Table of Contents:
Disclaimer – YOU MUST READ THIS!
Quick Start – Making a basic levelCreating your own level set / Entering the Editor Mode
Exiting the Editor Mode
Choosing a Background
Placing a brick on a level
Group Selecting Bricks
Painting Over Bricks without losing scriptingPower Up Bricks
Change Area Bricks
Brick Factories
Starfish
Speed Changers
Teleporters
Movement - Background information
Absolute Point
Relative Point
Named Object
The Pick Function
On Screen Visual aids
Entering Coordinates
Assigning a Plug-in
Ease in and Out
Move to a Point
Move Between Points
In an Orbit
Along a Path
Blend Positions
Making Bricks move from a single spot into a pre set pattern
Before you make a level, please re-read the EULA you agreed to when purchasing the game, and be sure you understand it fully. You can find the complete EULA here.
Other than the help provided on this web page, Reflexive is releasing the Level Editor to Ricochet Lost Worlds as “unsupported”. Please do not send emails to our customer support department with questions about how to use the editor, complaints about how hard it is to use, or gripes that a level you designed isn’t working any longer, or any question about the editor for that matter. Any question pertaining to the level editor will not be answered.
Please view the editor as a bonus feature, rather than a main feature. We are only releasing the editor because we thought it would be fun for people to be able to make their own levels. However, we simply cannot answer questions about learning the editor or provide assistance with designing a level. It is our hope that this document will get you started, and that with a little practice you will soon be creating fun and engaging levels.
There is a thread on our message board dedicated to the editor, so feel free to look that over. If you have a question, it is likely that someone else once had the same question and an answer can be found there. If you do not see your question, please feel free to post it. Before long, we are certain that there will be non Reflexive Employees that are better than we are at using the editor.
Now, with all that out of the way, please enjoy the editor and see if you can’t make better levels than we did! We’re actually quite interested to see what new and creative ideas people will come up with.
The first thing you should try to understand is that the Ricochet Lost Worlds editor treats everything as a ‘brick”. Actual bricks, postion markers, trapped balls, floating spheres etc. are all treated by the program as bricks. As such, all objects in your palette can all be placed on the level like bricks and made to move like bricks. Some of these items (such as the position markers) are programmed to be invisible during game play, but when you are working with them in designing the level, they are a brick like anything else. This concept will make more sense as you read more of this document, and work with the editor for a while.
A good way to start is to try to mimic a level from the game itself. While the levels that we made cannot be changed, you can look at how they were scripted. It may be a good idea to look at how we used the editor for help. To start with, look at a relatively simplistic level that does not feature a great deal of movement. Movement is not difficult, but it is a level of complexity that you should save until you have achieved a basic familiarity with the editor. “The Power of One” may be a good starting level. As you get better, you should consistently refer to other levels in the Lost Worlds Standard level pack. It can be a helpful reference for you.
You can enter the editor mode at any time by pressing F6. If you do this, you will be editing whatever level set was previously chosen for your player. If you want to choose a different level set to edit, or to create your own set of levels to edit follow the steps below.
1) From the main menu, Click “Play Game”
2) Choose your player name.
3) On the New Game Options Window, click “Change”
4) You will now see a list of round sets that Ricochet Lost Worlds “knows” about. Click “New” at the bottom of this window
5) Now Enter a name you would like to assign to your round set. It can be anything you like.
6) Note that your round set now appears on the list of available rounds. Choose it by clicking on it and choosing “Select”.
7) You are taken back to the Select Player Menu. When you choose a player, note that your round set is the current round set.
8) Click on the lone round set thumb nail image and then click on level 1. By default, all of your levels are called “Unnamed level”
9) Note that you are now playing a level with only two bricks. To edit this level, press the “F6” button. You are now in editor mode.
While you are making your level, it is helpful to check on your progress from time to time by playing what you’ve made so far. You can do that at any time by pressing F6. If you do this, you can immediately play test the changes you have made. Note, however, that this is a special test mode. As such, when you have cleared the last brick, you will be taken immediately back to the editor to continue working on this level. You will not advance to the next level in your round set, and any score you achieve will not be stored in your high scores. To advance to a new level to work on, while in the editor mode, press the arrow button next to the round number at the top of the editor palate.
To play your level ‘for real’ and to keep a score on it and advance to the next level, you’ll need to press the ‘Esc’ key which will take you back to the main menu. Now, if you start a new game you will be in normal mode until you press
The first thing you probably want to do is to choose the level background you would like to use. You can change this later, but often times working with the appropriate background helps set the mood of the level you are designing. To choose a background, locate the drop down box that says Alien, Mayan, Underwater, or Volcanic, and click the drop down arrow. If you want to change the current background, simply select another one.
You will notice that the palate changes to match your then current background. However, any brick you may have previously laid will not change. In this fashion you can put a brick that was intended to be on the volcanic level on any level background you wish.
