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1	<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en">
2	<html>
3	<head>
4	<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
5	<meta name="Author" content="Justin Cassidy">
6	<meta name="GENERATOR" content="Mozilla/4.75 [en] (Win98; U) [Netscape]">
7	<title>The Free Abuse Project</title>
8	</head>
9	<body text="#FFFFFF" bgcolor="#000000" link="#C0C0C0" vlink="#666666" alink="#C0C0C0" background="../images/jmc.jpg" nosave>
10	<font color="#FFFFFF"><u><font size=+4>fRaBs</font></u><i>
11	level editing</i></font>
12	<br><a href="../index.html">Main</a><i><font color="#FFFFFF"> - </font></i><a href="updates.html">Updates</a><i><font color="#FFFFFF">
13	- </font></i><a href="single.html">Single Player</a><i><font color="#FFFFFF">
14	- </font></i><a href="dm.html">Deathmatch</a><i><font color="#FFFFFF">
15	- </font></i><a href="editor.html">Level Editing</a><i><font color="#FFFFFF">
16	- </font></i><a href="faq.html">FAQ</a><i><font color="#FFFFFF"> - </font></i><a href="credits.html">Credits</a><i><font color="#FFFFFF">
17	- </font></i><a href="links.html">Links</a>
18	<p><tt>  Written by Duong Dai Nguyen, level designer for Abuse</tt>
19	<br><tt>  Edited by Mitch Burton and Justin Cassidy.</tt>
20	<p><tt>  PLEASE NOTE THAT SOME OF THESE FUNCTIONS ARE NOT INCLUDED
21	IN ABUSE 2.0,</tt>
22	<br><tt>  THE VERSION OF ABUSE THAT fRaBs USES. ALSO, NOTE THAT IF
23	YOU ARE USING</tt>
24	<br><tt>  A REGULAR VERSION OF ABUSE THAT MANY OF THESE OBJECTS ARE
25	ONLY IN THE</tt>
26	<br><tt>  fRaBs DISTRIBUTION.</tt>
27	<p><tt>
28	ABUSE LEVEL EDITING</tt>
29	<br>
30	<p><tt>        Here at Crack dot Com
31	we strive to create fun games.  Many elements</tt>
32	<br><tt>  go into making a fun game, one of which is level design.
33	Supplied with</tt>
34	<br><tt>  your official Abuse package is a level editor. This editor
35	allows</tt>
36	<br><tt>  you to produce your own Abuse levels, using prefabricated
37	pieces which</tt>
38	<br><tt>  we call OBJECTS. The interface is a little daunting at first,
39	but with some</tt>
40	<br><tt>  persistence you can be blasting your way down long, dark
41	alleys pursuing (or</tt>
42	<br><tt>  being pursued by!) aliens, robots, and flyers of your own
43	creation. Let's</tt>
44	<br><tt>  begin!</tt>
45	<br>
46	<p><tt>
47	Table of contents</tt>
48	<p><tt>        (Do a key-word search
49	for the number/letter combination</tt>
50	<br><tt>
51	to jump to the section you want to read)</tt>
52	<br>
53	<p><tt>      [1] <a href="#Shortcuts">Key Listings
54	and Extended Options</a></tt>
55	<br><tt>    [1.a] Key Listings</tt>
56	<br><tt>    [1.b] Extended Options</tt>
57	<br><tt>    [1.c] X11 (X windows for UNIX) Options</tt>
58	<br><tt>   ---------------------------------------</tt>
59	<br><tt>      [2] <a href="#Objects">Object Listings
60	and Descriptions</a></tt>
61	<br><tt>    [2.a] Links</tt>
62	<br><tt>    [2.b] AI</tt>
63	<br><tt>    [2.c] Range</tt>
64	<br><tt>    [2.d] <a href="objects.html">Object List</a></tt>
65	<br><tt>   --------------------------------------</tt>
66	<br><tt>      [3] <a href="#Design">Preliminary
67	Level Designing, Editors Windows and Menus</a></tt>
68	<br><tt>    [3.a] Preliminary Level Designing</tt>
69	<br><tt>    [3.b] Windows and Menus</tt>
70	<br><tt>   -------------------------------------------------------------</tt>
71	<br><tt>      [4] <a href="#Tips">Level Designing
72	Hints and Practicalities</a></tt>
73	<br><tt>    [4.a] Level Designing Hints and Practicalities</tt>
74	<br><tt>   -----------------------------------------------</tt>
75	<br><tt>    [5-7] <a href="editor2.html">Advanced Level
76	Editing Topics</a></tt>
77	<br><tt>   ------------------------------------</tt>
78	<br><tt>   [8-10] <a href="editor3.html">Making Special Types
79	of Levels</a></tt>
80	<br>
81	<p><tt>[1]</tt>
82	<p><a NAME="Shortcuts" href="#Shortcuts"></a><a NAME="Shortcuts" href="#Shortcuts"></a><tt><a href="#Shortcuts" NAME="Shortcuts">Key
83	Listings and Extended Options</a></tt>
84	<p><tt>------------------------------------------------------------------------</tt>
85	<br><tt>[1.a] Key Listings</tt>
86	<br><tt>------------------------------------------------------------------------</tt>
87	<p><tt>a     : Toggle toolbar window.</tt>
88	<br><tt>A     : Disable auto lighting (when computer
89	is too slow, lighting shuts off)</tt>
90	<br><tt>b     : Toggle background tile picker window.</tt>
91	<br><tt>B     : Make background window wider.</tt>
92	<br><tt>c     : Center on player.</tt>
93	<br><tt>C     : Clone object under cursor.</tt>
94	<br><tt>d     : Delete object under cursor.</tt>
95	<br><tt>D     : Toggle delays.</tt>
96	<br><tt>E     : Toggle enlarged render.</tt>
97	<br><tt>f     : Toggle foreground tile picker window.</tt>
98	<br><tt>F     : Make foreground tile picker window
99	wider.</tt>
100	<br><tt>g     :</tt>
101	<br><tt>h     : Help!</tt>
102	<br><tt>i     : Invert color black (for foreground
103	tile window, for discerning</tt>
104	<br><tt>           transparent
105	and non-transparent tiles)</tt>
106	<br><tt>j     : Jump player to mouse position.</tt>
107	<br><tt>k     : Kill first link of object under cursor.</tt>
108	<br><tt>K     : Kill last link of object under cursor.</tt>
109	<br><tt>l     : Toggle light picker window.</tt>
110	<br><tt>L     : Toggle layer show window.</tt>
111	<br><tt>m     : Toggle map.</tt>
112	<br><tt>n     : Next player focus (not working/useful).</tt>
113	<br><tt>o     : Toggle object picker window.</tt>
114	<br><tt>p     : Toggle palette picker window.</tt>
115	<br><tt>P     : Toggle profiler window.</tt>
116	<br><tt>Q     : Quit (does not ask permission).</tt>
117	<br><tt>r     : Raise/lower tile under cursor.</tt>
118	<br><tt>s     : Search for object. Not working yet.</tt>
119	<br><tt>S     : Save level.</tt>
120	<br><tt>t     : Flood fill the current tile. If "grabbing"
121	a palette window, flood</tt>
122	<br><tt>           fills
123	with the palette pattern.</tt>
124	<br><tt>U     : Ultra smooth drawing. Not working yet.</tt>
125	<br><tt>v     : Volume.</tt>
126	<br><tt>w     : Where. Tells the x & y position
127	of the mouse in the game.</tt>
128	<br><tt>x     : Flip object under cursor on the X axis.</tt>
129	<br><tt>z     : Clear weapons.</tt>
130	<br><tt>Z     : Toggle god mode. Cursor must be inside
131	of view to toggle god-mode.</tt>
