Skip to content

LevelControl

Christian Haas edited this page Aug 1, 2018 · 5 revisions

With the "Archive" window, you control which Levels are available in the mod (fan-mission). The "Level Control" window allows to select the currently presented Level and modification of its level-global properties as listed here. The "Level Tiles" Window then allows to modify a Levels individual tiles.

Level-Global Properties

  • Active Level - This slider allows selecting the currently presented Level. It's tile map will then be shown and can be edited.
  • Type - The engine handles Real World and Cyberspace Levels differently. Type tells what level format the currently loaded Level is.
  • Level Height - Defines the height map of the currently selected Level. Each tiles Floor- and Ceiling-height can then be set inside the range of this height map. The selectable Level Height reaches from 1/4 Tile 0.250 to the default which is 4 Tiles 4.000 and up to 32 Tiles 32.000.

It’s best to determine the global height map of a Level before modifying tiles on the tile map. Every tile height in-/decreases exponentially e.g. a previous tile with Floor-height=3 and Ceiling-height=4 increases to Floor-height=6 and Ceiling-height=8 if the Level Height is set from 4 Tiles to 8 Tiles and vise versa.

Level-Global Texture Properties

The game supports 292 game textures. One Level can use up to 54 world textures from the World Texture atlas. Level Textures atlas index 0-31 can be used on Floor- , Ceiling- and Walls. Level Textures atlas index 32-54 can only be used for Walls.

  • Level Textures - Presents the currently selected Level texture atlas. By default, this texture atlas is empty and textures first need to be put onto it from the Game Textures atlas before they can be applied to the tiles on the tile map.

By hovering with the mouse over a texture on the Level Textures atlas, a popup tells its atlas index number, where it can be used (F/C/W) or (walls only) and which atlas index number and name it got on the Game Textures atlas.

  • Game Textures - Presents all possible 292 Textures used by the game. To use any of the textures in a Level, they have to be put onto the Level Textures atlas.

By hovering with the mouse over a texture on the Game Textures atlas, a popup tells its atlas index number as well as the name of the texture as it is displayed in the game.

Before a texture can be used for a tile on the tile map, textures first have to be put from the Game Textures atlas to the Level Textures atlas with the following operations:

  • The texture atlas can be scrolled by hovering with the mouse over the slider and holding down the primary mouse button and moving the mouse to the left and right. Releasing the button stops the scrolling.
  • First: Select the atlas index of the Level Textures by single clicking on its icon with the primary mouse button.
  • Second: Scroll the Game Texture atlas to the texture that you want to apply to the previous selected Level Textures atlas index and single click on its icon with the primary mouse button to put it on there.

Level-Global Surveillance Properties

Each Real World Level of System Shock can have 8 Surveillance Objects (Cameras) that can be set up with the Level-Global Surveillance Properties as listed below:

  • Surveillance Object - Choose the Surveillance Object you want to edit
  • Surveillance Source - Set the Object-ID of the Level Object that serves as the camera of the chosen Surveillance Object
  • Surveillance Surrogate - Set the Object-ID of the Level Object that serves as a surrogate of the chosen Surveillance Object. If the surrogate gets destroyed, then the camera will show a static screen instead of the Picture Source the specified Surveillance Source provides.

The Source objects Fine and Rotation defines the orientation and view direction of the Surveillance Source. Usually Object Type=12/0/1: NULL TRIGGER Traps are used for Source objects. The 3D-model of the Object Type=7/5/4: CAMERA rotation for example doesn't point into the direction it faces and is not usable as Source object.

Level-Global Hazard Properties

Each Real World Level of System Shock can have up to 2 of 3 possible Hazards on specified tiles on the tile map. Hazards are set up with the following properties:

  • Ceiling Hazard - Default is Off and the possible Ceiling Hazard is Radiation
  • Ceiling Hazard Level - Allows to define the intensity of the Radiation hazard from 0 LBP to 127.5 LBP
  • Floor Hazard - Default is Off and the possible Floor Hazard can be either Biohazard or Gravity
  • Floor Hazard Level - depending on what F-hazard is set, the Hazard Level property setting changes
    • Biohazard - Allows to define the intensity from 0 LBP to 127.5 LBP
    • Gravity - Allows to define the intensity in percent. As a rule of thumb: 0% is similar to having Skates on, 50% and 75% are less than 100% of a tiles normal gravity. Everything above 100% is more gravity than of a tiles normal gravity. It's advised not to use 0% or 25% because it sometimes glues Hacker to the ground, unable to move. 1000% forcing Hacker into crouching position, 1250% forces Hacker into crawling position.

Object Type=5/1/6: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION SUIT protects Hacker against Hazards by various percentages. Version=1 protects only against Biohazard , Version=2 protects against Biohazard and Radiation and Version=3 protects most against Biohazard and Radiation for big chunks of energy delta.

Clone this wiki locally