DARK EGYPT-V2 (Alternative Version)
Introduction: Please note that this PDF is just an extension of the original Dark Egypt manual which will explain the changes which were made and give a few Hints & Tips. Dark Egypt-V2, you will find, is exactly the same as the first version with the exception of its Room Ceiling Textures. The first version had Room segments with Ceiling segments embedded in their profiles which some users have found limiting in certain circumstances which has given rise to the creation of Dark Egypt-V2. The Room segments in Dark Egypt-V2 now do not have Ceiling textures appearing when they are placed in the FPSCreator environment which has now freed some issues concerning Floor segments. However, I have constructed separate Ceiling segments for all the styles of Rooms found in Dark Egypt-V2 which will have to be placed manually by the user. Please bear in mind that the Dark Egypt project was originally designed to have Ceilings. Obviously, feel free to use whichever version of Dark Egypt that best suits your needs. Please take some time to look at this manual as it does contain some tips which are helpful and I do hope you enjoy this new/style version. Author of: Dark Egypt & Dark Egypt-V2 Ross V Hunt Aka.Rosstradamus
Adding New Ceiling Segments in the FPSCreator Environment
In the screenshots below you will see two Rooms with Roofs placed on top of them. Room-1 has a Roof plus a Ceiling segment placed underneath it and Room-2 has just a Roof. The Roofs were placed by using the F key (Floor only mode) on the level above the Two Rooms. The Ceiling on Room-1 was placed by pasting/drawing (same level as Roof) on top of the Roof which is already in place. This will add a ceiling to your room without deleting the Roof/Floor segment in place already.
Results from screenshot above
Screenshots taken from-Room Basic-02

New Ceiling Cursor

The new Ceiling segments now have a White Arrow cursor which can be rotated in four directions. The normal position for the Ceilings is when the cursor arrow is facing upwards which should appear when you first pick a Ceiling segment to use. The screenshots below show the Ceiling cursor being used and the results given.
Results from above screenshot
Screenshots taken from temple of gold-back room
*TIP*- I have found that it is best to construct your Room/environment first, including the placing of walls and other features, before you add a Ceiling to that room. By placing the Ceiling last in a room, you will find that it will cover up some possible glitches that can be caused by the Inner Wall segments in the Pack (Pack originally designed to have ceilings). In effect, if you do see glitches on the horizontal plane, dont worry because they can be covered up by the use of the Ceiling segments. *TIP*- When adding a Ceiling segment keep the arrow cursor facing in the same direction throughout its use in the particular room you are using it for. This will help confusion occurring, if or when, you may decide to change the ceiling texture by removing it at a later date. *TIP*- If you do wish to change a Ceiling segment you will have to remove the Ceiling which is already in place first before adding your new choice of Ceiling. To remove a Ceiling segment, just choose the relevant ceiling icon from the library browser, place cursor over the unwanted Ceiling segment and then Right click on your mouse. *NOTE*- Floor segments can be removed and then be replaced to reveal the position of the Ceiling segments beneath them. As you already know, there are a number of ways to construct your rooms/buildings, so just find the method of using these new Ceiling segments which best suits you.
Options Now Available with Dark Egypt-V2
1. It is now possible to remove Floor segments which are attached to main room walls including walls in wall only mode (M-key). 2. It is now feasible to build multi story buildings without a floor based ridge being created on the inside of them. 3. The user now has the ability to add different ceilings from other rooms and use the new Ceiling FPS file template to create their own textured ceilings. 4. Its now possible to Mix n Match ceilings in a room. (see below)
*NOTE*- Because some of the rooms share the same ceiling designs you will find that not all Ceiling segments are different. I have created a separate Ceiling segment for each type of room to save confusion and have them readily available for the type of room you are using at that moment in time. *FINAL NOTE* Dark Egypt-V2 was reconstructed under FPSCreator v-1.06 using August Direct X9 2007.

Ps. Any feedback on the Forums is always appreciated and good luck with your future projects.

Rosstradamus

BONUS EGYPT (ADD-ON CONTENT)
INTRODUCTION Just a few words, to say that I created the Bonus Egypt Pack to add a few extra elements to the Dark Egypt environment and also to say thank you to all who have purchased Dark Egypt. In my mind, you can never have too much media. The Pack itself is self contained which means that all its media will appear in the FPSCreator browser in a Bonus Egypt folder. I decided to keep it separate from Dark Egypt to allow users to find its contents without having to search around. Most of the media in Bonus Egypt has been designed in a way, to keep it in Theme with Dark Egypts colour coded room system which I hope, helps you to find things easier. I have created this manual in order to explain the use of some of the media in Bonus Egypt which I hope you can find time to look at because it does contain some Handy Hints & Tips. Some of the media has placement rules to follow so I do advise that you give this manual a quick look over or at least refer to it if you are having problems with anything. Most of the rules from the Dark Egypt manual apply to the media contained in this Pack. Feel free to ask any questions on the FPSCreator Forum, as I will be more than glad to answer to any problems you may have. Last of all, I hope the contents of this Pack help you with your future projects and add a new element to Dark Egypt.

