SGB Ed Help - Contents
Upon first starting SGB Ed, you will be presented with this screen:
Here's what the numbers 1-6 in the above screenshot correspond to:
1. Menu bar (top) - select menu options here
1. Status bar (bottom) - displays various information
2. Edit mode icons - change the currently selected edit mode here
3. Edit mode panel - each edit mode has is own panel
4. Selection box - the box in which everything is created
5. Selection box menu - use this to create, rotate and delete pieces
6. Gerbil and exit pad markers - these represent the start and end points
The menu bar contains various options:
File
New - clear the current level and start a new one
Open - open a previously saved level
Save - save the current level
Exit - exit the program
Edit
Cut - cut all pieces within the selection box
Copy - copy all pieces within the selection box
Paste - paste pieces previously cut/copied
Delete - delete all pieces within the selection box
Select All - select all pieces within the current level
View
Hide/Show - toggles between hiding or showing all
pieces of the current edit type
Hide All - hides all pieces except those of the current edit type
Show All - shows all pieces
Build
Test - test the current level
Compile - compile a level pak
Project
New - clear the current level and start a new project
Open - open a previously saved project
Save - save the current project
Help
Contents - displays this help file
About - displays small about box
Moving the Camera
To move the camera along the X and Z axis of the 3D world, you must hold down the mouse wheel button and move the mouse. Alternatively if you do not have a mouse wheel, you can use the cursor keys.
To move the camera along the Y axis of the 3D world, you must scroll the mouse wheel. Alternatively if you do not have a mouse wheel you can press the 1 and 0 keys on the numeric keypad.
Rotating the Camera
You can rotate the camera in steps of 90 degrees left or right as you can in the game. To do this, press 4 or 6 on the numeric keypad.
Returning the Camera to Home
To return the camera to it's starting position you can press the Home key.
About Edit Modes, Pieces and the Selection Box
In SGB Ed there are 5 edit modes - block, marker, collectable, hazard and zone. You can only be in one particular edit mode at a time, and each edit mode only allows you to manipulate pieces belonging to that particular edit mode (except when using the Edit menu).
Pieces are what form your level. For example in edit mode 1 you can create block pieces. These are the polygon building blocks that make up your level. In edit mode 3 you can create collectable pieces, and so on.
To create pieces, a transparent blue box called the 'selection box' is used which is present at all times in each level, and acts as a kind of 3D cursor. You can move this box about, and change its dimensions, and when creating pieces the position and size of the box will be used to determine where the piece is created.
Moving
To move the selection box along the x and z axis (left, right, forward and back), position the mouse pointer over the blue part of the box, hold down the left mouse button, and drag the mouse. The selection box will now move with the mouse.
To move the selection box along the x and y axis (left, right, up and down), position the mouse pointer over the blue part of the box, hold down the right mouse button, and drag the mouse. The selection box will now move with the mouse.
Resizing
To resize the selection box along the x and z axis, position the mouse pointer over one of the box's red corners, hold down the left mouse button and drag the mouse. The selection box will now be resized as you move the mouse.
To resize the selection box along the x and y axis, position the mouse pointer over one of the box's red corners, hold down the right mouse button and drag the mouse. The selection box will now be resized as you move the mouse.
Restricting Movement to One Axis
When moving and resizing the selection box, you can restrict movement to one axis only by first holding down Ctrl before you press the mouse button. This allows you to move the box in straight lines.
Shift-Moving
Shift-moving is a useful technique that allows you to move the selection box in steps of it's own size. To do this, hold down Shift while you move the box.
Symmetrical Resizing
Symmetrical resizing allows you to resize the selection box so that it is resized symmetrically rather than the usual method. To do this hold down Alt as you resize the box.
Snap
The selection box is snapped to an imaginary 3D grid at all times. This is to make it easier to line up pieces next to each other. The default snap value is 1, but you can change this to 0.5, 0.25 or 0.125 by pressing A and Z.
Finding the Selection Box
If you lose sight of the selection box at any time press Home to return the camera and selection box to their starting positions.
Please note that the information regarding pieces below does not generally apply to marker pieces as they work differently to other piece types.