132	<br><tt>space : Pick up object, so that you can move it around (click to
133	drop).</tt>
134	<br><tt>ctrl  : When moving an object : Hold down to align on a tile
135	grid.</tt>
136	<br><tt>        When not moving an objects
137	: Hold down on one object and let go on</tt>
138	<br><tt>
139	top of another to make a link.</tt>
140	<br><tt>alt   : Hold down while moving to align to center of
141	tile grid.</tt>
142	<br><tt>`     : "Pick up" the foreground tile the mouse
143	is current on.</tt>
144	<br><tt>F1    : Help!</tt>
145	<br><tt>F2    : Save a single screen shot to scrnshot.pcx.</tt>
146	<br><tt>F3    : Save a single screen shot, but name shot0001.pcx,
147	shot0002.pcx...</tt>
148	<br><tt>F5    : Save a series of screen shots, one every
149	5 frames.</tt>
150	<br><tt>F10   : Reduce screen to what it would for 320x200. Useful
151	for hi-res editing.</tt>
152	<br><tt>+     : Increase view size.</tt>
153	<br><tt>SHIFT+: Increase view size a lot.</tt>
154	<br><tt>+     : Decrease view size.</tt>
155	<br><tt>SHIFT-: Decrease view size a lot.</tt>
156	<br><tt>arrows: Scroll view.</tt>
157	<br><tt>TAB   : Toggle edit/play mode.</tt>
158	<br><tt>/     : Toggle console window.</tt>
159	<p><tt>------------------------------------------------------------------------</tt>
160	<br><tt>[1.b] Extended Options</tt>
161	<br><tt>------------------------------------------------------------------------</tt>
162	<p><tt>-nosound</tt>
163	<br><tt>-sfx_volume [0..127]</tt>
164	<br><tt>-vmode [G640x480x256 \|     // SVGA for linux</tt>
165	<br><tt>        G800x600x768 \|</tt>
166	<br><tt>        G1024x768x256]</tt>
167	<br><tt>-size xres yres
168	// for X11 and DOS, for DOS -size ? will give you</tt>
169	<br><tt>
170	// a list of available modes</tt>
171	<br><tt>-2
172	// doubles each pixel during rendering</tt>
173	<br><tt>-demo
174	// quits game after an idle timeout and goes to</tt>
175	<br><tt>
176	// demo</tt>
177	<br><tt>-lisp
178	// starts up with an interactive lisp command line</tt>
179	<br><tt>-lock_size
180	// X11, does not allow window to be resized</tt>
181	<br><tt>-disp/-display
182	// specify an alternative X server than $DISPLAY</tt>
183	<br><tt>-no_delay
184	// starts with no delays, plays as fast as computer</tt>
185	<br><tt>
186	// goes</tt>
187	<br><tt>-cprint
188	// print all output to stderr instead of console</tt>
189	<br><tt>-nojoy
190	// disables joystick use (there isn't any, anyway!)</tt>
191	<br><tt>-lsf [filename]
192	// use a different lisp startup file than abuse.lsp</tt>
193	<br><tt>-edit
194	// Initially start in EDIT_MODE, loads "edit.lsp"</tt>
195	<br><tt>
196	// as well</tt>
197	<br><tt>-t [filename]
198	// auto-number and load tiles from SPE file</tt>
199	<br><tt>-f [filename]
200	// load filenames as "level1.spe"</tt>
201	<br><tt>
202	// don't shoot yourself in the foot!</tt>
203	<p><tt>------------------------------------------------------------------------</tt>
204	<br><tt>[1.c] X11 (X windows for UNIX) options :</tt>
205	<br><tt>------------------------------------------------------------------------</tt>
206	<p><tt>-noshm
207	// don't use Shared memory for X11</tt>
208	<br><tt>-grab_pointer
209	// causes abuse to keep pointer inside of window</tt>
210	<br>
211	<p><tt>While playing, press <TAB> to go into development mode, if you
212	ran abuse with</tt>
213	<br><tt>the -edit parameter. Type '/' to bring up the console window, into
214	which you</tt>
215	<br><tt>can type LISP commands.</tt>
216	<br>
217	<p><tt>[2]</tt>
218	<p><a NAME="Objects" href="#Objects"></a><a NAME="Objects" href="#Objects"></a><tt><a href="#Objects" NAME="Objects">Object
219	Listings and Descriptions</a></tt>
220	<p><tt>------------------------------------------------------------------------</tt>
221	<br><tt>[2.a] Links</tt>
222	<br><tt>------------------------------------------------------------------------</tt>
223	<p><tt>        Before you can learn
224	about the objects you need to learn about</tt>
225	<br><tt>LINKING. Links are the grey lines drawn from one object to another.
226	They</tt>
227	<br><tt>act as visual cues, indicating that those objects are referencing
228	each</tt>
229	<br><tt>other for particular purposes that will be discussed later on in
230	this</tt>
231	<br><tt>document. The exact function of a link depends upon the objects
232	being</tt>
233	<br><tt>linked and the order in which the links are created. Creating a
234	link is</tt>
235	<br><tt>actually quite simple.</tt>
236	<p><tt>        First, position your
237	mouse cursor over the object you wish to</tt>
238	<br><tt>start the link from. A grey bounding box will surround the object.
239	Now,</tt>
240	<br><tt>you have two options. The first, and slightly faster, way is to
241	hold down</tt>
242	<br><tt>the <CTRL> key, move the cursor to the object you want to create
243	the link</tt>
244	<br><tt>to, and let go. The second way is to click on the first object.
245	An extended</tt>
246	<br><tt>options window will open. Now, click on the second object, and
247	you've</tt>
248	<br><tt>made your link. Note that the extended options window now belongs
249	to the</tt>
250	<br><tt>second object, not the first. The advantage of this method is that
251	it can</tt>
252	<br><tt>be used to link objects to lights, whereas the first method cannot.</tt>
253	<p><tt>        Some objects can have
254	multiple links.  To make multiple links,</tt>
255	<br><tt>simply repeat either method.  However, if you are using the
256	second</tt>
257	<br><tt>method, you must close the extended options window before you can
258	make</tt>
259	<br><tt>another link from the first object. It is also important to note
260	that links</tt>
261	<br><tt>are sensitive to which object they originate from.  When you
262	create a link</tt>
263	<br><tt>from Object A to Object B, Object B is modified only in that its
264	range is</tt>
265	<br><tt>extended when the player is within range of Object A.</tt>
266	<p><tt>        There are two ways to
267	kill a link. The first is the most</tt>
268	<br><tt>flexible and efficient, and involves only the shortcut keys. First,
269	move</tt>
270	<br><tt>the cursor over the object that owns the link. Since objects can
271	have</tt>
272	<br><tt>multiple links, you can now either break the links first to last,
273	by</tt>
274	<br><tt>pressing <k>, or last to first, by pressing <SHIFT>-<k>.
