Tutorial:Level Editing
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To edit a level, you must first open Lunar Magic and either go to File-Open ROM... or click on the folder with the arrow in the top left corner of the screen. Once you have selected the ROM you want to open, click OPEN. You should see Yoshi's Island 1 open up. Levels are listed in order of their vertical position on the overworld, going from top to bottom. The main map uses single and double digit numbers while the submaps use triple digits, although this doesn't have to be the case in fanmade hacks. To change levels, either click the folder with the level number next to it (in this case level 105) or press Page up or Page down.
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[edit] Editing Objects
To select an object (terrain, coins, pipes, bushes, etc.) make sure that you are in Layer 1 Editing Mode by pressing the dirt with grass near the top of the screen, then simply click on an object. To select more than one object, click on an empty area, then drag the mouse over the objects you want to select.
[edit] Adding and Deleting Objects
To delete an object, select it and press the Delete key. However, adding objects is a little more involved. To add an object, make sure that you are in Layer 1 Editing Mode (see above) and then click on the turn block at the top of the screen. This will open up a new window with a blue background. This is just a viewing window for the possible objects to insert into the level. To insert an object, select the object you want to insert, and press Control+Right Click (While it is not essential to press Control to insert an object, if you don't, and there are any objects already selected, you will paste a copy of those instead). You may notice for objects for objects like Coin blocks, Grey Cement Blocks, Jumping Note Blocks, etc. that they come in groups of 4. To change this, select the object, and press SHIFT + an arrow key. Other objects can be expanded too, such as pipes, slopes, midway points, and anything that has a XY, X_, _Y, or SS next it in the Add Objects Window.
There are many more objects than the ones you see right away. If you click on the drop-down menu under the viewing section, you will see four options: Standard Objects, Tileset Specific Objects, Extended Objects, and one labeled Direct Map16 Access (Lunar Magic).
[edit] Standard Objects
Standard objects can be used in almost any level. They are used for basic terrain building. Just about all of them have at least one size component. They can easily be copied from one level to another. You will most likely use these most often.
[edit] Tileset Specific Objects
These objects will look differently and will have a different Lunar Magic description depending on the current tileset for the level. However, Lunar Magic will only display the objects that will not look like a garbled mess. Copying these from level to level can have nasty results, as the objects change from level to level, and you may end up with a null object.
[edit] Extended Objects
These objects can be used in any level. However, none of these have any size component, which makes them not all that great for terrain. Objects in this category include doors, decorations, green and yellow switch blocks, Yoshi Coins, and other such objects.
[edit] Direct Map16 Access (Lunar Magic)
This is a selection window with two pages by default with every object broken up into individual 16x16 tiles that can be inserted by themselves. This was made possible by a minor ASM hack done by FuSoYa. Every object in this category has a size component of X and Y. Please note, however, that every tile will act like another one in another tileset, even if it looks completly different. A good example of this would be tile 15A. In a castle level, it is a downward facing spike. In a ghost house level, it is a right facing spike. In underground levels, it is the corner of a lava waterfall. However, this does not apply to 16x16 tiles that correspond to tileset specific objects.
[edit] Editing Sprites
Sprites are things like enemies, powerups, moving lifts, commands, and generators. They are placed, copied, and deleted like objects, but they don't have a size component. When placing sprites, there are two main things to remember: only a certain amount of sprites can be on the screen at once, and very large sprites, such as Banzai Bills and Big Boos require special sprite settings.
[edit] Standard Sprites
These sprites can be placed in any level. These are sprites like koopas, mushrooms, feathers, flowers, 1-ups, goombas, message blocks, and keys and keyholes (NOTE: Yoshi is not compatable with castle levels, ghost house levels, and levels that have a baby yoshi or an egg). Also, just because a sprite is here, it does not mean that what it affects or generates will look right (like sprite C8, the light switch for a dark room).
[edit] Tileset Specific Sprites
This is easily the largest collection of sprites, and, if you look at all of them, it is the largest collection of garbled sprites. This is because this category is full of the sprites that will look garbled depending on the type of level. This includes everything from fish to Chargin' Chucks to thwomps to even the Koopa Kids! Note, however, that using Morton, Roy, Ludwig, Iggy, or Larry in a normal level is not a good idea, because it will leave Mario to be hit by invisible sprites.
[edit] Special Commands and Generators
This category contains sprite commands and generators. Examples are background scrolling, bullet bill launchers, auto-scrolling, etc. Like Tileset Specific Sprites, some generators will only look correct depending on the type of level.
[edit] Changing Level Types
To change the type of level, and the object and sprites that are available, you must click on the purple poison mushroom at the top of the screen. A window should pop up with two drop-down menus. The first affects the objects and background. The second affects the tileset specific sprites. The names correspond to some of the sprites or objects it affects (For example: Underground 1 for the FG/BG GFX will make it so you can have underground terrain and backgrounds, and a setting of Underground for sprites will affect things like swoopers and buzzy beetles.
