Thursday, July 31, 2008

Level Failure

There are only 2 ways that you can fail a level in the Magic Toy Chest:

1. By exceeding the level's time limit
2. By losing enough of the goal toys, making it impossible to reach your goal.

When the Level Failure prompt appears, press the 'R' Key to Restart the level.

In many cases, a Player will make mistakes and potentially get their goal toys stuck or use their available tools in an incorrect manner. Unfortunately, the game cannot detect this as Level Failure. If you get stuck for too long, make a mistake, etc. remember that you can press 'R' at any time to restart the Level.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Opening the Toy Chest

Before you can put away any of your toys, the Magic Toy Chest must be opened. Find and click on all the toy chest keys. When there are no more keys, click on the toy chest to open it. If you have missed a key, clicking on the toy chest will do nothing.

The top of the toy chest can be manipulated by physics, so be wary that the Gravity Robot, Balloons, and or the Dart Gun can remove the toy chest lid. In many cases, this lid can interfere with the chore at hand.

Level Objective

The Goal of each level is to put away a specified amount of a certain toy within the Level's time limit. This goal toy is displayed in the upper right corner. The level is completed when the adequate number of goal toys have been returned to the toy chest. When the goal toys fall into the chest, they will automatically disappear and the goal amount will decrease. When this goal amount reaches Zero, the Chore is complete!

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Saving, Loading & Testing

Load Button - Opens a browser window to find and load your level file

Save Button - Saves your current level

Save As Button - Opens a browser window where you can select where to save and what to name your level file.

Test Button - click to save your level and load it/play it in another window. Test your level and close the window when you are finished to return to the level editor

New Button - erases, clears and resets the level

Exit Button - Returns you to the Title Page

Monday, July 28, 2008

Level Properties

(click the above image to see full screen)
The Level Properties are almost all located at the bottom of the Editor Menu. Each Level for the Magic Toy Chest has a Title, Description, Time Lmit, Goal Toy, Goal Amount, Par Time, and Par Action.
Setting the Goal - You can adjust the level's goal toy and the goal amount by clicking the +/- buttons at the top of the right menu. It is important to include an adequate number of the goal toy so that the Level can be completed.
Level Title- Simply click in the space and type in your Level Title
Level Description - click and type in this area to describe your level, give a hint, or include an author credit.
Setting Level Time Limit - left click and hold on either the +/- Buttons to increase and decrease the Level Time Limit. You can right click to incrementally increase/decrease.

Setting the Par Time - left click and hold on either the +/- Buttons to increase and decrease the Level Par Time. You can right click to incrementally increase/decrease.
Setting the Par Actions- Left click on either the +/- Buttons to increase and decrease the Level Par Time. You can right click and hold to drastically increase/decrease the level's actions.

Friday, July 25, 2008

Level Editing

(click on image above for full screen)
Selecting your Toy/Tool - Your cursor will display the current toy/tool that you have selected. You can left click on any of the tools in the Editor Menu to instantly select them. You can also use the up/down arrow keys to change your current tool.
Placing Background Tiles - First select a background tile (the black tiles above the toy chest). Next use the +/- buttons in the right bar to set the tile's texture. Left click on the grid to place your selected tile. You can left click a tile to change the texture. Right clicking a tile will remove it. You can press and hold the Left Mouse Button to draw tiles across the grid.
Placing Toys/Toy Chest/Keys - Select a Toy from the Editor Menu and left click to place it in the level exactly where your cursor is displayed. You can change many toys directions by double clicking with the left mouse button on them. To remove a toy, right click on the toy or use the eraser.
Erasing - Pressing and holding the right mouse button for a few seconds will change your cursor into an eraser. Touching any object with the eraser will remove it from the field. Releasing the right mouse button will return your cursor to your last used toy/tool.
Closing/Opening/Moving the Editor Menu- If the Editor menu is in your way, you can click and drag the window or close it by clicking the x or the close button. To open the Editor menu press Spacebar. It is often helpful to select your tool, close the menu, edit your level and then reopen the menu when you need to change tools or edit lvl properties.
Changing the Backdrop - Left/Right click the Change Backdrop button to cycle through the available rooms/backgrounds for your level.
Changing the Music - Left/Right click the Change Music button to cycle through the available music for your level.

Level Editor Controls

Left Mouse Click -

  • Select Toy/Tool from Editor Menu
  • Place selected Toy/Tile in Level
  • On a Background Tile to change Texture
  • Double Click on a Toy to Rotate it
  • On Toy Inventory Buttons to increase starting toy amounts
  • On Change Backdrop/Music to advance selection
  • On +/- buttons to advance/decrease amounts
  • On Load/Save/Test/Etc Buttons to Activate Button
Right Mouse Click -
  • Remove Toy from Level
  • Click & Hold to access Eraser to remove objects from level
  • On Toy Inventory Buttons to decrease starting toy amounts
  • On Change Backdrop/Music to decrease selection

Mouse Wheel- up/down increases/decreases traincars when placing toy trains

Up/Down Arrow - advance/decrease tool selection

Spacebar - Open Editor Menu (if closed)

'T' Key - Advance/Change all tile textures