Cell

The World of *YODA STORIES* is divided into discrete sections known as **Cells** (or sometimes **Screens**). Each Cell represents a specific part of the world, be it the side of a snowy mountain, the interior of an Imperial bunker, a small village, an underground cavern, or any other scenario that is limited in scope. Dividing the world into pieces in this way was common in older games, most often as a way to limit the amount of information that the program needs to process at any given time.

The contents of a Cell can be seen in the game's main viewport, as Luke moves around it, interacts with the scenery, fights Enemies, et cetera. All Cells are square in shape, with dimensions of either 18x18 Tiles (a "large cell") or 9x9 Tiles (a "small cell"). Since the main viewport can only show a 9x9 Tile area at any given time, it will automatically scroll along with  Luke Skywalker as he moves within a large cell. In small cells, no scrolling can (nor needs to) occur.

The planet Dagobah, where Luke starts each and every World, is mostly made up of 4 large cells, arranged in a square layout. Other Planets can feature up to about 45 cells (depending on the World Size slider), arranged semi-randomly on a 10x10 grid by the World Generator at the start of each new game. This 10x10 grid, and the particular arrangement of cells, can be seen by opening the Locator Map once the  Locator has been found.

On both Dagobah and other planets, travel between cells is typically done by moving  Luke Skywalker past any of the four edges of a cell. This only works if there is another cell in that direction, otherwise an "error" sound is played and no transition occurs. Valid directions of transition are indicated by green arrows on the bottom right part of the game window, though this display only works when Luke is traveling around on a planet's surface.

Furthermore, some movement between cells occurs when interacting with certain parts of the scenery. For example, walking into a door that leads into a house will transport Luke into a different cell portraying the interior of that house. In such cases, the target cell might be known as a "Subcell" - a cell that is "subordinated" to the Cell that leads into it. Subcells are usually, though not always, "small" (9x9) cells.

Each Cell in the game has a unique type and number, which dictates exactly what is inside that cell - including the scenery, interactive objects, Non-Playable Characters, and Enemies. While some randomness is typically present, you can often know a lot of details about a cell just by knowing its type and number. Randomness is typically the result of scripted Variants, which are changes to a cell that can alter how it looks, behaves, or what's in it.

So far, over 200 unique Cells have been identified. There may still be more that are not yet known.

For a complete list of all Cells in the game, see Cell Catalogue.

## A World Full of Cells

A Cell is a discrete, square section of the game World, representing a single scene (or part of a scene) that takes place within that world.

A Cell might represent anything from the interior of a small hut to the exterior of a whole Rebel base; from a dense forest to a frozen lake; and so on. Each scene is unique in some way, even if it features nothing more than a flat, empty landscape. A Cell's contents include its terrain features, obstacles, Enemies roaming about, characters to converse with, and problems for  Luke Skywalker to solve, if any.

Representing the game world as a collection of discrete scenes is a practice that was much more common in the early days of Video-games. Today, with powerful computers, many games feature an "open world" in which the player character can move across long distances seamlessly - without any loading screens or pauses to compute new areas. In some games, while the player is in one part of the world minding his own business, entire battles could be taking place in a simulated reality on the other side of the world. This sort of computing power was not always available to game systems in the 1980s and 1990s. A game like *YODA STORIES*, which was eventually ported to hand-held systems like the Nintendo GameBoy, was designed to simulate and animate only a small section of the world at any one time - a single Cell. All other Cells remained in the game's memory, to be loaded up whenever the player character - in this case  Luke Skywalker - traveled to them.

Additionally, the division of the world into Cells is integral to how *YODA STORIES* builds its game World, creating a new and unique experience each time that has never been seen before by any other player. The game is specifically designed to select Cells in a semi-random fashion and put them together in a unique combination, using its World Generator system. The empty desert Cell, that in the previous game was right next to an oasis, is now next to a deep ravine instead. The town that was previously easily accessible near the center of the world is now on the outer edge, with a system of tunnels leading towards it. A house in the middle of the forest now exists that you've never encountered before, while the entrance to a cave full of goodies is completely gone. As a result of this randomized creation, no two games of *YODA STORIES* will ever feature the exact same world.

