//initialise the thing...
    public void Initialise()
    {
        Nodes = new List<RGNode>();
        Columns = new List<RGNodeColumn>();

        //go through num of acts, and generate each act
        for (int i = 0; i < ArmyData.Acts.Count; i++)
        {
            GenerateAct(i);
        }

        //add a start node and insert it at the beginning
        var startNode = new RGNode() { NodeType = NodeType.Start };
        var firstColumn = new RGNodeColumn();
        firstColumn.Nodes = new List<RGNode>();
        firstColumn.Nodes.Add(startNode);
        Nodes.Insert(0, startNode);
        Columns.Insert(0, firstColumn);

        var lastAct = GetLastAct();     // gets the last possible act
        var lastMove = GetLastMove();   // gets the last possible move number

        //add a last node and insert it at the end
        var lastColumn = new RGNodeColumn();
        lastColumn.Nodes = new List<RGNode>();
        var armies = ArmyData.levels.Where(n => n.CurrentAct == lastAct && n.CurrentMove == lastMove).ToList();
        var bossFight = armies.GetRandomElement();
        var lastNode = new RGNode()
        {
            NodeType = NodeType.End, ArmyData = bossFight,
            Reward = new BattleReward() { RewardClass = RewardClass.HighTierAugment }
        };

        lastColumn.Nodes.Add(lastNode);

        lastColumn.Act = lastAct;
        Columns.Add(lastColumn);
        Nodes.Add(lastNode);
    }

    private void GenerateAct(int actNum)
    {

        //just a wrapper to get the act out of ArmyData object because it has a very bad structure...
        Act act = GetActByCurrentAct(actNum);

        if (act == null)
        {
            // Handle act being null (e.g., log an error, return, or handle the exception in another way)
            return;
        }

        var maxShops = GetRandomRangeAsInt16(act.Shops);
        var maxEvents = GetRandomRangeAsInt16(act.Events);
        var moves = GetRandomRangeAsInt16(act.Moves);

        var cols = GenerateInitialColumns(actNum, moves);

        RandomlyAssignNodes(cols, NodeType.Event, maxEvents);
        RandomlyAssignNodes(cols, NodeType.Shop, maxShops);

        //all this method does is finds all remaining unassigned nodes, and assigns them combat node
        AssignUnassignedNodesToCombat(actNum);
    }

    //wrapper because lazy
    private short GetRandomRangeAsInt16(Vector2 range)
    {
        return Convert.ToInt16(UnityEngine.Random.Range(range.x, range.y));
    }

    private List<RGNodeColumn> GenerateInitialColumns(int actNum, int moves)
    {
        var columns = new List<RGNodeColumn>();

        for (int i = 0; i < moves; i++)
        {

            var act = actNum + 1;
            var move = i + 1;

            var column = new RGNodeColumn
            {
                Nodes = GenerateRandomNodes(actNum, i, moves),
                Act = act,
                Move = move
            };

            Nodes.AddRange(column.Nodes);

            if (i > 0 && i < moves - 1)
            {
                columns.Add(column);
            }

            Columns.Add(column);
        }

        return columns;
    }

    private List<RGNode> GenerateRandomNodes(int actNum, int colNum, int lastMoves)
    {
        var nodes = new List<RGNode>();
        var nodeCount = GetRandomRangeAsInt16(new Vector2(2, 3));

        for (int i = 0; i < nodeCount; i++)
        {
            nodes.Add(new RGNode() { NodeType = NodeType.Unassigned});
        }

        return nodes;
    }

    //this method goes through each column, shuffles the nodes, and assigns them a type
    private void RandomlyAssignNodes(List<RGNodeColumn> cols, NodeType nodeType, int maxCount)
    {
        int currentCount = 0;
        cols.Shuffle();

        foreach (var column in cols)
        {
            if (currentCount >= maxCount)
            {
                break;
            }

            //create a new list because we want to shuffle it
            var nodes = column.Nodes.ToList();

            //shuffle is an extension function - does exactly what it says, shuffles the list
            nodes.Shuffle();

            var node = nodes.FirstOrDefault(n => n.NodeType == NodeType.Unassigned);
            if (node != null)
            {
                currentCount++;
                node.NodeType = nodeType;
            }
        }
    }