| Objects |
Objects are the 'things' in your game. There are several different types of object, depending on what they do in the game.
- Quick Backdrop Object
- Backdrop Object
- Active Objects and Animations
- Text Objects
- Questions Object
- Score and Lives Objects
- Counter Objects
Quick Backdrop Object
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A Quick Backdrop Object is basically just used for a screen pattern or a solid
colour background like a black screen for example. Characters that you create will not be able to detect collisions with this backdrop you make. The background or pattern that you make is placed once and is not moveable from within the game. Click the Tools button, then New Quick Backdrop |
Backdrop Object
Backdrop Objects are all the objects that you make, that you want to have collisions be detected with. You could create a border around your entire playfield and then make it a collision backdrop object. This way when your moveable characters that you create collide with the border you can issue a command to stop the character from moving or bounce the character off the wall. Either way you have effectively just stopped the character from leaving your playfield. The Backdrop Object is not moveable from within the game.
Editing or Creating New Backdrop Objects
Backdrop objects can be edited straight from the Level Editor with a simple option from the pop-up menus. Just right click on your object and select the "Edit Picture" command.
To create a new backdrop object from scratch, click on Tools > Create New Backdrop Object
The picture editor will open, and you can draw an object as you would in a paint program.
The Picture Editor
The Image window shows the image you are presently editing.
You can magnify your image using the Zoom icons. These expand the area by two, four, and eight times respectively. The "x1" icon turns off the magnification, and displays your image in its original size.
The Colour bars
The top bar shows the transparent colour. Anything drawn in this colour will be blank when your image is displayed on the screen. You can click on this button to assign the transparent colour to the mouse. So as you draw, you’ll wipe out parts of your image, rather like an eraser.
You can change the transparent colour using the "Choose Transparent Colour" command from the "Options" menu. This will display a menu of all the available colour options.
The bottom colour bar shows the colour which will be used for your future drawing operations. As a default, it’s set to transparent.
Importing Images
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In the picture editor, click on the "Import" icon. Select your image from the disk using the file selector provided. Your image will appear in a separate window. On the capture menu, make sure that Box Images is not ticked. Click on the top left corner of the area you want to grab with the left mouse button. Hold this button down, and drag a box around the region you wish to import. Release the left button to grab your area into the current image. Any existing contents will be replaced.
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Active Objects
Active Objects are what you create for all your moveable characters. You can assign a variety of movement patterns or logic to the Active objects. They can detect collisions with each other and with Backdrop Objects. You can make many frames for your animated objects giving the illusion of the player running, or the many stages of a bomb exploding for example.
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Text Objects
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A Text Object is a string of text that you can place wherever you want on the screen. The Text Object editor allows you to select from many different fonts, sizes, and characteristics. |
Questions Object
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A Questions Object allows you to design a dialog box with a question that you can pose. Then you can list several answers. The player can click on one of your answers in the list and if it's right you can display a message or do something, if it's wrong you have the same options. It's also used for buttons for the player to select and jump to other frames. |
Score and Lives Objects
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Score and Lives Objects allow you to setup and display the players score and lives. Score and lives can be setup individually for up to 4 players. Score and lives can also be used for carrying values over to other frames. |
Counter Objects
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A Counter Object is just a storage place where you can store a number. The number can be very small or very large. You can have the number hidden for your internal game use, or display the number on the screen in the form of a number or a power bar. This object is very useful for all kinds of things. |
| You may want to have a counter set to display as a number for use as a timer that counts down to 0. Say your player just uncovers a bomb from under a rock. You set the counter to 100, and start decreasing it- the player sees the counter clicking down on the screen. When it hits 0 you explode the bomb. If the player didn't get away fast enough, then he's caught in the explosion. Or maybe you would have an invisible or hidden counter that would say keep track of how many hits the player takes before destroying the player's life. Start the counter at 10. Each time the monster slashes the player subtract one from the counter, when it hits 0 then the player has been slashed 10 times and you could start up the player destroyed animation sequence. Then decrease player lives by one, and reset the slash counter to 10 for another go at it. | |
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Some pages of this site have been developed with support from the SiMERR Project. |