.up. - Game Editor Manual Chapter 9

Game Editor Manual Chapter 9

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Classic Layouts

The following dialog defines the properties of a classic layout:

When a random new tile is created based on a classic layout, the first thing being determined is if there will be a tile at all:

The spin control defines the probability of an empty space being generated, with 100 being certainity and 0 being impossible. Aside this probability value, other restrictions may apply to the generation of the tiles:

These restrictions are only hints, they do not guarantee the size of an empty or non empty space block. The Max Consecutive Reds restricts the number of neighboring red or black tiles.

If the game decides not to generate an empty space, the tile type is picked based on its probability weight value:

The higher the probability weight value, the more likely it is the given tile type is going to be picked. A value of 0 means the tile type will never be selected. The 100 behind the slash is just the upper limit for the probability weight values. To increase the chance of a certain tile type to be selected over the other ones, give it a higher probability weight value compared to the other tile types.

Every tile may contain a collectable item, if and what kind of item the tile will receive can be defined in the following part of the dialog window:

None stands for no item at all for the currently generated tile, Star, Speed++, Jump++, Restore Health and Restart Level will generate items the player can pick up by jumping on the tile. With the exception of Speed++, the items will disappear after they are collected, depending on the level's properties picking up Star or Restore Health may result into the destruction of all Star and Restore Health items near the player. Black Ball and Red Ball create black or red enemy balls heading towards the player's location. Red Row and Black Row do not directly create items; they will turn the entire row into red or black tiles.

A few more options can be defined for classic layouts:

Ball Tail Length specifies how long it takes for tiles a red or black ball bounces on to turn back into a white tile, Red/Black Row Warning Ticks defines how many time a row flashes before it turns red or black (if Red Row or Black Row is picked for the generated tile's item), Red/Black Row Cooldown Ticks defines how long it takes to a fully red or black row to turn back to its original state, Jump++ and Speed++ Duration Ticks define how long the powerup / handicap of the item lasts.

The bottom part of the dialog contains the following buttons:

: Clicking on this button will base every newly created Classic Layout on the current contents of this dialog.
: The button is only shown when the dialog is opened by clicking on the Edit... button of a classic layout. Every change in the dialog is immediately reflected in the editor, the Undo! button resets the layout back to the state at when it was shown.

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