In Operation Alexandra e are using a very interesting system for level design based on tiles and supertiles. It is an evolution of the engine used by @_jgnavarroĀ y @LordFredPixel in the fantastic Profanation 2. I’ll tell you about it……
Thanks to this system, the definition of the screens, what they occupy in bytes, is variable. It depends on the tiles and supertiles used, which layer they are on, how many times they are repeated on that screen, how raster-like repetitions are defined…
The average screen size in Operation Alexandra is 126 bytes. It is important to note that a screen is made up of 40 tiles wide by 20 tiles high, so a screen made up of 800 independent tiles can be encoded in 126 bytes. Cool! š
Making bad decisions when composing a screen can make it double or triple in size. You have to be very conscientious in the creation of supertiles, as you need a varied repertoire to be able to have flexibility when designing a screen.
This flexibility is fundamental, because the most important thing in design is not aesthetics, but functionality, so that it is fun, come on! The level design can’t be hindered by not having “the piece” that is needed…
Overlapping tiles/supertiles is possible but dangerous, as it increases the screen generation time. You could define a screen with only 32 bytes using 20 supertiles, which would mean drawing 1400 tiles to compose it… An unbearable painting time.
On the other hand, this overlapping allows to create very attractive screens, since it is not necessary that the different structures created with supertiles fit perfectly with each other, achieving depth and breaking the feeling of repetition.
With this you can get an idea of the high level of @_jgnavarro‘s engine, really impressive! and @elmcklain‘s music sounds spectacular š So, to keep up, @azicuetano is giving his all in the level design… and we’re close to the end!!!
