Map Zoom

I implemented the zoom funtion for the maps. You can zoom in and out of the maps in several increments.
Here are some screenshots:

I will release a new editor version in the next few days after some futher stabilization.
Oh and a happy new year to everyone ;)

Map Display Improvement

I reworked the map data handling so the last few maps that were still messy (half of the Euro maps) are fixed now. Here are two examples:

After I stabilized the map display and fixed the map layer display for some maps I will upload a new version for you to play around with the new map display options ;)

Map Layers

I found a new data table that contains the screen settings for the maps. Among other data these data sets contain the map layer order information which is now processed by the editor.
As a result the maps (not all yet though) are displayed with the correct layers:

These data sets contain more interesting data so there may be some addition updates soon ;)

Map Sprites

It's possible now to view the sprites on the maps. Some sprites are still not correctly aligned and some maps still throw exceptions when the sprite display is active. However, most of them already look good.
Here are some impressions:

I also did some code refactoring today and the project and maps load much faster now. I will upload a new version of the editor when the sprite display is more stable.

GaiaTheCreator v.0.4.1

I added the latest version of the editor for download so you can play around with it a little :)

Main improvements:
- Added new exit type: stairways
- Improved display of maps
- Added variables to the event editor
- Reworked handling of color palettes
- Added palette editor

You can download the editor here (I also added the link to the "Downloads" section):

GaiaTheCreator v.0.4.1

EDIT:
Due to problems I added a new version v.0.4.2:

GaiaTheCreator v.0.4.2

Palette Editor

It's now possible to edit the sprites/map palettes in the editor. You can choose a specific color from a palette and change it's color scheme directly.

You can view the palettes on a tileset so the color changes can directly be viewed while editing.

As an example i changed the color of the maid's dress:

Palette Sets

I handle the color palettes in the editor now as palette sets. A palette set consists of 8 palettes and has a unique address which I read from the map data set.
This makes it much easier for me to handle the palettes in the editor.

As a result all sprites can be displayed with their corresponding palettes now:

I also adjusted the tileset editor for the usage of the palette sets:

Event Editor: Sprite Palettes

The sprite palettes are now displayed correctly in the event editor. I was working on this back in february but was not able to show you this progress.

Current status

Hello everyone, 

sorry for the long absence of information but I was very busy the last few months.

I will be able to provide more frequent updates from now on ;)

But before that I will I will show you the current status of the editor as some of you have already asked for it:

• Characters [20%]
• You can already edit the appearances of the characters with the sprite / tileset editor
• You can edit the names of the characters and their special abilities
• I haven't found the character status values yet
• Events [30%]
• The biggest work package for me at the moment. I need to rearrange the event editor to be able to display and edit the event sequences correctly (e.g. loops are not correctly handled at the moment)
• HUD [0%]
• I still haven't found where the HUD display and mechanics are stored. Thus they cannot be edited yet
• Items -Display [95%]
• Item graphics, descriptions and acquisition messages are displayed correctly in the editor
• Items - Edit [60%]
• Item graphics can already be edited with the sprite /tileset editor
• Item descriptions and acquisition messages can also be edited but the size is currently limited to the size of the original item names and messages
• Maps - Display [80%]
• All maps are displayed correctly except for the house interiors in the City of Euro
• What is also not working is the correct concurrent display of the map layers for at least half of the maps
• The display of graphic effects (e.g. transparency or animation of map tiles) is not implemented yet
• Maps - Edit [50%]
• Most of the maps can already be edited but there is a general problem with map tiles that have the tile index 0 (transparent background). There seems to be an error when they are compressed and written back to the ROM because these tiles are not transparent anymore
• Graphic effects can not be edited yet
• Music [5%]
• I know the location of the music in the ROM but there is no sound editing implemented yet
• Sounds [5%]
• I know the location of the sounds in the ROM but there is no sound editing implemented yet
• Sprites - Display [85%]
• Nearly all of the sprites can be viewed in the editor. I currently implement the mapping of the tileset and palette Ids for the spritesets that are read from the XML configuration file.
• Sprites - Edit [70%]
• Sprite editing is generally possible. But I haven't tested it for many spritesets yet so there may still be some hidden problems.
• Tilemaps - Display [100%]
• All tilemaps are displayed correctly. The tileset and palette Ids are automatically loaded from the XML configuration file.
• Tilemaps - Edit [90%]
• It's possible to edit the Tilemaps. However, there are still 4 unknown tile types.
• Tileset - Display [100%]
• All tilesets are displayed correctly
• Tileset - Edit [100%]
• All tilesets can also be edited.
• Title Screen [15%]
• I already found where the text strings for the title screen are saved in the ROM but there is no modification from the editor implemented yet.
• The game title can already be edited with the map editor. But it's not possible yet to change the background or the title screen animation
• World Map [30%]
• The world map can already be edited with the map editor
• I already found the world map events (e.g move from one place to another) but they cannot be edited yet

My plan is to provide a first release with basic functionality (events, items, maps, sprite, tilemap and tileset editing) by the end of this year. I cannot tell yet how mature or even usable this release will be but i definately want to make a release that enables the user to already play around and make some basic editing.

Stairways

I analysed the exit data further because somehow it didn't work to write the data back to the ROM properly..
But it was worth the effort since I found new data which I want to share with you:

1. For the teleports there are two data bytes which contain the size of the destination map. I will explain it with the Itory map as an example. The map area before the village appears and the map area of the village is all inside a single map.

However after the village appears only a section of the map is accessible. By adjusting the size of the destination map the area without the village is visible again.

2. A new exit type is found: The stairways!
I was always wondering where the stairways data is hidden. Now I know it's within the exit data which somehow makes sense.
The staircase events are now visible in the editor and can be edited.

Both exit types can be edited now in the exit editor.