Bricks are arranged into 4 different palates, a different one for each environment type. You will notice that some bricks (change brick, floating sphere etc.) appear on multiple palates. This is because they appear across all environment types.
Hovering your mouse over the brick on the palate will cause a tool tip to be displayed to tell you what kind of brick it is. Normal, Power up, Ball Deflector, Change brick etc.
To place a brick on your level, simply left click on any brick in the palate. Now, move the cursor into the play field, and right click anywhere you would like to place a brick of that type. Each time you right click in the play field you will generate a new instance of that brick.
If you right click and keep the button pressed down, you can lay a large number of identical bricks at once. If you move the mouse from left to right you will see a wide swath of bricks being laid. Be careful, however, as nothing prevents you from laying bricks on top of each other and this is often times not what you want to do.
By default, the snap feature is checked. This will make it much easier to lay down bricks as they will ‘snap’ next to each other. When you are getting started we do not recommend that you uncheck this box. If you find yourself not wanting a brick to ‘snap’ it is better to temporarily override it by holding down the shift key as you move your brick.
You will probably find it helpful to know how to select a group of bricks. To do this, place your mouse cursor in the play field next to a brick (not on one). Click and hold the left mouse button, and then move your mouse. You will notice a green box begin to draw between the spot you clicked and the current location of your cursor. Any brick in this box will be selected when you release the left mouse button. Now, click and hold any brick in the selected range. When you move your mouse, note that all selected bricks move. Group selected bricks can be moved, deleted, and have scripting pasted on to them.
Sometimes you may want to change the way a brick looks but do not want to lose any scripting that was on that brick. Perhaps you want to keep a brick moving on its current path, but you want to change it from a 1 hit to 3 hit brick.
To do this, simply click a new brick style or type from the palate, and then right click on a brick that already exists in the level. This will change the brick’s appearance and/or function, but will NOT affect any scripting you have done to that brick.
You can introduce Power ups into your level by simply placing a power up brick on a level. If you do this, you will be laying down what is called a default power up brick. Each time this brick is hit, it will generate a power up on a pre-determined chance basis. If you want to specify exactly what power up this specific brick generates:
1) double click on the brick
2) At the bottom of the window that appears you will see a button that says <new forced powerup slot>. Click it.
3) Then click on the drop down menu in the slot that appears and choose the power up you would like to force that powerup brick to generate.
If you want to prevent that power up brick from generating a specific powerup, ie No Laser Blasters:
1) Double click on the brick
2) Click the folder that says “Power Ups”
3) Click <New Disallowed Slot>
4) Now click the drop down arrow and choose the specific power up you want to block.
To have global control of powerups on the whole level, ie to control what may and may not be generated by all powerup bricks on the level as a whole it is not necessary to do the above steps for each and every power up brick you lay down. Instead, click Edit/Edit Level Properties/ Powerups. But before you do that , you may want to learn more about that here.
Change Area bricks are a good way to make your level dynamic. When hit, they change bricks in a given radius around them to whatever brick you specify. There are two sizes, large and small. To make them work, try placing one on a level in the center of several normal bricks. When you place it, you will immediately see a green circle. This represents the area that will be changed when the change brick is hit. To specify what the neighboring bricks will be changed to, double click on the change brick. At the bottom of the window that appears, note the “Change to brick style” field. Click the drop down arrow and choose a brick. In this fashion you can change most any brick into any other brick. Change Area Bricks have no effect on Teleporter bricks, Ball deflectors, Position Markers, or Starfish,
The Brick Factory brick found in the Mayan level set will generate a new brick each time it is hit. To get it to work, you need to first place one on the level and then specify what brick you would like it to generate. To specify the brick to generate:
1) Double click on the brick once you have placed it.
2) Click the drop down menu next to Generate Brick Style to choose the brick you want the factory to generate.
3) At the bottom of the window, enter a number of bricks you want the factory to generate. By default it will generate 20.
The Starfish on the water level are a good way to create puzzles. Used in combination with obstacle bricks or brick deflectors, Starfish bricks can serve as ‘doors’ that need to be ‘unlocked’ prior to accessing a part of a level. To use them, you must place both a starfish brick, and you must place a starfish on the level. A starfish brick without a starfish is like a locked door without a key. Placing the starfish brick itself is done the same as any other brick. Adding a starfish to a brick is a bit different. To do it:
1) Double click on the brick you want to have a starfish on it.
2) Click the <new simultaneous plug-in slot> button.
3) From the drop down menu type ‘star’. (or Choose Underwater/Starfish)
4) Now click on the button that appears in the plug in slot
5) Use the up or down arrow to choose between the available starfish.
These are quite easy to use. Simply click and place. Any time a ball crosses over them, it will speed up or slow down accordingly.
