Play & Edit 2 Walkthrough

This is a little trickier than Play & edit 1. We’ll be doing some more complex tasks, like scoping and using groups, wiring value sliders, switches and nodes, as well as doing some building and dressing the dungeon using what we learned in Play & Edit 1.

Lesson 1#

Undo to redo!#

Let’s recap a couple things you learned in Play & Edit 1, and also cover undo/redo, one of the most fundamental, useful features in edit mode. In Dreams, every action you perform is logged and available to undo (using ) or redo (using ). When you perform an undo or redo, you’ll see a feedback message at the bottom of the screen telling you what you just undid/redid. Get used to using this feature - you’ll need it!

In edit mode, grab the block with and move it into the outline. Hover over the output port on the node on the left and press to make a wire, then move to the input port on the node on the right and press to connect it. Go to search and choose a light from the Lights sub-collection and stamp it in the outline with .

Notice as you do these things that the gate gradually closes. When it’s completely closed, press to undo all three actions until the gate opens again. Once open, run through the gate to the next lesson.

Lesson 2#

Woah! Way too fast!#

This lesson is about how to scope in (and out) of groups. It’s an important thing to learn - groups and moving in and out of them are essential in Dreams. Hover over the swinging blades and press +. You’re now scoped in to the blades’ group and you can see the value sliders you need to access to fix this puzzle. The one you want is sweep time - we need to increase the time the blades take to do their sweep so that they move more slowly. Hover over the sweep time slider and press and hold . Now move your imp to the right to increase the value. Now press + to scope out of the group. Strictly speaking you don’t have to do that just now - you’ll automatically be scoped out of any groups when you switch to play mode - but it’s good to get used to doing it, because you’d have to if you were carrying on editing.

Lesson 3#

Group for success#

So now you know how to scope, let’s make a group ourselves. Select the three yellow elements on the right with . Once selected, a button called group will appear in the context menu, with a number above it to indicate how many objects you’ve selected. Press over the button to group the selected elements. Now the yellow elements behave as one object, and it’ll be much easier to move them around. Turn on precise move if it’s not on already. Now you can grab the yellow and purple groups and swap them around. You might find it easier to start by moving one group out of the way and moving the other into position.

Lesson 4#

About time!#

When you’re playing your scene, time is running. You might start time when editing in order to see how things play out. You might rewind to go back to the start point of the level. And sometimes, when editing, you might just accidentally hit and rewind when you didn’t mean to. Rewind isn't an edit, so you can't undo it and it causes everything in the level to reset to the start. Playing back to where you were in the level is a pain. Let’s try and get comfy with that sort of scenario. In edit mode, hit to rewind. Your character will disappear, so before you go looking, search the collection for a new Scoria and stamp her in. Now turn the camera around with . See the Level Start sign? You can push to get back there slowly, or you can use grabcam - hover over the level start sign and use + to get there fast. Once you're there, delete the original character with .

In future, when you're comfortable with the controls, you'll just pick her up and move her around.

Switch back to play mode and you'll be right where you’d expect to be.

Lesson 5#

It's gone quiet again.#

In most cases you’ll want to have both an Ambience and a Music track playing. We already have an ambience in here, but we need some tunes! Switch on obey auto guides if it’s not on already. Go to search and select the AD Play & Edit 1: Elements collection within AD Play & Edit 2: Elements. Find a music element and stamp it on the pedestal. If you feel like it, delete the existing ambience with and put a different one in there. To hear your selections before you carry on, hit to start time.

Lesson 6#

Pick up the place!#

Let’s wire a gate up to open when something is placed on a floor button, and put something there for us to place on it. Switch on obey auto guides and search in the Pick Up & Place sub-collection for something we can pick up and put on the button. Stamp it in the outline with . Now let’s wire the button to the gate. You might want to zoom in a bit with + to see what you’re doing. Press over the output port (on the right side) of the yellow node (the one on the button) to create a wire. Move your imp to the input port (left side) of the purple node (the one on the gate) and press again to connect it. Head back into play mode, pick up your chosen element and drop it on the button to open the gate.

For extra credit, you could place an explosive element to blow up the Destructible Wall you see there. Inside is another element you can use to complete the puzzle. Bear in mind the player could conceivably lose this, so think about what you’d do to make sure they don’t get stuck.