On many occasions, multiple Cells are connected together to represent a single scene. For example, in a town Cell you might enter a doorway into a house, whose interior is another cell. There could be several such cells in a single scene, created and linked together each time they are featured in the game at all. However for the most part, one Cell has minimal (if any) bearing on any others. This is what allows the game to use randomness to such a degree; most cells can simply be placed next to one another without any thought to how they connect on a conceptual level. There's no *reason* why a forest should be next to a town, but also no reason why it shouldn't.

## What's in a Cell

A Cell is effectively just a grid of Tiles, each of which contains a small piece of the scenery or terrain, as well as no more than one object: An obstacle, an Item, an Enemy,  Luke himself, or any other interactive piece of the scene. 18x18 such Tiles make up what is called a "large cell", whereas 9x9 tiles make up a "small cell".

The contents of a Cell are ***not*** randomly generated like the layout of the world. Instead, when creating the Cell, the game chooses one of several hundred scripted templates, and creates the Cell exactly according to the instructions. If the same template is used twice throughout the game, it will usually generate the exact same Cell and everything in it.

There are both minor and major exceptions to this rule. Minor exceptions include, for example, Items hidden behind Moveable objects (such as boxes or crates) which are oftentimes randomized - sometimes appearing, sometimes not. A major exception, on the other hand, is a fundamental change to the structure or appearance of the Cell, such as a maze being rearranged or a puzzle having a different solution than before. Such changes are called Variants. Each cell has only a finite number of different Variants to choose from, with most Cells having no Variants at all. The use of Variants makes it more difficult for players to anticipate how to solve a Cell or where to discover its hidden treasures just by recognizing its general appearance.

The contents of a cell, including its exact terrain configuration as well as all objects and characters within it, are considered part of that cell and separate from the rest of the game. When  Luke leaves a cell, its contents are saved to memory and will no longer be simulated until such time that Luke returns, if he does at all. Enemies stop moving, Moveables are left exactly where they are, and the status of all interactive objects such as flipped switches is memorized. This is also true when saving the current World: all content of each and every Cell in the world is saved and will be exactly the same when reloaded.

### Cell Templates

The game files contain several hundred Cell templates - instructions on how to construct and populate a huge variety of different Cells. Each template tells the game what a Cell should look like, what it should contain, and how its puzzles (if any) should work.

The World Generator, which creates the layout of each new world you play on, must select which template to use for each Cell it wants to place down. To this end, it looks at this huge list of templates, chooses one that matches the requirements, and generates the cell at a given position on the Planet being created.

The choice of template is based on the type of planet involved (Ice, Desert or Forest), the type of Cell that the Generator wishes to place down (e.g. an Empty Cell, Puzzle Cell, and so forth), and on a several other minor requirements related to the specific world being built. After matching these requirements against the list of templates, the World Generator usually only has a few dozen templates remaining to choose from. From these, it picks one at random, while also avoiding repetition - a world never contains two instances of the same template.

On this Wiki, each Cell Template is given a unique name for reference. This name begins with the Planet Type, then the Cell Type, and finally an arbitrary but unique number. Examples include "Desert Teleporter Cell 02", "Ice Empty Cell 36", "Forest Locator Cell 04", and hundreds of others following the same formula. Each of these templates is a completely unique set of instructions on how to build and operate a Cell. For the most part, each template will generate the same Cell each time it is used, with minor randomness to keep things interesting.

A full list of Cell templates discovered so far can be found in the Cell Catalogue.

### Variants

*Main article: Variants*

Given that a Cell Template contains exact instructions on how to build a Cell and what it should contain, using the same template twice should produce the same exact Cell. However, even templates contain instructions that allow for variations and randomness.

Most of this randomness is quite minor; for example, an Item might appear under one crate or another, or an NPC might be standing on one side of a house or another, changing very little about how the Cell functions. So long as these minor variations are easy to explain or illustrate, they can safely be considered the same template running a minor random factor.

