This FAQ is based on questions that I anticipate as being common problem points for map builders. You can also get a rather short and ugly summary of utility keys by pressing 'H' inside the editor. This brings up the "help" information. Not very helpful, but it does dump a list of keys and approximately what they do. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Contents 0. How do I run the editor as a windowed application? 1. How do tile sectors work? 2. How do tile room flags work? 3. How do tile door flags work? 4. How do I delete a section of the map? 5. I want to place a lot of one tile on the map, how can I do this easily? 6. How do I add an NPC to the map? 7. How do I add an item to the map? 8. How do I give an item to an NPC? 9. How do I make an NPC wear an item it carries? 10. I want to create a new item/npc, should I do it in the global or local lists? 11. How do I delete an NPC from the map? 12. How do I delete an item from the map or from an NPC? 13. Why are my maps saved in both the "area" and the "area\dist" directories? 14. How do I copy a section of a map and paste it into another section? 15. How do the "horizontal" and "vertical" exits work? 16. I want to create a new weapon/armor, but the types/flags etc aren't suitable. How can I get new item types/flags etc added for my item? 17. How do I edit an item's description? -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 0. How do I run the editor as a windowed application? A: You need to run it with the "win" parameter on the commandline. That is: "wl.exe win" If you run it from MS-DOS or the Windows "run" command just type this on the prompt. If you are clicking on the application from a Windows folder you need to either set a short-cut that runs it with the "win" parameter, or switch to running it from the DOS prompt or "run" command. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 1. How do tile sectors work? A: Sectors describe the terrain type of a room (eg, forest, desert, plains). Since rooms can consist of 3 tile layers the sector type that is used for the room is assumed to be the top layer, as this is the most visible. Thus, if a tile from tileset-3 is placed in a room then that room will acquire the sector type of that tile. If no tile from tileset-3 is placed in a room, then the sector type falls back to the tile from tileset-2 (if placed). Otherwise the sector of the base tile in the room will be used. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 2. How do tile room flags work? A: Room flags describe various characteristics and attributes of a room. Each tile can be given a variety of associated tile flags, and a room acquires ALL of the combined room flags of the tiles placed into it. Example room: tile 1 has flags: NO_WALK, HOT tile 2 has flags: RADIOACTIVE FATAL And there is no 3rd tile in the room. Therefore the room's room_flags would be: NO_WALK, HOT, RADIOACTIVE FATAL. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 3. How do tile door flags work? A: Door flags give descriptions of how a room can be opened or destroyed. As with room flags, the overall door flags for a room is equal to the combined door flags of all tiles placed in that room. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 4. How do I delete a section of the map? A: First, you need to make sure that the NPC list and item list windows are both closed. This is because when they are open the deletion function assumes you wanted to delete those features and removes then rather than the map room tiles. To delete a region of the map, just select the rooms you want to remove by dragging your mouse over them. Then press the DELETE key. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 5. I want to place a lot of one tile on the map, how can I do this easily? A: There are two ways: 1) Hold down the SHIFT key and then drag the mouse around to rapidly place the tile in rooms you pass over. 2) Select a region to FILL. To do this just drag the mouse over the section of the map you want to fill, then press the INSERT key to flood it with the selected tile. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 6. How do I add an NPC to the map? A: You need to have the NPC list window open, showing either the global or local NPC lists. After you have selected an npc from the list you may then add it to the map by simply clicking on the room you want to place it in. There are no limits to how many NPCs you can place in a room, but use common sense - if you dump a hundred NPCs into one room it's going to look a bit stupid when played in the real client-server game. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 7. How do I add an item to the map? A: You need to have the item list window open, showing either the global or local item lists. As with NPCs, you have to have an item index entry selected and then you may place the item to the map by simply clicking on the room you want to place it. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 8. How do I give an item to an NPC? A: You need to bring up the Room Contents window. This is done by right-clicking on the room containing the NPC that you want to give the item to. Then you should click on the NPC who will receive the item. After this you need to bring up either the Global or Local item lists (open up the one containing the item you want to give). At the bottom of the NPC panel is an option: "Give item to NPC". Click on this and the item you have selected from the item list will be given to the NPC. Simply select other items and clic on "Give item to NPC" to place more items to it. Note: Items are given to individual instances of NPCs, not to the generic index entry of that NPC. This means that giving an item to an NPC does not mean that all NPCs of that type get the item - only the NPC you specifically gave the item to will receive it. To REMOVE items from an NPC: Select the item from the NPCs list of carried items and then click on the "Remove item from NPC" option at the bottom of the NPC panel. