User's Manual

Tips

• Use a starter pack the first time you build — opening a real, painted, playable map is the fastest way to learn how tiles, maps, NPCs, monsters, items and quests reference each other.
• Everything seeded by a starter pack is editable like any other content: rename the NPC, repaint the cave, rewrite the quest. The pack is a starting point, not a lock-in.

Tips

• Aim to clear the checklist in order — tiles first, then the map, then NPCs, monsters, items, quests, test, publish. Each step builds on the one before it.
• Starter packs complete most of the checklist immediately; opening a seeded game and clicking Test play is often a one-click playable experience.

Steps

1. Open Tile editor under your game.
2. Click New tile, give it a name (Grass, Stone path, Water, Wall…).
3. Paint pixel-by-pixel on the canvas. Use the palette and the eyedropper to stay consistent.
4. Toggle Walkable off for walls, water and any impassable terrain.
5. Save — the tile is now usable in the Map builder.

Tips

• Aim for 8–12 base tiles before painting your first map. You can always add more.
• Stick to a tight 8–16 color palette for an authentic retro look.
• Use distinct shapes for paths so players can read where they can walk at a glance.

Steps

1. Open Map builder, create a new map and set its width and height in tiles.
2. Pick a tile from the palette and paint cells on the grid. The toolbar has Paint, Erase, Fill, Start position, and Portal tools.
3. Use the Start tool to mark the player's spawn tile on the map you want as your entry point.
4. Use the Portal tool to link a cell to another map: click the cell, then pick a destination map and arrival x/y in the dialog. Portals show as a purple ⇆ marker on the canvas.
5. The Erase tool removes both tiles and portals. The side panel shows a live count of portals on the current map.

Tips

• Start with a single small map (12×12) to learn the flow.
• Place a return portal in the destination map so players can walk back the way they came — otherwise they'll be stuck.
• Portals live on the triggers layer and co-exist with the terrain underneath, so a doorway tile can be both walkable scenery and a warp.
• Use one obvious entry tile per map and keep portals near map edges so players can find them.

Steps

1. Open NPCs, create one, give it a name, role and a portrait.
2. Pick the map and tile coordinates where the NPC stands.
3. Write a greeting, then add scripted lines the player can step through with the Listen button.
4. Add keyword responses (name, job, help, rumor, …) — each one becomes a clickable chip in the dialogue UI, and players can also type free-form questions in the Ask box.
5. Use **Gives item on first chat** to hand the player an item the first time they speak to the NPC (e.g. the Old Man's Wooden Sword).
6. Use **Wants an item (gift quest)** to make the NPC accept a specific item from the player's inventory via the Give button — set the acceptance line, refusal line, and reward (gold, XP, and/or another item).

Tips

• Greetings set the tone — keep them short and characterful.
• Use scripted lines for story beats and keywords for lore the player can pull on demand.
• Hook quest hand-offs to a specific keyword (e.g. quest, triforce) so players have to actually engage to advance the story.
• For fetch quests, always pair the in-world hint with a Wants entry so the player can actually deliver the item — otherwise the quest dead-ends.

Steps

1. Open Classes under the game and create the roles you want.
2. Set base HP, MP, attack and defense. Add abilities with MP costs and unlock levels.
3. Pick a portrait from the included library or upload your own.

Tips

• Two to three well-differentiated classes (tank, damage, support) is plenty for a focused first game.

Steps

1. HP (Hit Points) — life. When a hero's HP hits 0 they're knocked out and skip their turn until revived; when a monster's HP hits 0 it's defeated. Restored by potions, inn rest, regen effects, and some class abilities.
2. MP (Magic Points) — the resource spent to cast class abilities (spells, special attacks, heals). Each ability lists an MP cost; if a hero doesn't have enough MP, that ability is disabled. Restored by ether-style items and rest.
3. ATK (Attack) — how much raw damage a basic Attack action deals. The defender's DEF is subtracted from it, so final damage ≈ ATK − DEF (minimum 1). Equipped weapons add to a hero's effective ATK.
4. DEF (Defense) — damage reduction. Subtracted from incoming ATK before HP is lost. Equipped shields and armor add to a hero's effective DEF. The Defend action temporarily boosts DEF for one round.
5. SPD (Speed) — turn order and field behavior. Higher SPD acts earlier within a round and improves the chance of a successful escape. For monsters, SPD ≥ 6 also makes them chase the party on the map; slower monsters wander randomly.
6. XP (Experience) — awarded by defeating monsters. When a hero accumulates enough XP they level up, raising their HP, MP, ATK and DEF and unlocking class abilities tied to that level.

