NAME

SYNOPSIS

DESCRIPTION

The -l option sets the level number for editing. This may be any integer greater than 0. The -w and -h options set the width and height of the level when creating a new level. The world option is used to select a world name. A world is a distinct set of numbered levels. Any valid file name may be used as the world name. Different worlds may be used to allow users to control private sets of levels. Default is “goldlev”.

If ~/.golddig/worldname### or /usr/local/share/golddig/worldname### exist, they are used as templates (in this order).

gdedit is used as a graphics editor. Each level is divided into a grid of blocks. The blocks are “painted” by pressing the left mouse button down and moving the mouse. The right mouse button always erases blocks. A new block type is selected by a keyboard key. Currently, the following block types are supported:

<space> - draw spaces
! - draw escapes
# - draw walls
$ - draw golds
- - draw ropes
< - draw left arrows
= - draw tubes
> - draw right arrows
@ - draw stones
^ - draw anti-spaces
a - draw armors
b - draw bad guys
c - draw chutes
d - draw down arrows
e - draw reverse monsters
f - draw up arrows
g - draw ghost bricks
i - draw invisible blocks
j - draw jump pads
k - draw kill zones
l - draw power shovels
m - draw super jump pads
n - draw nuclear shovels
o - draw anchors
p - draw players
q - draw speed boots
r - draw parachutes
s - draw step ladders
t - draw teleporters
u - draw leave levels
v - draw vertical ropes
w - draw windows
x - draw extra bricks
y - draw heavy fogs
z - draw time stops
| - draw ladders
~ - draw portable ropes

A player block sets where the player begins in the level. If more than one is used in a level, all but one will be ignored. Bad guy blocks set where the bad guys begin the level. There is a limit to the total number of bad guys, and that number is compiled into the game. Pressing control-W inside the editor window will stop editing and save the level. Pressing control-C quits without saving. Pressing control-E will erase the contents of the editor. The properties of the rest of the block can be determined with experimentation.

gdedit saves the levels in ~/.golddig, which is searched first on startup of golddig. If a level should be accessible by all users, it has to be copied manually to /usr/local/share/golddig.

A really good level has several properties. The first important property is efficiency. A good level makes careful use of all of the available space unless it is trying to achieve a specific effect. Another critical property is fairness. A player should always be forewarned or have an escape if trouble comes up. Nothing is more irritating than a killer trap where the user had no way of guessing that it was coming up. It is also important to avoid tedious and repetative levels. Really difficult traps should be rewarded with lots of gold.

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