Designing Game Levels

[Hot_Dog]

Although I've made sure that I can finish Elimination by myself, I am always open to people contributing levels if they want to.  I do have the tools you need, but you'll need to read below about what you need to do:

1. Download the attachment "Level Designing" and take a look.  Let me know what levels you would like to work on.  Terrains and how hard the level should be are listed.
2. I will put a customized level editor in this folder for you, depending on the type of terrain you wanted.
3. From this point, designing the levels is relatively straight forward, though you can always ask for help.  Just remember to left-click to place an object, and right-click on the object to remove it.
4. After you export the level(s), create a post on this topic and attach the "levels.inc" file that was generated from the level editor.  With my thanks, I will take it from there to place the levels into the game.

[ben_g]

As I said in the elimination thread before, I'd like to design levels. I'd like to do easy to medium levels so I can beat them myself. Kind of terrain: different types. Could you include a texture editor too to create the textures for it? If not, then the basic indoor and outdoor style would be good enough.

[Hot_Dog]

As I said in the elimination thread before, I'd like to design levels. I'd like to do easy to medium levels so I can beat them myself. Kind of terrain: different types. Could you include a texture editor too to create the textures for it? If not, then the basic indoor and outdoor style would be good enough.

I don't really have a texture designer, but you can't see textures in the level editor anyways.  I always use paint, and a lot of people use CalcGS as well.  I'll tell you what textures you can do (they will be ones that you do for your levels), and they will be 3-level grayscale, 32x32 each.

Also, since you requested several different terrains, I'll have you do Forest, Ice and Desert.  My goal is 7 levels per terrain, so don't overwork yourself if you don't think you can do them all (and you can always mix em' up ).  With that said, I'll get the level editor for you as soon as I can.

[ben_g]

I already tried some textures. I know they are very bad, but maybe they can still be useful. I made them in two themes, so you can decide what looks best on-calc

BTW: I did my best to make them almost seamlessly tillable.

[Hot_Dog]

I already tried some textures. I know they are very bad, but maybe they can still be useful. I made them in two themes, so you can decide what looks best on-calc

BTW: I did my best to make them almost seamlessly tillable.

If by "bad" you mean "totally surperb", you are correct: They're totally superb!  I love them!  For future textres (not these ones), if you can double-thicken lines as much as possible, it will help with the way things look on the calculator.  I've attached some textures I use for examples of "double thick lines."

[ben_g]

So I should try to make most lines 2 pixels big?

Also, I hope it's allright those textures were in PNG format, not in HEX

[Hot_Dog]

So I should try to make most lines 2 pixels big?

Also, I hope it's allright those textures were in PNG format, not in HEX

Right, most (but not all) lines should be two pixels big. 

If you can do monochrome bitmaps, that would be the most preferred format.  However, PNGs are great as well.  I'm glad you're not doing hex, because I always have to do stuff with the textures to make them work with Elimination.

[ben_g]

If you can do monochrome bitmaps, that would be the most preferred format.  However, PNGs are great as well.  I'm glad you're not doing hex, because I always have to do stuff with the textures to make them work with Elimination.

Monocrome? I thought it was in 3 shade grayscale.

BTW: which of the two themes do you like best: the upper (lighter) one or the lower (darker) one. I think the darker theme looks better on a computer, but I don't know how it looks on-calc.

[Hot_Dog]

If you can do monochrome bitmaps, that would be the most preferred format.  However, PNGs are great as well.  I'm glad you're not doing hex, because I always have to do stuff with the textures to make them work with Elimination.

Monocrome? I thought it was in 3 shade grayscale.

BTW: which of the two themes do you like best: the upper (lighter) one or the lower (darker) one. I think the darker theme looks better on a computer, but I don't know how it looks on-calc.

Sorry, I meant 16-color bmp.

The theme varies by what I would like to do...let's stick with the lighter one (the upper one), because I have a quick trick to color a darker theme if I need to.  I know that I have a combination of light and dark themes.

[JoeyBelgier]

Hrm, I wish I could have modded the codes of Gemini myself, to remake Wolfenstein x_x

[Hot_Dog]

Ben_G, here are two customized level editors to get you started.  Please read below for some things you need to know:

0. Keep each map editor in its own folder.  If you don't, you may accidentally overwrite map files you worked so hard on.
1. Please use the Forest Map Editor for at most 4 levels, and the Arboretum for at most 3
2. On the Forest Map Editor, please DO NOT USE the "Exit" object.
3. A "Trigger" is a wall that you can use to make something happen when the player walks by it.  Please do not abuse triggers, and keep them simple...something like making a wall disappear or adding/taking away objects and enemies.  When you upload the maps you created, please tell me what you want to happen with a particular trigger.
4. A "Secret Wall" is a wall that you want to keep hidden from the map that players can view as they progress through the level.  This is useful for hiding areas that have a secret block in front of them.
5. When you export, please rename your files to something like "Ben_G1.inc" and "Ben_G2.inc".  Then we won't have conflicts of uploading duplicate filenames.  Also, please rename and upload your "save.lev" files similarily.
6. All levels should end in a switch.  If the rule changes, I'll make the change myself.
7. Do your best to keep a switch from appearing in the same location for any two levels.  If you have a switch that appears in the upper-right corner of one map, try to make sure it's not there on another map.  This is because of the ASM source code I wrote.  As with triggers, please let me know what you'd like a switch to do.
7.5.  The last level of the Arboretum will be a boss level.  But it starts with a normal map--basically half of the boss map plays like a normal Elimination level until the player reaches the boss.  I'll handle the boss portion, but leave some space on your last map for me to create "an arena"
7.7 If you see a texture / object for something that I didn't ask you to make, don't freak out.  Some walls and textures I made myself.
8. As always, please don't hesitate to ask me any questions

[Hot_Dog]

Ben_G, here's a couple more things for you:

* I found this website to be quite useful for inspiration for levels: http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/showthread.php?t=151954
* An easy enemy has 3 HP.  A medium enemy has 6 HP.  A hard enemy has 12 HP, and the last enemy has 24 HP.
* Weapon damage from each enemy, from easiest to hardest: 2, 3, 1 (Continuous stream of bullets that each give 1 damage), 5
* The handgun does 1 damage per bullet, as does the chaingun.  The shotgun does 6 damage, splash.  The plasma gun does .5 damage per cell, but hits anything you can see.  The rocket launcher won't appear until later levels, so don't worry about that for right now.  For the plasma gun, I suggest you throw cells here and there rather than making stockpiles like people sometimes do with bullets or shells.
* Small Armor = 25 armor, Big Armor = 100 Armor.  Small Health = 25 health, Big Health = 100 Health.  Let me know if there's a special area where you'd like me to add 200 Armor / Health, I'm considering (but am not sure of) a "megasphere" powerup.

[ben_g]

OK, I'll try to have some levels (or more textures) done ASAP. Thanks for the level editor and inspiration site.

[DJ Omnimaga]

Hot Dog those tiles you posted above looks pretty great!

[ben_g]

Sorry, I had very little time with school and other stuff. Here's an other texture, but i'm not good at drawing trees. This texture looks a lot more like a nuclear bomb exploding behind that wall.



Levels turned out even worse, and not one of them even looked playable, so it might be best too look for an other level designer.