Creating a Piece
To create a piece, either select 'CREATE!' from the selection box menu or press Space.
Rotating a Piece
To rotate a piece, make sure a piece is selected then select either 'ROTATE' from the selection box menu or press R. Pieces can only be rotated on the y axis.
Deleting a Piece
To delete a piece, make sure a piece is selected then either select 'DELETE' from the selection box menu or press Delete. Note that this form of delete will only delete one block at a time - the currently selected block.
Selecting Pieces
To select a piece, just simply click on it. The selection box will then move so that it perfectly fits the piece.
Note that you can only select pieces of the current edit mode type. To override this behaviour temporarily, you can hold down Ctrl while selecting a piece.
Shift-Selecting Pieces
Shift-selecting is a technique that allows you to select an entire range of blocks ready for copying, cutting, pasting and deleting. To do this this, select a piece, hold down Shift, then select another piece. The selection box will then cover the entire area between the two pieces you have selected.
Selecting All Pieces
You can select all pieces by selecting Edit -> Select All from the menu bar, or pressing Ctrl+A.
* Please note when using the Edit menu operations (i.e. Cut, Copy, Paste, Delete, Select All), they will affect all visible pieces, not just pieces of the current edit type. To exclude pieces belonging to a certain edit mode when using the edit menu operations, you must first hide them using the View menu.
Cutting/Copying Pieces
You can cut and copy pieces by selecting the pieces you wish to cut/copy, then selecting Edit -> Cut/Copy from the menu bar, or pressing Ctrl+X for cut and Ctrl+C for copy.
* Please note when using the Edit menu operations (i.e. Cut, Copy, Paste, Delete, Select All), they will affect all visible pieces, not just pieces of the current edit type. To exclude pieces belonging to a certain edit mode when using the edit menu operations, you must first hide them using the View menu.
Pasting Pieces
Once you have cut or copied some pieces, you can paste them somewhere else by selecting Edit -> Paste from the menu bar, or pressing Ctrl+V.
* Please note when using the Edit menu operations (i.e. Cut, Copy, Paste, Delete, Select All), they will affect all visible pieces, not just pieces of the current edit type. To exclude pieces belonging to a certain edit mode when using the edit menu operations, you must first hide them using the View menu.
Deleting Pieces
If you wish to delete more than one piece at any time, you can do so by first selecting the pieces you wish to delete, then selecting Edit -> Delete from the menu bar or pressing Ctrl+D.
* Please note when using the Edit menu operations (i.e. Cut, Copy, Paste, Delete, Select All), they will affect all visible pieces, not just pieces of the current edit type. To exclude pieces belonging to a certain edit mode when using the edit menu operations, you must first hide them using the View menu.
You can change the current edit mode by pressing one of the edit mode icons in the top right hand corner, or by pressing keys 1-5:
1. Edit mode 1 - blocks
2. Edit mode 2 - markers
3. Edit mode 3 - collectables
4. Edit mode 4 - hazards
5. Edit mode 5 - zones
The block edit mode is the edit mode you will normally spend most time in, and is the one that allows you to create all the 3D 'building blocks' that make up each level. By connecting a lot of these blocks next to each other, you form the structure and shape of each level that the gerbil ball will move across.
There are three main types of blocks:
Built-in Blocks
These blocks are built in to the editor, and provide the simple building blocks from which you can build a large variety of more complex blocks if you wish to do so. From left to right, the built-in blocks are: square, diagonal, outer curve, inner curve and ring. Built-in blocks will appear in the preview window as white.
To select the different types of built-in block, press the - and + icons. These will cycle through all available blocks in the block bank. The built-in blocks are always at the start of the block bank, and cannot be replaced or deleted.
For the outer curve, inner curve and ring built-in blocks, you are able to change the polygon detail of them to make them smoother or more angular. To do this, press [ or ] while the block is shown in the preview window.
For the ring built-in block, you are able to change the width of the ring. To do this, press < or > while the ring block is shown in the preview window.
