Maps

Maps are areas where you can place Tile-Sets, Actors, Timers, Doors, Items, Lights and Speakers for the player to explore and sometimes interact with.

For more information about Maps, please see these pages:

Basics (Part 2) – Map Editor Overview & Tile Placement

In this 001 Game Creator video tutorial series, we’ll be going over the basics of using the engine; from detailing what each of the main editors do, to learning how to create your very first game with NPCs and quests! In this second part, we’ll be looking specifically at Maps; providing an overview of the Map Editor itself, detailing what each of the options in the Map Properties and Map Environment windows do, and learning how to paint tiles on your Maps.


General

Pointer – moves Actors, Timers, Doors, Items, Lights, Speakers and Zones around Maps easily. The pointer tool can also be used to resize Light/Speaker radius’s as well as Zones/Blocking.


Pointer Options

  • Select – select objects without changing their position, rotation or size.
  • Move on Axis – move object on its current axis.
  • Move X – move object along the X axis only.
  • Move Y – move object along the Y axis only.
  • Move Z – move object alone the Z axis only.
  • Rotate on Axis – rotate object on its current axis.
  • Rotate X – rotate object on the X axis only.
  • Rotate Y – rotate object on the Y axis only.
  • Rotate Z – rotate object on the Z axis only.
  • Scale all Axis – resize object on all axis.
  • Scale X – resize object on the X axis only.
  • Scale Y – resize object on the Y axis only.
  • Scale Z – resize object on the Z axis only.

Draw – places tiles (from Tile-Sets) onto your Map. You can click and drag inside the Tile-Set picker to select multiple tiles and place them all in one go. You can also right-click a tile to bring up the Tile-Set editor and right-click tiles on a Map to grab/capture the tile or delete them. (You can change this setting in the Options window).

Dim – adds or removes columns, rows or layers on your Map.

Actor – creates new Actors (characters, vehicles, turrets, dynamic objects and more).

Actor Route – creates a patrol route for an Actor to follow.

Timer/Spawn – used to run a script at specific intervals. By placing an Actor on top of it you can have it re-spawn.

Door – places Doors on your Map.

Item – places Items/Magic on your Map for Actors to pick up and use in-game.

Light – adds lighting to your Maps. These Lights have only aesthetic purposes.

Speaker – plays Sounds at a specific point on your Map. 001 Game Creator utilises 5.1 surround sound technology.

Zone – adds a scripted area to your Map. Zones can also be used as a means of blocking an Actor’s path temporally or permanently.

Blocking – used on Maps as a means of permanently blocking an Actor’s path (cannot be scripted).

Comment – places comments on a Map. This is useful to quickly jot things down or explain certain functions to other developers, if you’re working in a team. Comments only appear in the editor and not in-game.

Play Map – starts playing a Map from a specific set of coordinates.

Test Map – starts playing a Map from a specific set of coordinates with the option to add additional scripting when the Map is loaded.


Drawing Tools

Flip Horizontally – flips the tile on the horizontal axis (X axis).

Flip Vertically – flip the tile on the vertical axis (Y axis).

Pencil – the default tool for placing tiles on your Map.

Filled Rectangle – allows you to click and drag a rectangle that is then filled with the selected tile.

Rectangle – similar to the “Filled Rectangle” tool, only it places tiles around the edge of the rectangle and does not fill it in.

Filled Circle – allows you to click and drag a circle that is then filled with the selected tile.

Circle – similar to the “Filled Circle” tool, only it places the tiles around the edge of the circle and does not fill it in.

Line – allows you to click and drag out a line of tiles in any direction.

Fill – fills a rectangle or an entire Map with the selected tile.

Erase – removes placed tiles. This can be used with the “Pencil” or “Rectangle/Circle” tools to remove large amounts of tiles or only a few at a time.

Wall Height Slider – allows you to increase/decrease the height of wall Tile-Sets.


Display

Animate Animations – stops/starts animations from playing on the Map. This doesn’t affect in-game animations.

Enable Lighting/Fog – turns a Map’s lighting/fog on or off. This is useful for preventing slowdown while editing large Maps.

Enable Clouds/Rain – plays Map weather effects, if they are specified in the Map Environment window.

Enable Music/Speakers – stops/starts Music/Speakers on a Map.

Enable Grid – displays a 32×32 pixel grid across the Map, which is useful for precise tile placement.

Snap to Grid – when ticked, objects will snap to the Map in 16 pixel increments. Otherwise, they’ll freely position at where the cursor is pointing (excluding Doors and Timers).

Visualise Layers – shows Map elements that are on different layers. These are indicated as either being green or red depending on which layer the Map elements are on and the layer you are currently viewing.

Enable Zones/Blocking – turns all Zones and Blocking on/off in a Map.

Enable Icons – turns the various Map icons like Actor/Light/Speaker/etc. on/off.

Zoom – used to see your Map close up or from a distance.

Properties – opens the Map Properties window.

Environment – opens the Map Environment window.