First of all, this file is no longer the official documentation. Philip Roy has written a tutorial on the level editor. This is a stand-alone DocMaker document "MS Level Editor Tutorial v1.0" in the same folder as this file. It explains everything far better than this document ever did.
WARNING
Using the level editor to view levels which you haven't yet completed may spoil your enjoyment of Monkey Shines.
SECOND WARNING
Creation of Monkey Shines world files from scratch is not an easy process. The level editor doesn't do the whole job. You will also need a graphics package and ResEdit. ResEdit is a development tool produced by Apple Computer. You will find it on their world wide web sites. We will also place a link to it on the Monkey Shines section of the Fantasoft web page <http://www.fantasoft.com/>
THIRD WARNING
The Monkey Shines application in its unregistered state will only recognise the file 'Bonzo World 1'. If this file is modified, you won't be able to play Monkey Shines. Always work with copies of files.
What's New ?
There are now quite a few new worlds available. See the "Bonzo Hits Cyberspace" web pages <http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Lair/5419> for details. The actual files can be found on the Fantasoft pages <http://www.fantasoft.com>.
What's Coming ?
This section of the ReadMe was making promises I couldn't keep ! Anyway, draggable windows are here (if your screen is beg enough) and I honestly don't think a floating tool palette would add much. I know the editor doesn't always follow the MacOS user interface guidelines, but it isn't as bad as it was, and hopefully is now bug-free.
The sprite editing is still a weakness. I still think this is the simplest way to do it though. Defining sprite bounds by dragging rectangles would mean you have to go through a number of steps. I think having a single (although 2 part) dialog box simplifies the process. If you don't agree, tell us how it should be done !!!
Important Limitations
Although these are in Philips tutorial, I will state them here again, since they are important.
1. You may not have more than 25 collectable items per screen.
2. You may not have more than 10 monsters (these also include doors) per screen.
There is no way around these limitations. Do you really need more sprites or items per screen ?
Version History
1.1.2
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Major overhaul of code. Level drawing routine greatly simplified.
Sprites visible menu option FINALLY implemented.
Potential crash with drawing/deleting conveyor belts fixed.
File properly closed. This fixes one possible cause of world file corruption.
Level count properly updated when new level created. This would have caused an incorrect count and numbering of objects.
Puts up the 'save first' dialog before the dialog to open/create a new level. Not perfect, since if you hit cancel, there will be no level open. The 'Open' dialog needs to access the level resources, and can cause major problems with the open level. Could work around it, but not much point.
When selecting 'new level', the okay button was initially enabled, even if there is already a level with that resource ID. Although there was an additional check to prevent overwriting levels, this was not good. Fixed.
Some people had reported the tool bar not being drawn. Hopefully this is now fixed.
Sprites are loaded before the platforms are drawn, since some numbers in the array are modified for keys/fruit. Not really a bug, but should be marginally safer.
1.1.3
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More minor bug fixes.
1.1.4
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Patterns didn't show up in colour in the dialog box on some machines - fixed.
Menu items enabled/disabled more often as appropriate. I have one report that this may not be as perfect as I thought. Let me know if you have problems.
If your screen is big enough, the editor will use a draggable window with title bar. No scroll bars or resize - anyone want them ?
Several other minor bug fixes.
1.1.5
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Minor problem with menu enabling fixed.
The Last Word
If there is ever a Monkey Shines 2, it will use a bigger more flexible sprite engine. We have learned from writing Monkey Shines, and we have lots of ideas (although we could always use more). It may sound like a cliche, but the best way to convince us to produce a Monkey Shines 2 is to register Monkey Shines. We will be far more inclined to work on a sequel if we are making a little money. Sorry if that sentiment offends you, but we have day jobs which take a lot of our time. Monkey Shines has taken a huge amount of time and effort to produce.
How to contact us
By mail:
Fantasoft, LLC
P.O. Box 14261
Madison
WI 53714-0261
U.S.A.
By phone/fax: (608) 222 8468
By email: fantasoft1@aol.com
Visit our world wide web pages: <http://www.fantasoft.com/>
