I just thought of an addition:

•Rewards:
Reward the player for a job well done. After they complete a difficult part of the level or find a tricky secret, give them a small or great reward.

-Large Reward: large rewards effect gameplay of the entire game, they include: all weapons and spells, health/magic increasers.

-Small Rewards: small rewards are just to give the player a crumb, but not the whole cookie. Some good petty rewards are: money, potions, rings, fire seeds, and the best small reward, Muti-Crystals. Multi-Crystals increase the players firepower, but can be lost easily.

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Chalmers: Aurora Borealis? At this time of year? A this time of day? In this part of the country? Localized entirely within your kitchen?
Skinner: Yes.
Chalmers: May I see it?
Skinner: No.

Quote

Originally posted by Bob the Mediocre:
Catapults- I don't think they use any.

Yes, they use. If you don't believe me, look in levels such as O & E and Unemployed in Greenland.

Quote

Originally posted by
Rock Chutes: You need to have a button pressed.

Hmm... In that case, how did spamguy make the rock chute fire rocks in level 2 of BN?
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~_~

(This message has been edited by (0ZM0 (edited 06-11-2001).)

Another question:

I want to create a boss such as the M. Warrior, Goblin Chief and M. Wizard. What i mean is that when you walk into a specific spot, the boss activates and you can't get back before beating the boss. I've tried the boss point info field and placed it to the spot in which i wanted it to activate, but it doesn't work. So what should i do?

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(This message has been edited by (0ZM0 (edited 99-99-9999).)

(This message has been edited by (0ZM0 (edited 06-11-2001).)

(OZMO- I believe there is a button near the beginning of the level which opens a nessacary pillar and activates the rock chutes. I do not know the answer to your second question.

Do all dead Goblins float? Do they have to die a certain way to float? Do all acid pools have current?

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Chalmers: Aurora Borealis? At this time of year? A this time of day? In this part of the country? Localized entirely within your kitchen?
Skinner: Yes.
Chalmers: May I see it?
Skinner: No.

EE: Yes. No. No.

------------------
Greetings - I am your friendly neighborhood moderator. Over the coming years I shall force-feed you my biased one-sided liberal tripe that I find truthful based upon my own faulty and fragmented logic; excessive smileys and bizarre TexT! formatting also help clarify my inane points. Welcome to the boards!

Enemies:
info (2) enter different numbers for each color.
1 = Red
2 = Haven’t tested yet (I am guessing Gray)
3 = Blue (have the double hit points of standard goblins)
4 = Purple, as in the goblins in the fire levels (takes a ziridium seed or boulder to kill).
5 = Brown (I think- look at Unemployed in Greenland)

*Adapted from the MASCOT Reference Guide

Spamguy, so how do you work light maps?

Also, is there anyway to export your tile map to an image editing program? I think I know the answer to my first question, (similar to FG Tile map.) But, my level maps change and develop over time. It would be hard to make an second light map after all my changes.

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Chalmers: Aurora Borealis? At this time of year? A this time of day? In this part of the country? Localized entirely within your kitchen?
Skinner: Yes.
Chalmers: May I see it?
Skinner: No.

Quote

Originally posted by Emperor Ent:
Do all dead Goblins float? Do they have to die a certain way to float?

I think you must kill them so that they fall into any liquid.

LEVEL IDEA

If you have a big pool of acid in any of your levels, you could put goblins on the bottom. When the player would come to that place, the Goblins would be dead and floating on the acid. Then the player would have to jump on them to get past the pool.

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Armadillopineapplemacintosh!

Quote

Originally posted by Bob the Mediocre:
**Enemy Pipes- Info(0) = the ID of the sprite to create.
**

But what do the other info fields mean? When i looked at O & E in MASCOT, i saw that some enemy pipes had numbers such as 30 or 60 in info field 1 or 2, i don't remember which.

And i know how to make enemy pipes drop rocks, like in M. Warrior, but how do i make them stop dropping the rocks after the boss is dead?

And one more question:

Is it possible to have pipes create bonus items?

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Armadillopineapplemacintosh!

(This message has been edited by (0ZM0 (edited 06-14-2001).)

Quote

Originally posted by (0ZM0:
Yes, they use. If you don't believe me, look in levels such as O & E and Unemployed in Greenland.

Do you mean info fields or catapults? The catapults that are used don't seem to have anything different about them, so I assumed that no info fields were used.

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"Six by nine. Forty-two." "That's it. That's all there is."-Douglas Adams
------------------------
For as long as I can remember, I've had memories.- Colin Mochrie, Who's Line is it Anyway?
----------------------

Quote

Originally posted by (0ZM0:
**But what do the other info fields mean? When i looked at O & E in MASCOT, i saw that some enemy pipes had numbers such as 30 or 60 in info field 1 or 2, i don't remember which.
**

Hmm. I'll try to figure that out. Anybody else know?

