Cubology Level Creator : Full Instructions

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Cubology Level Editor

Cubology has a fully featured level editor which you can use to create your own levels !

To active this 'hidden feature', type 'EDITOR' while in the main menu. You will see a 'Custom Levels' button appear. Click this button to get started. To get the most out of the editor please read the following instructions.

If you have any questions about the editor, please contact us at :

Commands

The available keyboard commands are :

KEY	ACTION
Space	Test play the level (press space again to return to the editor). See the Testing Levels section for more information.
Insert	Insert a cube of the selected type under the mouse pointer.
Page Up	Raise the editing grid by the height of one cube.
Page Down	Lower the editing grid by the height of one cube.
Ctrl	Hold to multiply the effect of '+' and '-' on-screen buttons by 10.
G	Get the type of cube currently under the cursor.
Ctrl + F5	Copy the current level's background style.
F5	Paste a previously copied background style to the current level.

The on-screen commands down the left-hand side of the screen are :

OPTION	ACTION
Type	+/- selects the current cube type. Click on the type name to bring up a list of all the available types. Select a type to resume normal editing.
Moves	+/- sets the maximum number of moves for a puzzle level (can be 0 for unlimited moves).
Time	+/- sets the time limit (in seconds) for a puzzle level.
Best	+/- sets the best time in which a puzzle level can be completed (in seconds). A 5 star rating will be awarded when the level is completed in less time.
Clear	Clears the current level. You will be prompted to confirm this operation.
Directory	Sets the directory where the editor will load and save levels (you will be prompted for the directory name). For more information see the Loading and Saving section.
Load	Loads a level (you will be prompted for the file name). WARNING : You will NOT be prompted to save your current changes. For more information see the Loading and Saving section.
Save	Saves the current level (you will be prompted for the file name). For more information see the Loading and Saving section.
Board	Activates the board editor. This editor allows you to tell Cubology which type of level you are editing, arcade or puzzle, and how the board should look. For more information on editing board layouts see the Board Editor section below.
Set Cam	Sets the start camera orientation of the level from the current camera's orientation.

For an explanation of the on-screen commands down the right-hand side of the screen, please refer to the Background Editor section.

Board Editor

Before you start adding cubes you'll need to create the board layout and tell Cubology which type of level you are creating : puzzle or arcade.

The editor starts with a default 3 by 3 board, but the board can be any shape up to a 10 by 10 grid. To edit the board click the 'Board' button on the left hand side of the screen. This will bring up the following screen :

To change between puzzle and arcade mode click the first button which will say what the current level's mode is (i.e. 'Puzzle' or 'Arcade'.) Changing this option will alter how the level is played in-game.

To edit the board layout, click a grid space to toggle it on and off. You can click and drag for quicker editing.

When you have finished, click 'OK' to commit your changes. Remember, any cubes which were on grid spaces that have been removed will be deleted. If in doubt, and you have cubes you don't want to lose, save your level first.

Cube Editing

A level is created by adding cubes to your board layout.

Creating a Cube

To create a cube follow these steps :

Select its type from the top-left hand 'Type' option.
Place the cursor over an empty grid space or cube (the cube will highlight).
Press the 'Insert' key.

Mesh Cubes

When creating a Mesh Cube, a green or red cube of the corresponding dimensions will appear under the cursor.

Red means there is not enough space to create the cube and the 'Insert' key will not work. Green means you are okay to create the cube at the current location.

To create a cube on top of a mesh cube you will need to use the Editing Grid.

Copying a Cube

To copy a cube, position the cursor over a cube you wish to copy.

Press 'G' to 'get' the cube's type. Notice how the editor's 'Type' option reflects this change.

Now, when you create a new cube, it will be of the same type as the one you 'got'.

Deleting a Cube

To delete a cube follow these steps :

Place the mouse over the cube you wish to delete : it will be highlighted.
Press the 'Delete' key.

The Editing Grid

To create cubes in mid air, or on top of a Mesh Cube, you will need to use the editing grid.

This grid is usually at the lowest level and is hidden. To raise the grid so that it becomes visible use the 'Page Up' key.

You can create cubes anywhere on this grid. To lower the grid again use the 'Page Down' key.

Testing Levels

Press the 'Space' key to test play your level at any time. While test playing, you can return to the editor at any time by pressing the 'Space' key again. The board will revert to how it was when you began the test play.

Loading & Saving

Use the 'Load' and 'Save' commands to save your levels and edit or play them later. When setting a load or save name you do not need to type in the file extension (level files are saved as '.lev' files.

See below for instructions on how to share your levels and where they are stored on your hard drive.

