-----------------------------------------------------------------
*RADIX: BEYOND THE VOID*
By: Neural Storm Entertainment
Published By: Epic MegaGames
"RadCad" Game Editor FAQ v1.0
Written by: Greg MacMartin
June 1996
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=================================================================
i. TABLE OF CONTENTS
=================================================================
*** means this option is NOT USED in the game and should never be
selected or utilized in any way.
i. Table Of Contents
I. Introduction
1. Preliminary Info.
[1-1] A note from the author
[1-2] What is RadCad?
[1-3] What do I need to run RadCad?
[1-4] Creating and distributing Radix levels
(1-4-1) License.doc
(1-4-2) Creating documentation for your map
(1-4-3) How do I play the level I have created?
<1-4-3-1> .lgd, .dir, .dat files and 3drescmp.exe
(1-4-4) Modifying existing Radix levels
2. RadCad Overview.
[2-2] General Editor Interface
[2-3] File Options
(2-3-1) New
(2-3-2) Save
(2-3-3) Save As
(2-3-4) Quick Save
(2-3-5) Load
[2-4] Map Types
(2-4-1) Map Types explained.
(2-4-2) Long Map
(2-4-3) Wide Map
[2-5] Check Map
[2-6] Dump Info
[2-7] Episode Bitmap Selection
[2-8] Player Start Positions
II. Walls and Sectors
3. Walls
[3-1] How do I draw walls in RadCad?
(3-1-1) Create Walls
(3-1-2) Create Marked Walls
[3-2] Deleting walls
[3-3] What's with this "grid" thing? And those little
red dots?
[3-4] What do the colours of the walls mean?
[3-5] Some of the walls are thicker than others...why?
[3-6] What are those little "nibs" on the walls?
4. Sectors
[4-1] What is a sector?
[4-2] Basic run through of dialog box options
(4-2-1) Floor and ceiling heights
(4-2-2) Floor and ceiling bitmaps
(4-2-3) Lighting levels (Shading)
<4-2-3-1> Lighting explained
<4-2-3-2> Darkness
<4-2-3-3> Fog
<4-2-3-4> None
(4-2-4) Set slope values
(4-2-5) Adding and deleting sectors
(4-2-6) Sector options
<4-2-6-1> Hiding/showing sector names
<4-2-6-2> Outdoor sectors/Floor outdoor sectors
<4-2-6-3> Mission Sector Hide
[4-3] Naming conventions
[4-4] Highlight sectors display option
[4-5] Batch creation of sectors
[4-6] Sector browsing
[4-7] A word on sector heights
5. Assigning walls to sectors
[5-1] How do I assign walls to sectors?
[5-2] Apply attributes and Edit Wall(s)
(5-2-1) What's the difference?
(5-2-2) Front and back wall sectors
[5-3] Assigning bitmaps (textures)
(5-3-1) Ceiling walls, Floor walls and Complete
Walls
(5-3-2) "Pegging" explained
[5-4] Syncing bitmaps
III. Slopes.
6. What is a slope?
7. Creating and editing slopes (The Slope Editor)
[7-1] How do I get to the Slope Editor?
[7-2] Bounding boxes and slope nodes
[7-3] Moving and rotating slope bitmaps
[7-4] Slope Options
(7-4-1) Snap to grid
(7-4-2) Obtain Height
(7-4-3) Saving slopes
[7-5] When I was rotating a bitmap, my mouse cursor
disappeared and wouldn't come back after I finished
rotating...?
[7-6] A word on alien A.I and slopes
IV. Sprites
8. What is a sprite? And a trigger?
9. Creating and editing event sprites
[9-1] Basic run through of dialog box options
(9-1-1) List of Sprites
<9-1-1-1> New Sprite
<9-1-1-2> Delete Sprite
(9-1-2) Edit Specifics
<9-1-2-1> Auto activation of sprites
(9-1-3) Generate Trigger
(9-1-5) Trigger Dialog
(9-1-6) Done
(9-1-7) Sprite Types
(9-1-8) Current Sprite Name
<9-1-8-1> Hide Sprites
<9-1-8-2> Show All Sprites
[9-2] All event sprites described
(9-2-1) Scrolling Wall
(9-2-2) Moving Surface
(9-2-3) Switch Wall Bitmap
(9-2-4) Switch Sec Bitmap
(9-2-5) Toggle Wall Bitmap
(9-2-6) Toggle Sec Bitmap
(9-2-7) Cycle Bitmap
(9-2-8) Lights Flicker
(9-2-9) Lights Off/On
(9-2-10) Light Oscillate
(9-2-11) Plane Teleport
(9-2-12) Plane Transpo
(9-2-13) New Moving Surface
(9-2-14) Play Sound
(9-2-15) Rand Lights Flicker
(9-2-16) End Of Level
(9-2-17) Sprite Trigger Activate
(9-2-18) Sector Based Grav
(9-2-19) Deactivate Trigger
(9-2-20) Activate Trigger
(9-2-21) Complete Missile Wall
(9-2-22) Scanner Jam ***
(9-2-23) Print Message
(9-2-24) Floor Missile Wall
(9-2-25) Ceiling Missile Wall
(9-2-26) BigSprite Trig
(9-2-27) Massive Explosion
(9-2-28) Wall Dead Check
(9-2-29) Secondary Objective
(9-2-30) Seek Complete Missile Wall
(9-2-31) Light Movement
(9-2-32) Mult Light Oscillate
(9-2-33) Mult Rand Lights Flicker
(9-2-34) Skill Ratio
(9-2-35) Hurt Player Explosion
(9-2-36) Switch Shade Type
(9-2-37) Six Light Movement
(9-2-38) Surface Powerup
(9-2-39) Secret Sprite
(9-2-40) Boss Eye Handler ***
(9-2-41) Vertical Explosion
(9-2-42) Scrolling Surface
(9-2-43) Light osc move
10. Creating and editing triggers
[10-1] Trigger Dialog Box
(10-1-1) List of Triggers
<10-1-1-1> New Trigger
<10-1-1-2> Delete Trigger
<10-1-1-3> Done
<10-1-1-4> Hide
<10-1-1-5> Show All Triggers
(10-1-2) Sprites
<10-1-2-1> Add Sprite
<10-1-2-2> Delete Sprite
<10-1-2-3> Add Object Sprite
(10-1-3) Trigger Options
<10-1-3-1> Conditional ***
<10-1-3-2> Activate
<10-1-3-3> Deactivate
<10-1-3-4> Activate on Space ***
<10-1-3-5> Toggle
11. Creating and editing object sprites
[11-1] What is a object sprite?
[11-2] Basic run through of dialog box options
(11-2-1) Ground
(11-2-2) Angle
(11-2-3) Speed
(11-2-4) Height Speed
(11-2-5) Skill levels
<11-2-5-1> Easy-Hardest
<11-2-5-2> DMatch
(11-2-6) A note on placing object sprites
[11-3] All object sprites described
(11-3-1) Full Armour, Shield, Energy
(11-3-2) Super Charge
(11-3-3) Radid Recharger, Energizer
(11-3-4) Maneuvering Jets
(11-3-5) Night Vision System ***
(11-3-6) Plasma Bomb
(11-3-7) A.L.D.S
(11-3-8) God Mode
(11-3-9) Laser Cannon
(11-3-10) Explosive Cannon
(11-3-11) Plasma Spreader
(11-3-12) Nuclear Missiles
(11-3-13) Seeking Missiles
(11-3-14) Phase Torpedo
(11-3-15) Gravity Wave Device
(11-3-16) Explosive Shells (250,500,1000)
(11-3-17) Nukes (5,25)
(11-3-18) Torpedoes (10,50)
(11-3-19) Seekers (20,50)
(11-3-20) BOOM PACK
(11-3-21) BioMineWeak
(11-3-22) BioMineStrong
(11-3-23) Alien Fodder
(11-3-24) Alien Meta-Morph ***
(11-3-25) Automated Defence Drone A
(11-3-26) Smart Drone B
(11-3-27) Smart Drone C
(11-3-28) SkyFire Assault Fighter
(11-3-29) StormBird Bomber
(11-3-30) BioMine Spawning Ship
(11-3-31) Exo-Droid
(11-3-32) Snake Badass
(11-3-33) Reg Air Mine
(11-3-34) Rotating Radar
(11-3-35) Energy Conduit
(11-3-36) Shield Generator
(11-3-37) Main Particle Cannon Generator
(11-3-38) BioMech
(11-3-39) Engine Core
(11-3-40) Easy Automated Defence Drone
(11-3-41) Easy Automated Defence Drone B
(11-3-42) Easy Automated Defence Drone C
(11-3-43) Easy SkyFire Assault Fighter
(11-3-44) Easy StormBird Bomber
(11-3-45) Sideways Biomech
(11-3-46) Smart Defence Drone A
(11-3-47) RuiDaSmartGuy
(11-3-48) NewShieldGen
(11-3-49) CoolingTower
(11-3-50) Rotating Radar
(11-3-51) Dumb Drone C
(11-3-52) Dumb Drone B
(11-3-52) Red Light
(11-3-53) Space Egg
(11-3-54) Barrel
(11-3-55) Dozr
(11-3-56) Lift
V. Mission Briefings
12. How do I do the in-game Mission Briefings?
[12-1] A sample mission briefing file.
