Copyright 2005, Paul Bellar & RevSoft : Revolution Software. Visit us at www.revsoft.org.
Here is a little walkthrough showing you how to create your very own Space Station Pheta levels! Yaaaaaaay...
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First things first. Download the zip file containing the necessary files here. It includes the CalcGS file contain every single one of the sprites I used in Space Station Pheta, the latest build of the program, and one of the example levels so you can see how it's done. Once you have these files we will begin.
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1. Design
i. Designing the levels without CalcGS
ii. Designing the levels WITH CalcGS
2. Compilation
i. Writing the correct header
ii. Bugs
3. Final Steps
i. Finding errors
ii. Distribution
4. Tile Properties
i. Horizontal movement
ii. Vertical movement
Design
It is important to know the physics of the game in order to make levels that don't suck, so familiarize yourself with the game by playing through the levels a couple of times. Failure to do this could result in funny looking bugs, none of which are my fault. Also, you must always, always, always do the teleporters correctly, or you may get some wierd stuff happening. You have been warned. Remember, all maps are 32x32, no ifs, ands, or buts.
1-i. Design without CalcGS
Use graph paper. No joke, it works really well. I designed about 12 levels on graph paper. The advantages to this are:
1. You can do them during class or on the go
2. You don't need to learn the tile numbers, just what they look like
3. You can just scan the paper and send it to me or a friend to make into fully-fledged levels
4. No messing with the buggy CalcGS or its limited tools
Of course, the disadvantages are there too. You must translate them by hand if you compile them yourself, and you run the risk of losing or damaging the paper. But enough of that, here is what you need to know to do it.
In order for you to scan it and send it to me, or just to keep things clear for yourself, use obvious visual representations of the tiles. Since its paper and pencil, you can DRAW the tile. If you draw more simplified versions, include a legend so it is clear what drawing is what tile.
Always leave 2 blank spaces after a teleporter. Always. Also, this may seem obvious to you, but it isn't to some people, indicate the destination of a teleporter somehow, whether by arrows or labeling coordinates or drawing a little image in the destination. Just do it.
1-ii. Design with CalcGS
Make sure you get CalcGS, otherwise this method will not work. You can easily get it off of ticalc.org, and I would post a direct link to the file if I were not so lazy. Now to guide you through, step by step.
1. Double click CalcGS. If this is done correctly, you should see a white grid and several painting options in a window.
2. Click "File" then click "Open". Alternatively, you can hit Control-O. Navigate your way to the location of the folder you extracted from the zip file. Open the folder then open the file "sprites". If this is done correctly, you should see this:
If the empty white bar along the right side shows a repeating picture of the spaceman instead of empty space, that is ok too.
3. Open the map editor by clicking "Map Editor" and then "Open". You can also hit Control-M to open the map editor. You should see a new window showing either a repeating tile 0, empty space, or the last level you edited, like so:
If it is not already filled with empty space, turn every square into tile 24 using the paint bucket or filled rectangle tool.
4. Use tiles 24 through 38 to create the levels. An appendix of the tiles and what they do is available at the end of this document. The important things to remember are: make an exit door (32) and a key (27) in every level or the player can't win, line the bottom with spikes or X blocks so that the player cannot fall through the floor, and give enough oxygen that the player can win before they die.
5. Once you have designed your level, click "File", "Export", then "Z80 Source" or hit Control-E. Type in the name of the map and hit "Export". You can open up the file it creates to view the hexcode it produced. Repeat this process with different names.
Once have have made 10 maps, copy them all into a single file with a couple of linebreaks in between each one. Save it as the name you want to use for the levelset. Now you are ready to compile it.
Compilation
To do this, you need TASM and devpac or their equivalents. If you don't have those this won't work.
2-i. Writing the Correct Header
You will need to write the following at the top of your list of 10 CalcGS maps:
.db $BB,$6D
ld b,d
ret
.db "FIND"
.db "Description",0
You would, of course, replace "Description" with name of your levelset.
You also need to write:
.db 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0
.db 1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1
And replace the 0's with the starting x values and the 1's with the starting y values. Then you just stick in all 10 maps. After that, write:
.end
END
and add a couple of linebreaks for TASM's craptasticalness.
Now you are ready to assemble the maps.
Run compiler.bat and type in asm "levelsetname" and replace "levelsetname" with the name of your levelset. If all goes well, you should have a brand shiny new 8xp program :). If not, read on.
2-ii. Bugs
So TASM said something in the order of "I suck, you suck, poopty-poopty-pants". It happens 24/7. Make sure the header is correct. Also make sure that if you edited yourself, you don't exceed the maximum number of args that TASM allows on one line and that you didn't make any typos like missing commas or misaligned labels or anything. Other than that, your TASM is borked and you should send me 5 dollars.