Custom Block - Bare
Once you have placed a few built-in blocks together, you can export them as a custom block, like the circle above which has been formed from four outer curve built-in blocks. Custom blocks like the one above are referred to as 'bare', meaning you paint them in the editor itself. Bare blocks will appear in the preview window as yellow.
To export a bare block, make sure one or more blocks are selected, then press S. This will prompt you to enter a save name. Once you have done this, the block will be saved in the 'sgb_ed/projects/your_project/blocks' folder, and then you must import it into SGB Ed if you wish to use it.
In order for blocks to be recognised by SGB Ed as being bare, they must always have an underscore character at the start of the filename. SGB Ed will add this automatically when saving bare blocks from within the editor, but if you are saving a custom block in an external 3D modelling program and want it to be bare, you must remember to add the underscore character to the start of the filename yourself, e.g. '_myblock.b3d'.
Custom Blocks - Normal
SGB Ed also allows you to import blocks that are just normal models, and do not require painting in SGB Ed.
You can export these sort of blocks from SGB Ed in much the same way as you can export bare blocks. Select the blocks you wish to export, then press Shift+S. You will be prompted to enter a save name. Once you have done this, the custom block will be saved in the 'sgb_ed/projects/your_project/blocks' folder, and then you must import it into SGB Ed if you wish to use it.
Importing Blocks
In order to import a custom block into SGB Ed, you must first find a space in the block bank where the imported block will go.
You can do one of two things here; you can either overwrite an existing custom block, or you can simply insert the block at the end of the block bank, as denoted by the 'Empty' text in the preview window (shown above).
Once you have found an appropriate space, the Import icon (the third icon along) should be fully lit. Select this and you will be prompted to select a block from the blocks folder. If the block loads successfully, it should then appear in the preview window, and you will be able to start creating instances of the block in your level.
Deleting Blocks
You can delete custom blocks from the block bank at any time by pressing the red X icon. The custom block will then be removed from the block bank and all instances of it removed from the current level. Please note that when deleting custom blocks from a project, the order of the remaining custom blocks will be altered to fill the gap left by the deleted block. This may have an impact on other levels belonging to the same project, if they use one of the custom blocks that has had it's position in the block bank altered.
Brushes
(Top) Primary Brush
(Bottom) Secondary Brush
In SGB Ed you are able to paint built-in blocks and bare blocks with brushes that you have imported into SGB Ed.
There are two types of brush in SGB Ed - the primary brush and secondary brush. The two different brushes just cover different parts of a block; with built-in blocks the primary brush covers the top part of a block, while the secondary brush covers the sides and bottom.
When creating blocks, SGB Ed will automatically paint them with the currently selected brushes in the preview windows. If you wish to change the block's brushes at a later date, you can do so by selecting the block then pressing the - and + icons to change the currently selected brush.
For each brush in a project, you are able to set specific properties related to the brush. These properties are scale, scroll speed, scroll direction and friction. To change these properties, you must select the properties icon - this is the icon that is in the top left hand corner of the preview window.
By default only one brush is available at the start of a new project; the 'void' brush. This is a white image with a red cross on it that just acts as a placeholder brush until you start importing your own. The void brush only appears in the editor itself; blocks that are painted with the void brush will not appear in the game.
Importing Brushes
You are able to import brushes into SGB Ed in the same way that you can import custom blocks.
You must first find a space in the brush bank where the imported brush will go.
You can do one of two things here; you can either overwrite an existing brush, or you can simply insert the brush at the end of the brush bank, as denoted by the 'Empty' text in the preview window (shown above).
Once you have found an appropriate space, the Import icon (the third icon along) should be fully lit. Select this and you will be prompted to select a brush from the brush folder. If the brush loads successfully, it should then appear in the preview window, and you will be able to start texturing blocks in your level.
Deleting Brushes
You can delete brushes form the brush bank at any time by pressing the red X icon. The brush will then be removed from the brush bank and any blocks painted with the brush will be painted with the void brush instead. Please note that when deleting brushes from a project, the order of the remaining brushes will be altered to fill the gap left by the deleted brush. This may have an impact on other levels belonging to the same project, if they use one of the brushes that has had it's position in the block bank altered.
