# The OpenForge 2.0 system ## What is OpenForge OpenForge is a modular gaming terrain system with sets ranging across various themes, these include, dungeons, caverns, towns, scatter terrain, minis, and more. Perfect for your Table Top Role Playing Games (TTRPG) needs. Some example games include, Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), Pathfinder, wargaming, Warammer, and more. OpenForge 2.0 is designed to be compatible with 28mm miniatures. ## How OpenForge Tiles work OpenForge is based in both modularity, and flexibility. In contrast to some other tile creators/manufactures, which produce single piece tiles, OpenForge allows you to customize your tiles to fit your needs. Would you like some wooden floors with a stone wall, using any of the clip or connection systems supported, no problem, just print the desired pieces, glue them together with some CA (Cyanoacrylate) or 'super' glue, and you are good to go. Want to create even more immersive tiles, paint them in the style that fits your needs. Most of the floors, walls, and connection systems, even from different sets (Dungeon, Cavern, Town, Etc), can be combined together, to make the perfect tiles for your needs. ### OpenForge licensing OpenForge is open source under the creative commons license. Many of the OpenForge models are available under [CC-BY-SA](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), with newer premium designs released under [CC-BY-SA-NC](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). For the exact details of the license please see [OpenForge Licensing](https://github.com/devonjones/openforge-tutorials/blob/master/How%20Do%20OpenForge%20Licenses%20Work.pdf). Lets break the license down, the CC stands for Creative commons, the type of license. The BY means you have to give attribution to the original work. The SA means share alike, you must release any derived work under the same license as the original work. The NC means non-commercial, you cannot sell the work. So, for any work released under the CC-BY-SA-NC license you are not only free to modify them, you can distribute the awesome things you make as long as you release them under the same license. And for any work released under the CC-BY-SA license you are even allowed to sell your creations. Should you wish to sell your creations (prints or derived work), or release them under a different license, a different license might be needed than the one the models were released under. Any person subscribed on the merchant tier on [patreon](https://www.patreon.com/c/masterworktools/membership), can use most of the tiles under the CC-BY license, which means you can ignore the Share Alike and Non Commercial clauses of the license, in other words, you can sell prints from NC licensed models, and you can incorporate any design into your own that you can cover with any license you want so long as you still attribute the project. There are a small number of exceptions to this (< 10). 100% of those exceptions are models released prior to 2018 that we don't have the right to relicense because either they were contributed by others, or they remix in someone else's CC-BY-SA-NC design. ## How to get OpenForge tiles? The entire OpenForge collection with all the models released through 12/2023 can be bought on a single USB stick in the official online store, [Masterwork Tools](https://masterwork-tools.com/shop). It’s $35 for about 1,400 unique designs (and ~12,000 stl files, almost 128 gigs). The USB stick will be updated at the end of each year. Furthermore, all designs remain available on [Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/masterworktools), [Thingiverse](https://www.thingiverse.com/devonjones/designs) and [MyMiniFactory](https://www.myminifactory.com/users/devonjones), but this is a nice convenience if you don’t want to spend all that time downloading files. Not every file is in each of these places (well, except the USB stick and the dropbox). Currently all releases will be made available through patreon, open for anyone not just paid supporters. In addition patrons (paid supporters) get access to [Dropbox](https://www.patreon.com/posts/openforge-32812777) where Devon shares every design, and even the blender and other files that are used when designing them. Although to get access to the blender files, you will have to ask Devon nicely, but won't worry, he is friendly and does not bite. The Dropbox is updated with every release and should contain the entire collection in a single location, including the files released in the current year not yet available on the USB. ## OpenForge 2.0 sets With OpenForge being a modular terrain tile system, having a single theme just does not cut it, as there are many locations in which your game can take place. A dungeon ([Dungeon stone](https://www.thingiverse.com/devonjones/collections/10379614/things), [Cut