BIG KAHUNA REEF EDITOR
for Big Kahuna Reef 2: Chain Reaction level editor documentation click here.

So you want to try making your own levels? It is easy to create your own unique levels and then share them with your friends or put them up on the Big Kahuna Reef website.

Please choose from among the following categories below:

Getting Started
Creating and Selecting a Level Set
Turning Tiles On and Off
Inserting and Deleting Rows of Tiles
Editing Tiles
Editing Level Properties
Editing a Level Set
Sharing Your Level Set

Getting Started

You can access the Level Editor either by going to “Options” on the main menu and clicking on “Level Editor” or by hitting the F6 key on the keyboard. You will not be able to edit the Standard Level Set or the Tiki Bonus Pack. You will need to start by creating your own Level Set (see below).

The “Help” menu on the toolbar has an in-game “Quick Start – Editor Basics” tutorial and a link to this document.

To exit the Level Editor, pull down the file menu and select “Exit” or hit the F6 key on the keyboard.

Creating and Selecting a Level Set

Before you can edit a level you must create your own Level Set. Pull down the file menu and use the "Select / Create Level Set" option. You will then see a window with a list of current Level Sets. To create a new Level Set click on the “New” button at the bottom of the window. You will then be prompted to name the Level Set. Type in a name and click “Save”. You will now see your Level Set in the list.

To select a Level Set from the list, click on it in the list and then click the “Select” button at the bottom of the window (you can also double click on a Level Set to select it). You will see Level 1 of the Level Set appear when you select it. You are now ready to edit the Level Set.

Note: The only way to re-name a Level Set is to rename the file in the “Levels” folder. (see Sharing Your Level Set below).

Turning Tiles On and Off

When you are editing a level for the first time you will see the “Template” board. Edit your level by RIGHT clicking on tiles to turn the tile on or off. Be careful not to turn a tile on that is behind the status bar at the bottom of the screen. Also avoid putting tiles behind the Fish Net, Tiki Head, or where the Tiki Totem pole will rise on the right side of the screen. Be especially careful with the Fish Net. There is an invisible rectangle around it where you click to select it during the game. Make sure you do not put boxes in that area.

Inserting and Deleting Rows of Tiles

You can insert and delete entire rows of tiles by using the “Tile” menu. Be careful when using this feature as there is no way to undo your changes and you could loose a row that you meant to keep. From this menu you can either use the pull down menu or the number pad on the keyboard (see the in game menu for number pad shortcuts).

Editing Tiles

There are a few things you can edit on each tile. Click on a tile to select it. A selected tile will have a white box around it. Double click on a tile to bring up the tile edit window. The tile edit window has the following features:

• Checking the “Has been completed” box makes the tile a broken box (already completed) meaning it is already completed when the level starts.

Tip: You can also press the “C” key while a tile is selected to toggle it between pre-completed and normal.

• Checking or un-checking “Is playable” is the same as RIGHT clicking to turn a tile on and off.

• Checking the “Is pre-filled” box will make a tile start with a game piece that would normally start off without one. For example, if you put three locks (see below) in a horizontal row on a level, it will normally have no game piece under the middle one. A tile that is pre-filled is denoted by a “P” on that tile.

• Put a number into the “Lock” field to lock a piece. The number you enter determines how many times the player must match with the locked piece for it to finally be unlocked.

Note: The graphic for a locked piece can only distinguish between a single lock and a double lock. If you enter 3 or more, the tile will look like a double lock. Each match made with that tile will not change its appearance until there is only one more match needed to unlock it.

Tip: You can click the middle mouse button with a tile selected to toggle between a single lock, a double lock, and no lock (for more than 2 you will need to use the edit tile window).

• Checking the “Is Spawn Point” box makes a tile create game pieces. Tiles that are spawn points are denoted by an “S” on that tile. On the Template board you will see the top row is made of spawn point tiles. This is where the game pieces are generated so that they will flow into the level.

Note: You will need to make sure that you have enough spawn points to eventually fill the level. Remember that some tiles may not be filled at the beginning of the level because of locks, but when all of the locks have been removed while playing the level, the game pieces should be able to fill in the remaining.

• The “Background Art” pull down menu is used to place the 45 degree angle and U-turn boxes that are found around the edges and in the holes on a level. These are completely for show but can make the level look smoother.

Note: A tile must be turned off (see Turning Tiles On and Off above) for these angle and U-turn pieces to show up.

Tip: You can use the mouse wheel to scroll through these pieces. Also if you select a tile that has an angle or U-turn box, you can place your mouse over another tile (without clicking) and press the “Z” key to copy the same piece to another tile. You can do the same thing to remove angle and U-turn pieces by selecting a tile without one and then pressing the “Z” key over a tile with one.