275	To see whether an</tt>
276	<br><tt>object is making a link or being linked, move the cursor over an
277	object with</tt>
278	<br><tt>a link line originating from it. If the line turns yellow, then
279	that object</tt>
280	<br><tt>owns the link.</tt>
281	<p><tt>        The second method uses
282	the extended options window. First, open</tt>
283	<br><tt>said window by clicking on the object. There will be two buttons</tt>
284	<br><tt>with a red X on them. The button on the left will break links with</tt>
285	<br><tt>objects from first to last. The button on the right will break
286	links</tt>
287	<br><tt>with objects from last to first. Note that links to lights must
288	be</tt>
289	<br><tt>broken using this method. It is suggested that you close the extended</tt>
290	<br><tt>options window when you are finished, to prevent any accidental
291	linking</tt>
292	<br><tt>or delinking. Simply click on the check mark to close the window.</tt>
293	<p><tt>        Most links that objects
294	make act as triggers. That is, an</tt>
295	<br><tt>object usually makes a link to another object, such as a sensor
296	or</tt>
297	<br><tt>switch, which can only have two states (on or off). When this sensor</tt>
298	<br><tt>or switch changes its state, the object is triggered and then proceeds</tt>
299	<br><tt>to do whatever it does best.</tt>
300	<p><tt>------------------------------------------------------------------------</tt>
301	<br><tt>[2.b] AI</tt>
302	<br><tt>------------------------------------------------------------------------</tt>
303	<p><tt>        There are two ways to
304	access an object's AI. The first</tt>
305	<br><tt>method is to click on the object, thus bringing up the extended</tt>
306	<br><tt>options window. Then, click on the AI button, which will bring</tt>
307	<br><tt>up the AI window. The second method is to simply position the</tt>
308	<br><tt>cursor over the object, and then press <SHIFT>-<a>.</tt>
309	<p><tt>        The AI window will have
310	a bunch of labeled fields, which are</tt>
311	<br><tt>different for each object. For the most part, these should be</tt>
312	<br><tt>self-explanatory. To modify them, move your mouse cursor over the
313	box</tt>
314	<br><tt>for the parameter you wish to modify, use the <BACKSPACE> key
315	to delete</tt>
316	<br><tt>the current value, and, finally, type in the desired value. Click
317	on</tt>
318	<br><tt>the check to close the AI window and make the changes complete.</tt>
319	<p><tt>------------------------------------------------------------------------</tt>
320	<br><tt>[2.c] Range</tt>
321	<br><tt>------------------------------------------------------------------------</tt>
322	<p><tt>        Another important facet
323	of objects is the range concept. Levels</tt>
324	<br><tt>can be quite large, and have hundreds of objects. Obviously, if
325	all of</tt>
326	<br><tt>them were given processing time, the game would run very slowly.
327	Thus,</tt>
328	<br><tt>only objects within a certain distance of the player are processed.</tt>
329	<br><tt>However, not all objects have the same range. For example, distant</tt>
330	<br><tt>aliens can walk through closed doors, because the aliens have a
331	longer</tt>
332	<br><tt>range. There are two ways to fix this. The first is to search through</tt>
333	<br><tt>the LISP code, find the portion that defines the AI of the objects,</tt>
334	<br><tt>and change the range there. The second way is to link another object,</tt>
335	<br><tt>usually a sensor, to the short-ranged object. When the closer</tt>
336	<br><tt>or longer ranged object is active, it will extend the range of</tt>
337	<br><tt>the linked object, allowing it to perform its special functions.</tt>
338	<p><tt>------------------------------------------------------------------------</tt>
339	<br><tt>[2.d] Object List</tt>
340	<br><tt>------------------------------------------------------------------------</tt>
341	<p><tt>The fRaBs <a href="objects.html">object set</a> is huge, so it has
342	been moved to a <a href="objects.html">separate file</a>.</tt>
343	<p><tt>[3]</tt>
344	<p><a NAME="Design" href="#Design"></a><a NAME="Design" href="#Design"></a><tt><a href="#Design" NAME="Design">Preliminary
345	Level Designing, Windows and Menus</a></tt>
346	<p><tt>------------------------------------------------------------------------</tt>
347	<br><tt>[3.a] Preliminary Level Designing</tt>
348	<br><tt>------------------------------------------------------------------------</tt>
349	<p><tt>        When creating a new level,
350	it is generally a good idea to think</tt>
351	<br><tt>about a general theme. Will it be all action? Will there be puzzles,
352	and</tt>
353	<br><tt>if so, have difficult will they be? What is the mood of the level?
354	What</tt>
355	<br><tt>is the skill level of the target player? Keep these questions in
356	mind. You</tt>
357	<br><tt>may also find it helpful to sketch out the general design of a
358	level on</tt>
359	<br><tt>paper before you begin. Levels can be more or less as large as
360	you want them</tt>
361	<br><tt>to be, but the default size of 100 by 100 tiles should be large
362	enough for</tt>
363	<br><tt>most levels.</tt>
364	<p><tt>        However, before you can
365	begin putting down tiles and objects, you</tt>
366	<br><tt>must first learn to tame the windows and menus that populate the
367	world</tt>
368	<br><tt>we call ABUSE.</tt>
369	<br>
370	<p><tt>------------------------------------------------------------------------</tt>
371	<br><tt>[3.b] Windows and Menus</tt>
372	<br><tt>------------------------------------------------------------------------</tt>
373	<p><tt>        First, you will need
374	to start the game in edit mode. This will</tt>
375	<br><tt>allow you to access the built-in editor. To do this, go to the
376	current</tt>
377	<br><tt>ABUSE directory and type in this line :</tt>
378	<p><tt>        abuse -edit</tt>
379	<p><tt>        The "-edit" is an Extended
380	Option. See section 1.b for a complete</tt>
381	<br><tt>listing of these.</tt>
382	<p><tt>        The game will now start.
383	It will load level 00, the training level</tt>
384	<br><tt>by default. This will suit our goal of learning the windows and
385	menus just</tt>
386	<br><tt>fine. Notice that the game is not running yet. If you have already
387	played</tt>
388	<br><tt>the game, you will notice there now is a menu bar at the bottom
389	of the</tt>
390	<br><tt>screen that is not present when you normally play, and that your
391	cursor is</tt>
392	<br><tt>now an arrow instead of the usual target. Let's examine the menus
393	and their</tt>
394	<br><tt>functions.</tt>
395	<p><tt>        Under the farthest left
396	hand menu called FILE, we find a listing</tt>
397	<br><tt>of file utility commands and some advanced options.</tt>
398	<p><tt>Under FILE--></tt>
399	<br><tt>
400	Load Level</tt>
401	<br><tt>
402	Save Level (S)</tt>
403	<br><tt>
404	Save level as</tt>
405	<br><tt>
406	Save game</tt>
407	<br><tt>
408	New level</tt>
409	<br><tt>
410	Resize map</tt>
411	<br><tt>
412	Suspend non-players</tt>