Teleporters cause the ball to instantly transport from one spot to another. You must place both an entry and exit of the same color for this to work. If you place an entrance, but no exit, the ball will simply pass over the teleporter entrance. Again, they must be of the same color. They are simple to operate. Simply place them on the level. The entrances look like electric fields and the exits look like iris doors.
Below is a description of the 4 menus available in the editor and what ability the items on each menu allow you to do.
Select/Create Round set - This will take you to a list of all round sets that Ricochet Lost Worlds currently knows about. You can choose a different set of levels to edit, or add a new set of levels to edit from this list.
Test/Play Round (F6) - While you are making your level, it is helpful to check on your progress from time to time by playing what you’ve made so far. You can do that at any time by pressing F6. If you do this, you can immediately play test the changes you have made. Note, however, that this is a special test mode. As such, when you have cleared the last brick, you will be taken immediately back to the editor to continue working on this level. You will not advance to the next level in your round set, and any score you achieve will not be stored in your high scores. To advance to a new level to work on, while in the editor mode, press the arrow button next to the round number at the top of the editor palate. If you want to get to a level much faster, use the Edit Round Set feature available on the Edit Menu.
Test/Play Round with markers – This will allow you to see hidden Position markers while the round is in play. Position markers by default will not display during game play. At times it is helpful to see them and how visible bricks relate to them.
Exit – Exits the Editor mode and returns you to Ricochet’s main menu.
Cut - Ctrl-X. Allows you to cut a brick or group of bricks for the purpose of pasting that brick or group of bricks elsewhere on this or another level. To use click on a brick in the play field, or group select
Copy – Ctrl – C. Allows you to make a copy of a brick or group of bricks for the purpose of pasting that brick or group of bricks elsewhere on this or another level. The copy command retains any scripting you may have done to any bricks.
Paste – Ctrl-V. Allows you to paste the current cut or copied brick or group of bricks in a different location on the same or different level.
Delete – (Delete Key) will delete a selected brick or group of bricks. Be careful, the only way to undo a deletion is to use the revert to last saved command.
Paste Replacement Plug-in - Will paste any plug in (scripting) you have copied from a brick onto a different brick or group of bricks. This is a quick way to get multiple bricks to do the same behavior. For example if you want 7 bricks to follow the same path you could script it on each brick individually, or, script it once copy that scripting, select the other 6 bricks and then choose this command.
Remove all Plug-ins – Will remove any scripting you have done to a selected brick or group of bricks.
Disable spawning by brick layer – In some levels, bricks do not appear until later on in the level. In this case you do not want the brick layer at the beginning of the level to put these bricks down as it ruins the surprise. Selecting a brick and then choosing this command will cause the brick layer to not place that brick at the beginning of the level.
Enable spawning by brick layer – Will remove the effect of ‘Disable spawning by brick layer’. By default, all bricks are in this state, so this command is only necessary to be used on bricks that you have previously told not to be laid by the brick layer.
Edit Round Set – A window will appear that allows you to change the order of rounds in your round set. To change the order number of the level, click on the name of the level, and then choose either move up or move down. Note that you can select any level and then press Edit to edit that level.
Edit Power up Weight – Some levels you may want to emphasize or de-emphasize a particular power up or set of power ups. Clicking this command will bring up a menu that allows you to assign a relative weight to each power up available. Your level will then add up this weighting to arrive at a total number of chances, and divide by the weighting you assigned to calculate the percentage chance that a particular power up will be generated when a power up brick is hit. For example if you put a zero next to every power up except for Acid ball which you assign a 3 and Bomb which you assign 1, there is a 3 in 4 chance that each time you hit a power up an Acid Ball will be generated and a 1 in 4 chance that a bomb will be generated. If you want there to be an equal chance that any power up in the game will be generated on your level, assign the identical number to each power up. If you want to increase the likelihood of a certain power up appearing, assign a larger number to that power up
Edit Level Properties – Choosing this command brings up a sub menu with 3 tabs on it as described below.
General
1) Display Name. Here is where you can name your level. The name you type in here will appear each time your level begins.
2) Author. Enter your name and the world will know who made your great level (if you choose to share it with the world of course).
3) Notes. If you have a note you want to remember (for example about how you did a certain script or where you hid a ring) place it here for future reference.
4) Background type. An additional place to change the level background. This will change if you use the method described above.
Power Ups – This is a more sophisticated and more powerful way of controlling power ups than the Edit Power up Weight Menu.1) Automatic Power ups. Want to give the player a gun right away? How about a safety bumper? This command allows you to make any power up active at the beginning of a level. Clicking the <new automatic slot> button will open a drop down box for you. In this drop down box, select a power up you want. If you want more than one, click the <new automatic slot> button again and choose another.
