IRE

Update history:

0.9.00 - 10/08/03 - Partial update of the documentation - Alexandre Pineau

add a warning about the fact that the documentation is not up-to-date!

 support for .rar files dropped, partial update of chapter 1.2 and of chapter 6

 chapter 5.1 : add a link to additionnal informations on programming conversions

 chapter 3 : out of date, add a link to some informations about the new script langa

 chapter 7 : links updated

0.5.03 - 11/08/99 - Corrected a critical error in the documentation

add_quantity and take_quantity had the last 2 parameters the WRONG WAY AROUND: this would cause a crash.

Documented forgotten function object_set_behaviour

Documented new conversation functions [goto] (5.3.2) and [set_behaviour] (5.4.1)

Documented new features in flat.gam resource file (chapter 6)

Documented forgotten functions transfer_to_pocket, force_from_pocket

Documented forgotton functions choose_member and choose_leader

Documented new function get_number

Inserted a new chapter 5: programming conversations (with the new script system)

Updated 1.4.1 so it is not obsolete anymore

Updated 3.2.3 to add new flags and keywords

Documented new Section:Rooftiles in 3.2.9

Added new variables game_minute, game_hour, game_day, game_month, game_year

Added undocumented functions transfer_object, get_first_object

Added new functions replace_object,move_forward, move_backward, turn_l, turn_r

Added new functions add_quantity, take_quantity, wait_for_animation, lightning

Added new functions find_object_with_tag, find_container

Added new functions get_pflag, set_pflag, get_user_flag, set_user_flag, get_yn

Updated screenshots of editor.

Added section 2.2.9 - setting an object's owner

Added section 2.2.10 - editing an object's statistics

Added section 2.2.11 - editing an object's behaviour

Mentioned the graphical script editor in section 3.1.

Updated the description of VRMs and how they are compiled in section 4.1

Added new description of how you must use flags since 0.041

Added new VRM functions get_flag and set_flag, see above

Removed sections 2.2.8 to 2.2.10, about obsolete features of the editor.

Added new section 2.2.8, about editing objects inside containers

Added new VRM functions redraw_map, line_of_sight, move_to_top and in_pocket

Updated create_object and get_top_object, get_best_object etc.

Added new vrm function move_object which you must use instead of modifying the X and Y coordinates

Added new functions spill_contents and spill_contents_at

Added new flags etc to section 3.2.3 and 4.2.4

Added NODRIFT command to Section: Sound in section 3.2.7

Added Section 3.2.7 and 3.2.8 to the index (oops)

Added Part 5, about the .GAM file

Described partially-solid objects in section 3.2.3

Added section 2.1.4, about cut and paste

Added section 2.1.5, about the tile randomiser

Added section 2.1.6, about bulk replace

Added two new .cel files to section 1.4.1

set_darkness changed to a single level instead of RGB levels

Fixed some typos.

Added 'light' and 'enemy' to section 4.2.4

Added new function 'set_darkness' to section 4.3.4

Added new function 'delay' to section 4.3.2

Added new function 'start_song' to section 4.3.2

Updated entry for 'stop_song' in section 4.3.2

Added new function 'rnd' to section 4.3.2

Added new function 'restart' to section 4.3.4

Added the 'ifHurt' parameter to section 3.2.3

Fixed typo in the example of section 4.3.2

Added 'object->stats->oldhp' to section 4.2.4

Sections 1.4.4 and 1.4.5 are re-written because the music is now script-controlled.not loaded incrementally.

Added the overlay flag to section 3.2.2

Added the post_overlay flag to section 3.2.3

Added the wielded flag to section 3.2.3

Wrote about the ifDead parameter for objects in section 3.2.3

Added Section 3.2.7, about the new sound loaders

Added Section 3.2.8 about the new music loaders.

Added the new system variable 'victim' to section 4.2.4

Described new function set_object_sequence in section 4.3.1

Described new printxy function in section 4.3.2

Wrote about the automatic object placement in section 2.2.8 and 3.2.3

How to put objects into containers.  Section 2.2.10

• Updated screenshots of the editor to latest version.
• Forgot a number of vital things in the pascal-c chart.
• Update tag documentation in the editor.
• Added TRANSLUCENT flag to section 3.2.3 and 4.2.4

• Added CONTAINER flag to section 3.2.3 and 4.2.4
• Added is_solid to section 4.3.1
• weight_object is now called weigh_object.  This was a typo in the documentation.

