Author Topic: [Sug][Editor] Clicking on a tile changes selection bar to that tileset (Option?)  (Read 4287 times)

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Offline IchoTolot

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So I recalled Arty's level creation stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsI9kSsZXlc

He still used the old editor as he has one major problem with the new format one and I can see that problem being a bigger issue for people using a lot of tileset mixing.

I personally haven't noticed it due to me sticking to 1 or 2 tilesets in most cases.

So the problem is: You have to constantly select and switch the tile selection bar for changing tilesets -- a huge problem when using many different tilesets and switching constantly.

I thought about a possible solution, but still I am not sure if making it standard or a selectable option would be better. ???

Proposed solution: Clicking on a tile changes the selection bar to the tile's tileset.

This would minimise the tileset selecting, as you would only need to select it once from the list, due to then having the option to click on a matching tile to switch. Also people who rarely use tileset mixing won't notice this due to them having only 1 active tileset most of the time.

Still I am wondering if making this an option under "Settings" would be a better call. If somebody does not like this behavior they simply can leave this deactivated.

I even would call this a higher priority, as this prvents people to switch to the new editor and they even take the extra step of converting for this.

So is my proposed solution acceptable? Is having this as an option better? Other proposals? :)

Offline namida

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Definitely could get annoying. Possible less-annoying alternative: A "switch to tileset of currently selected piece" hotkey.
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Right-click?

Offline IchoTolot

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Right-click?

Right click is already for scrolling and I think that would lead to too many accidental tileset swaps, if we only differenciate between holding and single-clicking.

Definitely could get annoying. Possible less-annoying alternative: A "switch to tileset of currently selected piece" hotkey.

A hotkey I would call a better alternative. So I personally would say either a hotkey or an option under "Settings".

Offline Simon

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Proposed solution: Clicking on a tile changes the selection bar to the tile's tileset.

I like this; easy to discover, and needs some testing whether it get in the way. I believe it will feel okay.

The tilebar should, in addition, scroll to center on the selected tile. This makes it easiest to select similar tiles, which is the original basic idea. I miss such scrolling in the Lix tile browser, too.

-- Simon

Offline Colorful Arty

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It's not just changing tilesets all the time, it's also not being able to change a piece of terrain that is already inserted! THAT is without a doubt my #1 annoyance with the new editor. If you inserted a piece of terrain and want to change it; tough luck, you have to delete it, insert the piece you want, and move it to the exact spot the old piece was in. That is a 3 step process instead of a 1 step process. If it's from a different tileset, then it turns into a 4 step process.
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Offline IchoTolot

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It's not just changing tilesets all the time, it's also not being able to change a piece of terrain that is already inserted! THAT is without a doubt my #1 annoyance with the new editor. If you inserted a piece of terrain and want to change it; tough luck, you have to delete it, insert the piece you want, and move it to the exact spot the old piece was in. That is a 3 step process instead of a 1 step process. If it's from a different tileset, then it turns into a 4 step process.

Hm, maybe while selecting a tile: Clicking on another tile on the selection bar changes the tile to the selected one.

This could maybe help.

Offline Colorful Arty

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Possibly, but I feel like that would cause a lot of annoyance for people accidentally triggering this when they just want to insert new terrain because they forgot to deselect the terrain they were working on. Maybe not though.
My Youtube channel where I let's play games with family-friendly commentary:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiRPZ5j87ft_clSRLFCESQA

My Twitch channel: https://www.twitch.tv/colorfularty

My levelpack: SubLems
For New formats NeoLemmix: https://www.lemmingsforums.net/index.php?topic=4942.0
For Old formats NeoLemmix: http://www.lemmingsforums.net/index.php?topic=2787.0
For SuperLemmini: http://www.lemmingsforums.net/index.php?topic=2704.0

My levelpack: ArtLems
For New formats NeoLemmix: https://www.lemmingsforums.net/index.php?topic=4583.0

Offline IchoTolot

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Possibly, but I feel like that would cause a lot of annoyance for people accidentally triggering this when they just want to insert new terrain because they forgot to deselect the terrain they were working on. Maybe not though.

Yes, that can be an issue. The "While selecting a tile" requirement could hinder mistakes, but then the designer would need to ensure to clear their selection of tiles after they're done. The "Undo" function could be the saving grace though.

With or without the quick tile replacement proposal: Clicking on a tile changes the selection bar's tileset to the tile's tileset - Either as standard, an option or as a hotkey - would still be beneficial in my opinion.

Edit:
Quote
"The tilebar should, in addition, scroll to center on the selected tile."
I feel this is helpful in addition to that.

Offline Nepster

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Clicking on a tile changes the selection bar to the tile's tileset.
To make this a little more precise, let me reformulate this a bit: Whenever a single(!) piece gets selected, the selection bar changes style and/or position, so that the selected piece lies in the middle of the selection bar.

It's not just changing tilesets all the time, it's also not being able to change a piece of terrain that is already inserted! THAT is without a doubt my #1 annoyance with the new editor. If you inserted a piece of terrain and want to change it; tough luck, you have to delete it, insert the piece you want, and move it to the exact spot the old piece was in. That is a 3 step process instead of a 1 step process. If it's from a different tileset, then it turns into a 4 step process.
We are all used to the vanilla Lemmix editor, where adding an arbitrary piece and then changing it to the desired one is the way to get a piece. However I still remember how weird that feeled when first getting into the editor. So I partially take this criticism as "I am used to this workflow, so everything else feels weird".
Secondly I would question how often one has to change a piece into some other at the very same location. For me I usually have to change the location as well, if I decide to change the piece.
Finally, changing pieces was easy to use when there was only one style in each level. But now I would have to add a full style selection, too, which makes changing a piece requiring lot more complex interface.
The upshot is: I will not implement this.

Offline nin10doadict

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There have been times when I wanted to change a piece to a different one without moving it; this is usually the case for pieces that have the same collision (like my Tetris Attack panels). That said, it's something I'm getting used to going without.
The tileset switching upon selecting a single piece sounds like a great idea. I'm finding myself mixing tilesets more and more as of late, so this would be appreciated.