Exult Studio Documentation
last changed:
20 February 2021 (GMT)
A text only version can be found
here
1. Introduction 1.1. What is Exult Studio? 1.2. About this Documentation. 1.3. Terms we use in regard to Exult and Ultima VII
2. Configurations 2.1. Installation 2.2. Running Exult Studio 2.3. Step-by-step instructions to run Exult Studio 2.4. What you can do at the moment 2.5. Settings in exult.cfg. 2.6. Command line options
3. Exult Studio basics 3.1. Description 3.2. Shape files 3.3. Map files 3.4. Palettes files 3.5. Groups files 3.6. The detail window
4. Exult Studio's menus 4.1. An overview 4.2. File 4.3. Edit 4.4. Mode 4.5. Tools 4.6. Map 4.7. Tool bar
5. Basic editors 5.1. The shape editor 5.2. Creating Combination files 5.3. Custom Usecode
6. Egg editing 6.1. Explaining eggs 6.2. The different types of eggs 6.3. Add, remove and edit eggs 6.4. Properties of eggs 6.5. Placing a monster spawning egg 6.6. Schedules of Monsters and Creatures 6.7. Jukebox, Sound Effects and Voice eggs 6.8. Usecode eggs 6.9. Missile eggs 6.10. Teleport eggs 6.11. Weather eggs 6.12. Path eggs 6.13. Button eggs 6.14. Intermap eggs 6.15. Multi-map support
7. NPC editing 7.1. Editing an existing NPC 7.2. Creating a new NPC 7.3. Basic NPC settings 7.4. NPC Properties 7.5. NPC Flags 7.6. NPC Schedules
8. Basic map editing 8.1. Learning the basics of map editing 8.2. Moving objects around 8.3. How to place objects from Exult Studio 8.4. Mark, delete, copy, make multiple objects 8.5. Making floating objects like bridges 8.6. How to change the frame of an object 8.7. How to change chunks (the big red outlined square) 8.8. How to make a structures consisting of multiple objects 8.9. More things you can do with Combos 8.10. Use the paint feature to quickly create a forest
9. Miscellaneous 9.1. Creating a boat, flying carpet, or horse drawn carriage 9.2. Importing and creating your own custom shapes 9.3. How to create a custom font? 9.4. Other tools that might be useful 9.5. Porting Exult Studio to other platforms 9.6. About this client/server stuff? 9.7. About this 'terrain-editing' stuff and why you can't just
drag objects to where you want. 9.8. ifix and ireg reference chart 9.9. What's next? 9.10. Known Bugs with the Linux port
10. Credits 10.1. Thanks
11. Changes to the Documentation 11.1. - 20 February 2021 11.2. - 13 March 2016 11.3. - 21 November 2013 11.4. - 19 February 2011 11.5. - 23 January 2011 11.6. - 18 December 2010 11.7. - 11 March 2010 11.8. - 01 March 2005 11.9. - 23 May 2004 11.10. - 06 February 2004
1. Introduction |
---|
| 1.1. What is Exult Studio? | Exult is not only capable of playing Ultima VII but it is also intended as
an engine in the style of the one used by Ultima VII. Exult Studio started it's life
as a simple map editor but it is slowly developing into a full fledged editor
enabling users to create a new game. Tristan came up with the cool name!
The main purpose of Exult Studio is the ability to create an entirely original
game world without using the original Ultima VII data files. Its semi-possible
already but still requires a lot of work. Not the least of which is that an entire
games worth of art needs to be created.
Editing a copyrighted game may or may not be allowed. Please exercise caution especially
if you want to distribute your changes.
| | 1.2. About this Documentation. | Exult Studio is work in progress. How things work may change and new features are
added very frequently. Due to that the maintainers (Jeffrey, Dominus) of this
documentation may not have been able to update it. As we do not have an official
release yet this documentation refers to recent snapshots.
This guide is what we hope will be an ongoing effort to provide up to date and
in-depth information on how to get the most out of Exult Studio. Accuracy is an
essential part of this guide. If you find something that could be clearer or doesn't
seem worded properly please tell us, we will be happy to change this guide. Tips and
tricks by other users will be appreciated as well and will of course be credited.
| | 1.3. Terms we use in regard to Exult and Ultima VII |
Of course the terms explained in Documentation are
also used in this Documentation but we will list them along with the terms
that additionally need to be explained for the usage of Exult Studio.
- tile:
8x8 pixels - chunk:
16x16 tiles - superchunk:
16x16 chunks - world:
12x12 superchunks - NPC schedules:
NPCs can have schedules which make them do things at certain times and locations. - BG, SI, FoV
or SS:
we refer to "Ultima VII: The Black Gate" as BG and to "Ultima VII - Part 2: Serpent Isle"
as SI. The add-ons "Forge of Virtue" and "Silver Seed" are called FoV and SS. - eggs:
these are trip-wires that can cause monsters to spawn, execute scripts, play
music, change weather, trigger traps or teleport when you get near them. - flex files:
also known as flexes, these are used by the original to store the data files.
Also when you choose to not use compressed save games (see save_compression_level in
Documentation) our save games are also "flexed". - gumps:
the windows used in the game interface for containers, characters, menus, etc.. - paperdoll:
when pressing 'i' you get the inventory display. It's the picture of your
characters body (or the bodies of your party members) onto which you can drag all
kinds of equipment. The way this is displayed in SI is what we call
paperdoll. We integrated this for BG as well.
(see FAQ). - shapes:
shape files are the format used for storage of all graphics elements (from UI buttons
to terrain features) of the games Exult supports. Shapes may contain one or more
frames (a frame is a single image). - snapshot:
see FAQ.
Please note that our documentation usually refers to the latest snapshot. - usecode:
that's the scripting language that drives all of U7 (conversations, objects...). - Exult data folder:
that's the folder where Exult stores its data files (exult.flx, exult_bg.flx and
exult_si.flx).
|
2. Configurations |
---|
| 2.1. Installation | - You need Exult and you need to install it properly
(see Documentation). Also make sure that
you are using the latest snapshot of Exult.
Exult Studioonly works with the latest snapshot, not the latest release. - For U*ix platforms you need to build Exult Studio from the source available from our
source snapshot at https://exult.info/download.php.
- For Windows platforms (XP,Vista,7,8,10) you need to download Exult Studio from our
download page
and install it in the same folder where you installed Exult.
- For macOS we also provide a snapshot on our
download page. Download the disk image
and move the app to the Applications.
| | 2.2. Running Exult Studio |
You can run Exult Studio all by itself, but it isn't useful that way,
as it uses Exult as a server. What you really want to do is:
- Put 'exult_studio.glade' in the Exult 'data' folder (not needed if you use the
snapshot for Windows or macOS).
- Be sure 'exult_studio' is in your path. (on Windows
'exult_studio.exe' needs to be in the same folder as exult.exe)
- Run Exult in windowed mode (not fullscreen).
- Enable the Exult cheat mode (see Documentation).
- Press 'alt+ctrl+m' to go into 'map-editor' mode. If all is set
up correctly, exult_studio will start up, and will have a list of files
on the left side of its window.
