Realm Editor FAQ

From Linkrealms

This document is designed to help players new and old with building realms in the current realm editor, and will not apply fully if the editor is changed drastically in the future.

How do I make a realm?

When you install Link Realms it will also install an editor. By default I believe the game and editor each place a shortcut on your desktop. Double click the editor icon.

The editor launches with an empty map taking up most of the space (build space). At the top is a palette for things you have used so far. Just to the right of the build space is a series of buttons for the different types of items you can place in build space. Think of these as modes. Clicking the Tile button places you in tile mode. You will only have access to tiles. In the far right pane is a hierarchy with folders. Open a folder to find sub-categories or objects to place in you map.

To add a simple wall: Click the Walls button. Next, open the folder for Thick Walls. The right pane shows a list of walls with numbers for height. Click one, then anywhere in your build space to place the wall.

The buttons below the mode buttons allow you to manipulate objects. Be sure you are in the same mode as the object you wish to manipulate or it may not work the way you expect!

The manipulation buttons are as follows:

Rotate Left, Rotate Right

Flip Vertical (almost useless), Flip Horizontal (similar to rotate)

Nudge Left, Right, Forward and Back (these allow you to nudge an object away from its starting position on a square)

ZPos Up and ZPos Down (raise or lower an object)

Stack Up and Stack Down (Useful for objects bleeding through each other)

How do I texture walls?

Right click the wall, choose Item Properties from the menu. On the first tab you will see a folder system in the left pane, and 2 versions of the object you want to texture in the center pane. Below you will see numbered/colored panels that match sides of the pictured item. Move through the folders in the left pane until you find a texture that looks interesting. For instance, you might choose to open the "Bricks" folder, then choose "bricks small 01" as your texture. Click on one of the panels below, (# 1 is chosen by default) then click the texture (bricks small 01, in our example here). The side of the object corresponding to that panel will change, adding the texture you chose. Once you click OK any textures appearing in the preview pane will be saved to that object.

How do I select more than 1 object at a time?

You can hold down the left mouse button and drag over objects, much like in Windows, to select several objects. If the objects are the same type you can change their properties (texture, height) at the same time. Alternatively, you can right click any object and Select All Identical to select every object on the map that is of the same type. For instance, all "cube 20 high" blocks could be selected and manipulated with this option. Another option is to hold Shift while clicking to add an object to your highlighted group.

How do I make a floor above my lower story?

Once you have your lower story set the way you like and decide to add an upper floor, place some tiles for that floor (I prefer to use Thick Walls > cube 01 high. They make great floors/ceilings). You can set these tiles off to the side of your building (if possible) then drag them up to sit on top of your lower floor walls. There are several techniques, but the easiest is to build the whole thing off to one side and then drag it up.

How tall are characters?

Characters are approximately 18 units high, so using 20 high walls is a safe bet, as hats tend to "bleed" through the ceiling/floor if there's a low ceiling.

How do I build a roof?

The same technique used above for upper floors can be used for a roof as well. The Slopes and Wedges folders help for this.

How do I claim a realm?

Buy a Claim Stake from a banker. Then, find an empty (unclaimed) realm. You can do this by wandering around or asking for help. Once you find one that seems to be open, drop your stake on the ground and double click it. It will make a congratulatory sound and attach itself. The realm is now yours!

I have my realm built. How do I put it in the game?

First, make sure you have claimed a realm. To do so, see above. Next, click File > Upload. It's that simple! A window will appear asking you for your log-in information. Fill in the blanks, watch a quick progress bar, then click OK. Your new/updated map will not upload if any player is in your realm. You must leave and come back. If it does not upload immediately wait a few minutes as it can take up to 5 minutes to upload...

Can I edit my realm after I upload it?

Most definitely yes! You can change anything you like as often as you want, but changes will not show up until you upload the map again.

OK, I put a roof on my house. Now how do I put things inside of it? I can't see anything. Do I have to take the roof back off?

Don't panic. There are a couple tricks that will help:

First, there is an option to Hide objects under the right click menu. Simply select what you want to hide, right click, and choose Hide Selected. Alternatively you can use Cntl+H for this. To reveal hidden items click Edit > Unhide All.

Also there is a scroll bar on the left side of the build area. By clicking and dragging it down you can hide higher levels in your build to see and work with areas below them. To restore your view to full simply drag the scroll bar back to the top.

These tools (Hide and the level scroll bar) are very powerful and key to easily editing multi-level realms.