413	<br><tt>
414	Play mode toggle (TAB)</tt>
415	<br><tt>
416	Save Palettes</tt>
417	<br><tt>
418	Start cache profile</tt>
419	<br><tt>
420	End cache profile</tt>
421	<p><tt>The first 5 options from the top are basic file utility commands
422	found</tt>
423	<br><tt>in almost all programs.</tt>
424	<p><tt>        Load level</tt>
425	<br><tt>
426	This command loads in levels. There are two methods you</tt>
427	<br><tt>
428	can use to do this. The first is the command line -- simply</tt>
429	<br><tt>
430	point the cursor at the text box at the top of the window,</tt>
431	<br><tt>
432	use the <BACKSPACE> key to delete the current contents, and</tt>
433	<br><tt>
434	type in the path and name of the level you wish to load.</tt>
435	<br><tt>
436	The second is the file selection system that uses the mouse.</tt>
437	<br><tt>
438	Under the text box, you will notice a list of files in the</tt>
439	<br><tt>
440	current directory. By double clicking on a directory, you</tt>
441	<br><tt>
442	can move around your directory structure. Double clicking on</tt>
443	<br><tt>
444	a file will have the editor try to load it as a level.</tt>
445	<br><tt>
446	-------NOTE----------</tt>
447	<br><tt>
448	The file selection system does not work for loading up files</tt>
449	<br><tt>
450	outside the directory from which ABUSE was ran. Use the</tt>
451	<br><tt>
452	command line to load up levels from other directories outside</tt>
453	<br><tt>
454	the current one.</tt>
455	<p><tt>        Save level (S)</tt>
456	<br><tt>
457	This command saves levels. A shortcut key is <SHIFT>-<s>.</tt>
458	<br><tt>
459	This command will save the level with the name and path of the</tt>
460	<br><tt>
461	currently loaded level.</tt>
462	<p><tt>        Save level as</tt>
463	<br><tt>
464	This command saves a level using a different name from the</tt>
465	<br><tt>
466	currently loaded level. Its methods are the same as the Load</tt>
467	<br><tt>
468	Level command, and it has the same limitaions.</tt>
469	<p><tt>        Save game</tt>
470	<br><tt>
471	The save game command saves the level with your current</tt>
472	<br><tt>
473	position and weapon status. When the level is loaded up,</tt>
474	<br><tt>
475	the player will begin at the position from which the game</tt>
476	<br><tt>
477	was saved. This differs from the other save level commands</tt>
478	<br><tt>
479	in those do not save your current position, and weapon status.</tt>
480	<p><tt>        New level</tt>
481	<br><tt>
482	This command creates a new level.</tt>
483	<p><tt>        Resize map</tt>
484	<br><tt>
485	This command resizes the map (level). The default size is</tt>
486	<br><tt>
487	100 x 100 tiles. A tile is 30 x 15 pixels, so this</tt>
488	<br><tt>
489	translates into a 3000 x 1500 pixel world, or roughly</tt>
490	<br><tt>
491	9.5 x 7.5 screens at the default resolution of 320x200.</tt>
492	<br><tt>
493	To change the size of the world type in the new parameters</tt>
494	<br><tt>
495	and press <OK>.</tt>
496	<p><tt>        Suspend non-players</tt>
497	<br><tt>
498	This command stops all objects from being processed, aside</tt>
499	<br><tt>
500	from the main character. You will notice that when you</tt>
501	<br><tt>
502	execute this command, the main characters upper body is</tt>
503	<br><tt>
504	frozen. This is because the main character is composed of two</tt>
505	<br><tt>
506	objects, and only the lower half is processed. This mode</tt>
507	<br><tt>
508	is useful in level designing when you don't want to</tt>
509	<br><tt>
510	disturb the world as you roam about.</tt>
511	<p><tt>        Play mode toggle (TAB)</tt>
512	<br><tt>
513	This command starts the game from edit mode, allowing you to</tt>
514	<br><tt>
515	play the game as you normally would. Once you select this</tt>
516	<br><tt>
517	command you can only use the short-cut key (TAB) to return to</tt>
518	<br><tt>
519	edit mode. It is suggested you use this key and forgo the menu</tt>
520	<br><tt>
521	command, as the shortcut is much faster and not as tedious,</tt>
522	<br><tt>
523	and you will find yourself using it often.</tt>
524	<p><tt>        Save palettes</tt>
525	<br><tt>
526	This command saves palettes to a file called edit.lsp, which</tt>
527	<br><tt>
528	can be edited using a conventional text editor. Palettes will</tt>
529	<br><tt>
530	be discussed in detail later in this document.</tt>
531	<p><tt>        Start cache profile</tt>
532	<br><tt>
533	This is a level optimization feature. It lets the engine know</tt>
534	<br><tt>
535	in advance which graphics and sounds will be used in a level,</tt>
536	<br><tt>
537	so that it can store them in an efficient manner, resulting</tt>
538	<br><tt>
539	in reduced disk access when playing the level.</tt>
540	<br><tt>
541	-----------------------NOTE--------------------------</tt>
542	<br><tt>
543	This command should only be used for COMPLETED levels.</tt>
544	<br><tt>
545	To use this command properly these steps must be followed :</tt>
546	<p><tt>
547	1) Start a new level from the proper position and state.</tt>
548	<br><tt>
549	2) Select this command from the menu system.</tt>
550	<br><tt>
551	3) Enter play mode.</tt>
552	<br><tt>
553	4) Play through the level as you normally would. Using</tt>
554	<br><tt>
555	save positions is ok. Each time graphics, sound,</tt>
556	<br><tt>
557	etc. is used, the game makes note of it.</tt>
558	<br><tt>
559	5) Continue until you reach the end of the level. Do NOT</tt>
560	<br><tt>
561	go to the next level.</tt>
562	<br><tt>
563	6) Press tab to return to edit mode.</tt>
564	<br><tt>
565	7) Use the load command to reload the level.</tt>
566	<br><tt>
567	8) Save the level from the menu, or by using <SHIFT>-<s></tt>
568	<br><tt>
569	9) Choose End Cache Profile from the file menu.</tt>
570	<p><tt>        End/save cache profile</tt>
571	<br><tt>
572	This command will save and end the cache optimization</tt>
573	<br><tt>
574	procedure. It saves the data to a file under the name</tt>
575	<br><tt>
576	and directory of the original level with an extensiton of</tt>
577	<br><tt>
578	.cpf.</tt>
579	<p><tt>        From the FILE menu you
580	will use the Load Level command most often.</tt>
581	<br><tt>The rest are occasionally used, and the Save Level command has
582	a keyboard</tt>
583	<br><tt>short-cut so it will not be necessary to use the menu for that
584	command. Now</tt>
585	<br><tt>let's take a look at the EDIT menus.</tt>
586	<p><tt>Under EDIT ----></tt>
587	<br><tt>
588	Toggle light</tt>
589	<br><tt>
590	Set scroll rate</tt>
591	<br><tt>
592	Center on player</tt>
593	<br><tt>
594	Add palette</tt>
595	<br><tt>
596	Toggle Delays</tt>
597	<p><tt>
598	God mode</tt>
599	<br><tt>
600	Clear weapons (z)</tt>
601	<br><tt>
602	Mouse scroll</tt>
603	<br><tt>
604	Lock palette windows</tt>
605	<br><tt>
606	Raise all foreground</tt>
607	<br><tt>
608	Toggle object names</tt>
609	<p><tt>
610	Toggle map        (m)</tt>
611	<br><tt>
612	Shrink to 320x200 (F10)</tt>
613	<br><tt>
614	Disable view shifts</tt>
615	<br><tt>
616	Ultra Smooth draw (U)</tt>
617	<br><tt>
618	Disable Autolight (A)</tt>