Starting up one or the other separately will reconnect them:
- If Exult isn't running, start it up. Then, in Exult Studio,
use the 'File' menu to choose the static folder (for the game you're
playing).
- If Exult Studio isn't running start it up and select the game to edit in the
"File-Open Game" dialog.
You can also reconnect by selecting "File-Connect" in Exult Studio's
menu.
| | 2.3. Step-by-step instructions to run Exult Studio |
The above instructions may still be too technical for everybody.
You have to make sure all these steps are taken care of before you're going to get
very far with your world building.
- While it is not explicitly needed it is useful to have a working copy of either
BG or SI properly installed onto your computer.
- Next, you need to have the latest Exult snapshot installed properly
onto your computer and working correctly. If you are currently playing either BG or SI
on your machine this is probably done right. To make sure you have the correct version,
ensure that it says X.XX GIT (X.XX stands for some version number) during Exult's
start-up screen (for example see
https://exult.info/images/screenshots/mainmenu.png).
- You need to make sure the newest version of Exult Studio is installed properly onto your
computer as well. Exult Studio should be installed in the same folder as the Exult
snapshot.
- The patch folder needs to be in folder which you are allowed to write,
so Exult Studio can save any changes to existing games. See 2.4. What you can do at the moment on
how to change exult.cfg accordingly.
- In order for Exult Studio to work properly, you need to have Exult running in windowed mode.
If you can see your desktop while playing, then you're doing it right.
- Make sure you have Cheats enabled. This can be enabled in the Gameplay options of the Game
see (see Documentation).
- While running Exult in windowed mode, hit 'ctrl+alt+m' to enter map-editing mode.
Exult Studio should open up if you did everything correctly. In map-editing mode the world is
frozen, but you are still able to move your characters around in order to place objects.
You're now ready to start your world editing. You should be seeing something like this:
| | 2.4. What you can do at the moment | - browse shapes in the main window.
- drag a shape from the shape browser to Exult, and that
object will be placed in the game.
- edit an 'egg' by double-clicking on it. An edit box
should appear.
- create a new 'egg' using the pull-down menu in Exult Studio.
In the Egg edit box, after you hit 'Apply', you'll be prompted to
click in Exult where you want the egg to appear.
- if editing a 'monster' egg, you can set the monster by dragging
the shape from the browser to the area that displays the monster.
- edit an NPC by double-clicking on it, and also create a new
NPC using the pull-down menu. Attributes, flags, and schedules can
all be viewed and modified.
- edit other objects' position and quality by double-clicking on them.
- browse the 'u7chunks' file, and drag them into Exult to change
the terrain. In this browser, you can also create new terrains and
modify their order.
- select a chunk, choose 'Paint with chunks' from the 'Mode' menu, and then
paint terrain with that whole chunk.
- edit a 'terrain' (stored in 'u7chunks') by clicking the "Edit
terrain" checkbox in Exult Studio. This is a special mode where
dragging with the left mouse button 'paints' the currently-selected
shape (generally one of the flat tiles near the top of the shapes
browser). Note that a 'terrain' is generally used in multiple places
in the map and changing it in one place changes it in all the others as well.
- save the map using Exult Studio's "File-Save map" pulldown menu.
In order to avoid writing over files inadvertently, the files that
would normally go into the 'static' folder, will, instead, go into
a 'patch' folder that you specify in your 'exult.cfg' file. Here's
an example for editing BG:
<
game>
| <
blackgate>
| <
title>
|
blackgate
| </
title>
| <
path>
|
./blackgate
| </
path>
| <
patch>
|
./blackgate/patch
| </
patch>
| </
blackgate>
|
IMPORTANT:Exult Studio requires the "patch" folder to be writeable. If you don't have write access
you need to place it somewhere you are allowed to write to and change the path accordingly in exult.cfg.
Exult will also read files from 'patch' if it exists on starting a new game. The patch
folder is expected to be within the main game folder, parallel to the static folder.
In any mode, you can add the currently selected shape by shift-clicking.
| | 2.5. Settings in exult.cfg. |
You can change the settings of Exult Studio either with the preferences dialog or
via exult.cfg. Those settings are:
<
config>
| <
estudio>
| <
main>
| <
width>
|
640
| </
width>
| <
height>
|
400
| </
height>
| </
main>
| <
default_game>
|
gamename
| </
default_game>
| <
image_editor>
|
gimp-remote -n
| </
image_editor>
| <
background_color>
|
0
| </
background_color>
| </
estudio>
|
| | 2.6. Command line options | Exult Studio offers some "hidden" command line options:
- (--help) -h
Shows these command line options. - (--silent) -s
Do not display the state of the games. - (--config) -c configfile
Specify alternate config file (relative or absolute paths work). - (--portable) -p
Portable option for Windows only. Exult Studio will read cfg file from the folder Exult got
installed to. - (--game) -g GAMENAME
specifies GAMENAME and Exult Studio will read the game base folder from exult.cfg.
GAMENAME can be chosen from the games specified in <game> part of exult.cfg. - (--mod) -m modname
Must be used together with '-g gamename'; runs the specified
game using the mod with title equal to 'modname'. 'modname' is the name of the mod
cfg file (e.g. keyring.cfg means 'modname' 'keyring'. - (--xmldir) -x FOLDER
tells exult_studio to look in FOLDER for its user-interface specification
(exult_studio.glade).
You can enter the full path (e.g. "exult_studio -xc:\exult\data") to the glade file
or you can use the relative path (e.g. exult_studio -x./data).
This option is only useful to developers who want to edit exult_studio.glade
themselves. - (--cssdir) -y FOLDER
tells exult_studio to look in FOLDER for css file that customizes the look of Exult Studio
(exult_studio.css).
|
3. Exult Studio basics |
---|
| 3.1. Description |
Once Exult Studio runs correctly , a tree of game files is displayed to the left of
the main window, while the currently selected file is viewed in detail to the right.
The types of files Exult Studio supports are described next.
| | 3.2. Shape files |
Shapes are the basic graphical elements of the game. Each shape has one or more
frames that typically represent different states or angles of the same thing.
E.g. a button shape could have frames for pressed, and released; a character
could have frames depicting her sitting, standing up facing one way, or another,
swinging a punch, etc.
When a shape file is selected, the right part of the main window will show frame
zero of the shapes contained therein. Shapes can be selected by clicking, which
will show there number, number of frames, and name if known. Other frames can be
viewed by changing the frame number.
When the selected file contains shapes that have names in their info you can also use
the find option to find shapes that have that name (e.g. in shapes.vga you can search
for 'door' to find all shapes that have door frames). You can search down or up in the
selected file.
When viewing shapes you can press the button 'Frames' in the lower right corner of
Exult Studio to show all the frames of a shape next to each others.
Shape files also have a special right-click-menu. See 5.1. The shape editor.
Typical shape files are:
- Sprites.vga
displays all the animations that can be used to overlay the screen. - Shapes.vga
displays the objects that can be placed onto the world. - Fonts.vga
displays all text graphics used throughout the game. - Faces.vga
contains all of the graphics for conversation pictures.. - Pointers.shp
contains the graphics for the mouse cursor. - Combos.flx
where custom made combos will be stored.
| | 3.3. Map files |
These files contain so called chunks that serve as templates in the final map.
