the water will have an orange glow surrounding it regardless of water type given in next section).
Moons: No functionality yet, seriously, you could leave this at 1 and have 50 moons (moons are added in sectors.yaml)


Water color, pretty obvious. If you go with Lava then Emissive can be set to true otherwise it HAS to be False or just left out.
SeaLevel 0 = no water, max is somewhere between 50-75, I haven't nailed it down yet. it is impossible to completely cover all land with water.


PvP: False = PvE
PvP: True = PvP
each playfield is set separately


You can set a playfield to Always use a specific seed number (remove the # and set the number you want to use). If this is Omitted then the seed you choose during game setup is used.


UseFixed: True allows you to specify exactly where you want all resources and POIs in a later section.


Difficulty sets how tough the mobs and Drones are (higher means it takes more shots to kill each).
PlayfieldType can be Planet or Moon for Planet/moon playfields
Description is what shows if this playfield is set as a starter planet
these are allowed in the SunFlare setting

• SunFlareBlue
  
• SunFlareWhite
  
• SunFlareWhite2
  
• SunFlareWhite3
  
• SunFlareYellow
  
• SunFlarePurple

General Settings was too long, had to break it up

*Repeatable section
See This Spreadsheet[docs.google.com] for a list of FX that can be used here. I split the list in case local and global arent interchangable.
Biome names are set Biome section later on (Optional)
Time of day the effect shows up (Optional). Day, Night, Always
MaxHeight above bedrock that the effect shows up


*Repeatable section
Name = Use See This Spreadsheet[docs.google.com] for a list of FX that can be used here. I split the list in case local and global arent interchangable.
Biome (see local section)
Time (see local section)
Delay = after Time that the effect shows up
Lifetime = how long the effect lasts
PlyDist = how far from player the effect shows up (so player isnt too close to effects like Lightning)
SpawnY =Height above bedrock where the effect takes place
Struct = allowed near structures. True, Avoid


Atmo color is color... you know, i dont know this one
Sky Color as seen from the ground. Also affects Fog color (thank you Kieve)
Zenith Color, color of the light at noon
Horizon color is color of the light at sunrise and sunset
You can use this color picker[www.google.com] to get the RGB values. For use in Empyrion divide each value by 255.
Here is a color guide I threw together of the more common colors, all colors are available not just these.



Intensity is brightness, how bright do you want your lighting...
Shadow Strength, kind of odd... I'd say leave it alone.


FogStartDistance, how close to you does the (groundfog?) fog start showing up
GroundFogIntensity of 1 is Solid, 0 is none
GroundFogHeight max is the same as max water height, if you set this below the water level the water looks... odd =)


see color chart above


no effect other than visual... it blows the clouds around

This is the list of what the yaml recognises as Resources for each "Name" variable below

• IronResource
  
• CobaltResource
  
• CopperResource
  
• SiliconResource
  
• PromethiumResource
  
• SathiumResource
  
• MagnesiumResource
  
• GoldResource
  
• NeodymiumResource
  
• ZascosiumResource
  
• ErestrumResource
  
• PentaxidResource

Note: each resource may be used more than once per section but only the Last instance will be used for each resource type. All 11 resource types may be used in in each section


*Repeatable Section
FixedResources is only used if UseFixed is set to True
Name = see the list above
Pos = coordinates of the node
Radius = How large the node is (what? why isnt this Size? very odd)


*Repeatable Section
Name = see list above
CountMinMax = the number of nodes that can be present, affected by water height and a RNG
SizeMinMax = range of sizes available to a RNG that chooses the Size of each deposit
DepthMinMax = Depth in Meters (zero is surface), keep this number small.
DroneProb = what is the likelyhood a drones will be present (a percent expressed as a decimal number)
MaxDroneCount = 0-3 is allowed, anything higher will have no effect.