Lesson 7#

Room for examination.#

All we want you to do here is have a good look around. Firstly scope in to the room with +. Now find and switch on the Battle Room On/Off switch with . If curiosity is not your thing you can now go back to play mode and carry on, but we recommend taking a look at what the logic is doing. Go on - you know you want to! Hover over the Battle Room Logic microchip and open it up with +. Now tweak the trigger zone with +. Pull your view back with and note the size of the zone. That zone was turned on when you flipped the switch, detects the active camera (i.e. whichever camera is being used at the time) and uses it to power on the emitters and a keyframe. You see trigger zones can detect more than just tags!

Close the tweak menu with +. Tweak an emitter next. What we want you to notice is that the emitters are emitting enemies into the room. You’ll want to zoom in (+) to see these at the back of the room. When you’ve done enough investigating, head back to play mode and carry on.

Lesson 8#

Dress it up!#

Let’s get into some assembly now. Scope in to this battle room and turn on the Battle Room On/Off switch. It’s powering similar logic to the room in the last lesson. What we’d like you to do is decorate the room! Search the AD Play & Edit 2: Elements collection for decorative elements. You’ll find a bunch of good stuff in Dungeon Decoration, but don’t let that stop you doing other things. For extra credit you could add animation to the Battle Room Logic keyframe and make some decorations you have added moveable. This can be fun with elements like chairs and tables as they can get knocked about during the battle. We’ll have a more direct lesson on this in Play & Edit 3. Just watch that thermo! Obey auto guides should be on already but turn it on if not - it’ll help by surface-snapping everything in place. If you have precise move on though, turn that baby off. It might bring things in at weird orientations. When you’re happy with your interior decor spree head back to play mode.

Lesson 9#

You wee smasher!#

In this lesson we want you to stamp and wire some elements. Firstly, search for and stamp the Smasher (you’ll find it in the Plants & Vines sub-collection) in the space provided with . This enemy is unique - it also works as a rock dispenser. When you defeat it in play it will drop four Rock Pickups. Now stamp two Floor Switch elements in the spaces provided.

Connect the output port on the right of each Floor Switch node to the input ports A and B on the AND gate, which tells the logic that both switches have to be activated in order to open the portcullis. Now head into play mode and defeat that beast!

Lesson 10#

Build and they will come!#

This time we need to assemble the room! Scope in to the room and activate the Battle Room On/Off switch. Then complete the floor - either by using clone (+) to copy the elements that exist in the scene already, or by searching and stamping new ones. If you’re cloning we recommend activating precise move as it’ll help you keep things lined up. For extra credit, add more! Walls, lights, decorations, containers and collectables - have fun with it.

It’s possible you’ll hit the graphics or gameplay thermometer limits, but don’t worry - we’ll be dealing with this in the next play & edit. When you are happy switch back to play mode.

Lesson 11#

I feel just vine!#

Vines and Carnivorous Plants are complementary elements. The Vines bar your way and you have to defeat the associated Carnivorous Plant to progress. Here the Vines are already in the scene, so just make sure obey auto guides is on and search for the Carnivorous Plant to stamp in the space provided. Obey auto guides makes the plant snap to the floor as intended. Once you’re done head back tyo play mode and defeat the plant. The Vines automatically detect its death and open to allow you to progress. It’s worth noting that Vines can also be activated using switches, like the Portcullis element in earlier lessons.

Lesson 12#

Unfreeze the day!#

Elements can be frozen to stop accidental editing. Try and edit a frozen element and it'll flash and resist your attempts. You can freeze and unfreeze elements with the freeze tool. In edit mode, notice that you can’t edit the swinging blades. Now go to tools and select freeze. The tool shows you what’s frozen in the scene - those are the blue things. Hover over the axes and press to unfreeze, then press to exit the tool.

Now it's unfrozen you can scope in with + to reveal the value sliders. Hover over Sweep Time, press and hold , and drag to the right to slow the blades down, just like you did in Lesson 2.

Well done - you completed Play & Edit 2! There was some trickier stuff in there, but hopefully you learned some things to help you in your own creations. If you’re feeling confident go ahead and give the Foundation a spin. Or if you want to keep learning, head onto Play & Edit 3, where things get quite seriously advanced!