The chunks of the selected map file are shown in the right part of the main window.
When a chunk is selected you have two options below:
- Locate
shows places in the Exult game where that chunk is used. - Move
Moves a chunk in the chunk file. This does not effect the display on the map.
Right clicking on a chunk gives you another two options
(also the File-save/revert option):
- New...
Empty
Creates a new chunk. Drag the new chunk onto the game and edit it by dragging
shapes on it. Duplicate
Duplicates a chunk. Drag the duplicate chunk onto the map to edit it. - Delete
Deletes that chunk. Be very careful with this option.
| | 3.4. Palettes files |
The palettes used by a game are stored in the files listed there.
When you select a palette with number zero is shown in the right part of the main
window. Other palettes are shown by selecting another palettes number
When a palettes file is selected you have some options:
- Edit
New/Remove adds or deletes a palettes. - Move
Moves palettes in the file. - File
Import
Overwrites the current palettes with palette text file. Export
Exports the current palette to a text file.
The palette text files are compatible with the Gimp.
Right clicking on a palette only gives you the default File-save/revert option.
| | 3.5. Groups files |
Editing a game can become quite cumbersome when you have to choose between a lot
of shape files containing several frames. To make this task easier we have
implemented so called groups to groups several shapes together. For example you can
group all shapes containing door frames together in a group called 'doors'.
For this you have to select Groups and create a new group by writing the name in the
lower part of the window and then click 'add'. You now have the option in the Shape
Menu to add a shape to this group.
When you double-click a group the group window opens that shows the shapes in the group
and by selecting a shape you see the shape info.
You also have some options to edit the group:
- Move
Moves the shapes within the group. - Remove
Removes the shape from the group. - Name
Changes the name of the group. - Frame:
select the frame displayed. - Frames
shows all the frames of a shape next to each others. - Find
Lets you search for a specified shape in the group. - Locate
Locates the selected shape inside the game. It locates only the shape not a
specific frame.
| | 3.6. The detail window |
Below the detail windows you have the following options:
- Frame:
select the frame displayed. - Frames
shows all the frames of a shape next to each others. - Find
Lets you search for a specified shape in the group. - Locate
Locates the selected shape inside the game. It locates only the shape not a
specific frame.
Right-clicking on the detailed view of any file gives these options
(along with other options specific to the file):
- File...
Save
Saves all the changes you made to it without saving any other file. Revert
Discards all changes..
|
|
---|
| 4.1. An overview |
Before you get started with constructing your own little world its important to know
a little bit about the structure of Exult Studio and the arrangement of menus. An
overview of some of the Exult Studio menus follows.
| | | - New Game...
This lets you begin the work on a new game. Jeff wrote an extensive description of
how to use this and how it works.
See
New Game manual. - New Mod...
Easily start a new mod for an existing game. The dialog that opens lets you select
the game you want to mod, the name of the mod and its name in the Exult menu (menu string). - Open Game...
Choose the Game folder of the game you that you have been working on. - Save all'Ctrl+S'
Saves map, shape info and groups you edited. Saves all the changes you've made to
the world you have been working on. If you're happy with your changes do this
before you quit or all work will be lost. - New...
Shapes file...
Lets you choose the folder where you want to create a new vga file and requires
you to enter a name for it (e.g. mygame.vga). Single shape file...
Lets you choose the folder where you want to create a new shape file and requires
you to enter a name for it (e.g. mygame.shp). - Save...
Map
Saves the map of the edited game. Shape info
When you right click a shape in a vga file you can change the info of the shape.
This saves this changed info. Groups
You can "bundle" shapes of vga files into groups to make world building easier.
These groups get saved with this option. Combos
This saves the combination files. - Reload...
Map'Ctrl+R'
Reloads the map. All changes made since the last save get discarded. Usecode
Very useful when you edit the usecode of a game or add new usecode to an
existing game. Normally this would require a restart of Exult. Style CSS
The interface of Exult Studio now supports customization via a CSS file (exult_studio.css) and if you
changed that you can reload it without having to restart Exult Studio. - Connect
Connects Exult and Exult Studio if one of them had to be restarted. - Preferences
Image Editor Command:
This executes the chosen image editor when you want to edit a shape when you
right click it. Image-Edit Filetype:
Choose which filetype gets executed with the above chosen image editor. Default Game Name:
Choose the game Exult Studio opens by default. Use the name specified in exult.cfg. Shape List Background:
Sometimes the default black background may make certain shapes hard to see. Choose
a different background color here. - Exit'Ctrl+Q'
Exits Exult Studio.
Note that the default location for saving and creation of new files is the PATCH folder
of a game. If there is no PATCH folder specified Exult Studio will create one. See 2.4. What you can do at the moment.
| | | - Cut 'Ctrl+X'
Removes the selected object(s) and puts it into memory. - Copy 'Ctrl+C'
Copies the selected object(s) into memory. - Paste 'Ctrl+V'
Shows the crosshair cursor and copies the object(s) from the memory into the game
where you left click the crosshair. - Properties...
Shows the properties of the selected object. If more than one object is selected
it shows the properties of the last selected object.
Only NPCs and eggs show different properties than if you select Basic properties. - Basic properties...
Shows the properties of the selected object. If more than one object is selected
it shows the properties of the last selected object. - Create egg...
Create or edit eggs with this.
See 6. Egg editing for detailed information. - Create NPC...
Create or edit NPCs with this.
See 7. NPC editing for more information. - Create Barge...
Create a barge such as a magic carpet or a horse drawn carriage.
See 9.1. for more information. - Set Game Information
Edit the game information shown in the Exult menu.
When in map-edit mode, you can select shapes in Exult by left-clicking, or multiple shapes by
ctrl+left-clicking.
| | |
It describes how the mouse behaves inside Exult when map-editing.
- Move
This is the normal mode where you can drag things with the mouse, or single-click
to identify objects. In this mode you also select objects. A selected object is
shown with a red outline. To select more than one object hold down 'Ctrl'
while selecting. Move the selection 'Ctrl+arrow' (x,y coordinates) and
'Ctrl+page' keys (z coordinates). - Paint
a single-left-click inserts the last-selected shape from 'shapes.vga', and dragging
with the left-button inserts that shape in every tile (so you'd probably only want
to do this with 8x8 flat shapes). Also, in 'Paint' mode, the footprint at ground
level is shown (though this may be changed in the future).
If you hold the alt key down, random frames from the currently-selected shape will
be painted (handy for grassy areas). - Paint with chunks
works the same as the normal Paint mode only with chunks. Left-clicking the mouse
paints the current chunk onto the map.
Take a look at 8.7. How to change chunks (the big red outlined square). - Pick for Combo
Picks objects for a new combo file. Double-left-click to add objects to the combo,
single-left-click to identify object. See 5.2. Creating Combination files - Select chunks
You can select chunks and move them around with ctrl+arrow keys. This will leave
generic chunks where the original chunks were, and is probably better used for moving
parts of a map because you misjudged the position it needed to be in.
Note that you can only drag objects in the game window when you are in "Move" mode.
| | | - Locator...'Ctrl+L'
shows where the current game window is within the entire map, and lets you move
the view by double-clicking a location or by dragging the little box - New Combo..