VI. Final Thoughts
13. Conclusion
=================================================================
I. Introduction
=================================================================
1. Preliminary Info.
[1-1] A note from the author
This FAQ was written to help registered owners of the Epic
MegaGames 3D PC game entitled "Radix: Beyond The Void" create
their own game levels using RadCad.
I have tried to explain every little detail as best as
possible so that even level editing novices will be able to
create Radix levels. If there are parts that are just too hard
to understand you should tell me so I can try to simplify things.
I have also tryed to avoid repeating myself as much as
possible to avoid unneccessary length, so it would be wise for a
potential Radix level designer to read the FAQ in its entirety.
This FAQ is based upon RadCad working with Radix: Beyond The
Void v 1.1.
There are very few actual "Frequently Asked Questions" here
yet, because noone has been able to figure RadCad out! If, after
reading this, you still have unanswered questions then send them
my way.
E-mail address
cl662@freenet.carleton.ca
[1-2] What is RadCad?
"RadCad" is Neural Storm's developmental tool used to create
levels for Radix: Beyond The Void. It has been released to the
public so that registered owners of Radix can get more enjoyment
out of the game.
With RadCad, the registered owner of Radix can:
1. Create from scratch an entire Radix level, with complete
control over ALL aspects of gameplay. Everything that
the developers of Radix could do in a level, you can do
as well.
2. Modify existing Radix levels.
RadCad was designed and written by Jonathan Mavor.
[1-3] What do I need to run RadCad?
In order to run RadCad, you must have a 486 with at least 4 megs
of RAM. You must also be running Windows 3.1 OR Windows 95. RadCad
will NOT run under DOS.
You must also have the file "dibutil.dll" put into your
c:\windows\system directory.
RadCad needs to read the "Radix.dat" file that comes with the
game. You MUST put the game into a c:
adix directory. If RadCad
cannot find this .dat file then it will not load. It would be a good
idea to put all Radix related material into that directory.
[1-4] Creating and distributing Radix levels
(1-4-1) License.doc
Before you use RadCad, you must read through the license.doc file
that should have been in the RadCad zip file. If it was not there,
please E-mail me a message telling me where you got the zip from.
(cl662@freenet.carleton.ca).
(1-4-2) Creating documentation for your map
I encourgage all users of RadCad to share your levels with
everyone. There are world wide web pages dedicated to Radix that
are great places for levels to be distributed.
Along with the .lgd file of your map, you should include a
small text file that describes your level and lets a potential player
know if its designed for multiplayer, single player ,etc. etc.
Here is a basic form for you to follow when writing your file.
Level Name:
Level Designer:
Mission Briefing Included: [YES] [NO]
New Music?: [YES] [NO]
Number of Secret areas:
Multiplayer ?: [DOGFIGHT] [COOPERATIVE] [SINGLE PLAYER]
[CAPTURE THE FLAG] [ANYTHING]
Primary Objective:
Secondary Objective:
Story Behind Mission:
(1-4-3) How do I play the level I have created?
<1-4-3-1> .lgd, .dat, .dir files and 3drescmp.exe
In order to play the levels you create, you must compile
your ".lgd" file (map file) into an external resource file. An
external resource file, or ".dat" file has the same extension
as the main Radix resource file, Radix.dat. You can call your
external .dat file whatever you wish.
The utility 3drescmp.exe is used to compile a .lgd file
into an external .dat file. You must type up a text file, called a
".dir" file, so that 3drescmp can do its job. Once you have an
external .dat file created, you can now play the level thats in
it by using the command line parameter:
-file MYLEVEL.dat
Here is a step-by-step tutorial on how to take your .lgd and
play it:
1. Create a text file called MYLEVEL.dir
Example:
This .dir file will compile MYLEVEL.lgd into Episode 1, Level 1.
and MYLEVEL2.lgd into Episode 3, Level 1:
2. Type 3drescmp MYLEVEL.dir MYLEVEL.dat. This will get
3drescmp to read the .dir file and create an external resource
file called MYLEVEL.dat with the levels put in their
respective places.
3. Now type: radix -file MYLEVEL.dat
(1-4-4) Modifying existing Radix levels
To modify the existing Radix levels, you must have their
respective .lgd files. These can be obtained from the same
place that you got the editor from.
2. RadCad Overview.
[2-2] General Editor Interface
The RadCad editor is basically split into 6 main parts:
Walls, sectors, slopes, event sprites, object sprites and misc.
options. Each of these (except for misc. options) has its own main
editing dialog box in which you can edit those parts of a level.
The misc. options are covered in this chapter, "RadCad Overview".
The remaining five are covered in detail in later chapters.
RadCad's basic interface tool is the mouse. Generally, the
left mouse button selects an option, and the right mouse button
executes that option. For instance, if you wanted to create some
Sprites, you would go to Things and select Create/Edit Sprite with
your left mouse button. Then you would put the cursor on the main
window and right click. This would bring up the Create/Edit Sprite
dialog box.
As you start to learn how to use RadCad, I recommend that you
SAVE your maps very often. You should also make backup copies of
those .lgd files to ensure that your work is protected. RadCad is
NOT guaranteed crash-proof, and has been known to crash sometimes.
However, this is quite a rare occurance, so as long as you use
the editor as dictated in this FAQ, you should not have many
problems.
[2-3] File Options
(2-3-1) New
This option will start a new map. The current map you
are working on will be erased, so you should make sure to save it
before you select this.
(2-3-2) Save
This will save the current map. If you have already saved
earlier and have named it, the save dialog box will not come up,
it will just save using the current name. The map files in
Radix have the extension ".lgd".
(2-3-3) Save As
Same as Save except the save dialog box always comes up.
(2-3-4) Quick Save
Will do an incomplete save. This means that it is a much
quicker way to save large maps, but the resulting .lgd CANNOT BE
LOADED INTO RADIX. Radix will crash badly if you use a quick
saved map file in the game. This is used for saving while working
in RadCad. There is an option in the Options menu under "Display
Options" that allows you to toggle whether quicksave brings up the
save dialog box or not.
(2-3-5) Load
Will load a .lgd file into RadCad. You can only have one map
open at one time, so make sure you save your current map before
loading another one.
[2-4] Map Types
(2-4-1) Map Types explained
There are two main map sizes in Radix. There are long maps
and wide maps. They are actually both the same size but are shaped
differently. You CANNOT change map types half-way through
designing the map, although you can cut and paste portions of one
to the other. Once you have chosen a map type you must stick with it
until you finish the level.
(2-4-1) Long Map
A mission made with the long map is very linear in nature.
Secret areas and objectives are usually very easy to find on these
maps. This map type might be a good choice for you to design your
first level with.
(2-4-2) Wide Map
The wide map is generally used for the more complex Radix
locales, but not always. Coming up with a good level design is
harder to do with the wide map because, unlike the the long maps,
you have much more freedom to decide how your level will operate.
[2-5] Check Map
Found under "File", Check Map will check your map for any
editing errors you may have made. It will check all walls to
make sure you have attached sectors to them properly. If it
finds some walls that it thinks are faulty, Check Map will mark
them red. You can then edit them and find the errors.