stone](https://www.thingiverse.com/devonjones/collections/5345392/things), [Rough stone](https://www.thingiverse.com/devonjones/collections/8115136/things)), [City streets](https://www.thingiverse.com/devonjones/collections/9387994/things), [Towne](https://www.thingiverse.com/devonjones/collections/14352902/things), [Caverns](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3871687), [Dwarven halls](https://www.thingiverse.com/devonjones/collections/11758683/things), [Mines](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3944831), [Volcanos](https://www.thingiverse.com/search?q=OpenForge+2.0+Volcanic+Cavern&page=1), and so many more. Besides the larger themed sets, various other smaller categories exist, such as, scatter terrain, miniatures, encounters. The development of the various sets is partially community driven, with Patreon members being able to vote on the development roadmap, the vote tally can be found [here](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pq_3NUdwnaPUl4y6qhgjCeNMWWWCSBS8Vjr9oWl6qLE/edit?usp=sharing). And some artistic freedom for whatever inspires Devon. As such, some more popular sets have more varied pieces available than others. This of course does not mean that the less popular sets should be overlooked as they are still amazing in their own right. How many adventures do you play in a volcano compared to a dungeon. The links above are just to give some examples of the sets out there. Please take a look at all the [other amazing OpenForge 2.0 creations](https://www.thingiverse.com/search?q=openforge+2.0&page=1) Devon and the community have created over the years. Please make sure that "OpenForge 2.0" is in the title, so you have the 2.0 version. Found a set you want to build? Great! Continue reading to discover how to decode the different naming conventions, learn what the different pieces are used for, and how to assemble OpenForge tiles, or skip ahead we can't stop you. ## How to assemble OpenForge tiles Before we continue, let's take a small detour and explain how OpenForge tiles are assembled. Understanding this, will make explaining and understanding all the various tile pieces a lot easier as you can imagine how they will be used. As already indicated before, OpenForge tiles are not single piece, but require some assembly. Most tiles consist of 2-3 pieces, with more customizable tiles requiring more. An example of the pieces required for a floor tile are, a base part, and a floor part: ![image](OpenForgeExampleTileFloor.png) Once assembled (and painted) the tile will look something like this: ![image](OpenForge_assembled_floor.jpg) An example of the pieces required for a floor with wall tile are, a base part, a floor part, and a wall part: ![image](OpenForgeExampleTileFloorWithWall.png) Once assembled (and painted) the tile will look something like this: ![image](OpenForge_assembled_wall.jpg) And if you get a few of them, you can start to make your own rooms: ![image](OpenForge_assembled_room.jpg) Wait! What's that? A trap door? Ow Shiny things! Expect more and shinier things the further we go, there are A LOT of variations on the basic wall and floor tiles. Wondering what a "floor" tile or "floor with wall" tile is, the name sort of already gives it way, but if you are unsure, this will be explain later. And not only those two types, but many more, there are curved tiles, stairs, traps, water tiles, and even with LED lights, and that is only scratching the surface. Also don't worry about all the "strange" shapes in the base tile, these are for the various connection systems supported by OpenForge. More on those later! ## What are all the different pieces? So you have chosen an OpenForge set you would like to print. You know you need to assemble them, and are ready to start, just to be greeted with many, many, tiles in various shapes and sizes, serving various purposes, named in a cryptic code. Don't worry, all will be explained here. After reading this, you should be able to decode the tile names, know what purpose the various pieces serve, and be able to find the one you need. Lets start with the basics, the naming convention. It might not be intuitive, but that's why we're here. ### OpenForge naming convention Note: curly brackets are not used on the file name format itself, they are used here to indicate a section. #### Top Level You can expect the following format when it comes to file names: {texture}#{shape}.{size}.