This is great! Just bought the two apps. Waiting for those updates. [import]uid: 10426 topic_id: 9668 reply_id: 35310[/import]
Thank you! LevelHelper 1.2 should be available soon. (is in review by Apple for several days now) [import]uid: 38119 topic_id: 9668 reply_id: 35344[/import]
Just bought levelhelper - this looks so good.
My only concern, and this probably only is important to me, is that I have a mac and my friend has a pc. This is fine for Corona work because I do the coding and he does the level design (his gf does the images.)
Because Corona, Tiled, Physics Editor, Lime, Texture Packer etc are all Win/Mac apps or platform independent APIs we can all work separately on our own, preferred platforms but bringing all the work together is easy.
With LevelHelper only for Mac the onus is again on me to do all the work (or buy my friends macs!)
So, any plans for a Windows version?
Loving the app though 
[import]uid: 8271 topic_id: 9668 reply_id: 35347[/import]
Sorry, LevelHelper uses Cocoa in the back as opposed to QT for the apps you enumerated - so a port to Windows is very hard to make. Will probably make a port in the future, but not very soon - as right now my focus is in adding more features in LevelHelper and SpriteHelper.
Best regards,
Bogdan
PS - Thank you for the kind words [import]uid: 38119 topic_id: 9668 reply_id: 35348[/import]
I thought so - doesn’t matter, I still look forward to building games with your system. It’s amazing how much work you’ve done for all of us! [import]uid: 8271 topic_id: 9668 reply_id: 35356[/import]
Thank you! I will continue to add new features so that LevelHelper can help you even more. [import]uid: 38119 topic_id: 9668 reply_id: 35359[/import]
You got some tutorials showing how to do a game like == Mario - Tiny Wings - Bubble Ball - Blast Monkeys or something like this ?
After my battle against my lazy i’ll purchase your app because i work with bootcamp so i need to xchange to Mac OSX - Just finishing some models on Google Sketchup ! [import]uid: 13454 topic_id: 9668 reply_id: 35366[/import]
Hey - not right now - but i will make a full game tutorial soon - till then you can look at the CORONA projects that are on LevelHelper website (main page - right at the top) and also maybe read the Cocos2d small tutorial to get an idea - you use LH the same way with all engines. (there may be some little differences - like for instance in LevelHelper 1.2 you can apply color on a sprite - but this will not be visible in CORONA as color on sprites is not supported in CORONA - but in Cocos2d is)
[import]uid: 38119 topic_id: 9668 reply_id: 35368[/import]
Ok friend thanks for your Fast reply ! [import]uid: 13454 topic_id: 9668 reply_id: 35370[/import]
Wow, after spending some time looking for the right feature rich level editor, I think I might have just found one, especially at that bargain price!
My only question is, can it deal with curved levels. What is putting me of doing anything in tiled is curved maps with loops and bumpy terrain seem difficult if not next to impossible, since you seemingly can’t integrate polygons into Tiled Maps. Are curved features possible with LevelHelper?
Cheers for the response! [import]uid: 57251 topic_id: 9668 reply_id: 35411[/import]
Hey - Right now there is no curves support in LevelHelper - but i will add support in future version. What you can do now - is define a polygon shape on your sprite inside SpriteHelper - and that polygon shape will be available in LevelHelper/CORONA. So with that you can define some sort of ground. Its not the best solution, i know - but will add support soon for curves as its a must and a feature that many people have asked for.
Best regards,
Bogdan Vladu
Come to think of it - will make an example right now and upload it on the website in a few minutes. [import]uid: 38119 topic_id: 9668 reply_id: 35413[/import]
I’ve updated the Director example with a scene containing a ground example - i realize that this is not the best solution of doing ground shapes - will add support for curves in version 1.3 (i plan to release a version every 1 or 2 weeks)
[import]uid: 38119 topic_id: 9668 reply_id: 35418[/import]
Wow that was a super speedy reply! Thank you. Making a polygon that is curved is still a great deal further than other alternatives and I am impressed to see you are revising and updating the program so fast! [import]uid: 57251 topic_id: 9668 reply_id: 35429[/import]
Well - this is what i plan to do - i hope i will succeed (one version every 2 weeks). I want to make LevelHelper and SpriteHelper great, so i’m always looking for feedback, as that has helped me in the past and i’m convinced will help me in the future.
