Universal Map Editor released
Community Forums/Showcase/Universal Map Editor released
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| Universal Map Editor is a special program made for game developers and level creators. It was designed for most 2D tilebased games. Arcade, puzzle, logic, maze, race, shooter, strategy, jump&run or platform games are possible. This editor can reduce the development time by 50% Some features: +Supports 5 layer types (rect, 2 iso, 2 hex) +Supports 4, 8, 12 or 16 bit layers +Supports 1, 2, 4 or 8 bit datalayers +Add images or sprites to your maps +Add geometrical objects to your maps +Direct parallax scrolling support +Hide or move each layer separately +Each layer can have a different tilesize or layersize +Animated tiles and imageobjects +Built-in tileset editor, meta editor, tile maker and optimizer +Short load time, small file size +Encrypted file with checksum info +Intelligent tools and cool copy&paste +German/English interface and docs +Bonus: 3D-layer possible (but with some limits) +External preview program +Map engine and map loader source code available (for BlitzBasic/PureBasic/Java/C++) +Open file format (load map in other languages) This program exists in two versions: FREEversion and PROversion!  www.mapeditor.de.vu |
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| Looks nice! I really like your web site design as well... |
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| very nice. Do you include game example? |
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| no i include only bb-engine+loader |
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| Looks nice but: "Create rectangular, isometric, or hexagonal maps with up to 100,000,000 tiles per layer" I don't think my mouse is rated for that many clicks. Nor am I for that matter. :-) A 640x480 screen has 65536 pixels on it. Assuming one's tiles are 16x16, that means 640x480 tiles, displayed at 640x480 resolution, is good for a level that is 40 screens wide, and 30 screens tall. I don't think anyone's going to exceed that. :-) Well, maaaaybe one would want to make a vertical scrolling shooter, with just one giant level that is continuous throughout the whole game... And maaaybe one would want to have some sections scroll sideways and otehr scroll up... So you wouldn't really be using all of the grid. Your grid btw, is 10,000 x 10,000. :-) |
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| Looks really good,some examples in blitz basic would be great to see it in action. |
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| hehe i don't know who needs 100,000,000 tiles, but is is possible :-) you don't need every time a mouseclick per tile - you can fill areas or draw rectangular area... "Your grid btw, is 10,000 x 10,000. :-)" yes - but max square is 100 mio tiles - you can also create a layer with 100,000 x 1,000 tiles |
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| 100 million tiles... That'd be at least 400 million bytes... Ie, 400 megabytes. Unless of course, you use banks and poke bytes into them. I hope you don't just dim that in an array at the start of the program. :-) |
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| You can set layer depth (4, 8, 12, 16 bit). If you use 100 mio tiles, you have min size of 50MB or max size of 200MB - i use only banks for this. You can also create large bmp-files (65535x65535x24bit=12287 MB). But why should you do this, if you need only small images? UPS, i forgot to update my free mapengine-source - i uploaded new version with newer source >>>Looks really good,some examples in blitz basic would be great to see it in action.<<< Hm if someone have jump&run tileset and figure, i can create quickly a demo-level/game |
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| I presume you have a custom file format. You might consider adding run length encoding for compression. It would make large levels load faster. I don't reccomend encoding run length for each type of tile, but rather just runs of tiles, and empty space. I reccomend an encoding scheme like this: 0 10 64 52 36 0 5 32 22 17 In english, the decoder hits a 0, and then the next number indicates how many empty tiles are in a row. Those are written, then the next 3 tiles written are 64 52 and 36. Then the decoder hits another 0, reads 5 after it, and write 5 blanks. Then it writes tiles 32 22 and 17. This sort of scheme doesn't force you to use numbers of any particular size either, because if you need a run of 100 blank spots, but your values can only go up to 10, you can go 0 10 0 10 0 10. It also assumes you won't have lots of runs of the same tile in a map, which compared to the blanks, you probably won't. Trying to RLE encode everything would make all the single tiles take up twice as much space. |
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| Btw, I made a 2D scrolling engine and map editor of my own back in 93'. Never did use it for a game. Wasn't nearly as nice as yours of course. I didn't have windows GUI's to work with. :-) PRobably wouldn't have been as nice anyway though. Yours seems as good or better than some of the pro 2D tilemap editors I used for the gameboy color while trying to develop a gameboy title a while back. |
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| I know run-length-compression - but it is very inefficient. Here exist some ZIP-DLL's - it is more faster and easier. But you must compress before you encrypt a file (otherwise you get zip with original size). R.L.C. work fine with 8-bit-layer, but if you have 12 or 16 bit layer - you need special optimized algorithms... I decided to not include this compression. |
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| hmmm... i uploaded new version again... crazy - all people find bugs after beta-tests... ^_^ |
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| Looks really nice, but $31.50 is a tad steep for a map editor IMHO. If you ever got the price down to $20, I would not think twice about buying it. |
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| ok i reduced the price to 20 euro / 25 dollar i think 30 dollar is a bit to high (good euro price at the moment) but here exists iso-map-editor - it costs 70 $ with my editor you can create maps for most games... |
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| I have downloaded the demo but don't figured out how to make scroll in bb..... All i have is a blank screen :P (a bit of documentation on how to include the source code for blitz is a greath thing...for beginners of course). |
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| map_load() load a map file map_scroll() set "camera" position map_viewport() set viewport (for splitscreen) map_draw() draw map it's easy here is a example included: Include "mapengine\mapengine.bb" width=640 height=480 Graphics width,height,0,1 error=map_load("0.map","") If error>0 Then end MoveMouse width/2,height/2 While Not KeyHit(1) mx=MouseX() my=MouseY() MoveMouse width/2,height/2 map_scrollx=map_scrollx-(mx-width/2) map_scrolly=map_scrolly-(my-height/2) SetBuffer BackBuffer() Cls tile_animate() map_draw() Text 0,0,"X:"+Str$(map_scrollx)+" Y:"+Str$(map_scrolly) Flip Wend |