2) Disallow automatic Power Ups. If this check box is checked (as it is by default) any power up you designate as an Automatic Power up for that level will not be generated when a power up brick is hit on the level. If you don’t want this to be prevented, uncheck the checkbox.
3) Disallow all Level Breakers. Level breakers are power ups that have the ability to destroy obstacle bricks. If you have a puzzle set up that depends on a player finding a way around an obstacle brick your puzzle an be said to be ‘broken’ by a power up that allows the player to just go right through your obstacle. If you check this checkbox, such power ups will not be generated on that level.
4) Disallow Powerups - This allows you to disallow on a global basis any specific power up from being generated on that level. Clicking the <new automatic slot> button will open a drop down box for you. In this drop down box, select a power up you want to disallow. If you want to disallow more than one, click the <new automatic slot> button again and choose another.
5) Getting Conditional Extra Life – Entering a number here will cause your level to check how many spheres you have in reserve. If it is below the number you enter, the chance of a power up brick generating a Extra Sphere power up is increased. We used this in the early levels of RLW to try and make sure a less skilled player would not die too fast.
Old – This is the same as Edit Power up Weight
Asset Dependency Browser- Ignore this, it will not help you
List Browser – Ignore this, it will not help you
Image Browser – Ignore this, it will not help you
Many times you will want to be sure you have selected all bricks of a particular name, design, type, or that have a particular plug in. This can be difficult as sometimes there are numerous bricks and there is no way to be sure you found them all. The editor provides 4 ways to select groups of bricks:
All with same name – If you have named a brick, or more specifically named a number of bricks the same thing, you can choose all of them in this way: To use, select one of the bricks in question (click on it) and then click Select, then click Select All with Same Name. All bricks that have the same name as the brick you copied will be selected.
All with same brick style – This is how you can select all bricks with a certain style or design. To use, select one of the bricks in question (click on it) and then click Select, then click Select All with Same brick style. All bricks that have the same design as the brick you copied will be selected.
All with same brick Type – This is how, for example you can make sure you select all power up bricks on the level, or all 3 hit bricks etc. To use, select one of the bricks in question (click on it) and then click Select, then click Select All with Same brick type. All bricks that have the same type as the brick you copied will be selected.
All with same Plug-ins – Let’s say you make 7 bricks orbit something (ie apply the same script to all 7 bricks) but then decide later you want them all deleted, you can quickly do this by clicking one of the bricks in question. Then click Select, then click Select al with same Plug-ins. All 7 bricks will be selected. You can then press delete and they will all be deleted.
All with References to this. If you want to find any and all bricks that may be referring to a particular brick (ie they have some scripting that refers to that brick), click the brick in question and then click Select, then click All with references to this. All bricks, if any, that have a script that refers to that brick will be selected.
Often times you want to align bricks exactly. These commands will help you do that.
Align Left – Select two or more bricks and then click Align, and then Left Align. The bricks will retain their horizontal position, and line up on the same vertical axis as the brick in your selection that is farthest to the left.
Align Right - Select two or more bricks and then click Align, and then Right Align. The bricks will retain their horizontal position, and line up on the same vertical axis as the brick in your selection that is farthest to the right.
Align Center - Select two or more bricks and then click Align, and then Align Center. The bricks will retain their horizontal position, and line up on the screens center vertical axis.
Align Top - Select two or more bricks and then click Align, and then Align Top. The bricks will retain their vertical position, and line up on the same horizontal axis as the brick in your selection that is closest to the top of the screen.
Align Bottom - Select two or more bricks and then click Align, and then Align Bottom. The bricks will retain their vertical position, and line up on the same horizontal axis as the brick in your selection that is closest to the bottom of the screen.
Align Center - ??? not really sure what this second align center does
Space Evenly – Select three or more bricks and then click Align, Space Evenly. The editor will attempt to place all bricks evenly spaced using the two outermost bricks as reference points.
Bring Forward – If several bricks are on top of one another, this will bring the brick one closer to the front.
Bring to Front – If several bricks are on top of one another, this will bring the selected brick to the front most position.
Send Backwards - If several bricks are on top of one another, this will bring the brick one closer to the back.
Send to Back - If several bricks are on top of one another, this will bring the selected brick to the back.
Many scripts require that a brick be named. There are two ways to assign a name to a brick.
1) Double click on any brick you have placed in the play field. Be sure you are on the General Tab on the window that appears. In the field that says Name, enter any name you wish. You may find it helpful to assign a descriptive name like “Top Orbitor” or “Bottom Mover”.
2) The other way is to name a brick is to allow the editor to do it for you. This is helpful because you are not required to name any brick that may be in a script prior to beginning your script. If in the middle of scripting, you refer to a brick that does not have a name (by using the pick function and picking a brick), the editor will assign a name to that brick for you. While this is helpful in that it will not slow you down while you are scripting, the name it assigns is often hard to remember and not helpful.
