Level Editing
Blood Secrets is intended as a social project. For that reason, the level editor is freely accessible so that players can create and test their own levels, and submit them for inclusion in the game itself.
Levels can be made adn tested from within the level editor, either with the player's own characters or with generic characters at a range of levels.
Thanks to its tile-based system, level editing in Blood Secrets is extremely simple, and utilises a basic point-and-click system. Click on what you want to add to the level from the lower part of the panel, click on the tile above, and the item is added.
The first step is to create a level for editing in the main member screen. In the right-hand panel, give your level a name, select the general type of terrain (which does not affect which tiles are available, but does affect the light level and when the level will be generated in-game) and rank and create. The level will be added to you member screen; click on "Edit" to enter the edit screen.
Bear in mind that the type of level - Combat, Stealth or Social - is very important. Each type can only be played with the appropriate missions types. Furthermore, thought should be given to this in designing the level. Stealth levels should include convenient places for characters to hide, well-distributed enemies that can be sneaked around, and not too many doors near enemies at low ranks (as characters with low Stealth cannot open a door without breaking from sneak mode). Social levels should be designed bearing in mind that a character should not encounter any problems on the way in, as they should only be in combat if something disastrous happens in negotiation. Thus locked doors, traps and other obstacles are not generally appropriate, but it may be acceptable to group enemies more tightly than usual to provide a greater challenge if things go wrong.
The first step to take should be to lay out the floor and wall tiles. Click on the floor and walls you want, and click on the map tiles to add them. For rapid level building, click on the "Fill" buttons, followed by the opposing corners of the area you wish to fill. Remember to lay floor gaps where you will are going to put doors, otherwise the character will not be able to walk through even though they have opened the door. Also leave gaps for windows, or they will not show anything.
Now you may wish to add solid and passable features. Solid features block movement, but the character can see past them. Passable features, however, have no effect on movement or play, and are purely decorative. As with floor and wall tiles, just select the desired feature from the bottom of the panel and click on the map tile where you wish to add it.
When it first loads, the level editor only shows the central area of the map. Use the arrows on the lower left to move around the map by 10 tiles per click, and the circle in the middle to return the map to the centre. Use the stair icons to move up and down between floors.
Adding creatures to the level is also simple. Select the "creature" option in the lower panel. Then click on the square you wish to add the creature. A drop-down menu will appear. Pick the type of creature you wish to add; this type will be converted to the specific creature appropriate to the Society when te level is put into play. Once the type has been selected, you must then pick a level of strength for that creature.
Each time a creature is added or subtracted, the difficulty rating for the level is adjusted. This can be found in the left-hand panel, along with the overall target difficulty for a level of the given rank. Levels will only be accepted when you try to release them to the public if the correct difficulty level applies.
When the level is loaded in game, if the mission is one which involves a target creature (e.g. "Kill") then the target creature will be automatically selected from those on the floor furthest from the ground floor ("Principal" creatures will be selected first, followed by "Support", "Offence", "Defence" and finally "Fodder").
Functional items are added in a similar way to creatures. Select "Functional Item", click on the desired tile, and pick the graphic from the sub-menu. Further options may also be available depending on the funcitonal item type.
An Exit must be added to every level on floor 0. The level will not load if it does not have a start point. Note that Blood Secrets does not support multiple start points; only the first will be active.
Stairs up and Stairs down take the character between floors. Note that placing more than one set of stairs is not generally viable; when traversing between floors, the character will always arrive at the first set found when loading the new level. Multiple stair sets cannot be connected to one another.
Chests are used to hold the target item for item-related missions, and are also replaced by the target creature for rescue-type missions. The chest on the floor furthest from the ground floor will be selected.
The strength of the Door selected refers to the door's resistance to Bashing attempts. By default, doors are unlocked. To place a lock on the door, click on the door again, and select the lock difficulty from the drop-down menu.
When a Sign is made, you will automatically be asked to fill the text which will be read on the sign. If you wish to change the text later, click on it again.
Rest and Train items have no function in mission levels. They are only useful in Public and Residential properties.
Clearing the square
Click on the Clear allows the designer to remove all features, creatures and functional items from tiles subsequently selected. Walls and floors will not be affected.
Click on "Save" at any point to save the level you have built. Note that the level is not automatically saved on quitting, so remember to save if you wish your changes to remain. Floors are also not automatically saved when moving between floors in the editor; it is very important to save each floor before editing another. Finally, bear in mind that testing a level will test the saved level, rather than the current edit, so you must save before trying new changes.
Levels can be tested with either the player's own characters or generic characters. In each case, select the character (or character type), mission, and enemy. If using a generic character, also select the character's level. Then click "Test Level" to begin playing. Don't worry, if you're playing with your own character, they will not be affected in the proper game; you can test your level without worrying about the consequences.
When you are happy with the level, click the "Publish" button. Your level will be tested for compliance; if it fulfils the basic requirements (i.e. it is technically complete), it will be made available for other players to try. If it fails, check the readout to see where the problem is and correct it.
Note that a level will not be integrated into the main game just because it is published; it must first be accepted by a moderator. If you wish to withdraw your level from play or testing at any time, click on the "Unpublish" button.