If Check Map finds that a certain sector is "all messed up"
that is probably because that sector has some negative values for
either its ceiling or floor height. That is OK. Negative values
for sector heights IS allowed in Radix, but Check Map doesnt like
'em.
NOTE: Check Map ignores the existance of slopes, so it may report
errors where there are none if slopes are involved.
[2-6] Dump Info
Found under "File", Dump Info will dump all sector and sprite
information into a text file called "Greg.txt" (heh heh...) and
save it in the c:
adix directory.
[2-7] Episode Bitmap Selection
There are three individual bitmap (texture) sets for Radix.
There is one for each episode so that a different "mood" can be
created for each one. Before designing your level, decide which
locale it will belong to:
Theta 2 (human base): Episode Two
Vengeance (alien dreadnought): Episode One
The Void (red alien moon): Episode Three
NOTE: During the designing of Radix, it was decided that the
then shareware episode (Vengeance) be switched with Theta-2.
The switch was never made in RadCad...
The episode selection is found under "Walls". If you want
to create a new locale by mixing the bitmap sets you can
trick the editor by simply selecting the episode each time before
assigning bitmaps to walls and sectors. This selection of episode
has NO bearing on the game at all; it just tells the editor what
bitmaps to show you when you are selecting them.
[2-8] Player Start Positions
Even if you are designing a level with single player in
mind only, you MUST place ALL eight of the starting positions
of players in order to play the map. Please see (11-2-2) for
an explanation of the Radix angle system.
"Cooperative"
0 -Also the single player start position.
1
2
3
"Deathmatch" (DogFight)
0
1
2
3
=================================================================
II. Walls and Sectors
=================================================================
3. Walls
[3-1] How do I draw walls in RadCad?
(3-1-1) Create Walls
This will create basic, "de-selected" walls. Simply select
this option and then click on the map as if you were creating
straight lines for any drawing program. If you have the "grid"
on you will notice that the walls snap to the grid. This is a
way to get around having to create "nodes" for walls as you do
in DOOM editors. (see 3-3)
(3-1-1) Create Marked Walls
This is identical to Create Walls except that the walls
are drawn already selected. i.e They are drawn red instead of
white. (see 3-4, 5-1 and 5-2)
[3-2] Deleting walls
To delete walls, select "Delete Walls" and click on the
red dot of a wall. The wall will delete. You can also simply
put your cursor on the red dot and hit the delete key.
[3-3] Whats with this "grid" thing? And those little red dots?
The grid is there to make constructing Radix walls easy
and quick. Unlike the Radix Sprite system ( Ch. IV) creating
walls in Radix is extremely easy due the grid. There is
one problem, however. You can only draw one wall for every grid
square (this is referred to as "one wall per block") . To let
you know what grid square is currently being used by a wall,
there are little red dots that are drawn with the walls. If a
grid square has a little red dot, then no other walls can be drawn
there. The only problem this should pose is if someone wanted to
construct REALLY complex shapes or REALLY small shapes. However
I will admit it can be annoying. :(
NOTE: The Radix engine can actually support more than one wall per
block, like DOOM's engine. However that engine modification was
made late in the design process and time didnt allow for any
editor modifications.
[3-4] What do the colours of the walls mean?
WHITE: De-selected, non-assigned (see 5-1) walls.
RED: Selected walls. This means that when you select "Apply
Attributes" or "Edit Walls" all of the walls that are red will
be the ones getting edited.
BLUE: Assigned walls. These walls are fully assigned to a sector
(see 4-1) and will be seen in the game. Only the "blue" walls
can be seen in Radix. If you try to look at "white" or "red"
walls in Radix, you will see strange things and the game
could crash. Therefore you should ALWAYS assign all walls to
proper sectors before testing your map within Radix.
[3-5] Some of the walls are thicker than others...why?
The "thick" walls are COMPLETE walls and the "thin" ones are
either FLOOR walls or CEILING walls. (see 5-3-1)
[3-6] What are those little "nibs" on the walls?
The little lines on the walls, or "nibs" indicate which way the wall
is facing. The side with the nibs is the visible side.
4. Sectors
[4-1] What is a sector?
A sector is the basic unit in Radix that defines the size of
the locales in the game. Every sector has a ceiling and floor height.
These values determine the VERTICAL size of all areas in the game,
EXCEPT for slopes (see 6). The values are based upon the pixels on
the walls. So, if a sector has a floor height of 256 and a ceiling
height of 768 that sector will be 512 pixels high (based upon the
bitmaps on the walls of that sector).
[4-2] Basic run through of dialog box options
(4-2-1) Floor and ceiling heights
Both these values together determine the vertical height
in pixels of the sector. You CAN enter negative values if you wish,
even though the Check Map feature will find a problem with that.
It is recommended that you dont make a sector any bigger than 10000
in height because you will start to see weird texture mapping bugs
start to occur on the walls. But trust me, 10000 is REALLY high...
(4-2-2) Floor and ceiling bitmaps
You can select from the list of bitmaps whatever textures you
want to appear on the floor or ceiling of the sector. The texture
will NOT be used on the floor or ceiling if they are clicked as being
"outdoor".
(4-2-3) Lighting levels (Distance Shading)
<4-2-3-1> Lighting explained
Lighting in Radix is accomplished by "shading" all bitmaps on the
walls, ceilings, floors and slopes to whatever colour the light in the
area is supposed to be. This gives the effect of the light getting
darker far away from the players position. This is referred to as
"distance shading". Radix has 126 different light levels, 0 being
the darkest and 126 being the brightest. There are three different
types of lighting in Radix: Darkness, Fog and None.
<4-2-3-2> Darkness
This method will distance shade the bitmaps to black. This is
the standard lighting technique used almost everywhere in the game.
<4-2-3-3> Fog
This will distance shade the bitmaps to whatever colour the
fog is currently set at. (Under the WALLS menu).
<4-2-3-4> None
This turns off the distance shading effect, so that ALL
visible bitmaps will be shaded to whatever light level you have
entered. (They will be shaded to black). This can be used to create
some neat effects like "glowing" surfaces in the dark.
(4-2-4) Set slope values
This is one way to create a slope in the current sector, and to
enter the Slope Editor. (see 6 and 7-1)
(4-2-5) Adding and deleting sectors
Before you can edit a sector's attributes, you must first add one
to the list using the Add Sector button. If you delete a sector, you
MUST make sure that there are NO walls assigned to that sector
anywhere in the map. If you save the map with walls assigned to
deleted sectors, very strange things could happen in the game.
(i.e crashes).
(4-2-6) Sector options
<4-2-6-1> Hiding/showing sector names
Once your map grows in size you could have quite a few
sectors in total. Once you have completed sections of your map and
there are sectors that you no longer need to edit, you may HIDE
them. Hidden sectors are still there in all ways, but they dont
show up on the list in the Create/Edit Sectors dialog box.
This feature is there so you dont have to wade through 100 sectors
everytime to find the one you want to edit. If you want to show ALL
sectors, including hidden ones, then click on Show All Sectors.
<4-2-6-2> Outdoor sectors/Floor outdoor sectors
If a sector has Outdoor and/or Floor outdoor sector clicked,
the "outdoor" bitmap will be drawn instead of the regular ceiling
or floor bitmap. Make sure that all the walls in an outdoor/floor
outdoor do not have their ceiling and/or floor wall flags clicked.
In other words, if you have a floor outdoor sector, make sure that
all walls inside that sector do not have the Floor wall flag clicked.
Similarly, if you a regular outdoor sector, make sure that walls
inside that sector do not have the Ceiling wall flag clicked. If you
used Apply Attirbutes (see 5-2) for assigning the walls to sectors,
and the sector was clicked outdoor before it was assigned to the
walls, then this is done automatically.
<4-2-6-3> Mission Sector Hide.
Click this option if you do not want the current sector to
be seen in the mission briefing screen. This is useful for
hiding those sectors that are secret areas in your map.
[4-3] Naming conventions
A good naming convention that the designers of Radix used for
sectors is called the "letter" system. Basically, you divide the
level into sections. Lets say the level I made has four main
sections. I would then label each section "A", "B", "C" and "D".
Now if I wanted to create a sector in one of those sections,
say section "B", I would put "B_" in front of the sector name.
Because RadCad sorts the sector names in alphabetical order, you will
more easily be able to find a sector for a particular section.
