Adding custom elements into the official level editor

GavinDavidson · Post by **GavinDavidson** » Tue Dec 21, 2004 11:09 pm

Why not choose the best custom elements and graphics that users have submitted in their levels and make them an official part of the game so everyone can make levels with them?

Post by **Holger** » Tue Dec 21, 2004 11:44 pm

That's an interesting idea! Which existing custom elements would you like to see as new "standard" elements?

BTW: In any case, you can easily export custom elements by using a "template" file, and import them in your own levels by copying and using that template file.

bojster · Post by **bojster** » Wed Dec 22, 2004 12:13 am

The set of elements used by Dr Sloan in Walpurgi's Gardens is the best candidate if you ask me. If only Dr agrees... Elements from BD2K are also great. These two sets should surely make it into the level editor.

Zomis · Post by **Zomis** » Wed Dec 22, 2004 10:02 am

Whoo, there are so many...
Even though the idea is good, my personal opinion is that if some are added, then some more has to be added later, and then even more, and more, etc...
Like I said, there are so many of 'em

kjr · Post by **kjr** » Wed Dec 22, 2004 12:00 pm

I think the best thing to do would be make CE's into individual files so people can download them like they do levels.

bojster · Post by **bojster** » Wed Dec 22, 2004 4:21 pm

Yeah, pluggable element sets, souds like fun ;->

Post by **Holger** » Wed Dec 22, 2004 6:00 pm

That would be more or less the (already existing) "template file" solution.

The only disadvantage I can see is that you cannot easily combine CEs from more that one level set.

Besides that, it seems to me that such a solution would indeed be better than importing all those CEs as new "standard" elements. As Zomis said, they're so many... :-)

But maybe I could build something that makes it easier to "import" and "export" existing custom elements...

Zomis · Post by **Zomis** » Wed Dec 22, 2004 11:28 pm

Holger wrote:But maybe I could build something that makes it easier to "import" and "export" existing custom elements...

Which was one idea behind RNDTool, and AFAIK, it still should work for those users who doesn't have time to wait for Holger...

Even though I hope Holger could add it to RND itself, since 1) Not many people use RNDTool. 2) It'd probably be quicker to use it in RND than starting an external program. And 3) RNDTool is still only for Windows.

I'd seriously love that function in RND, and believe me...I'll test it as much as I can

kjr · Post by **kjr** » Thu Dec 23, 2004 2:04 am

The biggest challenge in doing this is to import related elements while maintaining their relationships:

If Imported CE 1 has a change page to CE 2, but you make them become CE 111 and CE 112 in the new level (because slots 1 and 2 are already taken), their internal references should automatically be changed. (So that CE 111 is not still page changing to CE 2, but is page changing to CE 112).

Zomis · Post by **Zomis** » Thu Dec 23, 2004 10:53 am

kjr wrote:The biggest challenge in doing this is to import related elements while maintaining their relationships:

If Imported CE 1 has a change page to CE 2, but you make them become CE 111 and CE 112 in the new level (because slots 1 and 2 are already taken), their internal references should automatically be changed. (So that CE 111 is not still page changing to CE 2, but is page changing to CE 112).

Yes, I also experienced that problem. I have solved it technically also, in RNDTool and I'd, of course, give Holger the source to it (Delphi though, and not C) if he wants too

Post by **Holger** » Thu Dec 23, 2004 1:57 pm

I think that for the near future, Zomis' RNDTool is the best choice for doing such CE manipulations!

Zomis · Post by **Zomis** » Fri Dec 24, 2004 8:43 pm

Holger wrote:I think that for the near future, Zomis' RNDTool is the best choice for doing such CE manipulations!

Thanks for the ad

I'll see if I can make some C code out of my code so it'd be easy to implement into RND (the GUI would be the biggest problem though...)
Unfortunately, RNDT doesn't have the best documentation in the world (just like RND

). Maybe I'll write something about it on the RND-wiki...

However, since there's no other tools (avalible for public, and what I know of) for such CE manipulation... I guess RNDT is the best

Don Shadow · Post by **Don Shadow** » Wed Dec 29, 2004 5:36 pm

Well, the elements should fit into the normal graphics else nobody would use them. If you want I make you some graphics like colorful steelwalls and colorful normal walls, new gems, some new sort of spaceships maybe and whatever manipulated objects...

But who wants _my_ efforts, noone.
That´s something that makes me angry... and Alan to leave this here.

I never heard my name by the themes CEs and graphics...

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Mon Jan 03, 2005 4:00 pm

I love these awsome elements! Do you think that a good way to have these is to have a little loading section where you simply load the
settings? Or do we have that already?

Post by **Holger** » Mon Jan 03, 2005 5:42 pm

> Or do we have that already?

Yes, although it's a bit hidden: Save your current CE (custom element) settings by "save template". In a new level (in the same set), activate the checkbox "[x] use template", which activates the CE settings from that template file for the current level.