Editor 2.0

One of the appealing features of Lode Runner is the editor. Being able to make and share puzzles means you can extend the life of the game and continue playing without getting bored.

After the initial work on loading the original's artwork, I set to work writing the editor. I had planned to keep it 100% the same (except to replace the OS dialogs) but as work progressed, this quickly went out the window.

What's changed?

To get my version to match the original, I heavily rely on video recording, print + screen and MS Paint. Since a lot of time is spent in Paint, I've noticed quite a lot of things that it does better than Lode Runner. I've incorporated some of these into MMR and it makes a noticeable difference - the editor feels more complete and is easier to use.

  • Undo limit increased from 1 to 15 (this could change)
  • Undos stored per puzzle to make it easier to edit multiple puzzles at the same time
  • Undo works as expected - original performs random redo when flicking backwards and forwards through the puzzle group
  • Can add a new puzzle to the group without saving first
  • Displays a dotted line around the selected region to stand out better
  • Changing music option removed - music is set when the world theme is selected
  • Common keyboard shotcuts added (Ctrl + C, Ctrl + P, Ctrl + S, etc.)
  • Better mouse support (scroll wheel on listboxes, double click, etc.)
  • Right + click to erase (most useful thing I've added!)
  • Removed background from the world theme dialog to keep it consistent with the puzzle viewer
  • Can shuffle puzzle ordering via the puzzle viewer

Here's me re-creating the first puzzle from The Mad Monks' Revenge. It's quite satisfying to be able to not only launch the game that looks and behaves the same as the original but also to create a puzzle that's compatible with the 19 year old original.

Shuffling the order of puzzles this way is definately easier than changing which puzzle the exit doors lead to.