Author Ross v Hunt

BONUS EGYPT CONTENTS

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

HATCHS (CEILING HATCHS) (Entities) LIFT PANELS (Entities) BALCONIES ( CONSTRUCTION PARTS)(Segments) SHAFT ENTRANCES (Segments) FLOORS (INTERCHANGE)(Segments) CREDITS
HATCHS (Ceiling Hatchs) (Entities)
Ceiling hatchs are designed to be placed in empty areas at ceiling height where your main character might fall through or wish to pass through. They will help in your level design by covering up any sharp edges seen when there is an empty square space, plus add a little extra detail to the look of a ceiling. An example of their use can be seen in the scenario screenshots below which also include the use of other items from this Pack.
Moor scenario screenshots below
(TIP) - When using a Lift Panel to access a roof area of a room or building, it would be wise for you to place an Invisible floor panel on the next level up, in line with the path of the lift panel. This is just a tip to show you that you do not have to have a visible structure in place, in order to stop the lift panel from keeping going. An example of this can be seen in the screenshot at the bottom right of the page above.

Back to contents

LIFT PANELS (Entities)
I thought I would add these to the Bonus Pack in order to give the user the feeling that there might have been a much more advanced technology (alien visitation), plus the fact that it adds more fun elements to general game play. They can be used in all sorts of ways such as, travelling between levels quickly, added to secret rooms to find secret artefacts or gold, used for access to explore ledges or balconys at otherwise unreachable higher levels ect.ect. The lift panels supplied in this Pack work in the same way as the lift units in FPSCreator. When you stand on a lift panel, it will keep going upwards until you reach a point where there is a ceiling/roof above you which should bring you to at least the next level up, in say a two story building. If you step off the lift panel and then step back on it, it will then travel downwards back to its original position where you first stepped onto it. I have supplied an invisible floor segment in this Pack to act as a stop (ceiling/roof) for any user who would like to gain access to the roof of a building using a lift panel. Details on the use of the invisible floor segment in this way can be viewed in the TIP just above this section and in one of the diagrams below. (TIP) Trap shafts which are also supplied in this Pack can be used as lift shafts between levels which I have found work very well in the game design environment. Using the trap shafts in this way gives a real sense of adventure if used in conjuncture with other segment types and hatch type entities. (TIP) Another good use for lift panels is to use them to gain access to platforms or platform systems at higher levels (or lower levels). Examples of this kind of use can be viewed also in the images below.

More images below

(NOTE) At the last moment, I have decided to include a new invisible lift panel which I think should be very useful in general. One idea would be to use it to create traps with Hurt zones at higher levels in a building.

BALCONIES (Segments)

After finishing Dark Egypt, I sat back and looked at it and thought to myself that there is something missing, and in my mind, it was missing some kind of grandeur. I messed about a bit with ideas and came to the conclusion that balconies would help a lot to give rooms or buildings an extra dimension and feel. I have created a balcony system comprised of separate parts which can be assembled in many ways in order to create many variations if so desired. At first, you might find this system a bit confusing but it will become apparent after a little use and practice. I have tried to make it as easy as possible to understand by using the colour coded system used for the room types, as seen in Dark Egypt. There are two main styles of balcony systems to choose from. (NOTE) The interior & exterior balcony units do not have floors attached to them. I decided that it would be more user friendly to allow the user to add a floor of their own choice from one of the many floor segments in this pack. Ceiling segments can also be attached to the bottom of any floor which is placed inside of a balcony unit. (TIP) You could also try to use a ceiling segment only as a floor or one of the many floor grids (static mode) in Dark Egypt. Just a few extra options, for floors for these types of units.