619	<br><tt>
620	Show FPS/Obj count</tt>
621	<p><tt>
622	Record demo</tt>
623	<br><tt>
624	Play demo</tt>
625	<br>
626	<p><tt>        Toggle light</tt>
627	<br><tt>
628	This command turns on and off the lighting. Lighting is a</tt>
629	<br><tt>
630	unique feature of the Abuse engine, allowing the level</tt>
631	<br><tt>
632	designer to create new and interesting scenes simply</tt>
633	<br><tt>
634	by moving around the light sources. However, it can be</tt>
635	<br><tt>
636	distracting while editing a level, so this command is</tt>
637	<br><tt>
638	provided.</tt>
639	<p><tt>        Set scroll rate</tt>
640	<br><tt>
641	This command modifies the rate at which the foreground</tt>
642	<br><tt>
643	layer and background layer scroll relative to each other.</tt>
644	<br><tt>
645	The Abuse engine has the capability for 2 layers of</tt>
646	<br><tt>
647	parallaxing. The top layer is called the foreground layer</tt>
648	<br><tt>
649	and the bottom is called the background layer. The parameters</tt>
650	<br><tt>
651	for the scroll rate are:</tt>
652	<p><tt>
653	rate for background scroll in x axis:</tt>
654	<br><tt>
655	rate for foreground scroll in x axis:</tt>
656	<p><tt>
657	rate for background scroll in y axis:</tt>
658	<br><tt>
659	rate for foreground scroll in y axis:</tt>
660	<p><tt>
661	For example if the parameters were:</tt>
662	<p><tt>
663	X mul         1</tt>
664	<br><tt>
665	X div         2</tt>
666	<p><tt>
667	Y mul         1</tt>
668	<br><tt>
669	Y div         2</tt>
670	<p><tt>
671	Then background would scroll twice as fast as the</tt>
672	<br><tt>
673	foreground in the x and y axes.</tt>
674	<p><tt>        Center on player</tt>
675	<br><tt>
676	This command will center the screen on the main character.</tt>
677	<br><tt>
678	It's very useful since the Abuse engine allows the level</tt>
679	<br><tt>
680	designer to move the center of the screen away from the</tt>
681	<br><tt>
682	character. The short-cut key is <c>.</tt>
683	<p><tt>        Add palette</tt>
684	<br><tt>
685	This command allows the level designer to make custom</tt>
686	<br><tt>
687	palettes. When you choose this command, a dialog box will</tt>
688	<br><tt>
689	open with several fields. Type in an appropriate name, as well</tt>
690	<br><tt>
691	as width and height values. Since the palette can be resized</tt>
692	<br><tt>
693	with the arrow keys, you do not need to worry about getting</tt>
694	<br><tt>
695	the size perfect. You will now have a blank palette window.</tt>
696	<br><tt>
697	You can add foreground tiles to this window by selecting a</tt>
698	<br><tt>
699	tile from the foreground tile window (see below), and then</tt>
700	<br><tt>
701	clicking in the palette window with the RIGHT mouse button.</tt>
702	<br><tt>
703	Palettes are discussed in detail in the section on the</tt>
704	<br><tt>
705	Palettes menu option, below.</tt>
706	<p><tt>        Toggle Delays</tt>
707	<br><tt>
708	This command will allow the game to run at the fastest speed</tt>
709	<br><tt>
710	your machine is capable of. There should be a message telling</tt>
711	<br><tt>
712	you whether delays are being turned on or off after you choose</tt>
713	<br><tt>
714	this command. The keyboard short-cut is <SHIFT>-<d>.</tt>
715	<p><tt>        God mode</tt>
716	<br><tt>
717	In this mode you have all the weapons, unlimited ammo, and</tt>
718	<br><tt>
719	cannot be killed. The SHAREWARE version has only four</tt>
720	<br><tt>
721	weapons as opposed to the COMMERCIAL versions full eight</tt>
722	<br><tt>
723	weapon types. The keyboard short-cut is <SHIFT>-<z>.</tt>
724	<p><tt>        Clear weapons (z)</tt>
725	<br><tt>
726	This command resets your weapon status, leaving you</tt>
727	<br><tt>
728	with only the laser rifle. All ammo will be set to 0.</tt>
729	<br><tt>
730	This is useful when designing and debugging levels,</tt>
731	<br><tt>
732	since the Abuse engine does not clear your weapons</tt>
733	<br><tt>
734	status when you reset the level. The keyboard shortcut</tt>
735	<br><tt>
736	is <z>.</tt>
737	<p><tt>        Mouse scroll</tt>
738	<br><tt>
739	An optional feature is the ability to use the mouse as a</tt>
740	<br><tt>
741	scrolling device. If this command is active (as indicated</tt>
742	<br><tt>
743	by an asterisk), you can move around the level by pushing</tt>
744	<br><tt>
745	the cursor against the boundaries of the screen. You can</tt>
746	<br><tt>
747	also use the arrow keys to scroll around, however, you must</tt>
748	<br><tt>
749	take care that you do not accidentally resize palette windows</tt>
750	<br><tt>
751	when using them.</tt>
752	<p><tt>        Lock palette windows</tt>
753	<br><tt>
754	This command prevents any accidential alteration to</tt>
755	<br><tt>
756	palettes. When this command is active (as indicated by an</tt>
757	<br><tt>
758	asterisk) none of the palette windows can be resized nor</tt>
759	<br><tt>
760	can the tiles in them be changed. To deactivate this command,</tt>
761	<br><tt>
762	simply select it again.</tt>
763	<p><tt>        Raise all foreground</tt>
764	<br><tt>
765	This command will, when active as indicated by the asterisk,</tt>
766	<br><tt>
767	make all the foreground tiles laid down in the level be</tt>
768	<br><tt>
769	raised. Raised foreground tiles are drawn in front of the</tt>
770	<br><tt>
771	character. When in edit mode all raised foregrounds will have</tt>
772	<br><tt>
773	an 'X' drawn over them. You can deactivate this command by</tt>
774	<br><tt>
775	selecting it from he menu again. To raise and lower individual</tt>
776	<br><tt>
777	tiles, position the cursor over the tile you wish to raise or</tt>
778	<br><tt>
779	lower and press the <r> key.</tt>
780	<p><tt>        Toggle object names</tt>
781	<br><tt>
782	When this command is active, each object will have its name</tt>
783	<br><tt>
784	displayed below it in green.</tt>
785	<p><tt>        Toggle map
786	(m)</tt>
787	<br><tt>
788
789	This command will display a map of the level. The map is a</tt>
790	<br><tt>
791	global representation of the level, with area boxes shown.</tt>
792	<br><tt>
793	An area box is an area of the level that has its own</tt>
794	<br><tt>
795	ambient light and screen displacement values. The map can</tt>
796	<br><tt>
797	be scrolled around with the arrow keys, or with the mouse</tt>
798	<br><tt>
799	if mouse scroll is activated.</tt>
800	<br><tt>
801	Ambient light is the global level of lighting. A</tt>
802	<br><tt>
803	player can only have one ambient light value at a time.</tt>
804	<br><tt>
805	However with the help of area boxes, you can have multiple</tt>
806	<br><tt>
807	ambient light values. Once a player leaves an area box, the</tt>
808	<br><tt>
809	screen displacement and ambient light do not return to their</tt>
810	<br><tt>
811	original values. The values of the screen displacement and</tt>
812	<br><tt>
813	ambient light change only when the player enters another area</tt>
814	<br><tt>
815	box. Screen displacement shifts the center of the screen</tt>
816	<br><tt>
817	away from the player. You can access these parameters and</tt>
818	<br><tt>
