Revision as of 19:29, 11 July 2016

Overview

The Map Editor is where everything comes together. You will use this editor to create the maps for your game using the available tiles, objects, scripts, etc.

Components

Toolbar

• New: Opens the New Resource dialog with Map selected as the resource type.
• Save: Saves the map. This will become enabled any time changes have been made to the map.
• Save As: Saves the map to a new file with a different name. A dialog will open to prompt for the new name. Once saved, the map will be opened in a new tab.
• Clear: Removes all tiles and objects from the map.
• Toggle Grid: Enables/disables the tile grid lines.
• Toggle Navigation Paths: Enables/disables the navigation paths. These will appear as green lines between tiles and indicate the paths that the player can walk along.
• Toggle Markers: Enables/disables markers. These markers are labels in the 3D view and can be used to quickly identify which objects have scripts, which characters have dialogue, locations of lights, etc.
• Place Mode: Switches to placement mode for placing tiles, objects, and characters.
• Edit Mode: Switches to editing mode for selecting/rotating/deleting/etc. tiles, objects, and characters.
• Randomize Rotation: When toggled on, a random angle will be selected to use for the next tile or object placement.
• Force Refresh of Navigation Paths: Force a refresh of the visual navigation/interaction path lines. This is primarily for ensuring that the visual lines match up with the actual navigation between tiles since this functionality is currently being tweaked and polished.

Properties Panel

The Properties panel displays various information pertaining to the map, most of which can be edited.

• Background Music: The selected song file will be looped as background music when the current map is loaded in-game. The option box will display any OGG files located within your project's "music" folder.
• Background Type: Sets the type of background to use for the map. "Color" fills the background with a solid color, "Image" displays a static texture in the background, and "Skybox" will create a skybox around the map from six images.
• Groups: This item can be expanded to show all currently defined groups for the current map. For each group, there are 3 action buttons available:
  • Select: Select all resources in this group.
  • Hide/Show: Hide/show all resources in this group.
  • Ungroup: Remove the definition for this group so the resources are no longer grouped.
• Ambient Light: The map's ambient light casts light evenly across everything. This light's color can be adjusted and it can be turned on or off.
• Directional Light: The map's directional light simulates sunlight and is cast downward at an angle. This light's color can be adjusted and it can be turned on or off.
• Point Light: Any point lights added to the map will be listed underneath the directional light. Several attributes can be adjusted, including color, intensity, and diameter. The arrow buttons can be used to modify the position of the light. Clicking on one of the point lights in the Properties panel will move the camera to the light's position.

3D View

The main 3D view is used to visually edit the map. See the Controls/Shortcut Keys section further down for details on working in the 3D view. In the bottom-right corner of the 3D view, the current (X, Y, Z) coordinate will be displayed according to the mode you are in. In Place Mode, this shows where the resource will be placed. In Edit Mode, this shows the coordinate of the resource that is selected.

Resource Selection Sidebar

On the right-hand side of the application, there is a sidebar containing two tabs: Tiles, Objects, and Characters. These display lists of the resources available to place into your map. Each resource is shown as a 3D preview that rotates if selected. If desired, you can double-click on a resource to open it in the Voxel Editor, or single-click to select it and then click on the small button that appears in the top-right corner.

Minimap

Below the Game Explorer panel, there is a tab containing a minimap. This is simply an overhead view of the current map.

• Zoom In
• Zoom Out

Controls/Shortcut Keys

Camera

• Middle Mouse Button + Drag: Rotate camera
• Shift + Middle Mouse Button + Drag: Move camera
• Scroll Wheel Up or Ctrl + Middle Mouse Button + Drag Up: Zoom camera in
• Scroll Wheel Down or Ctrl + Middle Mouse Button + Drag Down: Zoom camera out

Place Mode

• Left Mouse Button: Place tile/object
• Right Mouse Button: Rotate pending tile/object
• A: Raise placement grid by one voxel
• Z: Lower placement grid by one voxel
• X: Reset placement grid to zero
• N: Cycle through the available navigation/interaction types if two adjacent tiles are selected
• Ctrl + Scroll Wheel Up: Raise placement grid by an amount equal to the map's tile width in voxels (default of 16)
• Ctrl + Scroll Wheel Down: Lower placement grid by an amount equal to the map's tile width in voxels (default of 16)

Edit Mode

• Left Mouse Button: Select tile/object
• Ctrl+ Left Mouse Button: Select multiple tiles/objects
• Right Mouse Button: Context menu
  • Rotate Clockwise (R): Rotate the selected tiles/objects clockwise.
  • Rotate Counterclockwise (T): Rotate the selected tiles/objects counterclockwise.
  • Randomize Rotation (Y): Rotate the selected tiles/objects to a random angle.
  • Delete (D): Delete the selected tiles, objects, or characters.
  • Grouping:
    • Add to Group... (G): Add the current selection to a group.
    • Remove From All Groups: Remove the currently selected items from any existing groups.
  • Navigation/Interaction:
    • Walk & Interact: Characters can both walk between the two tiles and interact with objects or characters from one tile to the other
    • Walk Only: Characters can only walk between the two tiles – no interacting with objects or characters
    • Interact Only: Characters can initiate interactions between the two tiles, but not walk between them
    • None: Characters cannot walk or interact between the two tiles
  • Properties... (P): Edit the properties for the selected tile, object, or character. For objects, you can use the properties dialog to attach a script or define it as a container and add items to it. For characters, you can use this to specify whether the character is an NPC or an enemy and choose a dialogue or battle to start.
  • Copy (X,Y,Z) Coordinate (C): Copy the (X,Y,Z) coordinate of the selected tile, object, or character to the clipboard.
  • Add Light (L): Add a point light at the location of the selected tile, object, or character. The light's properties can then be edited in the Properties panel.