Midnight Mansion Forums - Better editor sprite area

VernJensen

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Better editor sprite area
11.01.2007 at 13:29:08

Well, I've recently just started working on the new monsters for the expansion pack, and something's been bugging me: the sprite area is incredibly tiny! When I originally started work on Midnight Mansion back in 2001, I had a 13" Cathode-Ray-Tube based monitor, set to 640x480 resolution. And the sprite area was perfectly large. But today on my 20" iMac, it's downright tiny!

So whenever 1.0.8 is released, you'll have a nice bigger sprite area to work with. Wink

-Vern

P.S. The new monster additions are also visible in this screenshot, although they currently don't do anything. It takes a lot of work to just add new sprites to the game, let alone make them actually *do* something. I'm still working on the former part.

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« Last Edit: 16.01.2007 at 02:22:31 by VernJensen »

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aquaMat

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Re: Better editor sprite area
Reply #1 - 11.01.2007 at 16:25:39

VernJensen wrote on 11.01.2007 at 13:29:08:

Well, I've recently just started working on the new monsters for the expansion pack, and something's been bugging me: the sprite area is incredibly tiny! When I originally started work on Midnight Mansion back in 2001, I had a 13" Cathode-Ray-Tube based monitor, set to 640x480 resolution. And the sprite area was perfectly large. But today on my 20" iMac, it's downright tiny!

So whenever 1.0.8 is released, you'll have a nice bigger sprite area to work with. Wink

.

Oh Vern, you won't believe how good that sounds to me....!! You'll make us very happy.....
I hurt my eyes while creating my first mansion (on a 19" screen).... Stupid me didn't realise (until my 2nd mansion) that I just could change the resolution..... but even then I have a hard time telling one background tile apart from the other....
(That's whay I almost never create/use those layer-0 windows..... its tiles just all look black to me !!!).

I'm looking forward to your new monsters !!

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Why is a carrot more orange than an orange ?

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Semi-Native YaBB Administrator Offline Posts: 1426 Orlando, FL USA Gender:	Re: Better editor sprite area Reply #2 - 11.01.2007 at 19:19:23 That'll be great! Even changing the resolution on my monitor when I built my one and only mansion, the sprite area was still too small. Love the new sprites, very cute.
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VernJensen

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Re: Better editor sprite area
Reply #3 - 12.01.2007 at 01:50:09

aquaMat wrote on 11.01.2007 at 16:25:39:

(That's whay I almost never create/use those layer-0 windows..... its tiles just all look black to me !!!)

I would never do layer 0 stuff by hand. Look at the Empty Mansion. There's a room full of windows/arches/jail cells in layer 0. Just use the selection tool, copy, and paste into your room.

Same thing for ladders, vines, etc. Check out the various rooms for this purpose in Empty mansion.

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Anthony

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Re: Better editor sprite area
Reply #4 - 12.01.2007 at 05:44:48

VernJensen wrote on 11.01.2007 at 13:29:08:

...just started working on the new monsters for the expansion pack,...

Do we have to buy the new expansion pack or will it be an update that we can install if it finds MM registered on the computer? Will there be more mansions? Huh

Btw, when ever the newest version comes out, make selecting layer have hotkeys? Like to select layer one, you press Command + 1. That would make it alot better. Then I wouldn't have to go into the menu and scroll down and select... I have a laptop, and I hate scrolling down menus with it. Wink

Also, there's ladybugs on vines in Mario! Grin

Cheers,
Wingy

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Anthony Duchesne ~ Original designer of Castle Basano, Leofani Manor and Jasperlone Mountains

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aquaMat

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Re: Better editor sprite area
Reply #5 - 13.01.2007 at 05:38:56

VernJensen wrote on 12.01.2007 at 01:50:09:

aquaMat wrote on 11.01.2007 at 16:25:39:

(That's whay I almost never create/use those layer-0 windows..... its tiles just all look black to me !!!)

I would never do layer 0 stuff by hand. Look at the Empty Mansion. There's a room full of windows/arches/jail cells in layer 0. Just use the selection tool, copy, and paste into your room.

