Oddworld Forums - .lvl files

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- - .lvl files (http://www.oddworldforums.net/showthread.php?t=15680)

Hey, I thought this is the best place to post this... I asked lorne this.

Edit: http://www.facebook.com/lorne.lanning

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Hey, I thought this is the best place to post this... I asked lorne this.

Edit: http://www.facebook.com/lorne.lanning

Make yourself a abe's exoddus level editor if you can't wait.

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Make yourself a abe's exoddus level editor if you can't wait.

I was just asking if he would release the programs that they used, the official programs, with no flaws, like the awesome ones being made here will always have (for several years anyway.)
And I can't make anything as complex as what is already made in this forum.

i made a lvl with your editor LIJI but it didnt upload it took to mutch time... i tested it out but i forgot to post that it works,the game is a bit harder now at the beginning but still a bit easy,and how do you turn sligs,if he is facing left how to turn him to face right?
i uploaded it!
two huge changes,read first info to unlock secret lvl door,and a lever that makes a slig spawn,the level isnt perfect becouse i removed the lever for a slig spawn use,so you cant save other muds except ddcheat,you will see.tell me what you think about the lvl i made :)

http://Scraby.fileave.com/MI.rar

Could someone please write a tutorial on how to use this level editor for people like me who aren't particularly good with this sort if thing? If so, I would be very grateful.

Thank you. :)

hm you could add to that sai,how mutch time till he turns,if there is only one and the slig is on it also how mutch time it takes him to turn left and how mutch to turn right,or if there are 3,like the one in the middle to stop the sligs for some time we add... that would be a pretty nice option

Guys, I have no clue how to use this editor... :(

I was planning on making Tutorial videos but I just don't have the time now because of my studies.

EDIT: I scrapped up some time and found my old extracted files from the PS1 Demo Disk 1 of Abe's Oddysee! I have all the .lvl's and they come with .OVL's as well.

A quick look inside R1.OVL reveals this:

http://filesmelt.com/dl/OVL.png

Unfortunately, the .cam files can't be converted...they are using a different compression or something (probably because they're ps1 files) but the animations all work when converted.

As I've said before the PS1 cams use MDEC compression! The OVL stands for "overlay" and its a PS1 DLL, they contain code specific for each LVL. So what you're looking at there is a global static array of strings.

I've been looking at the format of AO objects and I may have a version of my editor that allows you to do some basic things soon!

Yes I know it uses MDEC compression but I didn't want to say anything in case I was wrong.

Also that sounds wonderful Paul.

Thats an really awesome work guys but I have one question, wouldn't it be better to concentrate only on Abe's Exoddus because Abe's Oddysee has less features? If everything could be edited, you could edit the whole first game again with all the features like Quicksave (who ever like to use it) or flying Sligs, Greeters and last but not least THE Soulstorm-Farts! =D

Abe's Oddysee has quite a few things Abe's Exoddus doesn't, such as mimics, bell songs, swinging boulders, Elum (how could you forget Elum?! Oh wait minecar), bees, bats, etc.

Whilst Abe's Exoddus might have extra properties and objects, some people would prefer to edit Oddysee over Exoddus anyway, which is why I like how 2 things are going on.

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If you're going to make such a program it would be great. I used jpsxdec but it didnt work. As I do not know how to handle such a program (it recognize cam as sound xa files),I wrote to the author to ask for help and he wrote this:

,,jPSXdec can detect PlayStation movies (which use MDEC data), but will
not detect any other MDEC data. You will have to find where the MDEC
data is yourself. If you can find and extract the MDEC data, then
jPSXdec may be able to convert it for you, but you will need to write a
Java program.''

I was forced to abandon the project but I see you going to write decompressor! (I hope I have understood properly). Good luck! I can wait a year, but the main thing that I'll soon be able to start work on the project again.

BTW lvl. editor work perfect. I import new lcd fonts to lvl and it works in game without any errors.

Whilst Abe's Exoddus might have extra properties and objects, some people would prefer to edit Oddysee over Exoddus anyway.

Yeah, I would much prefer to edit Oddysee. Especially the RuptureFarms levels. :)

But please can someone tell me how to use the current Exoddus level editor? I just have no idea where to start.

Chubfish Presents...

A guide on how to use LIJI's Exoddus Level Editor! (Version 1)

Step 1 - Extraction

Firstly, using Paul's .LVL Extractor from Page 1 of the ".lvl files" thread (http://www.oddworldforums.net/attach...5&d=1182811225) we are going to extract all the files from MI.lvl, which can be found in the Abe's Exoddus folder
(if you chose to install them!). Back up this file somewhere and continue.

Put the ".lvl Extractor" and MI.lvl (might want to copy and paste) into one seperate folder for ease and then rename MI.lvl to S1.lvl and run "Extract.bat".

http://filesmelt.com/dl/Picture_one.png

If it worked, you should end up with a bunch of files. The only file we need here is "MIPATH.bnd", so look for it and copy it into another folder.
DO NOT DELETE THE REST OF THE FILES, we will need them for later!

http://filesmelt.com/dl/Picture_24.png
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Step 2 - Opening MIPATH.bnd

You should now get LIJI's Level Editor. The most recent build is here - http://filesmelt.com/dl/LIJIs_Level_Editor_Alpha_2.rar.
Extract the files from the .rar into the folder that contains MIPATH.bnd. This isn't necessary but makes it easier to use in some cases.