Creates a new Combo file. See 5.2. Creating Combination files. - Unused shapes...
searches the entire world being created to see if any of the shapes in shapes.vga
are not in use. Have patience when doing this and treat the results with caution. - Compile Usecode...
Compiles the usecode script usecode.uc in the patch folder
(see 5.3.) - Fix old shape info
Old versions of Exult Studio discarded some shape info data on saving. This option adds
the discarded information back to old mods and patches.
| | | - New
Used to create a new map to use for multi-map support (see 6.15. Multi-map support). - Main/Map #xx
The default map or the map that is currently being worked on. The game needs to be started in
Exult to see the other maps.
| | 4.7. Tool bar | - Play
This is the same as pressing 'Alt+Ctrl+M' in Exult. It exits the Map Edit Mode
and lets you play the game. By pressing it again you enter Map Edit Mode again. - Grid
Shows a grid of white lines in the game window for better control on placing objects. - Edit lift:
Changes the lift of a selected object in the game window. Lift means the distance of
an object from the ground. - Hide lift:
Hides objects that are above the chosen height. - Edit terrain
See 2.4. What you can do at the moment. Note that a terrain is used in multiple instances of the
map and changing it in one place changes it in all the others as well.
|
5. Basic editors |
---|
| 5.1. The shape editor |
When you right click on a shape in the Shape browser (e.g. Files-Shapes.vga) you
get some options of how to edit the shapes.
- Info...
Displays the information of an object. You can change a lot of stuff there and
caution is advised. The information is saved by
4.2. File. - Edit...:
Brings up your image-editor on the chosen frame. When you save
in the image-editor, ES will read the changes back within 5 seconds. This is
especially convenient if you have 'gimp-remote', as it will open a window for
the frame in an already-running gimp. - Edit tiled:
This is only for 'flat' (8x8) shapes. It forms an image
from all the frames and brings it up in the image-editor. This is really
handy for making lots of terrain frames like grass. A dialog lets you choose
the dimensions. - New frame:
Creates a new frame after the currently-selected one. The 'insert' key
also does this (and the 'del' key deletes a frame, though it's
buggy if there's just one frame left). - Export/Import frame:
Let's you import a single frame from a .png file or
export to a .png. - Export/Import all frames:
Let's you import all frames from .png files or
export to a .png. To import the .png files need to be named with the same basename
followed by the frame number (e.g. shape00.png, shape01.png). On export Exult Studio
will ask you for a basename and folder to export to. - Export/Import shape:
Let's you import a single frame from a .png file or
export to a .png. - New shape:
Gives you a dialog for choosing the shape #, as well as the
initial # of frames.
You can also create a new font shape from TrueType or Type1 font files.
It's mainly a convenience for someone creating a whole new game, as their
only single-colored. Maybe in the future we'll have some functions to
create two-colored fonts like the main one in Ultima VII, although it might take
hand-editing to make the letters look that nice.
Note:Edit... doesn't work on Windows system. It stores
the shape as PNG file in GAMEDIR/itmp/ (e.g. blackgate/itmp). If you manually
open the file with an image editor of your liking and then save it, ES doesn't
read the changes back.
| | 5.2. Creating Combination files |
Create 'combination shapes', like a fence or an entire roof by selecting
"Tools-New Combo" (see 4.5.). When you run Exult Studio the first
time a file called combos.flx gets automatically created in the "Patch" folder.
Choose the 'Pick for Combo' choice in the 'Modes' menu, and an empty window should
pop up. In the game window, double-click a group of objects, and they should appear
in the window. You can then select an object there and tweak its position. When you
are done hit apply and the combo gets temporally saved until you hit "Save all" or
"Save - Save map".
You can drag and drop combinations into the game window.
| | 5.3. Custom Usecode |
As hinted at (see 1.3.) Usecode is actually what runs Ultima VII
and therefore any game created with Exult Studio.
As of yet we do not have a Usecode editor/debugger. So writing your own Usecode is not
that easy.
For an example of how Usecode may look like download our SF Island mod for BG at
https://exult.info/snapshots/SFisland.zip.
In that zip you'll find a readme.txt which tells you how to run it.
You will also see two files called usecode.uc and usecode.
Usecode.uc is the usecode script that will help you understand our usecode language.
When you run ucc (see 9.4.) with that file
(e.g. "ucc -o usecode usecode.uc") you will get the file called usecode. This file
'usecode' should be the same as the one in the zip file.
Someone does have to write extensive documentation for this but I (Dominus) am not
really up for that task.
Wizardry Dragon and Marzo made a good list of intrinsics
http://www.thefeudallands.ca/srcdocs/files/intrinsics-uc.html and
Pertex has written some documentation at
http://web.archive.org/web/20071217233843/http://www.sophen.de/exult/
(unfortunately Pertex' original documentation has vanished but at least the wayback machine
can be of great help)
that might be able help you.
|
6. Egg editing |
---|
| 6.1. Explaining eggs |
An egg in its simplest form is an object that is placed in the world, but is
invisible to a normal user. When the player meets the requirements of an egg,
it causes the egg to become activated. Eggs can activate anything from monster
spawns, to changes in the current music, to the activation of custom usecode. You
may want to place the eggs in map-editing mode because eggs don't activate in this
mode. Then switch off map-editing mode to test how your egg will work during game
play.
| | 6.2. The different types of eggs |
Currently Exult Studio supports the following types of eggs (more details follow):
- Monster(spawning)
allows for the creation of a creature when certain conditions are met, usually
when your character gets within a certain distance of the egg.
It also allows for the creation of simple objects like walls or furniture to
appear when the Avatar gets near. This could make for some interesting effects. - Jukebox
sets the background music when the character enters a certain area. - Sound Effect and Voice
will play a selected sound when the character meets the required values
set in the egg creation menu. - Voice and Voice
will play a speech track when the character meets the required values
set in the egg creation menu. - Usecode
allows for the activation of custom usecode when an egg's requirements are met.
The creation of custom usecode is discussed (though not in depth) at
5.3.. - Missile
create interesting objects like flamethrower traps. - Teleport
transport the avatar anywhere on the map when certain conditions are met. - Weather
temporarily set the in-game weather. - Path
set the destination of a teleport egg to a specific object. - Button
is used to activate eggs in the vicinity that are set to external - Intermap
Now that Exult has multi-map support, this egg can be used to create a teleporter
between maps.
| | 6.3. Add, remove and edit eggs |
The most convenient way to create an egg is to select Create new egg
from the edit menu. This will pop up the Exult Egg window. Here you
can select the type of egg you wish to create and the properties you are going to
give it. When you are happy with the egg press apply and then enter
Exult and place the egg wherever you like. To remove an egg, select it while in
map-edit mode and press 'ctrl+x' to cut the egg. You can still paste it
elsewhere if you like. To edit an egg, double click it in map editing mode. This
will bring up the egg window where you will be able to change an existing egg's
attributes.
| | 6.4. Properties of eggs |
Before you select the type of egg you want you can edit basic properties of eggs.