{connections}.stl ##### Section modifiers Sometimes, a single word is not detailed enough, and more words and/or modifiers are needed. The `%` is used, when multiple textures apply to a single tile. The `+` is used to extend a shape, or connection system. The `,` is used to add even more details when applicable. #### Texture Texture can be broken up into {wall texture}%{floor texture}. If a wall texture has only one default floor texture, the floor texture is omitted. Examples: `cut-stone` or `dungeon_stone%block` #### Shape Shape has a basic structure of {texture}+{options} Both texture and options can have more than one element which is comma separated. Items in these lists go from more general to more specific. The +{options} section is optional. Examples: `wall` or `door,arched+wide` #### Size Size comes in the form of {size}+{options}. Sizes tend to come in two forms combinations of letters, or numbers in {X}x{Y}, {X}x, x{Y} format. If it's numbers, {X}x{Y} indicates that the object is X by Y in inches. Sometimes one of these will have a decimal as in 2x0.5. Period is also used as the separator with the next area, connection options, so this is only ever the case with numbers, and connection options will never start with a number. {X}x indicates that said object is X inches long. x{Y} (fairly rare) indicates that the object is Y inches wide. The +{options} section is optional, and contains a comma separated list of options to the size. Examples: `E` or `2x` or `4x2` For letters, OpenForge uses the [Printable Scenery OpenLOCK tesselation naming convention](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1833963/comments). A small sample: ![image](OpenLOCK_8.6_Ref.jpg) #### Connections This section contains connection systems, and it's format is {connection}+{options}. Both portions can be comma separated, and are aimed at being from more general to more specific. +{options} is optional. Examples: `openforge` or `openlock+side` or `openforge+side,dragonlock` #### Other Files There are other files in the hierarchy that are not tiles. The names can be more haphazard, but in general I try to have them follow the File Name Standard as much as they can, but in many cases they will wholly skip some sections. Examples: `wood#door_lintel+c` `portcullis+wide,split,a` ### Supported connection systems Throughout the years many tile manufactures came to the scene, many with their own connection system. A few are Fat Dragon Games with Dragonlock, Printable Scenery with OpenLock, and DungeonWorks With Infinitylock. These different connection systems have been integrated into the OpenForge ecosystem. Some due to the manufacturer reaching out, and others due to the community asking for it. This means that if you already have some tiles using one of the supported connection systems you can print OpenForge tiles and connect them to your existing tiles. In addition, there are conversion clips available with a different connector at each end which can be used to connect two tiles with different connections. As of right now, OpenForge 2.0 supports the following connection systems: * Dragonlock * Openlock * Magnetic Some of these connection systems have variations, and magnetic can be combined with the other clip based connection systems. The list of variations and combinations are: * dragonlock * dragonlock,magnetic+flex * magnetic+flex * openlock * openlock,magnetic+flex * openlock+topless * openlock,magnetic+topless,flex There have been several revisions of the magnetic connection system, with support for different types of magnets, cylindrical or spherical, and separate bases for each. Eventually a base was designed which is compatible with both magnet shapes. These bases are called "flex" bases. These flex bases are now the standard and the older bases which only support a single magnet type are not deprecated. If you find one in the wild, please look for the flex variant. The topless bases have no overhangs, and therefore, no supports, which in turn means no sagging and less work after you print to get the tile ready. Currently the default connection system is topless openlock flex bases. #### Magnets, how do they work? During most of OpenForge 2.0 existence, the main option for magnetic connection was the 5mm spherical magnets. However, during the pandemic, they became difficult or near impossible to get ahold of. In addition, several countries have since banned the sale of these types of magnets. Some children would eat the magnets which could require surgery to remove. As such, a new base was designed, now with support for cylindrical and spherical magnets, the so called [flex magnetic](https://www.myminifactory.com/object/3d-print-openforge-wall-on-tile-bases-and-risers-192663) bases. The flex magnetic bases in additional to supporting 5mm spheres, they are also support variety of cylindrical magnets including: * [5mm diameter, 3mm thick](https://amzn.to/3TiebAV) * [5mm diameter, 2mm thick](https://amzn.to/3n2prFa) * [4mm diameter, 3mm thick](https://amzn.to/3JOtXzd) * [4mm diameter, 2mm thick](https://amzn.to/3looXJl) * [3/16" diameter, 1/8" thick](https://www.kjmagnetics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=D32AH&gclid=CjwKCAjw5dqgBhBNEiwA7PryaIFfjrjwztjEo_E-M-RiKUUqM3fHcL83LS3cIRhHASss8Dq_nckOUBoCqQcQAvD_BwE) The