## Level Editor

The Level Editor, accessed via the Main Menu, allows the player to create new levels or edit existing levels. The default levels included in the distribution (Game Pack 1 and Game Pack 2) cannot be edited. Players may also submit their created Games for upload into the "New Games" list for public download.

# Creating / Loading Games

Levels are stored in Games. Therefore, to create a new Level you must first create a new Game or load an existing Game. You can create up to 50 levels in any one game.

Important Note: User-created Games are unsupported. FreshGames is not liable for errors and issues related to Games acquired from or created by parties other than FreshGames. Use at your own risk.

To create a New Game:

1) Press the Game Menu button in the left control panel.
2) Press the Level Editor button to enter the Level Editor. You are now in the Games Menu within the Level Editor.
3) Select a Game Type (Arcade or Puzzle).
4) Press the Create Game button.
5) Type the name of your level and press the Create Game button or the Enter key.

To load an existing Game:

1) Press the Game Menu button in the left control panel.
2) Press the Level Editor button to enter the Level Editor. You are now in the Games Menu within the Level Editor.
3) Select a Game Type (Arcade or Puzzle).
4) Select a Game from the list.
5) Press the Load Game button.

Note: You can also select an existing Game to rename or delete it as necessary using Rename Game or Delete Game, respectively.

# Level Menu

After creating or loading a Game, you are placed in the Level Menu to manage levels within the game. An example of this menu is shown below.

Button/Field | Function
Game Information | Displays the current Game Name, Author, and Game Type.
Game Settings button | Takes you to the Game Settings screen, where you can edit the Game Name and Author, and set Level order for the game.
Choose a Level | Select from a list of levels in the game to perform a specific action on that level (Edit, Rename, Copy, etc.).
Edit Level button | Loads the selected level in the editor.
Create New Level button | Allows naming and creating of a blank, new level.
Copy Level button | Copies the existing level into the clipboard buffer. This is useful to copy a level from one game to another.
Rename Level button | Allows renaming of the selected level.
Delete Level button | Deletes the selected level.
Paste Level button | Pastes a level from the clipboard buffer into the current game. This requires a "Copy Level" action from another game or the same Game Type. Arcade levels cannot be pasted into Puzzle games and vice versa.
Previous Menu button | Returns to the Games Menu in the Level Editor.

# Editing Levels

After pressing "Edit Level" or "Create New Level", you are placed in a screen to edit the level. The layout of the program when editing a level is illustrated below:

Editor menus: These buttons allow navigation between the Games and Level Menus within the editor or allow you to exit the Level Editor completely.

- Games Menu: Returns to the Games Menu within the Level Editor to manage games available for editing.
- Level Menu: Returns to the Level Menu within the Level Editor to manage levels and game settings within the current game.
- Exit Level Editor: Exits the Level Editor and returns to the Main Menu.

Level Information: This area displays the level Name, Type, initial Time Left, and initial Cubes to Go settings. Edit all of these properties, except for Game Type, by clicking on the property and editing the values as necessary in the menus that appear.

Cubes on Board: There are four cube types available place on the board to construct a level: Normal cube, Star cube, Fractured cube, and Immovable cube.

- Selecting Cube Types: Left-click one of these cubes to highlight it and use the color swatch above the cubes to change the color. Note: Immovable cubes do not change color.

Cubes in Play / Weights: There are four cube types available to place on the board during gameplay: Normal cube, Wedge cube, Osmosis cube, and Laser cube. Use this area to control the colors and likeliness that a particular cube will appear during gameplay (the weight). Left-click a cube to adjust these values for the given cube in the window that appears.

- Adjusting Weights: The weight is the likeliness that a cube will appear during gameplay. Higher values will give you the selected cube more often, while lower values will make that cube more rare. A weight of zero prevents the cubes from appearing in gameplay at all (this does NOT restrict cube types in the initial board layout set in "Cubes on Board").
- Adjusting Colors: In the same window, checking and unchecking colors determines which colors that cube may have when it becomes available in gameplay. A check color will be available; an unchecked color will not be available. Note: The laser cube does not have a color, and so there are no colors to choose from for this cube.

Clear Layer / Board: This button clears the selected layer or the entire board as selected in the Layer Selector.

Layer Selector: The board has three layers (bottom, middle, top) where cubes can be placed. Use the layer selector to choose a layer to place cubes.

- Selecting a Layer: Use the stack of three buttons on the right to select bottom, middle, or top layer of cubes. When the middle or top layer is selected, the cubes below the selected layer are semi-transparent. Clear the selected layer by clicking the "Clear Layer" button.
- Viewing All Layers: The layer button to the left of the stack of three displays the whole board of cubes as you would see it in a game. The board cannot be edited when this button is selected. Clear the entire board by clicking the "Clear Board" button.

Editing Area: This is the actual board where you place cubes to create your level.

- Placing Cubes: Select a cube from the "Cubes on Board" section, move your mouse to the desired position on the board, and left-click to place the cube. The cube will be placed in the layer (bottom, middle, or top) as selected in the Layer Selector.
- Replacing Cubes: Replace an existing cube on the board with a different cube (or color of cube) by left-clicking to place a new cube in the same position.
- Deleting Cubes: Position the cube cursor over the cube to be removed and click the right mouse button.

Save & Test Level: These buttons allow saving or playtesting of the current level.

- Save Level button: Saves the level in its current state.
- Test Level button: Use this to playtest the level in its current state (whether saved or unsaved). This is an excellent tool to test level quality without leaving the level editor. Exit the test to return to the Level Editor by finishing the level or clicking the Quit Test button. Use the Restart Level button to restart the test.

# Level / Game Design Tips

Creating an effective, fun game depends on a variety of factors. Here are some tips:

- Although the initial layout is quite important for a level, don't forget that the Cubes in Play / Weights can have a drastic effect on level difficulty and playability.
- In general, game levels should be a loose progression from easiest for level 1 to hardest for the last level. Note that level difficulty is subjective, so game progression will play in different ways for different players.
- The primary factors influencing level difficulty are: Time Left, Cubes to Go (Arcade), Star Cubes to Go (Puzzle), difficult Star Cube placement, tweaking Cubes in Play / Weights, and requiring specific cube behaviors (pushing, stacking, changing cube colors, etc.).

# Submit for Upload

Players may wish to submit their created games for upload into the "New Games" download area. To submit your game for consideration, please e-mail your game .bin file to cubisgames@freshgames.com.

The game .bin file can be found in the program directory under Data\bin\levels under the filename "<gamename>.bin". For example, if you have created a game called "User" and the program is installed in C:\Program Files\Cubis, you will find the User game file in C:\Program Files\Cubis\Data\bin\levels\user.bin.

Requirements and disclaimers for submitted games:

- All submitted games must include an "Author" game setting in the Level Menu.
- Submitted games must include a minimum of 25 levels for each Game Type (both Arcade and Puzzle).
- Objectionable or offensive material will be refused.
- There is no guarantee that your submitted game(s) will be posted. FreshGames may refuse to post submitted games for any reason.
- All submissions become property of FreshGames.
- Please refer to the FreshGames website terms for a complete list of disclaimers.