The editor

Background

The RISC OS Repton 3 games faithfully reproduce the original BBC games, except that they run some 25% faster (in single-tasking mode) than in the BBC version. However, the BBC version only had a 160 horizontal pixel resolution in a 4-colour mode, whereas the RISC OS version is run in one of four modes - 320×256, 320×480 (pixel-doubled vertically, to maintain the aspect ratio), 640×480 (if the current game file uses high-resolution graphics) or in a desktop window; always in 16 colours. (The original 1988 release only single-tasked in 320×256 in 16 colours, and the 1998 release added the high resolution graphics.) Unlike the BBC version, you can test your newly designed characters and levels directly in the game section.

Accessing the editor

The editor is initially accessed by selecting Edit maps from the Repton 3 iconbar menu, or by clicking Adjust on the Repton 3 icon. This will open a window displaying the accessible maps.

The maps window also displays the passwords and time limits; for any level for which an edit code is displayed, these may be edited. If you change either, then the change is accepted as soon as you move the caret away from that field (via the keyboard); if you clear the field first or move the caret elsewhere by clicking, any changes which you've made will be discarded.

The map editing window

First, you'll have to select a map for editing - click on one of the buttons labelled A to H. This will cause two windows to be opened - one displaying the map, and another displaying the icons representing the available objects and characters. (Henceforth, these shall be referred to as 'objects'.)

To place an object in the map, click Select in the map window. You can drag Select to place more than one object. If you use Adjust, you'll delete whatever objects are under the pointer. If you want to select a different object, click on one of the icons in the attached window; it will be highlighted with a green border. (If the map window has the input focus, you can select another object by using the cursor keys.)

You cannot place more objects of a particular type than listed in the Limit per screen here. If you need to create another object somewhere but can't, you'll first have to delete an existing object of that type.

If the object being placed is a transporter, the pointer will be changed to a ; click somewhere to place the transporter's destination. A will be placed here to indicate that it is a transporter destination. You can Shift-click Select on a transporter to move the pointer to its destination. Deleting a transporter will automatically remove its destination.

When you've finished editing, you must store the map by selecting the Store map option from the menu. (If the map editing window has the input focus, you can press Ctrl-S to store it as the current level.) If there is something wrong, e.g. Repton has no starting position, you will not be allowed to store the map until this has been corrected.

Changing colours

To the right of the map in the map editing window, there is a column of icons, each showing one of the colours used in the game. To edit a colour, click on its icon; a standard colour picker window will be opened. Note that the topmost colour (colour 0) is fixed as black and cannot be edited.

Note, however, that the 1988 release of Repton 3 made a few assumptions about the palette.

Editing the characters

When you select Edit sprites from the menu, Repton 3 will export the sprites to Paint. You will see that there are 48 numbered sprites, each 32×32 pixels in low resolution mode, and 64×64 pixels in high resolution mode; these numbers are important, since they identify which character (and which animation frame) to which the sprite belongs.

To include the modified sprites in the currently loaded Repton 3 game file, you must open the save box and drag the icon to a Repton 3 window or its iconbar icon. The sprite sizes do not matter; if not correctly sized, it will be centred with any undefined area being set to black and any overflow being discarded.

Edit codes

The edit code for each level in a blank set of levels (as created by the Clear option) is 71414. For a completely blank level, the code is 71280.

The editor menu

Store map Store the map. If you click on this menu item or on This map in its submenu, the map will be stored as the one which you selected for editing; if you click on another entry, it will be stored in that level instead. Restore map Refetch the map from the loaded game file, discarding any changes which you've made. Fetch map Fetch another map, replacing the one currently being edited and discarding any changes. This copies it over the current map without changing which level you're editing. Edit map Select a different level for editing, replacing the one currently being edited and discarding any changes. Clear map Clears the map, using the currently selected object. This will not work if the selected object is restricted in quantity. Edit maps Edit sprites Save Clear These options are as found in the iconbar menu.

Glossary

Character descriptions

Sprite numbering