Contents

Part 1 : Introduction

1.1 What is the IRE?
1.2 What do I need to edit the IRE?
1.3 File formats

1.3.1 - Graphics
1.3.2 - Sounds
1.3.3 - Music

1.4 Where the files should be stored

1.4.1 - RES
1.4.2 - RES\BACKINGS
1.4.3 - RES\CODE
1.4.4 - RES\MUSIC
1.4.5 - RES\SOUND
1.4.6 - RES\SPRITES

1.5 How the program searches for files

2.1 Backgrounds

2.1.1 getting familiar with the editor
2.1.2 placing tiles on the map
2.1.3 selecting tiles
2.1.4 cut and paste
2.1.5 Randomising tiles
2.1.6 Bulk Replacing

2.2 Sprites

2.2.1 The editor in sprites mode
2.2.2 Creating sprites
2.2.3 Moving sprites
2.2.4 Changing sprites
2.2.5 Setting the direction
2.2.6 Deleting sprites
2.2.7 Tagging Objects
2.2.8 Editing Containers
2.2.9 Setting a character's individual name
2.2.10 Editing an object's individual statistics
2.2.11 Editing an object's individual behaviour

2.3 Rooftops

2.3.1 The editor in rooftops mode
2.3.2 Editing rooftops

3.1 What is the script file and what does it do?
3.2 Script file sections

3.2.1 Section: Sprites
3.2.2 Section: Sequences
3.2.3 Section: Characters
3.2.4 Section: Descriptions
3.2.5 Section: Code
3.2.6 Section: Tiles
3.2.7 Section: Sounds
3.2.8 Section: Music
3.2.9 Section: Rooftiles

4.1 What are VRM files?

4.1.1 The VRM concept
4.1.2 How VRMs are made
4.1.3 A VRM tutorial
4.1.4 Rules for writing VRMs
4.1.5 How the example works
4.1.6 Data Types

4.2 The OBJECT

4.2.1 Introducing the OBJECT
4.2.2 Creating an OBJECT from scratch
4.2.3 Modifying OBJECTs
4.2.4 OBJECT Reference guide
4.2.5 The TILE

4.3 Function Reference

4.3.1 Object functions
4.3.2 IO functions
4.3.3 Flow control functions
4.3.4 Miscellaneous functions

4.4 System Variables
4.5 Keyboard Macros

5.1 Overview
5.2 Page structure and simple commands

5.2.1 Simple Linking
5.2.2 Interactive Linking
5.2.3 Images
5.2.4 Setting the text colour
5.3 Advanced conversations - Conditional branching

5.3.1 Checking for an object
5.3.2 Important tips
5.3.3 Checking for a party member
5.3.4 Using your own flags
5.3.5 Personal flags

5.4 Manipulating the game world

5.4.1 Calling VRM functions
5.4.2 Creating and destroying objects
5.4.3 The theory of the conservation of money

6.1 Crucial lines
6.2 The text console
6.3 Loading screen

1.1 - What is the IRE?

I spent the next few years in Ultima 6, hacking it, twisting it, folding it into new shapes.
I wrote a set of tools which hack the program, and allow you create new worlds, but there is a limit.
Ultima 6 has some pretty strange data structures which I never did figure out completely.

In '94 I started an abortive attempt to make a U6 clone, which was codenamed U6C.  I couldn't draw a player and it bombed.

After the failure of Avios to run satisfactorily on the P200 I am using, despite intense optimisation, I decided to stop working on it, and turned instead to making a 'perfect' ultima 6 type game.  This is what I have so far.

The IRE is a Computer Role-Playing Game which takes most of its ideas from Ultima 6, and some from Ultima 7.

The main difference between the design of U6 and IRE, is that IRE is designed from the ground up to allow someone to edit it.  Ultima 6 was not designed this way.
 

1.2 - What will I need to edit the IRE?

First, we shall look at all the resources that the game can use.

Map files

The map file is the world in which the player inhabits.  At present the engine can only support one map per game, although this will probably change later.

Font

The font is the character set used in the game.  The characters are fixed-space 8x8 letters, and are stored in the raw bit-packed format used by Arthur Barr's font editor.

