Workshop - Step 3

# Step 3: General levelsettings

| Integrating textures
| Setting colours
| Setting sky and background
| Cutting and using textures

General
levelsettings

Till now only the levelname is fixed. Not much ,isnīt it? Certainly there are much more settings located in [Edit] [General level settings] .

The upper monster-dialog appears, which is used to set as follows.... You can just try the filetabs:

- Graphic files (enemies, sky, walls, stairs, items)
- Samples (weapons, enemies, doors, buttons ...)
- Colortables (fog, nightvision goggles, dark, ...)
- Colors for floor and ceiling
- Weapon settinsgs (samples and explosion)
- Background to be chosen (sky)
- Extras (startingpoint, titlescreen for the level und setting timelimits)

We frequently will return to this dialog to make settings. Remember: Not all settings must (and can) be done in front.

Integrating textures

### Integrating textures

First the textures have to be chosen. The page [Graphic files] is used to set up to 14 texture tiles.

Creating texture tiles One tile is 256x256 pixels wide and contains textures of all kind (including monsteranimations).

- All textures have to be rectangular
- Running textures are using the falcon true color mode (32000 colors, so do rendering and editing on PC in highcolor)
- Maximum texturesize is 256x256 pixels
- Texture size is variable by 4 pixel steps
- On X-Axis potences with 2 are best (e.g. 16, 32, 64, 128, 256 pixel), because of such textures can be looped (see later for explanation)
- Useable wallsizes in Running are: 64x80 (small wall, door), 128x80 (wide wall, door), 128x128 (large wall)

Textures can be created using paint programms or, as we do, renderingsoftware (e.g. Neon, 3D-Studio ...) . Then the textures can be cut and placed on a texture tile. Please try, not to waste too much space.

A finished texture tile may look like this:

Save the textures in .BMP fileformat, cause this is the only one the editor can work with. In order to use the graphics with the editor, please copy the file to the directory that contains your leveldata (level.lvl).

To make it easier, we use the textures shipped with the editor. Just copy the files buero08.bmp and kraft001.bmp located in ressources/gfx on the CD to your leveldirectory containing level.lvl . Furthermore we need the file myitems.bmp. please copy it using the same path.

Putting texture tiles to a level. Therefore open the tab [Graphic files] located in General level settings. Type the name of your graphicfiles in the first three text fields - Remember: fileformat has to be .dit. Why that? Suffix .dit assigns graphics being converted to a special fileformat used by running. It should look like this:

All textures can be browsed using the built in texture viewer which is located in [Windows] [Textures] .

Color Adjustment

### Adjusting the colors

The running engine cannot display floor- and ceilingtextures, so it is important to choose fitting colors. Unicolored floors only look fine, if they match the walltextures. Therefore carefully search your colors - probably best is to select them next to the texturedefinition.

To set floor- and ceilingcolors open the [General level settings]-dialog and click the Floorcolors tab. The following dialog pops up allowing you the definition of up to 16 colors:

Each color easily can be set editing the red-, green- and blue values. The values can be set from 0 to 31 (0=no intensity, 31=maximum intensity). The little box displays the selected color. By the way: this settins can be changed at any time.

We define 4 colors for use with our scene:

- Floorcolor: R=14, G=14, B=14 (grey)
- Ceilingcolor: R=20, G=15, B=5 (light brown)
- Color for boxtopping: R=16, G=10, B=5 (brown)
- Color for stairs: R=8, G=8, B=8 (dark grey)

| Caution: Colors probably look a bit other than on falcon lateron. Therefore you will have to slightly modify the colors.

Sky and background

### Adjusting sky and background

Not all levels are located in buildings but in the outdoor. The dialog in General level settings] entry Background sets the matching background. The following dialog will appear:

Here you have to specify the texture tile to be used and the texturecoordinates of the desired graphics. Texture tiles are counted beginning with 0 as numbered in General level settings.

Three tiles are already entered: kraft001.dit, buero08.dit and myitems.dit. Kraft001.dit is number 0, buero08.dit number 1 and so on.

Sky is on tile buero08.dit, so please enter the following for its definition:

- Texture: 1
- X offset: 0
- Y offset: 64
- AND mask: 255
- Zoomfactor: 1

Cutting textures

### Cutting and using textures

Prior to designing roomstructures, it would be better to set the leveltextures. Although it is possible to set walls (lines and points) and set the textures lateron, we found that this was the wrong way in about 90% of all cases. So try to set structures along with textures.

For one sector we have first to put the lines and second to set colors and textures. Using different textures is an easy way of getting the feeling how to build rooms looking good. Many times you get a new idea for textures during structuresetting.

Because the editor already knows the texture tiles to use (see integrating textures) it is now time for cuttingthem. Cutting means, to choose a rectangular part of the tile and giving a name to it. If you want to assign a texture to a wall lateron - just type the name and do not waste time by entering the coordinates.

We want to define these textures:

- Wall
- Box
- Stairs
- Door

All graphics reside on tile kraft001.dit. Close the dialog General level settings clicking OK, if open any more. Then click [Edit] in the [Predefined textures] dialog. it pops up as follows:

For setting the walltexture type:

- Texture: 0
- X offset: 0
- Y offset: 96
- Width: 64
- Height: 80

Caution: Y offset has its beginning in the lower left corner of the graphic! The editor counts from down to top.

Clicking the black area right beside, your selection appears :

Caption is the textures name. Texturelist of Running contained about 60 to 70 entries so find short and clear expressions. Typing the textureformat with its name is also a good idea, e.g.: Wall with lines 64x80.

To set the box click the vertical scrollbar found in the center in order to select the next entry. Please type:

- Caption: Box 64x64
- Texture: 0
- X offset: 0
- Y offset: 32
- Width: 64
- Height: 64

And for the stairs (select Texture 3 using the scrollbar):

- Caption: Stair 64x16
- Texture: 0
- X offset: 0
- Y offset: 0
- Width: 64
- Height: 16

Values for the door (4th texture):

- Caption: Door 64x80
- Texture: 0
- X offset: 128
- Y offset: 176
- Width: 64
- Height: 80

Now all textures are defined and its time to build a room. Please close the dialog clicking OK and save it to disk using [File] [Save].

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