*Repeatable Section
Name = see list above
Threshold = Percent expressed as a decimal. if the planetwide total of node ores of that resource drops below this percent then Meteorites start dropping for this resource type.
Amount = Percent expressed as a decimal. Percent of max size... max number of ores available from each Meteorite.

rather than posting all the available lists, here is a Lists Spreadsheet[docs.google.com]
ive been putting together over the last couple months (and trying to keep updated)

Name = this list is all the usable variables (see /content/terrains/x86_64).
It affects the overall surface terrain topography of the planet.

• Alien
  
• Barren
  
• Desert
  
• Desert2
  
• Lava
  
• Lava2
  
• Moonstone
  
• Snow
  
• Temperate
  
• Temperate2
  
• Temperate2a
  
• Temperate2b
  
• TemperateNew

PoleLevel = Unknown
NoiseStrength = Adds physical texture to the texture (graphic). (thank you Kieve)
ColorChange =

Originally posted by Kieve:

While I have no idea how precisely these affect the terrain, they do appear to have some kind of color-shifting effect on the planet

and an update

Originally posted by Kieve:

So I figured out last night what "ColorChange:" properties do. Turns out they were actually stupid-simple.
It applies a light/dark gradient to the "default" surface texture. (The one specified in MainBiome)
Not all textures work for this. I've found most "rock" and "stone" patterns are affected, but cliffs seem to ignore this. Or, since cliff textures are essentially two textures in one (a flat-surface and a sheer-surface for steep inclines), perhaps it's only affecting the cliff's "flat-surface" texture and I'm simply missing it.
YFadeCenter: The altitude of the gradient's center.
YFadeRange: The range (in altitude) that the gradient shifts between YFadeMin / YFadeMax.
I am not sure if this is total range (20 = +10 up and -10 down) or range from center (20 = +20 up / -20 down). I suspect the former, however.
YFadeMin: / YFadeMax: Both of these set "light" or "dark" parameters. Both positive and negative values will work for both - however, they are extremely sensitive and positive YFade values can easily cause the texture to "wash out" and become stark white, while negatives will cause it to go pitch-black. Surfaces with emissive properties, like lava or AlienBlack01, will retain their glow.
I recommend values no higher or lower than +/- 0.2 for either one.
Both Min & Max are independent of each other - the name is a little misleading. Min: 1 / Max: 0 would result in a mountain that starts stark-white at the bottom and darkens to its default color at the top.
As a side-note, the MainBiome texture is also the one affected by NoiseStrength.

Reference[empyriononline.com]




Textures = this section allows 2-4 textures (see Link Above). 2 is the bedrock layer, 0 is Default, 1 is surface layer, the other is distance from surface that terrain is used. (2 and 0 are HIGHLY recommended) The 4 layers have to be in this order 1, #, 0, 2 where "#" starts Under the surface layer and extends that # down.
Decorations = See Link above for the list of available Decorations. the number is How common that decoration is in the MainBiome (non specified sections of the world). Higher number means more common.


*Repeatable Section
Altitude = Height above bedrock where this SubBiome is used
Textures = thse textures replace the MainBiome textures as specified by the number (see MainBiome). For textures in this section the Surface texture comes AFTER the layer directly under the Surface (so 2+ before 1)
Decorations = see MainBiome description above


*Repeatable Section
Biome = these numbers are set in the Biome section, they are used only in this section, they are used to specify which sub biomes to use texture replacements on.
From = change this texture From...
To = To...

See this Spreadsheet of lists[docs.google.com] for variables that can be used in this section.
See also this thread[empyriononline.com] which includes pictures of many of the vegetation types you can use as deco. Credit to LiftPizzas, the thread author.


*this whole section is repeatable
Altitude = range of heights this section is applied to
Slope = terrain angles this section is applied to
Name = in quotes, without spaces. This name is used for mob placement at the end of the yaml. *Repeatable Sub-Section
ID = Number used in texture replacements section where applicable
ClusterSize = Size of the Biome. zero is Infinite
NbOfClusters = number of times this sub-biome is used per... something. Zero is Infinite
Decorations = *Repeatable Section. see the link above, number is how often the deco is used in the biome.
Grass = *Repeatable Section
Name = see link above
Density = how many instances of the grass are used in the biome
YScale = changes the size of the grass
Preset = No Idea... no really, i have No idea what this does.