These are:
- Probability
of the egg being activated. By giving an egg a probability of 100 you can ensure
that whenever the requirements necessary to make an egg activate are met, the egg
will activate. With a probability of 0 nothing will ever happen when the egg's
requirements are met. A probability anywhere between 0 and 100 will cause the
activation of an egg to be a random event. - Distance
allows you to set how far a character needs to be from an egg in order to activate
it. Each distance unit is equal to one tile (8x8 pixel) of the map. - Criteria
is very important as it sets what needs to be done to activate the egg. The
options are: Cached in - An egg with this characteristic is activated when
the chunk it is on is loaded into memory. This usually happens from several screens
away. Party near - causes an egg to be activated whenever the player
controlled character or any of his party members wander within the area specified
by the distance option. Avatar near - exactly the same as party near except only registers
where the main character is moved, ignoring actions by the party members. Avatar far - Its like Avatar near except with a twist. This
property allows you to walk into the area specified by the distance property but then
as you leave the area the egg will be activated as you distance yourself from it.
Can be great for sneak attacks from behind. Avatar footpad - In this case the distance property is ignored and
the Avatar has to physically step onto the egg. Party footpad - This option is identical to the Avatar footpad option
except if either the main character or one of his companions stumbles onto the egg it
will be activated. Something on - This egg is activated whenever an object is placed
AND removed within the area specified by an egg. External - Eggs set to the external characteristic will be activated
by button eggs in the vicinity. - Flag
final attribute you can give an egg to determine whether it will be activated or not.
As a note you can mix and match flags, you can set an egg to nocturnal once only or
nocturnal auto-reset.Not that an egg will be reactivated after you walk about a
screenful away and then return if the the flags "once-only" or "auto-reset" are not
set. Nocturnal - Any egg with this setting will only be activated during
the nighttime. Great for setting the spawning of creatures of the night, or giving
some nice night time music. Hatched - This creates an egg that has already been activated. It
is inactive and will not do anything. Once-Only - Any egg with this flag applied will only hatch once and
then disappear from the game world. Auto-reset - Eggs with this flag attached will continue to activate
every time the conditions set in the egg menu are met.
| | 6.5. Placing a monster spawning egg |
The first thing you want to consider before placing monster spawn is some of the basic egg
attributes. What probability do you want? What distance? Will it be a nocturnal creature?
Next you have to set the monster specific egg attributes. The first question is probably
what type of monster you want to place. You can now switch to the main Exult Studio window,
select shapes.vga and choose a shape. Drag and drop this on the "Exult Egg" window. Frame #
isn't overly important when placing a monster, but for placing an object it can be very
important. Enter these attributes into their respective form. You next have to set the
monster's schedule. The various schedules that are important for a monster spawn are
discussed next.
You also have to set the spawned monster's alignment.
Any creature set to a Neutral alignment will ignore the Avatar and friends,
following their schedule until attacked. Any creature set to Evil will
immediately attack the Avatar if you get too close. A Good creature will
help the avatar in fights, but will also attack the Avatar if he is caught stealing or
killing "good" NPCs. It will also attack evil Monsters or NPCs regardless of the Avatar.
And finally Chaotic creatures or monsters will attack anyone, regardless
of their alignment
Next you can set the number of creatures you want to appear using the count option. You
can set anywhere from 1 to 31 monsters.
Finally you can assign a Usecode number or name to the spawned monster (leave this blank if
you don't want to set one).
When you're finished setting the egg the way you want, simply press "Apply" and place the
egg on the world map.
| | 6.6. Schedules of Monsters and Creatures |
You can have the full set of schedules that NPCs can have but for a spawned monster you will
most like want to use one of the following schedules.
- Horiz. Pace
Any creature given this schedule will pace back and forth in a horizontal manner. Great
for guards and sentries - Vert. Pace
Same as the horizontal pace, except in a vertical direction. - Hound
Any creature given this schedule will slowly follow the main character wherever he goes.
Good for creatures that won't take no for an answer. - Stand
Creatures given this setting will stand in one place until given a better reason to move. - Loiter
Creatures given this setting will wander aimlessly. They will move in random directions
a bit at a time. - Wander
Any creature given this setting will slowly move around a fairly large area. - Wait
Creatures given this setting will complacently stay in one place. - Shy
Creatures given this setting are afraid of the main character and will slowly wander away
from the Avatar. - Waiter
Give a creature this schedule and watch him run back and forth around a crowded area like
he has a purpose. - Graze
An awful lot like loiter except the character seems to stay a little more to one area. - Duel
Doesn't do a whole lot by itself, but put two neutral creatures with these settings
beside each other and its rumble time. This also works by placing them near training
dummies or archery targets. For an extra laugh place 10 spawns each set for 31 guards
to appear in dueling mode. - Patrol
An NPC with this schedule will follow "path" markers (shape #607). The default behavior is to go
to "1", then "2", etc., and return to "1" when no higher numbers are found. There are also some
fairly complicated rules that depend on the "quality" that you give to each of the path markers.
(Exult Studio should have a dialog to create these, so I wouldn't worry about them right now.)
| | 6.7. Jukebox, Sound Effects and Voice eggs |
Using these eggs couldn't be more straightforward, select the sound effect, music score,
or recorded digital voice you desire and then place them onto the map. When a character
activates the egg they begin to play. You can set music and sound effects to play on a
continuous loop for continuous effects such as water fountains or short pieces of
background music that you don't want to quit until a new music egg is triggered.
In the game window you can test and find out the # of the audio by pressing
'Alt+1'.
| | 6.8. Usecode eggs |
Usecode eggs have many different functions that will be discussed later. The important
thing to remember about the usecode egg menu is that function number is where you insert
the hex value of the usecode function that this egg is going to execute.
| | 6.9. Missile eggs |
When you place a missile egg, the first thing you have to set is the egg's activation
attributes. Do you want an egg to activate when the Avatar is near a certain spot, or should
someone have to directly step on the trap?
To choose the type of missile you want to shoot from your trap, select shape number 1 for a
fireball that doesn't do damage, 3 for a lightning bolt, and 6 to shoot arrows. Select shape
9 for a fireball that actually does damage. You can also set the direction you want the trap
to fire when it is activated, you can choose any of the 8 cardinal directions.
You can also use the delay timer to set how steady you want the stream of projectiles to be.
1 makes a constant stream of projectiles, while a value of 10 makes for the occasional danger.
Don't set the timer to 0 seconds, Exult REALLY doesn't like this.
Using these options you can make some pretty dangerous obstacles for the Avatar to avoid.
Note: Shape numbers assume you are using either BG or SI data. When making
a new game you can set weapons info of shapes yourself and choose which shape numbers are
used by each weapon.
| | 6.10. Teleport eggs |
The primary purpose of the teleport egg is to simply move a character from one place to another
instantly without forcing them to walk there. Think of any dungeon teleporter that moves you
from one place to another.
The teleport egg has two primary modes. The first mode possessed by the teleport egg is to
choose the location that the party will be warped to by specifying a location on the over world
map using x and y co-ordinates. If you place an egg on the map and a character meets the
criteria specified by the egg they will be whisked away to the x and y coordinates set by the
egg. This option can't be used to move your character onto roofs because there is no z option
provided.