The movement of bricks is one of the chief ways to make levels interesting in Ricochet Lost Worlds. The types of motion available are below. Before you start scripting, remember what the editor thinks of as a ‘brick’ and be sure to understand the following concepts:
- An Absolute Point is any point designated by a set of coordinates on the playfield where the upper left of the field being (0,0). Remember that since bricks can move off of the screen, coordinates you can move a brick to encompass more area than the playfield that the ball bounces in.
– A Relative point is a point relative to where the brick is at that point in time. A relative point of (0,0) is the brick’s current location. A relative point of (100, 65) is 100 pixels along the positive X axis (ie to the right) , and 65 pixels down the Y Axis. A relative point of (-100, -65) would be 100 pixels along the negative X axis (ie to the left) and 65 pixels up the Y axis.
A Named object is a brick or Position Marker that has been named by you or by the editor.
There are graphical representations to help you visualize where the points you are entering are. As you change coordinates these visual cues will change as well. They can help you understand where the points are you are entering.
You can simply type a coordinate in the X and Y fields if you wish. If you want to make minor adjustments to a number in the field, you can use the up and down arrows to change the coordinate. If you want to make larger adjustments, you can right clicking and hold in the input field, and then push your mouse up or down. Notice that the number quickly goes up.
To assign a movement ‘plug-in’ script to any brick, double click on the brick. In the General Tab of the window that appears you will see a button that says < new simultaneous plug in slot >. Click it.
This has to do with how the brick accelerates and slows down as it moves. For a detailed description of this concept, read the in game tool tip that appears when you move your mouse cursor over the words “Ease inOut”.
We suggest you try learning the available scripting commands in this order (not the order they appear in the list in the editor).
You can make a brick move from its then current location to a different point using this command. Here’s how:
1) Double Click on a brick that you want to move to a point.
2) Click <new simultaneous plug in slot>, Then double click on the “Move” folder, then select “Move to a Point”
3) A ‘Move to point’ button is placed in the plug in slot. Click it.
4) Choose whether you want to move to an Absolute Point, Relative Point or Named Object and provide the information required.
5) You can specify a time in seconds of how long you want your brick to take to move to this point by entering a number into the “Time to complete” field.
6) Note the black line that is now drawn which shows where the brick is going to move to.
You can make a brick move back and forth between two points using this command. Let’s try the relative position first.
1) Double Click on a brick that you want to Move between two relative points.
2) Click <new simultaneous plug in slot>, then double click on the “Move” folder, then select “Move between Points”
3) A Move between points button is placed in the plug in slot. Click it.
4) The screen that appears offers you the ability to move between point 1 and point 2. Note that point 1 is currently (0,0). Note that this is not (0,0) on the screen, but refers to the fact that (0,0) is the current location of the brick itself. Point 2 defaults to (100,0). This means that if you left this script unchanged, the brick would move between the bricks current location (0,0) 100 pixels to the right along the X axis until it reached point 2.
5) You can set a time to complete 1 leg (ie a full journey from point 1 to point 2) by entering a number of seconds in the “Time to complete 1 leg” field.
6) Move between points differs from Move to point as it offers you the ability to move to point 2 and then back to point 1. You can control how many times the brick makes this trip by telling the brick when to stop. You can specify when to stop by choosing one of the following:
a. At end – the brick will stop at point 2 (after one trip).
b. Never – the brick will keep moving between point 1 and point 2 until it is broken by the player
c. After Leg - A trip from point 1 to point 2 is 1 ‘leg’. A trip from point 2 to point 1 is another leg. You can specify how many times you want the brick to do this by entering a number here. 3 legs would move the brick from point 1 to point 2 (1 leg) then back to point 1 (2nd Leg) then back to point 2 (3rd Leg).
You can also make a brick move between 2 named objects. To do this:
1) Double Click on a brick that you want to move between 2 named objects.
2) Click new simultaneous plug in slot>, then double click on the “Move” folder, then select “Move between Points”
3) A Move between points button is placed in the plug in slot. Click it.
4) Now, in the drop down box that by default says “Relative Point” click the drop down arrow and choose Named Object. If you have previously assigned a brick (or position marker) a name, you can type that name in the “Point 1 Name” field. If not, press the ‘Pick’ button to the right of the name field. Now move your mouse cursor over the object you want to identify as point 1, and the editor will name that brick for you.
5) If you want the brick to move between a second named object, repeat step 3 for the “Point 2 Name” field.
