Level Design is a very important aspect in SRB2. All the more, because anyone at all can actually create their own levels. This page contains links to information you need to start making your own levels.
Getting Started
Level Editor
First things first, you need a level editor. There are multiple level editors available for editing SRB2, but due to the SRB2 specific features and support, we suggest starting with SRB2 Doom Builder.
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Starting a Simple Map
There are also two major concepts that are important to know when starting out making your own stage.
- Thok Barrier - Thok Barriers are essential to level design, and this tutorial shows how to create them. Without a thok barrier, Sonic will be able to escape your stage by flying straight through a wall and Knuckles won't be able to climb the walls he should be able to climb. This tutorial explains the basics of making one.
- Level Header - Level headers are used to give your map a name, music, sky, and other details you can't do from the level editor itself.
Enhancing the Level Design
Finally, level design isn't just about making the stage, it's about making the stage fun to play. Once you get the basics of making a simple map in an editor, this is essential reading.
- Level Design 101 - This is a guide on how to build good maps, and covers many basic editing guidelines, such as object placement, appropriate level size, and other very important information. This is a very important document for people trying to make good maps, after having first experimented and familiarized themselves with a level editor.
- Aesthetic Tips - This covers a few to-dos and not-to-dos with the visuals of a map. While mastery of aesthetics comes with professional training or by oneself, this can help get you a headstart.
Advanced Techniques
The following are tutorials to make more complicated parts of SRB2 stages. Make sure you have a basic grasp of level editing before reading these, as they assume you already know how to make a stage and just want to add more complicated features to your stage.
Proper usage of these techniques are essential to make interesting stages with a variety of gimmicks.
- Conveyor Belt Creation - How to make conveyor belts.
- Directional Effects - How to make wind, water currents, and other things that have a direction applied to them.
- Egg Capsule Creation - How to make an Egg Capsule appear after a boss is defeated in your stage.
- Joining and Merging Sectors - How to optimize your map and improve framerate by lowering the number of sectors in your stage without actually removing any details.
- Linedef Executor Tutorial - How to use linedef executors, a sort of in-map scripting system that allows you to make interactive stages with parts that move or interact with the player or objects, such as buttons and traps.
- Moving Platforms Tutorial - How to make platforms that move up and down on their own or rise or sink when the player steps on them.
- Multi-textured FOF - How to make a floor over floor with different textures and effects on each side.
- NiGHTS Tutorial - How to use NiGHTS Mode and make your own NiGHTS stage.
- Pegging - How to peg textures using the Lower and Upper Unpegged features. This allows you to make grass edgings to your platforms and other visual effects. This is essential to help the player see the edge of platforms in some stages.
- PolyObject Creation Tutorial - How to create PolyObjects, which are like FOFs that can move horizontally and rotate, but cannot render the top or bottom.
- Reverse Gravity Tutorial - How to use reverse gravity.
- Rock Spawn Tutorial - How to use the rock spawner from ACZ1.
- Rope Pulley Creation Tutorial - How to use the rope pulley gimmick from ACZ1.
- Stacking Multiple FOFs - How to put multiple FOFs on top of each other. This can also be used for any other situations where multiple effects are involved in the same sector.
- Timed Linedef Executor - How to set up linedef executors to trigger with a time delay, for periodic or delayed effects.
- Water Design - How to use water, and other effects that use the water code, such as slime and lava. This also explains how to use colormaps to make the liquid tinted a color.
- Zoom Tube Tutorial - How to set up zoom tubes, like in ERZ, that have the player dash through a small tube.
References
These are slightly technical in places, but for exact information on what words mean or specials do, these references are quite helpful.
- Glossary - This is a listing of the more technical terms that most people use when describing level design in SRB2 and their definitions.
- Thing Types - Lists all the thing types and describes their usage.
- Linedef Types - Lists all the linedef types and describes their usage.
- Sector Types - Lists all the sector types and describes their usage.
