Tile and Object Reference
When you are editing you will notice that in the Selection Area a little bit of text appears to describe each tile and object type. That is necessarily a bit terse as there's only a few lines of display there, so I've added a more full description of everything here for reference.
Tiles
GRASS. All the while the goat is in a level, his energy is decreasing, as indicated by the Energy Gauge at the bottom of the screen. By providing Grass in the level you give the player an opportunity to replenish his energy levels (and earn Pop-up Bonuses, which spring spontaneously out of areas of Grass when the goat eats it).
For your convenience, the most common forms of grassy platforms are provided here - an Upright grassy platform, an Inverted one where the grass is on the underside, ideal for areas where you use Gravity Changers to make the goat walk upside down. There is also a platform tile with grass on each side.
Although grass is most commonly placed on a Platform, it may also be placed on top of other tile types such as Solid Blocks, Conveyors, Soft Blocks and Melt Blocks. Select one of the variants here with just Grass in the appropriate orientation, then draw it on top of whatever tiles you wish to grass. Note that you cannot draw Grass in midair, it will disappear if not placed on top of another tile type.
There is also Restart Grass available here. This is a special glowing type of Grass. You can use it to specify a restart point - if the goat is killed in the level, it will respawn at the last position and orientation in which it last ate Restart Grass. Use this as a less obtrusive alternative to using a Telephone Kiosk object to define a restart point.
PLATFORMS. All Platforms may be jumped through from below (where "below" is relative to their orientation). Platforms have two variants - the left variant chooses the style, and the right variant changes the colour.
Manic Miner style platforms are just your simple, straightforward, common or garden dirt platform. This is the default platform style for the ready made platforms in the Grass section. It is available in a normal or inverted orientation.
Icy platforms alter the inertia of the goat, making for a slightly weird slippery feel to a level. This style works in either orientation.
Open Block platforms are just a different visual style for the platforms. They work in either orientation.
SOLID BLOCKS. Use these for floors, walls, and ceilings that you do not want the goat to be able to jump through. There are two variants; the left variant defines the shape and the right variant defines the colour.
There are also one-way blocks here, used to create special walls through which a goat may only pass in one direction. The direction the goat can pass in is indicated by the arrow in the block.
SMASHABLE BLOCKS. These behave like Solid Blocks, except for the fact that the goat can smash them by butting them from below, or by landing on them from a high jump. Use them as platforms in levels where you want the player to experience sudden crumbling away of the platforms. Use them in ceilings where you want the goat to be able to break through and perhaps find a new area or a hidden curry. They have two variants just like Solid Blocks.
HAZARDS. Here are a selection of spikes and protrusions with which you can decorate your levels. An unwise goat bumping into one will meet a swift demise.
SOFT BLOCKS. These look and behave largely like Platforms, but while the goat stands on them they subside and eventually if he does not move the goat will fall through. Use them in place of Platforms in areas where you do not want to allow the goat to linger. Like other Block types they have 2 variants; left variant is shape, and right variant is colour. Where a block has a specific orientation, it will only crumble if stood on from the appropriate side - an asymmetry you might want to make use of in designing puzzle levels.
MELT BLOCKS. These are like Soft Blocks but once they start to disintegrate they continue to do so steadily, and causing any other melt blocks they are next to to start melting too. It's a big melty chain reaction. Useful to give the player a nice surprise.
ZONE TILES. These allow you to quickly fill an area with Water, Lava or Darkness (actually Darkness is rather weak, but hey, I've left it in if anyone has a use for it). When you place these tiles, they will automagically horizontal fill left and right to any other block or the edges of the tilemap. A lot of these will cause a bit of slowdown on older devices so use them sparingly.
PULSING ZAPPERS. These are regularly pulsing energy bolts in horizontal and vertical orientations. 8 different phases of each are available. Use them to give a player pause when moving through their path.
INTERMITTENT PLATFORMS. Use these to make platforms that are solid most of the time but blink off every now and again.