For each level, you have to set the position of two markers - the start marker, and the end marker. The start marker is represented by the gerbil model, while the end marker is represented by the exit pad. In each level, the aim is to get from the start position, to the end position. This edit mode works a little differently to all the others in that you do not use the selection box at all, but instead just click on a block to position the currently selected marker.
Start Marker
The start marker can be rotated if you wish; this will change the direction in which the gerbil initially faces when a level starts.
End Marker
Crystal
Currently there is only one type of collectable in Super Gerball - the crystal.
When creating a crystal, if the selection box size is bigger than the crystal itself (always 1x1), then the hazard will be created at the centre of the selection box.
You are free to create as many crystals as you wish per level, however it is advised you generally do not create more than 50-ish per level to try and avoid frame rate issues.
There are three hazards available - buzzer, spring and ball box. Hazards are normally used to hinder the gerbil's progress in each level, although in the case of springs, they can actually be used to help the gerbil as well.
In the case of all three types of hazard, touching a certain part of the hazard will cause the gerbil ball to be repelled from the hazard at a fast speed. With buzzers, touching any part of it will do this. With springs, touching only one side (the spring side) will do this, while with ball boxes, the steel balls that the ball box fires out will cause the same type of reaction as when touching a buzzer.
When creating a hazard, if the selection box size is bigger than the hazard itself (always 2x2), then the hazard will be created at the centre of the selection box.
You are free to create as many hazards as you wish per level, however it is advised you generally do not create too many hazards per level to avoid frame rate issues.
Buzzers
Buzzers can be made to move along a path if you place it within a buzzer zone.
Springs
Springs have a single parameter which allow you to set the push power.
Ball Boxes
Ball boxes have a number of parameters which you can set that alters the frequency and the speed at which the steel balls are fired from them.
Zones are mainly used to create movement paths for buzzers and blocks. The zones are visible in the editor via the use of coloured stripes; red for buzzer zones, yellow for platform zones and blue for special zones. The zones will not be visible in-game however.
Buzzer Zones
Buzzer zones are used to create a path for buzzers to move along. By creating the buzzer zone so that it cages one or more buzzers inside it, the space available to the buzzer inside the zone will then determine where it can move.
Before a buzzer will move around inside a zone, you must first set the buzzer zone parameters so that the buzzer zone has a speed greater than 0. You can also set the buzzer zone pause value; the will determine for how long the buzzer will stop for when it reaches the edge of a zone.
A buzzer will only ever move along the X and Z axis.
Platform Zones
Platform zones are used to turn blocks into platforms. By creating the platform zone so that it cages one or more blocks inside it, the block will then become a platform and you are then free to rotate it and/or move it.
If you wish to move the platform, the space available to the platform inside the zone will then determine where it can move. Before a platform will move around inside a zone, you must first set the platform zone parameters so that the platform zone has a speed greater than 0. You can also set the platform zone pause value; this will determine for how long the platform will stop for when it reaches the edge of a zone.
A platform can move along the X, Y and Z axis, but will only ever move along two axis within one zone. If there is enough space inside a zone for a platform to move along all three axis, then it will choose the two axis that have most room to manoeuvre in.
If you wish to rotate a platform, you can do so simply by setting the platform zone parameters so that the rotation axis is either X, Y or Z and the rotation speed is greater than 0. There are other rotation parameters available as well that will alter the way the platform rotates; rotation type will determine whether the platform turns (like a turntable just turning round and round), or twists (like an elastic band that twists one way and then the other). If you select twist, then the rotation range must be made greater than 0 for the platform to rotate.
Rotation pause and offset parameters are also available. Rotation pause allows you to set how long the platform will pause for when it has reached the end of its range angle, and offset allows you to set an initial rotation offset.
The best thing to do to learn how the different parameters affect the platforms is to simply experiment a lot.
Special Zones
Special zones are used to apply 'tags' to blocks. Depending on what tag you enter, then you can do specific things to the block you have tagged, or the whole level.
