Scripted Level Editor
 

I'm currently developing a scripted level editor that takes advantage of the new Graal client's external window features. The level editor will mimic most of the functionality of the current external level editor for Windows but will have many more features that will make it more like a graphics editing program.

Unlike most of the scripted level editors that have been made so far, this one has two key features that makes it distinct from the others:

• Instead of editing the level that you are on directly, it instead will use my scripted File Browser to open and save ".nw" files either on your computer or on the server (where you have rights to).
• The entire editor runs much smoother then most other editors as it uses external windows (first editor to do so) and is optimized with various script elements (such as Drawing Panels).

My goal is to get this editor added to the Login server with the scripted RC so that anyone can access it by pressing F4 on any server. You would of course need to have RC in order to view/modify files on the server but files on your computer could be edited on any server (maybe even using the current servers tileset or so!).

Here's a simple screenshot of some of what I have completed so far but it does not show everything.

Here's the list of the current features that are implemented so far:

• F4 opens the editor in a separate window outside of the Graal client.
• On the top of the window is a menu bar with the following options:
  • File > New - Creates a new blank level.
  • File > Open - Opens the file "newfile.nw" in your "scriptfiles" folder on your client. This is just temporary as I am still finishing up the File Browser.
• Below the menu bar is a toolbar with buttons that mimic many of the menu commands (new, open, save, save as).
• Below the toolbar is a set of tabs that allows you to switch between levels that you have open.
• On the right of the window is where the various panels are stored. You can click on the boxes next to each panel to show and hide them. The following panels are implemented:
  • Layers - Change between the active tilelayer as well as display tile layer masks (tile types, etc.).
  • Tools - Change between your active tool (pencil, selection, eraser, etc.).
• On the bottom of the window is the pallete where you can see your current tileset. From here you can select tiles for use with your active tool.
• The selection tool allows you to select tiles from the palette and place them on the level as well as move around tiles already on the level. This tool is the tool that lets you do all of the things you can do in the external editor (right click to fill, etc)

There are many other features that are scripted in but aren't supported yet because the new client has a few bugs.

Here's the things that are planned to be implemented:

• Pencil Tool - Allows you to draw a single tile in a line or freeform. You can set the pencil size as well as the shape.
• Paintbrush Tool - Allows you to draw a set of tiles (or a predefined pattern) in a line or freeform.
• Bucket Tool - Allows you to fill an area of tiles.
• Stamp Tool - Allows you to place a set of tiles (or a predefined pattern) at a single point.
• Path Tool - Allows you to paint a path using self-defined or pre-defined path patterns.
• Pattern Tool - Enables other tools to draw the active pattern rather then the pallete.
• Eraser Tool - Enables other tools to simply erase tiles rather then use the pallete.
• A tileset panel will allow you to change the active tileset, append parts to the tileset as well as load a tileset of the current server.
• Various NPC and script editor things. Won't be done till most of the tile stuff is done.
• Hopefully when the script is complete, it will be added to the login server and the scripted RC will be changed to open all .nw files in the level editor rather then download and try to open them.

I have a bunch of other things I want to implement but that was all I could think of off the top of my head right now. Feel free to post suggestions, questions and/or comments!

Also, who's the moderator of this forum so I can have you update this post in the future?

Levels and graphics section have no moderators :P
I do like your idea of implementing it globally a lot.

Yeah, go for it!

External Window sounds like a good compromise between scripted and external clients.

I already have a level script editor done :p

But we are not talking about you.

Jk. any screenies?

Sounds awesome!

I wonder if it would also be possible to do like a "path tool" so that it would be easier to make rivers/lakes/dirt paths/grass paths etc without having to use those text files for the editor.

Sounds no different to the current level editor, other than the probable issue that we'd have to be online to create levels. If that is not the case, it still sounds no different to the current level editor.

Not impressed.

Layers. Layers.

Sam or myself.

I made a level editor for FTO (Fantasy Tales Online.. Lol) back in the day that could read NW files. I wrote it entirely using DirectDraw7 and Visual Basic. Those were the days.

Supported Layers too. (For FTO). I miss those days :(

HA! That's the game I was thinking about.

Sticking on topic though, There's no point asking for layers here since it's a scripted level editor, to have layers the way the levels are coded, loaded, etc, would have to be fundamentally changed in the game.

Graal already has layers and so does this editor :P Just there is no way to use them now except for manually using wordpad and if you open the level in the external editor it erases all layers.
I was telling Rufus the reason to be impressed is by finally having the ability to use them.

Ahh right, I forgot about that tool.

Yeah, I guess I didn't really explain that all of the tilelayer stuff is done already.

Rufus has an un-dieing hatred for anything I do and will always troll any thread I create so there no real point ;).

And so do a bunch of people, but is it a nw editor or just an online level editor?

online level editor

Great work Zero, I look forward to using it.

Like I said, happy to test it on Mac for you ;)

Yeah there's a bunch of those. Mine is a nw editor so it's much more like the external editor.

It'll be nice when this is finally released. I'm waiting ;)

Scripted Level Editor will be my new best friend. Like Totally.

Online or NW editor online? :p

I think he means either ....

I'd really be okay with either that works, but of course NW is preferable. I made a scripted level editor that when you edit the level, you could choose to save it all at once, as you lay the tiles, or to a new level; this is a step in the right direction towards NW style editing, but NW editing is still preferable of course.

I'll try to start working on my Java NW editor again.

I'm pretty much stuck as I wait for these bug fixes, sorry!

Don't hold your breath. Probably won't get fixed until he releases the external windows, and then it will probably be the version after that your bugs get fixed.

He is most likely going to fix them before he releases them, at least that was the impression that I got. :)

I doubt it, but hopefully.

I haven't seen you on aim lately, so I'll post it here!
I've got an idea that would be REALLY useful. Basically, you right click a tile in a level(I assume you have context-sensitive menus?), and have an option to 'highlight' tile. This will scroll the tile pool(at the bottom) to where the tile is, and highlight it. Much like a find function in text editors.

I think this would be really useful for finding those tricky tiles in the tileset yourself. I'd also recommend this to anyone else scripting their own tileset.

Good idea!

bump, and yes, i know this is a veeeeery old thread but, i want to know if this was ever finished.
since we wont get any new external tools, i would be VERY happy to have this.

Zero is MIA, believed to have quit Graal, so I doubt it.

I remember Tig was making one though... I think I saw some version of it at one point. Whatever happened to that one?

After ~5000 lines of code and hundreds of hours spent working on it, I have run out of time :( If I don't pick it up again soon I'm going to just post the code and let someone else try to finish it.

Awesome release it! so we can use it :)

Zero quit Graal, and he's been gone for quite a while. I see him on AIM once in a while but I don't really talk to him, and I'm 100% sure he's totally finished with Graal entirely.

Oh scripted level editor, I want! I want! lol.