Huge Level Editor Update - 2.4.0

Level Editor Highlights

Frog Hop 2.4.0 is here, and with it comes some very significant updates for the Level Editor DLC! Within the editor itself, you can expect the following changes:

• Various objects can now be attached to moving platforms so they move along with them.

• Spike blocks and deflector blocks now have switch-activated versions.

• Red bird that rotates clockwise has been added.

• Fixed several enemies that did not spawn at the same position as they appeared in the editor.

• Toggle switches have been added which can be activated with the tongue attack and trigger other switches.

Major Feature for Level Creators

That's not all that is included with this update, though... There is a one new feature which is a total game changer for making dynamic levels. Introducing trigger zones and target zones! Trigger zones can be activated either by the player walking into them or from a toggle switch. When triggered, they can activate another switch, or even change the music mid-level.

But the real magic comes from using both trigger zones and target zones together. A target zone allows activating multiple switches/blocks at once. Simply resize the target zone in the level to cover the area you want it to impact, set the target_types, and connect a toggle switch or Trigger zone to activate it. You may want to reverse flowing water in a certain section of the level, without affecting water elsewhere - target zones allow you to do just that. They also open up tons more possibilities, including triggering multiple switches at once, or even chaining multiple trigger/target zones together.

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These new features give creators lots of new ways to let their creativity run wild, but we know that it can be a little daunting to learn all the ins-and-outs. Consider joining our Discord server if you need help with anything or have any feature ideas!

Menu Changes

Alongside these changes, the in-game menu for Custom Levels received a complete overhaul. Previously, the game relied on extensions to open a file dialog for selecting a level to play. This had several drawbacks, like not being accessible with a controller, inconsistency with Linux distributions, and incompatibility with older versions of MacOS. (In addition to increasing the difficulty of building new releases.)

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The new menu allows you to select levels to play from a list. This list is populated from .world files located with your LevelEditor/Levels folder. While this does require players to keep there levels at a specific location, it is worth the trade-off in order to support more control schemes and platforms.

Launching the Editor

As part of this change, the level editor can no longer be launched from the game directly. However, if you have the DLC installed, Steam will prompt you when launching to choose whether you want to play the game or launch the Level Editor.

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You can also open the editing tool (Tiled) manually outside of Steam (and in fact, this is recommended if you intend to test changes as you build levels!)

Because the level editor uses a third-party tool, it is possible that your installation is not at the same location as another user. In order to make the "Launch Editor" option in Steam work, you may need to do additional setup, particularly on MacOS and Linux. The first time you launch the game after installing the Level Editor DLC, a "config.ini" file will be created in the LevelEditor folder next to your Frog Hop install. Open this open and edit the "path" value to where you have Tiled installed. (On Windows this should install automatically, but for other operating systems you will need to download it for free from mapeditor.org).

Misc Notes

• Thanks to all the changes mentioned above, Frog Hop now fully supports Steam Deck. ːHoppyHappyː If you have trouble launching the game on Deck, try setting the compatibility to "Steam Linux Runtime".

• This update brings all versions back up-to-date, so check out the patch notes for 2.3.0 if you are running MacOS or Linux/Steam OS, as those changes are included now as well.

• Join our Discord if you would like to share your thoughts (or levels) with our community!