2) Choose 'New' from the File menu to make a new map file.
3) Choose 'New Level' from the Edit menu, to add a new blank level to the map.
4) Select the polygon tool from the tool palette. (the one that looks like a hexagon)
5) Press, and hold, the mouse button. You will see a square, centered at the point you clicked.
6) While holding the mouse button, drag the cursor around a bit. You will see that the square changes size and rotates, following the cursor.
7) With the mouse button still pressed, press any number key on your keyboard from 3-8. The square will change into a polygon with the number of sides you selected.
8) With the mouse button still pressed, hold the shift key. Drag the polygon around a bit. The polygon will stop rotating and resizing, and instead follow the cursor around.
9) When you are satisfied with the position, rotation, size, and number of sides, let go of the mouse button.
10) Place several more polygons on your map. For now, don't overlap them. NOTE: Marathon will do odd things if a map consists of only a single polygon!
11) If you wish to remove a polygon, select the delete polygon tool (the last tool) and click in the interior of a polygon. It will be removed from the map.
12) Select the crosshair tool from the palette. (it is the first tool)
13) Click in one of the polygons. It will become selected, showing its boundaries and points.
14) Press and hold the mouse button inside a polygon. Drag the polygon around a bit. When you let go, the vertices of the polygon may shift slightly. This is because the 'Snap To Grid' feature is enabled in the Special menu.
15) Press and hold the mouse button on one of the polygons vertices. Drag the vertex around a bit. Note how the polygon changes shape.
16) Press and hold the option key on your keyboard. Drag one of the polygons vertices near a vertex of another polygon and let go of the mouse button. The two vertices will snap together, become one, and join the two polygons at that point. Verify this by dragging one of the polygons slightly.
17) Connect an adjacent vertex of the first polygon to an adjacent vertex of the second, so that they share a wall between them. Note that the wall changes color, indicating it is transparent, making the two polygons into one larger room.
18) If you made a mistake, press and hold the control key, and pull the two vertices apart again.
19) Connect all the polygons together, in a reasonable manner. If any polygon becomes yellow, it is concave. All polygons in a Marathon map must be convex. To visualize a convex (correct) polygon, imagine you are standing in the polygon. You will be able to see the entire interior of the polygon no matter where you stand in it. (Assuming you turn around). A concave (incorrect) polygon would have some places in it where you could stand and some wall would block your view of part of the polygon.
20) If you wish to add an additional vertex to a polygon (up to 8 maximum), find some vertex of the polygon that is not connected to another polygon. Press the control key, and 'pull' another vertex out of the first with the mouse.
21) If you wish to remove a vertex from a polygon, press and hold the option key and drag the vertex onto one of the vertices next to it on the same polygon. They will snap together, becoming one, and leaving the polygon with one less vertex.
22) Once you are satisfied with the layout of your level, choose 'Fix All' from the Magic menu. This is very important! This verifies a number of things on your map, fixing potential problems. The most important thing it does is make sure all of your walls are defined correctly and have at least a default texture assigned to them.
23) To alter the texture of a wall, open the Side palette. Using the selection tool, click in the interior of a polygon, then click on one wall of a polygon. You will see information about that side of the wall in the Side palette. For now, ignore all of it except the texture info. To change the texture, choose a different one from the pop-up menu.
24) Now, choose the object tool from the tool palette. (the second tool)
25) Click to place an object on the map. Note that it is selected. Open the Object palette, and you will see information about the selected object. Change its type to be 'player', and notice that it changes color on the map. Every map must have at least one 'player' object, so that your character has a place to start.
26) Name your level, by typing a new name into the Level Info palette, where it says 'untitled'.
27) Close and save your level. Note what number it is in the list. (Starting with zero)
28) Quit Mia.
29) Put your map file into your Marathon folder, and change its name to 'Map'. (You will want to move your original map file, to keep it safe)
30) Launch Marathon, and hold the command and option keys while clicking in the 'New Game' button. This lets you start on any level. Type in the number of your level, and play!
31) Read the Mia documentation for more information.
How to make a switch/control panel:
1) Make a small 4-sided polygon, which we will refer to as an 'alcove'.
2) Attach it to the room you want the switch in.
3) Make the 'back' wall of the alcove the right size: 512x512 for the small switches, 512x1024 for the larger ones. Note that the grid squares on the map are 256x256.
4) Run Big Magic to create the sides for you.
5) Turn on the 'panel' checkbox for the side on the back wall of the alcove.
6) Set the panel type to the value you wish.
7) IMPORTANT: Set the primary texture for the side to be of type 'panel', and choose the one you'd like from the pop-up menu.
