EDGE Level Documentation

Table of contents

• Used Terms
• Types Table
• Coordinate System
• Dynamic Part
  • Level
    • Moving Platforms
      • Waypoints
    • Buttons
    • Falling Platforms
    • Bumpers
      • Bumper directions
    • Resizers
    • Prisms
    • Checkpoints
    • Camera Triggers
    • Button Sequences
    • Other Cubes
      • Key Events
• Static Part
  • Block Modes
• Music List
• EDGEMod Formating
  • Mod
  • SFX Folder
• Tutorial

Used Terms

XML File - file written in Extended Markup Language. Consists of tags that can have several parameters and can contain a list of nested tags.

<!--This is an example XML file, also this is a comment-->
<TagList Param1="Value1" Param2="Value2">
    <Nested1/>
    <Nested2/>
</TagList>
<NoList Param3="Value3"/>

PNG File - image file supported by most image editors.

Tick - 1 / 22 of a second. Used for timing in EDGE.

Compiled Feature - a shortcut for more efficient code constructed from basic elements. Upon compilation becomes a common element.

Types Table

A table for all types of parameters used for editing levels:

Coordinate System

The coord system in EDGE uses Z axis for height, instead of usual Y axis.

Dynamic level parts

Dynamic part of the level is stored in the XML file.

Format:

File: name.xml

Level

Level is a root tag of XML file.

It contains all dynamic elements of the level.

Parameters:

Name	Required	Type	Default	Description
ID	Yes	int	-	ID of the level. Should be different for each level
Size	Yes	volume	-	Size of the level. Each number must be a positive integer
SpawnPoint	Yes	v3d	-	Player spawn position
ExitPoint	Yes	v3d	-	Exit portal position
Name	No	text		Name of the level
TimeThresholds	No	word list(5)	1,2,3,4,5	Time required for S+, S, A, B & C rank. Numbers must strictly increase
Theme	No	byte (0 - 3)	0	Theme of the level. If out of range then the theme will become 0 (level themes)
ModelTheme	No	byte (0 - 3)	Level.Theme	Theme of the models in a level. If out of range then the models will be invisible (level themes)
Music	No	byte (0 - 24)	6	Music ID of the level song. If out of range then the music will become 6 (level music)
MusicJava	No	bytes (0 - 11)	0	Music ID for the Java version. If out of range then the music will become 0 (level music)
Zoom	No	short (1 - 6)	-1	Initial zoom of the level. If out of range then zoom will become 1
Angle	No	short	22	Initial angle of the level camera
FieldOfView	No	short	0	Initial FOV of the level

---

Moving Platform

Moving Platforms are controllable platforms in the level.

They spawn a block under the target position so player at the same position will stand on this platform.

Parameters:

Name	Required	Type	Default	Description
ID	No	ID	-	ID for referencing the platform
AutoStart	No	bool	True	Defines whether the platform will start moving immediately after level start
LoopStartIndex	No	byte	1	Define to which waypoint loop back after completing whole waypoint list. If LoopStartIndex == 0 then platform will stop indefinitely
FullBlock	No	bool	True	Define whether the platform is a full block or a half block

If the platform should be moving relatively to other platform, use these parameters:

Name	Type	Description
RelatedTo	ID	Specify the platform that this one should follow (Compiled feature *)
Offset	v3d	Define the offset from the refered platform (Compiled feature *)

---

If the platform should have unique path, define the path by nested waypoint list:

Waypoints

Waypoints are used to define the moving platform's path.

Parameters:

Name	Required	Type	Default	Description
Position	Yes	v3d	-	Position of the waypoint
TravelTime	No	word	0	Defines a time (in ticks *) how long the platform should move from the previous waypoint. Should be greater then 0 for most cases or else the platform won't move
PauseTime	No	word	0	Defines a time (in ticks *) how long the platform should wait after reaching current waypoint

---

Buttons

Common Button
Null Button

Buttons are used to control various elements in the level.