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 9. How do I make an NPC wear an item it carries? A: At this time you can't. This function will be implemented soon. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 10. I want to create a new item/npc, should I do it in the global or local lists? A: Create items in the LOCAL item list for your map. Items created here will be saved to your specific map file and can then be distributed as a single package. If you create items in the global list then they will not be present when the map is distributed, unless you also send the global "itemidx.dat" file with your area. This is highly discouraged as the global item index is maintained by the server admin and there is a high likelihood that their version contains different items to yours. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 11. How do I delete an NPC from the map? A: There are two ways: 1) Bring up the NPC list window (either the local or global list). Then drag your mouse over the region you want to clear. Pressing delete will then remove *all* NPCs placed within the selected region. 2) Selective deletion. Right-click on the room containing the NPC you want to remove. Select the NPC from the room content listings and press the DELETE key to delete it. All items carried by that NPC will also be removed. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 12. How do I delete an item from the map or from an NPC? A: This is the same as deleting an NPC, but you should open either the global or local item list windows before deleting a section of the map. (Having the item list window up tells the editor to remove items from the selected region, rather than tiles). You can also selectively delete items by right-clicking on a room and selecting an item (either from the room list or one carried by an NPC), and then pressing the DELETE key. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 13. Why are my maps saved in both the "area" and the "area\dist" directories? A: The file saved the "area" directory is a simple area descriptor that allows the editor to reconstruct your map with minimal fuss. You should always keep this file safe (back it up!) since you can't reconstruct your map in the editor without it. The 3 files saved to the "area\dist" are for distribution. These 3 files are: a server map descriptor file, ".srv"; a server room flags file, ".rom"; and a client tilemapping file, ".are.gz", which is compressed for fast deployment during play. To have your map running on an active server you just need to copy these 3 files to a server's area directory and add the ".srv" filename to the "area.lst" file. The next time the game server reboots your area will be loaded for playing. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 14. How do I copy a section of a map and paste it into another section? A: Drag the mouse over the region you want to copy and press CTRL-C (that's hold the control key down and press 'C'). This will store the region in memory. Now you can paste it by placing the mouse over the room you want to paste into (this room will be the top left-hand corner of the pasted region). Press CTRL-V to paste the region into the map. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 15. How do the "horizontal" and "vertical" exits work? A: This is kind of tricky to explain. The best way is to look at an existing map that uses horizontal and vertical exits. Anyway... If you set the Horizontal flag on an exit then it acts as a horizontal boundary on your map. ALL rooms with the Y coordinate of the exit will be given that exit. <------- [ Exit at (15,20) ] ------> The exit extends all the way east and west of it's position. (horizontal) Example: If you place an exit at (15,20) and set it as a Horizontal border, then all rooms along y=20 will prompt players with the exit. So rooms (0,20), (1,20) .... (99,20) will all act as if they had this same exit. So where does the exit lead to? It goes to the map you specify in the "destination" map filename. The room it sends the player to will be the same X-coordinate that they entered from, but the Y-coordinate will be the one given in the "destination Y" coord of the exit. Example exit: Horizontal exit at (15,85) to map "wastelandsouth4.are", destination x: 0, y: 12. Entering this exit from (37,85) would place a player at (37,12) on "wastelandsouth4.are". Entering this exit from (1,85) would place a player at (1,12) on "wastelandsouth4.are". Entering this exit from (15,85) would place a player at (15,12) on "wastelandsouth4.are". And so on. Vertical exits are the same, except that the X-coordinate given in the exit's parameters is used for placement to the destination map, and the player's Y-coordinate when they entered the exit is combined. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 16. I want to create a new weapon/armor, but the types/flags etc aren't suitable. How can I get new item types/flags etc added for my item? A: You'll either have to edit the source code yourself or ask for someone else to do it...which would be me at this stage :). If you want to add your own flags, all you need to do is add entries to the tables in the "table.c" source file and recompile. BUT, your new flags won't work on the server unless you also place the flags on the server code as well, and you need to make sure your flags are matched to the ones they've implemented. In general, unless you are running your own server you'll have to ask a server coder to add flags for you (so they can ensure synchonization). -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 17. How do I edit an item's description? A: Right now you can only view an item's description in the item stat window. To actually change the description you'll need to manually edit the itemidx.dat file. This is located in the "data" directory. Just open it up in a text editor and edit the description field. Then restart the editor and your new item description should be set. Just make sure that when you save the itemidx.dat file you save it as ASCII text (not some word DOC format or RTF. It has to be plain text). -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-