Hey all! It's me again.

This time I will explain how to use the level editor in Echo Point Nova. If you used Severed Steel's editor before you will recognize some of the systems.

Some options are not included in this guide, as they are primarily for development purposes and may be removed from the editor. This guide focuses on the most important features for your use.

If you have any feedback about the editor feel free to write to us!

There are some important things you should take a look at before making a map:

- Split your world into different zones.
- Only 1 orb fight per zone
- Avoid using large building modules (128/256), as they will increase zone load times and impact performance
- To best optimize usage of building modules, avoid large empty spaces by splitting a shape into multiple building modules. For more information, please see the optimization section of this guide.
- When you make changes in a scripting window, make sure to save via the smaller save button within the same window

"C:\Users\{UserName}\AppData\Local\Greylock\Saved\SaveGames\Jobs "

 
Select "Editor" from the main menu.

Click new

Enter your map's name

Press play
 

 

Zone list of the world

Simple view mode for exploring the world

Changes the time of the world.
Important note: This will change the whole world, there is no day-night cycle or different time for every zone yet

Changes the camera speed. The slider controls the intensity. "1" is the default speed multiplier.
Note: Mouse Right Click + Mouse Scroll Wheel is the shortcut to adjust the flying speed

This is the sky during the orb fights. Toggle on/off
Note: This setting needs to be turned on to see the effect; it's off by default.
Settings -> Graphics -> Camera -> Red Sky During Battles

Removes fog. Toggle on/off.

Toggles between Global and Local movement settings for props

Move mode
Default shortcut key is: "W"

Rotate mode
Default shortcut key is: "E"

Islands, modules, npc's, and everything that moves in the editor uses grid snapping. You can increase or decrease the grid size. Or disable it for free placement
Default value is: 4

You can manually adjust the rotation angle or disable the angle option for free rotation
Default value is: 45

Shows the grid on the modules

Enters play mode. This is the play/test mode. "You can return to the editor by pressing 'ESC' and selecting 'Edit"

Disables the AI of the enemies. Toggle on/off

Show North. This compass is useful for building modules

This will be your best friend. Don't forget to save your progress

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After creating your first zone and selecting 'Edit,' you'll have access to new options. More information about these options can be found below
Press 1-8 to switch between tabs

This tab is your first step for making islands. You can add new islands or interact with other existing islands in this mode. The zone radius will change depending on the island's placement

Spawns the default island at the camera's current position. This is your basic starter island. You can change your island's type, size, and other settings in the right panel
Name: Your islands name. This is useful if you are planning to save your island shape as favorite. Otherwise, you don't need to use it.

GUID: This is for dev purposes, you can ignore this

Hide: This option will hide the island's zone, making it unselectable. It will not make the island invisible; it will simply be unselectable. If you're using multiple islands in a zone and their zones overlap, use this option to focus on the island you want. To make it selectable again, enter world mode by pressing '1.'

Props: This is the default screen of the island panel

Scripts: This is for adding scripts to the island. For more information about the scripts, see the 'How to Make Scripted Scenarios?' section

Make Favorite: Saves the current island as favorite. If you don't want to lose your island or if you want to use that island in other areas use this option.
Notes:
- Don't forget to give your island a name
- It will also save your island biome selection

XYZ size: This will define the island's boundaries. This alone will not increase the size of your island; you need to adjust the island parameters for that. This sets the maximum size of the boundary.

Auto Shrink: This option will calculate the island's area and set the boundary to the smallest possible size. Use this option last, once you are satisfied with your island. It will make things easier for you. If your boundary is very big it might take a while to shrink it back, if the game looks frozen don't worry it's calculating the area.

Make Bigger: Makes the boundary bigger. Use this when you want to make edits to your island. But I suggest you use this only for edits when you are done editing auto shrink your boundary or shrink it manually.

Priority : Islands and shapes has their own priority. This will be useful when two or more things collide with each other. Higher priority means, that island or shape will load first and make changes to others. A higher number means higher priority.
You can check out the "Priority Example" video for visual representation.

Scale: Changes the scale of the island. You can make it smaller or bigger. Default value is "1"

Biome: Biome tag for island. It will not change the visual biome texture or biome effect. This setting is for saving your island as a favorite. You don't need to use this one but it will make it easier if you are planning to save multiple islands from different zones. Default is "E_None"

Set Type: These are our different island types; you can select between them. Each island type has its own maximum radius, with some types being larger than others. If you can’t see the island on the screen, it may be due to a small or off-centered boundary. Each type has its own parameter settings

Parameters: These parameters will change your island's shape. They have min and max values. Feel free to experiment with them. The 'Randomize' option will change all the parameters to random values without altering the island type. You can also lock or unlock specific parameters.