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| Ok i have figured out the problem...hemm.....i forgot to "map_draw" at the end of the operation..sorry :P Only one question:if i want to sell my game and i use your editor....i have the possibility to use encrypted tileset in the editor?(i think it's an option for the pro version right?) So no one can steal the graphics? The editor itself is simply to use (my second example with the download version is a 3 layer parallax scrolling....all works well!)and well organized. I think that is a greath addition for me so i bought it :P |
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| Encryption is a feature of pro version. But images are never encrypted or changed. Map-File include only level-data and no images. |
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| ok. I think i have finded a workaround:with some changes in the include files (in the section load tiles)you can load encrypted images with your favourite encrypt program. I have tried with Terabit's Datapaker and all works ok! (I think that addying this feature in the pro release is useful,but not necessary thanks to the workaround). Thanks for the reply. |
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| i uploaded a demo of proversion (load+save disabled) so you can better test this program |
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| Many thanks but i have just purchased Universal M.E. :) ( i like the layout of the program and it's simplicity). |
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| i love to hear this :-) |
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| Just you are here... :-) In the editor there are flags for parallax scrolling. Ok i understand how they works (very well)...the answer is:if i want to put an object over layer 1 but under layer 2....how i accomplish this? (in the previous editor that i have used times ago there was function to scroll layer separately....so i draw in order layer1,object,layer2.....i read that there are function to scroll layer separately...but in that case they lost parallax information?) |
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| >>>Ok i understand how they works (very well)...the answer is:if i want to put an object over layer 1 but under layer 2....how i accomplish this? you can modify z-order of all objects - see up/down arrows in toolbar or numpad +/- >>>in the previous editor that i have used times ago there was function to scroll layer separately....so i draw in order layer1,object,layer2.....i read that there are function to scroll layer separately...but in that case they lost parallax information? You can also move objects or modify the size of geometrical objects by holding down the left-control-key while clicking/dragging (but click on select-tool before) In your game you can handle scolling manually: modify only layer\posx and layer\posy values. And you can also use 100% parallax scrollig or other values - but for manual handling i think 100% is better choice. |
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| The only thing that i don't know is how to acces those features inside the code.....in the editor itself is easybut if i want to acces inside my code....where can i find info about this sort of thing? In the mapengine function? [excuse me but i'm new to programming in general...] |
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| hm i think i should write a tutorial.... |
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| (i have posted in the mapeditor forum,i think it's best for me to post here) I think that should be a greath help indeed! A veteran know how to do but beginners i think don't know. |
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| Hi, I have created an icon for the editor. Maybe someone will use it also. image:  Download as *.ICO http://www.your-dreamland.de/div/mapeditor.zip (32*32/256) cu Linux |
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| I updated U.M.E. Now, you can download v1.1 I fixed some "bad" bugs and added some new features. AND!!! You can find map-examples and source-examples for BB. Jump&Run and RPG are available. And i added some sourcecode-docs. (C++ loader without engine and Purebasic-loader with engine come in next update - i hope) If you have Pro-Vertsion, please download Preversion+Proversion files. Have fun! |
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| Hmmm... Just downloaded the Pro version demo, as I'm tempted to buy it myself. However, when I try to run it, nothing happens - The mouse pointer turns into an hour glass briefly and then nothing. Any suggestions? |
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| You should download freeversion. At next copy demo-exe to app-dir and start this program (or see readme.txt) |
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| >UPDATE 1.2< New: You can add to each tile or each animation a bytevalue in tileset-editor (0-255). You can read out this default tile values in your game. Optionaly, draw automaticaly this values to datalayer. Please enable some options for this in setup-dialog: "Draw default tile values to datalayer" and "Copy, cut or paste tilelayer and datalayer at the same time". New: Added new combobox to display some additional numbers oder values. New: Option added to setup-menu (hold images in sysram) New: Left click on objectlist = normal selection, right click on objectlist = scroll to object New: Shortcut CONTROL+E run custom export.exe-file to export opened map. (Commandline: export.exe mappath:password). Write your own exporter (for GBA etc). New: Added PureBasic and C++ source codes. They are only in alpha-stage - authors had no time to finish this. Changes: Editor zoom automaticaly tiles with less than 17px width in tilemenu. |
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| I just bought this and it's very impressive. Keep us posted here on updates and new functions to the mapeditor. Thanks Amon :) |
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| >MAJOR UPDATE 1.3< New: Tilemenu-autozoom added to setup-window. Changes: New tile-menu. Now, you can enable original tileset layout. And you see a warning-symbol, if layer depth is not high enough. Changes: Updated documentation. You find in right menu complete mapengine function reference. Added new link-section to the docs. Bugfix: Block-Object displayed a dummy error message after loading. Bugfix: Small problems with empty tilesets and BB-debugger (frame default value). map_load()-function was modified. |
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| >VERSION 1.4< New: Variables-editor added. Use max. 65535 variables per object (name and value max. 255 chars). (pro-version-only) New: Endless layer repeat added to rectangular layer - save memory using background- and foreground-layers (gras, rain). New: Datalayer depth 1 and 2 bit added - for smaller map files. New: Default tile values are now stored only, if you use this - for smaller map files. New: Added java-sources for mobile gadgets. |
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