HOW TO USE THE POSTAL GAME EDITOR (bare bones, basic necessities version):


IMPORTANT NOTE: the editor is presented "as-is" and is not supported by Running With Scissors.  No technical support will be given.


1. In the "realm" box, choose "new" to create a new level, or "open" to open
an existing one.

2. If you selected "new", type in the name of the background art you wish to
use from the available list where it says "base name" to create a level on from this list.

    Afb
    bridge
    CONSITE
    Farm
    Ghetto
    Homer
    Indust
    mine
    Newcity
    parade
    PARK
    Salvage
    Skirts
    Trailer
    train
    Truck

(*special cropped versions of some levels are also available for multiplayer matches.  The "realm files" [.rlm] for these should be in a directory called "multi".  To create new levels with the cropped background graphics, in the "new" window type "MP" before the name on the above list, (eg: MPafb) and chop any letters off the end that cause the name to be longer than 8 characters (eg: MPconsit). 


2a. If you selected "open" a dialog will appear showing several directories.  what they
 contain should be self-evident.  the directory called "buoynets" contains all the single
 player levels with buoy networks, warps and soundthings already on them so that you
 can get straight into adding enemies if you want.

The "realm X rotation" and "scene X rotation" determine what angle the 3D
objects are rendered at. For "side view" levels, set the values to: realm x =
45, scene x = 30; for "top down" levels set both factors to 70 and make sure
the "scale terrain map heights via view angle" and "use side view 2D assets"
are NOT checked (these should be checked only on "side view" levels).

You can also set the number of hostiles who must be killed in order to
advance by implementing the "% of kills" box.

3. Click "ok". The selected background art should now appear in the editing
screen.

4. Next, add a "warp", located in the "place object..." box. Select it and
click on the background to "paste" it in. When creating a multiplayer level,
add several of these points, at different locations, as they represent the
position at which each player-character begins the game. This feature can
also be utilized to generate random starting points in single player mode.

Double-click on the warp to set its "stockpile". These contain the weapons,
ammo, etc. with which you will enter the world of POSTAL. Edit any warp to
re-set all the other warps on the same level to new settings.

5. NAVNETS: A Navnet contains Buoys.  Buoys are linked together to create
navigational paths that the hostiles use to find their way around obstacles

The first Navnet (that round red thing that appears in the upper left corner
of your world) is created by default. Any buoys you place will automatically
be linked to the current Navnet. To place buoys, choose "Buoy" from the
"place objects..." list, then move the cursor onto the edit screen and click
on the location where you want the bouy to be placed (If you do not see the
buoy, hit "B" to make them visible.)

TIP: pressing the spacebar adds another of whatever the last selected item
was. CAUTION: holding the spacebar down places MANY of those items! Be sure
to only TAP the bar). Place as many buoys as you think necessarry (up to a
max of 254). The number of buoys determines how much help the enemies will
require to get around tricky obstacles.

Link the bouys together by right clicking on one. A red line will appear.
Drag this line over to the next buoy you want to link to and click. Now
you'll see a green line linking the buoys. Note that you can link any buoy to
as many other buoys as you want; in fact, the more links, the more realistic
and unpredictable the enemy's movements will be. If you want, create multiple
Navnets, each with its own discrete buoy system (this is useful if you want
enemies to stay within a certain area).

To create a new Navnet, select "Navnet" from the list, name it in the dialog
that appears, and click it in, somewhere on the background art (doesn't
matter where). Now, when you add buoys, the buoys are added to whichever
Navnet is currently selected. You can toggle between existing Navnets by
clicking on them in the "Navnets" box in the lower right of your screen.
(IMPORTANT: When you start placing enemies, note that they are automatically
linked to the currently selected Navnet and will ignore all others! Be
careful that the intended Navnet is selected before placing enemies!)

6. Notes about successful buoy nets: The main thing is to insure that the
enemies have clear paths through tight spaces. Click on the "height" and "no
walk" buttons in the "view attributes" box. This makes those attributes
visible (as transparent green areas). Now you can see where movement will be
blocked. Try to give the enemies as simple and straight a path as possible
through tight spaces.

7. Placing enemies: Select "person" from the "place objects..." list box.
Move the cursor into the edit window and click them in. It always defaults to
a grenade thrower, with a grenade, using "default.lgk" as his logic table.