On the other hand, some variations are much more significant, particularly when the terrain of the cell is altered. For example, a maze could have two different solutions depending on whether a single wall is present or removed. There are even more extreme examples, such as one variation calling for a solution involving pushing a boulder off a cliffside, while another variation requires handing an item to an NPC. When the variation is significant enough, the final cell effectively has two versions that cannot be discussed in the same breath. These are called Cell Variants.

Only about 20-30% of all cells have any variants at all - appearing exactly the same each time they are encountered, or with such inconsequential differences, as described above. Cells that do have variants are very often Puzzle Cells, whose solution may be significantly affected by the specific variant chosen. A handful of cells have 10 or more variants, due to multiple random changes that could occur in different combinations, each affecting the cell's appearance and/or behavior.

This is pushed even further with Objective Cells and Missions as a whole. The mission itself, while having the same objective each time it is selected, could feature a different Objective Cell that is solved in a slightly different manner. Different Quest Items could be required, and used in different ways each time. Since an Objective Cell is made up of multiple different Subcells, with *each of them* potentially having its own variants, the number of possible combinations can rapidly get out of hand. Thus, Objective Variants warrant their own discussion and have an even greater effect on gameplay than normal Cell Variants.

On this Wiki, Cell Variants are marked with a letter following the Cell's identifying number. For example, Snow Teleporter Cell 05 has two variants, known as Snow Teleporter Cell 05A and Snow Teleporter Cell 05B. The only difference between them is the placement of the pressure plate that activates the teleporter; there are two possible positions where it might appear.

## Planet Types

*Main article: Planets*

All Cell templates are divided into four major groups depending on which Planet they can appear on. Below is a list of the four groups, with a short description of the kinds of Cells one might find there. Note however that not ever Cell in every group adheres perfectly to this description.

### Dagobah

*Main article: Dagobah*

Dagobah is  Yoda's home planet. It is a swamp, though it normally contains no threats whatsoever.  Luke starts every World on Dagobah, to receive him mission from Yoda.

Dagobah normally has only 5 cells which are practically identical each time you play the game. They are also arranged in the same way, with four large cells in a square, and a fifth Subcell portraying Yoda's hut. The only real variation, for the most part, is that Yoda can be found at different locations on Dagobah.

Once in a while, additional Cells are used in the Dagobah Missions, which are short assignments given by Yoda to win useful items. These only occur at very specific points in the game, and will never occur again until the game is completely erased and reinstalled. There are only 3 such additional cells.

### Desert

*Main article: Desert*

Desert planets are characterized by their sandy plains, broken only by narrow ravines and canyons. Settlement, while difficult, is not rare here, with plenty of small villages and even lone homesteads. Water is a rare sight, usually pumped to the surface artificially by the locals. Greenery is concentrated entirely around such watering holes.

 Snakes and  Giant Beetles roam the landscape, as do bands of  Tusken Raiders setting up ambushes mostly in the rocky areas. Most importantly,  Stormtroopers patrol and police large parts of the planet. The notorious  Sarlaccs present a rare but significant threat, as they are practically invisible until accidentally stumbled upon.

 Piles of Junk are typically easy to find here, especially where droids loiter about the settlements and homesteads. These can often be traded to  Jawas for more useful Equipment.

Desert planets include Bakkah, Halm, Tozeer, and two different areas of the most famous planet in *Star Wars*: Tatooine.

### Ice

*Main article: Ice*

Ice planets are desolate wastelands covered in a sheet of ice and snow. Temperatures are at least freezing, making it impossible for trees to appear in almost any Cell. Humanoid settlements are extremely rare, typically isolated underground dwellings where people go to distance themselves from society. Frozen lakes and icy cliffs are common, as are flat open plains of snow with few landmarks in sight.

Nevertheless, these planets provide cover to many Rebel and Imperial bases, either built into the cliffside or hidden under thick layers of snow.  Snow Troopers are typically found protecting their own bases and raiding Rebel bases in force. Though most creatures on the Ice world are weak predators, such as  Snow Stars and  Ice Flies, the dangerous  Wampa are a constant threat, particularly near their lairs in the mountains.

Though very little can be found aboveground, the many underground dwellings and bases often contain very useful Equipment, as long as Luke is willing to fight for it.