Script file

The script file is central to IRE.  It is a description file that describes a game written using IRE.
It tells the program which sprites will be loaded, it binds the sprites into animation sequences and defines the behaviour of all characters and objects in the game.

The script file is described in detail in Chapter 3.

VRM files

Although the script coordinates everything, it is the VRM files which do the actual work.
VRMs (or Virtual Runnable Modules) are written in C (using my library functions) and get loaded into the game as it starts.  Each game event is driven by a corresponding VRM.

VRM programming is described in detail in Chapter 4.

Internal graphics

Certain parts of the IRE system have their own sprites, such as the mouse pointer and the volume slider.  These graphics are not controlled by the script file (although they might be later), and the program will attempt to load them itself.  The internal graphics are 256-colour and stored in the Animator .CEL format.  You can also use PCX if you prefer.
If you need to convert between CEL and another format, try using PICTVIEW by Jan Patera.

Sprites and tiles

Sprites and tiles are all defined in the script file, and are loaded in as the script is parsed.
They are stored in .CEL or .PCX format, and may have either 256 colours or 16.7 million.

Backing pictures

At present backing pictures are loaded in by the program, like the internal graphics of the mouse pointer and the volume slider.  They must be in PCX format and either 640x400 in size, or 640x480.
They can be 8-bit or 24-bit PCX files.

Game package

The datafiles are loaded directly now by the engine so there is no need to pack all the datafiles into one large resource file today.
 

Summary
 

Property to edit	Recommended Editor	Comments
Map files	The IRE editor
Font	Arthur's font editor (supplied)
Script file	Any text editor	This is covered in part three
VRM files	SEERC is supplied to build them	This is covered in part four
Internal graphics	Autodesk Animator	You can use PICTVIEW by Jan Patera to convert graphics to CEL files
Sprites and Tiles	Any PCX editor
Backing pictures	Any PCX editor
Game package	-

1.3 - File formats

1.3.1 - Graphics formats

PCX files.

PCX files are straightforward, so any package that creates a .PCX should produce something readable by IRE.

Here are some known caveats:

The PCX files must be compressed using the runlength method.  This is the standard, but if you do somehow manage to make an uncompressed PCX file, the program will likely choke on it.

The PCX files must be either 8-bit or 24-bit.  1,2,4 or 16-bit PCX files will be rejected and the program will stop with an error.

CEL files.

The .CEL files refer to Autodesk Animator .CEL files.  This means Autodesk Animator, not Animator Pro.  Animator Pro uses .FLI files and just calls them .CEL files.

If you try and load a .CEL file created by Animator Pro, IRE will go back to DOS with a panic message saying that the .CEL file you gave it "is not a .CEL file".

If you don't have the original Animator, use .PCX files instead of .CEL.

Alternatively, get RSE 2.00, a freeware program which is able to read and write .CEL files compatible with IRE.

Graphics sizes.

• For sprites, any size of PCX file will do.
• CEL files should not exceed 320x200.  Files larger than this have not been tested, but might be achievable with PICTVIEW.
• The map tiles must be 32x32 in size, or very interesting things will start to happen.
• Backing pictures must be either 640x400 or 640x480, or the backing appears corrupted.

1.3.2 - Sound formats

Stereo .WAV files are not supported however.

I don't know if .WAV files can be compressed, but it they can, that won't work either.
 

1.3.3 - Music formats

The IRE's sound engine can support the following types of .MOD file:
 
 

File name	Name	Channels	Comments
.MOD	Protracker module	4	Generic module format
.MTM	?	16	More obscure format
.S3M	Screamtracker III	32	Popular module format
.STM	Screamtracker II	4	PC extension to the MOD format
.ULT	Ultratracker	32	Originated on the (late) GUS soundcard
.XM	Fastracker	32	Rival format to S3M  Both FT1 and FT2 variants supported

Before you race off, remember that there is a maximum of 32 channels available to the sound engine.

If you use all 32 for the music there will be none left for the sound effects.

The amount of channels reserved for the music and sound is set in the game's config file, not the script file.  By default it is 16+4, i.e. 20 channels in total.
 

1.4 - Where the files should go

Each IRE game will have a directory of its own, and it will look for the files in various subdirectories
in the tree.

