ncrecc wrote: ↑Mon Aug 03, 2026 1:50 am
maybe the RnD level format could include a UUID (sufficiently random 16-byte number generated for each level)? i don't know anything about SyncBack Pro so i don't know if it supports custom logic for defining the true identity of a file (i.e. writing a simple program to check for an RnD level's UUID or falling back to its filename if it has none)
It allows scripting etc and quite complex stuff but that's way beyond me and I am now versions behind. I don't remember ever coming across mentions of UUIDS in its [huge] Help or on its forum. Responding off the cuff and without reading up on them, I would see no value in UUIDs in level files as they would become a proxy for uniqueness, when really the uniqueness is 'the sum of all the settings, including the elements on the grid'. So you could have 2 levels with the same grid arrangement and the same customisation but judged to be unique because of having different values for the UUID! No thanks
Last edited by BrownSky on Mon Aug 03, 2026 2:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
Last thing - I don't see how, wearing a gameplay, or even puzzle logic-only, hat, that a level can be looked at on its own; because, the gameplay relies upon the graphics. After all, we interpret screen-based games mainly through our eyes. If I provide a level with a custom graphics set, and you switch to the built-in graphics, it could well be that the gameplay will change, and the game become unplayable [not necessarily cannot be completed; maybe it would mean dull and boring, without challenge]. eg if I make a level for play with graphics where gems and fireflies have the same graphic, so you cannot just move straight into each one - you have to treat each 'gem' as maybe a monster and snap a square next to it [or dig away a rock under or next to it], and be prepared to run away.
Or imagine a setup where the graphics are [almost] all black squares. Sure, the playerbase would be nil or close to, who could be bothered wasting their time so? So that is an absurd example. But still.
In the editor, you can look through a graphic to get the real identity of the element, but during gameplay you cannot... can you?
This is one of the problems I have with RnD, that the different parts of it are stored in such different ways, with potentially conflicting/ambiguous results - in particular, levelsets vs graphics. But I do seem to remember coming across a levelset with its graphics stored inside it, I want to go and find that - on my old big PC I never use anymore. I presume the custom artwork setting is for that case; if you play it with intended artwork, you may have a very different, real, gameplay experience from if you play it standard - or perhaps not, if every built-in graphic has a 1 for 1 match with a custom graphic. But even then, different elements could be paired together visually, eg by colour, giving a hint to the player what he needs to do.
Sound can be a little bit important, eg if you hear a monster approaching before you see it and that gives you time to take action, but I don't think it ever has happened like that, for me.
I see no possible benefits to UUIDs here. Suppose levels are stamped with them. Then if a level is copied and modified, does it retain the old ID or get a new one? Is it retains the old one, the IDs are useless since they convey no semantic meaning (they attempt to convey 'these levels are identical', but since they aren't, the idea just fails). But if the modified level gets a new ID then what is accomplished at all? Might as well just checksum the level contents when reading it in, without bothering to stamp anything.
...
And. It is my perception that the 'use other level's artwork' feature is primarily, or historically, aimed at levels which use only standard (for whatever game / engine they were originally developed under) elements. People have published tons of such levels, many without custom artwork, but some with. As a player one could decide that you prefer a certain art style, whether for esthetic reasons, nostalgia, or even gameplay reasons (e.g. it's easier to tell apart a pair of elements which it's beneficial to distinguish). So you could choose to play all levels with that preferred artwork.
Perhaps even moreso for music and sound effects. Music might set a 'tone' for a level(set), but is unlikely to affect actual gameplay. But as a player one can certainly have strong preferences which music you'd rather hear! Sound effects could have slightly more effect on play, but again I think are mostly just a matter of preference.
