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Text File | 1998-01-28 | 13KB | 378 lines

* * *** **** **** ***** **** ** ** * * * * * * * * * * * * ***** **** **** *** **** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ***** * * Version : 4.00 Released : 14/12/96 Version : 4.10 Updated : 1/11/97 Version : 4.11 Updated : 28/1/98 I. Contents : 1............Introduction 2............What is a map editor ? 3............The legal bit 3............The differences 3............System requirements 3............Extra commands 4............The WIMP options 5............The editing screen 5............Key commands 6............The Sprite Overlay System™ 6............Saving and loading 7............MAP format A............Glossary B............And finally... C............The new bits... 1. Introduction ---------------- Welcome to the very last version of !Mapper - because this is the ultimate version of my !Mapper series, there is no need to do any more, apart from probably the odd bug fix or update. 2. What is a map editor? ------------------------- A map editor is normally used for 2D games, for example Chaos Engine, Cannon Fodder etc. etc., and allows you to position background sprites anywhere within a defined area. When you come to display the background in your program, the code used will tell you which sprite you need to display. You could do things the hard way, and design the background completely in some art package, but to do so will use a lot of memory and you will have a hard job animating sprites and performing special actions. Alternatively you could type in DATA statements into your program, but doing so is slow, boring and prone to error. Let !Mapper V4.xx increase your productivity... 3. The legal bit ----------------- !Mapper+, !Mapper V3.xx, and !Mapper V4.xx are (C) Nicholas Kingsley Bsc 1995/1996 The Sprite Overlay System is trademark of Nicholas Kingsley All unauthorised coping, reverse engineering, lending, loaning is strictly forbidden without MY WRITTEN PERMISSION. Thanks to Pineapple Software for the filetype allocation of the MAP filetype. 4. The differences ------------------- Most of the options in !Mapper V3.xx were not needed. Here is a list of the differences between the two : Functions removed : A) X and Y Mirroring B) Compression saving C) Virtual memory D) Editing grid Functions that are the same : A) Mouse functions are generally the same B) The WIMP options are the same (but have been extended) Functions added : A) Multiple editing modes B) Sprite Overlay System™ C) Each sprite has status information 5. System Requirements ---------------------- You will need at least 1Mb to run this program (although you can change various items to run the program if you are low in memory). The program has only be tested on a RISC OS V3.11 and so MAY NOT run on other machines. UPDATE : This program will run on a StrongArm computer. 5. Extra commands ------------------ The following commands must be placed just before the comment on the last line of the !Run file. Each command must be separated from the previous command and the parameter value by a space. The commands are : -xsize <value> - This changes the default value for the maximum value for the map width. The value can be any size between 1 and 255 -ysize <value> - This changes the default value for the maximum value for the map height. The value can be any size between 1 and 255 -layers <value> - This changes the default value for the number of layers. The value can be between 1 and 255 -sprites <values> - This changes the default value for the maximum number of sprites that can be read. The value can be between 1 and 999 UPDATE : -repeat <value> - This changes the speed at which the computer scrolls through the different sprites. The value can be between 1 and 255 NOTE : If the computer can't claim enough memory for any value, an error message will be displayed, and the program will remove itself from memory. 6. The WIMP options -------------------- There are very few WIMP options. These are to be found in "Change Map" and "Save Map". The values in "Change Map" affect ALL the layers. The "Change Map" options are : Layer X Size - This allows any value between 1 and the current maximum width allowed, and changes the width of the map. Layer Y Size - This allows any value between 1 and the current maximum height allowed, and changes the height of the map. Delete value - This allows any value between 0 and 65535, and governs what value is stored when the delete button is pressed on the mouse. Delete values can have sprites associated with them, and if they do then the correct sprite is displayed when you delete graphic. Mask value - This allows any value between 0 and 255 and is only used with the Sprite Overlay System™. This governs what value will be ignored multiple layers are displayed. Please read the overlay system text The following headings allow you to set up global status values, without having to press the MIDDLE button after plotting each tile : Walkability, Special #1, Special #2 and Special #3 - Click on the box to active the speciality. Animation frames - Used only in your own programs, this lets you know how many animation frames a tile has X Modify and Y Modify - Activated ONLY when Special #3 has been selected, this is only used in your own programs to help implement hidden walls, floors etc., by defining the character X and Y position L Modify - Used as above, but specifies which layer the hidden tile is on. The "Save Map" options : The button next to "All" determines how many layers are saved. With it crossed then ALL layers are saved. When it isn't then only the CURRENT EDITED layer is saved. 