[supertux.git] / docs / fileformats / fileformats.xml

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SuperTux Documentation
Copyright (C) 2005 Ondra Hosek <ondra.hosek@gmail.com>

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<articleinfo>
<title>SuperTux File Format Documentation</title>
<author><firstname>Ondra</firstname><surname>Hosek</surname></author>
</articleinfo>
<para>This document serves the simple purpose of a reference for the files specific to SuperTux (levels, worldmaps, ...). Some of these files can be modified using an editor such as Flexlay.</para>
<sect1><title>Brackets, brackets, brackets (About the Language)</title>
<para>As you might have already noticed, the SuperTux definition files (just about for everything) are full of brackets ('(' and ')'). I know that <acronym>BASIC</acronym> programmers already freak out when seeing the vast amount of brackets used in C. The truth is that you can never have too many brackets. (Okay, that's a lie, but I don't know how lenient your compiler is.)</para>
<para>"That Crazy File Format" used by SuperTux is Lisp. In most of its implementations, it is used as a programming language, but the devs simply thought why not to implement it as a data storage language. And so, the SuperTux data language, nearly fully based on Lisp, was born.</para>

<sect2><title>Basic Syntax</title>
<para>So now you expect me to teach you Lisp. "You'd like that, wouldn't ya?" Okay, okay, let me teach you a bit.</para>
<para>Language syntax is (nearly) always best consumable when demonstrated on an example, like so:
<programlisting>(supertux-lisp-example
    ; This is a comment. It is initiated by a semi-colon. (Yes, you un-believer.)
    (some-integer 120)      ; Integer values are simple to input and to understand.
    (floaty-float 58.5)     ; Floating-point numbers should be self-explanatory too.
    (string-thong "omg")    ; Strings are simple and C-like.
    (intl-string _("wtf"))  ; Internationalised strings are implemented not unlike in C.
    (boo-bool #t)           ; That's a "true"...
    (second-bool #f)        ; ... and that's a "false". (Well duh.)
    (integer-list 10 20 30) ; A list of integers, much like an array.
)  ; Don't forget the closing bracket!!!
</programlisting>
</para>
</sect2>

</sect1>

<sect1><title>Level Files</title>
<para>The level format is a bit complex, which is why <ulink url="http://flexlay.berlios.de/">Flexlay</ulink> can prove itself very useful as an editor. If you are interested in how the levels look like or want to edit them manually (and find some of the parameters not self-explanatory enough), then you may read or skim through this section.
<programlisting>;; Generated by Flexlay Editor (or Emacs or Vi or whatever)
(supertux-level                      ;; This initiates a level.

  (version 2)                        ;; This document only describes version 2. Version 1 is deprecated
                                     ;; and I'm not going to teach it since it lacks a lot of features.

  (name _("Some demo level"))        ;; Name of the level. Call it a nice name. Note that this should be
                                     ;; internationalised (that's why the extra underscore and brackets).

  (author "Ondra Hosek")             ;; Put your name here unless you are me (very improbable)

  (sector                            ;; A level is divided into independent sectors that can be connected
                                     ;; by doors.

    (name "main")                    ;; Tux begins in the sector named "main".

    (music "Ondras_chipdisko.mod")   ;; Name of the music file. See the data/music/ directory.
    
    (gravity 10.0)                   ;; Gravity of Tux. 10.0 is the default and sanest value (unless you
                                     ;; apply the level design correctly).
    
    (tilemap                         ;; Here come the files.
      (layer  "background"           ;; Currently, there are three layer types: "background",
                                     ;; "interactive" and "foreground".

      (solid  #f)                    ;; Will Tux collide with tiles in this tilemap?
      
      (speed  1.0)                   ;; If the tilemap is solid, this has to be 1. Basically sets how
                                     ;; fast the tilemap scrolls.
      
      (width  5)                     ;; Number of tiles you plan to put in a row...
      (height 5)                     ;; ... and in a column. (5x5 is pretty tiny; small Tux
                                     ;; takes up 1x1 tiles, big Tux 1x2 tiles).
      