Editing Level Properties

Press the “Edit Level Properties” button to set the time allowed for the level as well as what type of tiles it will have. You can also access the Level Properties by selecting it from the edit menu or pressing the “M” key on the keyboard. The following are properties that can be set for the level:

• The “Comment” will only show up in the Edit Level Set window (see Editing a Level Set below)

• The “Time to play” field is where you set the time limit for the level. If players use the Relaxed Play mode, then the time you set will determine the bonus players get for finishing the level but will not cause them to fail the level.

• The “Clear Power-up Enabled” box is check by default. When the box is check, the level will have the Fish Net. When the box is unchecked the level will not have the Fish Net. Only the first level of the Standard Level Set does not use the Fish Net.

• When the “Requires Double Completion” box is checked, the level will have the silver metal boxes that need to matches over them to be completed. This will be denoted in the Edit Level Set window (see Editing a Level Set below) with the word “Double”.

• When the “Has Undo Piece” box is checked, the level will have the Fish Skeleton pieces that will rebuild boxes when they are matched by the player. This will be denoted in the Edit Level Set window (see Editing a Level Set below) with the word “Undo”.

Editing a Level Set

Once you have made your first level, you can then go on to create as many levels as you want in your Level Set. By default there are 10 levels which all start out as the “Template” level. You will use the Edit Level Set window to add or delete levels, reorder them, and look at their basic stats and comments.

To use the Edit Level Set window, select “Edit Level Set” from the “Edit” menu. You can also access the level set by pressing the numbered button on the tool bar (between the “<” and “>” buttons). The number on this button is the level you are currently editing. Pressing the “`” key on the keyboard (this is the key to the left of the “1” key) will also bring up the Edit Level Set window.

Tip: You can move between the levels in your set by pressing the “<” and “>” keys without having the Edit Level Set window open.

The following feature are on the Edit Level Set window.:

The Fields:

• The “#” field just shows the board numbers in order.

• The “Name” field is not usable for user made levels (sorry). You can use the comment field if you want to have something to remind you of which level is which (see below).

Tip: You can change the size of any field by clicking and dragging the vertical yellow lines at the top of the fields. That way you can minimize the “Name” field and maximize other ones.

• The “Comment” field is used only by the Edit Level Set window to help you remember which board is which in your set. The comments are made in the Edit Level Properties window.

• The “Double” and “Undo” fields will indicate if a level has one or both of these properties set.

• The “Minutes” field indicates the level’s time limit.

• The “Tiles” field indicates the number of tiles that are turned on for the level.

• The “Sec/Tile” field indicates how many seconds are given for each tile on the level. This will change if you either change the number of tiles or change the time limit for the level.

• The “Tested” field indicates weather the level has been played through to completion. This is very important if you want to send your Level Set in to us to be included on the website (see below). All level must have “yes” in this field to be placed on the website.

The Buttons:

• To go to a specific level in a set from the Edit Level Set window, click on the desired level and then click the “Edit” button (you can double click on a level to go there as well). To go to a level from outside of the Edit Level Set window, use the “<” and “>” buttons on the tool bar.

Note: You can change the level that is highlighted in the window by using the up and down arrows on the keyboard.

• The “Move Up” and “Move Down” buttons are used to change the order of the levels in a set. Click to highlight the level you want to move and use these buttons to change its position in the list. You can also hold down shift and use the up and down arrow keys (shift-up arrow and shift-down arrow) on the keyboard to move a highlighted level in the list.

• The “Insert” button will insert a new “Template” level before the one that is highlighted. If you want the new level to be at the bottom of the list you will have to insert it and then move it down to the bottom.

• The “Delete” button is used to delete the highlighted level. You will not be able to delete a level that is the current level being edited (you must change to a different level first as explained above and then delete the desired level from the Edit Level Set window).

WARNING: There is no confirmation window that will come up to ask if you are sure you want to delete a level, so be careful. You will NOT be able to retrieve a deleted level.

• The “Copy” button stores a copy of the highlighted level. You can then use the “Paste” button to paste the level in the list. This is useful if you want to make a board that is a variation of another one you have in your set. When you paste the level it will go before the highlighted level just as insert would.

• The “Copy All” button can be used to store a copy of all the levels in your set. When you then use “Paste” it will put duplicates of all the levels in the set.

Sharing Your Level Set

You will need to play all of the levels in your set and make sure you see a “yes” in the “Tested” field next to each level before submitting the Level Set to Reflexive. A Level Set that has a “NO” in the “Tested” field next to any level will not be put up on the Big Kahuna Reef website.

When you are finished creating your round set, submit it here.

Please Note: All submissions become the property of Reflexive Entertainment Inc. and will be eligible for inclusion in all Reflexive Entertainment Inc. media. This means that we can share your levels with other gamers on the Web, in retail materials, and in any other way. Thanks!

Visit http://bigkahunareef.com/ for more information and to download other user made levels.