Parameters:

Name	Type	Default	Description	Valid in ButtonSequence
ID	ID	-	ID for referencing to the button	Yes
Visible	nullbool	True	Defines the visiblity of a button. If Visible == Null then the button will be semi-transparent	Yes
Mode	special	StayDown	Defines button behavior (button modes)	No
DisableCount	byte	0	Defines how many times the button can be pressed	No
TriggerAchievements	ID with data list	empty list	Defines the achievements to trigger upon pressing the button	No
AffectMovingPlatforms	ID with data list	empty list	Defines the platforms to move upon pressing the button. ID data defines how many waypoints to proceed	No
AffectButtons	ID with data list	empty list	Defines the buttons to switch upon pressing the button. If ID data is 0 then the button will be pressed upon starting level	No
AffectBumpers	ID with data list	empty list	Defines the bumpers to switch upon pressing the button	No
1st Positioning
Position	v3d	0,0,0	Defines the button position in the level	Yes
2nd Positioning
MovingPlatformID	ID	1st Positioning	Sticks the button on the moving platform	Yes

Button behavior

A button can be at one of 3 modes:

• StayDown - upon pressing the button the waypoints will be proceeded and if DisableCount == 0 then the button will stay pressed upon getting off
• StayUp - acts the same as StayDown button except can be pressed unlimited times
• Toggle - acts the same as StayUp button except upon getting off returns affected elements to their state before pressing the button

---

Falling Platforms

Falling Platforms are platforms that fill fall after some time after stepping on them.

They spawn a block under the target position so player at the same position will stand on this platform.

Parameters:

Name	Required	Type	Default	Description
Position	Yes	v3d	-	Position of the falling platform
FloatTime	No	word	20	Defines how many time (in ticks *) the falling platform will float after stepping on it

---

Bumpers

Bumpers are blocks than bump cubes.

Parameters:

Name	Required	Type	Default	Description
Position	Yes	v3d	-	Position of bumper in the level
ID	No	ID	-	ID for referencing the bumper
Enabled	No	bool	True	Specifies whether the bumper is enabled or not

---

To control bumper's direction we use the following tags:

Bumper Directions

North, South, West, East tags are used to define bumper's impulse direction.

Parameters:

Name	Type	Default	Description
StartDelay	short	0	Defines the delay (in ticks *) before the impulse start
PulseRate	short	0	Defines the pause between each pulse (in ticks *)

---

Resizers

Resizers change the player's size.

There're 2 types of resizers:

• ResizerGrow (changes player's size to normal)
• ResizerShrink (changes player's size to small, 1 / 27 size of original)

Parameters:

Name	Required	Type	Default	Description
Position	Yes	v3d	-	Position of the resizer
Visible	No	bool	True	Defines the visibility of the resizer
Radius	No	v2d	0,0	Defines the expansion of the resizer hitbox (Compiled feature *)

---

Prisms

Prisms are used to boost player's speed.

Also it's required to collect all prisms for S or S+ rank.

Name	Type	Description
Position	v3d	Position of the prism

---

Checkpoints

Checkpoints are used to help player progress throught the level.

If you fall into the void or get crushed then you'll respawn on the latest checkpoint.

Parameters:

Name	Required	Type	Default	Description
Position	Yes	v3d	-	Position of the checkpoint
RespawnZ	No	short	0	Defines at what Z coordinate the player will respawn
Radius	No	v2d	0,0	Defines the expansion of the checkpoint hitbox

---

Camera Triggers

Camera Triggers change the player viewpoint.

Parameters:

Name	Required	Type	Default	Description	Invalid with	Advanced Camera Mode
Position	Yes	v3d	-	Position of the trigger	-	No
Zoom	No	short (1 - 6, -1)	-1	Sets camera zoom (6, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, from closest to farthest). If the value is -1 then triggers the advanced camera mode. You must specify Duration in advanced camera mode.	Angle,FieldOfView	No
Angle	No	short	22	Sets camera view angle	Zoom,FieldOfView	Yes
FieldOfView	No	short	22	Sets camera FOV	Zoom,Angle	Yes
StartDelay	No	word	0	Defines delay (in ticks *) before translating camera view	-	Yes
Duration	No	word	0	Defines time (in ticks *) needed for translating camera view	-	Yes
SingleUse	No	bool	False	Defines whether the trigger can be triggered once or multiple times	-	Yes

---

Button Sequences

Button Sequences are used to group several buttons.

