I've been thinking/talking about a complete, from scratch, rewrite of PekaED for a while now.
When I started writing it I didn't plan anything ahead, so adding to it now is kind of a pain and limiting.
A complete rewrite would take some time, but I think it would benefit you guys, as users, and me, as programmer. Also anyone that's interested can contribute to it. The new source code is going to be better organized and cleaner.
If there are any features you'd like to see in the rewrite, or any other thoughts, please post them in this thread.
Features I'd like to add:
- Plugins or scripting
So that you guys can create custom tools or functionality, without waiting for me to implement and compiling it. You don't have to wait and you can do it however you'd like.
You could also share your plugins/scripts, so that other people can use them!
Scripting will be done in Lua:
Or Javascript, or Groovy. Still unsure about which one.
I will also provide documented examples on how to write Lua scripts for PekaED, so you can learn by example. I'll also be available on the community Discord, for questions.
- Complete customizability
I want you to customize PekaED to your liking. That means changing the style/colors of the buttons, textfields, windows, etc. Same for functionality.
Example: You want PekaED to behave and look like the original level editor? With the rewrite, that'll be no problem. You'll be able to directly use CSS, or change the colors in the settings, and program your own windows, with plugins/scripting.
You'll be able to set the editor up as like you AND you can share your plugins/scripts and style files, so others can use them too!
- Logging
Logging will also be a part of the rewrite. The editor will inform you about any errors, that may happen. You'll also be able to see which resources were loaded, etc. If you only want to see errors, you can do so.
- Animated tiles
Yes, it's been a long requested feature and it should be part of the editor, so the rewrite will have them!
- Linux support
I don't think the current version does support Linux, because I didn't think about it while writing it. Now I have switched to Linux as my primary OS, so the rewrite will have official Linux and Windows support.
- A complete and updated manual
The current manual is outdated. The rewrite will keep the manual up to date and it'll come with an offline version of said manual.
- More tools
Tools like flood fill, rotating/mirroring a selection, placing the selection X amount of times, placing random tiles, etc.
- Autosave
The rewrite let's you enable an autosave option and set it's interval.
- Exporting your episode
PekaED already allows you to export your episode into a ZIP file, but it's kinda buggy. I will make sure that this works perfectly in the rewrite and you'll be able to customize the ZIP files structure (like putting graphics into -my episode-/gfx or pk2/gfx, etc.)
- Setting the brightness of your level
You'll be able to change the brightness of your level, comfortably from within PekaED
- Multiple/Custom languages
You'll be able to choose between and create your own language files, so that you, or people who can't understand english well enough, can use the editor in their native language.
Let me know what you think.