By default, IRE will look in the RES directory, so we'll refer to as the RES directory in future.
(RES is shorthand for resources).

Note that it does not have to be RES, and you should call your directory something else when you develop an IRE game.
(It's controlled by your .GAM file, which is described in Part 7)

If you've followed the previous section, you should have some idea of the resources that each IRE game will use.

Unless the file is requested by the system itself, it can go anywhere you like, as the script file will contain the full path of each file.

Internal Graphics and the script file itself, must go in particular places, which will be described in detail later.  Where you put the other resources is up to you.

The files are generally organised in this way:

1.4.1 - RES

The RES directory must contain the following files:
 

main.txt	The script file
arrow00.cel	The mouse pointer image
soundbar.cel	The volume slider backing image
slider1.cel	The slider that has been selected
slider2.cel	The slider that is not selected
font.dat	The typeface used in the game
eyesore.cel	Used by the editor for the 'Random Tile'
warning.cel	Shown if the Random Tile appears in the game
credits.dat	ANSI credits at end, like ENDOOM in Doom
help.txt	A conversation file that is run when F1 is pressed, see Part 5

1.4.2 - RES\BACKINGS

The RES\BACKINGS directory must contain the following file:
 

panel.pcx

The background image of the game status area

Additionally, I store the map tiles in this directory, but as each sprite's location is defined in the script file, this is just a matter of preference.
 

1.4.3 - RES\CODE

You need a place to store the VRM files used in the game, I called mine RES\CODE.
Again, the VRMs are defined in the script file, so you can put them anywhere you like,
RES\VRM might be another choice.

You could keep them on another drive, or even just in the RES\ directory, although that would be untidy.
 

1.4.4 - RES\MUSIC

You need a place to store the music files.  I keep them in RES\MUSIC.
As of kernel version 0.025, the music is defined in the script file, so you can put them anywhere you like,
RES\MODS might be another choice.

You could keep them on another drive, or even just in the RES\ directory, although that would be untidy.

1.4.5 - RES\SOUND

You need a place to store the sound effects.  I keep them in RES\SOUND.
As of kernel version 0.025, the music is defined in the script file, so you can put them anywhere you like,
RES\WAVS might be another choice.

1.4.6 - RES\SPRITES

You need a place to store the sprites used in the game, I called mine RES\SPRITES.
Again, the sprites and other game images are defined in the script file, so you can put them anywhere you like, maybe RES\OBJECTS.

1.5 - The search order

When it tries to load a file, it will look for it in the following order:
 

1. In the IRE directory, e.g. C:\IRE\
2. In the RES directory, e.g. C:\IRE\RES\
3. In a specified .RAR file, e.g. RES.RAR

NOTE:  The map editor will ONLY load maps from the IRE directory, and not from the RES or RAR sources.  All other files, the graphics and such can be loaded from other sources.
 

A Background
Objects and characters
Rooftops
 
 

2.1 Editing the background

2.1.1 - getting familiar with the editor

First, look the main window.  This is the map, as it will  appear when the game is being played.
You can pan around the map using the cursor keys, or the four arrow buttons to the right of the window.
 
 

Also, note the two black panels on the far right-hand side of the screen.

They control the screen display, and allow you to switch off the other layers of the level if you find they get in the way while you are editing.

"SPRITES ON" means that the movable objects in the game, such as the player, other characters and similar things will be displayed.  If you click once in the black area, it will read "SPRITES OFF" instead, and any sprites visible on the map will disappear while you are editing the backgrounds.

Similarly, "ROOFTOPS ON" means that the highest-level objects in the game, normally the roofs of buildings, will be displayed.  If you click in the black area, it will change to "ROOFTOPS OFF".  Rooftops are not displayed by default, as you are mainly going to edit the insides of buildings and that
is generally impossible with the roof in the way.

2.1.2 Placing tiles on the map

Looking to the right of the main map window, are two small squares, marked 'L' and 'R'.
This shows the currently selected tiles, which will appear when you click on the map.

The tile in the 'L' window is the tile that will appear if you click with the left button, and the 'R' tile is the tile that will appear if you click with the right mouse button.

This means that you can use the left mouse button to do most of your drawing, and set the right-button to a common sort of tile and use it to erase mistakes without having to select another tile from the list.