Construction Parts

The balcony construction system is comprised of four main folders in the browser which contain the following titled media: Balcony construction parts Contains two folders: (Ends only & Walls only) Ends only Contains two styles of end of wall models for all styles of balcony walls which are called BLOCK& PILLA. Walls only Contains a basic plain balcony wall model for all styles of balconies. Balcony units-exterior Contains ready made exterior balcony units, for all styles of Rooms in Dark Egypt. Balcony units-interior Contains ready made interior balcony units, for all styles of Rooms in Dark Egypt.
Balcony walls-main units-interior Contains two styles of main balcony wall systems with end models attached. (NOTE) - These are to be used first when you begin to build a balcony system in your game. (NOTE) All of the media parts in the balcony systems are at fixed positions for the reason of fitting together in a workable way. (NOTE) I have supplied a duplicate of all the PILLA Ends for use as Entities which will give the user the ability to place a Pilla wherever they want in the FPSCreator environment. Below you will find some screenshots to help you understand the overall use of the Balcony system and its parts.

EDITOR VIEW OF BALCONY PARTS (PILLA STYLE)
IN GAME VIEW OF BALCONY PARTS (PILLA STYLE)
STEP BY STEP- HOW TO CREATE A STANDARD BALCONY LAYOUT WHICH INCLUDES AN INTERIOR BALCONY UNIT.

In game screenshots

Below are screenshots from different scenarios but which show the use for both Styles and all the parts of the balcony systems.
EXTERIOR BALCONIES Here are a few brief notes on using Exterior balconies. (NOTE) Exterior balconies in this Pack have a slightly different position and design than that of the Interior, so be sure to pick the right type of Balcony unit for the right place (interior or exterior). (TIP) All of the balcony units can also be placed at ground level as well, if so wished, which should give the user more options for room design. (TIP) - Try adding an ARCH entity at the spot where you have removed a wall to gain access to the exterior balcony. I have found that this works very well and looks great. Its best to double up the arch entity (explained in the Dark Egypt manual) for best effect. (NOTE) The exterior balconies also do not have floors for the reason mentioned before in this section.
Here are some images of a scenario set up to show the Balcony parts in use and including an alternative use for the balcony system walls.
SHAFT ENTRANCES (Segments)
Really, they are just Holes which are to be used as entrances to the horizontal Shafts supplied in Dark Egypt. I have created a few variations of textures for them to give the user a better choice for the different room types found in Dark Egypt. (NOTE) They are to be placed exactly the same as you would place a window, door or original shaft entrance to a wall. (TIP) Alternatively, they can be used as low entrances (Holes) to other rooms. (NOTE) They are best used when placed on plain looking walls and will not suit every wall texture in the Dark Egypt Pack. Here are some images to show some uses for them below.
Here is a scenario to show how to reach a shaft entrance which is on a higher level by using a lift panel to reach a balcony on the third level of a building.
FLOORS (INTERCHANGE) (Segments)
I have created these new types of floor segments in order to give a little more flexibility to the user when creating their environment. These floor segments will now work in the same way as the ceiling segments that you will find in Dark Egypt-V2 (instructions included in Dark Egypt-V2 manual). They are designed to be interchangeable which means that they will not interact or react with any of a rooms walls which I have found very restricting with when creating rooms in FPSCreator. Using them now gives you the ability to change a rooms floor covering throughout such as adding a flooded floor to a room you like. They work very well in most scenarios but do have a drawback which can be read in the following notes below. (IMPORTANT NOTE) When used, please be aware that enemy AI (characters) will not be able to walk on these kind of segments. Its a pain but this has something to do with the AI of the characters supplied in FPSCreator. However, this is no problem for the main FPS character (you). (NOTE) These can be used to great effect with puzzle based game play for interaction between the FPS character and his/her environment. (NOTE) You must remove any floor in place already before you place one of these interchange floors down. NOTE) You will not have to switch to floor mode (F key) to place these segments and you can remove them by using the right mouse click. (TIP) When placing these segments, its best to keep the white Arrow cursor facing in the same direction. If you change the cursor direction and place a floor on top of a floor which has already been placed, you will see clashing in the test mode. You will not get this overlapping problem if the Arrow is facing in the same direction. Most of the floors are designed to work in one direction anyway. (TIP) These interchange floors can be very useful if you wish to have different floors for rooms constructed inside a building (Mix and Match). The best method of placing them is to create your building and all of its inner rooms first and then remove and place the new floors in each individual inner based room. Note, that this can also be done with the ceiling segments supplied in Dark Egypt-V2.

Here are some images to show the use of floors (Interchange) below.
Entire floor changed in a room (Pit Tunnel)

CREDITS

Just a quick thank you to all those people out there who have purchased Dark Egypt and I hope you find this Bonus Pack useful. I wish you all the best in your game design projects for the future. A special thanks to Terry Schwarz from Data Tek for all his help and advise given and for up keeping support for Signs the program used to create much of the media you have seen. Also, a big thank you to Richard Vanner from The Game Creators for agreeing to release and supply the new Dark Egypt-V2 and this Bonus Pack. All the best to you all for the future