Information on how to add your own level('s) to Atomic Bomberman. Note: You will need to become familiar with Fredit before adding your own stage into Bomberman. Where to start -------------- In .\data\res you will find the following files: FIELD(n).pcx Valuelst.res In .\data\ani you will find the following files XBRICK(n).ani TILES(n).ani The Palette ----------- In your .\tools folder you will find a file called BOMBPAL.PCX. You should use this palette whenever making your own custom graphics. Bomberman will attempt to remap the screens as necessary, however, the end result may not always be desirable. Save yourself the trouble and use the palette provided. ****** CREATING YOUR ASSETS ******* The Field --------- The backgrounds are labeled FieldX.PCX where X is = to a number. The last one in the list is FIELD10.PCX. Unless you want to overwrite an existing stage you should probably start at 11 and work your way up. Currently there are 11 files, starting at 0 and ending at 10. Each FIELDX.pcx is a 640x480 PCX file in 256 colors. I strongly suggest that you use one of the existing files as a template to make sure you get the layout the right way. Once you have created your new field, name it appropriately (Field11.pcx) in this case and copy it into your .\data\res directory. The Tiles --------- Located in: .\data\ani The Tiles are labeled TILESX.ANI where X is = to a number. The last one in the list is TILES10.ANI. Unless you want to overwrite an existing TILE SET you should probably start at 11 and work your way up. Currently there are 11 files, starting at 0 and ending at 10. Each TILESX.ANI is a fredit animation file. (see details on using fredit). Once you have created your new TILES file, name it appropriately TILES11.ANI in this case and copy it into your .\data\ani directory. You should use one of the TILESX.ANI files as reference. You will notice after loading one of these files that one is a destructible barrier, and one is non-destructible. These should be named appropriately within Fredit as well when defined as a sequence. TILE X BRICK (Where X is = to the number) TILE X SOLID The Bricks ---------- Located in: .\data\ani The Tiles are labeled XBRICKX.ANI where X is = to a number. The last one in the list is XBRICK10.ANI. Unless you want to overwrite an existing BRICK SET you should probably start at 11 and work your way up. Currently there are 11 files, starting at 0 and ending at 10. Each XBRICKX.ANI is a fredit animation file. (see details on using fredit). Once you have created your new BRICKS file, name it appropriately XBRICK11.ANI in this case and copy it into your .\data\ani directory. You should use one of the XBRICKX.ANI files as reference. You will notice after loading one of these files that there is a sequence of a destructible brick blowing up. This should be 9 or 10 frames, no more no less. These should be named appropriately within Fredit as well when defined as a sequence. FLAME BRICK X (Where X is = to the number) ------------------- Now that you have all your data prepared your now ready to add your new arena/stage into the game. ******** ADDING YOUR STAGE TO THE GAME ******** Modifying the VALUELST.RES file to get your stage into the game. WARNING: YOU MUST DO ALL OF THESE STEPS. It is possible for bad things to happen if you do not. Make sure you do not overrun any value into another. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Once you have your stage data in the right place you will need to load up the file VALUELST.RES in your .data\res directory with 'notepad'. Search down until you find value 35 (How many levels are defined), and then add 1 to it. By default this is 11, when adding a stage just change/increment the number following the comma by 1. For Example: 35,11 (before) 35,12 (after) =====Regenerating Tiles Now you will need to look for the value 340 - 350 and add in another reference number here. 351,(n) for example. This will determine if the level has regenerating tiles or not. =====Ice Delays Now you will need to look for the value 450 - 460 and add in another reference number here. 461,(n) for example. This will determine the Ice Delay if any for your level. =====Random Level ? Now you will need to look for the value 1150 - 1161 and add in another reference number here. 1162,(n) for example. This will determine if this arena is chosen during random selection. In the root of your Bomberman folder you will find a file called MESSAGES.TXT. You will need to find the value 150 - 160 and add in another reference number here. 161,My first level This will name your level for use within the game. The Master Animation List ------------------------- Now that you have your FIELD, XBRICK, and TILES made for your stage, including your modified VALUELST.RES file, all you need to do is load up the following file. MASTER.ALI located in .\data\ani. Locate the section -xbrickX.ani and -tilesX.ani and add in your new levels appropriately. More Information ---------------- Each level that is defined in the MASTER.ALI file adds more to the memory footprint of the game. While is is not out of the question to add in 50 levels, it may not be worth your while to have them all in there. Adjust your MASTER.ALI file and Valuelst.res file to suit your needs. MUST READ --------- Please see TOOLHELP.TXT for important information regarding this utility as well as all the other tools / utililties located on this CD.
The-Gamer