CONVEYORS. There are 5 types of tile here all of which will cause the goat to move automatically in certain ways. Left and Right Conveyors slide the goat horizontally along, and speed up the longer the goat stands on them. Vertical Conveyors do the same thing vertically. Finally Springs allow the creation of platforms which automatically bounce the goat up into a jump as soon as it touches them.
CONTROL BLOCKS. These blocks are only visible in Edit Mode. In play they are not visible and the goat passes straight through them. To objects other than the goat though they act as if a Solid Block was there. So you can use them to (say) create an "invisible" platform, and put Platform Patrollers on it = in game you would then see these normally platform-bound enemies floating and moving in mid-air. You can also use these blocks to invisibly delimit motion paths for enemies - if an enemy would normally turn upon encountering a wall, you can place an "invisible wall" of Control Blocks and constrain the motion of enemies that way.
Also available (as variant 1 of the Control Block) are Annotation Blocks. These are basically letters and a few symbols that can be used to add little bits of text and indications into a level. They have no effect on anything in the game and are purely for hints and annotations.
Objects
GOAT. The player character. Place the goat where you want play to begin when a level is started. You can only place one goat in a level (more than one wouldn't make any sense). The goat has 2 variants, upright or inverted. Gravity will act on it according to whichever orientation you choose.
KIDS. You may place up to 10 kids in each level. They may be upright or inverted, and gravity will act on them as appropriate. You can only collect kids of a particular orientation if you are oriented the same way yourself. Collecting kids increases your bonus multiplier. Kids are fartable, but if you fart them off it reduces your bonus multiplier - ideally you want to get kids early and try to hang onto them throughout the entire level for maximum bonus.
COLLECTIBLE OBJECTS. There are many of these, and most of them have different effects. They fall into two broad types - Fartable and Non-Fartable. Fartable objects follow behind the goat when collected, and may be used up by farting. The more of these you save and bring to the Level Exit the more your end-of-level bonus will be. Non-fartable objects are not collected behind the goat, they are consumed in place. I'll run through a description of each type.
The collectible objects may also be oriented in one of 4 ways via the secondary variant. For objects affected by gravity, gravity will act in an appropriate direction according to an object's orientation.
- LEVEL KEY. A player must collect all of these in a level to open the Exit. They are not compulsory in a level (if there are none then the Exit starts open immediately) but it's usual for a level to have them as it gives the player something to do! Level Keys have no weight and just float where you put them. The shape of a Level Key depends on the level number. Level Keys are fartable.
- LEVEL KEY (HEAVY). These are just like normal Level Keys except they do have weight. Use them in situations where you need a key that can fall down. Take care not to position them so that they can fall out of a level though, since that would make the level non-completable.
- CUP OF TEA. Not subject to gravity. Taking a Cup of Tea restores some health and grants the player a few moments of invincibility that can be used to take out normally non-killable enemies such as Bulls. Note that the invincibility is only with regard to Objects and does NOT apply to Hazard Tiles or Zapper Tiles. Cups of tea are non-fartable.
- FLOWER. This is a Fartable item that regenerates when the goat is killed. Most fartable items once taken are gone when the level restarts after the goat dies (this is so you don't have to go around and re-collect every Level Key again when restarting a level). This can be a bother if you respawn in a place where it is necessary to fart to progress. So a careful level designer can put Flowers near respawn points where farting is necessary. The Flowers always regrow when the goat respawns, so each one is a guaranteed fart.
- THE QUEEN. When you collect The Queen, a bit of the National Anthem plays and The Queen starts to watch the goat from the edge of the screen. It is of course not conceivable that the goat could possibly fart with Royal eyes upon it, so the goat becomes unable to fart. To dismiss Her Majesty and restore your trumping ability, you need to find a curry. As a bonus, scoring rates for some items are x10 while The Queen is active. The Queen is in fact fartable, but only after you find a curry.
