jLevelBuilder 1.88 (june, 9th 2021)

[namida]

This editor actually looks pretty impressive. Might finally get me ditching LemEdit...

[LJLPM]

... and guess what: there are some other already-working cool features that I didn't talk about yet... 

[LJLPM]

New from today: the "Vertical Mirror" feature (= use of an horizontal axis for mirroring)
I coded the "Horizontal Mirror" feature early in the development, so I definitively should have done this one earlier

TODO: I have to work on the "Undo/Redo" functions, which need fixes.

(scene made in seconds using the lightweight GUI only + snapgrid + "Brush" mode + "Vertical Mirror" feature, all of them triggered by keyboard shortcuts)

[mobius]

glad to see this is coming along 

a few things: (just for the record)
I've changed my stance on turning miners and bashers when hitting steel. They had a good point about it being a good way of turning around and there aren't many ways to turn a lemming around in the game. Miners and maybe even bashers should turn around when they hit steel, but not diggers.

since seeing that the SNES Lemmings has a score, I thought this might be a fun feature to have in a Lemmmings clone. The score is based on time left, skills left and how many lemmings saved. (or something like that)

[LJLPM]

And since we're talking about some technical details,

- 1) do you know the size (width x height) of a builder's finished stairs, please?
(in the very 1st Lemmings, assuming this is the same size on Amiga/ST/PC, SNES, MD, etc...)

- 2) and what is the radius used by explosions (bombers), please?
(in the very 1st Lemmings, too, assuming this is the same radius on Amiga/ST/PC, SNES, MD, etc...)

Thanks for your help!

[ccexplore]

1) Each step of a builder's stairs is 1 pixel tall and 6 pixels wide, and each step starts 2 pixels farther than the previous.  Since there are 12 steps on a finished stairs, it should be pretty easy to work out.  (answer: 28 x 12)

2) 16 x 22 IIRC.  I believe WinLemm actually contains a BMP that has all the relevant graphics including the exact mask used for the explosion.  Note that the exact graphics is slightly asymmetric (ie. left half slightly different from right half), IIRC.  You can of course also just create a level with 1 lemming, entrance placed inside solid block of terrain, and then explode the lemming and see which pixels are taken out.

[LJLPM]

Thank you very much for your detailed answer!

Today, I didn't have too much time to spend on the editor, so I just took few minutes to add the "Shuffle" option: it randomizes the selected items' positions.
(the already-existing "Lazy" option randomly generates new items at random positions, whereas the "Shuffle" option doesn't create new items but allows you to choose/select level's items to be randomized: could be useful!)

[LJLPM]

Good news! All the bugs I was aware of are fixed now (except for the "Undo/Redo" functions which still require some work)

The level-editor is fully functionnal, and I have to say that the result exceeds my original goal when I started this dev (at that time, I planned to write a smaller tool with less... "everything" actually).

We are really getting closer to the release, so stay tuned!

new feature added: for those who would like to have access to a bigger list of items in 1:1 size, notice the optional resizable floating list at the right side of the level-editor.

[LJLPM]

Perhaps having a "draw Bezier curve" feature (similar to how you already have "draw line segment" and "draw freeform curve" features) would give the average user the roughly similar ability to make smooth-looking curves, without having to brush up on their math.

Done I still have some minor work to do on that feature, but the editor now includes a very basic "Create a Bezier Curve" possibility. With this feature, you'll be able to add perfect smooth curves to your Lemmings levels (as seen in the screenshots below).

Moreover, "Undo" & "Redo" functions are finished, too: so I guess I've finished the editor!
(... however grant me a little more time to clean the code before releasing the app ; it won't be long: sorry for the inconvenience, but I hope you'll be pleased with this level editor, and it will meet your expectations! Thank you!)

[ccexplore]

Hey, take your time.  I think this is the most full-featured level editor I've seen to date, it looks pretty impressive.

[loftyD]

Hey, take your time.  I think this is the most full-featured level editor I've seen to date, it looks pretty impressive.

I second that. I would totally use this when it's released.

[LJLPM]

Hey, take your time.  I think this is the most full-featured level editor I've seen to date, it looks pretty impressive.

I second that. I would totally use this when it's released.

Thank you for your support! Thanks to this forum, I definitively rose my initial goal at coding this level-editor At the beginning, I just tried to code a little convenient level-editor for my own game, but now I've tried to make a level-editor "to rule" all the other Lemmings editors  You'll tell me!

