Upgrading to Version 2.0.18

The Shoot ‘Em Up Kit version 2.0.18 contains many improvements which we will take you through.

Please back-up your folder first as this could overwrite your existing projects, games and assets.

Map Items are linked to Entity Editor items.

Items in the Level Editor are linked to the Entity Editor item they are based on. Changing the item in the Entity Editor will change the item in the level. This makes it much easier to change the collision properties, for example, of enemies in the level. Tweaking a property in the Entity Editor will change all the items which use that Entity.

If you have two identical looking items but would like to have different Entity properties for them then you can duplicate the Entity in the Entity Editor and have each item refer to the different Entities. You can use the Replace Entity button in the Level Editor Toolbar to easily swap Entities.

Level Editor has been rewritten

We have kept the same visual style for the Level Editor but there are now many new features. Multiple items can now be selected, copied and moved, making it easier to duplicate or reposition sections of the map. There is also an improved undo system.

The properties for each item have been simplified. Many of the tabs have gone and are now available through the Entity Editor. The properties are now split into General, Weapons, Actions and AI tabs. The Actions list only contains items that have been created rather than a drop-down list of all possible actions. You can add a new action by clicking the Add Action button.

Input and Movement Definitions

The definitions have been simplified and made more flexible and powerful. There are now two new Definitions: Input and Movement. The Input definition specifies which actions are mapped onto each control. The Movement Definition specifies how the item will move and rotate. These can now be shared amongst the player and NPC items. This allows NPCs to respond to player input and removes duplicate movement specifications for Player and NPC items.

We have also created a new set of definitions for the Player, NPC, Bullet and Weapon. These have more descriptive names and a clearer purpose.

The Accelerate and Brake values now refer to the time it should take to reach the maximum speed (in seconds) or get from the maximum speed back to 0. A lower value will mean the ship will accelerate or brake faster and reach their target speed in less time.

Input Types

There are some new input types for rotating an Entity in the direction of the input (e.g. the Left Analog control) and moving or applying thrust in that direction.

There is also an option in the Movement Definition for visually rotating an Entity in the direction it is travelling. This can be useful for games where the player moves on an axis, but the ship should still visually rotate.

Custom Variables

Custom variables are now accessible from the Level Editor from the Define window. It is also possible to set Actions based on Custom Variables so that the player is destroyed when a variable reaches zero, for example.

AI Events

You can create AI Events that will be called when a particular action happens in-game. For example, if the player enters a trigger box then an AI Event could be called which will switch the NPCs into their Chase state.

Particle Layers

Particles now support multiple layers so that you can create more sophisticated particle effects. Fire, smoke and embers can all be combined into a single effect, for example.

A new game type: 2D with Sprites only

There is a new type of game mode available: 2D with Sprites only. This is set in Project Settings when a new game is created. The previous 2D game mode has been renamed 2D with models. The new game mode uses screen co-ordinates with X 0 and Y 0 being at the top left of the screen. As the name suggests, only sprites are used in this game mode and, because everything is drawn directly to the screen, there is no camera. This style of game mode is sometimes known as orthographic.

Automatic Upgrade

Existing projects can still be loaded into the Shoot ‘Em Up Kit and will be automatically converted to the new Shoot ‘Em Up Kit systems. However, a few simple modifications may be required. These changes will need to be made once only and will not be required in future updates of the Shoot ‘Em Up Kit.

- Rebuild some icons

Entities will automatically be created for items in the level map which do not match any of the existing Entities. However, please go into the Entity Editor and refresh the icons for these new Entities by selecting them, going to the Confirm tab, and clicking the Done button.

- Collision Groups

The collision groups have been inconsistent across the Shoot ‘Em Up Kit versions and there is now a robust list which will not change in the future. New collision groups may be added but they will not affect the existing set again.

Please review the collision groups for the items in your project and adjust them as necessary. We apologise for any inconvenience.

- Behaviour Editor

Any existing Behaviours will work correctly in this new version of the Shoot ‘Em Up Kit. However, Variables will appear incorrectly and will need to be deleted and re-added to appear correctly. We apologise for this unavoidable inconvenience.

- New Data

If you are using version 2.0.18 for the first time, then the updated definitions and sample projects will be copied across for you automatically. If you have used the 2.0.18 beta then you may need to copy the new data across manually. This is simple to do. Copy the directories from the UserData folder in Steam (usually Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Shoot 'Em Up Kit\UserData) to your Shoot ‘Em Up Kit projects directory (usually Documents\Shoot-Em-Up Kit Projects).