[SUG][EDITOR] Cross Compatible Editor

[GigaLem]

Even as some who still uses Neolemmix, given that new features are sunset for the sake of a final version. there were things I wanted for the editor of Neolemmix that never got made.

Piece search bar
Grid based Piece viewer
Force Lemming type

And ideas that by the time I've thought them, it was far too late to suggest them.

Pop out Stage viewer

However if any of this is possible in Superlemmix, The only thing I could suggest is a Cross Compatible Editor, one that you can choose to make levels for NeoLemmix or SuperLemmix depending on what folder its in.

Like "If editor is in the SuperLemmix folder, show SuperLemmix features" and "If editor is in NeoLemmix folder, Show NeoLemmix features"

While I'm no coder or anything, I don't know how viable of an option this is, or where else to put it.

[WillLem]

This could be done via a bool option in Settings, something like "Show SuperLemmix Features / Show NeoLemmix Features." The preference would be saved and loaded each time the Editor is opened, and would display a platform-relevant layout.

The only caveat is that it would still require 2 separate copies of the Editor; one for each platform, in its relevant folder, and with the relevant setting applied per copy. Otherwise, it would be necessary to switch between the two options on the fly (perhaps not the worst thing - a hotkey could be assigned to do this quickly).



I am, of course, more than happy to apply the various UI tweaks and improvements to the current NeoLemmix Editor, but any such version would exist as an alternative to, rather than a replacement for, the official NeoLemmix version (as per namida's Future of NeoLemmix Development post).

That way, those who decide not to bother with SLX can still benefit from any Editor improvements and upgrades.

[WillLem]

For reference, here's a list of the changes that have been made to the SLX Editor (excluding those which deal with SLX-only features).

Most of these changes make a noticeable difference to the overall layout and functionality, which some users may consider to be an improvement:

Widened dropdowns for Theme/Style for easier style browsing

Widened horizontal and vertical scrollbars for easier access

"Auto Screen Start" is no longer checked by default (but its state is remembered when opening a level in the Editor)

Selected pieces can be moved horizontally-only and vertically-only by pressing a hotkey whilst dragging with the mouse

Alt key is assigned to "custom move", which allows the user to specify a number of pixels by which the selected pieces will be moved when pressing Alt + Arrows (this feature effectively brings back the old "Shift Level" functionality from Editor 1.43, whilst also being useful for individual pieces, multi-selected pieces, and grouped pieces)

The Talisman creation dialog now warns the user if no requirements have been set - the Talisman can still be saved with no requirements, but this helps to prevent users unintentionally leaving the requirements blank

Moved "Clear Backgrounds" button from the "Globals" tab to the piece selection panel

Various other UI tweaks - all popup dialogs (settings, hotkeys, about, etc) now display centre-screen, the About dialog and Validate Level feature now have their own dedicated hotkey combos, menu items have been grouped where possible to reduce clutter, etc.

[WillLem]

Giving this one a bump.

@GigaLem - could you further clarify what you want to see regarding the following:

Piece search bar

Would this be something that could search for a piece by name, regardless of which style it's in? If that's the case, this would be great, but I might need a bit of help with implemention; it's by no means a trivial addition.

Grid based Piece viewer

Do you mean draw the alignment grid onto the canvas, or something else?

Force Lemming type

It's already possible to do this using the "theme" field, simply select whichever style the sprites are associated with (e.g. flopsy_soniclems, gigalem_millas, mantha_ghostbusters, strato_lems_spider-man, willlem_lemminas, etc) - maybe you mean something else?

Pop out Stage viewer

Not sure what you mean by this one

[Simon]

I'll guess: The grid-based piece viewer is a tile browser with a large two-dimensional area that displays many tiles at once, laid out two-dimensionally instead of tiles all in a line. Ideally, you have the full tileset on the screen at the same time.

Pop-out is GUI speak for showing some parts of the editor's functionality in a separate window from the main program window. You can resize the windows independently. The deluxe variant is when the popping-out is optional and you can dock the pop-outs back into the main window.

For the search bar, I won't guess. Certainly, searching across tilesets is strictly more powerful, but I don't know if Giga needs an in-tileset search or an across-tileset search.

-- Simon

[WillLem]

a Cross Compatible Editor, one that you can choose to make levels for NeoLemmix or SuperLemmix depending on what folder its in.

Like "If editor is in the SuperLemmix folder, show SuperLemmix features" and "If editor is in NeoLemmix folder, Show NeoLemmix features"

This has now been implemented in the latest version of the Editor (2.8.3) and will be available in the next SuperLemmix update (2.8.3), which will likely be released later today or tomorrow.

Simply copy the SuperLemmix Editor across to your NeoLemmix directory. If it detects NeoLemmix and not SuperLemmix, then all SuperLemmix-specific features will be (visible but*) unavailable. If it detects neither, both, or only SuperLemmix, all features will be available.

(*To prevent awkward gaps in the UI).

If usage of the SLX Editor increases and there is enough demand, I might consider maintaining a separate NL-only version. For now, this is the best compromise for those who want to use the SLX Editor to make NL levels.

[WillLem]

From namida, on Discord:

You should allow the user to override this with a setting
Especially in the "both / neither" cases

Good shout, a "NeoLemmix Mode" setting has now been added which overrides the .exe detection.

[namida]

It's probably a good idea to allow forcing SLX mode too.

[WillLem]

It's probably a good idea to allow forcing SLX mode too.

Good shout. Gone ahead and added this as an enum, along with an expanded Settings form to incorporate this as a radio group (Neo/Super/Auto).