A new style editor

Discuss the development of Reality Factory 2
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Jay
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A new style editor

Post by Jay »

Yesterday i when i was playing around with irrlicht and after reading the topic about RFEditPro in RF2, i got some idea about a 'new style editor'. Then i was working a bit, and after testing my code, working with the 'debug state of the editor' (NOT FINISHED) already feels really good (of course i cannot say much for now, i just have implemented a addLight feature to test how it feels, i just move around and then add them with 'L' at my current place and there they are)

Here is some concept i have for the interface: (click onto the picture to make it larger)
Image

some explanations:

-The current pack file field works like a browser where you can select files to add them to the Entities via drag and drop (this is more comfortable than always type in all the names of the files) Underneath this browser(in the same field) will be a button 'add file(s)' to add files to the pack file.

-The Misc field is there to support this browser-type selection field: it shows the contents of the current folder in the pack file in the 'miniature'-view of windows explorer. This way you can see how textures look, and you can easily distinguish sound files from actor files or bitmaps. It also works with drag and drop and is often used because of its advantages. (I know i have written something else on the picture, but that idea just came into my mind)

-The File Preview Field is there to show actor files. You drag them into it and then they are rendered in there. You could also
drag sound files onto it and then a mini-media-player appears (with just 'Play' and 'Stop') so that you can hear the sound files before adding them.

-The Brush/Enitity-field changes to 'Brush-Field' when 'B' (for brush) is pressed and changes to 'Entity-Field' when 'E' (for entity) is pressed.

-You will switch on/off Navigation mode with pressing 'C' (for camera mode) in Navigation mode you cannot add Entities or brushes other than some exeptions (like lights (with L), spotlights (with S), or pawns (with P)). This is because in Navigation mode you cannot get the mouse from the center of the view (because of the FPS camera). However, Entities can be selected and also deleted. Here the edtior can show his full strenghts as you can add Entities quickly, then move around to look how they look, if you don't like the scenery select and delete them and then add them again. You can get out of Navigation mode with pressing 'C' again. Then it becomes more easily to edit brushes for example. Editing of brushes will work somehow like Truespace.

-In Navigation mode, there is no gravity for you, but collsion detection is on (for now, so that you can get a feel of how the game will 'feel' for the player, i may implement a feature to switch it on/off, but i somehow like it better this way)

-Entities will by default be added at your current position and with your current rotations. This way it gets faster to add Entities, because you know what the Entitiy is 'seeing' (usefull for spotlights, for example, also good for enemies, you know when they can see the player and so on...)

-There will be feature that allows you to drop things to the floor when you have selected them (used with 'D'). This is good for all actors that stand on the floor, maybe you have asword lying there and you don't want to adjust it's height manually you just press 'D' and it's done automatically.


Most of those thinghs are just concept, but i could make this editor as soon as RF2 is finished...or as soon as i have the libraries of RF2 (to Andy: it would be good if you would compile the RF2 source code as a lib (i don't expect you to do a dll as this would be more work) together with an include file, you don't have to do this, but it would be nice to have it at the end so we can access RF2s functions for writing tools for RF2)

The only thing i have no clue about is the 'browser' thing, but until RF2 is finished i can easily learn that.


Anyways, what do you think? For me, this is the dream of a game editor.
I will be away for some days and would be glad if there were some replies when i come back. :)

BTW, the models in the picture are just debug models which i build to test the 'feel' of the editor.
Last edited by Jay on Fri Jan 19, 2007 5:46 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Everyone can see the difficult, but only the wise can see the simple.
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psYco
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Post by psYco »

Well i personally love the idea and i like the way that there will be more of a centerd view of the game world this will defo give us more of a perspective of what were doing, making it a much more fluid process, your ideas all seem great and i cant wait to use this :) but since RF2 is only coming out in 2010 and im hoping to have most of my project done by then its a bit of a bummer that we have to w8 for the level editor too :( But i might still use it on this project by then since ill then probs use it too improve the levels ive made in RFeditpro.

Oh and just a thought but since there isnt much point in making two different editors at the same time, (I know that it was a good thing with rfedit being upgraded with rfeditpro since rfeditpro is just a more imporved version) but with you and andy making two level editors at the same time it just seems a bit pointless so mabey you could just help andy out with his level editor? Mabey incorperating your ideas into the official level editor for RF2? Any way its just a thought also i think it could mabey save time since youd be working together...

anyway looks nice and i like the ideas. I think im gonna download irrilict and just see what its all about some time.
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AndyCR
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Post by AndyCR »

This is a bit funny, since I started on an editor for RF2 called Envision that had some slight similarities to this awhile back, but it got canned. It's one of those somewhat embarassing RF2 secrets almost nobody ever knew about... :lol: It was intended for putting together quick techdemos, not as the final (or even a publicly released) editor. RFEditPro will replace it as an interim editor for RF2 until the new editor is made. Here is a screenshot of it:

Image

Great ideas, though I think the layout is a tiny bit too unstandard. The rest is great.
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QuestOfDreams
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Post by QuestOfDreams »

I'll probably make a new editor when I finally get to implement T&L in Genesis3D. So you may use that one... should be ready when RF2 is done :lol:
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