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| KGoldrunner - The Game Editor |
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HOME | Next General Hints | Previous Menu Options Creating a GameBefore you create a level, you must create a game in which to save it. Use Create a Game on the Editor menu. If you forget, you will be reminded. The most important decisions to make when creating a game are to choose the rules you are going to follow (KGoldrunner or Traditional, see Scoring and Rules) and to choose a unique 1-5 character file name prefix for your game and levels. You also need a name and description for your game, but those can easily be changed later.The prefix is used internally by KGoldrunner to identify level files, high score files and saved games. You can just use your initials as a prefix provided they are not the same as a KGoldrunner prefix. So far, the prefixes "level", "plws", "wad", "plwv" and "tute" have ben used and "trad" and "chmp" are reserved for future use. The four-letter "tute" prefix is reserved for tutorial games, which show the game description and hints on levels as they play. If you compose an Advanced Tutorial game you would use the prefix "tutea", to make it run as a tutorial but not get its files confused with those of the basic Tutorial (which has prefix "tute"). Creating a LevelWhen you have a game set up, just use Create Level on the Editor menu to start creating a level. It provides you with a blank playing area of 28x20 squares, with the hero at the top left. You do not have to use the whole 28x20 area. Lots of interesting levels use smaller areas.The minimum requirement for a level to be playable is to have a hero, a gold nugget he can get to and a visible or hidden ladder leading to the top of the playing area. You do not have to have enemies, bars or even bricks. There are many challenging levels that have no enemies or no bricks. The Tutorial game has some simple examples. Editing a LevelUse Edit Any Level or Edit Next on the Editor menu to start editing a level. If you choose a system level, you are warned that you will have to save it in one of your own games. Otherwise, the default is to save the level back where it came from, but you can vary that.Painting Objects in a LevelThe picture below shows the menu bar and the edit toolbar, which appears when you first choose Create Level, Edit Any Level or Edit Next from the Editor menu and so change from Play to Edit mode. It disappears when you go back to Play mode by using the Game menu to choose a level to play.
 The three icons on the left of the edit toolbar have the same actions as menu options Create Level, Edit Any Level and Save Level. The other ten icons are for painting objects in your level. From left to right the ten icons are empty space (grey brick background), hero, enemy, brick (can dig), concrete (cannot dig), trap or false brick (can fall through), ladder, hidden ladder, pole or bar and gold nugget. You click on an icon to make the mouse into a "brush" that paints that icon. Initially the brush is set to "brick". You paint by pointing and clicking the mouse to place a single object in a square or by clicking and dragging the mouse to fill a line or area, such as a long ladder, a large block of bricks or a concrete floor. Painting stops wherever you release the mouse button. If you make a mistake, you can use the "empty space" icon to erase. Because there can be only one hero, that icon works differently. When you paint with it, the hero moves from his previous position to wherever you release the mouse button.
Saving your WorkWhen you have finished painting, save your work using the disk icon or Save Level in the Editor menu or Save Edits in the Game menu. You must always save into your own games, never into the system games.If you are creating a level, you use the Level Selection Dialog to assign it to a game and level number. You use the same dialog if you have been editing a level, but the default is to save it where it came from. You can change the game and level, to get a "Save as ..." effect. If you have been editing a system level, that is OK, but you must save it as a copy in one of your own games. Adding a Level Name and HintOn the Save version of the Level Selection Dialog box is a button marked Level Name and Hint. You can use this to put the finishing touches on your level by adding a name and hint. Both are optional, but they are essential for tutorial levels and it is usual to provide them with very difficult levels (see the "Vengeance of Peter W" game).Testing a LevelAfter saving an edited level, you can test it by using Play Any Level in the Game menu. By default the game and level number are remembered and you can get straight into the level with just a few clicks. If you then want to edit some more, the same is true when you use Edit Any Level again.Moving a LevelYou can use Move Level on the Editor menu to re-order or re-number the levels in a game or to move a level from one game to another. Move Level is a two-part operation. You must first load a level by selecting it for editing or play, then when you use Move Level, the Level Selection Dialog box appears and you can select the new level number and game (as required).Moves are done in a way that leaves no gaps in the sequence of level numbers in a game. For example, if you move level 10 of game A to level 3 of game B, levels 11 and above in game A are re-numbered down by one (to close the gap) and levels 3 and above in game B are re-numbered up by one (to make room for the newcomer). Deleting a LevelYou can use Delete Level on the Editor menu to get rid of an unwanted level. As with Move Level, other levels are re-numbered to close the resulting gap in the sequence.Keyboard Short-CutsYou can use the keyboard in the Game Editor instead of the toolbar. The keys set the object to be painted, just as clicking a toolbar button does. The relevant key assignments are:
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