THE EDITOR ========== Make your own levels for Outland with this rather nifty program. Getting Started --------------- Before getting stuck into your new level, it might be a good idea to get used to the menu system. The menus are pull down, which means that to access them you must move the mouse over the menu bar and HOLD DOWN the left mouse button. Now, select the menu option you desire and RELEASE the left mouse button. A NEW level ----------- Select NEW from the FILE menu to define your new level. From here you can choose the size of the level and the type of level by clicking on the small boxes. The currently selected size and type are shown with a yellow box. Selecting OK will wipe your current level and set up a new one. Selecting CANCEL will get you back to your current level. Note that you must choose the size and type of your level before you start editing. Once you have made a level, you cannot change the size and/or type except by starting afresh! Basics ------ The screen is split into three main sections. We have already discussed the menu bar at the top. The second section is the CLOSE UP window. This is on the left of the screen and should currently just show a load of barren grass/sand/snow/mud. This is where the bulk of the editing takes place. Simply click on the close up window to place the currently selected block onto the map. The third section is the TOOL BAR. At the top of the tool bar is the ITEM SELECTOR with which you select the block to put onto the map. Use the 'next page' button underneath the item selector to see more blocks (if available). Below the item selector is the overview map. This shows you what the radar view of your map looks like. It also has a yellow box showing the section of the map currently viewed by the close up window. At the very bottom of the tool bar is a small reminder of which player is currently selected. Select a block from the tool bar by clicking on it. Next, click on the close up window. Your selected block should appear on the close up windows, and has now been placed on the map. Placing Units / Buildings ------------------------- At the moment you can only place scenery onto the close up screen. However, by selecting Scenery, 'Bots or Buildings from the BRUSH menu you can change the selection of blocks in the Item Selector. Placing units and buildings is identical to placing scenery. However, units or buildings placed will convert any scenery under them to barren grass/ snow/whatever. Buildings are also usually more than one square big so their top left is placed at the mouse's current position. Changing the owner of Units / Buildings --------------------------------------- Any units or buildings you will have placed so far will belong to red player. To change this, select the desired player from the MISC. menu. Now, any units and buildings placed will belong to the selected player. The selected player is show at the bottom of the toolbar. Moving around the map --------------------- At the moment you only now how to place blocks onto the top left screen of the map. However, by dragging the yellow box on the Overview Map to the desired location, or by using the arrow keys, you can scroll the area displayed by the Close Up window around. NOTE: For reasons beyond my control, to place scenery on the bottom or right most squares of a 64 x 64 map you must use the cursor keys to scroll the screen to the very right/bottom. Dragging the screen to the bottom or right does not work! Changing Initial Conditions --------------------------- To change the amount of cash each player starts with, select Start Cash from the MISC. menu. To change the tech level each player has, select Tech Level from the MISC. menu. For the uninitiated, the higher the Tech Level the greater technology the player has access to. HAYLP! ------ Select Help! from the HELP menu to get yourself a bit of help. Saving Your Masterpiece ----------------------- Select Save As from the FILE menu to save your latest creation with a new filename. If you wish to save your level with the same filename, select Save from the FILE menu. You may have to wait quite a while for your level to save. Do not remove the disk from the drive while your mouse pointer looks like a floppy disk. Loading a previously saved level -------------------------------- To load a level, select Open from the FILE menu. Quitting -------- To get outta the Editor, simply select QUIT froum the FILE menu. And thats it!