Shapes for making extra edits to the islands. You can subtract or add to islands. Or you can use it for painting certain areas.

Hide, Props, Scripts are the same as the Island Panel
To Template: Same as "Make Favorite"
Priorty: Sets the priority. Default is "0"
Type: There are 3 different usage types for shapes:
1. Subtractive: Subtracts from island. It's useful for making caves, holes, or secret areas. You can also use it for trimming unwanted island chunks.
2. Additive: Adds shapes. You don't need islands to create a shape. It will connect to the island.
3. Paint only: This will change the material of the island.
Material: You can set material to between 0-30. This is useful for additive and paint
Scale: Changes the scale of the shape
Scale Type: Changes the base type of the shape

Spawns grass module. Manually set the XYZ size and position it on the top side of the island. If the grass doesn't appear, rebuild the island. You can change the type of the grass

Some notes:
- Grass can only spawn on the ground
- If the ground is too steep sometimes grass won't spawn
- You can use a single grass module across multiple islands
- If grass looks incorrect or has not updated, this can usually be resolved by clicking "Rebuild" in the zone tab

There are 2 tabs in this mode.
1. Building
2. Voxel


New Box Building block. This is your voxel block module. You can only place or remove voxels inside the module. If you are planning to make bigger buildings you should use more building modules. You can increase the building size but it's not that performance friendly. Instead of bigger size you should use multiple 30 or 64-sized modules.

New Flat Same with the box. Instead of a full box, it has a flat surface.

New Pain It's an obstacle. It damages the player. We used this for lava in some areas. You need to paint it with the first texture (RuinsBllockA , first texture)



Name Script ID
GUID Dev only, you don't need this

Display Name If you save your building module as a favorite, it will be named accordingly.

North/South/East/West/Up/Down These options only function with the 'Should Dig' setting, which must be enabled first. This allows for additional digging in the chosen directions. It's useful for making underground areas & caves.

Rotate 90. Rotates the selected module by 90 degrees

Mirror Y: Flips the selected module along the Y-axis

Mirror X: Flips the selected module along the X-axis

Should Dig: Enables digging. The areas where the module makes contact with the island will be excavated. You need to rebuild the zone to see changes.

Cubic: Toggles cubic option

Distant LOD: This is for if the module should have a distant lod or not. Distant lod will shown when the zone is not loaded.

Force Local: Forces texture offset and position to be local. This is useful for moving objects or objects that are rotated in certain angles

Interact Type: This makes the module interactable. You can broadcast scripts with it. We use this to make buttons or levers.

Size: Max size of the voxel module. Use 30 or 64

Move Sound: Sound will only play if the module is moving. You can move the modules with scripts. It's useful for doors or other platforms

Block Nav: Blocks enemy navigation

Invulnerable: Makes it invulnerable. That means you can't break it or destroy it. Useful for chest rooms or secret rooms.

Texture Size Offset: You can manually change texture size with this. Adjust as you like


Make New Fav: You can favourite your modules. Don't forget to give it a name. You can use your fav modules from the list on the left side.


Reset: Resets module to default version

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In this mode, you can add, remove, or paint voxels to the selected module.
Attach: Adds voxel
Shortcut key is: " T "

Erase: Removes voxel
Shortcut key is: " R "

Paint: Paints selected texture
Shortcut key is: " P "

Single: Creates single voxel

Box: Click and drag to draw a box shape
Shortcut key is: " B "

Face: Makes changes to the entire surface
Shortcut key is: " F "

Fill: Changes all connected voxels with the selected material. Also, you can use erase with fill tool.

Circle: Click and drag to draw a circle shape

Line: Click and drag to draw a line shape

You can manually place enemies. Enemies become active when the zone loads.

Some notes:
- Trigger box has a nav blocker option, you can use that to block enemy nav in some areas.
- Building module has a nav blocker option
- The spawner is used for orb fights. For more information on setting up spawners, refer to "Orb" section and 'How to Set Up an Orb Fight" video

These are our collectible or interactable items. Some of the items are self-explanatory. I will focus on the important ones.

Gun Pickup: You can change the weapon type, skins or attachments.
Locked: Locks the gun to a chest. You can unlock this chest using scripts
Tied to scan: Gun unlocks after beating the orb scan
Tied to bonus: Gun unlocks after beating the bonus fight

Wind: Intensity of the wind is tied to its scale.

Fire: Fire is an obstacle, it hurts the player

Campfire: This is our spawnpoint. It spawns the campfire at the editor camera's exact position. So you need to move your camera a bit to see the campfire.