Quote

Originally posted by (0ZM0:
**And i know how to make enemy pipes drop rocks, like in M. Warrior, but how do i make them stop dropping the rocks after the boss is dead?
**

I don't know. There must be another way to make the rocks.

Quote

Originally posted by (0ZM0:
**Is it possible to have pipes create bonus items?
**

Yes. Same way as with the rocks.

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"Six by nine. Forty-two." "That's it. That's all there is."-Douglas Adams
------------------------
For as long as I can remember, I've had memories.- Colin Mochrie, Who's Line is it Anyway?
----------------------

(This message has been edited by Bob the Mediocre (edited 06-14-2001).)

Quote

Originally posted by Emperor Ent:
**Do overlay tiles appear in front of everything?
**

Not sprites and bubbles in liquid.

------------------
"Six by nine. Forty-two." "That's it. That's all there is."-Douglas Adams
For as long as I can remember, I've had memories.- Colin Mochrie, Who's Line is it Anyway?
Join the Army, meet interesting people, kill them.
This message has been edited by htjyang. (Edited to remove unnecessary left-wing content.)

Quote

Originally posted by (0ZM0:
**I want to create a boss such as the M. Warrior, Goblin Chief and M. Wizard. What i mean is that when you walk into a specific spot, the boss activates and you can't get back before beating the boss. I've tried the boss point info field and placed it to the spot in which i wanted it to activate, but it doesn't work. So what should i do?
**

Boss points use pixels, not tiles. I think there are 32 pixels per tile. Does that help?

------------------
"Six by nine. Forty-two." "That's it. That's all there is."-Douglas Adams
For as long as I can remember, I've had memories.- Colin Mochrie, Who's Line is it Anyway?
Join the Army, meet interesting people, kill them.
This message has been edited by htjyang. (Edited to remove unnecessary left-wing content.)

Rather than guessing blindly, note how object info boxes (cmd-E) hold X and Y coordinates. Use this to find the desired borders.

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Greetings - I am your friendly neighborhood moderator. Over the coming years I shall force-feed you my biased one-sided liberal tripe that I find truthful based upon my own faulty and fragmented logic; excessive smileys and bizarre TexT! formatting also help clarify my inane points. Welcome to the boards!

Better yet, place the starting point where you want the Boss to start. Then check the level info for what the starting coordinates. Use those then move the starting point to its desired final location.

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Chalmers: Aurora Borealis? At this time of year? A this time of day? In this part of the country? Localized entirely within your kitchen?
Skinner: Yes.
Chalmers: May I see it?
Skinner: No.

What is your process for creating levels?

How long does an average level take you?

What do you spend the most time working on?

What is your favorite part of the process?

What is your least favorite part of the process?

------------------
Chalmers: Aurora Borealis? At this time of year? A this time of day? In this part of the country? Localized entirely within your kitchen?
Skinner: Yes.
Chalmers: May I see it?
Skinner: No.

Quote

Originally posted by Emperor Ent:
**What is your favorite part of the process?
**

Testing

Quote

Originally posted by Emperor Ent:
What is your least favorite part of the process?
(/B)

Annoying bugs that I can't figure out how to fix.

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"Six by nine. Forty-two." "That's it. That's all there is."-Douglas Adams
For as long as I can remember, I've had memories.- Colin Mochrie, Who's Line is it Anyway?
Homo Homini Lupis - Werewolf motto, Diskworld.
This message has been edited by htjyang. (Edited to remove unnecessary left-wing content.)

What is your process for creating levels?

I first draw a sketch on scrap paper. Literally scratch paper: typically math homework, paper found in the recycle bin, backsides of music scores I doodle. I typically have symbols to represent objects: isoscoles triangles reprenting cannons, thick short lines to represent platforms, etc etc. I then draw and attempt to transfer my drawing to pixmap format via GraphicConverter with magnification to 400%. I paste directly into MASCOT, and begin tweaking. If the level is more than half done, I start the lightmap. That takes about a day to get perfect. I continue tweaking until I'm assured the whole thing is ready. I take out the cheater points (I skip through levels I don't focus on via transports), and ship it.

How long does an average level take you?

The first level took forever to reach perfection, because at that time only Ben knew how to use MASCOT. Luckily he was kind enough and unoccupied enough to teach me a whole lotta stuff, and I owe him a thank you for that. But I digress. The third level was finished in about a month and a half. The fourth took several months. The fifth (the one in progress) has been in progress since late May and will conclude by mid-July. I am dead slow, yes, but the concensus seems to be in favor of the final result!

What do you spend the most time working on?

Creating the first level draft. Everything is placed, but I am not necessarily able to finish the level completely due to a debilitating bug. Either that, or the neverending curse I've gotten recently, where one in every 10 level saves leads to a level corruption somehow. Dr Tall, I hope we can figure this thing out together, it's really irking me.

