Level editor

[hipsterdufus]

Hi all, I'm trying to make my own level editor for a 2d platformer but it is becoming super time consuming. Adding all the features is taking forever. I don't want to use Tiled because I've already incorporated saving/loading using the boost serialization library. From what I see tiled saves level data into xml format. Is there any easy or easier way to go about level design? If you look at any 2d side scroller there must have been a ton of work that went into the level editor. I would think there is an easy way to do this sort of thing.

[Ixrec]

Are you talking about a system for you to edit levels for a game that you are coding, or ways to provide a GUI to the player that they can create their own levels with?  The latter probably is just a very complicated and time-consuming task that external libraries can't do much to alleviate.

[Lo-X]

Hi all, I'm trying to make my own level editor for a 2d platformer but it is becoming super time consuming. Adding all the features is taking forever. I don't want to use Tiled because I've already incorporated saving/loading using the boost serialization library. From what I see tiled saves level data into xml format. Is there any easy or easier way to go about level design? If you look at any 2d side scroller there must have been a ton of work that went into the level editor. I would think there is an easy way to do this sort of thing.

Tiled has multiple output format. XML is just the most used.

If you have serialized your own classes with your own attributes for mapping (and if I do not say crap), then whatever the software you will use, you will need to add a "translation" layer between the software output files and readable files for your game.

So you can, for example, "translate" the tiled XML files to serialized objects that you will later use in your game, or simply not serialize anything and read the map data from XML file each time, or keep your own level editor if you want to keep your serialized maps (lost of time, IMO)

[hipsterdufus]

Just an editor for me to design the levels with. Was thinking this would be easy but I see no easy way to create even a primitive level designer. I basically just have a way to place different tile layers right now. Haven't even got to enemies. As for changing the properties of the enemies within the level...it seems like a ton of work.

[Gobbles]

Even the smallest of level editors are going to be a complex beasts. That's basically the reason why tools such as Tiled exist, so the developers can turn their focus away from creating a tool that's going to drain resources and put them towards other aspects of the game. This much can be said for character editors as well ( anything from creating character atlases to creating a bone rigged character), these tools take up a great portion of the game, and large companies have dedicated individuals who work on these tools day in and day out.

Long story short, if your not willing to use pre built software, either purchased or freeware, be prepared to put the hours in to make an editor that's up to your standards.