      (tiles                         ;; Integer lists of which tiles you want to use.
        0 0 0 0 0                    ;; The tiles and their numbers are defined in
        0 0 0 0 0                    ;; data/images/tiles.strf.
        0 0 0 0 0
        0 0 0 0 0
        0 0 0 0 0
      )
    )
    (tilemap
      (layer  "interactive")
      ;; See the bacgkround layer definition.
    )
    (tilemap
      (layer  "foreground")
      ;; ...
    )
    
    (camera                          ;; Definitions of the camera paths

      (mode "autoscroll")            ;; This can be set to "normal" to deactivate
                                     ;; forced scrolling. Then you can omit the
                                     ;; "path" directive.
      
      (path                          ;; Forced scrolling path
        
        (point (x 2) (y 3) (speed 2) ;; Point to where camera will scroll.
          )
        
        (point
          ;; ...
        )
      )
    )
    
    (background
      (image "ocean.jpg")            ;; Background from data/images/background
      (speed 0.5)                    ;; Scrolling speed
    )
    
    (spawnpoint (name "main") (x 0)  ;; A spawning point for Tux. By default, he is
      (y 0)                          ;; spawned at spawnpoint named "main".
    )
    
    ;; THE FOLLOWING OBJECTS ARE OPTIONAL.
    (init-script "
// A Squirrel script
// See the scripting reference for more information.
")

    ;; Here you can add badguys of your choice.
    ;; A reference on badguy types and their parameters is a TODO.
    
    ;; Particle systems
    ;; It is advisable only to use one particle system at a time.
    
    (particles-&lt;type&gt;          ;; Valid values for &lt;type&gt; are rain, snow and clouds
    
      (layer 201)                    ;; -100 are background, 0 are interactive, 200 are foreground tiles.
                                     ;; Choose a number to put the rain between two layers. In this case,
                                     ;; the rain is in front of the foreground tiles. (see also
                                     ;; src/video/drawing_context.hpp)
    )
  ) ;; End of sector
  
  ;; You can add other sectors here.
)
;; End of level</programlisting>
</para>

<sect2><title>Badguys</title>
<para>This section describes the various badguys and their parameters.</para>

<sect3><title>Common parameters</title>
<para><programlisting>(&lt;badguy-name&gt;
  (x 270)                 ;; The badguy's X coordinate.
  (y 126)                 ;; The badguy's Y coordinate. (Note that the origin is in the top-left corner!)
  (stay-on-platform #f)   ;; Optional. Should the badguy do its best not to fall from the platform it's on? (NYI)
)
</programlisting></para>
<para>Bouncing Snowballs, Flying Snowballs, Jumpies, Mr Bombs, Mr Iceblocks, Mr Rockets, Mr Trees, World 1 Noloks, Poison Ivies, Snowballs, Spikies, Stalactites, Yeti Stalactites and Zeeklings only require this list of parameters. Simply substitute <code>&lt;badguy-name&gt;</code> with one of the following:
<itemizedlist>
<listitem><code>bouncingsnowball</code></listitem>
<listitem><code>flyingsnowball</code></listitem>
<listitem><code>jumpy</code></listitem>
<listitem><code>mrbomb</code></listitem>
<listitem><code>mriceblock</code></listitem>
<listitem><code>mrrocket</code></listitem>
<listitem><code>mrtree</code></listitem>
<listitem><code>nolok_01</code></listitem>
<listitem><code>poisonivy</code></listitem>
<listitem><code>snowball</code></listitem>
<listitem><code>spiky</code></listitem>
<listitem><code>stalactite</code></listitem>
<listitem><code>yeti_stalactite</code></listitem>
<listitem><code>zeekling</code></listitem>
</itemizedlist></para>
</sect3>

<para>The next few sections describe the extra parameters for the other badguys.</para>

<sect3><title>Dispenser</title>
<para><programlisting>(dispenser
  (cycle 3)               ;; How often should a badguy be dispensed?
  
  (badguy random)         ;; Valid values are "snowball", "bouncingsnowball", "mrbomb",
                          ;; "mriceblock", "mrrocket", "poisonivy" or "random".
)</programlisting></para>
</sect3>

<sect3><title>Flame</title>
<para><programlisting>(flame
  (radius 3)              ;; How big should the radius of the circle be that the flame
                          ;; follows?
  