What is your favorite part of the process?

Tweaking a level midway, and by complete accident, I think up a new puzzle or secret. It's really satisfying -- you feel an evil grin on your face, knowing you will be getting nasty mails if you add that feature. (And usually I do in fact add them.)

What is your least favorite part of the process?

Having to recover lost data from the level corruption stream. See #3.

Either that, or debating with myself whether something is too mean. If I cannot get through it myself, properly or simply just alive, then I will not use that. A creator should be able to play his own product fully, period, no exceptions.

------------------
Greetings - I am your friendly neighborhood moderator. Over the coming years I shall force-feed you my biased one-sided liberal tripe that I find truthful based upon my own faulty and fragmented logic; excessive smileys and bizarre TexT! formatting also help clarify my inane points. Welcome to the boards!

What is your process for creating levels?

I simply place the start point for Ferazel and begin making the level. All my levels were made 100% within MASCOT (except for the light maps). I always have a mission with each level since my set has an underlying plot to it even though its not one that explains why you hate Xichra. Because I already have a total sense of what the level must accomplish before I begin it, I can create levels quickly but my levels also seem to end right after I finish my mission with them so I have to force myself to keep going until it doesn't seem so abrubt.

How long does an average level take you?

I can make a level in 6 hours. I can perfect a level in 3 more hours. I can add BG and Scenery to a level in 2 more hours. I still haven't ironed out all the bugs from any of my levels yet so I can't tell you how long that will take. Probably people will complain that my levels are short or something but I have so many of them that it probably turns out equal. I hate a level that drags on forever.

What do you spend the most time working on?

I make all the level terrain first before adding any sprites and so that takes me the longest. I already have a vision of what I want to go where but I don't stop and add it.

What is your favorite part of the process?

My favorite part is probably adding the evil traps that, like spamguy said, will get me hate mail. I get the feeling that very very very many people will become pissed at me when they find the last algernon shard. (And then they'll be more pissed at me when they find that isn't the last algernon shard)

What is your least favorite part of the process?

Oops, forgot to answer this question. My least favorite part is probably trying to slove the evil traps that I make. Which leads into:

Spamguy writes:
If I cannot get through it myself, properly or simply just alive, then I will not use that. A creator should be able to play his own product fully, period, no exceptions.

I agree with that totally which is what makes my last three levels so sadistic. I have only managed to beat my third and second to last levels once each and I have never been able to beat my own last level. (I was able to once so I made it harder) I feel ok about doing this because there is a back door up Xichra's Mountain. But before you go exploring for the other enterance, I hope you found that last Algernon shard. BWAHAHHAHAHAHAHA.

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Dr. Tall says: Taller is Better

(This message has been edited by Dr Tall (edited 06-24-2001).)

What is your process for creating levels?
My methods of level creation have been constantly evolving. My first level was made using the Dr. Tall method. For Flight and Plight, MMT, Famuese, and KoQM I made a rough sketch with ColorIt. Then imported it and radically changed it. For the Gaunlet I sketched the level on a piece of scrap paper, copied it into Photoshop, then I inputed it into MASCOT and made lots of changes.
I am afraid I never made a light map. Could someone explain how to do it? I think I have a rough idea, however. For future levels, I hope to scan in my hand-drawn sketch and prefect it before inputing it into MASCOT.

How long does an average level take you?
A few weeks, but I always run later then I hoped. I am a prefectionist, though you wouldn't know it after MMT, like spamguy.

What do you spend the most time working on?
I work on my level's section by section; fixing ground, adding BG and scenery, and spirtes at the same time.

What is your favorite part of the process?
Creating a tricky secret. Everyone is going to complain, until one person gets it and shouts with glee.

What is your least favorite part of the process?
Playing a level, for the first time, which you thought would be bug free. Then you realize you have a lot more work to do before you can send it to beta.

New Questions:
What do you wish you could do, but can't? (Due to lack of knowledge)
Why do you make levels?
What are your opinions on dificulty? Do you side with the OBW and Dr.Tall belief or spamguy's logic?
Any comments on what makes a beautiful level?
Any comments on what makes a fun level?

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Chalmers: Aurora Borealis? At this time of year? A this time of day? In this part of the country? Localized entirely within your kitchen?
Skinner: Yes.
Chalmers: May I see it?
Skinner: No.

On the catapult info fields- Could it have something to do with being able/not able to move them? I believe that in O& E you can push a catapult into the acid, but I have encountered several catapults that wouldn't budge, like in "blanket" levels. It could be like the knife-thrower guy.

(However, this might just have been that they were positioned lower into the ground-- they seemed that way.)

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If only there were cheese slices in Ferazel's Wand...