An abyss can have any number of levels in itAbyss Level Editing
An abyss can have any number of levels in it
Add a new level to your file from the Grid
Menu
Each level must must have a starting position
Each level must have an exit
The exit will be hidden if you place any exit panels in a level
The exit will appear if a player covers every exit panel with a
pushable block
Players may not step into the exit until they collect every gem in a
level
Players start at map one and progress through the levels by stepping
into the exit
Detailed descriptions of objects appear when you Long Press their
icon.
Test your map at any time, then save it with the
Button
The editor screen consists of three areas: the Left Bar, the Right Bar, and the Grid. These areas respond to taps, and in most cases, to Long Presses. The grid also responds Swipes, allowing users to select rectangular areas.
Most of the objects that can be placed on the grid are selected from the Right Bar. There are Object Icons that immediately select an object, Popup Icons that open popup toolbars containing several Object Icons, and the Flag Selector that allows you to set the Flag Number for the current object.
These icons are used to select an object. You can distinguish them from Popup Icons because they lack the blue arrow that overlays Popup Icons.
Tap: Tapping an Object Icon selects it. The selected object will be placed on the grid when you touch the grid. A short hint will popup on the screen when you select each object for the first time.
Long Press: Long Pressing an Object Icon does two things. First, it opens a dialog that contains a long description of the object and a list of all the categories that apply to it. Tapping the select button will set the object as your favorite and make its icon appear as your Favorite Object with an icon on the Left Bar.
These icons are used to open horizontal bars that contain several Object Icons. When you select an object from the bar, the selected object's icon replaces the Popup Icon.
Tap: Tapping a popup icon performs one of 2 different actions. The first time you tap it, a Object Toolbar usually appears. Select an Object Icon from the toolbar to set it as the Popup Icon's default.
Tapping a Popup Icon when its default object is already selected will open its Object Toolbar so that you may select a new default. If another object is selected when you tap the Popup Icon, it's default object is selected instead. Note that if you tap outside of an Object Toolbar's edges it will close without selecting anything.
Long Press: Long Pressing a Popup Icon has the same effect as long pressing an Object Icon if you've already set a default object for it. Otherwise, it will simply open its Object Toolbar, allowing you to Tap or Long Press any of the Object Icons contained inside it.
The Flag selector only appears if the currently selected object is flaggable. Whenever it's available you may tap it to change the current Flag Number. The Flag Number will be applied to any flaggable objects that you place on the grid.
Flags are used to link switches with doors, to link keys with doors, to set how many times a pickup may be used, and for other purposes as explained in the object's description. You may view an object's long description by long pressing the object's icon, or by selecting it from the Object Menu that opens when you long press the Favorite Icon located on the Left Bar.
The grid is where the map is displayed and edited. It consists of a number of squares that you can fill by tapping them. The currently selected object will appear when you do.
Tapping a square on the grid will have one of three effects depending on its contents and the object that you have selected to place there. Normally, the selected object will replace the one that occupies the square.
Basic Object Selected: If an object that isn't stackable is selected when you tap a square, the selected object will usually replace whatever object currently occupies that square. But when you tap an object that matches the currently selected object, you will erase it instead. The erased object becomes a Basic Floor tile.
Stackable Object Selected: If a stackable object is selected when you tap a square, the selected object will be stacked on the object that currently occupies the square, if possible. Otherwise, the object will flash but nothing else happens. If you tap on an object that's already stacked by the currently selected object it will remove the stacked object, leaving behind whatever object it had been stacked on.
Long Pressing the grid will set the current object to match whatever object is in the square, and if the object is flaggable, it will set the current flag to match the object's flag number as well. This allows you to either tap the same square again to erase it, or to place additional copies of the object on other squares.
When you Long Press a square that contains an object that is stacked on another object, the object stacked on top becomes the selected object. You may then tap the same square again to remove the stacked object and reveal whatever object is beneath it.
The left bar consists mostly of file related features that are explained in the Managing Files section of this document. There are, however, three icons that are important to map editing
Exit Stairs: This icon selects the Exit Stairs object and
allows you to place an exit on the grid. Since maps only allow one
exit, your previous selection is automatically reselected after you
place an exit on the grid.
Starting Place: This icon selects the Starting Place object
and allows you to place one on the grid. Since maps only allow one
Starting Place, your previous selection is automatically reselected
after you place a Starting Place on the grid.
This icon will be empty when the editor starts, but other icons appear in its place whenever you select an object as your favorite. When you select a flaggable object as your favorite, the current flag will be stored along with the object, with its Flag Number overlayed above the object. You may still change the Flag Number when selecting other objects, but when you reselect your favorite object, it retains the flag number that it was saved with.
Tap: Tapping your favorite object will select it. If you haven't yet selected a favorite object, tapping the empty icon behaves the same as a Long Press.
Long Press: Long pressing the Favorite Object icon opens the Object Info menu. You may then select a category from the menu, followed by any object that belongs to the category. Selecting an object from the menu opens a dialog that describes the object and lists all the other categories that it belongs to.
Tap the Select button to set an object as your favorite. Tapping outside the borders of any menu or dialog page will bring you back to the previous page.
Swipe: Swiping across the grid will highlight all of the squares within the rectangular area that your swipe. When you release your finger all of the highlighted squares will be effected as if your tapped each one individually. This will place the selected object in empty squares, stack the selected object over existing objects when possible, and remove the object from squares that match the currently selected object.
If your map is larger than the screen and Scroll Mode is set, swiping will not highlight the grid as just described. Instead, the map will scroll in the direction that you swipe until you lift your finger. Then the map will snap to the nearest grid square at its new location.