Background Editor : Advanced

This section can be skipped if you are new to level creation. You can give each level a unique look by altering its background style and fog properties.

The options for editing background styles and fog are displayed down the right hand side of the editor screen. There are a lot of options for editing background styles, but don't let this put you off : the best way to learn about style editing is to try it out.

Each background style is made up of one or two background textures and fog properties. To change which of these you are editing select one of the following buttons (on the top right hand side of the screen).

OPTION	ACTION
PRESETS	This option brings up a list of 10 background presets. You can use these presets as is, or modify them to create your own variations.
BG0	Edits the level's primary background (BG0).
BG1	Edits the level's secondary background (BG1).
FOG	Edits the level's fog properties.

The options that appear when editing 'BG0' or 'BG1' are as follows :

OPTION

ACTION

MERGE

This option is only available while editing BG1. The best way to learn how this option works is to play with it.

+/- alters how the two backgrounds (BG0 & BG1) are combined :

NONE	Ignore BG1.
ADD	Adds BG1 to BG0.
ALPHA	Overlays BG1 on to BG0.
SUBTRACT	Subtracts BG1 from BG0.
INTENSIFY	Multiplies BG1 with BG0.

To use the 'alpha' option correctly, BG1's texture must be a TGA file with an alpha channel (32 bits).

Enter the name for the background texture you wish to use. The internal textures available to all levels are as follows :

'BG00'	Metallic
'BG01'	In Orbit
'BG02'	Static
'BG03'	Stars
'BG04'	Clouds
'BG05'	Water
'BG06'	Production
'BG07'	Star Cloud
'BG08'	Mountains
'BG09'	Rock1
'BG10'	Rock2
'BG11'	Supports

XScale

+/- alters the horizontal scaling of the texture.

YScale

+/- alters the vertical scaling of the texture.

YOffset

+/- alters where the texture will appear vertically on the screen.

VClamp

On : The background texture will appear only once vertically - when this option is on the texture may seem to disappear. If this is the case you'll need to alter the YOffset till the texture 'scrolls' on to the screen.

Off : The background texture will wrap vertically as well as horizontally.

AType

+/- will change the animation type for the background :

NONE	No animation.
WARP	An underwater appearance.
SCALE	The texture will zoom in and out of the screen.
PINCH	The texture will squash around, horizontally and vertically.
ROCK	The texture will rock from side to side.
RANDOM	The texture will jump about in a random fashion.
ROTATE	The texture rotates.

ASpeed

+/- alters the animation speed of the background texture.

AScale

+/- alters how much effect the animation has on the background texture.

X Scroll

+/- alters how fast and in what direction the background texture will scroll horizontally (negative numbers will switch the direction).

Y Scroll

+/- alters how fast and in what direction the background texture will scroll vertically (negative numbers will switch the direction).

Parallax

+/- alters how the background texture will move with the camera. Numbers less than 1 will make the texture move slower, which gives it the appearance of being further away.

BG R 1

+/- alters the red component of the background primary color.

BG G 1

+/- alters the green component of the background primary color.

BG B 1

+/- alters the blue component of the background primary color.

Blend

+/- alters how the two background colors (primary and secondary) are mixed together :

NOT USED	The secondary color is ignored.
PULSE	Fades between the primary and secondary colors.
COLORFUL	Each channel (R, G and B) independently blends between the two colors. This gives a more colorful appearance.
BLINK	Pulses between the primary and secondary colors.
BLEND	Blends between the two colors down the screen, with the primary color at the top and the secondary color at the bottom.

BSpeed

+/- alters how fast the color blending operation works.

This value has no effect on the 'BLEND' operation.

BG R 2

+/- alters the red component of the background secondary color.

BG G 2

+/- alters the green component of the background secondary color.

BG B 2

+/- alters the blue component of the background secondary color.

The options that appear when editing 'FOG' are as follows :

OPTION	ACTION
Near	+/- alters the distance from the camera where the fog begins.
Far	+/- alters the distance from the camera where the fog is at its thickest.
Fog R	+/- alters the red component of the fog color.
Fog G	+/- alters the green component of the fog color.
Fog B	+/- alters the blue component of the fog color.
BG Fog	On : The fog will affect the background textures. Off : The fog will not affect the background textures.
BG0 Fog	+/- alters how much the fog color is affected by the color of BG0 (including animation).
BG1 Fog	+/- alters how much the fog color is affected by the color of BG1 (including animation).

Sharing Levels

You can share your levels by copying them to and from your 'Custom' folder. The default installation will place the 'Custom' folder here (where 'LoginName' is your Windows login name) :

C:/Documents and Settings\LoginName\Application Data\Pi Eye Games\Cubology\Custom

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