To switch to the other mode of teleporting, press the use coordinates button.
This directs the teleported towards a numbered path egg. By giving a path egg a unique number
and then placing it on the map any teleporter set to this egg will transport the player there.
The advantage of teleporting using a path egg is you can teleport your character onto the second
floor of a building if the path egg is placed up there.
| | 6.11. Weather eggs |
There are two attributes of the weather egg that one needs to worry about.
- Weather
The most important attribute as this sets the effect you can expect when an egg
is activated. Halt - Halts and current weather and set the world to a pleasant sunny
default. Storm - Lots of thunder and lightning and the world darkens. Cloudy - Some rain, not a lot else going on Magic storm - Lots of thunder and lightning and the world darkens. As
well this type of storm eliminates the character's magic casting abilities while the
storm is in affect. - Duration
sets the how long the chosen weather will last. The time is measured in game time and can
last up to 255 minutes.
| | 6.12. Path eggs |
The path egg is useful for placing an individual teleport location by hand. Give the path egg
a unique number and then direct a teleport egg towards it. If the person steps on a teleporter
set to the same number as the path egg, they will be teleported there.
Note that it only works up to a distance of 256 tiles in each direction (in a square, not a
circle). It also doesn't world-wrap, meaning a teleport egg at the far east edge won't find
a path egg at the far west edge.
| | 6.13. Button eggs |
The button egg has the interesting ability to activate all eggs in the immediate vicinity that
are set to external. You can set the area around the egg that will be affected by increasing
the distance setting, keeping in mind that each distance setting is equal to 1 tile (8x8 pixel).
| | 6.14. Intermap eggs |
An intermap egg works precisely the same as a regular teleport egg except it can be used to
teleport the main character between maps. The Coordinates options are used
to set the precise tile the Avatar will be teleported to on the opposing map. The
Map Number condition is used to set which map the main character will appear at.
| | 6.15. Multi-map support |
Exult now supports multiple maps. To create new maps select New from the
Map menu. You now have an option to copy information over from an existing map.
The Terrain option allows you to retain the lay of the land. If this option
isn't selected your new map will be entirely ocean. Fixed and
Moveable objects allow you to retain the remaining objects from the previous map
(Jeffrey's favourite idea is to entirely copy the current Exult map and create a new 'Bizarro-Brittania').
You can quickly switch between maps in game using the command 'ctrl-alt-t'.
|
7. NPC editing |
---|
| 7.1. Editing an existing NPC |
To edit an NPC with Exult Studio you need to be running a game in Exult and of course Exult Studio.
Enable map editing and double click the NPC you want to edit. The Exult Studio NPC window will pop
up with all the stats of the NPC.
| | 7.2. Creating a new NPC |
If you want to create a new NPC you have to select Create NPC in the edit menu.
This will pop up the same NPC window as when you double click an NPC. Now enter all the properties
of the new NPC as will be described in the following text. When you are satisfied with your new
NPC hit Apply and you will be asked to choose a spot in Exult to place the NPC.
| | 7.3. Basic NPC settings | - Face #
Drag and drop a face from Faces.vga in the main Exult Studio window to the face field in
the NPC window. - Name
Choose a name for your NPC. - Usecode
Here you enter the usecode that is associated with the NPC. - NPC #
This cannot be changed. - Ident
This is a number used in usecode in SI to differentiate between different NPC possibilities.
It can be used to decide which set of conversation options some party members have, as well
as making some "monster" NPCs have a more persistent identity despite not having a set NPC
number - Shape #
Either drag and drop a shape from shapes.vga into the line (or the black box to the
right of it) or enter a shape number. - Frame #
The frame of the above given shape the NPC starts with. - Alignment
Any NPC set to a neutral alignment will ignore the Avatar and friends, following their
schedule until attacked. A "good" NPC will help the avatar in fights, but will also attack
the Avatar if he is caught stealing or killing "good" NPCs. It will also attack evil Monsters
or NPCs regardless of the Avatar.
Any NPC set to hostile will immediately be attacked by the Avatar when you go into combat mode.
Some NPCs will not talk to you or will even attack you on sight when set to hostile.
- Attack Mode
You can choose the mode in which the NPC attacks when it goes into combat. Choose
between Nearest, Weakest, Strongest, Berserk, Protect, Defend, Flank, Flee, Random
and Manual. We don't advice using Manual as for most NPCs you will not be able to
actually change the attack mode manually.
| | 7.4. NPC Properties |
The vital properties of an NPC are set in the Properties tab of the NPC Window.
- Strength
- Dexterity
- Intelligence
- Health
- Combat
- Mana
How much mana you have left for casting spells. Only useful for members of the party
and if the game allows party members casting spells. - Max. Mana
Maximum amount of mana you can have. Only useful for members of the party
and if the game allows party members casting spells. - Training
How much Training points the NPC has left and can use at trainers. Only useful for
party members. - Experience
- Food Level
How hungry is the NPC. Only relevant for party members. Normal NPCs don't starve
and need to be fed.
| | 7.5. NPC Flags |
Here you can set special properties of NPCs. Some are only set for special NPCs, party members
or just the Avatar. A lot are also only available in SI. Here a brief listing of the flags and
when needed a short description.
- Asleep
- Confused
- Dancing
- Fly
- In motion
- Invisible
- No Magic
- Petra
- Protection
When you cast the protection spell on an NPC this flag gets set. - Swim
Allows an NPC to walk on water. - Might
- Bleeding
The NPC looses blood, and leaves a trail of blood when he moves. - Conjured
- Don't render (BG) - Don't move (SI)
Causes an NPC to become invisible or can't move - Freeze
The NPC is cold and needs warmer clothing. - In party
The NPC is a member of the party. - Met
The Avatar has previously spoken to the NPC. - Don't move (BG) - Don't render (SI)
Causes an NPC to become invisible or can't move - Poisoned
- Female
- Tattooed
- Walk
An NPC without this flag set cannot move - Charmed
- Cursed
- Ethereal
This makes it possible for the NPC to behave like a ghost
(walk through walls, walk on water...) - In action
- Read
This NPC can read runic or ophidian (useful for the Avatar so
signs can be read directly) - Naked
- Paralyzed
- Polymorph
- Summoned
- Tournament
In combat this NPC is unable to die. - Zombie
| | 7.6. NPC Schedules |
In this Tab you can set the schedule the NPC follows normally.
- Activity
With the button Set you can choose the schedule. Keep in mind that some schedules also
require items, e.g. for the Blacksmith activity you need a smithy to work in. If there
is no such item near the location you set, the NPC will use the next near item in the
vicinity, for example the sleep activity will have the NPC wander to the next available
bed.
To clear the activity set it to --None--. - Location
Enter the x and y coordinates of the place you want the NPC to follow his schedule at.
Unfortunately you cannot (yet) set the z coordinate (on which floor of a house the
schedule begins). By placing the Avatar at the spot for the scheduled activity and
pressing the Game button, Exult Studio will fill out the coordinates.