Best regards,
Bogdan Vladu [import]uid: 38119 topic_id: 9668 reply_id: 35432[/import]
Something occurred to me. If I wanted to open level creation to players, similar to how Super Meat Boy did, how would I go about this. Levelhelper produces source files. Is there any scope for creating something which could use predifined sprites and just place them down with the standard physics defined for each sprite when you created them in Levelhelper. I’m not adverse to creating software which can do this, but I would need to have an understanding how physics is defined for each object. [import]uid: 57251 topic_id: 9668 reply_id: 35498[/import]
Hey - First of all - LevelHelper does not create source files - the level is saved in a proprietary file (v1.2 brings plist format) it then generates you a code file that you use to load the level file. Look inside the CORONA project example from the LevelHelper website - you will find some files with plhs extension - those are the level files - LevelHelperLoader.lua - is the code file to load the plhs files. - Open the plhs with a text editor to see how LevelHelper saves a level.
As for specific type of objects (that you define in LevelHelper and are somehow compound objects)- this will be done in a later version - as this is a nice to have feature - i agree with you.
Best regards,
Bogdan
[import]uid: 38119 topic_id: 9668 reply_id: 35502[/import]
Thanks once again for your speedy reply. The plhs files seem to be pretty descriptive!
From what I can tell, a dict (I assume this mean dictionary, maybe I’m wrong :P) is a tag which encapsulates an object, you then have the various key tags to describe the value you are changing and the integer etc tags to describe the format of the variable you are changing.
I’m sure it wouldn’t be too much work for me to create an app that outputs specific predefined objects with set tags, then just have it change the position, size, scale and I assume zorder are like layers. Then it could just write all of this to a phls file to be loaded by a specific function in the game.
That way I can stop people changing the physics of specific sprites and still let people create levels by placing the objects on a map in different places.
The only thing that worries me is, isn’t this technically copying your software. I don’t want to create a full level editor, just something that enables people to place the graphics in different places, hence creating a level. Most of the tags will be predefined by your level editor, my software would just copy them to a new document from some form of encrypted source document.
It also just occured to me from reading your above comment again a couple of times. The code used to read the phls file and create the level on the screen, is this the same code independant on what is in the level, or is this different for each level? In addition how will a plist file differ from a phls file?
Cheers for any replies! [import]uid: 57251 topic_id: 9668 reply_id: 35506[/import]
Hey,
So you are correct dict is a dictionary. Not everything you see in the file is used by CORONA - for instance zOrder is not used. File is created with all the info that is needed for all engines (Cocos2d, Cocos2d-X, Corona) and also for LevelHelper.
plist file is actually an xml that is proprietary to Apple. It is very easy to read this kind of files with Objective C - but on Windows or in Lua - it can be real hard especially if you want to do something multiplatform.
The code (LevelHelperLoader.lua) reads everything no matter what you place in the level. But the level file should be done with LevelHelper as it follows a specific sintax to read the level.
I have given the level file extension plhs and not plist in order to be able to register that specific type of file with LevelHelper and be able to double click on it in the Finder and to automatically open the file in LevelHelper (also to differentiate a file done with LevelHelper from other plist files)
So to make matter more clear - plist files created by LevelHelper are not the same as plist files created by other programs (like Zwoptex)
For what you want to do - i suggest something like this
(some of this will be included in the full game tutorial i will do soon)
Lets say you have a specific game object - CAR - for that type you have wheels and body.
Create a level file that will contain only that - the body and the wheels position correctly on the body car - put the hole car at position 0, 0 (this is top left corner in LevelHelper)
(it can even have revolute joints with motor on them so the car will move)
Save your scene file as CAR.plhs
now in lua you should make a group (something like Director is doing) in which you add the car (all elements)
From here when the user wants to put another car in the level you just create a new group and you translate it to the position selected by the user.
You do this for all types of game objects you have.
Sorry for my bad english - i know im not very clear. Hope i helper.
Kind regards,
Bogdan Vladu
PS Don’t hesitate to contact me with further questions [import]uid: 38119 topic_id: 9668 reply_id: 35508[/import]
Just finished a major feature in SpriteHelper - now you can do concav shapes - and most important - you can do holes in your objects. I have updated the Director example for CORONA - (LevelHelper website - main page - right at the top) with a scene that contains concav objects with holes. I can only imagine the possibilities of what you can do with this. I plan to release the new version of SpriteHelper in a week - so not much till you can do this to.
[import]uid: 38119 topic_id: 9668 reply_id: 35513[/import]
Wow, this is dedication towards software development that I have never seen before! Thank you for your detailed reply on the above matter. Yes that would be perfect, create a Car object in levelhelper with all the things set up correctly and save it to a new phls file!
I’m not entirely sure I understand what you mean by creating a new group, I’ve looked over the director code. From what I understand levelhelper creates the phls file which describes position etc. The levelhelperloader just loads the level based on the phls file and the code for this does not really change. I’m not sure I understand fully what the director.lua file is doing other than scene transitions.
Edit: The curved shapes look awesome, I assume you will be able to have smooth curves too! Great work!
Thank you for all your time and help! [import]uid: 57251 topic_id: 9668 reply_id: 35514[/import]