Parameters:

Name	Type	Default	Description
SequenceInOrder	bool	False	Defines whether the buttons need to be pressed in order
TriggerAchievements	ID with data list	empty list	Defines the achievements to trigger upon pressing the button
AffectMovingPlatforms	ID with data list	empty list	Defines the platforms to move upon pressing the button. ID data defines how many waypoints to proceed
AffectButtons	ID with data list	empty list	Defines the buttons to switch upon pressing the button. If ID data is 0 then the button will be pressed upon starting level
AffectBumpers	ID with data list	empty list	Defines the bumpers to switch upon pressing the button

---

Other Cube
Dark Cube

Other Cubes

Other Cubes are helping or hindering the player.

There're 2 types of other cubes:

• OtherCube - upon stepping on the question mark, the hologram appears as a hint how to pass a certain level part
• DarkCube - dark cube that usually hinders the player from passing the level

Parameters:

Name	Required	Type	Default	Description
PositionTrigger	Yes	v3d	-	Position of the cube trigger
PositionCube	Yes	v3d	-	Cube spawn position
MovingBlockSync	No	ID	-	If defined, cube will start moving when platform reaches its 1st waypoint.
Radius	No	v2d	0,0	Defines the expansion of the cube trigger hitbox (Compiled feature *)

---

To control cube, use the following tags:

Key Events

Key Events are tags for controlling cubes.

Tag format:

Part 1: North, South, West, East
Part 2: Down, Up
Separator: None

Tag Parameters:

Name	Type	Default	Description
TimeOffset	word	0	Defines the time offset (in ticks *) from cube spawn when the key should be pressed / released

The following table contains the time offsets for cube to roll certain amount of blocks:

Blocks	Ticks	Blocks	Ticks	Blocks	Ticks	Blocks	Ticks
1	8	6	46	11	81	16	111
2	16	7	53	12	87	17	117
3	24	8	60	13	93	18	123
4	32	9	67	14	99	19	129
5	39	10	74	15	105	20	135

Static level parts

Static part of the level is stored using PNG files.

Each PNG file represents a layer of static blocks.

Format:

File: name.layer.png
Size: v2d(Level.Size)
Layers: Level.Size.Z

Block Modes

Each pixel of each layer represents a single block.

Each color channel (RGB) stands for specific block property.

Standard values:

Block	RGB	Preview	Model
Full	#FFFFFF
Half	#FFFF80
Void	#000000

R Channel

R Channel affects block glowing.

G Channel

G Channel affects block model texture.

G value	Result	Model
0x00 - 0x3F	Texture darker by 3
0x40 - 0x7F	Texture darker by 2
0x80 - 0xBF	Texture darker by 1
0xC0 - 0xFF	Texture coresponds to Level.ModelTheme

B Channel

B Channel affects block height.

0x00 = no block model, 0xFF = full block model

Anything between will generate Blue / 255 height model from the top side.

Music

Music is the track that will play while you are playing the level. There're currently 25 different tracks in the game.

In addition, you can specify the music for Java version, however it is not used in EDGE Extended.

Tracks 04_Jingle & 14_Space are unused, so they can be replaced by custom levels such as path of piracy.

EDGE Mod Formatting

EDGE Tool supports EDGE Mod files for sharing the levels.

Format:

Extension: .edgemod
Structure: ZIP

Root folder contains 2 files: mod.xml and description.txt.

Description is a file for pack description.

There can be also additional folders. Their contents will be pasted to the respecive folders in EDGE folder:

audio
default
effects
fx
images
levels
localization
models
music
sprites
textures

Name: levelsfx_name.wav

Tutorial

Here's a quick tutorial for making an EDGE level.

Step 1 - Setup:

To make the level, you need to choose its size and name.

Most levels are very short in height.

