It's time to implement attribute editing in my new Pokémon map editor. Without it, you can (for example) remove the table from your house, but you can't walk through the now vacant space, since the area still has Solidity attributes set.

Option 1 is to have it like it is in EliteMap. You select tiles and attributes, then draw both at the same time. I might add a modifier key to only draw attributes. Editing events (people, traps, warps and signs) would, however, be a distinct mode. An extra checkbox may be added to overlay translucent, color-coded squares to see the attributes. This seems a better method than EliteMap's colored cursor square.

Option 2 is to have three distinct editing modes, with the visual layer and the attribute layer seperated. In the visual layer, the tileset panel shows the level's tileset and everything works as seen in the screenshots up to now. The attribute layer replaces the tileset panel with the list of attributes, and always has the translucent squares.

Edit: I wrote both versions last night. Want some hands-on experience?


http://helmet.kafuka.org/Garry_emstyle.rar
http://helmet.kafuka.org/Garry_modalstyle.rar
http://helmet.kafuka.org/Garry_mixed.rar

Note that there appears to be something wrong with the data for Fire Red 1.1 US, resulting in an "index out of bounds" error. Another possible cause for loading erorrs is if you tried to load a 1.1 ROM where 1.0 is listed or vice versa and the difference between the two is too large.

____________________
Wife make lunch - Shampoo
Opera - give it a spin
Spare some of your free time?
<GreyMaria> I walked around the Lake so many goddamn times that my sex drive was brutally murdered
Kawa rocks — byuu

To elaborate, the so-called EliteMap style would not be a complete imitation of EM, but with differences:

In EliteMap, you edit tiles, attributes and events in one go. You can't draw under an event, for example, because clicking there would select the event for a drag. Clicking in the tileset sets only the tile part of your brush, as does the attribute set. Shift-clicking a spot on the map grabs both the tile # and the attribute #. All three mouse buttons have their own tile, so you need a modifier key to pick one up.

In Garry, you'd edit tiles and attributes, or events, kinda like in the OpenPoké editor, but with attribute editing (which is part of the tileset in OP) added. Clicking the tileset sets only the tile part of your brush, which can now have any size, and clicking in the attribute panel sets the attributes for the entire brush. Clicking (or click-dragging) with the right mouse button picks up a brush, including any combination of attributes, to draw with. Also, using a modifier key, you can draw with only the attributes without editing the visual tiles.

For example, you can drag-select a table, then select the "Solid" attribute if it wasn't already, and place a solid table on the map. You can drag-select a piece of (nonsolid) floor with solid objects on it, then place an exact copy, tiles and attribs, elsewhere.

A seperate mode switch button toggles between map editing and event editing, which is another story altogether, and a "show attributes" button displays translucent color-coded squares that represent the attributes.

Note that the MDI setup has shared brushes, so you can pick up a brushful of architecture from one map and place it in another, and that the above is not yet in the program, but just a theory of how it would be.

____________________
Wife make lunch - Shampoo
Opera - give it a spin
Spare some of your free time?
<GreyMaria> I walked around the Lake so many goddamn times that my sex drive was brutally murdered
Kawa rocks — byuu

Inspired by this Coding Horror article, I've decided to ignore this poll and go with mixed mode. The idea is to make the program send usage statistics to me. These statistics will include what editing mode is used (the options in this poll, basically), which ROM files are most popular to edit, and on which operating system. If you're all cool with this, I'll have a nice new coding challenge this weekend, and this thread can be closed, for all I care. If the statistics show a major preference for the one, the other can be removed in a later version.

Edit: When I say send usage stats, I mean it checks for an internet connection, and if there is one it can use, it will ask once if it's okay with you. Unless you remove the config file or some such shit, it'll forget.

____________________
Wife make lunch - Shampoo
Opera - give it a spin
Spare some of your free time?
<GreyMaria> I walked around the Lake so many goddamn times that my sex drive was brutally murdered
Kawa rocks — byuu