6) Start Type – This has to do with where your brick will start moving. You have a choice between
a. Point 1- No matter where the brick is on the screen, it will immediately jump to point 1 and start moving from there. To illustrate this, move your brick very far away from the object you designated as point 1. Note that when you play the level, the brick starts moving from Point 1 and not where you placed it.
b. From relative position on line – If you choose this, your brick will start moving the distance between the two points, but from its current position relative to the line formed between those two points. For example, try setting up the two points at either side of the the bottom of the screen, but move the brick that is moving between these two points to the top of the screen. You will note that the brick will travel the distance between the two points, but from its position at the top of the screen. If this makes no sense, the best way to understand it is to just do it.
c. In synch with other bricks along the same line – to understand this one, set up a brick to move between two points and select “In Synch with other bricks along the same line”. Then Paste the same scripting onto 3 other bricks. Now move the 4 bricks in different parts of the screen and watch how they behave.
You can make a brick orbit around an object or point. To do this:
1) Double Click on a brick that you want to orbit something.
2) Click <new simultaneous plug in slot>, Then double click on the “Move” folder, then select “Orbit”
3) An Orbit button is placed in the plug in slot. Click it.
4) Identify the center point you want your brick to orbit around by choosing either a Absolute Point, Relative Point or Named Object and then providing the required information.
5) Note the green circle that shows the orbit path your brick will take.
You can make a brick move in just about any shape or path you can think of. To do this make a brick move along a path, the first thing you have to do is lay down a path. To lay down a path, do the following:
1) On your palate, choose the Path Polygon brick.
2) Right Click in the play field to enter the path Polygon brick
3) Left Click on the path Polygon brick and note that on the top of your palate the words “ed. Poly” light up. “ed. Poly” is an abbreviation of the phrase “Edit Polygon”. When you have this check box checked, the editor expects you to edit the polygon attached to the Polygon brick you just clicked.
4) Your path is not required to touch this brick, but it is important to note that the path will keep its position relative to that brick
5) Click the check box to the left of the words “ed Poly” and note the little ‘x’ that appears at the point of your mouse cursor. When you see this ‘x’ you are in edit path polygon mode and you can lay down the first point of your path polygon.
6) After laying down this first point, note that your cursor changes from an X to a +. When you have this plus, you can add additional points to your path polygon.
7) Begin clicking in other spots on the play field and note that a white line appears between the points you click. You are creating a path.
8) The first point you click is the beginning of your path, and the last point you click is the end of your path. When you are done, right click, and the editor will close off your polygon for you automatically.
9) Now uncheck the edit polygon check box. Note that the points on your polygon disappear signaling you are no longer in edit polygon mode. When you see the points, you know you are in edit mode and you can change the polygon. When you do not see the points, it means you are not in edit mode and you cannot change the polygon without first clicking the ‘ed Poly’ check box.
10) When in edit mode, you can change the shape of your path polygon by clicking on one of the points you previously entered - and moving it.
11) You can also click on the white line in between two points (note the + sign next to your cursor that appears again) this will allow you to add a new point along your path that can then be moved itself. Try playing with this until you get the hang of it.
12) When the path is in non edit mode (no points visible) if you click on the Path Polygon brick and move it by moving the mouse, you will note that the path moves in relation to the brick. As you move the path polygon, note that the path keeps its position relative to that brick. That is, if you move the path brick down 2 inches, the path will also move down 2 inches.
While it seems that is a lot of steps, it’s really not that hard and quite intuitive once you’ve done it a few times. Now that you’ve put down a path, the fun part is making a brick move along your path. You may want to start with simple paths like squares and rectangles before moving on to more complex paths.
To make a brick move along the path you created, you first need to understand the different type of “loops” or the different ways a brick can move across your path. Loop Types available are:
1) Loop forward - will cause the brick to move from your first point to your last point and then along the part of the path that the editor closed for you.
2) Loop backward - will do the opposite of Loop Forward. NOTE: if you have selected “stop at end”, and the brick is near the end of the path (ie your first point, the brick will appear not to move, or only move a short time. That is because it quickly reached the ending point, Try moving the brick to a different place on the path and you will see what we mean.
3) Back and forth – Will cause the brick to move from the first point you laid down to the last, and then return again to the first point.
4) Forth and Back – Will cause the brick to move in the opposite direction as #3 above. NOTE: if you have selected “stop at end”, and the brick is near the end of the path (ie your first point, the brick will appear not to move, or only move a short time. That is because it quickly reached the ending point, Try moving the brick to a different place on the path and you will see what we mean.
Now, to actually make the brick move along your path:
1) Double click on a brick that you want to move along your path.
2) Click <new simultaneous plug in slot>, Then double click on the “Move” folder, then select “Move along Path”
3) A “Move Along Path” button is placed in the plug in slot. Click it.
4) If you named your path polygon brick, you can enter the name of the path in the Path Name field. If you would rather not type the name, or you did not name your path polygon brick, you can click the “Pick” button, and then move your mouse cursor to the path Polygon brick an click it. If you named the path, you will see that name appear in the name field. If you did not name it, the editor will name the path for you.
