NOTE: This fancy stage creator creates a tile-based stage. The game itself cannot yet used the tile-based stages, so this utility is largely useless so far. (Use vssc1 to make stages) Nevertheless, it looks neat.
STG.C is a small test program. It was still a little buggy, and slow as molasses. That's why I never pulled that code into the game itself.
The eventual idea was to add Wall and Ceiling -specific moves & attacks in addition to the Ground and Air -specific ones the game already supports.
This tool can save the tile palette alone as a .TYL file. I used this tool to recreate the tiny font - one letter per tile - that is eventually used in VSCC2. ASCIUTIL in the UTILITY FONT folder converts the .TYL file into the necessary format used by VSCC2. You shouldn't ever have to do that unless you delete ASCII.VS (the output used) or want to add more characters to the font.
SKY.VSS is an example stage file. It's also a work in progress; I just thought it would be a little easier to see the program in use.
VSSC.ICO is a pretty Windows Icon. If you don't use Windows (any version), delete it.

VSSC SKY.VSS



                  V E R S U S   S T A G E   C R E A T O R
                            RON "PSCION" NEWCOMB
                              8 FEBRUARY 1998
              http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Zone/4123/vs.htm

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The VSSC program allows the player to create levels for the VersuS game.
This is the FAQ - the instructions - telling one how to use the program.
The only requirements for VSSC is a 386 processor (or better), a VGA video
card, and a mouse.

While VSSC is for DOS, some Windows support is included. The windows icon
is included in the zip file (DOS users may delete VSSC.ICO). Windows 95
users should create a shortcut to the program, right click on the shortcut
to go to Properties, Program tab, Advanced button, and uncheck all boxes.
Windows 95 users should also note that VSSC does not include support for
long filenames. Giving the stage its proper name is done from within VSSC.

For normal operation, there are 3 main sections of VSSC. These are the
Map, the tile Palette, and the scroll Buttons. The map is the stage you
are building. Scroll around on the map by moving the mouse close to one of
the borders. The tile palette, on the top row, lists all of the possible
tiles you may place upon the map. The current tile is shown at the far
left of the palette. The scroll buttons scroll the palette if all of the
tiles cannot fit. Right clicking upon one of these sections pops up a menu
of options.

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                            VSSC QUICK REFERENCE


 I. MAP
   A. LEFT CLICK - Current tile is placed at that location
   B. DRAG W/LEFT - Current tile is placed at all touched locations
   C. RIGHT CLICK - popup menu
     1) FLOODFILL - all adjacent tiles of that kind are changed to the Current tile
     2) SAVE - saves the stage to a playable VSC file
     3) SAVE AS - saves the stage under a different name
     4) LOAD - loads new stage, palette and all
     5) NEW - creates new map (specify size) with same palette
     6) QUIT - exits program (be sure to save first)
     7) NAME - officially names the stage - 20 character max.
 II. PALETTE
   A. LEFT CLICK - clicked tile becomes Current
   B. RIGHT CLICK - popup menu
     1) FLOOR ATTRIBUTE? - if marked, this tile can be stood upon
     2) CEILING ATTRIBUTE? - if marked, this tile prevents upward movement past it
     3) WALL ATTRIBUTE? - if marked, this tile prevents sideways movement past it
     4) DAMAGE? - if marked, this tile does damage to whoever contacts it
     5) The ordinal value of the tile is displayed at the bottom of the menu
 III. PALETTE SCROLL BUTTONS
   A. LEFT CLICK - Palette tiles are scrolled in the button's indicated direction
   B. RIGHT CLICK - popup menu
     1) CUT - Current tile deleted and placed on Clipboard
     2) COPY - Current tile copied to Clipboard
     3) PASTE - tile in Clipboard replaces current tile
     4) EDIT - Map replaced by simple tile editor for Current tile
     5) IMPORT - grab tiles from a .TYL file and place them into current palette
       a) asks for filename (TYL)
       b) 2nd Palette appears
       c) use left mouse button to pick import tile, then place it
     6) SAVE TILE PALETTE - saves Palette as a .TYL file
     7) LOAD TILE PALETTE - loads a .TYL file; replaces all previous tiles
 IV. TILE EDITOR - select 'Edit' from the Scroll Buttons' popup menu to edit Current Tile
   A. LEFT SIDE - tile; click to place a color
   B. RIGHT SIDE - colors; click to pick a color
   C. Both mouse buttons may have a color assigned to it
   D. Press F to Floodfill the tile at the mouse's location
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                               OTHER FEATURES


Place the name of the stage file on the command line to immediately start
editing it. Example: VSSC MYSTAGE.VSS to jump to editing MYSTAGE. Windows
users can Associate the VSS file extention with VSSC.EXE so clicking upon
a stage file in File Manager or Windows Explorer calls up VSSC with the
stage ready to go.

If the command line is blank, specify the width of the stage (in tiles -
20 minimum) and the height (12 minimum). A new stage of that size will be
created.

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                                 KNOWN BUGS


These bugs are mainly annoying, and one day I will take the time to track
them down and exterminate them.

 * The 2nd tile palette within the Import Palette feature doesn't scroll
correctly. Move around in there as little as possible, and usually move
only to the right as far as the file extends.
 * An unnamed stage defaults to NEW.VSS in case you wonder where that file
comes from.
 * A stage has two names: a filename, restricted to DOS's 8.3 format, and
a formal name, which can be nearly anything up to 20 characters long.
Choosing SAVE AS changes the filename only. Do not assume the formal name
is changed with it. It isn't.
Report any other bugs to me.

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                     Email Pscion<pscion@geocities.com>
                        Return to VersuS cover page