http://filesmelt.com/dl/pciture_3.png

Next, start up LIJI's Level Editor. You should get a screen with 3 options - we will only need to use the top one.

http://filesmelt.com/dl/pciture_4.png

Select MIPATH.bnd from the folder you put it in and you have successfully opened the file!

http://filesmelt.com/dl/pciture_51.png
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Step 3 - Making some changes

For test purposes, we will now make the first Mudokon blind and move him to a different position. To do this we need to find the correct screen with that Mudokon on. The top left hand corner is actually a map of the path in the level - this is how you can navigate the path.

http://filesmelt.com/dl/pciture_6.png

We now want to move the mudokon to another position. You can do this by dragging and dropping the mudokon, but I would recommend locking the Y-axis first. You can lock it in the Options -> Grid section OR press "CTRL + 4" to lock it.

http://filesmelt.com/dl/picture_7.png

Well done on getting this far - you are almost done now!
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Step 4 - Saving and Building the .lvl file

This is the easy part. Click File and Compile .Path!

http://filesmelt.com/dl/picture_8.png

You need to set the save type to "All Files" and save it as MIPATH.BND. You can replace the old one if you want.

http://filesmelt.com/dl/picture_9.png

Now, you know you had extracted all those files at the start of this guide? Well now you can place MIPATH.bnd from your other folder back into the folder where you extracted the contents of MI.lvl. Replace the old MIPATH with your new one, and then delete S1.lvl, extract.bat and extract.exe from the folder, as these are no longer needed.

Next, nab Paul's .LVL Builder here - http://www.oddworldforums.net/attach...5&d=1183466714. This is what we need to build the our .lvl file back up, with the MIPATH.bnd we replaced!

Extract Paul's .LVL Builder into a NEW folder, and make a folder inside that called "R1". It should look similar to this: http://filesmelt.com/dl/Picture_10.png.

Put all the files that you extracted from MI.lvl into the "R1". You can then run "Makelvl.bat"

When done, it should look like this:

http://filesmelt.com/dl/picture_11.png

And you should have a file called R1.lvl inside the folder!

Rename this to MI.lvl, and place it back inside the Abe's Exoddus folder.

SUCCESS!!!

You have edited a Level on Abe's Exoddus. Pat your back, schmuck, and run Abe's Exoddus to see if your change has worked. It should look like this:

http://filesmelt.com/dl/editted_level.png

If you have any questions, PM me or ask in this thread.

Thanks go to:

LIJI - For making an awesome editor!

Paul -For making awesome tools!

You - For reading this through fully (hopefully)!

Everyone in the .lvl thread - For keeping it alive, information, alot!

Me - For being bored enough to make this guide.

EDIT: This is a work in progress but it should be good.

I was going to make a seperate thread for this, so could a mod/admin please move this?

hm im using total commander,and i still didnt figure out how the cams work,i did all you guys sead but nothing happened,just black screen :(
hm is it possible to ad an angry puller that pulls levers?

Thank you very much Chubfish! :)

+rep!

Now I can edit the levels like I have always wanted to do! :D

Then chant a glukkon instead of slig and then be chased by scrabs instead of slogs.

hey LIJI when your editor is 100% complete will we be able to make our own path,like adding new screens and inserting cams into them and that,with the coalision floor?

()

hm im using total commander,and i still didnt figure out how the cams work,i did all you guys sead but nothing happened,just black screen :(
hm is it possible to ad an angry puller that pulls levers?

Yes, it's under type, number 4 if I remember. (Angry Worker)

@Chubfish - Modifying MIPATH.BND directly will be disabled in future versions as it's impossible to add a remove objects when doing this. Being able to do this is only a side effect. The correct way to do this is extract the files from MIPATH and then rebuild it.

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hey LIJI when your editor is 100% complete will we be able to make our own path,like adding new screens and inserting cams into them and that,with the coalision floor?

It depends on how Paul's AE cam tools will turn out. It's useless doing so without being able to change CAMs.

thanks,plus rep+ but the only problem is,i read all you sead how to load cams,i done the way you sead and it is still an black empty screen :(

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@Chubfish - Modifying MIPATH.BND directly will be disabled in future versions as it's impossible to add a remove objects when doing this. Being able to do this is only a side effect. The correct way to do this is extract the files from MIPATH and then rebuild it.

Sorry for posting it in here, was meant to be seperate thread, but I will update it where necessary to conform with any future versions you may bring out.

()

thanks,plus rep+ but the only problem is,i read all you sead how to load cams,i done the way you sead and it is still an black empty screen :(

It's an old annoyance with Windows Explorer. If .cam.bmp doesn't work, try just .cam.

kk thanks,will reply when tryed
works!hm it would be good to add black cam to those other places(pitfall,or empty) when you click,yust to say :)

I've got a problem. When I look in the Abe's Exoddus files I can only find st.lvl not M1.lvl

and the st.lvl doesn't work with extract.

error opening st.lvl

EDIT: st.lvl works with the extractor.exe (not the batch) It exacts lots of files but non of the files are MIPATH.bnd?

hmm strange,you can download my lvl to use,i edited something in the game...
im gonna go make a vid of what i made in my lvl

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I've got a problem. When I look in the Abe's Exoddus files I can only find st.lvl not M1.lvl

and the st.lvl doesn't work with extract.

This is because you didn't install the .lvl files from the disk upon install. Added to the tutorial.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rJsghhFXnM here it is my vid.its a bit laggy,dont know why and the sound is wierd,my computer was slown and abe toutched the ubx in a wrong moment