Smoke and Fire: There are different particle effects, you can change the "system" to a different number

Cloud: Default cloud size a bit small, after spawning it you should make the size bigger

Marker: Only visible in the editor. This is for scripts. You can use this to:
- Spawn enemies
- Play sound
- Set Visible/Invisible
- Attach another actor to it
- Broadcast other scripts

Trigger box: Only visible in the editor. Again, it's for scripts. You can change the size of the box. It can send and receive scripts. You can use this to:
- Trigger some scripted event
- Lock or unlock something
- Reveal some hidden areas

Orb or Gold Orb

This is our orb fight system. Press "Spawn Gold" to spawn the orb. It will spawn at the exact camera position. After placing your orb you should set up your spawn zone boundary and place your spawners inside of the area. Spawners are the enemy spawn points. You can set which enemy types can spawn from the spawner. You can set the enemy max amount and max enemy types from the Zone tab.

Display Name: Obsolete
Optional: Obsolete
Activation Radius: This is an old feature, you can't change this in the last versions

Spawn Zone: This is the spawn zone boundary for the spawners. Any spawners in the spawn zone are automatically linked to the orb. You don't need to do anything else. Place your spawners and make sure all of your spawners are inside of the spawn zone

Name: Script ID
GUID: Dev only, you don't need this

Load Radius: Changes the loading radius. You don't need to change this

Filename: This is the file name of your zone. Instead of sharing the entire world, you can share a single zone with others

Rename: This will rename your "filename". Change your filename and press this button

Attach Actors: This setting is useful if you want to move the entire island along with everything on it, including buildings, NPCs, spawners, and other modules. Everything will be selected for you to move

Rebuild: Rebuild the islands in the zone. This is useful for multiple islands colliding with each other and setting up priorities. If your island is missing chunks or you can't see the changes you've made, use the rebuild option.

Set Overview: Sets the overview camera position. An overview camera is automatically created when you first create your zone. When you select a zone from the zone list, the main camera will switch to that zone's overview camera. It makes navigating between zones easier. If you move your island or zone to a different place you need to update your overview camera.

Note: If your zone has a campfire (spawn point), the spawn camera will transition from the overview camera to the campfire's direction. Try to set the overview direction to the same as the campfire direction. This will create a smooth transition.

Go To Overview: Moves your editor camera to overview camera's position.

Take Picture: This photo will be shown when selecting the spawn point from the map, so you need a campfire (spawn point). If your zone doesn't have a spawn point, you can skip this.

Clear All Pickups: Removes ammo,hp, agility orb etc.

Clear Spawns: Removes orb spawners. This will only remove the placed spawners, not the manually placed enemies.

Clear All: Removes everything on the island (except the islands and spawnpoints). Use this with caution

Display Name: This name will be shown when selecting the spawn point from the map. You need a spawnpoint in the zone.

Total Enemies: Sets the maximum enemy count for orb fight.

Difficulty: You can change the difficulty of the zone. This will affect every enemy within that zone.

Enemies At Once: Sets the max active enemy count for orb fight.

Biome: Biome color correction filter. You can turn on/off this setting from graphic settings.

Save and Stop Edit: Saves and exits the current zone. Use this option if you want to select a different zone or exit the zone editor.

Delete: Deletes the zone entirely.

Combat Music: Changes combat music

Orb Spawns: Sets the spawn probability for the enemy type. A higher number indicates a greater chance for that enemy type to spawn compared to others.

Orb Max: Sets the maximum number of that enemy type. This means only that amount can be active at the same time. If you want to set this unlimited you can use "-1". If you don't want to spawn that enemy type you can use "0".
Example:
2 Grunt = Max 2 Grunt can be active at the same time
0 Grunt = No grunts will spawn
-1 Grunt = There are no limits on how many grunts can be active

More Videos Soon

Buildings
Consider the performance impact of buildings as correlated primarily with the amount of potential voxels across all of your building modules, including the unused empty space (Though unused empty space not inside of a building module does not have a cost). You can reduce the performance overhead of complex shapes by splitting them across multiple building modules.

For explanation's sake, this example is 2D, though it's essentially the same idea in 3D. Grey here represents voxels that have been placed in editing, white is empty space, and red is the borders of an individual building module.
The final shape of both is exactly the same but the left is more efficient because there is less total space across the 3 modules on the left than there is across the single module on the right.
This difference between each size-up is even more extreme in 3D as each size is roughly 8x the size of the previous size. Here in a 2D example, it's only a 4x difference.

Enemies
Reducing the amount of active enemies in a scene can greatly help performance.

If your enemies are spawned via a scan fight, you can limit the amount that can be alive at once via a property in the Zone tab.