Just my (sp202) feedback.

[Durgrobach]

Originally posted by sp202:

New additions to the editor, eh? Sounds great. I do have a list of things I'd like fixed/ added, if you don't mind:

- Make cats properly centred in the square (in the editor, the cat fits perfectly in the square, but when playing the level, the cat moves to the top left of the square which is quite annoying.

- Add a larger limit/ no limit to blueprint text (I had to leave out a decent bit of story in one level of mine due to the blueprint limit).

- I'd also like more control over how the blueprint text is drawn in the level (centred, to the left, to the right, etc) though this might be a bit more trouble to implement than it's worth.

- The ability to create messages like the ones Pierre types in the campaign.

- More freedom for electronics, in other words, make the possibilities more open such as instead of, for example, a pressure plate ringing an alarm when triggered, it has the ability to toggle it. Or the ability to toggle hand scan doors on and off. This might also be a bit of a pain to implement and might cause problems in the old campaign levels so...yeah, but it would be cool.

- Another thing that annoyed me was the fact that certain things were on the same layer despite being totally different mechanic-wise. It makes sense to put furniture all on one layer. But, for example, AI paths and lights being on the same layer can be a bit problematic at times. This is also just another small annoyance which doesn't necessarily have to be changed as I could probably find a workaround in most situations, but hey, it would be convenient.

Even if you don't end up adding anything I've mentioned (though I seriously would like the cat issue and the blueprint limit fixed), I'm looking forward to the new level editor and of course, the upcoming DLC.

[Durgrobach]

That's a fairly hefty list, let me see if I can tell you a bit of what's going on behind the scenes (although I'm not fully in the loop myself).

"- Make cats properly centred..."
I also hope for this, but it's very low-priority, even if it is an easy-edit. Also note that having the cats (and birds for that matter) offset a bit adds just a little more dimension to the level; Although not much, and it's not worth it in my opinion.

"- Add a larger limit/ no limit to blueprint text"
I can't see this being implemented, and personally I find that Blueprints give plenty of room for what they're designed to do. They are not intended to be used as story text. Get creative with the dialogue (the .xml file) if you want to submerge the player into the level.

"- More control over how the blueprint text is drawn in the level"
To add this would require them to either add another two sets to the blueprint items (fill up/crowd the list more), or put in a small UI for the player to select whether or not they want Left, Right or Center allignment. Probably not happening.

"- The ability to create messages like the ones Pierre types in the campaign."
Probably not happening, although I would love this as well. A fairly easy way to put this in (this is directed at you Schatz!):
Have the text that is "typed" editable within the .xml file, sort of in the same way that the dialogue is editable.

"- More freedom for electronics . . ."
Not happening. Get a hack if you want to disable something. I agree it would add a little more depth to some levels, but it would take away from the Monaco style gameplay and make it a little more like Splinter Cell or Metal Gear Solid. This just isn't worth it to add into the game.
(You will be seeing quite a good amount of new traps in the near future, so hang tight for that)

"- Layering stuff"
I agree 100% with this. I want a 5th layer BADLY. Especially for what's coming up in the DLC (You know what I'm talking about Andy)! Can't really go into more detail... But I hope to see an AI layer.


All-in-all, great ideas, thanks for the feedback.

[Differ3nce]

Here are some of my comments on this:

Cats should be an easy fix, but indeed, low priority.

Blue print text suffice for what they are meant for. No need to change them.

The messages of Pierre are more difficult than you might think. They are hardcoded in the game atm, so converting that to the .xml file is not that easy. Right now each npc has its own text when it walks into a computer, changing this to the .xml file needs quite some time from the devs and also I wonder what it will add to the gameplay as it was just a small sideline story in the campaign.

The layering I agree with, a 5th layer will help with some annoying difficulties that don't need to be there. I wonder if it affects performance, maybe that's the reason it's not in the game atm?

[Durgrobach]

Originally posted by Differ3nce:

The messages of Pierre are more difficult than you might think. . .

Hmm... I don't know exactly how they put this into their code of course, but it should be fairly easy all the same. The string they're using on each character could be changed to a line of code that searches the .xml file for the related string, and that is sent back and appears on the screen.

It all depends on how it's coded though, and even the above isn't as easy as simply changing the words around. It also depends on if the game would function perfectly smoothly while the quick search occurs, as it wouldn't know to search until the player is in-game and the npc walks into the terminal.

(edit:
OR when the level is loading (the dialogue and such loads/appears), the game could search for the new string then, and then just hold onto it until the npc hits the terminal; I'm sure this would be easier/smoother.)

[AndyN.]

There are some new things we are adding to the editor in a week that I think you will enjoy.

[QiZ]

Personally I'd like to be able to view the official maps in the editor so I can get a better understanding of how they were made.

[AndyN.]

We had that at some point, but I think the reason we ended up not sharing the levels was because you could actually edit the map (like remove all the guards) then replace your local data with the editted map so you could get some crazy score.

[Bastoc]

I have a top priority request. Dogs can talk if you give them a bubble, but not cats and rats (and birds probably). How can we go on like this?