Cubis 2 Game Editor

## Game Editor

The Game Editor, accessed via the Main Menu, allows you to create new levels or edit user-created levels. Since games are a collection of levels, you must first create or edit an Arcade or Puzzle game to edit a level.

Notes:

- Games included in the distribution or purchased as an add-on cannot be edited.
- As Morph-Fun games are simply Arcade or Puzzle games with random Ghost Cubes, you cannot create Morph-Fun Arcade/Puzzle games.
- User-created games are unsupported. FreshGames is not liable for errors and issues related to games acquired from or created by parties other than FreshGames. Please use at your own risk.

# Games Menu

The Game Editor Games Menu lists all editable games by Name, Author, Mode (Arcade or Puzzle), and the number of Levels in resizeable columns. You may sort games A-Z or Z-A by Name/Author/Mode/Levels by clicking on one of these headers. By default games are sorted A-Z by Name.

To create a New Game:
1) Click the Game Editor button on the Main Menu screen.
2) In the Game Editor Games Menu that appears, click the New button.
3) Enter the Game Name*, the Author's Name, and select a Game Mode (Arcade or Puzzle).
4) Click the OK button to open the newly-created game in the Game Editor Levels Menu. No levels will exist since this is a new game.

To edit an existing Game:
1) Click the Game Editor button on the Main Menu screen.
2) In the Game Editor Games Menu that appears, click to select a Game from the list.
3) Click the Edit button to open the selected game in the Game Editor Levels Menu.

BUTTON DESCRIPTIONS

Edit: View the selected game contents in the Game Editor Levels Menu.
New: Displays a window to Create a new game.*
Duplicate: Displays a window to duplicate the selected game.* You may duplicate an Arcade game to a Puzzle game and vice versa, but it may be necessary to make adjustments to "Time" and "Cubes" targets.
Rename: Displays a window to rename the selected game.*
Delete: Deletes the selected game. Once confirmed, the game cannot be recovered.
Quit: Returns to the Main Menu.

* Game Name must be unique among ALL user-created and distributed games for the selected Mode (Arcade/Puzzle).

# Levels Menu

The Game Editor Levels Menu, accessed via the Game Editor Games Menu, lists all levels in the current game. The current game is indicated as "Mode > Game" above the level list. You can create as many levels as you wish per game, but 50 levels is the recommended maximum per game.

To create a New Level:
1) Edit an existing game or create a new game in the Game Editor Games Menu.
2) In the Game Editor Levels Menu that appears, click the New button.
3) Enter the Level Name**.
4) Click the OK button to open the newly-created level in the Level Editing screen.

To edit an existing Level:
1) Edit an existing game or create a new game in the Game Editor Games Menu.
2) In the Game Editor Levels Menu that appears, click to select a level from the list.
3) Click the Edit button to open the selected level in the Level Editing screen.

BUTTON DESCRIPTIONS

Edit: Edit the selected level in the Level Editing screen.
New: Displays a window to Create a new level.**
Duplicate: Displays a window to duplicate the selected level.**
Rename: Displays a window to rename the selected level.**
Delete: Deletes the selected level. Once confirmed, the level cannot be recovered.
To Games: Returns to the Game Editor Games Menu.

Up: Moves the selected level earlier by one in the game level order.
Down: Moves the selected level later by one in the game level order.

** Level Name must be unique within the current game.

# Level Editing screen

Use the Level Editing screen, accessed via the Game Editor Games Menu and Game Editor Levels Menu, to define the layout of the current level. When editing a level, you will be using the Themes and Cube designs as selected in the Options Menu (levels will NOT be saved with Themes and Cube design selections).

To place a new Cube or replace an existing Cube on the board:
1) Select the desired Cube and Layer in the Selector area.
2) Move your mouse to the desired position on the board. Your cursor will look like the Cube you have selected.
3) Left-click to place the Cube in the position. If a Cube already exists in that position, the selected Cube will replace it.

To remove a Cube from the board:
1) Select the desired Layer in the Selector area (your current Cube selection does not matter).
2) Move your mouse the desired Cube on the board. Your cursor will look like the Cube you have selected.
3) Right-click to remove the existing Cube from the position.

LEFT PANEL DESCRIPTION

Mode/Game/Level indicators: Displays information on the current level, such as game Mode (Arcade or Puzzle), game name, and level name.
Cubes/Stars indicator: Displays the level objective for the game Mode upon level start.
Arcade Mode: The header says "Cubes" and can be adjusted up or down by using the right or left arrows, respectively.
Puzzle Mode: The header says "Stars" and changes according to the number of Star Cubes on the board. To be playable, Puzzle Mode levels must contain at least one Star Cube.
Time indicator: Displays the level time limit for Pro difficulty upon level start. Level Time can be adjusted up or down by using the right or left arrows, respectively.

Help button: Displays this help page.
To Game button: Returns to the Game Editor Games Menu.
To Levels button: Returns to the Game Editor Levels Menu.

EDITING AREA DESCRIPTION

Game Board: Place Cubes on the board here as you want the level to appear in the game.
Cube indicator: On the top left, this displays the Cube type as selected in the Selector area.
Layer indicator: On the top right, this displays the working Layer as selected in the Selector area.
Cube Queue button: Opens the Cube Queue screen to edit the Cubes available in the Cube Queue.
Clear Layer button: Clears all Cubes from the selected Layer.
Test Level button: Loads the current level as-is in a test gameplay mode to test the current level configuration. In test mode use the "Restart" button to restart the level or use the "Quit" button to return to the Level Editing screen.
Save Level button: Saves the current level configuration.