7. The editing screen ---------------------- In the default editing map ("Normal editing") then screen is split into two parts. The top displays the sprites, while the second part at the bottom displays some useful information about the current layer : Layr - Current layer number XSize - Current WIDTH of the map YSize - Current HEIGHT of the map X: - Current X position of the pointer in the current layer Y: - Current Y position of the pointer in the current layer The boxes in the left size of the screen contain the previous sprite graphic, the current sprite graphic and the next sprite graphic. Clicking on the left hand arrow with the LEFT mouse button moves the sprites right (allows you to select the previous sprite), while clicking on the RIGHT button moves the sprites left (allows you to select the next sprite). The sprite in the middle is the currently selected sprite (CSS). Clicking on the left hand arrow with the RIGHT button positions the sprites so that the FIRST sprite is the CSS, while clicking on the right hand arrow with the RIGHT button positions the sprites so that the LAST sprite is the CSS. The arrows underneath the word "Layr" selects which layer will be currently edited. Clicking on the left hand arrow with the LEFT mouse button selects the previous layer, while clicking on the right hand arrow with the LEFT button selects the next layer. Clicking on the left hand arrow with the RIGHT mouse button selects the FIRST layer, while clicking on the right hand arrow with the RIGHT button selects the LAST layer. The characters underneath the word "Status" show the status of the sprite currently under the pointer. If a character is "lit up" (not grey), then that speciality is active. The specialities are : W - Walkability (Can the player move ONTO this tile ?) 1 - Special #1 (Is this tile in Special group #1) 2 - Special #2 (Is this tile in Special group #2) 3 - Special #3. This is different to the previous specialities in as much as when this is active a number will be displayed on the line below. These are the grid references (X and Y) of a tile that will be modified when the player steps onto the CSS. Beneath these values holds the layer of the tile that will be modified. You can only modify the specialities when in "normal editing mode". Version V4.00 ONLY : To do so, press the MIDDLE mouse button and go through all the questions at the bottom of the screen, and where appropriate entering values. The LEFT mouse button confirms a question, while the other two don't. The value to the right of the "Anim:" word contains the number of frames of animation for that tile. 8. Key commands ---------------- The following keys can be used in any mode : The Space bar - wraps around between normal editing, full screen editing and the Sprite Overlay System™ ⇦ ⇧ ⇨ ⇩ - Scrolls the editing or Overlay screen around Home - Re-displays the current layer from the top left 9. The Sprite Overlay System™ ------------------------------ This is a very powerful feature allowing you to position your sprites EXACTLY where you want them. Each layer is displayed from the first (or BASE layer) to the very last, in such a way that, created properly, all sprites at a certain position can be displayed. 10. Saving and loading ---------------------- Before editing can commence, a sprite file needs to be dragged to the !Mapper icon. If no valid sprites are found then an error message is displayed. MAP files can also be dragged to the !Mapper icon and will use the currently stored sprites. In addition, MAP files can also be loaded by double-clicking on the MAP icon. MAP files from !Mapper V3.xx is NOT compatible. To save a MAP file just drag the MAP icon to a directory, press the OK button or type in a filename. The selectable icon to the right of the icon graphic determines whether all layers are saved (star is in the box) or the current layer only is saved (box is clear). NOTE : Layers that are saved singly can ONLY be loaded into the layer that they were saved from. 11. MAP format -------------- The format of the MAP file is as follows : +0 (4 Bytes) - Header (&19861987) +4 (2 Bytes) - Map width +6 (2 Bytes) - Map height +8 (1 Byte) - Type of saving 0 - All layers saved >0 - Given layer is saved This is followed by the tile data : +0 (2 Bytes) - Sprite number +2 (1 Byte) - Sprite status - Bit 0 Set - Walkability Bit 1 Set - Special #1 Bit 2 Set - Special #2 Bit 3 Set - Special #3 +3 (1 Byte) - No. of frames of animation +4 (1 Byte) - X Modify location +5 (1 Byte) - Y Modify location +6 (1 Byte) - Modify layer value A. Glossary ------------ BASE LAYER - The first layer which is used to hold floor, walls, grass, doors, water and mud etc. sprites. TILE - A Sprite. SPRITE STATUS - Holds each tiles speciality. SPECIALITY - Defines how the player should react to a given tile. The specialities are : Walkability (can the player walk ONTO this tile ?), Special #1, Special #2 (These are for the user's use) and Special #3 (Which allows the programmer to modify a tile) SPRITE OVERLAY SYSTEM™ - Overlays layers so that A) You can position sprites correctly and B) You can see which sprites go where. LAYER - A group of tiles MODIFICATION LOCATION - Allows easy programming of 'hidden' walls etc., by storing the X, Y and layer number of the sprite the program has to modify. MAP - A group of layers B. And finally... ------------------ Whilst they shouldn't be any problems with the program, you can contact me by sending E-Mail to : nichk@argonet.co.uk C. The new bits... ------------------- Since this program was written, the StrongArm computer has come out. Being much faster than the programmers original computer, it was found that a slight modification was needed to allow the user to successfully choose different sprites and layers. In addition, a new 'speciality' has been added : The 'OPAQUE' speciality. This allows the programmer to code hidden doors, walls etc easily without having to use any of the original specialities. It limits what can be seen behind the 'opaqued' tile. The specialities can now be entered in a much easier way using a 'LOCK'. Pressing the MIDDLE button within the editing area with put a red rectangle around the current sprite. This sprite is then locked. This means that, until the MIDDLE button is pressed again, the only thing you can modify on that tile is the specialities. To do that, press the LEFT mouse button over the 'W123O' letters to toggle them on and off. If speciality #3 is active, then, you can modify the modification X, Y and layer values by pressing the LEFT mouse button between the brackets. To modify the animation value, just LEFT click on the three numbers.