5) Enter a time in seconds for how long you would like it to take your brick to travel from beginning to beginning of your path. Since the editor closes your polygon for you, the brick will move from the first point you laid down to the last, and then along the part of the polygon that the editor closed back to the beginning point. The trip from beginning point back to beginning point is a ‘loop’. The higher number you enter here, the slower your brick will move. The lower the number, the faster it will move.
6) Now enter when you would like the brick to stop moving. You can choose between:
a. At End – Remember, the term ‘end’ has different meanings depending on the Loop Type you enter.
b. Never – the brick will continually traverse the entire path including the part the editor closed off until it is broken by the player.
c. After Loop – You can specify a number of complete loops the brick will make before stopping.
It is possible to make a group of bricks move in an elastic fashion. See “Pulsing Tank Reloaded” and “Dread Locks” for examples. This is achieved using the Blend Between points command. The idea is that you are telling a brick to blend its current position between two objects. If those objects are moving in opposite directions, the brick you tell to blend it’s position between those bricks will continuously adjust it’s position to remain ‘blended’ between them. If a row or column of bricks are all given this same command, they appear to be linked together like a rubber band. Try it out yourself by:
1) Make two different position markers move. Make one of them move horizontally from left to right, and the other move horizontally from right to left. (See move between points)
2) Now place those position markers far apart from each other, one on top of the screen, the other on the bottom.
3) Between these position markers place 8 or 9 bricks.
4) Double Click on one of the bricks
5) Click <new simultaneous plug in slot> Then double click on the “Move” folder, then select “Blend Positions”
6) Now tell your brick, what two points (or in this case objects) you want it to blend between.
7) For point 1, choose named object, and then use the pick function and choose the Position Marker you placed at the top of the screen by clicking on it.
8) For point 2, use the pick function and choose the Position Marker you placed at the bottom of the screen.
9) Now exit this brick back to the level.
10) Now single click on this brick and press Ctrl-C (Copy)
11) Now group select the remaining bricks you placed.
12) Now click Edit/ Past Replacement Plug in. This will cause the scripting you did for the first brick to be pasted on all selected bricks.
Now leave the editor and as you do, hold the shift key down. Watch how your bricks behave in relationship to the two bricks. Note that each brick is keeping itself blended between its current position and also the two Position markers. To vary the behavior, try making the Position markers move diagonally instead of just horizontally
Another thing you can do with the Blend position command is make a brick move exactly relative to another brick or Position Marker. The way to do this is identify the same brick or position marker as Point 1 AND point 2 on the blend command. Try this:
1) Make a brick (we’ll call it brick 1) orbit around a point.
2) Make a second brick (we’ll call it brick 2) Blend Positions with that brick (ie by making it point 1 and point 2)
3) Note that as brick 1 orbits its point, brick 2 will keep its relative position to brick 1.
You can make a brick wait for something to happen like an other brick before doing something itself. In this way, you can make the level react to events that happen, and make it seem dynamic. Waiting commands work particularly well within sequences. Types of waiting:
Sometimes you may want a brick to stop and do nothing for a second or two, and then pick up moving again. To make a brick wait for a number of seconds you specify, do this:
1) Double click on a brick.
2) Click <new simultaneous plug in slot>
3) Type “Wait”, and then choose Wait for X seconds.
4) Click the button that appears in the slot
5) Specify a number of seconds you want to wait.
Sometimes you may want a particular brick to be destroyed before something happens. This command is normally used as a step of a sequence. You should probably understand what a sequence is prior to using this command. To use this command:
1) Double click on a brick.
2) Click <new simultaneous plug in slot>
3) Type Sequence
4) Enter two steps
5) In the first step, type “Wait”, and then choose “Wait for brick to be Destroyed”
6) Use the pick command to choose a brick.
7) In the second step of the sequence, enter some type of movement action – ie make the brick move between points.
When you run the level the brick will not be moving. It will be waiting for the brick you designated to be destroyed. When it is destroyed, it will advance to the second stage of the sequence and begin moving.
Plug ins that you apply to a brick are called “simultaneous”, because they all occur simultaneously. In this way you can have a brick do multiple things at one time. A common thing you may want to do is have a brick move and wait for a different brick to be destroyed. You can do this because the plug ins are simultaneous.
Sequences allow you to set up a series of events that take place one after the other the effect of which is to make a brick change its behavior as different things happen in the level. Examples of the types of things sequences allow you to do are:
What follows is a basic sequence to get you started. What is important to keep in mind is that sequences will not advance to the next step until they are done doing what the step says, or they are told to advance to the next step by another brick (we’ll explain that a little later). To create a sequence:
1) Double click on a brick.
2) Click <new simultaneous plug in slot>
3) Type “Sequence” and hit enter
4) Click the button that appears in the plug in slot
5) Click <new step Slot> twice
6) In the first slot type “Wait X Seconds”, press the button and enter 5 seconds.
