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GEDIT.TXT
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1995-05-06
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GEDIT
BreakFree Game Grid Editor
by Software Storm Inc.
IMPORTANT!!! IMPORTANT!!! IMPORTANT!!! IMPORTANT!!! IMPORTANT!!!
If you are not going to read this whole document, please at least
read the IMPORTANT GUIDELINES section at the end of this document. If
you do not follow these guidelines, you may create a level that will
not work properly with BreakFree.
IMPORTANT!!! IMPORTANT!!! IMPORTANT!!! IMPORTANT!!! IMPORTANT!!!
GEDIT is used to edit the layout (grid) of a game level.
Level grid files have the naming convention MAZE00.GRD where 00 is
the level number from 01 to 72. All you need to know when loading a
grid file is the element name or element number. Levels in BreakFree
are numbered 1 - 72 and named Hydrogen through Hafnium.
To run:
=======
Command-line Syntax -- GEDIT [filename]
If a file name is specified, GEDIT will load that grid
file as the initial game grid.
If there is no file name, GEDIT starts with a blank 32 by 32
grid.
GEDIT must be run in the same directory as BRKFREE.MLB. BRKFREE.MLB
contains many files within it. Several of those files are needed
just for loading GEDIT. Once GEDIT is loaded, the level files you
edit will be extracted from BRKFREE.MLB and saved as external files.
Your original copy of BRKFREE.MLB will never be modified. If you ever
want to restore the original grid file for a level, just erase or rename
the grid file that GEDIT created outside of BRKFREE.MLB. The game will
automatically revert to loading the file from BRKFREE.MLB.
Once in GEDIT you will see three primary boxes or screens and a few
"buttons" across the top of the screen. The buttons do exactly what
they say they do. The three screens are used for selection, editing,
and display purposes. The bar across the bottom of the screen is
used for system messages and for text input.
+---------+----------+---------+-----------+---------+-----------------+
| NEW | LOAD | SAVE | SAVE AS | EXIT | POS: coordinates|
+---------+----------+---------+-----------+---------+-----------------+
| SIZE: X,Y BACK FILE: MAZExx.GRD| WALLS |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | wall |
| | palette |
| | |
| | |
| grid | |
| edit area | |
| |-----------------|
| | |
| | current |
| | wall |
| | image |
| | |
| | |
| MEM: bytes FRONT LEVEL: name | |
+----------------------------------------------------+-----------------+
| status and input line |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
The large box covering the middle and left portions of the screen is
usually the edit screen. This is where a grid of the currently
selected level is usually displayed. The wall image selection palette
and help text also appear here.
The small box in the lower right corner of the screen is used for
displaying the currently selected wall image. That will give you
some idea of what wall you are working with.
The mid-sized box in the upper right corner is usually refered to as
the wall palette. Each wall is represented by a color block and
name. You can move through this palette using the standard cursor
movement keys.
Active Screen and Cursor:
=========================
You can select which screen is "active" by pressing tab to toggle
back and forth between the edit and wall palette screens. A yellow
border is drawn around the currently active screen.
Within each screen there is a cursor (small yellow box) to indicate
the active element on that screen. For instance, in the grid edit
area, the cursor is on the grid position that can be modified. In
the wall palette, the cursor indicates the current wall that would be
put in the grid.
In general, the process of editing is to select walls from the wall
palette and set them in the grid using the mouse or keys.
To make a grid position empty, select the "<NONE>" wall, and put that
in the desired grid position.
When using the mouse, you may draw solid boxes or empty rectangles by
drawing with the mouse button down. Hold the left button down to draw a
solid box of the currently selected wall. Hold the right button down to
draw the outside of a rectangle with the currently selected wall.
When you choose New, the new grid will be filled with the currently selected
wall. Usually, you will want to select the <NONE> wall before choosing New.
If you want to change the size of a grid, but want to preserve its contents,
use the Copy and Paste options. You can Copy a rectangular region to a
separate buffer, choose New to create a new grid with the desired dimensions,
then position the cursor and press "P" to paste the saved region into the
new grid.
Commands:
=========
You can see this list of commands inside GEDIT by pressing the F1
key.
F1 -- Help screen.
A -- Save As, prompts for user to enter file name to save
C -- Copy, Prompts to mark two corners of area to copy to paste
buffer.
E -- Extract (Eyedropper), move palette to wall that edit cursor
is currently on.
F -- Floor, prompts user to select the floor and ceiling colors for the grid.
I -- Identity (level name), prompts the user to enter a name for the level.
