Tangram Editor Instructions
The Tangram Editor is used to create more puzzles.
To start the editor, simply run "Tangram Editor.exe" from its directory.
Puzzle editor window
The editor looks and behaves pretty much like the game, but there are a few differences:
- There are no solution silhouettes, nor is there testing for solution, since you are now building a solution and not solving a puzzle.
- There is no menu. Instead to load an existing puzzles use the "L" key on the keyboard.
- The hint button doesn't do anything.
- The exit button will now quit the editor instead of returning to the menu.
Loading a puzzle
You can create a new puzzle from scratch, or start with an existing puzzle.
To load a puzzle press "L" on the keyboard. You will receive the familiar file open dialog.
Puzzle parameters
You can set a few puzzle parameters which affect the way this specific puzzle behaves.
Press "P" to set them:
Rotation units is the number of units, or degrees, in a full circle. This affects rotating the blocks. Choosing a too high number will make it hard to solve a puzzle, since if a block's angle is too different from the one in the solution, it will not be considered a solution.
Minimum snapping distance is the lower limit on the distance between blocks where snapping takes place. Blocks which are closer to each other than this distance will not be snapped. We recommend setting this to 0 or very close to 0, as larger values can be confusing.
Maximum snapping distance is the upper limit on the distance between blocks where snapping takes place. Blocks which are further from each other than this distance will not be snapped.
As soon as you click OK the new parameters will take place, and affect the game.
Note that these parameters only affect the specific puzzle you are editing.
Saving a puzzle
Once you have constructed your puzzle, you will want to save it so that it can be used inside the game.
To save a puzzle press "S" on your keyboard, and you will be presented with a file saving dialog.
If you want the game to recognize the puzzle, you will have to save it in the "puzzles" subdirectory, with the ".xml" extension (which is the default). If you want the puzzle to have an image, you will have to create a 256x256 BMP image with the same name as the puzzle and put it in the puzzles directory. (see Configuration Guide).
Quitting the editor
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Click on the exit button to quit the editor, or press ESC. Don't forget to save the puzzle before you do that! |