Also by pressing 'F2' at a place, the cheat screen will show you the coordinates
in hex and decimal and you can use either system to enter the location.
|
8. Basic map editing |
---|
| 8.1. Learning the basics of map editing |
The first thing one will probably want to do once they have Exult Studio running is to begin
creating their own little world. The first step towards this is learning how to move objects
and chunks, and placing items from Exult Studio into the game world. And the best way to
learn is by using an existing game like BG or SI.
| | 8.2. Moving objects around |
Perhaps the simplest way of making your world truly unique is to start out by moving existing
structures around. Move is the default option in Exult Studio, but to ensure you are in move
mode select it from the mode menu. You know you are in map-editing mode when a red grid is
highlighted across the world. You can select any object (notice the red highlighting of
selected objects) with the mouse and move it around. This works using a simple drag and drop
approach. Simply grab a tree with a right click and place it on the other side of your viewing
area. The only thing you can't drag and drop are chucks, which are the large ground sections
mapped by the red grid system. If you want to place one object on top of another, just drag it
on top and release. If the object can be supported in that position it will stay there. For a
brief guide on placing an object that won't have support, but will be floating see further down.
You can also change an object's x and y coordinates by selecting the object and pressing
'ctrl+arrow keys'. An object's z coordinate can be changed by selecting the object and
pressing 'ctrl+page up' or 'ctrl+page down'.
| | 8.3. How to place objects from Exult Studio |
This could not be simpler in Exult Studio. Simply select a shape from the shapes.vga menu and
drag it into Exult. In Windows I personally prefer to drag the item onto the taskbar, hovering
over the Exult window, wait for the window to switch and then place the item. Once you
found where you would like the object to appear, simply let go of the mouse and the object is
placed. If you're unhappy where you placed the object, simply drag and drop it somewhere else.
On Windows you will get a green grid that will show you exactly where you can expect the object
to show up. With the switch to SDL2's dropfile function we lost the green grid on other Operating
Systems.
| | 8.4. Mark, delete, copy, make multiple objects |
To mark multiple objects hold down 'ctrl' and click on the objects you want to mark.
This is very useful when you want to handle a whole bunch of objects (like deleting, copying
or multiplying objects).
If you placed an object onto the world map that you now feel should be removed, select the
object with your mouse and press 'ctrl+x' or select the cut option from the Exult Studio
Menu.
This will remove the object from the world and place it into memory (if you don't want to keep
the object in memory simply press 'del' when it is selected). If you want to the object
somewhere else, press 'ctrl+v' or select the paste option, this will create a set of
crosshairs that you can use to place your new object. To create multiple copies of an object,
select an object so it has a red outline and press 'ctrl+c' or select the copy option.
You can now paste another copy of the object on the world using paste.
| | 8.5. Making floating objects like bridges |
So you want to create an unsupported section of balcony, or you want to make it look like that
Kilrathi ship you just placed is actually hovering above the ground. To do this set the
object's z height by changing the value in the grid height menu. If you want your character to
be able to walk underneath an object it must be set 4 grid heights above the surface which your
character is walking on. If you want your character to be able to walk on an object, the top of
the object must be no more then 1-grid height above the surface the character is currently on.
| | 8.6. How to change the frame of an object |
So you see an apple tree on the map, but you think you'd much rather have a palm tree. Exult Studio
supports many different frames for each object. To change the frame of an object, select an
object so it highlights red and select the "Basic Properties" option. The Exult Object box
should appear. This gives you the option to select a different frame for the object to see what
other frames this particular object has. The Exult Object option also allows you to manually set
the height of an object that already exists on the map. Another way to select an objects frame,
is to select the object from the shapes menu and then using the frames option in the lower right
hand corner select just the frame you're looking for. Then you can then drag the object into your
world normally.
| | 8.7. How to change chunks (the big red outlined square) |
To change the large pieces of map that are sandwiched between the red lines of the map-editing
grid you have to place a chunk, instead of a shape. The various chunks available in Exult Studio
are located under the heading U7chunks. The chunks are many large pieces of preformed landscape
that help give the world a more consistent feel. They also make the job of editing the world
somewhat easier. To place a chunk simply place it the same way that you would a shape, but keep
in mind that chunks can only be placed within the red squared formed by the map-editing grid.
There are a lot of interesting chunks already available in the chunks.vga file, but what if you
want to make some minor changes to the design of a pre-made chunk? Maybe make the Britannia
transport system a little more safe by painting a yellow line down the centre of each road chunk.
By selecting the Edit terrain option you can change a chunk by placing objects directly onto a
chunk, doing this permanently changes the chunk you are editing so be careful. It may not look it,
but if you then select the chunk you edited from the chunks.vga menu the chunk you place will
have the changes you made. Also be careful because when you edit a chunk you change every chunk
in the game that is the same as the chunk you're editing. To solve this problem go into the chunks
menu and right click the chunk you want to edit and select new, then duplicate. You now have two
identical chunks. You can then place your new chunk onto the world and edit it how you like
without editing the other chunks. You can now place this duplicate chunk wherever you like and
it will have the changes you made.
| | 8.8. How to make a structures consisting of multiple objects |
Many structures present in Exult consist of multiple objects. Examples of these are roofs,
long sections of wall or fence. Constructing a roof can be a long and difficult process
because it involves properly positioning multiple small objects and then manually setting
each object's height. That's where the New Combos option located in the Tools menu comes in
handy. Select the New Combos option and then enter the window where Exult is running. Your
mouse will have become a cross hair. Double click on all the objects you plan on adding to
your new object. In this example we're making a roof by double-clicking all sections of the
roof.
As you double-click each object, the selection appears in the combo window showing you exactly
what you have selected. Now give the object a name and select Okay. The object will now be
temporarily saved in the combos.flx menu. The object can now be placed on the map normally. If
you make a combo you want to keep, make sure to save before quitting Exult Studio. You can
continue editing your combos even after you originally finish them, by double right clicking
them from the combo menu.
| | 8.9. More things you can do with Combos |
One problem with the Exult Studio combo option is that when the combo is created many of the
items are not in the rendering order you would want them to appear in game. To fix this problem,
you can select individual items in the combo-builder window and by changing their viewing order
you can make sure that all items appear exactly how you want them. You can also use the x,y,z
coordinates to move individual items in your combo around to make sure that your combo looks
exactly how you want. If you added an object to your combo that you don't wish to keep, simply
select the item from the combo menu and press remove.
| | 8.10. Use the paint feature to quickly create a forest |
The best way to create multiple objects fast and conveniently is to use the paint option. If
you want to make a forest of trees fast, select the tree from the shapes menu and then select
the paint option from the mode menu. Select the Exult window and you can now quickly place
multiple objects with the green grid.
|
9. Miscellaneous |
---|
| 9.1. Creating a boat, flying carpet, or horse drawn carriage |
By double clicking on a barge (horse drawn carriage/magic carpet) in map editing mode one can
alter the properties of the barge through the barge editor. The Barge Editor allows one to alter
the size of a currently existing barge. By increasing the size of the Magic Carpet you can use
the added space to create some sort of a flying battleship. Theoretically the maximum size of a
barge is 100x100, but an object that large will fill the entire screen and become extremely
difficult to steer.
