I've always wondered and I know how to use ResEdit, but how hard would it be to make new Ferazel Levels and how would you go about doing that? Has someone already tried it? Thanks ahead of time, Jesse

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Originally posted by Furhyde:
I've always wondered and I know how to use ResEdit, but how hard would it be to make new Ferazel Levels and how would you go about doing that? Has someone already tried it? Thanks ahead of time, Jesse

Well, Ferazel's Wand is a tile based game. The tilemap resources are arranged with a character in the tilemap representing a specific tile. When the program loads the tilemap, it sticks tiles in corresponding to the character that's in the tilemap.

Now, with the complexity of FW levels, making them in ResEdit would not only take a long time, but would be pretty pointless. A graphical editor would make this much MUCH easier, but it's Ben's app and I believe he said before he wasn't going to release it.

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-- Jeff

(This message has been edited by Merciless (edited 08-29-2000).)

Yup, there is a Ferazel Level Editor, but it was only released to beta testers, and, of course the people at Ambrosia.

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Hey man, what's with that 'thing'?

I have begun to crack the level format. I was able to write a program that generates a mini-map of the first level -- the entire 200x50 tile grid, foreground and background layers. I have also discovered the system for listing the items in a level and where they are found. A lot of work is left to be done, however. If I received a lot of encouragement and if there really isn't a level editor available, I might be compelled to write one.

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Originally posted by dave123:
I have begun to crack the level format. I was able to write a program that generates a mini-map of the first level -- the entire 200x50 tile grid, foreground and background layers. I have also discovered the system for listing the items in a level and where they are found. A lot of work is left to be done, however. If I received a lot of encouragement and if there really isn't a level editor available, I might be compelled to write one.

That would be sweet! You're about the only guy I know of that found out that stuff! I've read elsewhere on the board and it doesn't sound like Ben will ever release it. Plus, if you got permission from Ben, you could even make money off of it. I hope you make it, I know I'd certanly use and (register) it!

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I actually have a half-made level sitting on my desktop, assembled via Ben's MASCOT editor. One of these days I'll get around to finishing it and releasing it.

If anyone's willing to play two levels that are, shall we say, unorthodox :), please yell at me now and I'll keep working on it.

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MY MAGNETIC POEM #4023.1
twice in a dream i visioned
nerds content with empowering
man and space

KEEP WORKING ON IT!!!

-Cal

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Charlie White (alias Calvin Crane)
AIM- FriendlyGuy5
ICQ- 75568892
"Evolved from a monkey, and proud of it!"
Vote FriendlyGuy for Moderator!

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Originally posted by spamguy:
**...assembled via Ben's MASCOT editor...
**

There's Mascot again. I was asking before (actually, a long time ago) why there were so many things in Ferazel's Wand that had Mascot in it. It's in the text strings, and Msct is even the creator code! Very peculiar, indeed

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-- Jeff

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Originally posted by spamguy:
**I actually have a half-made level sitting on my desktop, assembled via Ben's MASCOT editor.
**

Who gets to use this editor? Is there any way to get a hold of it?

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Originally posted by spamguy:
**I actually have a half-made level sitting on my desktop, assembled via Ben's MASCOT editor. One of these days I'll get around to finishing it and releasing it.

If anyone's willing to play two levels that are, shall we say, unorthodox <IMG SRC="http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/webboard/smile.gif" HEIGHT="15" WIDTH="15">, please yell at me now and I'll keep working on it.

**

Umm... please make it. I WANT A COPY OF THE EDITOR! Bangs head against monitor Oh ****, it broke.

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Hey man, what's with that 'thing'?

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Originally posted by dave123:
**Who gets to use this editor? Is there any way to get a hold of it?

**

(insert ironic laugh here)

Sorry, Ben told me not to give it out to anyone outside of the project, and I'm respecting that. It's not to be mean, mind you, it's what he said.

(I got it in the first place by being a beta tester. See, there's more to being a BT than just a free registration!)

I will keep working on my level, then. I'll yell when it's out of the oven.

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MY MAGNETIC POEM #4023.1
twice in a dream i visioned
nerds content with empowering
man and space

Okay, but I have a good idea for a level. Can I send you some ideas? I'd really like it! When I beat almost half the levels, I started to have a great idea.

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Hmmm...

Tell ya' what. The first and second levels exist, and the third exists, but no one will be seeing that for some time, just the first two.

If you give me your idea, I will see what I can do. I will give you as much credit as I can (ie, name in the manual, your own character deep in the recesses somewhere).

However, to everyone: Just because I am the only known demigod user of MASCOT :), does not mean I will be processing everyone's requests for levels. Some, but definitely not all.

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MY MAGNETIC POEM #4023.1
twice in a dream i visioned
nerds content with empowering
man and space

Okay, but can you make conversations? Like my character will give an item, or give a hint somewhere? Well, I'll send you the ideas I have any way you want. Anyway, can you make new items too?

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There will be two conversations, although more will be added in later levels. One of them involves a transaction.

Interestingly, conversations are the worst part. Ben designed this thing with minimal intuition in mind.

The conversation I'm working on now is giving me big troubles.

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MY MAGNETIC POEM #4023.1
twice in a dream i visioned
nerds content with empowering
man and space

Quote

Originally posted by dave123:
I have begun to crack the level format. I was able to write a program that generates a mini-map of the first level -- the entire 200x50 tile grid, foreground and background layers. I have also discovered the system for listing the items in a level and where they are found. A lot of work is left to be done, however. If I received a lot of encouragement and if there really isn't a level editor available, I might be compelled to write one.

Sounds great!

Post what you know on a website, or e-mail it to me, and I might help!
Ixan Baxter has a free tile-map editor, I think I could make a program to convert from it's format to Ferazel's.
Ixan's editor is at (url="http://"http://www.swarming.net/levelcreator/")http://www.swarming.net/levelcreator/(/url)
Of course, there'd also have to be an items/conversations/etc editor.

My e-mail is aschaaf_86@yahoo.com