design of the flex magnetic bases allows these to still spin in place, so you don't have to worry about polarity. #### So clips? OpenForge 2.0 supports a variety of clips. Each works slightly differently, but they all need to flex when putting them in and taking them out. Therefore, we advice to print the clips in PETG. PLA is rigid and brittle, which means the clips cannot flex much without breaking and are harder to put in and take out. PETG has much more flex and is also stronger, so perfect for clips. The next question you might ask is: "should I print my bases in PETG as well? You know, more flex more better?" The short answer is no. The longer answer is still no, but now with explanation, PETG is harder to glue and harder to paint. Keep the clips PETG and that will give you enough flex. ### Different tile types As you might have already seen above, there is a "separate wall", and a "wall on tile" tile, lets discuss what is up with that. The entire discussion will boil down to "where is my wall compared to the floor". Unfortunately a more complex topic that any of us in the hobby would like. And to be honest, none of the various systems are perfect, each have their strengths and weaknesses. We will discuss each of them in more detail in their own section. Which one is best is mostly a preference thing, but can also be situational. It is even often recommended to combine multiple systems even in a single dungeon or room to get the best results. #### Wall on Tile (WoT) This style of tile is the more common approach outside OpenForge with various other terrain system using it, e.g. Dwarven Forge, Fat Dragon Games, and more. With WoT, both the floor and the wall(s) share the same base piece. And will create a single tile once assembled. There is also a method for creating modular WoT tiles, where the floor and wall can be separated, if needed, but we will discuss this when discussing S2W. You will loose a bit of floor space where the walls are, not all (grid) spaces on the tiles are a full inch, which means less room for your minis, this is the main disadvantage of this style tile. But the main advantage, is that the tile is self contained. There are no separate wall pieces needed to create walls, doors, etc. There are also different shapes than then 2x2 inch tile, but their dimensions are whole number multiple of the 1 inch. A fancy was of saying, no fractional stuff. Therefore, all tiles follow the 1 inch grid, so you don't need additional space in between floor tiles to accommodate the walls. Why this is a nice benefit will become clear when discussing Separate wall. #### Separate wall (SW) With SW, the walls and the floor pieces are separate pieces and are attached to their own bases. To create rooms, you combine the wall and floor pieces. This means the entire floor tile can be used for minis. However as the walls are now separate, and we do not possess shadow magic, they do take up space outside of the floor tiles. A blessing and a curse. The space taken up by the walls has to be taken into account when creating the layout of your terrain. The walls are 0.5 inches, and floor tiles are on a 1 inch grid. So having walls in between rooms will mess up the 1 inch grid. You can (or have to) compensate for the offset created by the walls, but this can result in a lot of bloat (creating extra spaces) in your terrain. A phenomenon Mr. Turtle likes to call "offset hell". #### Separate Wall to Wall On Tile (S2W) Let us speed run the "why, what, and how" of the S2W system. You either have the option of glueing the wall to the same base piece as the floor, fixating them together but having them self contained, or glueing the wall to a separate base piece and having them detachable but not self contained, but not both modular and self contained. In addition, the wall thickness differed between the two styles. Then the question arose can we fuse the best parts? And can the walls be the same thickness? Yes, Yes to both! Having the walls contained in space taken up by the floor tile (WoT), and having the walls detachable (SW). As for the thickness, SW thickness is used, which is 0.5 inch. The SW walls are a bit thicker then the old WoT walls, but not much, about 1-2 mm. Having the same wall pieces for both systems, reduces the work needed to extend OpenForge, as it cuts the effort to make new walls in half, and it reduces the risk of printing the wrong pieces (different thickness). The S2W system was introduced in 2024 and if you joined OpenForge from 2025 onwards S2W will be the defacto standard on how to make WoT tiles. However, if you have previously printed WoT tiles, or use older releases please be aware of the (possible) difference in wall thickness. All OpenForge 2.0 is backwards compatible, and old WoT can be used interchangeably with the new S2W tiles. Talking about fully assembled tiles