SELECTOR AREA DESCRIPTION

Move your mouse over the "Selector" text at the top of the Level Editing screen and then left-click to make selections. Select Cubes and Layers in this screen for placing, replacing, and removing Cubes on the Game Board.

Top Color selectors: Selects one working primary Cube color out of six possible colors.
Cube selectors: Selects the working Cube type. Possible choices are Standard, Star, Cracked, Dual left/Dual right, and Stone (Dual left and Dual right behave in the same manner - the 2 orientations are offered solely for visual design purposes).
Bottom Color selectors: Selects one working secondary Cube color out of six possible colors (applies to Dual Cubes only).
Bottom/Middle/Top/All selectors: Selects the current working Layer. You may also change Layers in the Editing Area by scrolling the wheel on a wheel mouse.

# Cube Queue screen

Use the Cube Queue screen, accessed via the Level Editing screen, to define the Cubes that can be fired on the board for the current level. There are six (6) Cube types available in the Cube Queue for gameplay: Standard, Wedge, Osmosis, Laser, Bomb, and Dual.

CUBES IN QUEUE DESCRIPTION

The Cubes in Queue list allows you to set positions 1 to 250 with specific Cubes for the current level. The first Cube in a level that appears for firing on the board is position #1, the second Cube that appears is position #2, and so on. All positions are set to "random weights" (not set to a specific Cube) upon level creation.

- If a position is set to "random weights", the game will select a Cube randomly according to the settings in the Random Weights section.
- If a position is set to a specific Cube, that Cube will ALWAYS appear in that position.

To set a position to a specific Cube:
1) Click and hold on a Cube name in the "Random Weights" section.
2) Drag the Cube name to the position in the Cubes in Queue list.
3) Let go of the mouse button to drop the Cube name into the position.

To delete a specific Cube from a position:
1) Click on the position in the Cubes in Queue list with the fixed Cube.
2) Click the Delete button to delete the fixed Cube and revert the position to "random weights".

RANDOM WEIGHTS DESCRIPTION

When a position in the Cubes in Queue list is set to "Random Weights", the game selects a Cube randomly according to the settings in the Random Weights section. Random Weights can range from 0 to 100, with higher values having more "weight" than lower values. A weight of 0 prevents a Cube from being selected (unless all Cube values are set to 0). Use the Cube selector arrows at the top of the screen to change between Standard, Wedge, and Osmosis Cube types.

The Random Weight value of one Cube is relative to the Random Weight values of other Cubes. Examples:

- If the Random Weight values of all Cubes are equal (such as on level creation, where all Cubes are set to 100), all Cubes have the same chance of selection.
- If the Random Weight of the Wedge Yellow Cube is 0 and all other Cubes are 75, all Cubes except the Wedge Yellow Cube have the same chance of selection because they have equal values. The Wedge Yellow Cube will never be selected.
- If the Random Weights of all Wedge Cubes are 50 and all other Cubes are 100, Wedge Cubes only have half the chance of selection as all other Cubes.

To change the Random Weight value of a specific Cube:

- Use the right arrow to decrease the value by 1 or use the left arrow to increase the value by 1.
- OR use you mouse to select the text box and type a new number in the text box.

BUTTON DESCRIPTIONS

OK: Closes the Cube Queue screen and implements all current settings.
Delete: Deletes a fixed Cube from the selected position in the Cubes in Queue list. The position will revert to the "random weights" setting after this action.

# Game Design Tips

Creating an effective, fun game depends on a variety of factors.

Setting the difficulty:

- The primary factors influencing level difficulty are: Time, Cubes target (Arcade), Stars target (Puzzle), Star Cube placement, Cube Queue settings, and requiring specific actions (pushing, stacking, changing Cube colors, etc.).
- Remember that you are designing for the Pro difficulty level Time in the Game Editor. An average player should just barely be able to finish a level within the Pro difficulty time (5-8 seconds left).
- Although the initial layout is quite important for a level, modifications in the Cube Queue usually affect level design, difficulty and playability more extensively.
- In general, game levels should be a loose progression from easiest for level 1 to hardest for the last level. Note that level difficulty is subjective, so game progression will play in different ways for different players.

Increasing the fun!

- Arcade mode levels should have at least 2 Star Cubes to keep the player focused on obtaining a "prize" in levels. At the same time too many Star Cubes can be too much of a good thing... :)
- Levels are not self-contained entities. Try to vary both design styles and "puzzle" objectives throughout the level order. Playing 2-3 similar level styles in order can make the game boring and even easy. A change of pace from one level to the next aids the visual impact of the game and can make levels more challenging because it keeps you on your toes!

# Sharing Games

You may choose to share your created games with other Cubis 2 players. To do this you will need to copy the game directory and contents and give it other players to paste the directory and contents into their Cubis 2 installation. The game directory can be found in the Cubis 2 directory under games\user-arcade or user-puzzle\"game pack name".

For example, if you have created an Arcade game called "MyGame", and Cubis 2 is installed in C:\Program Files\Cubis Gold 2:
1) Use Windows Explorer to go to C:\Program Files\Cubis Gold 2\games\user-arcade.
2) In the user-arcade directory you will see a "MyGame" directory. Copy the entire MyGame directory and contents.
3) Give this directory and contents to your fellow Cubis 2 players and have them paste the directory and contents into their existing "...\games\user-arcade" directory. If Cubis 2 is running during this paste action, you will need to close and restart Cubis 2 to see the game in the game list.