Well, considering players can make their own POIs... this is going to get a bit complicated.

POIs are located in the folder at /content/prefabs
see all those epb files? those are all POIs. they can be assigned Group names and called by their group name to be used in the playfield.yaml file. Group Name is assigned when the POI is created by double clicking the blueprint and typing a Group name into the dialog box.


*Repeatable section
GroupName = See that folder mentioned above. A Group Name may also be used... if one was assigned.
CountMinMax = how many times this POI is to be used. RNG chooses the quantity. POIs cannot be set in water.
DroneProb = Percent expressed as a Decimal number. how likely it is a drone is set to guard the POI.
DronesMinMax = how many Drones, set by a RNG.
ReserveCount = On planets the total number of drones allowed to exist at any one time is 39 (+1 Troop Transport). This reserve sets aside a slot for a drone to replace a drone that is killed.
TroopTransport = When this POI is attacked, is a Troop Transport dispatched?


*Repeatable Section. This section is used only if UsedFixed is set to True.
Type = what type of structure and what faction it is (unknown values)
Prefab = see /content/prefabsStock
Mode = what mode these fixed POIs are used on (Creative or Survival)
SubMode = That setting on game creation that allows structures (Empty / Normal)
Name = The name to be given to the POI when it is spawned
Pos = (Position) Coordinates the POI is to spawn at
Rot = (Rotation) Which direction the POI is to face
InitPower = is it to be powered on when the game is created?


*Repeatable Section
This section is where the Player spawns in each game type
Mode = game mode this POI is to spawn in (Debug, Creative or Survival)
SubMode = That setting on game creation that allows structures (Empty / Normal)
Pos = (Position) Coordinates the POI is to spawn at
RotY = Rotation... direction the POI is to face

See This Spreadsheet[docs.google.com] for lists to use in this section.

Just comments that explain things below


*Repeatable?
GroupName = sets which Drone base to use
DronesMinMax = how many drones defend the drone base, set by RNG
ReserveCount = set aside this many drones from the 39 to replace defending drones as they get killed.
DroneProb = Percent expressed as a Decimal, how likely is it that drones defend the drone base
Difficulty = allowed: 0-7, 5-7 are Infinite waves, 0 is No Drones
PresetStyle = See Comments section (I havent tested what each of these settings mean)
BaseAttack = what is this and why is it commented out?


*Repeatable Section
Name = see Spreadsheet Link above
Ammount = this is a little complicated. According to the devs (in a post I dont ahave a link for), these numbers are added up to figure a probability for each type of drone to be spawned using a RNG when a drone needs to be spawned. It doesnt mean this is the total number of drones of this type will ever spawn.
Extra = see comments section. Zero is used for patrollers, defenders and the like. 1 is used for Drones that attack bases. 2 is used for Just the Troop Transport. 3 is used for mobs available on the Troop Transport.


*Repeatable Section (I'm Told)
DronesMinMax = RNG quantity of drones on patrol that are spawned by this setting
CenterX = I Dont know... I suspect it is the distance from the drone base that the patrollers spawn at or have to path thru occasionally or center of a radii that they have to patrol within... something.

Use This Spreadsheet[docs.google.com] for lists to use in this section

*Repeatable Section
Biome = set in the Biome section. this links it so the game knows where to place the mobs
Entities = *Repeatable Sub-section
Name = See This Spreadsheet[docs.google.com] for Mob names available for use.
Period = what time period the mobs spawn (Day, Night or Always)
Amount = number of mobs that spawn in each biome (limit is unknown, 3 is suspected)
Delay = delay after period begins when the mobs spawn
RestrictYMinMax = range of heights that the mob is allowed to spawn in (they still only spawn in their biome). *Optional.