--------------------------------------------
KevEdit 0.2
	A world file editor for the game ZZT
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Copyright (C) 2000 Kev Vance <kvance@tekktonik.net>

 * KevEdit is nowhere near finished.
 * This README is even further from finished.

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Getting started with KevEdit
----------------------------
Copy the binary KEVEDIT.EXE to your ZZT directory.  You can run it with no
arguments to get a blank new world, or give it a world on the command line to
load it.

Example:
C> kevedit town.zzt

This will load town.zzt into the editor if it exists.  Otherwise, a new world
will be created.

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Basic movement and plotting
---------------------------
You control the blinking cursor around the 60x25 board with the arrow keys.
Holding ALT with an arrow key will move faster.  Notice that the cursor
changes the colour of the tile under it.  This is to help you find it when
it gets lost.

If you press the SPACEBAR, a white solid will be plotted where the cursor is.
The TAB key will turn on or off drawing mode.  In drawing mode, the cursor
plots automatically when moved.

If you create an enclosed area and want to fill it in with one type of tile,
place the cursor inside and press 'f' to flood fill the area.

There are many boards in a ZZT world.  Press 'b' to view the board list,
where you can edit a different board or create a new one.

-------------------
The KevEdit sidebar
-------------------
The blue bar to the right of the screen is the KEVEDIT SIDEBAR.  It displays
information about the current state of the editor as well as keys for common
actions.

The top line of the sidebar looks something like this:
(1, 1) 0/150

The numbers in parenthesis are the coordinates of your cursor, ranging from
(1, 1) to (60, 25).  The next numbers tell you how many PARAMETER RECORDS are
stored on this board.  Parameter records store information for configurable
things:  objects, scrolls, and enemies all have parameter records.  ZZT has a
limit of 150 records per board.  Keep an eye on how many you have used so that
you don't run out!

The next line simply displays the title of the world.  Currently, the title
is the same as the filename (it is case sensitive) but this will be
configurable later.

On the bottom of the sidebar are two horizontal bars.  The first one has a
gradient of a solid block to empty space, a line, and more empty space.  This
is the PATTERN SELECTOR.  Press 'p' to move the arrow forwards along the
selector and shift+'p' to move it backwards.  In order, the tiles in the
pattern selector are:

	* Solid block
	* Normal block
	* Breakable block
	* Water
	* Empty space
	* Line

Press space to plot any of these common patterns that the arrow is over.  Next
to the patterns is the 10 character BACKBUFFER.  When you plot an uncommon
tile (not from the pattern selector), it will end up in the backbuffer.  To
copy something from the board into the backbuffer, place your cursor over it
and press ENTER.  It will appear in the backbuffer, where you can plot it like
anything else in the pattern selector.

The horizontal bar below the pattern selector is the COLOR SELECTOR.  Every
tile you plot has a foreground and background color.  The colors on the top
are for the foreground, which you can switch between by pressing 'c'.  There
are fewer colors available for the background, which you can select by
pressing shift+'c'.

To make the foreground color blink on and off, press 'v' before you plot.

------------------
Default Color Mode
------------------
Next to the color selector lies the letter D.  When it is bright and capital,
DEFAULT COLOR MODE is on.  When it is lowercase and dim, it is off.  Default
color mode (or DefC) is a great idea that I stole from MegaZeux 1.0.  When it
is enabled, objects get plotted with their normal colors.  Ammo is dark cyan,
torches are brown, objects in the backbuffer are their original color, etc.
When you turn DefC off, anything you plot will be the color chosen in the
color selector.  This is a great way to customize game items and to change the
color of objects.

--------------
Uncommon tiles
--------------
Well, it's not that they're uncommon, just not used as much as the nice
gradient on the pattern selector.  To choose among items, creatures, and
terrains, press F1, F2, or F3.  If you want to plot any of these, press its
corresponding letter (it will be displayed on the sidebar).  Most of these
are not implemented yet.  Sorry :(

Objects are a special type of tile in the Creature menu.  Right now, you can
choose a custom character for the object.  Later, an editor will be included
to enter ZZT-OOP programming into the object.

---------------
File Operations
---------------
KevEdit can load and save normal ZZT worlds.  To load a world, press 'l' and
you will be presented with a list of all world files in the current directory.
To save your world, press 's'.  You will be prompted for an 8 letter name.
This will be the title and filename of your world.

-----
Help!
-----
Someday, KevEdit will have an online help system.  For now, pressing 'h' will
present you with a dialog box with copyright and version information.

--------
Quitting
--------
For your safety, pressing 'q' will ask if you really want to quit.  If you
answer in the affirmative, KevEdit will terminate.  It will not ask you if
you really /really/ want to quit, or perhaps you would just like to save your
work instead, because I hate it when programs doubt my quititude.

-------
The End
-------
That's all I can think of.  KevEdit is not supported at this time, please do
not send me email asking how to use it.

If you find bugs, try to fix it and send me a patch :)  If you can't fix it,
report it.

http://kevedit.sourceforge.net/ is where you can check for new releases, get
the CVS code, post bug reports, etc.

    Kev Vance <kvance@tekktonik.net>
    August 7, 2000
