fRaBs advanced level editing
Main - Updates - Single Player - Deathmatch - Level Editing - FAQ - Credits - Links

`[1-4] Level Editing Basics`
`---------------------------`
`[5] Adding Foreground and Background Art`
`[5.a] Foreground and Background Basics`
`[5.b] fRaBs Fore/Back Art Tile Listing`
`[5.c] Standards For Adding Art to fRaBs`
`-------------------------------------------`
`[6] Adding Objects and Enemies`
`[6.a] Scenery Objects`
`[6.b] Objects Activated by Switches`
`[6.c] Creating Enemies`
`[6.d] List of Functions Referenced By Objects`
`[6.e] Testing, Hints and Ideas`
`----------------------------------------------`
`[7] Creating Unique Artwork and Objects`
`[7.a] Creating Unique Artwork and Objects`
`------------------------------------------`
`[8-10] Making Special Types of Levels`

`[5]`
`Adding New Foreground and Background Art to Abuse and fRaBs`

`------------------------------------------------------------------------`
`[5.a] Adding Foreground and Background Art`
`------------------------------------------------------------------------`

`If you want to add your own art and objects to Abuse, chances are`
`the game has become a labor of love for you. Even with some of the editor's`
`little inadequacies, you still are having a blast making level after level.`
`It's time for you to branch out and try creating your own artwork, so your`
`levels become truly original.`

`To understand how the artwork system in Abuse works, you need to`
`first make yourself familiar with Satan Paint. Named for it's incredible`
`ease of use and rock-solid stability (cough, cough), you can make nearly`
`anything you want for Abuse in it. With fRaBs, you can find SPAINT.EXE in`
`the /art directory. One of these days I'll write up an entire tutorial on`
`this pain-in-the-ass program, but for now I'm just going to stick with it's`
`functionality in relation to foreground and background.`

`Anyways, to start out, try loading a file in /art/fore or /art/back`
`and see what they look like. Each one of these files has a litany of tiles`
`that you see in a normal game of Abuse, and perhaps a few that you don't`
`recognize. Press 'i' to see a mosiac of all the tiles in the file, and to`
`navigate between the different tiles, press 'n'. Each tile has a 'name' and`
`a 'type' which vary depending on the file you're looking at. For example,`
`if you're browsing one of the files from art/fore, then chances are your`
`tile will have a numerical name from 0-1100 and it will be a 'Fore Tile'`
`type. All foreground tiles are 30*15, and all background tiles are 60*30.`

`There are three big things you need to do to get your artwork in`
`fRaBs. Firstly, you need to import the art into Satan Paint so it is`
`corrected for the fRaBs palette. Second, each tile needs to be numbered`
`correctly so that the Abuse engine picks it up right. Third, you need to`
`write some LISP that calls up your artwork and puts it with the rest of`
`Abuse's artwork.`

`Satan Paint can import most file formats easily... just don't use`
`too many colors in your original bits of art and you'll be ok. There is a`
`palette.bmp file in /art that should help you tune your art to the fRaBs`
`color palette. Every time you import a file using the 'Import Detectable`
`Images' command, it will follow the file you are looking at in Satan Paint.`
`After you import each file individually, you save the composite of all the`
`files you have imported into a .spe file. Use the File 'SaveAs' command`
`just to be safe.`

`Once you do that, you need to give your tiles numbers. The`
`following note is very important if you want to work with your art in`
`fRaBs without causing conflicts.`

`NUMBER YOUR TILES ACCORDING TO THE TILE LISTING IN THE FOLLOWING SECTION.`

`There are a couple of ways to renumber your tiles. In the Image menu, you`
`will find a 'Name' option. You can use it to renumber the current tile to`
`whatever you like. There is also a 'renumber' option in the Commands menu`
`which is probably quicker, but it's a bit confusing.`

`Not only do you have to renumber your tiles, but you also have to`
`reformat your tiles as either 'Back Tile' or 'Fore Tile'... if you simply`
`import art into Satan Paint, it will be of type 'Image' and the methods`
`that Abuse uses to load foreground and background tiles will not work`
`unless you format your tiles correctly. This is fairly easy... press '/'`
`to bring up the Satan Paint command line and type 'with all type fore tile'`
`and your tiles will all be formatted to be 'Fore Tiles'. I believe you can`
`change the 'all' to the number/name of a image in your SPE file. After you`
`renumber and reformat, make sure you save your file.`