2.1.3 Selecting tiles

The bar has some buttons at either end, allowing you to scroll around the tiles, one at a time or at high speed, through the list of tiles.

To choose a tile, move the mouse over the bar, and click on the tile you want, with the mouse button you wish to contain this tile.

For example, if you click on a wall with the left button, the wall will appear on the 'L' box, and drawing with the left button will draw walls.

Now, you can doodle around on the map with that particular tile.

Adding new kinds of tile is dealt with in Chapter 3.

2.1.4 Prefabs

When it is completed, the Prefab system will support hundreds of clipboards that are stored to disk so you can create a library of commonly-used map sections.

2.1.5 Randomising tiles

To achieve this, do the following:

1. Click on the 'Random Tile' button at the bottom of the screen.  This looks hideous to remind you that the tiles are still on the map.

2. Draw the 'Random Tile' over the section you want to be randomised.  If it's a fairly large area, you can use the 'Clear L' or 'Clear R' buttons to fill the screen with the current tile.

3. Now, choose the tiles that you want it to pick from.  These must be grouped together on the tile bar: you cannot choose from different tiles scattered everywhere.

4. To do this, Left-Click on the first tile in the group, and Right-Click on the last tile in the group.

(For example, with the grass, left-click on the first tile, and right-click on the seventh), the editor will pick tiles between these two.

5.  Click on the Randomise button.  All the yellow tiles will be replaced with a selection from the group you chose in step 4.

2.1.6  Bulk Replace

1.  Choose the group of tiles that you want to isolate, for example the grass.  Like Step 4 in the Randomiser, you must use the Left and Right buttons to choose the first and last tile to be replaced.

2.  Click on 'Replace Tiles', and all the tiles in the group you've selected will turn into the Random Tiles!

3.  Now you can use the randomiser to turn them into mud or whatever you fancy.
 

2.2 - Editing Sprites

2.2.1 - The editor in Sprites mode

First, look the main window.  This is still the map, but note that the character has a white box around him.  This is because the player has been selected, and he is the object being edited.
 
 

Now, look again at the two black panels on the far right-hand side of the screen.

"ROOFTOPS OFF" has not changed at all, but "SPRITES ON" has changed to "EXCLUDE OFF".

This switch still controls the display of the sprites, but now it will switch off most of the sprites if it is enabled, instead of the whole lot.
Specifically, "EXCLUDE ON" will display only the currently selected object, i.e. the one with the white box.  It is used for situations when the other objects get in the way of the one you are positioning.

 2.2.2 - Creating a new sprite

When you do this, a box will appear, showing you a list of all the objects in the game, and displaying a picture of each one.

When you've found the one you want, using the cursor keys to scroll, press ENTER and the object will appear in the middle of the screen.

The object will be highlighted with the white selection box, and you can drag it to the proper place.

To create copies of this object quickly, you can press INS (or INSERT) on the keyboard, and a copy of the object will appear wherever the mouse pointer is on the map.  If the mouse pointer is not over the map, no object will be created.

The INS method creates a copy of the selected object.  If no object is selected, it will pop up the creation list and the object will appear in the centre of the screen, like 'New Item'.

Individual Names

An object can have its own special name, for example 'Kenny McKormick', which is used when you talk to the person, among other things.

Below the map is the panel marked 'Individual Name:'.  You can click on this to enter the object's individual name.

2.2.3 - Selecting and moving objects

You can move objects by dragging them around the map with the left button, or, you can instantly move an object (without dragging) by right-clicking where you want the object to go.  This is often useful if the selected object is off-screen.

2.2.4 - Changing an object's direction

When an object is selected, one of these arrows should be depressed.
This is the direction in which the object is facing.

For example, the player can face in any of the four directions.  To make the player face left, select the player and click on the left arrow button.
The player should now face left.

Many simple objects only have one direction, in which case the arrow buttons will have no effect.  Doors and windows usually have two directions, Up/down for the horizontal position, and Left/Right for the vertical position.

The directions an object has are defined in the script file.

2.2.5 - Changing the object's type

This will pop up the creation list again, and the object will change to the new type. (By default, it will highlight the type of object it was before in the menu.)
 

2.2.6 - Deleting an object

There will be no warning before the sprite is removed, so take care.

2.2.7 - Tagging objects

The entry box is used to assign a control value to certain objects.