Name of the level usually follows one of these patterns. Of course, you can choose your own name, however I recommend to use these patterns to avoid conflicts.

levelid
name_id
author_name

You should also choose an ID of the level. Level IDs should be unique for each level.

For example, I'll be using level104_old by WEGFan.

Step 2 - Terrain:

The level consists of hitboxes and dynamic elements.

To define hitboxes and its models we use image files. All images should have the same size.

For each layer, we use multiple images: name.0.png, name.1.png, name.2.png etc.

By default, layer 0 blocks have #FFFF80 (half block) color and other layers blocks have #FFFFFF (full block) color.

Standard program to use are MicroSoft Paint (on Windows) but you may try other programs or even my terrain editor :).

Layers of level104_old:

Layer 0	Layer 1	Layer 2	Layer 3

Step 3 - Core:

All levels have a .xml core file. The root tag is Level.

Core of level104_old:

<Level ID="104" Size="18x13x4" Name="try again" TimeThresholds="65,80,90,100,110" SpawnPoint="1,3,5" ExitPoint="10,10,1" Theme="1" MusicJava="9" Music="18" Zoom="1">
    <MovingPlatform FullBlock="False">
        <Waypoint Position="11,3,1" PauseTime="6"/>
        <Waypoint Position="11,6,1" TravelTime="18" PauseTime="6"/>
        <Waypoint Position="11,3,1" TravelTime="18"/>
    </MovingPlatform>
    <MovingPlatform FullBlock="False">
        <Waypoint Position="13,5,1" PauseTime="6"/>
        <Waypoint Position="13,8,1" TravelTime="18" PauseTime="6"/>
        <Waypoint Position="13,5,1" TravelTime="18"/>
    </MovingPlatform>
    <MovingPlatform FullBlock="False">
        <Waypoint Position="15,5,1" PauseTime="6"/>
        <Waypoint Position="15,8,1" TravelTime="18" PauseTime="6"/>
        <Waypoint Position="15,5,1" TravelTime="18"/>
    </MovingPlatform>
    <MovingPlatform FullBlock="False">
        <Waypoint Position="15,2,1" PauseTime="6"/>
        <Waypoint Position="15,5,1" TravelTime="18" PauseTime="6"/>
        <Waypoint Position="15,2,1" TravelTime="18"/>
    </MovingPlatform>
    <MovingPlatform FullBlock="False">
        <Waypoint Position="23,1,1" PauseTime="6"/>
        <Waypoint Position="17,1,1" TravelTime="18" PauseTime="6"/>
        <Waypoint Position="23,1,1" TravelTime="18"/>
    </MovingPlatform>
    <MovingPlatform FullBlock="False">
        <Waypoint Position="24,1,1" PauseTime="6"/>
        <Waypoint Position="24,4,1" TravelTime="18" PauseTime="6"/>
        <Waypoint Position="24,1,1" TravelTime="18"/>
    </MovingPlatform>
    <MovingPlatform FullBlock="False">
        <Waypoint Position="31,4,1" PauseTime="6"/>
        <Waypoint Position="25,4,1" TravelTime="18" PauseTime="6"/>
        <Waypoint Position="31,4,1" TravelTime="18"/>
    </MovingPlatform>
    <MovingPlatform FullBlock="False">
        <Waypoint Position="25,10,1" PauseTime="6"/>
        <Waypoint Position="25,5,1" TravelTime="18" PauseTime="6"/>
        <Waypoint Position="25,10,1" TravelTime="18"/>
    </MovingPlatform>
    <MovingPlatform FullBlock="False">
        <Waypoint Position="25,11,1" PauseTime="6"/>
        <Waypoint Position="25,6,1" TravelTime="18" PauseTime="6"/>
        <Waypoint Position="25,11,1" TravelTime="18"/>
    </MovingPlatform>
    <MovingPlatform FullBlock="False">
        <Waypoint Position="24,11,1" PauseTime="6"/>
        <Waypoint Position="18,11,1" TravelTime="18" PauseTime="6"/>
        <Waypoint Position="24,11,1" TravelTime="18"/>
    </MovingPlatform>
    <MovingPlatform FullBlock="False">
        <Waypoint Position="23,11,1" PauseTime="6"/>
        <Waypoint Position="17,11,1" TravelTime="18" PauseTime="6"/>
        <Waypoint Position="23,11,1" TravelTime="18"/>
    </MovingPlatform>
    <MovingPlatform FullBlock="False">
        <Waypoint Position="17,13,1" PauseTime="6"/>
        <Waypoint Position="17,12,1" TravelTime="18" PauseTime="6"/>
        <Waypoint Position="17,13,1" TravelTime="18"/>
    </MovingPlatform>
    <MovingPlatform FullBlock="False">
        <Waypoint Position="17,14,1" PauseTime="6"/>
        <Waypoint Position="17,17,1" TravelTime="18" PauseTime="6"/>
        <Waypoint Position="17,14,1" TravelTime="18"/>
    </MovingPlatform>
    <MovingPlatform FullBlock="False">
        <Waypoint Position="16,14,1" PauseTime="6"/>
        <Waypoint Position="10,14,1" TravelTime="18" PauseTime="6"/>
        <Waypoint Position="16,14,1" TravelTime="18"/>
    </MovingPlatform>
    <MovingPlatform FullBlock="False">
        <Waypoint Position="10,12,1" PauseTime="6"/>
        <Waypoint Position="10,13,1" TravelTime="18" PauseTime="6"/>
        <Waypoint Position="10,12,1" TravelTime="18"/>
    </MovingPlatform>
    