[4-4] Highlight sectors display option
An easy way to see sectors on the map is to select Highlight
Sectors from the Options/Display Options menu. This will highlight
the sector that your mouse cursor is currently on. This is useful
for selecting sectors for Sprites (see ch. IV) and for sector
browsing.
[4-5] Batch creation of sectors
Found under the Things menu, this is an easy and quick way to
way to make many sectors at once. Making batch sectors is identical
to single sector creation, except that you can give "delta" values
which allow you to change the height and/or floor values of each
consecutive sector that Batch Creation of sectors makes. With this,
you can make a set of sectors that can be used as a staircase in the
game. If the delta value is 0, then nothing will be added or
subtracted from the floor or ceiling values. You may enter negative
or positive values for the delta.
When the sectors are created, RadCad will assign numbers to the
name you gave the set of sectors. For instance, if you created 6
sectors under the name "A_First Stairs", you would find 6 sectors
named "A_First Stairs0" through to "A_First Stairs5".
[4-6] Sector browsing
Found under the Things menu, this option allows you to click on
sectors on the main screen and bring up the sector dialogue box. This is
an easy way to edit sector attributes. It is a good idea to also have the
"Highlight Sectors" option (see 4-4) turn on so you can see what sector
your cursor is currently on.
[4-7] A word on sector heights
When you create sectors, you have the ability to make the floor
and ceiling heights whatever values you wish. However, in order to
allow the bitmaps (textures) on the walls to wrap properly so
that they do not get "cut off" at the top or bottom of the walls,
there are specific values that you can use. Basically all values that
are multiples of 64 are good. This will allow 64x64 (small square)
bitmaps to not get cut off. If you want 128x128 (large square) bitmaps
to not get cut off, then use multiples of 128.
5. Assigning walls to sectors
[5-1] How do I assign walls to sectors?
To assign sectors to walls, you must first highlight the walls that
you want to assign. Highlighted walls are red in color (see 3-4). To
select or highlight walls, you can left click on them when you have either
apply attributes, edit walls or edit wall selected in the Things menu.
Make sure that the wall is facing in the right direction, so that
the side of the wall that will be seen in the game has the "nib" on
it (see 3-6).
You can use either edit walls or apply attributes to assign walls
to sectors, but apply attributes is generally the best to use. You can
only assign one group of walls to one sector at a time. Once you have
the group of walls you want to assign selected, click on apply attributes
and then right click on the main screen. This will bring up the
appropriate dialog box.
[5-2] Apply attributes and Edit Wall(s)
(5-2-1) What's the difference?
The main difference between Apply Attributes and Edit Wall(s) is
that apply attributes applies the attributes that you enter to ALL of the
walls selected at once. On the other hand, Edit Wall(s) will individually
bring up the dialog box for each wall that you have selected. You can
also tweak the more complex wall attributes with Edit Wall(s). For the
general assigning of sectors to walls it is recommended that you use
Apply Attributes, as it is much faster and it will take into account such
sector attributes as outdoor floor and ceilings.
(5-2-2) Front and back wall sectors
WALLS CAN ONLY BE SEEN FROM ONE SIDE. That is a very
important rule that all level designers must keep in mind. Keeping this
in mind, walls can have sectors on both sides, as long as the wall can
only be seen from one side. Slopes can be used in neat ways to "bend"
this rule a bit, but otherwise there are no exceptions to this rule. For
instance, if there are two sectors attached to each other, there must be
at least one wall that have both sectors assigned to it. Now, depending
upon the floor and ceiling values of those sectors, one sector could have
a higher ceiling, a lower floor, both, or both sectors have the same floor
and ceiling height values. It would be impossible, however to have one
sector (sector x) have a lower floor than an attached sector (sector y) and
have sector y have a higher ceiling than sector x. This would be a case
where you would have to have both sides of the same wall visible and that
is impossible in Radix. Try it and see what I mean.
Although this limitation could seem to be a major annoyance to
veteran level designers, slopes can be utilized in such a way to allow
the above impossible situation by sloping the ceiling of sector y so you
cant see the ceiling wall (see 5-3-1).
[5-3] Assigning bitmaps (textures)
(5-3-1) Ceiling walls, Floor walls and Complete
Walls
There are three types of walls in Radix. "Ceiling" and "Floor"
walls refers to those walls that have sectors on both sides. Complete
walls are those walls in which only the front side of the wall has a
sector assigned to it. If you are assigning bitmaps to floor or ceiling
walls you can assign different bitmaps to the floor and ceiling
portions of the wall. Complete walls, however can only have one
bitmap assigned to it.
(5-3-2) "Pegging" explained
"Pegging" bitmaps refers to fixing the vertical position of textures
on walls. If a bitmap is "top-pegged" then the texture will be placed
at the every top of the wall and will be fixed there. Bottom-pegging
is the same as top-pegging except that the texture will be fixed at
the bottom of a given wall. This feature is mostly useful for creating
doors in Radix. If you want a door to open by the floor wall moving
down, you would want to top-peg the door texture on the wall that
will move down to avoid getting a "scrolling" effect when the door
opens.
No peg (default) means that all wall bitmaps in the world are
aligned the same. "No pegged" bitmaps all start at height 0. For
instance, lets say you were to create a sector with a floor height
of 256 and a ceiling height of 512. Lets also say you decided to
place a 128x128 bitmap on the walls. In this case, the texture
would fit perfectly and would not get cut off at all. However, if
you were to have a ceiling of 530 instead of 512, there would be
a little piece of a texture a the top of the wall. It is because of
this that you should make your sector heights multiples of 32,
64 or 128, depending on what size bitmap you plan to place on
the walls of that sector.
[5-4] Synching bitmaps
Synching bitmaps refers to the process of aligning textures
horizontally from wall to wall. In order to synch up all the walls
in a given room, you must first select "Sync Bitmaps" from the
walls menu. Then, left click on all the walls in the room from
LEFT to RIGHT. They will become highlighted red as if you
were selecting them for sector assignment. Once you have
highlighted all the walls you are going to synch up, left click. Now
all the textures on those walls should be synched up.
=================================================================
III. Slopes.
=================================================================
6. What is a slope?
A slope refers to a floor or ceiling of a given sector that
is at any other angle with the walls other than 90 degrees. With
slopes a variety of interesting and more realistic locales can be
made. To convert the floor or ceiling of any regular sector to a
slope you must use the Slope Editor.
7. Creating and editing slopes (The Slope Editor)
[7-1] How do I get to the Slope Editor?
There are two ways to access the Slope Editor. You can
select "Set Slope Attributes" under the Things menu and left
click on the sector you want to add a slope to. You can also
enter the slope editor through the Create/Edit Sectors
dialog box.
[7-2] Bounding boxes and slope nodes
A "bounding box" refers to all of the points on a sector
that make up the slope. There are three points for every slope.
These points are referred to as "slope nodes". You may create a
different slope for either the floor, ceiling or both for any
sector. The heights and positions of all three slope nodes can
be altered by changing the "mode" of the slope editor to the
appropriate selection.
[7-3] Moving and rotating slope bitmaps
You have the ability to move the bitmaps around on slope.
You can change the angle that the bitmaps are drawn on the
slope, and you can also change the positioning of it. To do
this change the "mode" of the slope editor to the appropriate
selection.
[7-4] Slope Options
(7-4-1) Snap to grid
Although there is no rule similar to the "one wall per block"
limitation in making slopes you can still use a grid to simplify
their creation. With the "Snap to Grid" option on, the mouse
cursor will "snap" to all the grid points.
(7-4-2) Obtain Height
Obtain height is actually a "mode" and is found under the
mode menu. This is used to allow you to see the varying heights
on a slope. Simply place the mouse cursor over the area of the
slope in which you want the height and the height will be
displayed.
(7-4-3) Saving slopes
To save the slope (on both the ceiling and floor) just exit
the slope editor. The slope settings that you changed will
automatically be saved.
[7-5] When I was rotating a bitmap, my mouse cursor
disappeared and wouldn't come back after I finished
rotating...?
This is a minor bug. This occurs when the mouse cursor
"accidentally" slips out of the slope editor. This can be corrected
by either moving the cursor around (even though you cant see it,
its still there) until it reappears inside the slope editor, or
you can use keyboard commands to leave the slope editor.
