FishEd Map Editor - Demo Version Released
Community Forums/Showcase/FishEd Map Editor - Demo Version Released
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After taking time out to tie up the loose ends and add the installer, the new demo version is now ready. Simply click here to visit the downloads page: http://www.scaryfish.tv/fished/fe_downloads.htm For more information, please use the readme file or visit the official website: http://www.scaryfish.tv/fished/ All being well with the installer, I'll submit this to the news page in due course :) IMPORTANT: FishEd is scheduled for release on August 1st. You may pre-order the program, but orders will not be cashed/despatched until 01/08/2006. |
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| Dead links? |
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| Works here. |
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| Thanks, Downloading now. IPete2. |
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| Thats looking VERY good, any chance of using a settings file to allow for a bigger window? (i use 1680x1050 screen). Also will it come with blitz (blitzmax) source to use the maps? *bought it, hope it doesnt take long for details to arrive* |
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| The window can be resized by using Shift+<, Shift+>, Ctrl+<, and Ctrl+> (this is to ensure that the window is always resized in steps of 128). Window Size isn't currently stored in the preferences file, but I'll rectify that today. :) There is currently no Max source for loading maps, although the program will ship with example Blitz+ source. As soon as I get around to writing the Max code, it'll be posted on the website. |
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| only other thing i'd ask for is if the tile limit could be raised from 8bit to 16bit? (can fit a lot of anim tiles on a 128mb video card). But that's something that could be added in later. |
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| The only reason I limited tiles to 256 was that of memory; a 128x128 tileset is over 11Mb (a throwback to Blitz and its preference for bitmaps). It's definitely something I will look into, though. |
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| Looks quite neatly layed out. :-) |
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| I'm following this closely - looks very nice and polished Thalamus :) And i agree - Max Code would be very good to have (and the last thing before i'd definately buy it) |
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| Thanks for the comments, guys; from the outset I really tried to make the program as good as possible. I hate poor layouts and programs that seem to promise so much and yet deliver so little. PhotoShop was a big inspiration, most of their controls and tools work intuitively, and work really well, so I tried to replicate this. The docs are pretty heavy going, but in all seriousness, I could sit down with you and teach you everything within an hour. Recently I've been using FishEd as a user, not a programmer, and I'm very happy with the way it has turned out. It is, dare I say it, a joy to use. I guess I just wanted the world to stop making their own map editors and get on with making games :) |
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| This looks to be very comprehensive. I'd like to be able to maximise the window, but that's my only complaint. I'll be buying this once the BlitzMax code is available. It's a bargain! I was tempted to write one of these for myself for my next project. No point now... |
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| thalamus, looking forward to it's release and would love the Bmax code.In addition, a Bmax version would be appreciated. The website suggests this is possible if there's enough demand... where do I sign? |
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| The window minimise/maximise is something I've played with at length, and I couldn't find a good way of doing it gracefully; what you have now is a compromise, allowing you to increase the window size in steps of 128 (this is also now saved as part of the preferences file). The Max code should be available fairly soon; if you're proficient in Blitz Max, converting the Blitz+ shouldn't be too much of a chore, particularly as the file formats are documented too. A Blitz Max version is entirely dependent on the success of this version :) |
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| Add me to the list of purchasers when a BlitzMax version is available. |
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| Need BMax support here too, looks great though! |
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| Hmmm... bmp tilesets only and odd rules about file sizes. Not a good start but never mind. Don't like bug reports by email so is there going to be a forum? |
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| Eh, Didn't notice the ONLY *.bmp import before. That is a turn-off (considering *.png is typical for game development) |
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| Bmp only is just for the map editor, nothing to stop you using png in your game. Thalamus: any chance of adding a 'resume' option, so it automatically reloads the files i was using when i start up fished? |
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| Bmp only is just for the map editor, nothing to stop you using png in your game. .What would that involve then? What steps would I have to take if I had a 320*320 png image containing my 32*32 frames? |
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| "Bmp only is just for the map editor, nothing to stop you using png in your game." Wouldn't that require having a bmp and a png version during the development process? It would be much more efficient and practical to allow various imports and exports so that the developer can make his/her choice. |
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| It feels professional. Good work! |
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| Not sure how you'd change your map to read the png file unless it saves the used tiles into the .map somehow. If so, the .map is pretty small. |
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| FishEd is something which was written for a particular project, and then spiralled out of control and became something much bigger than originally planned. I've tried to be as accommodating as possible and include as many features as I can, but ultimately I needed to finish the project and thus a few things fell by the wayside. The main reason multiple formats aren't supported is because of certain routines used to resize tiles and perform some editing features; implementing these would take a fair amount of time, so for now they're on my "FishEd 2 Wish List". As smilertoo said, it'd be pretty easy to quickly convert your tileset to a BMP in order to create maps, but use the PNG file in your game; tiles aren't stored in the MAP or PRJ files. As for the resume feature, if you save a project you can open it up on startup by choosing the "open" option that pops up. Rest assured, a "Recent Files" sub-menu is also on my wish-list. |
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| Not sure I understand. If the .map doesn't refer to the tileset or contain the tiles how are they used in a game? I've been having problems even with a .bmp tileset. If they're not in a single row they seem to get corrupted. I know the website recommends single row but it also suggests changing them. Anyway, think I'll look at this again after a few releases. |
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| The map just refers to tile values, the source bitmap holding these tiles can be anything you like. |
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| Thalamus: Im not using project files, only map (partly because the fep format isnt documented and i only require a basic map). Tonyg: I'm using 32x32 tiles on a 512x512 bmp and it works fine. |
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| So how does it use multiple-tilesets or know where my tileset file is? Is this something I need to do within my program? e.g Load the .map and then loadanimimage my tileset(s)? |
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| The corruption on Tilesets is a Blitz problem; it cannot create images over a certain size on certain graphics cards. This is mentioned on the Bugs page of the website and is something I'm currently trying to iron out. If you organise your tiles into a strip it shouldn't be a problem. As regards the FEP file format, this will be documented soon. Tonyg: In FishEd, everything has been designed so that they work together but can be exported independently. It is primarily an *artist* tool, and therefore to get FishEd data into your program you will need to load your tilesets and load the map data yourself. EDIT: Just fixed the corruption bug :) |
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| Ahhh, OK. In that case, I'm waiting for the Bmax code. :) |
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