What the object does will depend on the script assigned to it in the main script file, but it will often be necessary to mark certain objects with a tag.

One of the main uses of tags will be locked doors.
A door can be open, shut, or locked shut.
There will also be a key to lock or unlock the door.

In these cases, the key and the door must both have the same Tag number for the key to fit the door.

Click on the number in the black entry box to enter a different tag number.

The button marked 'find tag' will ask you for a number, and then search all the objects in the game to find one with the appropriate tag number.  It will not be able to show the object if it is inside a container.

The button marked 'Next free tag' will find the first tag number which does not exist in the game.

2.2.8 - Containers

Container editing is done using the new 'Edit Pockets' button.
First, select the object you wish to modify.  When it is highlighted, you can click on 'Edit Pockets', which will display a list of the objects which are in the container.  You should see this:
 
 

There are currently four things you can do with containers:

1. Create a new object inside a container
2. Delete an object inside a container
3. Move an object out of a container
4. Bring an outside object into the container.

Creating and Removing objects

'Create object' is the button used to create an object.  Clicking on this will bring up the familiar creation menu.

To remove an object, first click on the object you want to remove in the list.  It will turn red, indicating that it has been selected.
Then click on 'Remove object' and the chosen object will disappear.

Moving Objects out of the container.

First, highlight the object you want to move out of the container.
Then click on 'Move Outside' and the object will disappear from the list.  When you leave the pocket editing window, you will
find the object on top of the container.

Bringing Objects in to the container.

First, get out of the pocket editor.
Select the container, and place it ON TOP of the object you want to be inside the container.
Now, making sure the object is highlighted, click on 'Edit Pockets', and choose 'Bring Inside'.
Press 'Y' to continue and the object will be there.

CAVEAT: It is not currently possible to edit the properties of an object while it is inside a container.  If you wish to adjust the direction or tag number of an object in a container, you will have to move it out of the container first.
 

2.2.9 - Setting an object's owner

At the bottom of the panel is a field marked 'Object is property of:'.
If you click on this while an object is selected, you will be asked to click on the person who owns the object.

Here is the screen you will see:
 
 

TYou can pan around the map to find the person who owns it, and click on them.  They will be highlighted red when an object they own has been selected.

Alternatively you can choose the person from a list (of all objects which are marked as 'Person' and have an individual name).

If you decide that the object should be public property, you can click on 'Make Public Property'.
 

2.2.10 - Changing an object's statistics

This is done using the 'Statistics' button.

First, select the object you wish to modify.  When it is highlighted, you can click on 'Statistics', which will display the properties you can edit.  You should see this:
 
 

This should be self-explanatory.

2.2.11 - Changing an object's behavior

In release 0.5 you can also change the way an individual object interacts with the rest of the world, by giving it its own unique set of functions.

This is done using the 'Behaviour' button.

First, select the object you wish to modify.  When it is highlighted, you can click on 'Behaviour', which will display the properties you can edit.  You should see this:
 
 

Each of the boxes (except Speech File) is a VRM function which is called when the event happens.  You can choose this from a list.

Speech File is the only one which is not a VRM file: instead you enter the path to the file containing the conversation.
In the current release, there is no list of files.  However the program will check if the filename you have entered is correct, and warn you if it does not exist.
 

2.3 - Editing Rooftops

2.3.1 - The editor in Rooftop mode

2.3.2 - Editing rooftops

Rooftops are completely separate and are for decorative purposes only.

As the name implies, Rooftops are special tiles that are drawn above everything else in the game.  They are not always drawn, and the rooftop layer can be shown or removed at will by VRM scripts.  By default, they will be removed if the player is underneath a tile.

At the bottom of the screen is the set of tiles that can be used.  These are defined in the script file.
Each tile is a single frame, and it may or may not cause the roof to disappear when the player is underneath it.
(You don't want this to happen when the player is standing outside the building and the roof is overhanging.)

Basically you just click and paint the roof tiles.  The first tile in the list is blank and can be used to erase bits of roof.

3.1 - What is the script file and what does it do?

To do this you must go into the main script file.
You can either do this manually, or you can use the graphical Script editor, SCRIPTER.
Scripter is not documented yet, but if you read this chapter and then play around with it, it should be easy enough to pick up.
 