This week, I cleaned the code a little bit, and I added two new useful features:

- feature #1
up to now, you were able to swap 2 items' # (with 1 click, make one item appear in front of another or vice-versa, depending on their own #).
This week, I added the "reindex" option. With this option, you don't swap 2 items' #, you only deal with a single item. To make it short, using "reindex" allows you to manually specify a new # for an item (for example, the item you've just added to the level (highest #) can now be set to be the very 1st item of the level (lowest #), and all the following items will be nicely reindexed: I'm sure you'll like this option very much It will no longer be a pita to reorder your items in a level.

- feature #2
until this morning, the editor lacked the possibility to make circles of entities: now you can Obviously, you can set the circle's radius, but you can also adjust the density of entities along the circle. I can't remember having already seen this in Lemmings1 levels, so I think it's a first to have this kind of option!

I tell you once again: I can't wait to see the new levels you will create for Lemmings with the editor!!! (but, it is likely that I'll miss the september deadline for the release...)

... by the way, did I say that Undo & Redo functions allow 30 steps backward and foreward?

=> left: level's borders activated on top+bottom sides /// right: no level's borders activated on top+bottom sides, so entities that make the bigger circle aren't blocked: can you imagine the new ideas you'll be able to bring in level design, with the "Circle" option?


=> different entity densities along circle paths (same radiuses)

[mobius]

looking good  I'm excited  Those mathematical designs look crazy cool.

Here's something that would make things quicker/smoother. Build in a feature/menu option that allows you to "test level in_" Lemmix/Lemmini and eventually your own game when it gets made. It should have you enter in your custom file path to the program. So then testing your level will be as easy as pressing a button. Instead of saving it, opening up Lemmini or whatever program then opening and finding the file to play it.
///yeah, I just realized you may need to work on the other programs to get this to work, so may not be doable. But it's definitely doable for your own game.
But I don't want to delay the release anyway, so if it'll take a while to add something like this then do it later 

[LJLPM]

looking good  I'm excited  Those mathematical designs look crazy cool.

Thank you By the way, using "Bezier Curve" or "Circle Path" features shouldn't be too hard to use: for example, drawing circles of entities is as easy as:
- 1) set "Draw" mode to "Path"
- 2) click in the level to set the center of the circle
- 3) click a second time to set the circle's radius (= distance from the circle's center)
- 4) (optionnal) use keyboard's arrows to adjust up or down the entity density in the circle of entities
- 5) commit "Circle Path"
No need to be a Math expert to use Bezier curves or Circle paths

Build in a feature/menu option that allows you to "test level in_" Lemmix/Lemmini and eventually your own game when it gets made. It should have you enter in your custom file path to the program. So then testing your level will be as easy as pressing a button. Instead of saving it, opening up Lemmini or whatever program then opening and finding the file to play it.
///yeah, I just realized you may need to work on the other programs to get this to work, so may not be doable. But it's definitely doable for your own game.

Yes, I have to think about such a feature for my own game.
About Lemmix & Lemmini, I think it would need code modifications for both of them, unless one can provide a path to a file as an input paramater when we launch Lemmix/Lemmini, but I'm not aware of that. Maybe someone else knows?

 -----

By the way, since we're talking about making things easier, I guess it's time to show you a new fully-working feature I haven't talked about yet 

It is the "Control Menu"!
Just press SPACE, and the "Control Menu" appears right in front of you, making the level-editor's main options instantly available not very far away from a mouse-click!!!
And should I have to tell you about the icing on the cake? Well, you can freely configure 1) what options you want to see in this menu, and 2) where you want to place these options in the menu!!!!!!! 
You already could freely configure your favorite keyboard shortcuts, but now you will also be able to fully customize the "Control Menu" to meet your needs and speed up your level-creation process, making your favorite options available right below your mouse's cursor!

Stay tuned for more exciting news!

[LJLPM]

Before the release, we continue the tour, showing you cool things you'll find in the editor. Today, it's time for another cool+handy+useful feature that I didn't talk about yet, and which doesn't exist in any other Lemmings level-editor (to my knowledge)!

This feature was submited by möbius: so thank you!

Here come the "Helpers"!!!
The "Helpers" are extra entities you would use to help estimating Lemmings' safe fall distance, Lemmings' explosion area, or Lemmings' stairs dimension. They won't appear in the actual level during a game, they only exist inside the level-editor (as semi-transparent orange areas).
They are here to help you building perfect levels in a smooth way, hence their name

I have created "Helpers" for each tileset, so they are ready to use, and you select and place them the exact same way you would do for a classic entity (Terrain, Object, Steel).
Please see the blue arrow in the screenshot: it shows you where you select the Helper list. Icing on the cake is you can freely create and use your own Helpers to meet your needs!!!! 

Stay tuned for more news!