Crystal Edit (c) 2001 NewCreature Design
----------------------------------------


Crystal Edit is freeware. This means you can pass copies around freely as long
as no money is to be made from it. If you'd like to include Crystal Edit on
your freeware/shareware CD, you should contact us via e-mail at the address in
the "Contacting Us" section of this document to make sure it's okay.


Disclaimer
----------

NewCreature Design makes no guarantees regarding the Crystal Edit software.
We are not responsible for damages caused by it, though the software is not
known to cause any problems. If you have trouble with the software, see the
"Contacting Us" section of this document.


Info
----

Crystal Edit is the software NewCreature Design uses to create Crystal Stacker
themes. We designed Crystal Edit to be user-friendly because we wanted others
to be able to make themes too. If you have created a theme and you'd like us to
post it on our web sites, see below in the "Submit a Theme" section of this
document.


System Requirements
-------------------

A 486 or higher PC.
VGA or better graphics card.
Sound Card
Mouse


===============================================================================


Getting Started
---------------

You have two options for getting started making a theme. You can create a new
theme from scratch using the New option on the main menu, or you can load an
existing one. We recommend you load an existing theme the first time and learn
how to use all the editing tools before creating one from scratch.


Creating New Themes
-------------------

This is where it all starts for you if you want to create a theme from scratch.
Select the New option from the main menu to bring up the theme settings screen.
Here you'll see a few different things on the screen. The settings window is
used to change the theme settings. At the far left is a dark blue-gray grid
which shows you the size of the playing board. Below that is a box with the
words "Font Preview" showing you the size of the font. The rest of the screen
will have a light blue-gray grid if you have your backdrop set on tile map. All
these things should help you set up your theme and get you ready to edit. Below
are explanations of all the options you'll see in the settings window.


Display Settings
----------------

Selecting this option brings up the Graphics Mode menu. Here you can choose the
graphics driver and resolution. In the newest versions of Crystal Stacker the
graphics driver is ignored so we recommend leaving it on Autodetect. You can
use any resolution listed but remember not all resolutions work on all moni-
tors.


Tile Map / Full Screen
----------------------

The button below Display Settings will read either Tile Map or Full Screen.
This indicates the type of backdrop your theme will use. Read the Editing
Themes section for more information.


Font Size
---------

Use the arrow buttons to the right of the number to adjust the font size how
you like.


Block Size
----------

Like font size, use the arrow buttons to change the size of the blocks. Blocks
are what fill up the board area.


Tile Size
---------

If you're using a tile map backdrop, you can adjust the size of the tiles by
using the arrows to the right.


Create
------

Once you've adjusted the settings the way you want, click the create button and
the "blank" theme will be created. Now let's learn how to use the editors.


===============================================================================


Editing Themes
--------------

Themes consist of a number of parts each with a corresponding editor. Below are
explanations of these parts and how to use the editors.


Palette
-------

Crystal Stacker uses 256 color graphics modes and you should keep that in mind
when designing graphics for your themes.  Select a color to edit by clicking
the left mouse button over the desired color on the palette. Adjust the color
using the RGB sliders in the RGB window. Palettes can be imported, exported, or
grabbed from an image file using the file menu.


Font
----

This is where you edit your theme's font. Select the character to edit from the
"Pics" window by clicking the desired character. Edit the character by clicking
a mouse button over the "Edit" window. This will draw on the image using the
currently selected drawing tool and color. Use the file menu to handle impor-
ting, exporting, and grabbing.


Editor Keys
-----------

+/-        Adjust the size of the "Edit" window

C/P        Copy/Paste command


Block
-----

Here you can edit the blocks (crystals) used to fill the board. Use this in the
same manner as the font editor.

The "Pics" window needs some explaining. The top row of blocks are the "normal"
blocks. The first block in the top row is used as the background for the board.
The next five are the different colored crystals. The last block is the solid
block used in the battle modes. In the bottom row, the first and last blocks
aren't used. The others are the "flashing" equivalent to the crystals directly
above them.


Tiles
-----

Edit the tiles that you're going to use to build your backdrop. You can only do
this if you're using a tile map. Editing is the same as font and block editors.


Background
----------

This editor works a little differently depending on whether you're using tile
map or full screen backdrops. When using a full screen backdrop, you just
select an image file to grab the image from. The image will automatically be
scaled to fill the screen using the theme's resolution settings. Editing a tile
map is a little more difficult. Select the tile you want to place from the
"Pics" window and click on the background where you want to put it. The import
and export features on the file menu are also available but remember you need
to export tiles from the tile editor to go with an exported map.


Map Editor Keys
---------------

F2         Toggle window display.  Sometimes you might need to disable the
           windows to see what you're doing.


Layout
------

The layout editor is where you put it all together. Here you can set the posit-
ions of all the elements of the theme. The currently selected item is shown at
the bottom of the screen and a rectangle is drawn around the item. Once you
have everything in place you're almost done.


Layout Editor Keys
------------------

Arrows     Move currently selected item.  Hold left shift to move item around
           faster.

Tab        Select next item.


Sound
-----

Here you can pick out the sounds for the different events that happen during
the game. At the left of the Sounds menu is a list of all the different events
that can have sounds applied to them. At the right are three different buttons.
Load lets you import a WAV file. Delete removes a sound. Play will let you here
the current sound for an event. An asterisk to the right of an event name indi-
cates that there's a sound loaded for that event.


Music
-----

Crystal Stacker uses XM modules for background music. These can be made with
Fast Tracker 2 or Modplug Tracker. The first 32 patterns (0-31) of the song are
used for the normal background music. The next 32 (32-63) are used for the game
over music. The rest are used for pause music. Pause and game over music are
optional but you need to remember that the background music still must occupy
only the first 32 patterns. If you're going to have game over and pause music
you'll need to make each section loop properly using the Jump effect (Bxx).


Packaging Themes
----------------

Once you've finished your theme you'll need to package it if you're planning on
distributing it. The theme file itself has the CTH extension. If you're includ-
ing new music with your theme you need to name the music file the same as the
theme file. If you call your theme NEW.CTH, name your music file NEW.XM. If you
wish to include some information text along with your theme, we recommend
naming it the same as you theme file. Continuing the above example you would
name your text file NEW.TXT.


===============================================================================


Submit a Theme
--------------

Once you've completed a theme, you may wish to pass it around to others. We'd
like to include your theme on our website. If you'd like us to post your theme
on the internet, see the "Contacting Us" section of this document.


Contacting Us
-------------

If you have questions about Crystal Edit or have found a bug feel free to
contact us via e-mail and we'll try to help you out. Also submit your themes if
you'd like and we'll see about putting them up on our site.


E-mail Address
--------------

todd@ncdgames.com


Web Address
-----------

http://www.ncdgames.com