Editor overview

The Level Editor is the first editor you see when you start Crown and the primary workspace for most project tasks. You use it to create and edit levels, browse project files, and access specialized editors and tools. It can also launch your game, hot-reload resources, and communicate with the running game through the Console.

Opening a Project starts resource compilation automatically. After Crown finishes compiling the resources, it launches the Level Editor, which should look similar to the following image:

../_images/editor_overview.svg

The Level Editor interface in its default configuration.

The Level Editor interface consists of several panels:

Number

Name

What it shows

1

Project Browser

The current project’s contents.

2

Console

Messages from the Level Editor, the Game and other Runtimes.

3

Inspector

The properties of the currently selected object.

4

Level Tree

A hierarchical view of all the objects in the Level.

5

Level Viewport

The Level being edited.

6

Menubar

Common commands for editing / debugging / opening editors etc.

7

Toolbar

Tools and common options for editing.

8

Statusbar

Contextual info and small self-contained messages.

9

Titlebar

Start/Stop Level button, current level name and edit status.

Layout customization

Most panels are optional and can be toggled from the View menu in the Menubar.

Press Ctrl+` to show or hide the Console. When the Console is visible, press the same shortcut to move focus to the Command Bar.

Running the game

Press F5 to play the currently edited level. Crown saves a copy of the level you are editing and launches it in a separate window. When the level is running, the Console automatically connects to the game’s runtime and switches to communicate with it.

To stop the playtest, close the game window or press the Stop Level button on the Titlebar. If the runtime takes too long to stop, it will be forcibly terminated. At exit the Console will switch back to communicating with the editor’s runtime.

To run the complete game, choose Debug -> Run Game from the Menubar. Crown then launches the game as it would appear to an end user.