Map Editor Menu Layout, Discussion

[SwordPlay]

These are some tentative ideas about the Map Editor Menu (not the mapper itself)

New users should not have to hunt for options, such as music for the map.
Similarly, various options should not be lumped (harm-tiles) or spread out (mapper functions) needlessly.

SUMMARY:
- Mapper functions should go together
- NPC editing and placement should go together
- Layers&Tilesets, Resizing, Map Edges should go together
- Door placement and linking should go together
- Display properties should go together

MAP EDITOR


Map Properties
- Layers & Tilesets

- Resizing
- Map Edge Mode
- Default Edge Tile - maybe this should contain a tile picker? would be nice to see this previewed in "resize" "layers" and "mapper" depictions

(not sure if these 3 should be condensed. It could be a single menu called "Resizing & Boundaries". I think these are related, and therefore should go in the same menu. What do you think?)


Edit Map
- Tilemap, Wallmap, Foemap, Zonemap
(IMO, this should not be so many menu options. They are all connected through the editor, and maybe the editor should have a hotkey guide rather than having multiple menu options.

There could/should be a shortcut key to jump to the editor proper, bypassing menus altogether. It is tedious to scroll down and select the menu option. Let users jump there instead!)

NPCs
- Edit NPCs
- Place NPCs
- Default NPC Move Zone
- Default NPC Avoid Zone
- Save NPC Data (maybe should go in scripting. see Save Tile Data)
- Walkabout Layering (this relates to NPCs, right? maybe this should be a toggle option with two settings: "Heroes over NPCs/NPCs over Heroes" perhaps?)

(NPCs should get their own section for editing and placing. Those commands should go together rather than being spread out over menus!)


Doors
- Place Doors
- Link Doors
(doors are a little confusing to grasp, but VERY versatile! Underrated feature imo)

Erase Map Data


- Map Name:
(I think "Map Name" should go a the top of the menu. "Display Map Name" should go next to it, perhaps)

Display/Ambient Properties
(display/ambient properties have some important stuff, and maybe it should be brought out of a menu and visible under "Map Name"? I favour that layout which allows users to easily see these settings)
- Display Map Name
(appears conditionally if the map has a name? could be cool to have settings like display length/timing, position, colour etc., maybe in the future?)

- Ambient Music
- Foot Offset
(I feel that these should be moved out of "general map data". I think Music is reasonably important and should be visible from the menu!

- Minimap Available
- Save Anywhere
(These are options that affect or restrict players. I think there should be a global default option for these, if there isn't already.)



Save Tile Data
(This is a scripting thing, right? Maybe this should go in that section, perhaps with "Save NPC Data". This gets reset when the game is reloaded, no matter what, right?
In any case, I think there should be a "Scripting" option with save tile/npc data within it.)



- Harm-Tile Flash
- Harm-Tile Damage
(Maybe this should have it's own section: "Harm Tiles". Could harm tiles possible be expanded in the future to include different types and elemental damage, repeat rate, sound effects, and stuff like that? It might be cool to see a "harm-tile mapper" in the future, or have it linked to zones somehow)



"Default passability disabled by default"

This is a bitset in "general game data>preference bitsets" which I feel should be moved to someplace more relevant, such as the map editor.



EDIT: perhaps some settings should be set globally, such as foot offset
Users might like to set the foot offset of walking heroes across all maps.
Is "foot offset" the same as "z-level"?

[SwordPlay]

This is really about the tile drawer than the map editor:

Even though this tile drawing screen is mouse driven, there doesn't seem to be any way to exit the tile drawing screen using the mouse (unless I missed it)

It would be nice if there was a clickable button to return the user to tile selection.
You could also add a way to navigate to drawing other tiles from within the drawing screen, for example, moving to adjacent tiles, or perhaps an overall tileset miniview which allows users to jump to a tile.

[TMC]

Sorry, I've fallen far behind replying to your posts here and elsewhere, and other people's comments/requests too. It's a lot to read!

Foot offset is actually an extra addition to the Z value of an NPC or hero. And strangely it's counted in the opposite direction. NPCs and heroes always default to Z=0, regardless of footoffset. If you set footoffset 4 and an NPC has Z=-10, then the effective Z value is -10 - 4 = -14, but the "npc z" command will return -10.

As we work on making Custom usable with the mouse we should add ways to exit each menu with the mouse too. Right now it's less important.
Maybe we should let you navigate to an adjacent tile by clicking on that tile in the preview box. (And click on the center tile to toggle the preview mode)

"Default passability disabled by default": I've always known that this setting is in the wrong place and should be moved into an editor settings menu. I'm getting closer to that.

Save NPC/Tile Data aren't scripting settings, although two of the options only behave differently if you use the "save map state" command.

[SwordPlay]

its cool, I know you're busy. I don't really expect full replies, but these are just here if people want to add suggestions, notes etc., so you can get around to it in your own good time. if you feel like it.

EDIT: When more than one NPCs are placed into a single tile, is there a way to control which one shows on top?

[TMC]

NPC layering depends on the map walkabout layering setting. See https://rpg.hamsterrepublic.com/ohrrpgce/Layers

It partially depends on NPC reference numbers, which are determined by the order in which you placed the NPCs on the map. If you delete some NPCs, then new NPCs will reuse the lowest available npc reference.

[SwordPlay]

It would be good to be able to choose which NPCs appear on top somehow.
It could be an extra setting in the NPC editor such as "display priority" or through layers

[TMC]

I'm curious, why are you placing multiple NPCs on a tile?

A way to have more control over NPC layering is on my todo list, but I was only concerned with controlling it by script; controlling it in the map editor didn't even occur to me.

[SwordPlay]

Not that I'm necessarily doing that, I think I tried to do it a few times before.

Primarily it's a visual thing, such as if 2 NPCs end up in the same tile, so I might have two characters step on the same tile, a character move on top of an object, or have an object "fall" on another object or something like that.

Mainly I want it for an "info toggle" ability which shows an overlay, like how in various games the player has the ability to see special objects marked or highlighted.
This kind of option would display over NPCs and possibly have interactive markers over them too, but I wonder how interaction would work with multiple NPCs.
I am currently thinking that it would be better to use slices for this.