Tips

• Rule of thumb for early-game balance: a starter hero's ATK should beat a starter monster's DEF by 2–4 so basic attacks feel meaningful, and the monster's HP should fall in 1–2 hits.
• If a class has no MP-cost abilities, you can safely leave its MP at 0 — the engine just hides the MP bar for that hero.

Steps

1. Open Items (or Weapons) and create one.
2. Set its effect — HP/MP delta, attack/defense bonus, status effects like poison or regen.
3. Choose a tile and a discovery method: visible, hidden (search with E), bombable, etc.
4. Save — the item appears in-world the next time you Test.

Tips

• Hidden items reward exploration — mix them with visible loot.
• Traps with self_on_pickup fire the moment they're stepped on; use them sparingly in dungeons.
• Items can declare any equip_slot string (weapon, shield, ring, tunic, tool…). The engine treats unknown slots generically.

Steps

1. Open Monsters, create one, set HP, attack, defense, speed, XP and gold rewards.
2. Place it on a map tile, or let the engine spawn roaming enemies on walkable tiles.
3. Test combat — Attack, use abilities (MP cost), Throw items, Use items on allies, or Revive fallen heroes.

Tips

• Balance early monsters so a starter party kills them in 1–2 hits — new players bounce off long, brutal early fights.

Steps

1. On a hero's turn, pick Attack, Ability, Throw, Use item, or Defend from the Party Actions row.
2. If a hero is at 0 HP, the turn skips to the next living hero. Use a Revive item or class ability that revives to bring them back.
3. If every hero falls, the run ends and you return to the title.

Steps

1. Open Quests, create one, write its description.
2. Define completion conditions (e.g. kill monster X, collect item Y, talk to NPC Z).
3. Hook quests into NPC dialogue so players pick them up in-world.

Steps

1. Open Test player. Build a party of 1–4 heroes by picking classes; reorder them to set the combat sequence.
2. Move with arrow keys / WASD or the on-screen D-pad.
3. Press E to search hidden tiles (works on the cell you stand on or any of the 8 adjacent cells).
4. Walk into NPCs to talk, into items to pick them up, into monsters to start combat.
5. Combat starts automatically when you collide with a field enemy.
6. Watch the proximity highlights: yellow ring = visible item nearby, amber ✨ = hidden item nearby, cyan ring = NPC, red pulse = enemy. The Nearby strip below the map lists the 5 closest points of interest with directional arrows and distance.

Tips

• Test after every change — it's the fastest way to catch broken portals or unwalkable starts.
• If a Nearby entry shows ✨, walk within one tile and press E to dig it up.

Steps

1. currency_label — string, e.g. "Rupees" or "Gold". Replaces the HUD currency name.
2. currency_icon — single glyph, e.g. "💎" or "🪙". Replaces the coin icon.
3. display_hp — set to "hearts" to render life as Zelda-style hearts; anything else uses HP bars.
4. hp_per_heart — number (default 4). How many HP one heart represents.

Tips

• The pre-built Zelda tribute under the admin account uses all four flags — copy that game as a template.

Steps

1. Open Publish, give your game a public slug.
2. Click Publish. Your game goes live at /play/<slug>.
3. Share the link. Players don't need an account to play.
4. Re-publish at any time to push updates — the slug stays the same.

Steps

1. Arrow keys / WASD — move the party leader.
2. E — interact, search hidden tiles.
3. Enter / Space — confirm dialogue and menu choices.
4. Esc — pause, close menus.
5. 1–4 — quick-select party member during combat.