How to Build Custom Units with Arya Unit MakerBuilding custom units can transform your projects — whether you’re designing a tabletop game, developing educational materials, or creating modular digital content. This guide walks through the full process of creating robust, polished custom units using Arya Unit Maker. It covers planning, setup, step-by-step construction, testing, and tips for polishing and sharing your units.
What is Arya Unit Maker? (Quick overview)
Arya Unit Maker is a tool for designing modular units — customizable, reusable building blocks that combine visuals, stats, behaviors, and metadata. It’s designed to let creators rapidly prototype and produce units for games, simulations, lessons, or other modular systems.
Before you start: plan your unit
Good units begin with a clear plan.
- Purpose: Define what the unit will do (combatant, support, resource producer, quiz module, etc.).
- Audience: Who will use it? Players, students, or other creators?
- Scope: Will it be simple (single behavior) or complex (multiple abilities, states)?
- Assets: List graphics, icons, sounds, animations, and text you’ll need.
- Metrics & balance: Which numbers matter (health, cost, cooldowns)? Aim for initial target values.
Example planning table:
- Name: Ember Scout
- Role: Recon (fast, low-health)
- Core stats: HP 60, Speed 9, Vision 12
- Abilities: Smoke Screen (short blind), Dash (short burst)
- Cost: 40 energy
Setting up your workspace in Arya Unit Maker
- Create or open a project. Organize by folders: Units, Assets, Scripts, Tests.
- Import assets (sprites, icons, sounds). Keep consistent naming (unit_ember_scout_sprite.png).
- Set up template or base unit (a generic unit with common fields). Reuse to speed creation.
Step-by-step: Building the unit
1. Define core metadata
Enter the unit’s name, description, tags, and category. These help searchability and in-game filters.
- Name: Ember Scout
- Description: “A nimble recon unit that excels at scouting and evasion.”
- Tags: recon, light, scout, airborne
2. Configure visuals and animations
- Assign a main sprite and any alternate sprites (damaged, attack, idle).
- Configure animation frames and playback rates. Keep sprite pivots consistent.
- Add particle effects where needed (e.g., smoke for Smoke Screen).
3. Set base stats and attributes
Input primary attributes: health, armor, speed, attack power, range, vision, cost.
- Example: Health 60, Armor 2, Speed 9, Attack 6, Range 3, Vision 12, Cost 40
Use the tool’s sliders and numeric fields. When in doubt, choose conservative values and iterate.
4. Add abilities and behaviors
Most of a unit’s identity comes from abilities.
- Create ability entries: name, type (active/passive), cooldown, cost, effect script or behavior tree.
- Define triggers (on attack, on damage, on spawn).
- Example: Smoke Screen — Active, Cooldown 18s, Effect: create cloud that reduces enemy vision by 70% for 4s.
- Example: Dash — Active, Cooldown 8s, Effect: temporarily increase speed by 200% for 0.6s; ignore collision for the duration.
If Arya Unit Maker supports visual scripting, assemble behavior nodes; otherwise attach scripts with clear inputs/outputs.
5. Configure targeting and AI
- Set targeting rules: nearest enemy, lowest health, prioritized tags.
- Configure AI decision weights for autonomous units (scout should avoid direct combat, prefer fleeing when HP < 30%).
- Test and tweak patrol, seek, and flee behaviors.
6. Balance pricing and resource costs
Adjust resource cost, build time, or upkeep so the unit fits the wider system.
- Run quick comparisons: cost-per-damage, cost-per-utility (vision, healing).
- If the unit is underpowered, raise damage or lower cost; if overpowered, add counters or raise cost.
7. Add audio and feedback
Attach SFX for spawn, attack, ability use, and death. Feedback improves perception: hit flashes, camera shake, UI popups for cooldowns.
8. Metadata for sharing and documentation
Add version notes, a changelog entry, author name, and any compatibility tags. Include a short usage guide and recommended counters.
Testing and iteration
Testing is where units become playable.
- Unit sandbox: Place the unit into a controlled test scene with varied opponents and environments.
- Automated checks: If supported, run automated balance tests (1v1, 3v3, edge cases).
- Playtests: Human playtests reveal emergent behavior and fun factor. Record sessions for review.
- Metrics to watch: win rate, damage dealt, survival time, ability usage frequency, and resource efficiency.
Iterate by adjusting stats, cooldowns, or AI weights. Keep changes incremental to see effects clearly.
Polishing
- Visual polish: refine animations, add subtle idle motion, and ensure UI icons are clear at small sizes.
- Performance: optimize sprite atlases, limit particle counts, and batch small audio clips.
- Accessibility: add colorblind-friendly outlines, readable fonts, and alternative text for icons.
- Localization: separate all text strings into a localization file.
Packaging and exporting
- Create a unit package with assets, scripts, and metadata.
- Include a preview image and a short description for marketplaces or repositories.
- Version the package (v1.0, v1.1) and attach a changelog.
Sharing and community feedback
- Publish to your team’s library or the public repository supported by Arya Unit Maker.
- Provide example loadouts or preset squads that showcase the unit’s role.
- Encourage players to report bugs and balance impressions; use a structured feedback form.
Troubleshooting common issues
- Unit animation jitter: check pivot alignment and inconsistent frame sizes.
- Ability not triggering: verify triggers and that cooldowns aren’t stuck at zero or negative values.
- AI getting stuck: inspect navigation mesh and collision layers; add fail-safes (teleport out or reset state).
- Performance drops: reduce particle lifetime and lower audio polyphony.
Example: Quick build summary for “Ember Scout”
- Name: Ember Scout
- Role: Recon
- Stats: HP 60 | Armor 2 | Speed 9 | Attack 6 | Vision 12 | Cost 40
- Abilities: Smoke Screen (blind enemies), Dash (short burst)
- AI: Avoid combat, scout, retreat at HP < 30%
- Polish: light particle smoke, scout icon, short spawn SFX
Building great custom units in Arya Unit Maker is an iterative mix of design, technical setup, and testing. Start with a clear plan, reuse templates, test frequently, and polish visuals and audio last. With steady iteration you’ll produce units that are balanced, fun, and durable across game systems.
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