    <FallingPlatform Position="5,11,1" FloatTime="10"/>
    <FallingPlatform Position="6,11,1" FloatTime="10"/>
    <FallingPlatform Position="6,10,1" FloatTime="10"/>
    <FallingPlatform Position="7,10,1" FloatTime="10"/>
    <FallingPlatform Position="7,12,1" FloatTime="10"/>
    <FallingPlatform Position="5,9,1" FloatTime="10"/>
    <FallingPlatform Position="3,11,1" FloatTime="10"/>
    <FallingPlatform Position="1,7,1" FloatTime="10"/>

    <Checkpoint Position="2,9,1" RespawnZ="1" Radius="0,1"/>
    <Checkpoint Position="4,11,1" RespawnZ="1" Radius="0,2"/>
    <Checkpoint Position="6,6,1" RespawnZ="1" Radius="0,3"/>
    <Checkpoint Position="9,1,4" RespawnZ="4" Radius="0,4"/>
    <Checkpoint Position="10,3,1" RespawnZ="1" Radius="0,5"/>
    <Checkpoint Position="14,8,1" RespawnZ="1" Radius="0,6"/>
    <Checkpoint Position="16,1,1" RespawnZ="1" Radius="0,7"/>
    <Checkpoint Position="16,12,1" RespawnZ="1" Radius="0,8"/>

    <Prism Position="5,10,1"/>
    <Prism Position="6,12,1"/>
    <Prism Position="7,11,1"/>
    <Prism Position="8,3,1"/>
    <Prism Position="2,11,1"/>
    <Prism Position="6,1,4"/>
    <Prism Position="10,1,1"/>
    <Prism Position="14,8,1"/>
    <Prism Position="16,5,1"/>
    <Prism Position="16,11,1"/>
    <Prism Position="2,7,1"/>
    <Prism Position="0,7,1"/>
</Level>

Step 4 - Compile:

After you made a level, it is time for compilation.

You need to open EDGETool, select the (de)compile tab and drag the .xml file into the compilation field.

You'll receive 2 files: .bin (levels) & .eso (models) file. Each file needs to be copied to the respective folder in EDGE folder.

Then you'll need to actually add the level the game menu: you should paste the following code in the mapping.xml Level.standard / Level.bonus / Level.extended:

<level filename="level_name" leaderboard_id="int_id" name_sfx="sfx_sound"/>

Note the leaderboard_id and name_sfx is optional arguments.

And the last thing, you need to run the game and play the level.