Same thing for ladders, vines, etc. Check out the various rooms for this purpose in Empty mansion.

@Vern: As good + helpful as it is that these things are there to be copied, I have hardly ever used them....for several reasons:

1. For vines and ladders etc. .... I usually want every ladder etc. to look a bit different from the last one, so I'm reluctant to just copy and paste the same one again.... it takes longer, but makes the rooms a bit 'different' and more 'realistic'.

2. As far as backgrounds are concerned, the windows I did use on a few occasions, but usually I do try to create "new things" in the background too, and it's always a lot of trial & error while choosing the right tiles.

Therefore I can only beg with you, while you're at it...please do make the tiles area also bigger, not just the sprites area (as in the picture above) !!!

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Why is a carrot more orange than an orange ?

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VernJensen

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Re: Better editor sprite area
Reply #6 - 16.01.2007 at 01:56:32

aquaMat wrote on 13.01.2007 at 05:38:56:

1. For vines and ladders etc. .... I usually want every ladder etc. to look a bit different from the last one, so I'm reluctant to just copy and paste the same one again.... it takes longer, but makes the rooms a bit 'different' and more 'realistic'.

2. As far as backgrounds are concerned, the windows I did use on a few occasions, but usually I do try to create "new things" in the background too, and it's always a lot of trial & error while choosing the right tiles.

Therefore I can only beg with you, while you're at it...please do make the tiles area also bigger, not just the sprites area (as in the picture above) !!!

For 1, what I do is still copy & paste the entire ladder, then use the eye-dropper tool (Option-click) to select certain parts of the tiles from what I copied, and draw them into other parts. This way, I can *very* quickly change the ladder to be different each time, but still use the copy and paste method, and never have to go to the Tiles menu.

As for making the tiiles area bigger, I'm not sure if this is easily done, but I might look into it. The thing is, if I did make it bigger, they would be "blown up" and very pixelated. I'm not sure if it would help much.

-Vern

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VernJensen

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Re: Better editor sprite area
Reply #7 - 16.01.2007 at 01:59:54

Anthony wrote on 12.01.2007 at 05:44:48:

Do we have to buy the new expansion pack or will it be an update that we can install if it finds MM registered on the computer? Will there be more mansions? Huh

You need to buy the expansion pack for the new monsters. The expansion pack will contain 1 or 2 new pieces of background music, a lot of replaced tile artwork, 4 new monsters, and all-new mansions. The mansions will be designed by *you*! Once the expansion pack is ready, I will hold a level design contest. Those entering will get access to the new editor, and can design mansions to enter into the contest. Something like $300 first place, $200 second place, $100 third, and $50 for all others.

Jacob Vann (of Nightmare Mansion and Spider Palace) will also be contributing one or two mansions to the expansion pack.

So hopefully it'll be worth paying for.

It costs a fair amount of money to pay for all the mansions/music/etc. so I need to try to make that back.

-Vern

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VernJensen

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Re: Better editor sprite area
Reply #8 - 16.01.2007 at 02:11:39

Anthony wrote on 12.01.2007 at 05:44:48:

Btw, when ever the newest version comes out, make selecting layer have hotkeys? Like to select layer one, you press Command + 1. That would make it alot better. Then I wouldn't have to go into the menu and scroll down and select... I have a laptop, and I hate scrolling down menus with it. Wink

Done!

Will be in version 1.0.8.

-Vern

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VernJensen

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Re: Better editor sprite area
Reply #9 - 16.01.2007 at 02:22:04

aquaMat wrote on 13.01.2007 at 05:38:56:

Therefore I can only beg with you, while you're at it...please do make the tiles area also bigger, not just the sprites area (as in the picture above) !!!

Done!

Man, I love it when it turns out my old code is well-written and easy to change.

Not sure if everyone will like the change --- there's fewer tiles visible at a time now, but I hope everyone likes it.

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bettertilearea.jpg (81 KB | )

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