Corona Level Editors - Which Is Best...

Games
#1

Hi all,

As a newbie to Corona, I have looked into which is the best method/program to go about starting.

I have found that there are a few 3rd party level creation tools around for Corona now and I want to purchase one…but which camp to pitch my developing tent in?

The one’s I’m considering investing in are:

  • Corona SVG Level Builder from karnakgames

  • LevelHelper / SpriteHelper
    So, what I ask you is this…if you were starting out and you could purchase either, which would you opt for?

I’d like to know your experiences of each (or any other level editor option), any pros/cons, and which you may think stand the test of time…

I don’t want to start a PC/Mac, Xbox/PS3, VHS/Betamax style all out war…but I’d like to have the information from the soldiers on the ground before I start my own quest.

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#2

I wish I could help you - best of luck on your quest :wink: [import]uid: 52491 topic_id: 12486 reply_id: 45599[/import]

#3

Personally I’d go for LevelHelper / SpritHelper out of that choice basically because I couldn’t get on with Inkscape that you have to use for Corona SVG Level Builder. Not thatI have used either of these tools to create a game yet and own both.

Have you had a look at Gumbo (http://www.nerderer.com/Gumbo/)? Its free and you can visually set things up. It doesn’t do anything clever with joints or anything but you can set up all your physics and objects. Also you can create your game screens.

I have created many games using Gumbo to create and manage all my levels.

– Chris

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#4

Thanks for the reply cl-apps and for the heads up about Gumbo.

I’ve just had a quick look at Gumbo and it seems like a great tool…and it’s free too…so there can’t be anything to complain about there. I’ll have to have a good play around with it.

That said, ‘free’ is not my top priority. I’m more than happy to invest in a product that is feature rich, well put together and updated/supported frequently. If it can increase my work flow and allow me more time to concentrate on making the game as good as it can be, then $40-$50 really is nothing for either of the above mentioned tools.

I’d like to hear from as many people as possible on this please - all information that you can give is gold.

I’m surely not the only one out there looking into these options, and there must be many users of these tools that can give us all an insight… [import]uid: 74503 topic_id: 12486 reply_id: 45662[/import]

#5

Surely there must be SOMEONE that can offer some more advice… [import]uid: 74503 topic_id: 12486 reply_id: 46154[/import]

#6

There are not a lot of options at this point, so there’s not a lot that could be said. :slight_smile:

I’ve purchased Level Helper & Sprite Helper but have never used them. Most of my Corona programming so far hasn’t had “complicated” screens – or if they do, they’re laid out mathematically, etc.
If you just need a simple layout tool, you can’t beat Gumbo. Easy to use and very worth the $ you decide to donate to the author. :slight_smile:

Jay

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#7

I think the main reason why there isn’t much in the way of tools to help game creation is because once you play with the Lua language that Corona uses it makes it very very easy to create what you want.

So beside simplifying the screen coordinate system by way of Gumbo there really isn’t much that needs to be simpler without taking away all the control you get doing things yourself.

One day I’m sure there will be a GameSalad creator type thing for Corona but I’m not sure it would help make games faster, as there would be limitations and as the GameSalad route proved you have to make work arounds for simple things that Corona does easily.

If I were you I’d get some books on Lua, hack through the sample projects and watch the videos dotted around on the web to get a good understanding. Then just have a go yourself, it really isn’t tough work and you don’t need a game creator tool once you’ve been through the 2 week learning curve :slight_smile:

From personal experience I was hacking around with Objective-C for ages and didn’t get anywhere with it really beyond a few book tutorials, never did I dream of making a game… Thanks to Corona though I have created many games / business apps and there’s tons more from that learning in the pipeline which has enabled me to branch off into other areas of interest too :slight_smile:

– Chris
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#8

I think it also depends on what kind of game you’re making.

Gumbo is a good start. If your game is based on levels, i would say you can’t beat LevelHelper and SpriteHelper.

Can’t beat the price, functionality and certainly can’t beat the level of support you get from the creator.

He’s still developing and adding new features to the software. As for support: He always replies within 15 mins tops, and is very helpful.

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#9

“I’ve purchased Level Helper & Sprite Helper but have never used them. Most of my Corona programming so far hasn’t had “complicated” screens – or if they do, they’re laid out mathematically, etc.”

That’s where I’m at, too. Can someone give me an example of a mobile game that would require the use of a level editor?

When I think of level editing, I think of FPS games where the levels are incredibly complex. [import]uid: 58455 topic_id: 12486 reply_id: 46286[/import]

#10

What about an angry birds clone, like the Ghosts vs. Monsters sample?

Any physics puzzle game with levels you would save a lot of time.
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#11

Thanks for the replies.

I’ve been working my way through learning Lua and through some of the sample code etc and I’m getting to grips with it OK.

For larger scenes, with many objects, enemies and the like, I just think that it’d be quicker to use something like LevelHelper to lay things down quickly. After all, that way I get more time to concentrate on the actual inner workings and game logic.

rmbsoft’s example above (Ghosts Vs Monsters/Angry Birds clone) is a good one. Why would you want to lay every plank/tombstone/ice block/stone out by trial and error when you can lay it out on screen once and then just pull the individual object co-ordinates out for use in your code?

I think I’ll give LevelHelper a shot then…

Thanks again to those who have responded. [import]uid: 74503 topic_id: 12486 reply_id: 46327[/import]

#12

It definitely depends on the number of objects and complexity of the scene. The Angry Birds example is a good one, still I think you could even pull that off with a level config file. [import]uid: 58455 topic_id: 12486 reply_id: 46331[/import]

#13

any platformer will make use a level editor. (Mario Bro’s, Sonic the hedge hog, etc). [import]uid: 19626 topic_id: 12486 reply_id: 46349[/import]