[7-6] A word on alien A.I and slopes
DO NOT place walking aliens onto slopes. The A.I is unable
to function when object sprites are on slopes. Flying enemies
can fly OVER slopes, but walking aliens cannot walk on them.
=================================================================
IV. Sprites
=================================================================
8. What is a sprite? And a trigger?
A sprite in Radix refers to an environmental effect. ALL
environmental effects in the game are done with sprites. They
could also be referred to as Event Sprites to differentiate them
from Object Sprites, which are discussed in chapter V.
Sprites are activated using Triggers. Triggers can have as
many sprites attached to them as you want. By adding many sprites
to a single trigger you can have multiple events happen
simultaneously within the game world. Triggers can both activate
and deactivate sprites.
Triggers are placed in the world in many ways. The easiest
way is to "draw" the trigger onto the game map, so that the player
can fly "through" them to activate the trigger. The player can also
activate triggers by shooting at walls and by killing object
sprites (enemies).
9. Creating and editing event sprites
[9-1] Basic run through of dialog box options
(9-1-1) List of Sprites
This box displays the names of all the sprites that have
been created.
<9-1-1-1> New Sprite
Used to create a new sprite.
<9-1-1-2> Delete Sprite
Used to permanently delete a sprite. Make SURE that you have
no triggers assigned to a deleted sprite. If you do it could
cause problems.
(9-1-2) Edit Specifics
Use this to edit the specific details and to enter the needed
values for the sprite type you have selected.
<9-1-2-1> Auto activation of sprites
For all sprites there is the option of auto activation.
Instead of having to use a trigger to activate a sprite, you can
simply click the Auto Activate button and the sprite will activate as
soon as the level is started. This is useful for lighting
effects or any other event sprites you want to have continuously
running.
(9-1-3) Generate Trigger
Use this to quickly generate a trigger for your sprite. If
are making 10 sprites and wish them all to be put into the same
trigger, there is no need to generate a trigger for each sprite.
Simply create one and then go to the trigger dialog box and add
the rest of the Sprites into the trigger.
(9-1-5) Trigger Dialog
Use this to quickly access the trigger dialog box (see 10-1).
(9-1-6) Done
When you have finished editing or creating sprites, use
this to return to the main map screen.
(9-1-7) Sprite Types
This is a list of all the available sprite types in Radix.
Highlight one to select the type of sprite you wish.
(9-1-8) Current Sprite Name
Displays the currently selected sprite.
<9-1-8-1> Hide Sprite
Use this to hide sprite names from being displayed in the
list of sprites. They still exist and function normally, but
they are hidden from view in the editor.
<9-1-8-2> Show All Sprites
Used to show ALL sprites, including hidden ones.
[9-2] All event sprites described
(9-2-1) Scrolling Wall
Use this sprite to scroll the texture of any wall. If the
wall is not complete, then both the floor and ceiling wall
portions will scroll.
WALL NUMBER: Click on select value to select the wall you wish to
have scroll.
DIRECTION: Enter either 1 for scroll left to right, or 2 for
right to left.
SPEED: Enter 0-3 to set the speed of the scrolling. 0=slowest,
3=fastest.
(9-2-2) Moving Surface
This sprite is used to move sector floor or ceilings up and
down. This sprite, when activated, will make no sound in the
game. If you want sounds to be made when the surface moves, use
the New Moving Surface sprite (see 9-2-13). This is useful for
making secret doors "explode" open. To do this, set the speed
to VERY fast (9-15). At this speed the surface will instantly
move from its starting position to its resting position. In other
words, you can make walls seem to "disappear" instantly. This
can be used in conjunction with the Massive Explosions sprite
(9-2-27) to create secret doors that can be shot open.
SURFACE: Click on select value to select which sector the sprite
will use.
MAX/MIN HEIGHT: Define the maximum and minimum heights that the
surface will move to.
MAX DELAY: Define the delay that the sprite will use before
completing one half of it's assigned task. For example, let us
say a door was set to openand then close shortly afterwards. This
delay specifies how long the door will wait until it closes after
it initially opens. The delay is in ticks. There are 35 ticks
for each second, so if you wanted the delay to be 2 seconds, you
would enter 70 for the Max Delay.
SPEED: Define the speed at which the surface moves. The slowest
speed is 0, and generally the fastest speed that you should
use for normal moving sectors is 5. For secret "instant" moving
sectors you could set the speed to 9-15.
SURFACE TYPE: Click on select value to define what surface that
is going to be moved: the ceiling or the floor.
DIRECTION: Click on select value to define the direction that the
surface will START out moving in. "Surface Delayed" means that
the Max Delay defined above will be used before every time the
surface moves.
STOP POSITION: Click on select value to define when the sprite
will terminate.
No Stop: The sprite will continuously be active until shut down
by another trigger.
Max Stop: The sprite will shut down the first time the surface
reaches its Max height.
Min Stop: The sprite will shut down the first time the surface
reaches its Min height.
All Stop: The sprite will shut down as soon as it reaches either
its Max or Min height.
(9-2-3) Switch Wall Bitmap
Use this sprite to instantly exchange a wall bitmap for another.
ELEMENT NUMBER: Click on select value to define the wall.
SWITCH BITMAP: Click on select value to define which bitmap you
want the wall to switch to.
DO FLOOR: Enter "1" to confirm that you want to change the floor
wall bitmap changed. If you want the ceiling wall bitmap changed,
enter "0". Do Floor has no use when using this sprite on complete
walls.
(9-2-4) Switch Sec Bitmap
Use this sprite to instantly exchange a ceiling or floor
bitmap of a sector for another.
ELEMENT NUMBER: Click on select value to define the sector.
SWITCH BITMAP: Click on select value to define which bitmap you
want the floor or ceiling to switch to.
DO FLOOR: Enter "1" to confirm that you want to change the floor
bitmap changed. If you want the ceiling bitmap changed, enter "0".
(9-2-5) Toggle Wall Bitmap
This sprite is identical to Switch Wall Bitmap (see 9-2-3)
except that the two bitmaps will "toggle" every time the sprite
is activated.
(9-2-6) Toggle Sec Bitmap
This sprite is identical to Switch Sec Bitmap (see 9-2-4)
except that the two bitmaps will "toggle" every time the sprite
is activated.
(9-2-7) Cycle Bitmap
This sprite is used to "cycle" three specific bitmaps in the
whole map. This is how the water and lava effects are done in Radix.
MAX DELAY: Define the delay between each bitmap switch.
BITMAP 1-3: Click on select value to define the three bitmaps that
will be cycled.
(9-2-8) Lights Flicker
With this sprite you can set a sector to alternate between
2 light levels at a set delay time. This delay is not random.
If you want to have the light level of a sector fluctuate randomly,
use the Rand Lights Flicker sprite (see 9-2-15).
OFF/ON DELAY: Define the delay that the sprite will use for both
light levels.
OFF/ON LIGHT LEVEL: Define the light levels for the on and off
settings. (0-120).
SECTOR: Define the sector that will be effected by this sprite.
(9-2-9) Lights Off/On
The Lights On sprite is exactly the same as the Lights Off
sprite. Both of them simply change the light value from what it
was originally set at to whatever value you define.
OFF/ON LIGHT LEVEL: Define the light level that you want to switch to.
SECTOR: Define the sector that will be effected by this sprite.
(9-2-10) Light Oscillate
A light effect sprite that will cause a sector to "oscillate"
or pulsate between two set light levels.
MAX LIGHT: Define the highest light value that the sprite will
oscillate to.
MIN LIGHT: Define the lowest light value that the sprite will
oscillate to.
DIRECTION: Enter either 1 or 2 to choose which direction the
light will start
oscillating.
SPEED: Enter the speed at which the light will oscillate.
(0=slowest, 5=fast)
SECTOR: Define the sector that will be effected by the sprite.
(9-2-11) Plane Teleport
A sprite that will instantly change the location of the
player within a level.
NEW ANGLE: Define the new angle that the player will be facing
in the new position. (0=0 degrees,
64=45 degrees, 128=90 degrees, 192=135 degrees)
NEW X/Z: Click on select value to define the new X/Y position of
the player.
CHANGE HEIGHT?: Enter "1" for yes, "0" for no (default).
NEW HEIGHT: Ignore if you entered "0" in "Change Height?".
