*** WARNING: This is BetaWare, don't use it on your only copy of Prince of Persia, or I'll have to slap you upside the head. ***
The Menus:
File:
Open - Opens any application, then presents you with a dialog for selecting the 'LEVL' resource that you want to work with.
Close - Closes the topmost window (and any children that it might have).
Save - Writes out the changes to the resource, if you've made any. (Disabled if the file you've opened is named 'Prince of Persia', to help make sure that you are working with a copy with a different name.)
Import - Replaces the current level you are working on with any level from another file.
Export - Writes the current level you are working on to another file. (The standard 'Replace this file' warning will not delete the whole file, it will only write over the resource ID# that you are saving, so you can save bunches of levels to one file).
Page Setup - obvious.
Print - only prints Maps, not rooms.
Preferences - sets the defaults for newly opened windows (doesn't save a Prefs file yet).
Quit - obvious.
Edit - doesn't do anything yet.
Options:
Switch Levels - allows you to change levels within the same file without having to go back to open and find the file again.
Edit Room - Opens a more detailed view of the room into a child window.
Edit Links - Allows you to edit the FloorTile-to-Gate links.
Check Level - Let's you test your new levels for bugs.
Details - This draws in the room detail.
Numbers - You can draw the room numbers over the top of the detail view or as a separate map.
Color - Turns color for a window on or off.
There are three main windows:
The map window:
There are three 'tools' that you can choose from when using this window. The first is the 'arrange' tool - dragging a room on top of another room swaps them. Dragging a room next to another room connects them. This will connect on both sides if you split two rooms (can cause anomalies with the map, though). The second tool opens a close-up view of one particular room. The third tool allows you to change the starting location of the prince. The option key temporarily changes to 'arrange' mode, unless the 'arrange' tool is selected, then it changes to 'zoom'.
Clicking on the numbers view when both views are turned on switches whether it goes below or to the right of the main view.
Command-Clicking in the title bar of the window gives you a pop-up menu of the levels. This is just a shortcut to using the 'Switch Levels…' item in the 'Options' menu.
The room window:
Clicking on a tile selects it. Clicking an arrow takes you to the room in that direction. Clicking in any of the number fields allows you to edit that value. The menus and check boxes apply to either the guard for this room or the selected tile. Option-clicking allows you to use the old dialog box method of editing tiles or guard data. If the 'Prince' button is not gray, the prince starts in this room. Clicking the 'Prince' button moves him to the selecte tile. Option-clicking the 'Prince' button changes the direction that he is facing.
The report window:
The possible map bugs are - 'No reciprocal link' means that Room A goes to Room B, but Room B does not come back to Room A. 'Multiple links' means that you have more than one room leading to the same room. If only one of the rooms in currently used in the map, you can disregard this message.
The possible graphics bugs are - 'Invalid tile' means that the tile is not a know type. 'Torch too close to pillar' (or wall) means that you have a torch tile with a pillar tile being the next tile to the right. This causes funky overlapped drawing to occur. 'Tile invalid for this level' means that you have a tile that is only drawn in the interior levels (4,5,6,10,11,&14) in a dungeon level, or vice-versa. 'Right XXX without left' or 'Left XXX without right' - means that you have only half of an object which requires two tiles to be drawn properly. 'Tile needs a floor or wall above it' - means that the graphics look wrong with an empty space above this tile. 'Invalid lattice connection' - means that the lattice work won't look good connecting to the next piece.
The possible door bugs are - 'Invalid Link' means that the link points to a nonexistent room or tile (out of range). 'Incorrect tile' means that the links points to something other than a gate or a door.
The dialog boxes for editing:
The Links:
The scrollbar at the top lets you pick from 256 (!) links, most levels only use the first 10-20. Each link has a room number and a tile associated with it. This is where the gate or out-door is located.
Tiles can effect more than one gate, if the 'Do Next' option is checked, the tile will open (or close) both this and the next item in the list.
The Room (this is now incorporated into the room window):
You can modify the characteristics of the guard (if the location is greater than 29, no guard will appear in this room), as well as set the connections to other rooms (up, down, left and right).
** WARNING ** as of yet, if you change a rooms connection, you have to manually go in and change the room that it leads to to lead back to it. Maps with anomalies will be drawn incorrectly and no error checking is done.
The Tile (this is now incorporated into the room window):
The only thing that I have found the 'Unused' check-box effects is the unstable-tile, which it makes stable to walk on, but it will fall if another tile is dropped onto it from above, the check-box title changes to reflect this.
The Tile types that I know of are listed in the menu to the right of the edit field. If you want to use something as-of-yet undiscovered, enter the number directly in the text box.
The modifier does different things for every type. The menu changes to reflect the options that I know of, so far.