(Level name is saved to the LEVELxx.GAM file immediately)
L -- Load, prompts the user to enter a file to load.
N -- New, initializes new grid in the size specified.
O -- Origin, prompts the user to enter coordinates for the starting
position. (Position is saved to the LEVELxx.GAM file immediately)
P -- Paste, copies contents of paste buffer to area starting at
cursor location.
S -- Save, saves current grid to file already specified.
T -- Time, prompts the user to enter number of seconds for the level.
(Time is saved to the LEVELxx.GAM file immediately)
W -- Walls, show an image pallette of walls in the main edit area.
Z -- Set Zoom, prompts for new zoom setting.
Tab -- Toggles between the palette and edit windows.
Space -- Sets currently selected wall to grid position selected in edit
window.
Q, X, ESC -- Exit GEDIT.
Up, Down, Left, Right -- Move cursor in either edit area or wall palette.
+, - -- Zoom in/out, magnifies or shrinks edit display.
Home, End -- Move to first or last pixel in current row on screen.
PgUp, PgDn -- Move to Top or Bottom pixel in current column on screen.
Scroll Lock -- Toggle on/off paint as cursor moves.
Explanation of effects:
==========================================================
WARNING - you may spoil the game if you read this section!
==========================================================
There are 5 styles of walls, which we refer to as motifs:
brick
steel
cave
water
hidden
Each wall is named to identify the motif and wall type. The first
letter of the wall name is the first letter of the motif (B, S, C, W,
or H). The rest of the name indicates what type of wall it is. In
the list below, the first part of the name for the wall type is shown
in parentheses.
Within each motif, there are 50 different walls. The walls have different
effects that they produce. Hopefully, during play you have learned all the
different ways that walls behave, but here are the general wall categories:
impregnable walls (IMPREG) - 3 per motif. These walls cannot be
destroyed.
bad wall (BAD) - every motif has 1 bad wall (with a skull on it).
These walls are usually positioned behind the player (on the back
wall) and will "eat" the fireballs.
explosion walls (EXPL) - these can be placed on a level, but they will
disappear immediately when the user starts the level. They are used
for animating wall explosions and are normally not placed on a level.
normal walls (NORM) - walls that are destroyable, but have no extra
effect.
effect walls (name varies) - release objects, or affect the walls
around them.
animation walls (ANI) - present a continuous animation until
destroyed.
multi-hit walls (MULTI) - walls that must be hit multiple times to be
destroyed.
reserved walls (RESERV) - these walls are currently reserved and
should not be used.
Example session:
1) Start GEDIT.
At the DOS command prompt, while in the BRKFREE directory, type:
GEDIT MAZE01.GRD
or
GEDIT HYDROGEN
or
GEDIT 1
GEDIT will start, and the HYDROGEN level will be displayed.
2) Select a wall to place.
KEYS: Press TAB to get to the wall palette, then use the arrow keys and
page up/page down to choose a wall.
MOUSE: Use the scroll buttons in the wall palette to see different walls,
then choose a wall with the mouse.
3) Place the wall on the grid.
KEYS: Press TAB to get back to the edit area. Use the arrow keys to
move the cursor to the grid position where you want to place the wall.
Press the spacebar to put the selected wall in that position.
MOUSE: Use the scroll buttons (if any) to scroll the grid to the area
you need. Select a grid position with the mouse.
4) Save grid.
KEYS: Press S to save the grid as the current name.
MOUSE: Choose the SAVE button to save the grid as the current name.
5) Exit GEDIT.
KEYS: Press X to Exit GEDIT.
MOUSE: Choose the EXIT button.
Very Important Guidelines:
==========================
- In order for the game to run within 540000 bytes, the memory needed
by a grid shouldn't go above 110000 bytes. Watch the MEM: indicator in
the lower left corner of the display. The amount of memory needed is
different for different types of walls because of the amount of
animation cells required to display the walls.
- You can choose your own ceiling and floor colors for interesting
effects. Press F to select new floor and ceiling colors.
- Make sure that every level you design has an outside edge that is
solid. This means a level should be completely surrounded by walls
that cannot be destroyed (either impregnable or bad). If this is not
the case, then the ball can get loose and the program may have
problems.
- The player starting position should be in an open space in the grid,
as displayed in GEDIT. The usual starting position is in the lower right
corner of the grid. Do not fill that section of the level with walls,
unless you change the player starting position (origin). Also, make
sure the player can get to the rest of the grid from this starting position.