of course, not individual printed parts. The thickness difference might not even be noticeable during play and only be noticeable up if you have a good eye for detail, or loop at them up close and side by side. #### S system The S system takes the idea of Separate wall, which is having the walls separate from the floor, but adds some padding such that the wall tiles are 1 inch wide. This will ensure that the walls and floor are always on the same 1 inch grid. However, similar to SW, the additional space will cause bloat in the dungeon. ![DungeonMaestro_dungeon_s_system](DungeonMaestro_dungeon_s_system.jpg "Curtesy of DungeonMaestro on the OpenForge discord") #### Dungeon sticks If you are into organic shapes, or dislike the rectilinear grid, dungeon stick are for you! Dungeons sticks can be placed on the table, a printed surface, with or without grid. The pieces are connected together with a hinge like system. Full transparency, there are not _that_ many OpenForge Dungeon stick pieces, but there are a lot of Openforge compatible, or non-OpenForge dungeon sticks. You can search Thingiverse for EC3D and dungeonsticks. ![DungeonStick](DungeonStick.jpg) #### What system to use? We can have a long discussion about this, and perhaps a wiki is not the best place, hard to argue with static text. If you do want to have an interactive discussion on the topic, or have more questions, please join the OpenForge Discord linked below. To keep it short, use what ever you prefer, or what ever compromise you can live with. Generally it is recommended to use WoT for interior walls, i.e. walls which are in-between rooms, and use SW for external walls, i.e. wall which have nothing at the other side, or hallways as it gives more space for minis in tight corridors. ## Useful links * [OpenForge discord server](https://discord.gg/CkEZXSTG2J) * [OpenForge Reddit](https://discord.gg/CkEZXSTG2J) * [OpenForge GitHub Tutorials](https://discord.gg/CkEZXSTG2J) * [OpenForge 2.0 (Masterwork Tools) Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/masterworktools) * [OpenForge Licensing Info](https://github.com/devonjones/openforge-tutorials/blob/master/How%20Do%20OpenForge%20Licenses%20Work.pdf) * [OpenForge Tile Tree](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Amory3eH7ubFf551PzVXWbQ_nFeCyyr5/view) ## Good to knows ### Inch vs 25mm? In the past, OpenForge tiles where scaled such that they were compatible with a 25mm grid. However, newer tiles, and previously released tiles from still supported sets have been updated to be compatible with a 1 inch grid. When you go through older sets, community remixes, or sets from different designers, it is good to keep an eye on this discrepancy in size as 25mm and 1 inch tiles wont play nicely together. If you do come across 25mm tiles, and no 1 inch version is available, you can rescale the tiles yourself in either modeling software or your slicer of choice by a factor of 101.6%. ## notes for future sections, not part of the wiki atm ## different types of wall systems There are four (maybe more) ways to do walls with openforge. The first is the wall on tile (WoT), where the walls are placed on the tiles meaning you sacrifice internal room space to combat “bloat”. The second one is separate wall (SW) where you please the walls on the outside of the tiles, meaning you get the full floor space but the dungeon will be a little bloated and can cause alignment issues as these separate walls are 0.5 inch wide where a normal tile is 1 inch. The you have the S system, there the walls are located centered in a 1 inch wide tile. Meaning you get full floor space, no alignment issues, but significantly more bloat, lastly you have dungeon sticks, where the floors don’t exist and the walls are connected by hinge pieces perfect for organic non-rectilinear play like in caves. Each wall system has advantages and disadvantages. And of course you can combine separate wall, wall on tile, a system with ease. Not limited to one system per dungeon. You can even combine it with dungeon sticks but don’t know if there are “conversion connections” ## Community creations Curtesy of DungeonMaestro on the OpenForge discord [//]: # (![luma_dungeon_torches](luma_dungeon_torches.mp4 "Curtesy of luma on the OpenForge discord") ) Curtesy of luma on the OpenForge discord ![Rtarara_towne](Rtarara_towne.jpg "Curtesy of Rtarara on the OpenForge discord") Curtesy of Rtarara on the OpenForge discord ![Clown_dungeon_no_wall](Clown_dungeon_no_wall.jpg "Curtesy of Clown on the OpenForge discord") Curtesy of Clown on the OpenForge discord ![towja_towne_walls.jpg](towja_towne_walls.jpg "Curtesy of towja on the OpenForge discord") Curtesy of towja on the OpenForge discord ![Schadow_rebrand_hideout_LMOP.jpg](Schadow_rebrand_hideout_LMOP.jpg "Curtesy of Schadow on the OpenForge discord") Curtesy of Schadow on the OpenForge discord