- CAPRICHOSO STAR, TOAST, FLOPPY and PONY. These are all fartable bonus items, but unlike Level Keys, there is no need to collect them all in order to complete the level.
- CURRY. This is a Chicken Vindaloo curry. Curries are invisible in the level during gameplay, until the goat gets near them, when they will gradually appear. If the player is currently subject to The Queen, taking a curry dismisses Her Royal Highness and re-enables the ability to fart. If the player is not subject to The Queen, finding a curry gives the ability to fart at will without consuming any Fartable Items for a few seconds. Players should take advantage of this to explore tricky areas or to attack enemies.
- FLAPPY FISH. This is a Fartable bonus item that also restores some health. It is subject to gravity so should be placed on platforms and such.
- MINOTAUR. This is a Fartable item, unaffected by gravity. It gives a good bonus at the end of the level and counts towards the Minotaurs Collected end of game stat. I tend to hide these away as secret items for players to discover.
PORTALS, GRAVITY CHANGERS and KIOSKS. These items allow the player to reorient gravity, teleport between points, and define restart positions.
- GRAVITY CHANGERS flip the subjective gravity of the goat to point in the direction of the arrow. Place them in places where you need to flip the goat.
- PORTALS come in Blue and Purple. Entering one causes the goat to teleport to the nearest portal of the opposing colour.
- PROPER BRITISH RED TELEPHONE KIOSKS allow you to define a possible restart position for the goat. If the goat touches a Kiosk (of the same orientation) then a proper British ringing tone is heard, and that kiosk becomes the restart point for the goat should it die in the level. You can place multiple kiosks in a level; the goat will restart at the last one it touched. Use these as a bigger, more British alternative to Restart Grass tiles.
PLATFORM PATROLLERS. These are baddies that live on platforms. They are subject to gravity and may be oriented upright or inverted. Many of them can be farted away, but some of them are invincible (except to the effects of a Cup of Tea). There are a few different types of these, which I shall enumerate now.
- GHOSTIE. The simplest, most basic Platform Patroller. Moves slowly and turns when reaching a wall or platform edge. Can be easily farted away.
- MINER WILLY (JUMPING). Upon reaching a platform edge Miner Willy will jump. Can be farted away.
- MUNCHY. Another simple patroller that can be farted away.
- KANGAROO (JUMPING). Like Miner Willy it jumps at platform edges, but not as high as Miner Willy. Fartable.
- LITTLE BULL. He stands on a platform minding his own business. As soon as the player comes into the same slice of screen as the bull, the bull will moo and run towards the player, stopping at a wall or platform edge. The bull cannot be farted away, but it can be butted off if the goat is under the influence of a Cup of Tea.
- RAM. These chase the player quickly, jumping off platform edges as they go. Rams are fartable.
- TOILETRON. These patrol the platforms flapping their lids and turning at walls and platform edges. If the player passes anywhere over the top of them they eject a shower of projectiles upwards. They are fartable.
- OX. These manic little oxen scamper back and forth on platforms, turning at walls and edges. They are fartable, although they require a good solid fart to dislodge. A weaker fart may not kill them.
- FAST BULL. Behaves just like the Little Bull, but is a lot quicker in motion.
- ROLLING MUSK OX. Musk Oxen roll gently along the platform towards the player. They are non-fartable and may only be killed via the effects of a Cup of Tea.
- MINER WILLY (NON JUMPING). A simple platform patrolling version of Miner Willy that does not jump. Fartable.
- KANGAROO (NON JUMPING). A simple non jumping version of the Kangaroo. Fartable.
- RUBBER DUCKIE. This is static if placed on a platform, and only moves if placed in Water. However its very cute and innocuous looks often fool the player into touching it. Fartable.
- FASTER ROLLING MUSK OX. This musk ox is just a faster version of the slower one.
FLOATERS. These are enemies that move in the spaces between platforms. Usually they float on a fixed course and turn if they encounter the edge of the tilefield or a wall or platform. Some Roaming Floaters are guided towards the player. Floaters are usually not affected by Gravity except for the Amiga Balls, which bounce.