  (speed 10)              ;; How fast should the flame be?
)</programlisting></para>
</sect3>

<sect3><title>Lightning orb</title>
<para>The lighting orb ("kugelblitz") ignores the <code>y</code> coordinate, spawning above the visible screen.</para>
</sect3>

<sect3><title>Spike</title>
<para>Don't mistake this badguy for Spiky! Spiky is the snowball-like creature with spikes, whilst a spike is an object serving the same purpose like the stalactite.</para>
<para><programlisting>(spike
  (direction 2)           ;; 0: north, 1: south, 2: west, 3: east
)</programlisting></para>
</sect3>

<sect3><title>Yeti</title>
<para><programlisting>(yeti
  (dead-script "
// A squirrel script that is executed once the Yeti dies.
")
)</programlisting></para>
</sect3>

</sect2>

</sect1>

<sect1><title>Scrolling texts</title>
<para>Scrolling texts are used for the credits and were used for the intro and extro in Milestone 1. The format is simple:
<programlisting>(supertux-text
  (background "extro.jpg") ; Background image (see data/images/background)
  
  (speed 1.5)             ;; Default speed of text
  
  ;; Here we demonstrate the formatting characters
  (text _("

-This is a heading
&lt;tab&gt;This is a normal line.
 This is a line in a small font.
#This is a left-aligned line.
*This should be printed in a blue font.
!Filename of the picture to be embedded into the scrolling text (relative to scrolltext file path)

")
  )
)</programlisting>
</para>

</sect1>

<sect1><title>Worldmaps</title>
<para>Worldmaps are basically level files with a few nuances. To explain the syntax, let's just picture somebody with the idea to write a level set that takes place in London (represented by a lonely island):
<programlisting>(supertux-worldmap
  (properties                               ;; Global worldmap properties.
    (name (_ "London"))                     ;; Name of the worldmap
    (music "bigben.ogg")                    ;; Music to be played while on worldmap
  )
  (spawnpoint                               ;; At the moment, defining multiple spawnpoints on a worldmap is useless.
    (name "main")                           ;; Call your spawn point "main".
    (x 3)                                   ;; Note that the coordinates are, unlike in a level, bound to the tilemap.
    (y 3)
  )
  (tilemap
    (width 5)                               ;; Number of tiles in a row. Four is just for demonstrational purposes.
    (height 5)
    (layer "interactive")                   ;; This has to be "interactive".
    (solid #t)                              ;; This has to be true.
    (speed 1.000000)                        ;; This has to be 1.0.
    (tiles
      0  0  0  0  0                         ;; The tiles as defined in data/images/worldmap.strf.
      0  11 16 12 0
      0  15 60 17 0
      0  14 18 13 0
      0  0  0  0  0
    )
  )
  (level                                  ;; Repeat this block for each level. Continuing from a level tile is only possible when the level is completed.
    (x 3)                                 ;; Coordinates of the level entry point.
    (y 3)
    (name "heathrow.stl")                 ;; Filename of the level, relative to the location of the worldmap file.
    (extro-script "
// A Squirrel script to execute once this level is completed.
    ")
  )
  (special-tile                           ;; This is a sample message tile.
    (x 4)
    (y 3)
    (map-message (_ "Hello."))            ;; Display the following text when Tux steps on this tile.
    (passive-message #t)                  ;; Set to #f to stop Tux when he steps on this tile.
    (apply-to-direction "north-west")     ;; The message is displayed only when Tux comes from one of the specified directions (north, south, west, east, concatenate with a hyphen).
  )
  (special-tile                           ;; This is a sample portal tile.
    (x 2)
    (y 3)
    (map-message (_ "Warp to the Tower"))
    (teleport-to-x 1)                     ;; Worldmap coordinates to which Tux is teleported.
    (teleport-to-y 1)
  )
)</programlisting></para>

</sect1>

<sect1><title>Level subsets</title>
<para>Whilst creating a worldmap is optional, you'll need to write a level subset file to make your level package to appear in the contribs menu (or, ironically, inhibiting this behaviour). A file containing a level subset is called <code>info</code> and lies in <code>data/levels/&lt;subset_name&gt;.</code>
<programlisting>(supertux-level-subset
  (title "Domain of the Hosek siblings")                        ;; Give your levelset a nice name...
  (description "Levels by Ondra and Klara, the Hosek siblings") ;; ... and a short description.
  (hide-from-contribs #f)                                       ;; Set to true if you don't want your levelset to appear in the "Contrib Levels" menu.
)</programlisting></para>
</sect1>

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TODO:
* Sprite definitions
* Tile definitions

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