Once you have created a special zone, you can then enter it's tag by clicking the parameters icon. Available tags are currently as follows:
BLOCK_ALPHA0 - makes the tagged block invisible,
but the gerbil ball can still collide with it.
FLIP_BLOCK - flips a mesh so it's inside out.
NO_BOUNCE - alters the behaviour of the gerbil ball so that when it collides with
something it doesn't bounce. This behaviour is used for Super Gerball's maze levels.
Remember that a special zone must cage a block for any of the above to take effect.
3D Backgrounds and Background Music
3D Backgrounds
Each project can have it's own 3D background, like the garage background shown above. Here's how:
1. Your background must be saved in .x, .3ds or
.b3d format. Place the 3D file and all related textures in the 'sgb_ed/projects/your_project/bg'
folder. SGB Ed will automatically copy model files across into the bg folder if
selected from another directory but not texture files.
2. Press F12 to bring up the file selector. Select your 3D file.
3. Your background should now appear in the editor screen as it would in the game.
4. Save your project.
You can clear the background at any time by pressing F11.
Backgrounds generally need to be quite big in order for them to appear to completely surround the level. However, there is a trick you can use which increases the apparent scale of the background, but not the actual scale - this prevents you from having to make background too large, which can cause problems such as z-buffer issues. To use this trick, simply end your background filename with an underscore, an x and then a number representing the apparent scale. For example, if your background is called 'myroom.b3d', to change the apparent scale of the background to x4, rename the file 'myroom_x4.b3d'.
In Super Gerball itself, all the backgrounds use an apparent scale of x4.
Background Music
Each project can have it's own background music as well. The procedure is much the same as for loading the 3D background, except you must use F10 to load an .ogg file and F9 to clear it. You do not have to worry about copying files manually as SGB Ed will automatically copy the .ogg file you select to the project's music folder.
To test that the music has loaded successfully, test your level by pressing F5. After loading the music, remember to save the project before you create a level pak.
You are able to play the levels you create in SGB Ed from within Super Gerball itself by creating a level pak.
To do this, perform the following steps:
1. Load the project that you wish to create a level
pak from. You can either load a level belonging to the project or load the project
itself. Make sure you have at least one level in your project.
2. Select Compile Pak from the menu bar, or press F6.
3. Enter a filename for the level pak and save it. By default it should be saved
in the 'sgb/custom_paks' folder.
4. Your level pak has now been created! It is a single file and will contain all
the levels and media belonging to the project.
5. Make sure your level pak is situated in the 'sgb/custom_paks' folder if you want
Super Gerball to load it.
6. In order for Super Gerball to 'see' your level pak, you must create a level list
for it. See the section on level lists.
7. Place the level list in the same folder as your level pak.
8. Start up Super Gerball, and go into Free Play mode. If everything has worked
correctly, you level pak should now appear after all the other level paks.
Levels lists are what tell Super Gerball what levels are included in the level pak, what order they should go in, what name to give them and who created them. Without them Super Gerball cannot load a level pak!
To create a level list, you can use a standard text editor such as Notepad or Wordpad. Here's what to do:
1. Create your level list file. Your level list
file can have any name, but must be saved in '.sgd' format. To do this in Notepad,
simply save a text file as "level_list.sgd" (including apostrophes).
2. On the first line, type the filename of the level pak, e.g. 'garden.pak', followed
by a colon.
3. Type the name of the level pak that will be displayed by Super Gerball, e.g.
'Garden', followed by another colon.
4. Type the author of the level, e.g. 'Si Design'
5. Press enter and start a new line. Now we will enter the details for all the levels
contained within the level pak, in the order we wish Super Gerball to display them.
6. Type the filename of the first level, e.g. 'level_one.sgl', followed by a colon.
7. Type the name of the level that will be displayed by Super Gerball, e.g. 'Easy
1', followed by a colon.