The IRE script file is a description file that describes a game written using
IRE.  It tells the program which sprites will be loaded, it binds the sprites
into animation sequences and defines the behaviour of characters in the game.

The script file is parsed by the game (and the editor) as it starts up, and any errors it detects will be reported at this stage, with a red and green error report (except in Linux and BeOS which are black-and-white).
 
 

If you intend to start playing around with script files, It is a good idea to print this document out for reference.

Here are some rules for writing script files:

• The script file consists of several sections.
• Each section starts with the statement 'SECTION: sprites' for example.  The colon is necessary.
• # is used as a comment.  Anything following a # will be ignored.
• The compiler will often IGNORE anything it does not understand.
• The case of the letters in the script file does not matter.  For instance, 'WORD' is the same as 'word'.
• Spaces, whitespace and commas are all treated as spaces, and will appear as a single space in the error dumps.  Comments will not appear in the error dump.

3.2 - Script file sections

3.2.1 - Section: sprites

The sprites section is basically a list consisting of the following form:
 

SECTION: sprites

'name' is the title of the sprite.  Every time you want to refer to this image,
you should call it by this name.

'filename' is the file containing the image.  Images are stored as autodesk animator .CEL files, or .PCX files.

The list will continue until the next section is reached.
 

EXAMPLE:

SECTION: sprites

left_frame      sprites\left01.cel
left_frame2     sprites\left02.cel
left_frame3     sprites\left03.cel

right_frame     sprites\right01.cel
right_frame2    sprites\right02.cel
right_frame3    sprites\right03.cel

up_frame        sprites\up01.cel
up_frame2       sprites\up02.cel
up_frame3       sprites\up03.cel

down_frame      sprites\down01.cel
down_frame2     sprites\down02.cel
down_frame3     sprites\down03.cel
 

3.2.2 - Section: sequences

There are two ways to declare sequences, the 'traditional' way, and the Quick
way.

Traditionally, sequences are declared like this:

SECTION: sequences

name  sequence_name
<options>
framelist:
frame1
frame2
...
END

'framelist:'
FRAMELIST: marks the start of the list of frames. All frames in the list are entries in the SPRITES section.

'END'
END marks the end of the list of frames.
I.E, everything between framelist: and END will be treated as a frame, and the program will try to find it in the sprite list.

<options>
You don't literally type '<options>'.  Instead, this is the part where you can specify some flags to control the animation.

The following flags are understood by the game:
 

pingpong	This makes the animation play backwards when it finishes.  E.g. frame 1, frame 2, frame 3, frame 2, frame 1
loops	This will make the animation repeat endlessly.
stepped	This makes the animation play only after each turn of the game, rather than continuously.
overlay <sprite>	This will make the specified sprite appear on top of the animation.  The overlay will be a single frame, not a real animation.  For example, the blood on the dead player is an overlay.

'LOOPED' or 'LOOP' can be used as alternatives to 'LOOPS'.
 

Quick sequences

Although the sequence declarations are OK for most things, it is over-long for simple sequences which only need one frame.  For example, map tiles will usually consist of a single frame, and the above declaration is overkill.

To speed this up, I added a quicker, easier way to define simple sequences
for map tiles and other single-frame entities.

These are called QuickNames, and they are a one-line sequence definition.

Suppose you wanted to declare this sequence:

name    GrassTile
framelist:
grasstile00
END

quickname    GrassTile    grasstile00

For reference only, it can be noted that the actual declaration of a QuickName
consists of three words.
 
 

1.  quickname	Start the declaration
2.  sequence_name	Identifying name of the sequence being created
3.  sprite_name	A sprite from the SPRITES: section

EXAMPLES:

    SECTION: sequences

    name    MoveLeft
    framelist:
    left_frame
    left_frame2
    left_frame3
    END

    name    Moveright
    framelist:
    right_frame
    right_frame2
    right_frame3
    END

    name    Moveup
    framelist:
    up_frame
    up_frame2
    up_frame3
    END

    name    Movedown
    framelist:
    down_frame
    down_frame2
    down_frame3
    END

    name    Dead_Guy
    overlay  blood
    framelist:
    dead_guy
    END

    lexible).

For referenco the container.

SECTION: sprites

SECTION: sprites

SECTION: sprites

SECTION: sprites

SECTION: sprites

SECTION: sprites

SECTION: sprites