[SUG][EDITOR] Add more sketches / expand existing ones

[WillLem]

missing sketches, stuff that suggested that haven't been added. sure we have the miner sketch but not its tunnel, tunnels for destructives, paths of gliders

OK, I see what you mean. The Miner sketch shows the Miner mask but not some length of tunnel that they might create. It's currently necessary to stack Miner sketches to get the direction of movement and some idea of the tunnel:



We can either expand the existing Miner sketch to include an arbitary length of tunnel, or add another sketch that's (again) some arbitrary length of tunnel. I'd probably prefer the former, and then we can do the same for the Basher and Fencer (Digger sketch already includes a decent enough length of tunnel).

Glider sketch should definitely be added, I'll get on that for the next update. We can do something similar to the Ballooner sketch where we show the direction for a good amount of distance:



The main question for all of this, including those that are already implemented, is: how long should the tunnel/line of direction be? For the Ballooner, it's how long before they'd reach the top of the level in a standard 160px-high level with no obstacles along that path.

But, the moment you place anything (terrain, steel, an interactive object) in the path of the sketch, or change the size of the level, the sketch fails to take this into account. Whilst this is an obvious shortcoming of the sketches, it's currently unlikely to change.

The understanding here is that users will realise that the sketches are only meant as a basic guide, and that interactivity with terrain, steel, objects and level edges will necessarily affect the trajectory of the skill action and, in some cases, the direction of the lemming.

I'm probably not up for making the sketches as sophisticated as skill shadows/projections (in case anyone is thinking of suggesting it, or the OP has this sort of thing in mind). Two reasons: (1) it'd be a lot of work for relatively small gain, (2) it would encourage pixel-precise level designs, which isn't something I really want to encourage. If anyone thinks it would be worth the effort and wants to implement it themselves and send a PR, I'll definitely consider merging, but that's the only scenario in which sketches will gain that particular level of functionality (at least for the SuperLemmix Editor, anyway).

With that said, I'm happy to add the Glider sketch and make the Miner, Basher and Fencer sketches a bit more usable in terms of adding a short distance of tunnel; users may still then need to stack if they need a longer tunnel, but not to the same extent as previously.

Here's a list of all sketches, including proposed updates, for reference:

Proposed sketches updates

These are listed in the order they currently appear in the Editor. I'll probably update this so that skills appear in the correct order and with other non-skill sketches thereafter.

Horizontal Line - fine as it is
Jumper - fine as it is
Laserer - fine as it is (could maybe be shorter, if anything)
Laserer blast - fine as it is, but could probably be incorporated into the other Laserer sketch
Miner - add some length of tunnel
Platformer - fine as it is
Shimmier - fine as it is
Spearer - fine as it is
Stacker - fine as it is
Ballooner - probably make this shorter
Basher - add some length of tunnel
Blocker - remove the grey part
Bomber - fine as it is
Builder - fine as it is
Digger - make the tunnel part transparent
Fall Distance - fine as it is
Fencer - add some length of tunnel
Freezer - fine as it is
Grenader - fine as it is

To be added:

Glider
Vertical Line
Diagonal Line

N.B. A Timebomber sketch wouldn't be feasible due to the many unpredictable variables during countdown such as the direction the lemming is facing, what other skills are assigned, etc. If people deem it necessary, we could add one that shows a straight line and a Bomber sketch at the end purely for straight-line Timebomber use.

[GigaLem]

While I may not use SLX, and plan to use the QoL features for NLX, my proposal for timebombers is a frame length ruler as a means to see how long it takes to tick down one number. you'd need different ones for walking, floating and such.

[namida]

Provide a couple of tunnel lengths, critically, including a single stroke. Make sure it has a marker for where the lemming will be when he starts the next stroke. Users can then chain these together as needed to create any length.

[WillLem]

my proposal for timebombers is a frame length ruler as a means to see how long it takes to tick down one number. you'd need different ones for walking, floating and such.

It's the "and such" part of this that's the problem; there are far too many variables that would need to be accounted for. Here's just one example:


The lemming is a Climber. The ruler would have to dynamically adjust depending on where the lem is positioned; not impossible, but also not worth the time and effort required to implement when the designer can (and should!) figure this out by simply playing their own level...

Even if we could account for every single possible interaction with static rulers, the amount of rulers needed would either make a complete mess of the UI, or would have to be somehow cobbled together into one image, resulting in the sort of awkwardness that already plagues NL's fall distance ruler.

And, even if that were acceptable, do we really want levels that require frame-perfect Timebombers? Let's keep it fairly difficult to make those sorts of levels. Designers are more than welcome to make their own rulers (that make sense to them personally) and add those to the sketches folder anyway.

Provide a couple of tunnel lengths, critically, including a single stroke. Make sure it has a marker for where the lemming will be when he starts the next stroke. Users can then chain these together as needed to create any length.

Yes, the lemming marker is definitely important for stacking purposes. The end of the tunnel will show the resulting shape as well, as if a full stroke has been completed.

[WillLem]

We have new and improved sketches! Here's a full list of what's been updated:

Sketch Updates

Ballooner - shortened the ruler, added foot position pins
Basher - added a tunnel with foot position pins
Blocker - made the middle part transparent
Bomber - thinned the blast outline so it's the same as the in-game skill shadow
Digger - made the tunnel transparent
Fencer - added a tunnel with foot position pins
Freezer - added foot position pins
Horizontal Line - added dots at 2px and 10px intervals along a 50px ruler
Laserer - incorporated "blast" into the main Laserer sketch and shortened the blast tunnel
Miner - added a tunnel with foot position pins

New sketches:

Glider - see below example
Vertical Line - same as Horizontal Line but vertical
Diagonal Line - same as Horizontal Line but diagonal
Timebomber - see below example

And, here are some examples:


Miner sketch - the purple dots are to show foot position when stationary for > 1 frame


Glider sketch - shown from falling position; the second and third purple dots can be used for stacking purposes

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Horizontal line - 50px wide, with 2px and 10px markers; a similar Vertical and Diagonal line have also been added

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And, OK, let's have a 1-second Timebomber sketch for Climbers, Walkers (along straight terrain), Floaters and Fallers

Note: whilst this may prove useful for very specific scenarios, Timebombers usually tend to transition between many states along their 5-second journey and it would be impossible to account for everything within the scope of the sketches. I would prefer to encourage designers to learn what's needed for the Timebomber assignments in their levels by simply playing the level; after all, that's what the player will have to do!

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Thoughts and suggestions welcome.

[GigaLem]

I like how these look, given when now have a glider path, we need a glider collision mask to know what would send the glider downwards by terrain or turn the glider around

[WillLem]

we need a glider collision mask to know what would send the glider downwards by terrain or turn the glider around

Good idea. I've added collision masks for Glider and Ballooner that should apply for the majority of setups:



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[GigaLem]

probably allow a separate collision mask sketch to be used for needing to use it by itself for such things

[WillLem]

probably allow a separate collision mask sketch to be used for needing to use it by itself for such things

For the defaults, I'd prefer to keep everything to a single .png where possible. Users are always welcome to create their own set of sketches if they'd prefer separate ones for collision.

Reason: I'd rather not keep adding to the sketches exponentially. A single image per-skill is enough. They're meant as a very basic guide, not an exact science, and may not even correspond to what's actually seen when playing the level in some setups.

The bottom line is still: playtest the level to find out exactly how things will play out.