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EDITOR DOCUMENTATION
1. Basic Editor Controls
Mouse or Arrow Keys - Move cursor
Left Click or SPACEBAR - Select/place object
Right Click or ESC - Open/close Object Selection Window
2. Overview of Command Buttons in the Object Selection Window
New - Create a new level
Load - Load an existing level for editting
Save - Save the level using an existing filename and title. If the level has not yet been saved, you will be prompted for a filename and title.
Save As - Save the level, allowing the existing (if applicable) filename and title to be modified. You will always be prompted when using Save As.
Hide - Hide the Object Selection Window (same as Esc or Right Click).
Test Level - Test the level.
Exit - Exit the editor. You will be prompted to save the current level if it has not been saved since the last modification.
3. Basic level design and object placement tutorial
Welcome to the basic level design tutorial! This concise guide will teach you the basics of operating the Professor Fizzwizzle level editor.
Firstly, open the editor by clicking 'Level Editor' on the main menu, open the Object Selection Window and select an object.
For this example, pick the grass ground object (Hotkey: 1).
Position the cursor and Left Click or press SPACEBAR to place the object there. For most objects, you can hold the left mouse button or spacebar while moving the cursor to quickly place many instances of the given object (see Reference R1 - list of mass-producable objects). Place five in a row; if you misplace something, use the Eraser (Hotkey: 0) from the objects menu.
You should end up with something like this:
Next, we want to add a ladder. Select the ladder from the Object Selection Window (or Hotkey: 4) and place five in a column at the far right edge of the land:
Add another platform at the top of the ladder, six squares in length. Make sure the ladder is higher than the platform, i.e: the platform must be one square below the top of the ladder. If it isn't, the professor cannot get on top of the platform!
Hone your skills by trying to create the next part of the level, shown below:
Now that we have a workable framework for the level, we will want to save it. The level must have both an entrance and exit tube in order to be saved, so place the entrance between the two ladders and the exit on the far right side of the rightmost small floating platform.
Return to the Object Selection Window and select 'Save' (Hotkey: S). Enter "Tutorial" as the filename and "Tutorial Level" as the level title (heading):
At this point, it would be best to decide how the professor will reach the exit. We'll make it so that the professor must push a metal crate to the end of the far right, lower platform, and attach two magnets to it to create a bridge over to the floating exit platform. For a particularly complicated level, it may be best to plan the level beforehand and certainly before creating any scenery.
We know that to do this, the professor needs at least two magnets and one metal crate. We can hide these around the level and make them difficult to obtain:
In the above image, the landscape is slightly modified and the necessary items to complete the level have been added, along with a few extras to enable the professor to reach the harder-to-reach objects.
All of the objects added are placed in exactly the same way as ladders or grass, just take note that the blue button (plus the other colour switches and the trampoline) can only be placed on existing squares of grass, sand or ice.
The ladder next to the non-inflatable magnet is necessary because the professor needs to create a left-facing magnet and push it right; this requires climbing over the top of the inflated magnet. If it were incorporated into a more difficult level, the short ladder would need to be better camouflaged, otherwise its purpose would be obvious to the player.
If you so wish, you can alter the level's background image by selecting one of the four backgrounds from the Object Selection Window (above the 'Exit' button) or by pressing the NUMPAD hotkeys 1-4.
The final step before the level can be deemed complete is to record a solution. Press 'R' and complete the level as smoothly as you can. If you make a mistake, be sure to return to the editor (by pressing any key except 'R') and then press R to record again.
When you are done, press 'P' in the editor to watch your replay and double-check that it recorded correctly. After recording your solution, save the level and you're done!
Download the finished tutorial level here. (See section 5 - Installing Custom Levels.)
4. Advanced objects and level design tutorial
Welcome to the advanced tutorial! In this particular circumstance, 'advanced' refers to "a bit harder than the beginner tutorial". It is a rough guide on how to place some of the more complicated objects and how to work around a few common editor problems.
Placing Pulleys
To place a pulley, first select either the wooden or metal pulley from the Object Selection Window (or use Hotkey 'Z' or 'X'). Next, click the mouse at two different locations to place the two sides of the pulley. Move the cursor again and click to indicate the height at which you would like the horizontal rope to be placed. If there are objects or land obstructing the path of the ropes, they will be destroyed. If you make a mistake while placing a pulley and the ropes are not yet placed, you can delete the pulley simply by opening and closing the Object Selection Window.
View an animated gif of how to place a pulley.
5. Installing Custom Levels
First, you need to obtain a level from the level download system by opening one of the level name links and clicking the link to the right of the 'Download Now' text. Choose 'Save', and select your Professor Fizzwizzle installation directory:
For Windows, the default installation directory is "C:\Program Files\Professor Fizzwizzle". However, if you specified a different directory during the game's installation, you'll need to use your chosen directory instead of the default.
For Mac, the installation directory will be wherever you dragged the application icon.
For Linux, the installation directory will be wherever you uncompressed the tar.gz.
Navigate to the installation folder and save the level file in the "custom" subfolder. If this folder does not exist, you may create it, but be sure that its name is all lower case! After that, the level will be in the 'Custom Level' list accessible from the Professor Fizzwizzle main menu.
NOTE: If the game is actively running while you copy or move level files, you must exit the game and re-start it before your changes will take effect.
References
R1. List of Mass-producable Objects
Grass
Sand
Ice
Blue gate
Yellow gate
Red gate
Blue button*
Yellow button*
Red button*
Ladder
Barrel
Trampoline*
Wooden crate
Metal crate
Left-facing magnet
Right-facing magnet
Left-facing Rage Bot
Right-facing Rage Bot
Frost gun
EMP
Whistle
Inflatable barrel
Inflatable crate
Inflatable magnet
*Can only be placed above a square of pre-existing grass, sand, or ice.
R2. List of Hotkeys
1 - Grass
2 - Sand
3 - Ice
4 - Ladder
5 - 2x2 Frozen caveman
6 - 3x3 Frozen cow
7 - 4x4 Frozen sabretooth
8 - 5x5 Frozen tyrannosaurus
9 - 6x6 Frozen woolly mammoth
0 - Eraser
- - Level entrance
= - Level exit
Z - Metal pulley
X - Wooden pulley
C - Crate
V - Metal crate
B - Barrel
N - Left-facing magnet
M - Right-facing magnet
, - Left-facing Rage Bot
. - Right-facing Rage Bot
/ - Trampoline
F1 - Frost gun
F2 - EMP
F3 - Whistle
F4 - Inflatable barrel
F5 - Inflatable crate
F6 - Inflatable magnet
F7 - Blue gate
F8 - Yellow gate
F9 - Red gate
F10 - Blue button
F11 - Yellow button
F12 - Red button
NUMPAD1 - Dawn background
NUMPAD2 - Day background
NUMPAD3 - Dusk background
NUMPAD4 - Night background
L - Load
S - Save
R - Record solution
P - View recorded solution
G - Toggle grid display
T - Test the level
CTRL - Constrain cursor movement horizontally
SHIFT - Constrain cursor moment vertically
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