`Now it's time to add your tiles to Abuse. The easy way to do this`
`is to make a text file and copy the lines from addon/newart/newart.lsp into`
`it. All newart.lsp has in it is a simple 'load_tiles' function, and it looks`
`for specific files. Just change one of the filenames in quotes to the file`
`where your tiles are located, and save the text file you have made into a`
`subdirectory of /addon. Finally, open up abuse.lsp, copy a 'load("")' line`
`and add the path to your new LISP file. You can load LISP files in any little`
`text editor. I've found that Windows Wordpad is a good utility for working`
`with LISP files.`

`Run Abuse, and look around in the foreground/background menus for`
`your new art. If you number your tiles according to the guidelines below,`
`then your artwork should be near the end of the foreground/background menu.`

`------------------------------------------------------------------------`
`[5.b] fRaBs Fore/Back Art Tile Listing`
`------------------------------------------------------------------------`

`This is the listing of all the tiles in fRaBs, foreground and`
`background. DO NOT NUMBER YOUR TILES IN BETWEEN THESE ONES or OVER THESE`
`ONES or Abuse will start up with some funky error messages and the levels`
`won't look right. Mark these words well, for it is a knell that summons thee`
`to heaven or to hell...`

`REGULAR ABUSE FOREGROUND TILES`

`/art/fore/foregrnd.spe 0`
`/art/fore/techno.spe 1-99`
`/art/fore/techno2.spe 100-167`
`/art/fore/techno3.spe 200-236`
`/art/fore/techno4.spe 300-460`
`/art/fore/cave.spe 500-634`
`/register/alien.spe 700-774`
`/register/trees.spe 800-931`
`/art/endgame.spe 950-1014`
`/register/trees2.spe 1100-1134`

`NEW FOREGROUND TILES`

`/addon/leon/lnewft.spe 660-671`
`/addon/leon/lnewft2.spe 672`
`/addon/leon/stones.spe 676-694`
`/addon/newart/mtile2.spe 1150-1154`
`/addon/newart/frabs_1.spe 1200-1239`
`/addon/newart/frabs_2.spe 1250-1285`
`/addon/newart/final.spe 1300-1336`
`/addon/aliens/fortiles.spe 2000-2077`
`/addon/claudio/pal81f.spe 2200-2217`
`/addon/claudio/pal82f.spe 2250-2283`

`REGULAR ABUSE BACKGROUND TILES`

`/art/back/backgrnd.spe 0`
`/art/back/intro.spe 5-37`
`/art/back/city.spe 40-70`
`/art/back/cave.spe 84-103`
`/art/back/tech.spe 110-139`
`/register/alienb.spe 150-179`
`/register/green2.spe 200-268`
`/register/galien.spe 300-320`

`NEW BACKGROUND TILES`

`/addon/aliens/bactiles.spe 340-374`
`/addon/claudio/pal2.spe 380-387`
`/addon/claudio/pal5.spe 430-444`
`/addon/newart/space.spe 450-468`
`/addon/claudio/pal90.spe 475-494`
`/addon/claudio/pal21.spe 500-529`
`/addon/newart/blcave.spe 560-574`
`/addon/newart/frbsblue.spe 580-611`

`------------------------------------------------------------------------`
`[5.c] Standards For Adding Art to fRaBs`
`------------------------------------------------------------------------`

`As mentioned before, you need to number your tiles so that they do`
`not conflict with the existing ones. If you want your artwork in the main`
`version of fRaBs, check the latest updates log to make sure that I haven't`
`added any more new art. Then, number your tiles correctly and you only need`
`to send me the SPE file of the artwork. I will add a line to /addon/newart/`
`newart.lsp and place your SPE file in that directory.`

`And that's all it takes to make your own artwork, test it out, and`
`get it added to the main fRaBs distribution. It's a lot easier than it`
`sounds... :)`

`[6]`
`Adding Objects and Enemies`

`------------------------------------------------------------------------`
`[6.a] Scenery Objects`
`------------------------------------------------------------------------`
`**Coming Soon... sections 6 and 7 will take a while to write**`

Special Types of Levels -->

Justin Cassidy
messiah15@dog.com