Saving Your FileAfter pressing the Save Button you'll be prompted to save your abyss. If you're editing an abyss that has already been saved, then you'll be prompted to either save it under its current file name, or to save it into a new file. If you're editing a new abyss then you must type a name for it.
Note that you may not save a file with the name of any of the files that are included with Abyss. Also, changes made to the maps in your abyss don't get saved when you switch among them. You must save the file with this button before your changes become permanent.
Load a FileAfter pressing the Load Button a list of files will appear. Select the file you wish to edit by tapping it. The file will be loaded with the last level showing in the editor. By default, the built in abyss files will not show in the open dialog, and you cannot edit them. Note that you will not be prompted to save your current file when you load a new one.
Clear and Delete MenuTap this icon to open a popup menu with the following options
Cancel your deletion and do nothing
Confirm your deletion. The currently displayed map will be removed
from the abyss. Note that the deletion isn't permanent until you save
your file.
Clear all maps. This option will remove all maps from the abyss. You
will be prompted to delete the file as well. If you chose to delete
the file it will occur immediately. Otherwise, the cleared maps will
remain in the file until you save it.
Copy and Export MenuTap this icon to open a popup menu with the following options
Move the currently displayed map. A list of all of the maps in your
abyss will appear. After selecting one the currently displayed map
will be moved to the selected position. Some map numbers will
necessarily change, but other than the one that you moved, they will
retain their original order.
Copy the currently displayed map. A list of all the maps in your
abyss will appear. After selecting one, a copy of the currently
displayed map will be added to the abyss in the selected position.
Some map numbers will necessarily change, but other than the newly
added map, they will retain their original order.
Export the currently displayed map. A list displaying all of your
files will appear. After selecting a file, a copy of the currently
displayed map will be added to the end of the file you selected. You
can open that file later and using the Move Button to change the
exported map's position as described above.
Grid MenuTap this icon to open a popup menu with the following options
Clear the map. The map you're editing will be cleared but not removed
from the file. Its description will be retained.
Add a map. A new map will be added to the end of your file, and open
for editing.
Shift the map. After pressing this button, you may swipe your finger
across the map to shift its contents. A translucent rectangle will
appear as you drag your finger, highlighting the squares.
A dialog will appear when your release your finger, displaying the number of squares and the direction that you swiped your finger. Confirm the message if the results are acceptable. The contents of the map will be shifted that many squares. Any objects that are shifted beyond the edge of the map will be removed.
Test your mapTap this button to test your map in the game. The editor will temporarily close and you'll gain control of the main character. You may move him toward the exit or test any of the obstacles in your map.
The game will automatically restart if the character dies, and the editor will reopen if your finish the level. Tap the character icon at the bottom right corner of the screen to restart the map, or the exit icon at the bottom left corner to return to the editor. All objects will return to the position from before you tapped the Test button.
Scroll the Map (not yet available)If your map is set to Wide, Tall, or Large size, then tapping this icon will toggle between the Fill and Scroll modes for dragging. It does nothing for maps set to Original size. The button will be highlighted when the editor is set to Scroll mode.
In Fill mode, whenever you swipe your finger across the grid a rectangle highlights the dragged area. The highlighted area is filled with the currently selected object when you lift your finger.
In Scroll mode, swiping your finger across the grid will scroll the map in the direction that you swipe. The map will snap to the nearest grid square when you lift your finger. This allows you to edit parts of the grid that lay outside the edges of the screen.
Pick a MapThe currently displayed map number shows near the bottom-left corner of the editor's screen. Tapping it will open a dialog that lists the description of every map in the current file. Select one of the maps to open it.
Open the MenuTap this Icon to open the editor's main menu. It contains the following options.
Select this option to close the menu and resume editing.
Selecting this option opens a dialog that displays the description for the current map. Select Change to change the description
Selecting this option opens a dialog that displays the description for the current file. Select Change to change the description
Selecting this option closes the menu and displays general information about all the icons on the screen. You may still tap an icon or a grid square as usual, but the overlay disappears when you tap it.
Selecting this option opens the help file that you're currently reading.
Selecting this option closes the editor and opens the main menu. You will NOT be prompted to save your file when you do this.
Revert the MapUse this icon to revert the current map to its previous state. Note that it doesn't function like a typical undo button. Any time you change maps within a file or use certain features such as Shift Map, the current map's state is saved in temporary memory. The Revert function will return the map into that saved state.
You may wish to changes maps to create temporary “saves” that you can revert to. Be careful using the Shift Map function because you cannot revert the file afterwards. You might wish to manually save your file before shifting. Remember that if you make a mistake and decide to reopen the file, you'll lose any changes that you made to all of the maps in your file since the last time you saved it.
Open Next MapTap this icon to open the next map in your file. If the last map in the file is already open when you tap it, first map will open instead.
Open Previous MapTap this icon to open the previous ma in your file. If the first map in the file is already open when you tap it, the last map will be opened instead.
Maps created for Abyss may be freely distributed, either by themselves or with the game. Please send me any creations that you would like to see included with the official version. Please do not distribute Abyss without including all of the original text and maps.
Abyss is public domain and may be freely used, distributed, and modified with the following exceptions. One, I reserve the exclusive right to distribute it wherever software is bought or sold. Two, derivative work may not use the included level data or the name of Abyss. New levels created with the editor may be freely distributed.
Questions and comments welcome in my mailbox, MichaelCPalmer1980@gmail.com
Best regards