Start with the place, mood or gameplay idea you want. You do not need to know tool names or write a stock Zombies bootstrap before asking your agent to work.
Write a useful brief
Make me a COD Zombies map based on Hull: a compact dockside warehouse, service yard and boilerhouse. Choose sensible defaults, explain the progression, and save the design before creating source. Build and test what you can, and keep track of anything unverified.
Give practical constraints when you have them: a small first map, four-player starts, a short route to power, or room for a later quest. The agent can choose the rest and record its assumptions.
For a real place, research comes from the agent’s available research tools. Apothicon supplies map tools and local references; it does not automatically fetch architectural facts or reference art. The design should distinguish sourced details from creative interpretation.
Inspect and plan
The agent should begin with workspace_status and discover_capabilities, then consult apothicon://agent-guide. Exact schemas come from tool_catalog, rather than guessed arguments.
plan_zombies_map saves a staged runbook with the brief, assumptions, research, blockers and validation gates. read_map_plan and update_map_plan keep decisions and evidence available between sessions.
Original layouts are the normal workflow. The agent can compose rooms and routed connections with compose_zombies_design, compare real alternatives with compare_design_proposals, validate the result and save the chosen design. Starter layouts are available when you explicitly want a blockout.
Create source, then develop the environment
create_zombies_project defaults to a preview and uses the installed official Launcher Zombies template. Existing projects are not overwritten by reusing a name. Structural or startup-integration failures stop creation before project files are written.
Without Mod Tools, explicitly request prototype=true. This creates original practice source; it does not silently substitute for native project creation or prove playability.
Source creation is followed by an environment-art pass. plan_environment_art helps establish materials, architectural layers, focal views and clear walking space. The agent can author and inspect actual scene compositions for interiors, exteriors and transitions. A lighting palette or a named theme alone is not finished art.
Use project_health and explain_next_steps to find unresolved source, material, progression, lighting and build requirements. export_map_preview produces an XY source plan useful for reviewing the layout. It does not show the rendered map.
Build in stages
For staged work, preview and apply deploy_project before building. Review plan_build, enable native execution locally when ready, then use start_build with execute=true. Track progress and diagnostics through build_status.
A full build compiles geometry, exports lighting and links the map. Asset changes may also need the GDT stage. The build guide explains the outputs and process controls.
Use the rendered map for its preview
Ask the agent to capture the actual built map. native_view_capabilities reports the supported adapter and prerequisites. capture_native_view can request a fresh engine screenshot from an owned Windows game session after checking its saved stock F10 binding, while the game window is already in the foreground. The agent still needs to establish the desired view; the capture tool does not move the camera or hide the HUD. read_native_view returns the capture’s pixels through MCP so the agent can inspect and critique the result.
After reviewing interior, exterior and landmark shots, use use_native_view_for_presentation to preview a crop or letterbox into the native preview/loading sizes. Applying that preview journals the images and their provenance. Generated artwork is an explicit creative option when requested, never an automatic fallback for a missing screenshot. Capture file acquisition and an attractive cover do not establish gameplay acceptance.
Playtest what matters
A successful fastfile and a running game process are useful evidence, but gameplay acceptance needs observations from that map. Check:
- Solo and co-op starts, restart, late join and death/respawn.
- Zombie entries, navigation, zone activation and paid-door progression.
- Power, wall purchases, perks, the mystery box and Pack-a-Punch.
- Rendered materials, lighting, collision and the intended walking space.
Managed test sessions let the agent record individual checks and their evidence. Keep unobserved checks pending. Earlier acceptance results from another map or generator version do not establish the result of your new project.