Otherwise define the new height.
CHANGE SPEED? ***: Ignore this.
NEW SPEED ***: Ignore this.
NEW HEIGHT ANGLE:
DELAY: Define the delay (in ticks, 1sec=35 ticks) that there
will be during teleportation.
(9-2-12) Plane Transpo
Commonly used in the game for force fields, these sprites
will "pull" the player to a defined position. Make sure that
there are no walls in-between the start and finish positions.
You must actually place a trigger onto the game map to have this
sprite work properly.
TARGET X,Y: Click on select value to define the position that the
player will be pulled to.
TARGET HEIGHT: Define the height that the player will get pulled to.
APPROX START X,Z,H: Although the start position will be wherever
you place the trigger, define these values.
TICK COUNT: Define how many ticks the transpo will take. The
sprite will automatically calculate how fast the player will
have to go using the approximate start positions.
LINE ANGLE: Define what direction the player will face while being
pulled. (0=0 degrees, 64=45 degrees, 128=90 degrees, 192=135
degrees)
(9-2-13) New Moving Surface
This sprite is identical in functionality as the Moving
Surface sprite (see 9-2-2) except that this one has two more
features. First of all, this moving surface sprite will make
sounds in the game. This sprite can also activate another
trigger once it is completed.
APPROX X,Z: Define the position where the sound of the sprite
will be heard from.
START/STOP SOUND: Define the sounds that will be heard while the
surface is moving. The default sound is the "door" sound heard
in the game. The water sound in the game is called "SNDPLANET".
ACTIVATE TRIG?: Enter "1" for yes, "0" for no.
TRIGGER NUMBER: If you entered "1" above, then click on select
value to define the trigger that this sprite will activate.
(9-2-14) Play Sound
Use this sprite if you want a sound to be played in the game.
This includes all environmental sounds you may wish to have in
your level.
SOUND NUMBER: Click on select value to define which sound you
want played.
REPEATING: Do you want the sound to endlessly repeat itself? (used
for water and other environment sounds). Type "1" if yes, or "0" if no.
X,Z POS: Click on select value to define the position on the map
that you want the sound to be heard from.
(9-2-15) Rand Lights Flicker
This sprite will randomly flicker between two set light levels
of a sector.
OFF MIN/MAX DELAY: Define the minimum and maximum delays that the
sprite will use for the first ("off") light level.
ON MIN/MAX DELAY: Define the minimum and maximum delays that the
sprite will use for the second ("on") light level.
OFF/ON LIGHT LEVEL: Define the two light levels.
SECTOR: Click on select value to define which sector the sprite
will use.
(9-2-16) End Of Level
Used to activate the end of level sequence with the Radix ship
flying away. The ending sequence sprite must ALWAYS be set so
that the ship will fly to the right, or the positive X direction.
You should also make sure that you have a long tunnel made so
that the ship will not fly into any walls as it flies away.
RETURN VALUE: This is used to determine if the next level will be
the secret level or not. If you want this end of level sprite to
warp the player to the secret level (#-9), then enter "1". Otherwise
leave the default ("0").
(9-2-17) Sprite Trigger Activate
This sprite will keep track of the lives of up to 5 object
sprites in the game world. If those object sprites should "die"
then this sprite will activate a specific trigger.
TRIGGER: Click on select value to define which trigger the sprite
will activate.
SPRITE 1-5: Click on select value to pick which objects the sprite
will keep track of.
(9-2-18) Sector Based Grav
This sprite is used for the "pulling fan" effect in the game.
DIRECTION: Define the direction that the fan will pull or push the
player. "1" for up, and "-1" for down.
STRENGTH: Define the strength of the fan. "0" is the weakest and
"5" is very strong.
SECTOR: Click on select value to define the sector that the sprite
will use.
APPROX X,Y: Click on select value to define the position that you
want the sound for the fan to be heard from.
(9-2-19) Deactivate Trigger
Used to deactivate a trigger. A deactivated trigger will no
longer function in the level if the player tries to activate it in
the game.
(9-2-20) Activate Trigger
Used to reactivate a previously deactivated trigger. A
reactivated trigger will act as a normal trigger would in the
game.
(9-2-21) Complete Missile Wall
Used to turn a normal complete wall into a complete missile
wall that will shoot out missiles in a straight line (90 degrees
to the wall). The missiles will only shoot out of a 128 (two block)
section of a wall, regardless of how long the wall you assign this
sprite to is. Therefore it is a good idea to make the wall only
128 in size.
(9-2-22) Scanner Jam ***
Ignore this.
(9-2-23) Print Message
Used to print a specific message to the player's screen.
(9-2-24) Floor Missile Wall
Similar to the Complete Missile Wall sprite (see 9-2-21).
The only difference is how the sprite reacts to the player. On the
complete missile wall, the only way the sprite reacts to the player
is that the missiles will fire at the same height of the player if
it can. However, for a floor or ceiling missile wall, the sector
that the wall is assigned to will actually MOVE up and down and
try to stay at the same height that the player is at So you must
make sure that this sector is able to move up and down without any
problems.
(9-2-25) Ceiling Missile Wall
This sprite is identical to the Floor Missile Wall (see 9-2-24)
except that it uses a ceiling wall.
(9-2-26) BigSprite Trig
This sprite is identical to the Sprite Trigger Activate sprite
(see 9-2-27) except that you can select up to 20 objects for the
sprite to keep track of.
(9-2-27) Massive Explosion
Use to create basic explosions within the game world.
NUMBER OF EXPLOSIONS: Define how many individual explosions you
want the sprite to create.
X,Z COORD: Click on select value to define the position of the
center of the explosion.
HEIGHT: Define the height of the center of the explosion.
DELTA X,Z: If you want the center of the explosion to move in-between
each individual explosion, then define the delta of movement for
both the X (left and right) and Y (up and down) directions.
DELAY LENGTH: Define the delay between each individual explosion.
1/3 RADIUS: Define 1/3 of the radius of each individual explosion.
NUMBER OF BITMAPS PER: Define how many 5 frame explosion bitmaps
to draw for each individual explosion.
(9-2-28) Wall Dead Check
This sprite will keep track of the hit points of up to 5 walls.
The hit points of walls can be altered by editing them using Edit
Wall(s) under the Walls menu. When the hit points of all the
selected walls drop to 0 or less, a specified trigger will activate.
TRIGGER: Define the trigger that the sprite will activate.
WALL 1-5: Click on select value to define up to 5 walls that you
want the sprite to keep track of. To select a wall, click on them
as if you were selecting them for sector assignment. (see 5-1).
(9-2-29) Secondary Objective
When this sprite is activated the secondary objective completed
message and voice clip will activate. Also, the player's stats will
change indicating that he has completed the secondary objective.
RETURN VALUE: This has no meaning. Leave the default value.
(9-2-30) Seek Complete Missile Wall
This sprite is identical to the Complete Missile Wall
(see 9-2-21) except that the missiles that are fired are heat seekers
and will fly after the player.
(9-2-31) Light Movement
This sprite will cause a specified light level to "move"
along a specified path of 4 sectors.
ON LEVEL: Define the light level that will "move".
OFF LEVEL: Define the light level that all the specified sectors
will have when the "moving" light
is not there.
DELAY: Define the delay that the moving light will use.
SECTOR 1-4: Click on select value to define the 4 sectors that
the sprite will use. You must define exactly 4 sectors.
(9-2-32) Mult Light Oscillate
This sprite is identical to Light Oscillate (see 9-2-10)
except that it can effect up to 30 sectors at once.
(9-2-33) Mult Rand Lights Flicker
This sprite is identical to Rand Lights Flicker (see 9-2-15)
except for one difference. This sprite will effect up to 5 sectors
at once, and each sector can flicker at different light levels.
OFF LIGHT LEVEL 1-5: Define the "off" light levels for up to 5
sectors.
ON LIGHT LEVEL 1-5: Define the "on" light levels for up to 5
sectors.
SECTOR 1-5: Define up to 5 sectors that this sprite will use.
(9-2-34) Skill Ratio
"Skill" should actually be written "Kill". A small typo ;).
This sprite is used to activate a trigger when the kill ratio of a
level has reached a certain percentage.
TRIGGER: Click on select value to define the trigger that will be
activated by the sprite.