819	others via the toolbar window, which can be opened from the</tt>
820	<br><tt>
821	WINDOWS menu. See the section on the toolbar window, below,</tt>
822	<br><tt>
823	for a description of the tools and what they do.</tt>
824	<br><tt>
825	The keyboard shortcut for map mode is <m>. To get</tt>
826	<br><tt>
827	out of map mode, simply press <m> again.</tt>
828	<p><tt>        Shrink to 320x200 (F10)</tt>
829	<br><tt>
830	This command shrinks the view window to 320x200 resolution.</tt>
831	<br><tt>
832	When working in hi-res mode, this can give you an idea of</tt>
833	<br><tt>
834	what the player will see in low-res mode.</tt>
835	<p><tt>        Disable view shifts</tt>
836	<br><tt>
837	If this command is activated (it will have an asterisk next</tt>
838	<br><tt>
839	to it in the menu selection) view shifts will not take place</tt>
840	<br><tt>
841	when the player enters a new area box. When developing a</tt>
842	<br><tt>
843	level, this command can prevent accidental and annoying</tt>
844	<br><tt>
845	view shifts. To enable view shifts, simply reselect this</tt>
846	<br><tt>
847	command.</tt>
848	<p><tt>        Ultra Smooth draw (U)</tt>
849	<br><tt>
850	This command will draw the characters as smoothly as possible.</tt>
851	<br><tt>
852	This command currently is under development and should</tt>
853	<br><tt>
854	not be used.</tt>
855	<p><tt>        Disable Autolight (A)</tt>
856	<br><tt>
857	This command disables the autolight feature. The autolight</tt>
858	<br><tt>
859	feature will turn off the lighting if the frame rate drops</tt>
860	<br><tt>
861	below 9 frames per second. Disable this if you're working on</tt>
862	<br><tt>
863	a slow machine and want to see the lighting no matter what</tt>
864	<br><tt>
865	the speed. To enable autolighting again, reselect this from</tt>
866	<br><tt>
867	the menu. The keyboard short cut is <SHIFT>-<a>.</tt>
868	<p><tt>        Show FPS/Obj count</tt>
869	<br><tt>
870	This command prints the number of frames per second and the</tt>
871	<br><tt>
872	number of objects currently being processed in the upper</tt>
873	<br><tt>
874	left hand corner of the screen.</tt>
875	<p><tt>        Record demo</tt>
876	<br><tt>
877	This command will begin recording a demo of the game. These</tt>
878	<br><tt>
879	demos can be viewed with the play demo command.</tt>
880	<p><tt>        Play demo</tt>
881	<br><tt>
882	this will play the demo which you have recorded.</tt>
883	<p><tt>        The EDIT menu is very
884	important to designing levels. Most of the</tt>
885	<br><tt>important functions have keyboard shortcuts and can greatly speed
886	up</tt>
887	<br><tt>level designing. Now let's take a look at the WINDOWS menu.</tt>
888	<p><tt>WINDOWS-></tt>
889	<br><tt>        Foreground  (f)</tt>
890	<br><tt>        Background  (b)</tt>
891	<br><tt>        Draw layers (L)</tt>
892	<br><tt>        Lighting
893	(l)</tt>
894	<br><tt>        Palettes
895	(p)</tt>
896	<br><tt>        Objects
897	(o)</tt>
898	<br><tt>        Console
899	(/)</tt>
900	<br><tt>        Tool Bar
901	(a)</tt>
902	<br><tt>        Search
903	(s)</tt>
904	<br><tt>        Profile
905	(P)</tt>
906	<br><tt>        Save positions</tt>
907	<p><tt>        Foreground  (f)</tt>
908	<br><tt>
909	This command will bring up the foreground tile window.</tt>
910	<br><tt>
911	From this window you can select foreground tiles to place</tt>
912	<br><tt>
913	in the game world.</tt>
914	<br><tt>
915	To expand the foreground window, place your mouse cursor</tt>
916	<br><tt>
917	inside the foreground window and press <SHIFT>-<f>.</tt>
918	<br><tt>
919	Multiple presses will expand the window even further,</tt>
920	<br><tt>
921	though it will eventually return to a single tile window</tt>
922	<br><tt>
923	window. If the foreground tiles seem small, place the</tt>
924	<br><tt>
925	cursor in the window and press the <+> key to make them</tt>
926	<br><tt>
927	full size. Similarly, if they are taking up too much space,</tt>
928	<br><tt>
929	press the <-> key to shrink them. Note that the 0 color black</tt>
930	<br><tt>
931	is drawn as beige in the foreground tiles, for identification</tt>
932	<br><tt>
933	purposes. To select a tile from this window, simply click on</tt>
934	<br><tt>
935	it. You can then place the tile by moving to where you want to</tt>
936	<br><tt>
937	put it and left clicking. The keyboard shortcut is the <f> key.</tt>
938	<p><tt>        Background  (b)</tt>
939	<br><tt>
940	This selection will bring up the background tile window.</tt>
941	<br><tt>
942	These tiles are drawn behind the foreground tiles, and will</tt>
943	<br><tt>
944	show through only where there are no foreground tiles, or</tt>
945	<br><tt>
946	where the color black (0 color) is present in foreground</tt>
947	<br><tt>
948	tiles. You can select tiles from this window using the same</tt>
949	<br><tt>
950	method as for the foreground window. However, to place tiles,</tt>
951	<br><tt>
952	you must right click, as a left click will place a foreground</tt>
953	<br><tt>
954	tile. The keyboard shortcut is <b>.</tt>
955	<p><tt>        Draw layers (L)</tt>
956	<br><tt>
957	This selection opens the layers window. The buttons in this</tt>
958	<br><tt>
959	window toggle the display of various layers. That is, you can</tt>
960	<br><tt>
961	toggle the drawing of, among other things, lighting effects</tt>
962	<br><tt>
963	and foreground tiles. The latter would be useful when laying</tt>
964	<br><tt>
965	down background tiles.</tt>
966	<p><tt>
967	FORE  : Toggles the foreground layer.</tt>
968	<br><tt>
969	BACK  : Toggles the background layer.</tt>
970	<br><tt>
971	BOUND : Toggles the bounding boxes on foreground tiles.</tt>
972	<br><tt>
973	Bounding boxes block the player, so that one can</tt>
974	<br><tt>
975	walk on floors and be stopped by walls.</tt>
976	<br><tt>
977	LIGHT : Toggles the lighting.</tt>
978	<br><tt>
979	LINKS : Toggles the display of links between objects.</tt>
980	<br><tt>
981	In areas with lots of links, they can sometimes</tt>
982	<br><tt>
983	obscure the foreground. Note that when off, the</tt>
984	<br><tt>
985	light icons will not be drawn.</tt>
986	<p><tt>
987	The keyboard shortcut is <SHIFT>-<l>.</tt>
988	<p><tt>        Lighting
989	(l)</tt>
990	<br><tt>
991	This will bring up the lighting window. This window has</tt>
992	<br><tt>
993	buttons for a variety of light source shapes, as well as an</tt>
994	<br><tt>
995	ambient button. Lights are respresented by a white, circular</tt>
996	<br><tt>
997	or semi-circular icon, depending upon its shape. You select</tt>
998	<br><tt>
999	and place a light in the same way you do a foreground tile.</tt>
1000	<p><tt>
1001	Sometimes you will want to modify the size or shape of the</tt>
1002	<br><tt>
1003	light. There are several ways to do this. The first method</tt>
1004	<br><tt>
1005	uses the keyboard almost entirely :</tt>
1006	<p><tt>
1007	1) Position the cursor over the light whose shape</tt>
1008	<br><tt>
1009	you wish to change. Or, you can skip to step 3,</tt>
1010	<br><tt>
1011	if you have selected a light but have not dropped it.</tt>
1012	<br><tt>