Final Steps
So heres what you gotta do now that you've got the compiled 8XP.
3-i. Finding errors
A few things you need to watch out for a things like the fact you can jump over tiles that are blocking the way. If you have a door blocking the path to a tube, keep in mind that anyone can just jump onto or over a door and move on without a key. Find places where the player can cheat and fix them, if you want to. Also, look for "typos" that have the wrong tile in the wrong place.
3-ii.Distribution
This is the easy part. Use the built-in send function on your TI 83+/83+ to give your devious, impossible levels to your friends so that they know what a REAL challenge is like. Upload it to ticalc.org in their "Levels" section so that nerds all over the world can play your "3FG Set - Remix". And if you really wanted to, you could have people give you their calculators and you can transfer the levelsets to their calculators from your computer. With any luck, your levelset will be the most awesome, challenging, and popular one around. Post it on a few forums, let word get out, who knows? It could happen!
Tile Properties
This is undoubtedly the reason you are reading this file. Remember that the tiles are actually offset so that tile 0 is actually 24. Don't forget that. Well, no more farting around, here is the goods:
Tile 0 - Space
You can walk, jump, fall, bounce, and generally do anything through this tile.
The only thing you can't do is expect it to stop you falling.
Tile 1 - Oxygen Tank
Pick these bad boys up to replenish your oh-two. You can stand on top of
an oxygen tank, but you can only go through it from the sides.
Jumping, climbing, and falling are prohibited. This can be used creatively.
Tile 2 - Energy Thingy
I gotta tell you, I have no idea what this is. In the original, it was a box
with an E in it. It gives you points and behaves the same as oxygen tanks.
Tile 3 - Key
You need a key to open all the doors (airlocks), so make sure that you
have at least an equal number of keys and doors, if not extra keys.
Ooo, unless you are tricksy and make unessecary doors...
They behave exactly the same as oxygen tanks.
Tile 4 - Block
I called this a block for lack of a better name. For some reason, I think there
is a way to jump through one of these from a certain angle, so be careful.
One can climb into one of these from a ladder, but the only place they can
go from there is back down, so I don't worry about it. No moving sideways,
downward, or upward through a block in normal conditions, though.
Tile 5 - Ladder
You can walk through and up and down these things. You cannot jump through
them, nor can you jump while on one. Remember, you can move onto
another ladder from here without fear of falling. Enjoy.
Tile 6 - Regular Airlock
These behave like oxygen tanks except that you need a key to go through them.
Keep in mind that people can just jump over a door if nothing is blocking it,
and it is important to construct levels in a way that this doesn't happen.
Tile 7 - Spikes
You can not even touch these, from any angle, or you will die.
You have been warned.
Tile 8 - Exit Airlock
Open this door to beat the level, even if you haven't opened all the airlocks.
This behaves exactly like a regular airlock besides that.
Tile 9 - Safety Chute
Also known as "tubes", these help you fall long distances without splatting.
You cannot move sideways through a chute, so you must enter at
an open space.
Tile 10 - Random Black Square
This behaves like an oxygen tank. You can walk through it sideways but
not vertically. The fun thing about these is that you can get lost in them
since you can't see the character.
Tile 11 through 13 - Trampoline
These bounce you over then back to where you came from.
I don't know what happens if you walk/jump into one. I think you will shoot
downward. Try it out, it may make for some crazy levels.
Tile 14 - Teleport
These warp you to the location pointed to by the following two tiles,
which appear as spaces. Sorry, they do have to be spaces.
Coming at this from any angle teleports you.
Tile 15 through 46 - Space/Coordinate
Place these in the two spaces following the teleporter to tell it where to go.
Unfortunately, these have to be spaces. I may fix that in a new version.
Well, that's how you (and I) make levels for Space Station Pheta. Be fruitful and multiply, little levels. I would always be happy to see your work at threefingeredguy@gmail.com, so send 'em in. Good ones may even be featured in the Space Station Pheta forum on revsoft.org. Special thanks to lots of people, DarkAuron for making the Tiny Dude sprites, T and T Software for making this game back in ye olde 80s, Jim e for the level selector, Spencer, kalan_vod and katmaster for showing interest, Madskillz for hiring me and featuring this, calcul831415 for thinking I am awesome when I am not, Lunchbox for explaining some data manipulation almost a year ago, Dan e for the tilemapper that he forgot he wrote, and many more. If your name isn't in here, tell me and if I can remember what you did, I'll stick it in. Have fun!
~threefingeredguy
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v1.0 1.22.2006