Ice planets include Etorasp, Lokondo, Neshtab, Thaldo, and a planet so desolate that its name is simply Unknown.

### Forest

*Main article: Forest*

Forest planets are practically covered with gigantic trees, huddled together to form veritable mazes of foliage. Hills and mountains are largely uncommon here, and any open piece of terrain is likely to become flooded and turn into a swamp. People do live in small huts out in the woods, but a more common sight are the wooden catwalks and treehouses built by the local  Ewoks up in the tall trees.

Forests are very dangerous due to the many  Mobile Plants that roam between the trees. Visibility is low, making it difficult to spot such threats before they strike.  Scout Troopers generally avoid wandering out in small groups, but can occasionally be found in larger contingents scouring the forests for Rebels, or protecting their isolated bases in the less-wooded areas.

Fortunately, the danger of the forest is somewhat mitigated by its bountifulness: medicinal  Mushrooms can often by found just lying around to be picked up and eaten. Advanced Equipment, on the other hand, is somewhat harder to come by.

Forest planets include Argavat, Nibiru, Tarsa and Varn, as well as the home of the Ewoks, the Forest Moon of Endor.

## Cell Types

*Main articles: Planets and Cell Types*

The primary distinction between cells is by *type*: The purpose and function of the cell. With the exception of Dagobah cells, there are 10 types of Cells that appear in every World you create. These are spread out by the World Generator to form the layout of each new world, turning individual cells into an entire *adventure*.

 Landing Cell: This is where  Luke's X-Wing lands after taking off from Dagobah. Each new Planet only has one Landing Cell. It always contains entrances to two important Subcells: One containing a  Medical Droid, and the other containing a Trader.
 Empty Cell: A cell that does not contain any Quest Items nor has any other important function. May still contain Enemies who might drop Loot, and may contain hidden Equipment.
 Locator Puzzle Cell: A cell containing the  Locator. A *very* rudimentary puzzle may need to be solved to get to it.
 Force Puzzle Cell: A cell containing  Obi-Wan Kenobi, who provides  THE FORCE. A small puzzle needs to be solved to reveal Obi-Wan.
 Puzzle Cell: The meat of the game - a puzzle to be solved here in order to acquire a Quest Item. Oftentimes, another Quest Item has to be used here in order to solve that puzzle.
 Blockade Cell: A cell with only two opposite entrances and an impassable obstacle between them. A Quest Item must be brought here to remove the obstacle and allow passage.
 Gate Cell: This cell contains an interactive object that will take you to another part of the map. A Quest Item must be used to make that transition possible.
 Destination Cell: A counterpart to the Gate Cell, this is the cell you arrive at on the other side of the map. Each Gate and Destination puzzle form a pair, and will only ever appear together.
 Teleporter Cell: This cell contains an interactive object that allows instant transportation to any other Teleporter Cell discovered on the map. The Teleporter may need to be activated first by solving a simple puzzle.
 Objective Cell: The ultimate puzzle cell. This is where the Mission itself will be accomplished. It is a complex puzzle with many Subcells and several different Variants. One or more Quest Items must be brought here in order to solve that puzzle.
## Transition Between Cells

The game has several different ways to handle movement from one Cell to another. Different Cells - and different *kinds* of Cells - may require you to perform a different action in order to enter and exit. Most Cells have multiple different exits, and sometimes multiple different methods of entering and leaving.

### Moving on the Surface

All Cells whose position is marked on the Locator Map are known as "Surface Cells". They are all Large Cells (18x18 dimensions), depicting an exterior scene of one sort or another. The majority of Cells in the game are Surface Cells.

In order to move from one Surface cell to a neighboring Surface cell,  Luke simply has to walk past the cell's edge - either to the north, east, south or west - walking into the neighbouring cell as though it was all just one continuous landscape. This of course requires there to *be* a neighbouring cell in that direction, otherwise no transition occurs and an "error" sound is played instead.

While Luke is in any Surface Cell, a set of four arrows at the bottom right side of the game window light up to show where the neighboring cells are. For example, when the "north" arrow is lit green, this means that trying to move through the north edge of the current cell will move you to the adjacent Surface cell to the north.