1013	2) Press the <SPACEBAR> to pick it up.</tt>
1014	<br><tt>
1015	3) Use the arrow keys to reshape the light, or + and - to</tt>
1016	<br><tt>
1017	resize it.</tt>
1018	<p><tt>
1019	The second method involves the use of the extended options</tt>
1020	<br><tt>
1021	window :</tt>
1022	<p><tt>
1023	1) Click on the light.</tt>
1024	<br><tt>
1025	2) Modify the W and H fields for the light. These will</tt>
1026	<br><tt>
1027	change the width and height, respectively. Note</tt>
1028	<br><tt>
1029	that these fields expect small numbers. The L2 field</tt>
1030	<br><tt>
1031	will change the size of the light. This field can</tt>
1032	<br><tt>
1033	accept very large numbers.</tt>
1034	<p><tt>
1035	The keyboard shortcut is <l>. Lighting is an excellent</tt>
1036	<br><tt>
1037	tool for creating mood in the levels. Learn how to use the</tt>
1038	<br><tt>
1039	lighting well.</tt>
1040	<p><tt>         Palettes
1041	(p)</tt>
1042	<br><tt>
1043	This command will open a window containing a list of palettes.</tt>
1044	<br><tt>
1045	Choose one and double click on it to open a palette window.</tt>
1046	<br><tt>
1047	Sometimes the palette windows will be shrunken so as to take</tt>
1048	<br><tt>
1049	up less space. Palette windows can be shrunk and expanded,</tt>
1050	<br><tt>
1051	just as the foreground and background windows can. While in</tt>
1052	<br><tt>
1053	this window, hold shift and type a letter to jump to the</tt>
1054	<br><tt>
1055	palettes starting with that letter.</tt>
1056	<p><tt>
1057	Palettes have a variety of uses. Not only can they be used as</tt>
1058	<br><tt>
1059	custom tile libraries, they can be used to fill areas, or to</tt>
1060	<br><tt>
1061	stamp down one set of tiles at a time. They are quite useful</tt>
1062	<br><tt>
1063	for creating complex patterns of tiles with great speed. To</tt>
1064	<br><tt>
1065	stamp down the palette, click on the palette's window bar with</tt>
1066	<br><tt>
1067	the left mouse button. While keeping the mouse button held</tt>
1068	<br><tt>
1069	down, drag the upper left corner of the window to the position</tt>
1070	<br><tt>
1071	where you wish to stamp, then press the <SPACEBAR> key. If you</tt>
1072	<br><tt>
1073	wish to fill, press the <t> key instead. The result of a</tt>
1074	<br><tt>
1075	palette stamp is perhaps best shown rather than described.</tt>
1076	<br><tt>
1077	Assume that the palette is being stamped at the upper left</tt>
1078	<br><tt>
1079	corner of the grid. A-d are foreground tiles.</tt>
1080	<p><tt>
1081	Palette       Grid before stamp
1082	Grid after stamp</tt>
1083	<br><tt>
1084	+-+-+
1085	+-+-+
1086	+-+-+</tt>
1087	<br><tt>
1088	\|a\|b\|
1089	\| \| \|
1090	\|a\|b\|</tt>
1091	<br><tt>
1092	+-+-+
1093	+-+-+
1094	+-+-+</tt>
1095	<br><tt>
1096	\|c\|d\|
1097	\| \| \|
1098	\|c\|d\|</tt>
1099	<br><tt>
1100	+-+-+
1101	+-+-+
1102	+-+-+</tt>
1103	<p><tt>
1104	Palettes can also be used to fill or stamp one tile</tt>
1105	<br><tt>
1106	at a time. Simply left click on a tile in the palette window,</tt>
1107	<br><tt>
1108	then place it as you normally would. Do NOT right click, as</tt>
1109	<br><tt>
1110	you might accidentally alter your palette. To help prevent</tt>
1111	<br><tt>
1112	accidental alterations to the palette, read about the Lock</tt>
1113	<br><tt>
1114	Palette Windows command, above.</tt>
1115	<p><tt>
1116	To expand or shrink a palette, simply position the</tt>
1117	<br><tt>
1118	cursor in the palette window and use the arrow keys to resize</tt>
1119	<br><tt>
1120	it. BE CAREFUL with this -- if you shrink a palette, any tiles</tt>
1121	<br><tt>
1122	that were in area you just shrunk will no longer be there,</tt>
1123	<br><tt>
1124	even if you expand the palette back to where it was. This is</tt>
1125	<br><tt>
1126	annoying, at best.</tt>
1127	<p><tt>
1128	Also, make sure to use the Save Palettes command in</tt>
1129	<br><tt>
1130	the FILE menu to save your palettes so that you may use them</tt>
1131	<br><tt>
1132	in the future. Saving the level does NOT save the palettes.</tt>
1133	<br><tt>
1134	Palettes are very powerful tools to a level designer. They</tt>
1135	<br><tt>
1136	will allow you to do complex fills and create repetitive</tt>
1137	<br><tt>
1138	structures easily, as well as being custom libraries for</tt>
1139	<br><tt>
1140	tiles. Palettes are your friends.</tt>
1141	<p><tt>        Objects
1142	(o)</tt>
1143	<br><tt>
1144	Objects are the core of the game. They are all the characters</tt>
1145	<br><tt>
1146	which you interact with. Each one has its own, unique AI</tt>
1147	<br><tt>
1148	settings. This window gives you a listing of all the objects</tt>
1149	<br><tt>
1150	in the game. While in this window, hold down shift and type a</tt>
1151	<br><tt>
1152	letter to jump to the objects beginning with that letter. See</tt>
1153	<br><tt>
1154	Object Listings and Descriptions for a complete overview of</tt>
1155	<br><tt>
1156	all the objects in the game. Some basic object utility</tt>
1157	<br><tt>
1158	commands are as follows :</tt>
1159	<p><tt>
1160	<SPACEBAR>   Picks up object under cursor.</tt>
1161	<br><tt>
1162	<x>          Flips object
1163	under cursor in x axis.</tt>
1164	<br><tt>
1165	<d>          Deletes object
1166	under cursor.</tt>
1167	<br><tt>
1168	<SHIFT>-<c>  Clone object under cursor.</tt>
1169	<br><tt>
1170	<CTRL>       Position object to a grid.</tt>
1171	<br><tt>
1172	(object must be picked up)</tt>
1173	<br><tt>
1174	<ALT>        Position object in the
1175	middle of a grid.</tt>
1176	<br><tt>
1177	(object must be picked up)</tt>
1178	<br><tt>
1179	<SHIFT>-<k>  Kills last link of object under cursor.</tt>
1180	<br><tt>
1181	<k>          Kills first
1182	link of object under cursor.</tt>
1183	<p><tt>
1184	The keyboard shortcut key for this window is <o></tt>
1185	<p><tt>        Console
1186	(/)</tt>
1187	<br><tt>
1188	This will bring up the console window. The console window</tt>
1189	<br><tt>
1190	can accept command line inputs. It can also be used to</tt>
1191	<br><tt>
1192	modify the game and receive information about the game's</tt>
1193	<br><tt>
1194	state.</tt>
1195	<br><tt>
1196	The keyboard shortcut is </>.</tt>
1197	<p><tt>        Tool Bar
1198	(a)</tt>
1199	<br><tt>
1200	This will bring up the toolbar window. It is used in</tt>
1201	<br><tt>
1202	conjunction with the map view to add and modify area boxes</tt>
1203	<br><tt>
1204	and place tiles in the map view.</tt>
1205	<p><tt>
1206	The toolbar menu has 3 icons : a pencil, an arrow, and a box</tt>
1207	<br><tt>
1208	made of broken lines. The pencil lets you lay down tiles</tt>
1209	<br><tt>
1210	that you have chosen from either the foreground window,</tt>
1211	<br><tt>
1212	palette window, or the current level itself. To lay down a</tt>
1213	<br><tt>
1214	tile in the game, simply press the right mouse button over</tt>
1215	<br><tt>
1216	an area in the map. The pencil mode is also useful for using</tt>
1217	<br><tt>
1218	the fill option. To fill an area in the map with one</tt>
1219	<br><tt>
1220	foreground tile, follow these steps :</tt>
1221	<p><tt>
1222	1) Select a tile from any of the three sources.</tt>