HORIZONTAL FLOATERS. These move back and forth horizontally.
- SPACE INVADER. Occasionally drops bombs in the direction of its orientation. Fartable.
- FLUFFY SHEEP PLUSHIE. Just gets in the way. Fartable.
- SAUCER (FARTABLE). Little UFO, fartable.
- SAUCER (NON FARTABLE). Little UFO, non-fartable.
VERTICAL FLOATERS. These move up and down vertically.
- MUTANT TELEPHONE. Bimbles up and down. Fartable.
- AMOEBATRON. Bimbles up and down. Fartable.
- FLUFFY SHEEP PLUSHIE. Just gets in the way. Fartable.
- BOUNCING AMIGA BALL. Boing, boing, boing. Fartable.
- EUGENE. Non-fartable (although may be destroyed using a Cup of Tea). Eugene floats benignly up and down until the last Level Key is collected, whereupon he will move towards the Exit, bloat up, and attempt to sit on it.
- ENORMOUS TELEPHONE. Just a bigger version of the Mutant Telephone. Fartable.
- HUGE AMOEBATRON. Just a bigger Amoebatron. Bimbles up and down. Fartable.
- LIFTY. Act like the "lifts" in Spectrum game "Nifty Lifty". Completely unfartable, they simply move vertically in the direction of their arrow, wrapping at the edges of the tilemap.
ROAMING FLOATERS. These may take an arbitrary course through space, bouncing off walls and platforms.
- MUSKY OX. Tumbles gently through space. Fartable.
- FLUFFY SHEEP PLUSHIE. Just gets in the way. Fartable.
- BOUNCING AMIGA BALL. Boing, boing, boing. Fartable.
- HOMING ATARI BEE. Flies slowly towards the player. Fartable.
- HOMING MINOTAUR RESCUE SHIP. Flies towards player, shooting shots out its nose. Fartable.
- VCS ASTEROID. Floats aimlessly and breaks into smaller versions of itself when farted on.
- ORB (UNFARTABLE). Floats slowly towards the player, getting faster the closer it is.
- SHIP OUT OF SUPER OX WARS. Flies slowly towards the player. Unfartable.
- FARTABLE BULL, FARTABLE RAM. Small, flying, homing bulls and rams.
- SHORT RANGE ORB (UNFARTABLE). Like the Orb, but does not move until the player is quite near by.
- SHORT RANGE ORB (FARTABLE). Fartable version of the above.
MACHINES. These are special objects that usually perform some specific action within a level.
- KONGOTAUR. Fartable, affected by gravity. He occasionally emits Barrels to the left and right.
- SWINGING FIREBALLS. Fartable, unless the hub is placed entirely inside a platform. Various lengths of fireball chains are available, in clockwise and counterclockwise modes.
- MR. FRAK. He just sits there until you fart him off.
- STOMPING BOOT. If you pass underneath the Stomping Boot it will try to stomp on you. Fartable.
- THE FOOT. Non-fartable. Tries to kick the goat upwards. Comes in Moving and Non-Moving versions (motion is just back and forth like a Horizontal Floater).
- BOXING GLOVE. Non-fartable. Tries to bop the goat. Comes in Moving and Non-Moving versions (motion is just back and forth like a Horizontal Floater).
- BOULDER. Just falls down. Fartable. Usually you'd embed these in some ground that might crumble away.
- LIFTS. These come in Vertical and Horizontal flavours, and move in the same way as the Floaters of their ilk. They can carry the goat. Non-fartable.
- MR. FRAK CAKE VOMITER. This version of Mr. Frak is a bit more of a hassle as he periodically vomits out cake towards the
player. Fartable.
THE EXIT. You have to get here to finish the level, collecting any Level Keys along the way.
And that's all the tiles and objects in the game. I never realised there were so many until I've had to sit here and document them all!
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