Section 1 - Getting Started

IN THE BEGINNING

The tutorial project (tut1.prj) is designed specifically to teach you the basics as you explore and build a duplicate project. Upon completion of the tutorial, you will be able to create your own playable level, and/or move on to more advanced techniques.

When you launched the tutorial, you noticed the “demo” model situated in the upper portion of the EDITOR WINDOW panel. Placement of this model in the upper portion of the window gives you space to build a duplicate model just beneath the original. It also provides quick access to the demo model for visual reference. Once you have completed your model, if you like, you can connect it with the original to create one large level.

Once again Lara finds herself trapped in a tomb - she’ll have to solve a few puzzles and fight a few baddies in order to find her way out. If you haven’t checked it out already, take a few moments to play the Demo Level so you can better visualize what you are going to build.

Saving Your Project

It is highly recommend that you save your project and save often! An autosave function is activated when you enter the Preview mode or when you output a WAD file, but it is still a good idea to save periodically. The autosave.prj file can be found in the root directory. Once created, every time you load a project you will be ask if you wish to load in autosave. If not, hit cancel before using the Drop Down Menu to load your project or you’ll crash the editor.

The autosave.prj will automatically be removed when you quit out of the Room Editor, unless the program was not shut down properly (forced re-boot or crash). So remember to save your project before exiting the Room Editor - the autosave feature is only used for emergencies!

It’s not a bad idea to adopt a method for saving your project files with a different iteration instead of copying over your current version. This will prevent having to redo an entire project should a bug develop (not very likely, but it can happen). A good system for renaming is to cycle through the alphabet (tut1a.PRJ, tut1b.PRJ, tut1c. PRJ, etc.).