|
Making
Your Own Levels
After
having clicked their way through all 50 levels, many players find themselves
wistfully yearning for an add-on pack to alleviate their "withdrawal symptoms."
Well, the good news is that you shall never have to go cold turkey, thanks
to the thoughtful inclusion of a level editor which gives you the ability
to create your own levels to share with like-minded fans of the game.
The
simplicity of the level editor interface will quickly dispel any fears
you might have about level-making.
Just
press F1 in level editor mode to bring up a comprehensive help file which
takes you step-by-step through the art of level-making. Once you've read
the help file, you're all set to make your first level.
We hope
these tips,compiled by some of our prolific levelmakers, will come in handy.
Level-Making,
Step by Step
Start
with a simple, uncluttered layout, composed of walls and/or flowers or,
if you prefer, just the tiles themselves.
The
layout can be based on anything: a geometric or abstract design, letters,
numbers, an Egyptian theme or any theme to reflect your hobbies and interests.
Save
the layout in a folder in your Ra directory.
Pick
a starting point anywhere within the layout and place a matching pair of
tiles in an adjacent position on the board.
Keep
adding tiles (in pairs) making sure the 2 right angles rule is observed.
When
the layout has been filled with tiles, play the level a couple of times
to verify that it is solvable.
In the
level properties box, type in the level name, set the time limit and number
of curses, if any.
Save
the level.
As flowers
add an element of unpredictability, you may want to use them sparingly
at first.
And
although the game permits a maximum of 6 curses, 2-4 is considered a reasonable
amount.
As soon
as you've made your first level, you're eligible to join the club! There
you will find many appreciative recipients of every level you create as
well as have access to all the hundreds of levels in the file cabinet.
The creativity of the members manifests itself in a steady supply of new
and exciting levels uploaded on a daily basis.
Once
you've got the hang of making quick and easy levels, you might be tempted
to experiment with a few strategies to make your levels less straightforward.
There's a whole range of options which can be tried out, either invidividually
or as a combination.
1: Design
a layout with a few curves and angles which provide hard-to-reach corners
for potential deadlock situations.
2. Have
more than one starting point.
3. Control
the movement generated by the flowers through a strategic placement of
walls.
4. Make
solving the level dependent on picking the right tiles to curse, which
should ideally be less than obvious (not very easy to accomplish!).
5. The
tiles for the opening moves can be placed in a particular pattern so that
the player has to follow that pattern in order to reach the remaining tiles.
6. Use
red herrings, i.e. adjacent pairs which have their correct matches elsewhere
on the board.
7. The
use of triplets (3 identical tiles in an adjacent position) forces the
player to think a few moves in advance.
Club
members unfailingly provide encouraging feedback to all level-makers, which
not only bolsters a level-maker's confidence but also makes each one feel
appreciated for their contribution.
|