Graal Engine
 

There should be a new Graal Engine for all of us. So it is easier to develop servers, because the current engine is very hard to do. You mostly have to script everything just to get a npc on a level or get an image to be walked under or over. There should be options to make images more functional without scripting it. New options like "Addtiledef button" would ease up the scripting and can be easier. Anyways what do you guys think?

I don't think it is really a change that is necessary. addtiledef at a minimum only takes up 2 lines if you include the //#CLIENTSIDE at the top of the script. Same with images - 1/2 lines of commands drawunderplayer(); drawoverplayer();

In my opinion this will just discourage people to actually take time to learn to script and I don't agree that is a good thing to do.

A new engine would make things more complicated but allow more versatility...I think you are asking for something that is simpler which isn't really Graal...

And yes, I agree with what Grey says.

Well, I would like to see the layer stuff finished and added to the editor...would be awesome.

Full support for layers are something I think the leveling scene really needs. I'd like to be able to define a player's layer by script, it would be interesting. You would have to define a 'ground' layer, which is the layer of the level the game pays attention to for tile actions (walls, water, grass, etc.) and then the graphic layer which is on what layer does the graal character appear. One could make illusions by having a 'ground' layer under the layer you can see so your character just ignores any wall tiles on the layer that you can see.

It would be a new way to make staff boots even, if you just set the your player's ground layer to an empty one, it would be like there are no tiles.

In this case I think the layer limit should be a nice round number like 255.

I always wanted float (as in 1.5) display layers. Don't really care if the player only moves in 2 dimensions and has trouble with bridges, just wanted to be able to display this image on top of that image without resorting to the image Y, ganis, or hoping it all fits between layers 1 and 3.

I wonder if we should have layers coincide with the player.z...

Layer floats would be unnecessary if we had 255 layers.

Sure, but how does that coincide with the existing layers?
Does it go:
layer 0(drawunderplayer)
layer 1(drawasplayer)
layer 2(drawoverplayer)
layer 3(drawaslight)
layer 4(stat bar)
layer 5(slightly above layer 0)
layer 6(slightly above layer 5)
...
layer 63(slightly below layer 1)
layer 64(slightly above layer 1)
...
layer 127(slightly below layer 2)
layer 128(slightly above layer 2)
...
layer 191(slightly below layer 3)
layer 192(slightly above layer 4)
...
layer 255(the highest layer)
? A bit confusing...unless you suggest we rescript everything.

I really need to make the level editor i wrote in c# release-worthy don't I?

Tile layers aren't the same as showimg layers Tyhm. Currently, all tile layers are still displayed under showimg layer 0 (under the player).

I just hate the fact I have to create NPC's in a level for something as simple as a roof being drawn over the player. I think Stefan should introduce a new file type for levels. It'd be much like current .nw's, but with a mix of GMAP. Which includes a set of options in the file(.txt), that allow you to define the width/height of the level, the tileset(to make it more simpler for LAT and such, that allow them to simply open a browse button and apply a new tileset), and with layers(easily editable via the level editor).

The 'layers' thing can already be done by using the z value of objects and tilelayers.

Now for the support! :D

I don't really mess with levels at all, mind a small example?

Edit: Was talking to zero about this, please add more support for layers, like a player.layer variable for the one the player is drawn on. Want to be able to draw tiles over the player :(
Want two layer variables for player, the drawing layer and the action layer :). Drawing layer would be for the player's gani, and action layer would be the tiles it responds to, like walls and water.

Agreed.

Thats an idea I like :O

If a tilelayer could be drawn above the player I would simply make a script to read multiple level files and write one layered level.

Lucky for me, I have already prepared for this day as my personal online level editor will edit tilelayers by directly changing the .nw file.
^^

I have a level editor which can work with layers. I found it annoying since i would muck around and draw a bush on a different layer than wonder why it wouldn't remove later :(

Well, layers apparently have red, green, blue and alpha variables, maybe you could color-code them? lol