PERCENTAGE: Define the percentage of all killed enemies in the
level that must be attained before the trigger will activate.
(9-2-35) Hurt Player Explosion
To be used in conjunction with the Massive Explosion
(see 9-2-27) sprite. This sprite will create an invisible
(i.e. no graphics drawn) and silent explosion that will actually
cause damage to the player.
HIT POINTS AT CENTER: Define the amount of damage to cause to the
player (1-900) at the center of the explosion. The damage will
decrease as the player gets further from the center of the
explosion.
(9-2-36) Switch Shade Type
This sprite will switch the shade type of a sector and change
the light level. If the sector is currently shaded to darkness,
this sprite will change the shade type to fog (see 4-2-3-1). If
the sector is fog shaded, then this sprite will switch it to
darkness.
SECTOR: Click on select value to define which sector this sprite
will use.
NEW LIGHT LEVEL: Define the new light level for the sector.
(9-2-37) Six Light Movement
This sprite is identical to the Light Movement (see 9-2-31)
sprite except you can use up to 12 sectors. You do not have to
use all of them, like you do with the Light Movement sprite.
(9-2-38) Surface Powerup
This sprite is used to apply a "powerup" ability to a sector.
What this means is that the player will gain a specified amount of
armour, shield and/or energy for every tick that the player is flying
over a specified sector.
SECTOR: Click on select value to define which sector this sprite
will use.
ARMOUR INC: Define how much, if any, the armour of the player will
increase each tick.
SHIELD INC: Define how much, if any, the shield of the player will
increase each tick.
ENERGY INC: Define how much, if any, the energy of the player will
increase each tick.
(9-2-39) Secret Sprite
With this sprite you can select which areas of the map are
"secret". Simply select one sector in each of your secret areas.
When the player flies over each of those sectors, a secret has
been found by the player. You can have a maximum of 15 secret
areas on your map.
SECTOR 1-15: Define up to 15 sectors within secret areas in your
map.
(9-2-40) Boss Eye Handler ***
Ignore this.
(9-2-41) Vertical Explosion
This sprite is identical to the Massive Explosion (see 9-2-27)
except that you can also have your explosion move in the vertical
direction.
DELTA HEIGHT: Define the amount of height that the explosion will
move after every individual explosion. Enter negative values to
make the explosion move down.
(9-2-42) Scrolling Surface
Used to "scroll" the bitmap of the floor and/or the ceiling
of a sector.
SURFACE NUMBER: Click on select value to select the sector that
this sprite will use.
FLOOR DELTA X,Y: Define the delta movement of the bitmap for the
floor bitmap.
CEILING DELTA X,Z: Define the delta movement of the bitmap for
the ceiling bitmap.
(9-2-43) Light osc move
This sprite is identical to the Light Movement (see 9-2-31)
sprite except that you can use up to 40 sectors, and you don't have
to use all of them. Also, the light will "move" smoothly to create
a neat lighting effect.
MAX/MIN LIGHT: Define the maximum and minimum light level that
the sprite will use to smoothly oscillate while moving.
SPEED: Ignore this, as the speed is dependent upon the speed of
the machine you are running Radix on. Leave the default.
10. Creating and editing Triggers
[10-1] Trigger Dialog Box
To enter the trigger dialog box, select Create/Edit Triggers
found under the Things menu. You can also enter the trigger dialog
through the Create/Edit Sprite dialog box.
(10-1-1) List of Triggers
This displays all triggers that have been created.
<10-1-1-1> New Trigger
Select this to create a new trigger.
<10-1-1-2> Delete Trigger
Delete the current trigger. There is no undo, except re-loading
of the level, so be careful.
<10-1-1-3> Done
Exit the trigger dialog box. If you entered the trigger
dialog box from the main screen, then you are now in trigger
drawing mode. Right click to "paint" triggers onto the level map.
To re-enter the trigger dialog, left click. To delete a trigger
block, click on that block again with the same trigger.
<10-1-1-4> Hide
Click on this to "hide" the current trigger on the list. The
trigger still exists and will function normally in the game, but
it will be hidden on the List of Triggers (see 10-1-1).
<10-1-1-5> Show All Triggers
Show ALL triggers on the list, regardless if they are hidden
or not.
(10-1-2) Sprites
<10-1-2-1> Add Sprite
Click here to add a sprite to the trigger.
<10-1-2-2> Delete Sprite
Click here to remove a sprite from the trigger.
<10-1-2-3> Add Object Sprite ***
Ignore this.
(10-2-3) Trigger Options
<10-1-3-1> Conditional ***
Ignore this.
<10-1-3-2> Activate
Activate the selected sprite.
<10-1-3-3> Deactivate
Deactivate the selected sprite.
<10-1-3-4> Activate on Space ***
Ignore this.
<10-1-3-5> Toggle
Toggle the sprite on and off.
11. Creating and editing object sprites
[11-1] What is a object sprite?
An object sprite is the name given to enemies, powerups and
all other miscellaneous objects in Radix.
[11-2] Basic run through of dialog box options
(11-2-1) Ground
Enter the height over the current sector that the object
will we placed at.
(11-2-2) Angle
Enter the angle that the object sprite will be facing.
(0=0 degrees, 64=45 degrees, 128=90 degrees, 192=135 degrees)
(11-2-3) Speed
Enter the speed that the object will travel at. The slowest
is 1, the fastest is around 100. Here is a list of suggestive
speeds for enemies:
(11-2-4) Height Speed
Enter the height speed that the object will travel at. This
speed is how fast they go in a vertical direction. Here is a
list of suggested speeds:
Walking Aliens: Walking aliens do not have any height speed.
Flying Ships: 4-8
Bio-Mines: 7-30
Regular Mines: 1-50
(11-2-5) Skill levels
<11-2-5-1> Easy-Hardest
Select which skill level the current object will be placed.
Note that powerups will be put into all skill levels regardless of
what you select here. You can only regulate enemy and miscellaneous
objects with this. This is the primary way to change the difficulty
of a level.
<11-2-5-2> DMatch
This skill level is for placing special dogfight only powerups.
These powerups will only be in the game during a multi-player dogfight.
(11-2-6) A note on placing object sprites
When you place objects in the world, you left click. To bring
the dialog back up, right click. To see the current stats for an
object, right click on it while the Object Sprite Placement is
selected under the Things menu. This will bring up the dialog box
with all the stats of that object. If you want to alter those stats,
you MUST re-place the object.
[11-3] All object sprites described
(11-3-1) Full Armour, Shield, Energy
These powerups will put either the player's armour, shields or
energy to 100%. In a multiplayer dogfight, however, these powerups
will only partially boost armour, shields or energy.
(11-3-2) Super Charge
This will boost the player's armour, shields and energy to full.
(11-3-3) Rapid Recharger, Energizer
The recharger will increase shield regeneration rate for a
short period of time. The energizer will do the same for the
player's energy.
(11-3-4) Maneuvering Jets
This will dramatically increase the player's speed.
(11-3-5) Night Vision System ***
Do not place this powerup, because the graphic for it is used
for the "flag" in the network game "Capture the Flag".
(11-3-6) Plasma Bomb
This will give the player one plasma bomb.
(11-3-7) A.L.D.S
This will give the player the Automated Laser Defence System
for a limited amount of time.
(11-3-8) God Mode
This will give the player the Ultra-Shields for a limited
amount of time.
(11-3-9) Laser Cannon
This will give the player 1 neutron cannon powerup. (Weapon #1)
(11-3-10) Explosive Cannon
This will give the player the Explosive Projectile Cannon.
(Weapon #2)
(11-3-11) Plasma Spreader
This will give the player 1 plasma spreader powerup.
(Weapon #3)
(11-3-12) Nuclear Missiles
This will give the player the nuclear missile firing system.
(Weapon #5)
(11-3-13) Seeking Missiles
This will give the player the seeking missile firing system.
(Weapon #4)
(11-3-14) Phase Torpedo
This will give the player the phase torpedo system. (Weapon #6)
(11-3-15) Gravity Wave Device
This will give the player the gravity wave device.
(11-3-16) Explosive Shells (250,500,1000)
This will give the player an EPC (Weapon #2) ammo pack.
(11-3-17) Nukes (5,25)
This will give the player a Nuke (Weapon #5) ammo pack.
