Here's the page of tools, tips, questions, and answers for making your own Megzeux, ZZT, and Super ZZT games.

Megazeux

ZZT

Another great source of help can be other people's games. If you run across something cool in someone's game, you can always edit the game and see how the creator did it. Watch out for shameless plagiarization of other people's tricks, though; if you rip something off, give credit where due.

Super Tool Kit

• The ascii character list shows you what number each ascii character is represented by. This is useful when using the #char command, to change an object's form. This list isn't as useful, I don't think, as the Character add on down below, because you don't see the actual character representation; you just get a description. You can, however, print this out, which is nice.
• The Format lists some of the format of ZZT .BRD files. It's interesting if you want to know what the coding is for various aspects of boards, but not at all necessary for practical programming purposes.
• Musicbox is a playable ZZT addon which allows you to hear all of the music from Gregory Janson's Software Vision games. In addition, it contains a "composer's room", where you can compose music on the screen and play it back to see how it sounds. Very helpful for anyone adding music to his game.
• Super Tool Kit is a collection of boards displaying multi- colored walls of all kinds, objects and items from the game in different colors and on different colored backgrounds, and some bonus cool stuff. If you want better looking graphics, more variety, etc., you must download this.
• The Super ZZT Editing document gives some tips on programming in Super ZZT.
• The ZZT config and ZZT Bug documents give information on the config file for ZZT and on limitations and undocumented commands for both ZZT and Super ZZT.
• The ZZT Cheat document gives you cheat codes to use while playing ZZT or Super ZZT.
• The ZZT Documents package contains the main document ZZTtools, which describes everything, and a few others, including an order form for Software Vision's excellent games.
• ZZT Lock is a program which allows you to lock a game, so that no one else can edit it. I have a special section on locking games down below, with other options for locking and my comments.
• ZZT Sound is a one-board .zzt file which you can edit to find out how to make the sounds the common objects in the game make. Using this you can duplicate the sounds of ammo, gems, passages, etc., and incorporate the sounds into your own objects.
• The ZZT Trick document has many helpful tips on programming ZZT and Super ZZT objects.

Other Helpful Stuff

• Character, a six-screen playable ZZT add on, displays all the ascii characters you can have an object become with the #char command. It's very helpful if you don't have a print out of what number corresponds with what character, plus you can see exactly how each character look in the ZZT system. (3K)
• color.brd is a single board which you can import into a game for a ready supply of many different gradations of color. Useful if you don't have Super Tool Kit's color boards.
• A package of useful tools for making ZZT worlds. (14K)
• A helpful guide to making ZZT games for beginners. (5K)
• Mega ZZT contains some objects preprogrammed as enemies, and some standard items used fairly commonly-health giving hearts, etc.
• More Keys is a program which employs objects to set up some imitation doors, in case you want different colors and types of doors than are included in standard ZZT. (4K)
• Objects is another package of pre-made enemies and other useful objects. (7K)
• Super Colors shows you how to make new shades of colors, without having to use Super Tool Kit.
• ZZT Kit is another package of programmed objects, enemies, and assorted items.
• ZZT Syndrome is another must-have for any game creator. It details the pitfalls in a game which will turn the player off and banish your game to the delete command. (19K)
• ZZT Learner teaches the very basics of programming objects in ZZT-OOP. It's good for getting started, if you don't want to take the time to read the help guide in the ZZT editor.

Locking Your ZZT Game

• The saved game method was sent to me by Sean Pompea, and until recently foolproof. It turns out that this is just like locking your game with Save lock, but if you don't have a copy of it, or disdain the use of programs to lock your special games, you can do it by hand, like this... Begin playing your game from the start, and immediately save the game. Exit ZZT, rename your game to the zzt extension (with "rename file.sav file.zzt"), and you're set. If anyone does figure out a way around this, let me know.
  • Ok, it's been done. Matthew Cohn-Geier found the way around the saved game method. Apparently Save lock, the program directly below, performs the same basic operation on a game to lock it up. So, if someone's saved their game and converted it to a .zzt extension, you simply have to run Save lock on the game and unlock it. Anyone have a new foolproof method?
  • Here's another way to break it, contributed by ZPower1. Even if you don't have the Savelock program, you can break the save lock. Simply type "?" (make sure you're holding "shift") when playing any game or in the game editor mode. Then type "+debug" in the box that appears. When you then try to load up a saved game, it'll let you. If you make any changes and save the game, it won't be "permanently" broken; you'll have to run through this process every time you restart ZZT.
• Save lock (51K) locks your program so that it can't be edited by anyone else...unless they have Save lock too, and undo your protection. I haven't seen nearly as many games using Save lock as ZZT Lock, so it's a safe bet that fewer people have it.
• ZZT Lock (11K), part of the Super Tool Kit package above, allows you to lock your game in a way similar to Save Lock, so that anyone else who also has ZZT Lock can undo your protection. It also offers "Super Locking", which runs through your game and renames all your boards to "!c;Locked File". What this does is make your boards options, with the purple arrow in front of them (just like the options in ZZT itself). If someone tries to edit your game, as soon as they try to switch boards they're presented with a long list of "Locked File", and if they hit enter on any of them they go to the blank "c" board. This is also easily gotten around; simply press escape instead of enter, and you can get into any board you like. From there you can rename the board if you want to.

Nothing more but a counter- if it's slow loading, don't worry, it's nothing important.