If all four arrows are greyed out,  Luke is currently not in a Surface Cell, but rather in a Subcell (see below). This, however, does not mean that edge transitions are impossible, as explained in the next section.

It is not possible to transition diagonally between Surface cells.

### Subcells

*Main article: Subcell*

A Subcell is a cell that can only be reached by interacting with a scenery object in another cell. Doorways, trap doors, and ladders typically lead to a Subcell. Subcells are unlike Surface Cells in that they do not have their own unique coordinates on the Locator Map - they are instead considered an extension of whichever Surface Cell led into them.

For example, while a Surface Cell might show the exterior of a house, the interior of that house would be a Subcell. Moving between the exterior and interior of the house does not change your location on the Locator Map, and there is no way to reach the interior of the house except through the exterior Surface Cell.

Many  Puzzle Cells have at least one Subcell to visit, usually containing the Quest Item reward for the puzzle. Gaining access to the Subcell is often the tricky part of the puzzle.

Some Subcells lead into yet another Subcell. This is particularly true of  Objective Cells, which consist of a single Surface Cell leading into multiple Subcells. Some Objective Cells have nearly a dozen Subcells to explore behind them.

### X-Wing

*Main article: X-Wing*

Luke's X-Wing can be used to transition between the Dagobah SW cell and the  Landing Cell at the mission planet. This works in both directions.

There is one exception to this, during the Argavat mission, where the X-Wing remains unavailable until the end of the mission.

### Gates

*Main article: Gate Cell*

A Gate Cell is a type of Surface Cell that allows moving to another Surface cell, known as a Destination Cell, somewhere else on the planet. Both the Gate and Destination cells are Surface Cells, but not adjacent to one another. Both are marked on the Locator Map.

In order to make this transition possible, a puzzle must first be solved at the Gate Cell. A Quest Item is always required to solve this puzzle. Once the gate is "opened", Luke may interact with some object - whether a vehicle or just a doorway - to travel instantly to the Destination Cell. In some cases, Luke must travel through an intermediate Subcell between the two, instead of moving there instantly.

Once the Destination Cell has been reached, it is possible to freely travel back the way you came. No more puzzle-solving is required.

Note that the Destination Cell cannot be reached except by opening the gate. The area of the Planet connected to the Destination Cell is completely disconnected from the rest of the map, except through this gate.

### Blockades

*Main article: Blockade Cell*

A Blockade Cell is a Surface Cell that has entrances on either side, with some sort of impassable obstacle in the middle. Often it is a locked door, or an NPC who refuses to move. Only one side of this cell is accessible at first, until you solve the puzzle (always with the help of a Quest Item), at which point the obstacle is removed. Luke may then exit out of the other side of the Cell to continue exploring the area behind it.

Blockade Cells can always be entered from two opposite sides: either North/South or East/West. The other sides have no neighbouring cells. Only one entrance can be reached from the  Landing Cell until the puzzle is solved.

Occasionally, Blockade Cells may require you to enter a Subcell to solve the puzzle, then come out into the other side of the same Blockade Cell, allowing you to move on. You may or may not have to enter the Subcell again when traveling back through the blockade.

### Teleporters

*Main article: Teleporter Cell*

A Teleporter Cell is a type of Surface Cell that potentially allows instantaneous transport to any other Teleporter Cell.

Each Teleporter Cell features an interactive object that is the teleporter itself. Touching this object opens the Locator Map automatically. You may pick any other Teleporter Cell you've discovered on the map to be instantly teleported there.

The Teleporter only allows moving to other teleporters that you've already discovered. If there are additional, undiscovered teleporters on the map, they remain inaccessible until discovered.

Furthermore, some Teleporters are discovered in an inactive state. In this case, you would need to solve a simple puzzle to activate the teleporter. You may not teleport to or from an inactive teleporter. A Teleporter activation puzzle never requires Quest Items.

Since each teleporter allows transport to any other teleporter, this is one of the fastest ways to travel across the map. However, some maps feature no Teleporter Cells whatsoever, and disconnected areas (those behind Gates) rarely have teleporters in them.