8. Editing enemy attributes: Double click on the enemy. A dialog will appear
that controls all his attributes. On the left hand side is a list of various
Personae. These characteristic sets alter the look and set of dialog audio
that enemy will use. On the right is the list of available weapons. Below
this is a dialog which indicates which logic table the hostile is using.
Click on the "..." button to bring up a list of all available logic types and
choose a new one if you wish. When you're done, click "ok" until the dialog
goes away. Now the changes you've made will take effect.

9. Logic tables: These control a variety of behavioral attributes such as:
what to do when shot; agression levels, sensitivity (does the hostile care if
his friends nearby get shot? Does he respond to Pylons (more on these later)?
Does he roam or guard, etc.

Here are a few examples:

Guard: Stands his ground unless shot, then he will attack/and or attempt to
move to a safer location from which to fire.

Fodder: Detects player as soon as level begins and attempts to engage in
battle at all costs.

Victim: Does not fire weapons. If anyone nearby gets shot, they go into a
panic and run around screaming.

Panic: Same as above, except that as soon as these people appear on the
world, they are alrerady in panic mode (good for generating those
ever-popular screaming crowds exiting movie theatres, etc.)

Protest: Protestor logic. In the "person" edit box you set which buoy numbers
you want them to use as start and end points, and they will march back and
forth between those posts until you shoot one of them, at which point they
panic.

Default: The most deluxe logic type, they hang around until you get in range,
then they attack.  If they encounter any Pylons (see below) they will respond
to whatever commands the pylons are set to.

10. Pylons: These provide additional means to create specific behavior for
enemies. Pylons are selected from the object list. Once you place a pylon,
double click on it to edit its attributes, double RIGHT click on it to set
it's trigger region.

Pylons can be set to:

* Popout: This defines a start point for an enemy to run out (to a target
pylon with a "no message" set which must be defined) shoot, then return to
the start point. This requires an enemy with a default, popout, or pop-only
logic table. The logic table you choose will determine how easily  the enemy
can be "distracted" from following the pylon's command.

* Run-Shoot:  Set up two of these, each referencing the other, to provide a
path along which the enemy will run back and forth, shooting at your
player-character simultaneously (strafing as he runs) whenever he steps onto
one of their trigger regions. This requires an enemy with default logic.

* Safe: Enemies will see these as "cover" and try to hide there if they are
wounded--and have a logic table that allows them to notice Pylons.

11. Editing Pylon Trigger Regions:

Double right click on a Pylon and a bounding square appears, centered on the
Pylon. Use the arrow keys to position this square anywhere on the background
art (<shift>, <ctrl>, and <alt> commands all speed up the square's movement).
When you move the cursor into the square, a smaller square appears. This is
your "brush"--use it to paint in the spots within the bounding square that
you want to act as trigger regions for the Pylon's command. Increase the size
of the brush with the "+" on the numeric keypad, or shrink it with "-". Hit
"esc" when done.

OTHER STUFF:

Barrels: Double clicking brings up a dialog where you can set them to be
destructable only by the player.

Dispensers: These spew out whatever you select, in the quantities you choose,
based on the following parameters: "Timed" (set min/max for randomness);
"Exists" (new item only gets spewed after previous one dies. Set min/max to
determine how long after death this occurs), or "Distance to Dude" (set
trigger range, and min/max for time between spews while activated). When
placed in the world, the dispenser will show an icon of the selected
dispensee with a "25c" on him.

Deleting Stuff: Select an item and hit "del"

Deleting EVERYTHING except warps, navnets and soundthings: ctrl-D

F11 brings up a list box showing all the objects in your level.  Clicking on
 an item in the box selects it in the level.

Shift-? allows you to scroll beyond the physical boundries of the level.  This
 is useful to find objects which may have inadvertantly been pushed outside
 the "world" by placing them on an area with "height" information, etc.  If this
 occurs, the only way you can fix it is to hit tab repeatedly until the item is
 selected, or select it in the F11 list box and then delete the offending item.
  Objects outside the "world" cannot be selected by clicking on them with
 the mouse.

Demon: Adding one of these to the world creates that booming "FM DJ" voice
that taunts the enemies and congratulates you while you play.

Soundthing : These add in ambient sounds like wind, birds, phone sex, etc.

To navigate around the background quickly, simply place the cursor inside the
little "map" window, click and drag.

The "layers" box: This turns on and off all the visible layers of the
backgrounds. Useful for placing buoy nets behind buldings, etc.

You can playtest your level from within the editor at any time by hitting "P", or
 clicking on "play".  The level does not need to be saved before you do this.
  When you're done playing, hit "esc" to return to the editor and resume editing
 where you left off.

Finally, remember to save often!