7) In the second slot, enter a move to point command.
8) Choose repeat sequence.
Note that this will cause the brick to wait 5 seconds, move, wait 5 seconds, move in an endless cycle until the brick is destroyed.
The best way to gain a better understanding of sequences is probably to look at a few levels that use them. Take a look at: “Brick Attack”, “Multiplicity” and for a couple of complex examples, look at “Reinforcements” and “Countdown”.
When you want to make a brick move smoothly from one path to another you need to make sure the ending point of the first path and the beginning point of the second path are as close together as possible – in the same spot if possible. To do this:
1) Set up a sequence where the first step is loop forward, stop at end.
2) Next, make the second step of your sequence, is loop forward ON THE SECOND PATH.
If the beginning and ending points are close enough, the brick will switch paths seamlessly. If your second path is significantly different in size, the brick will appear to slow down or speed up if the time to complete a loop is the same. You should either make your paths the same size, or adjust the time to complete a loop to fix this ‘problem’.
One cool thing you can do is have a brick loop on one path until a different brick is hit or destroyed - and then have the looping brick change paths. (“Reinforcements” is a good example of this). How is this done? First let’s understand the “Trigger Action when Hit” or the very similar “Trigger Action when Destroyed” commands. By assigning this command to a brick, you can make a sequence running on a different brick advance to the next step in its sequence when the brick is hit. To use this command:
1) Double click on a brick.
2) Click <new simultaneous plug in slot>,
3) Choose Trigger Action from the drop down menu.
4) Now choose ‘Trigger action when hit’ or Trigger Action when Destroyed.
5) Click on the button that appears. Use the pick command to choose the brick that you want to advance to the next sequence.
Be careful! You need an additional step if you want the brick to continuously loop until the specified brick is hit and then switch paths. Why? If you try the steps above, with step 1 being move on the first path and step 2 being move on the second path, when you hit the brick that triggers the advance in sequence, the brick will ‘pop’ from its current location on the first path to the beginning of the second path.
The trick to make the transfer smooth is to make the second step not move to a different path, but have the brick ‘switch’ to the same path it is already on. Effectively all you are doing is changing when the brick will stop looping. You want the first step of the sequence to have the looping never stop. Then, make step 2 be move along the same path, but this time, choose “stop at end”. When the brick reaches the end, the second step of your sequence will be completed and the sequence will advance itself to step 3. In step 3 of the sequence, make the brick move along the second path. If the beginning of this second path is at the end point of the first path the brick will seamlessly change from the first path to the second.
If you played the levels entitled “The Sun God” or “Metamorphafish” you may have noticed that the bricks appear to come from one spot and arrange themselves into a pattern. This is a ‘trick’ that takes advantage of the move between points command. To do it:
1) Arrange your bricks into the pattern you want – start small with a square or circle or something
2) Now, click on one of the bricks
3) Click <new simultaneous plug in slot>
4) Choose move between Points.
5) Make point 1 an absolute point of coordinates you choose (or a named Position Marker)
6) Make Point 2 ‘relative point’. In this case the brick’s current position is the relative point.
7) Choose stop after Leg 1
8) At the bottom, choose ‘Start from Point 1’
9) Now exit this brick back to the level.
10) Now single click on this brick and press Ctrl-C (Copy)
11) Now group select the remaining bricks you placed.
12) Now click Edit/ Past Replacement Plug in. This will cause the scripting you did for the first brick to be pasted on all selected bricks.
13) Run your level and note that the bricks all start from the Point 1, and then move themselves to their relative point, or the point you originally placed them.
“The Sun God” or “Metamorphafish” use this trick in a sequence. After you have done the steps above on your own, you should look at how these two levels are done to get a better understanding of this.
The following plug ins can be placed by double clicking a brick and then inserting a new simultaneous plug in slot. Then choose the Script Folder.
This command is most useful in a sequence. It allows you to make objects disappear without doing what they do when normally destroyed by the player. For example if you want to make a powerup brick, but do not want it to generate a power up as it normally would, this is the command to use.
This command is also useful in a sequence. It will destroy the brick and execute its destroyed behavior. If you want to make a level that drops a lot of bombs (like “Krakatoa” or “Scurvy Pirates”without requiring a brick to be hit by the player, use this plug in.
Sometimes a brick can be on a large orbit or simply may be pushed off screen by a complex movement pattern. If you do not want the player to wait for this brick to work its way back on screen, you can assign this plug in to the brick. It will destroy the brick if it is off screen.
You can make really interesting movements by using combinations. Try having a Position Marker move along a path and then have a brick orbit that Position Marker. Try orbiting a brick that is orbiting a brick that is moving a long a path.
Try having a brick move along a Path. Now, make that path orbit around a position marker.
Try your own combinations like this. In this way that some of the more complex movements are possible.
