Post by icb on Nov 21, 2011 20:45:38 GMT -5
First off, I just want to say thank you to MOP for releasing the editor and for all of the hard work you've put into it. It really is off to a great start, and I know it will only get better. And part of making things better is user input, which is why I'm posting this thread, obviously. ;D
These are just a few features I would like to see in future releases that I think would make the editor more user friendly by simply keeping the focus on the map screen in order to maintain a creative stride with minimal interruptions.
1. A floating window for easy access to objects.
The way the editor is currently set up, everything is on its own screen. For example, if I want to look at tile options from the map screen, it takes me to the tilemap screen, causing me to lose focus of the map editor screen. If the tile selector was in a floating window, you would be able to move it around the screen wherever you wanted it and still be able to see the map screen. Likewise, there should be a collision tile window, a sprite window, etc. (explained in more detail in #3).
2. Selecting, moving and placing objects.
Naturally, the objects in the floating window would be selected by a left click, and placed on the map by right clicking. Why right clicking to place stuff? Because left clicking should allow you to select a tile directly from the map to place so that you don't have to dig through the tile window if you see the tile you want to use on the map (this is how Lunar Magic does it, and it works great.) A long left click on an object on the map should allow you to drag it around to be placed somewhere else (and the placement wouldn't be final until the tile is no longer selected so that tiles don't accidentally get overwritten while moving stuff). Pressing Ctrl + right clicking should allow the user to select multiple tiles to be placed. This would be very useful for things like trees, houses, beds, doors, etc. Perhaps Ctrl + right click would bring up an options menu?
3. Layer editing
I'm assuming that the ability to actually edit the tiles that appear on the map, collisions, etc, has not been implemented yet. When that does happen, I think it should be clear which layer the user is editing. The most user friendly way I've seen this done is in Lunar Magic. That is, placing a static row of icon buttons at the top for each layer that is editable. So, if I wanted to add a sprite, I'd click the sprite layer icon so that left clicking the map screen would place a selected sprite, and if I wanted to change a collision, I'd click the collisions icon so that a left click would place a collision tile. Depending on which layer you have selected to edit, your floating window from the above suggestion would change. For example, if I had the Collision icon selected, the floating window would change to collision tiles, allowing me to select a tile and place it on the map, but if I wanted to add a sprite, I could go to the icon row and select the sprite icon and a list of sprites would pop up to scroll through, select, and place on the map.
I hope all of this makes sense. If you are curious as to where I get most of these ideas, crack open Lunar Magic and play around with it for a little while. Again, thanks for the great editor! I'm excited about finally getting to hack this game!
These are just a few features I would like to see in future releases that I think would make the editor more user friendly by simply keeping the focus on the map screen in order to maintain a creative stride with minimal interruptions.
1. A floating window for easy access to objects.
The way the editor is currently set up, everything is on its own screen. For example, if I want to look at tile options from the map screen, it takes me to the tilemap screen, causing me to lose focus of the map editor screen. If the tile selector was in a floating window, you would be able to move it around the screen wherever you wanted it and still be able to see the map screen. Likewise, there should be a collision tile window, a sprite window, etc. (explained in more detail in #3).
2. Selecting, moving and placing objects.
Naturally, the objects in the floating window would be selected by a left click, and placed on the map by right clicking. Why right clicking to place stuff? Because left clicking should allow you to select a tile directly from the map to place so that you don't have to dig through the tile window if you see the tile you want to use on the map (this is how Lunar Magic does it, and it works great.) A long left click on an object on the map should allow you to drag it around to be placed somewhere else (and the placement wouldn't be final until the tile is no longer selected so that tiles don't accidentally get overwritten while moving stuff). Pressing Ctrl + right clicking should allow the user to select multiple tiles to be placed. This would be very useful for things like trees, houses, beds, doors, etc. Perhaps Ctrl + right click would bring up an options menu?
3. Layer editing
I'm assuming that the ability to actually edit the tiles that appear on the map, collisions, etc, has not been implemented yet. When that does happen, I think it should be clear which layer the user is editing. The most user friendly way I've seen this done is in Lunar Magic. That is, placing a static row of icon buttons at the top for each layer that is editable. So, if I wanted to add a sprite, I'd click the sprite layer icon so that left clicking the map screen would place a selected sprite, and if I wanted to change a collision, I'd click the collisions icon so that a left click would place a collision tile. Depending on which layer you have selected to edit, your floating window from the above suggestion would change. For example, if I had the Collision icon selected, the floating window would change to collision tiles, allowing me to select a tile and place it on the map, but if I wanted to add a sprite, I could go to the icon row and select the sprite icon and a list of sprites would pop up to scroll through, select, and place on the map.
I hope all of this makes sense. If you are curious as to where I get most of these ideas, crack open Lunar Magic and play around with it for a little while. Again, thanks for the great editor! I'm excited about finally getting to hack this game!