8. Type the author of the level, e.g. 'Si Design'.
9. Repeat steps 6-8 for all remaining levels.
10. Save the file.
Your level list should look something like this:
| garden.pak | :Garden | :Si Design |
| level_one.sgl | :Easy 1 | :Si Design |
| level_two.sgl | :Easy 2 | :Si Design |
If you want, you can combine more than one level list into one file, e.g.:
| garden.pak | :Garden | :Si Design |
| level_one.sgl | :Easy 1 | :Si Design |
| level_two.sgl | :Easy 2 | :Si Design |
| *** | ||
| garage.pak | :Garage | :Si Design |
| slide.sgl | :Easy 11 | :Si Design |
| twist.sgl | :Easy 12 | :Si Design |
Super Gerball will ignore irrelevant lines such as the *** line above, so you can use those to separate different level lists. Tabs after filenames are are also ignored, so like in the above example you can use tabs to ensure .sgd files appear neat and tidy.
It is important to make sure there are no errors in your level list, if there are then Super Gerball may force an error when loading your level pak.
Keyboard Shortcuts
File
Esc - exit program
F1 - load level
F2 - save level
F5 - test level
F6 - compile level pak
F9 - delete background music
F10 - set background music
F11 - delete background mesh
F12 - load background mesh
Camera
Cursor keys - move camera left, right, forward, back*
0 (num pad) - move camera down**
1 (num pad) - move camera up**
4 (num pad) - rotate camera 90 degrees left
6 (num pad) - rotate camera 90 degrees right
7 (num pad)/Home - reset camera view
* Alternatively, you can move the camera left, right, forward and back by holding
down the mouse wheel button and moving the mouse.
** Alternatively, you can move the camera up and down by scrolling the mouse wheel.
Selection Box
A/Z - change snap value
Hold ctrl while resizing/moving box - lock axis
Hold alt while resizing box - symmetrical resize
Hold shift while moving box - box moves in steps of it's own size
Select block, then hold shift while selecting new piece - selection box will select
both pieces and area in-between
Edit Modes
1 - set edit mode to blocks
2 - set edit mode to markers
3 - set edit mode to collectables
4 - set edit mode to hazards
5 - set edit mode to zones
8 - hide/show pieces of current edit type. Hiding pieces prevents them from being
included in Edit menu operations (cut, copy, delete)
9 - hide all pieces except those of current edit type
0 - show all pieces
Pieces
Hold Ctrl - allows you to select any piece regardless of current edit mode
Ctrl+X - cut all pieces within selection box
Ctrl+C - copy all pieces within selection box
Ctrl+V - paste pieces
Ctrl+A - select all pieces within selection box
Ctrl+D - delete all pieces within selection box
Tab - select next piece
Shift+Tab - select previous piece
I - select biggest piece inside area of selection box
O - select smallest piece that selection box is inside of
Space - create piece
Delete - delete piece (deletes selected piece only - use Ctrl + D or Delete from
Edit menu to delete all pieces within selection box)
R - rotate piece 90 degrees on y axis
C - centre all pieces
Shift+C - centre all pieces precisely - for advanced users only, may cause problems
with selecting pieces
Block
[ - decrease polygon detail (outer curve, inner curve and ring only)
] - increase polygon detail (outer curve, inner curve and ring only)
< - decrease outer-inner radius distance (ring only)
> - increase outer-inner radius distance (ring only)
\ - slant block -x
/ - slant block +x
Shift+\ - slant block -z
Shift+/ - slant block +z
S - save all blocks within selection box as bare custom block
Shift+S - save all blocks within selection box as normal custom block
Specials
E - create ring mesh around edge of curved mesh. To do this: select a curved mesh.
Then increase height of selection box. Press E.
Shift+E - create ring mesh around edge of all curved meshes, using selection box
height as ring height.
G - create ring of crystals. To do this: make sure you are in edit mode 1. Select
the ring block. Pressing E will now create a ring of crystals within the selection
box using the same parameters (rotation, detail etc) as the ring.
M - create maze within selection box. Must be in edit mode 1.
Developed By - Simon Harrison
BlitzSys Library - Rob Hutchinson
DataPak Library - Lee Page
Remove Triangles and Vertices Code - Elias Tsiantas
Autosmooth Code - Peter Schuetz
Maze Generating Code - Curtis Robinson
B3D Save Code - Mark Sibly
Gerbil Model - Adam Gore
Testing - Luke F.