To create your own barge, you first need to chose Create Barge, select the dimensions of your
barge and place them in the map. To create a magic carpet, place the small blue tiles from the
magic carpet (shape# 840, frame 57) within the barge area and place the required number of seats
on top of the magic carpet tiles. You now have your own custom carpet. Magic carpet tiles are only
required for the seats your party will sit on, by expanding the area of the barge further you can
create a custom area where you can place walls and other flooring tiles. Unfortunately there are
limitations, all objects must be placed no more than four values in the vertical direction from the
floor. For a craft to work you must have at least as many seats as party members.
To create a cart you need only place a floor tile from the carriage (shape 652, frame 7) within the
barge area and place a seat on top of it but you must have a deed from one of the carriage vendors.
If you place a draft horse on your cart then you will need a cart deed (shape 797, frame 0) that had
the same quality set as the draft horse. The quality for an object can be set using the Exult Studio
object tool.
You can also create a ship by placing the deck (shape 700, frame 2) a chair, and an unfurled sail within
a barge created on the water. You also need a deed for the boat. To create a boat deed need a scroll that
has the same quality value as the sail of your boat.
| | 9.2. Importing and creating your own custom shapes |
Importing a shape into Exult Studio is quite easy. Simply select the type of object you wish to
create (shape, chunk, gump, etc.) and right-click on the display window and select New Shape
or New Frame depending on which is pertinent. Once the new shape is created, right
click on the new shape and select Import frame. Now select the desired shape from
the folder. You must now save all in Exult Studio and both Exult Studio and Exult need to be restarted
before the newly imported shape can be used in a game.
Note
All shapes imported into Exult Studio must be in either .png or .shp format. .png is a standard format
while .shp is an Exult specific file format. We recommend
The Gimp (The GNU Image Manipulation Program) for editing
graphic files for several reasons. It is free, it is relatively easy on hardware, and it has all the
necessary functions for creating and importing shapes into Exult Studio.
Important
For a shape to be compatible with Exult Studio it must be saved as a 255 colour interlaced .png/.shp file.
RGB or grayscale images are not compatible. Transparent sections will remain transparent in Exult.
| | 9.3. How to create a custom font? |
For your convenience Exult Studio accepts .ttf (true type font) files, which is the standard file
format for text in a Windows machine. Select new shape from fonts.vga, here you can either
manually overwrite a single frame of a font or you can import an entire .ttf file by selecting
the From font option. To overwrite an existing font set the shape of your
newly imported font to that of a preexisting font. Unfortunately newly imported .ttf files
don't have the correct offsets and you letters will look stuck together. To fix that you will
have to manually edit all font frames to give them proper spacing.
| | 9.4. Other tools that might be useful |
In the process of creating Exult the team came up with some useful
tools that might help in editing/making a game.
These can be built from the Exult source or you can download
the Windows binary snapshot. The source and binary snapshot can be found at
https://exult.info/download.php.
The tools are:
- mockup:
This is a simple program that converts a 8 bpp indexed file into a u7map based on a colour and u7chunk association.
See the
manual. - smooth:
More advanced companion of mockup.
See the
manual. - expack:
lets you extract and create Flex files.
See the
manual. - ipack:
a tool for creating and updating Exult and Ultima VII image archives, such as 'shapes.vga'.
See the
manual. - shp2pcx:
converts all frames contained in a Shape file into PCX-format image files.
See the
manual. - splitshp:
can be used to combine frames of a Shape file into one file, or split a Shape
file into its component frames.
See the
manual. - textpack:
can be used edit text flex files.
See manual. - ucc:
can be used to create custom usecode (see 5.3.).
See the
manual. - The GIMP Plug-in:
can be used for editing shapes in the GIMP. Handles multiframe Shape files.
See http://www.gimp.org for information on the GIMP. - Photoshop Plug-in:
can be used for editing shapes in Photoshop. Can't handle multiframe Shape files. And
also can't handle indexed images with Alpha correctly.
| | 9.5. Porting Exult Studio to other platforms |
Currently Exult Studio runs on U*ix and Windows platforms. First it only
ran on U*ix but with some effort by Colourless, Kirben and Mark Siewart
it was successfully ported to Windows.
A port to other platforms depends on when someone volunteers to do the work.
There are three issues:
- GTK+3 has to be ported to the platform.
- Exult Studio uses sockets to communicate with Exult.
- Recently we switched from using X drag'n'drop to SDL2's DropFile. For Windows
Exult we are still using our own code.
As an alternative to dragging objects, you can now select a shape,
then insert it into the game window by left-clicking while holding the
Shift key down.
| | 9.6. About this client/server stuff? |
A map-editor needs to provide the ability to display the game, place
objects on the map, and move objects around. That functionality is already in
Exult, and it makes sense to reuse it. So we could have made Exult a part of
Exult Studio. However, Exult is already a huge program, and is getting
unwieldy to work on.
With this architecture, Exult Studio can have all the messy code for
displaying/editing dialog boxes, while Exult only needs a little bit
of work to handle requests.
Also, I (Jeff) wanted to get a little experience programming with
sockets:-)
| | 9.7. About this 'terrain-editing' stuff and why you can't just
drag objects to where you want. |
This confused me too, and I originally planned on doing away with it.
But do a little arithmetic: Ultima VII's world has 3072x3072 tiles; that's
over 9 million that need to be set. My guess is that they came up
with the idea behind 'u7chunks' to save artists time and to give the
map a consistent look.
The basic idea is that each 'chunk' of flat terrain, 16x16 tiles, is
stored in 'u7chunks', and is indexed by its position in this file (0,
1, 2, ...). The 'u7map' file specifies, for each 'chunk' in the Ultima VII
map, which of the terrains is to be used. Since the entire map has
192x192 chunks, or a total of 36,864, and since 'u7chunks' has 3072
entries, each terrain is shared an average of over 10 times. When you
go into map-editing mode in Exult, the numbers displayed are the
indices from 'u7chunks'.
So here are the three sorts of scenery that you can see and edit:
- The 'terrain' (flat landscape, rocks, shrubs, and first-story
buildings) specified in 'u7chunks' and 'u7map'.
- Other non-moveable objects (second-floor structures, trees) specified in
the 'ifixnn' files.
- Moveable and changeable objects specified in the 'iregnn' files.
The challenge of writing a map-editor is keeping the above straight,
and reading/storing from/to the correct files. It's sorta-kinda
working now :-)
For a more detailed explanation, see Gary Thompson's paper,
u7edit.txt,
in our 'docs' folder.
| | 9.8. ifix and ireg reference chart |
Crowley from our forum made this chart to easily reference the u7iregnn
and u7ifixnn files in both BG and SI. Thanks a lot!
| | 9.9. What's next? |
The next things to be implemented are:
- Exult Studio needs to be able to automatically create palettes 1-n from palette 0
using the code from ipack.
- It will also be very nice to have a Usecode debugger someday as well
(Willem is actually working on it).
- A 'flags' editor for viewing and editing the global Usecode flags by name.
| | 9.10. Known Bugs with the Linux port | - when you load games or mods with more than one map, Exult Studio has problems
creating and saving the extra maps. This may no longer be an issue.
|
10. Credits |
---|
| 10.1. Thanks | - Colourless, Kirben and Mark Siewart invested a lot of effort to port
Exult Studio to Windows.
|
|