[edit] Editing Backgrounds
To edit a background, you must open up two windows. The first looks like a leaf, and the other is a question block. The leaf will open up the background editor, and the question block will open up the 16x16 tile editor (this is the tile editor, not the tile selector). In the 16x16 editor, scroll down to the background pages by pressing down until you see the graphics that your background uses. You may notice that there are two pages of background. You can only use one of the two. To change which one to use, go to Level-Change Background Map16 Page. You can then select which page to load (unless you have made another background page, you are advised to only use the first two pages). To paste a tile from the 16x16 tile editor to the background editor, click on a tile in the 16x16 editor, then right-click in the background to paste it. If you want to copy a background, go to Level-Copy Background Image... then select the level you want to copy the background from (You may have to change the FG/BG GFX settings for the image to look right).
[edit] Editing Level Entrances and Midway Points
Editing Level Entrances and Midway Points is a bit more tricky that just clicking and dragging Mario. To change the Entrance, click on the door with a 1 on it at the top of the screen. A complicated window will pop up, but if you follow the directions, it will not be as complicated as it looks.
[edit] The Top Half
(NOTE: before you start, click on the blue door near the top of the screen to see the screen exits.) The top half consists of the following things: A test box for the screen number for the entrance and midway point entrance, and the X/Y position to enter. In the first two text boxes, enter the screen number for Mario to enter for the Main Entrance and the Midway Entrance. For the second part, there are some drop down menus. The bottom two will remain inactive unless you check "Set X/Y Positition using Method 2" The menus control where Mario will start for each of the entrances (Yes, both of the entrances are controled by the same X/Y component). The first method is complex, so if you really want to use it, just play around with it a bit. The second method is recommended for two main reasons: it is simpler, and it is more flexible. The X= is for Mario's X positition, the Y= is for Mario's Y positition, and the third one is for whether or not the Y position should be at the top or the bottom of the screen.
[edit] The Bottom Half
This has a few things, and the first two are somewhat complex. They are for setting where the foreground and the background starts. If Mario dies upon starting the level, the screen scrolls up or down right away, or if there is animated tile garbage in the background, just give these a little tweak. The second menu is for how Mario should enter the level. It is fairly self-explanitory. So are the bottom two checkboxes.
[edit] Editing Level Exits
To change where an exit-enabled pipe or a door leads, click on the door with the arrow on it (it is the first door from left to right). The window that opens up will have a drop-down menu, a text box, and two checkboxes. The drop-down menu is for selecting the screen to have the exit on (If you don't know what screen you need, close the window, then click on the blue door). The text box is for what level to exit to. Unless you have the "Use the above value as a Secondary Exit Number" checked, when Mario enters the new level, he will enter through the level entrance, and NOT the secondary entrance. If you want to use the secondary entrance, enter the current level with the exit in the text box, and check the "Use the above value as a Secondary Exit Number" box. Press OK, then press the door with the 2 on it. This window is almost exactly like the Entrances, with one main difference: The first drop-down box. Open it and fint the level number. It should say your level number. Below the drop sown menu, select the level to exit to, then where to start.
[edit] Changing General Level Properties
This window is found when you click on the button at the top with the Mario head. The first drop-down menu changes things like if the level is vertical, if it is translucent, etc. Underneath is is a brief description of the level type. The second menu is to change whether vertical and/or horizontal scrolling is enabled. The music and time limit should be self-explanitory, however, a time limit of 0 is infinite, and if you die with 0 time, you will get the "time up!" message. The number of screens is determined automatically, you don't need to use this. The item index is to control whether or not some coins have been collected, question blocks have expired, etc. The main level should use Index 0, and any levels that branch off from that should use 1, 2, or 3. The Force Layer 3 above all other layers checkbox will control whether Layer 3 is above the Terrain.
[edit] Changing Other Properties
[edit] Layer 2 (BG) scrolling rate
This changes how fast the background scrolls. Slow means that the background will move at a minimal speed. Constant means that the background will move at the same speed as the foreground, and Variable means that the background will move slightly slower than the foreground.
[edit] Layer 3 options
Layer 3 is an added layer that has things like tides or little fish. This menu will let you choose whether layer 3 is turned on or off. The FG/BG GFX settings should be either 1, 3, 5, 9, D, or E, otherwise you will get the cage which is missing most graphics. Also, the cage won't be solid.
[edit] The Last Three Checkboxes
The first must be checked for a vertical level, otherwise Mario will start in an unknown location, instantly killing him. The second one, no one really knows about. The third one decides whether or not the "No Yoshi" intro will be played, which will allow Yoshi into any level that does not have this box checked (if it is available). Note that allowing Yoshi in sprite sets he wasn't intended for (such as castles) may have negative side effects.