(11-3-18) Torpedoes (10,50)
This will give the player a Torp (Weapon #6) ammo pack.
(11-3-19) Seekers (20,50)
This will give the player a seeking missile (Weapon #4) ammo pack.
(11-3-20) BOOM PACK
This is a super ammo pack that will give the player some ammo for
all ammunition weapons.
(11-3-21) BioMineWeak
This will place the weak bio-mine.
(11-3-22) BioMineStrong
This will place the stronger, black bio-mine.
(11-3-23) Alien Fodder
This will place the weak, walking alien fodder aliens.
(11-3-24) Alien Meta-Morph ***
Ignore this. This is an alien that never made it into the
game!
(11-3-25) Automated Defence Drone A
This will place a Defence drone that will fly back and forth.
These have no real A.I to speak of.
(11-3-26) Smart Drone B
This will place a regular Battle drone.
(11-3-27) Smart Drone C
This will place a regular Missile Boat.
(11-3-28) SkyFire Assault Fighter
This will place a regular Skyfire Assault Fighter
(11-3-29) StormBird Bomber
This will place a regular StormBird Bomber.
(11-3-30) BioMine Spawning Ship
This will place a regular BioMine Spawner (episode 2 End Boss).
Make sure you have a very large room to place him in, because he is
HUGE.
(11-3-31) Exo-Droid
This will place a regular Exo-Droid (shareware End Boss).
(11-3-32) Snake Badass
This will place the meanest of the mean snake demon badass
(episode 3 End Boss).
(11-3-33) Reg Air Mine
This will place a regular Air Mine.
(11-3-34) Rotating Radar
This will place a small rotating radar dish that can be
destroyed. Useful for mission objectives.
(11-3-35) Energy Conduit
This will place a generic little conduit useful for mission
objectives.
(11-3-36) Shield Generator
This will place a generic little conduit useful for mission
objectives.
(11-3-37) Main Particle Cannon Generator
This will place a generic little conduit useful for mission
objectives.
(11-3-38) BioMech
This will place a vertically shooting bio-mech.
(11-3-39) Engine Core
This will place a generic little conduit useful for mission
objectives.
(11-3-40) Easy Automated Defence Drone
This will place a stupid, fly-back-and-forth easy to kill
Defense drone. Set its height and speed to 0 and it makes a great
"parked" ship.
(11-3-41) Easy Automated Defence Drone B
This will place a stupid, fly-back-and-forth easy to kill
Battle drone. Set its height and speed to 0 and it makes a great
"parked" ship.
(11-3-42) Easy Automated Defence Drone C
This will place a stupid, fly-back-and-forth easy to kill
Missile Boat. Set its height and speed to 0 and it makes a great
"parked" ship.
(11-3-43) Easy SkyFire Assault Fighter
This will place an easier to kill Skyfire. Also good to use
as a "parked" ship. For example this sprite was used for the parked
Skyfires in the hidden hangar bay in 1-2.
(11-3-44) Easy StormBird Bomber
This will place an easier to kill Stormbird Bomber. Also
good to use as a "parked" ship.
(11-3-45) Sideways Biomech
This is the bio-mech that shoots sideways. When defining
the angle, put the angle that the bio-mech will be shooting. The
bio-mech will move in a right angle to that direction.
(11-3-46) Smart Defense Drone A
Place a regular Defense Drone.
(11-3-47) RuiDaSmartGuy
Place a .....ummmm....blue suited freak?
(11-3-48) NewShieldGen
A generic conduit to be used for primary and secondary objectives.
(11-3-49) CoolingTower
A generic conduit to be used for primary and secondary objectives.
(11-3-50) Rotating Radar
A larger version of the first rotating radar. (11-3-34)
(11-3-51) Dumb Drone C
A Missile Boat with almost no A.I. It can be set to go back
and forth along a specific path.
(11-3-52) Dumb Drone B
A Battle Drone with almost no A.I. It can be set to go back
and forth along a specific path.
(11-3-52) Red Light
A small light that can be destroyed.
(11-3-53) Space Egg
An alien egg that is used as an objective in 3-6.
(11-3-54) Barrel
An exploding barrel. These DO count as kills in the player's
kill count.
(11-3-55) Dozr
A decorative Dozer.
(11-3-56) Lift
A tonka truck that can be destroyed.
=================================================================
VI. Mission Briefings
=================================================================
12. How do I do the in-game Mission Briefings?
The in-game mission briefings are NOT accomplished using
RadCad. An explanation of how to do them is included here so that
you can make complete levels for the game.
Mission briefings are derived from text files that are
compiled into the games data file (Radix.dat). When you are
making your own levels, you can compile your own mission briefing
text file into your external resource file (see 1-4-3-1). Simply
add a line to your .dir file that will look something like this:
mymission.txt MissionBrief[1][1]
This will replace the current mission briefing for level 1-1 with
your mission briefing.
[12-1] A sample mission briefing file.
Here is a small sample of what a mission briefing file looks
like. The mission briefing text is a scripting language that
consists of a variety of commands. The following sample will include
all the commands that you should need to make a good and complete
mission briefing. This sample is actually a shortened version of
the level 1-1 briefing.
; This is the comment symbol. It is there so you can make notes
; to yourself. Anything written after the semi-colon symbol will
; be ignored by the compiler.
; pointMap is the command used to put an X onto the briefing level
; map. The first two numbers are the map coordinates. To find
; these coordinates, use the mouse cursor in RadCad and watch stat
; bar at the bottom. The x and y coordinates of the mouse cursor
; are displayed there. The remaining 3 numbers represent the RGB
; (Red, Green, Blue) values for the colour of the X you are placing.
pointMap: 24192 1408 63 63 0
; mapPrint is used for printing text to the briefing map. Make
; sure you keep the amount of text relatively short, because if it
; is too long it will go off the map.
pointMap: 27712 960 63 63 0
mapPrint: 27512 810 Fan
; These three commands should always be done before starting the
; main mission briefing.
clearTextWindow
clearAnimWindow
showScreen
; You must always put clearTextWindow after the first nextPoint.
; It is also a good idea to put clearAnimWindow as well.
nextPoint
clearTextWindow
clearAnimWindow
; This is will display the spinning Radix ship seen in all Radix
; mission briefings.
displayAnimation: netradixplane1 8 50 -1
; scrollMapX will scroll the briefing map to the desired x
; coordinate.
scrollMapX: 16192
; println is the basic way to put text into briefings.
println: January 8th, 2149. The
println: construction of the Radix class
println: Starfighter is completed and is
println: taken by the battlecruiser
println: "Defiance" to the base on the
println: asteroid base entitled Theta-2.
; The three below commands should always be put after each "page"
; of the briefing.
waitAction
nextPoint
clearTextWindow
; This will display the one frame graphic of the EndLevelDoor in
; the animation window.
displayImage: EndLevelDoor 50 -1
println: Watch for this symbol, as it
println: indicates that the tunnel to the
println: next level is nearby.
waitAction
nextPoint
clearTextWindow
scrollMapX: 16192
displayAnimation: LaserCannons_1 3 65 -1
println: Look for Neutron Cannon powerups,
println: as these will dramatically
println: increase the offensive power of
println: your primary weapon.
println:
; print is the same as println, except that the scripter will NOT
; automatically go to the next line. Also, the symbol "$" will
; add a space.
print: Good luck,$
; Use printName to print the player's name.
printName
println: .
println: Press any key to begin.
; You should always add this huge delay onto the end of the
; briefing, so that if the player decides to get up and get a drink
; while the briefing is on, the game will not start on him.
delay: 2147483646
=================================================================
VII. Final Thoughts
=================================================================
13. Conclusion
I hope that this document will reach as many people who are
interested in Radix editing as possible. I have attempted to make
it as complete as possible. If you have found any problems or if
you think the RadCad FAQ is missing information that it should have,
feel free to E-mail me your suggestions (or flames, as the case
may be) to me. Send any and all mail regarding this FAQ, the Radix
FAQ or Radix in general to
cl662@freenet.carleton.ca
It might also be a good idea to regularly check out the
Neural Storm homepage, as any stuff that I will release will be
posted there first before it gets anywhere else.
http://www.sonetis.com/~nstorm
For a great turorial on how to put together a basic Radix level,
you should check out Jim Lowell's Radix homepage.