1223	<br><tt>
1224	2) Make sure the area you wish to fill is completely</tt>
1225	<br><tt>
1226	surrounded by tiles. If not, then lay down some tiles</tt>
1227	<br><tt>
1228	to fill the gaps.</tt>
1229	<br><tt>
1230	3) Move the mouse pointer into the area.</tt>
1231	<br><tt>
1232	4) Press the <t> key.</tt>
1233	<p><tt>
1234	To select a tile which has already been laid down,</tt>
1235	<br><tt>
1236	position your mouse cursor over the tile and press</tt>
1237	<br><tt>
1238	the <`> key. If your foreground window is open at the</tt>
1239	<br><tt>
1240	same time, it will jump to the tile you just selected.</tt>
1241	<br><tt>
1242	This selection mechanism will work in map mode as well.</tt>
1243	<p><tt>
1244	The box tool allows you to create a new area</tt>
1245	<br><tt>
1246	box. To do this, follow these simple steps :</tt>
1247	<p><tt>
1248	1) Select the box tool.</tt>
1249	<br><tt>
1250	2) Enter map mode, if you haven't already.</tt>
1251	<br><tt>
1252	3) Hold down the left mouse button, then drag to</tt>
1253	<br><tt>
1254	create the box.</tt>
1255	<br><tt>
1256	4) Release the mouse button.</tt>
1257	<p><tt>
1258	The arrow icon lets you modify the settings of an</tt>
1259	<br><tt>
1260	area box. To do this, follow this procedure :</tt>
1261	<p><tt>
1262	1) Select the arrow tool.</tt>
1263	<br><tt>
1264	2) Go to one of the yellow endpoints of the area box.</tt>
1265	<br><tt>
1266	Each area box has two endpoints; one at the upper left</tt>
1267	<br><tt>
1268	corner, and another at the lower right corner.</tt>
1269	<br><tt>
1270	3) Double click on the endpoint. You will know when you</tt>
1271	<br><tt>
1272	have selected an area box, as it will have turned into</tt>
1273	<br><tt>
1274	a yellow box. This will bring up a window with several</tt>
1275	<br><tt>
1276	parameters :</tt>
1277	<br><tt>
1278	Ambient</tt>
1279	<br><tt>
1280	The global lighting level. It ranges from 0 to 63.</tt>
1281	<br><tt>
1282	A value of -1 means no change.</tt>
1283	<br><tt>
1284	Ambient Speed</tt>
1285	<br><tt>
1286	This is the increment at which the ambient light</tt>
1287	<br><tt>
1288	level changes when the player enters the area box.</tt>
1289	<br><tt>
1290	Obviously if the ambient light level is the same,</tt>
1291	<br><tt>
1292	there will be no change.</tt>
1293	<br><tt>
1294	View x off</tt>
1295	<br><tt>
1296	This is the number of pixels the player should be</tt>
1297	<br><tt>
1298	offset from the center of the screen, in the X axis.</tt>
1299	<br><tt>
1300	A negative value will shift the screen left, and a</tt>
1301	<br><tt>
1302	positive value will shift the screen right.</tt>
1303	<br><tt>
1304	View y off</tt>
1305	<br><tt>
1306	This is the number of pixels the player should be</tt>
1307	<br><tt>
1308	offset from the center of the screen, in the Y axis.</tt>
1309	<br><tt>
1310	If the value is negative, it will shift the screen</tt>
1311	<br><tt>
1312	upwards. A positive value will shift the screen</tt>
1313	<br><tt>
1314	downwards.</tt>
1315	<br><tt>
1316	View x speed</tt>
1317	<br><tt>
1318	The rate the view shifts, in pixels.</tt>
1319	<br><tt>
1320	View y speed</tt>
1321	<br><tt>
1322	The rate the view shifts, in pixels.</tt>
1323	<p><tt>
1324	Click on the <OK> (check) button to close the area</tt>
1325	<br><tt>
1326	box's extended option window to save the changes, or the</tt>
1327	<br><tt>
1328	<DELETE> (big red X) button to delete the area box.</tt>
1329	<p><tt>        Search
1330	(s)</tt>
1331	<br><tt>
1332	This is currently under development, it will search for</tt>
1333	<br><tt>
1334	objects within a level. Do not use.</tt>
1335	<p><tt>        Profile
1336	(P)</tt>
1337	<br><tt>
1338	The profile window will display the current objects and</tt>
1339	<br><tt>
1340	rank their CPU time. The higher up on the list, the more</tt>
1341	<br><tt>
1342	CPU time taken up by that object or group of objects.</tt>
1343	<p><tt>        Save positions</tt>
1344	<br><tt>
1345	This command will save the positions of all opened windows.</tt>
1346	<br><tt>
1347	Thus, when reopened, they will appear where you left them.</tt>
1348	<br>
1349	<p><tt>[4]</tt>
1350	<br><a NAME="Tips" href="#Tips"></a><a NAME="Tips" href="#Tips"></a><tt><a href="#Tips" NAME="Tips">Level
1351	Designing Hints and Practicalities</a></tt>
1352	<p><tt>------------------------------------------------------------------------</tt>
1353	<br><tt>[4.a] Level Designing Hints and Practicalities</tt>
1354	<br><tt>------------------------------------------------------------------------</tt>
1355	<p><tt>        If anyone has read this
1356	far, they either have to be crazy, or</tt>
1357	<br><tt>very determined. You make the call.</tt>
1358	<p><tt>        If you don't want to
1359	draw your own tiles, you need to familiarize</tt>
1360	<br><tt>yourself with the tile set. A good way to do this is to take a
1361	look at the</tt>
1362	<br><tt>current levels, like LEVEL00.SPE, the training level. Using the
1363	<`> key,</tt>
1364	<br><tt>with the foreground window open, select the tiles which you have
1365	an interest</tt>
1366	<br><tt>in. Learn what they look like, and what they do. Also look at how
1367	the various</tt>
1368	<br><tt>tiles fit together. Use the layers window to turn on the bounding
1369	layer and</tt>
1370	<br><tt>see the bounding boxes for the various tiles. Use palettes so that
1371	you don't</tt>
1372	<br><tt>have to search through the foreground window for your favorite
1373	tiles. Play</tt>
1374	<br><tt>with the objects, see how they work with the player and with each
1375	other. And</tt>
1376	<br><tt>save your level often. Since you often mess up your level while
1377	testing it</tt>
1378	<br><tt>and killing monsters and so on, make use of the restore key (<SHIFT>-<r>),</tt>
1379	<br><tt>which will reload your level. Note that if you saved the game at
1380	a</tt>
1381	<br><tt>RESTART_POSITION, your savegame and not the original level will
1382	be reloaded.</tt>
1383	<br><tt>Make sure not to save a level after you've gone through and killed
1384	everything.</tt>
1385	<p><tt>        Making a level is an
1386	incremental process, building block by block as</tt>
1387	<br><tt>you go. Keep in mind your global goals for the level. Keep the
1388	action steady,</tt>
1389	<br><tt>but gradually build up to the "big finish". But, more than anything,
1390	make</tt>
1391	<br><tt>levels and get more experience. This is the best way to learn to
1392	make great</tt>
1393	<br><tt>levels.</tt>
1394	<p><tt>        With all that said, level
1395	designing is a rewarding process filled</tt>
1396	<br><tt>with little twists and turns that will keep you enthralled and
1397	entertained</tt>
1398	<br><tt>for hours on end.</tt>
1399	<p><font color="#FFFFFF"><a href="editor2.html">Advanced Level Editing
1400	Topics --></a></font>
1401	<p><font color="#FFFFFF">Justin Cassidy</font>
1402	<br><a href="mailto: messiah15@spam-me-and-diedog.com">messiah15@dog.com</a>
1403	<p><img SRC="../images/ssig.GIF" NOSAVE height=17 width=20>
1404	</body>
1405	</html>

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