The game is made of chapters - each chapter is a collection of levels.

A chapter is made of levels.

Each level is made up of various components, placed on different layers. A level can be made of one or more layers. A layer can only contain one type of element, either Tiles or Props.

Tiles are a type of element that can be placed on a layer, such as walls, characters or triggers.

Props are a type of element that can be placed on a layer. They can be used for scenery, such as a room, a building, clouds, lamps, etc. In most cases, Props do not have any impact on gameplay, so even if you removed them all the game would still be playable (there are exceptions, lamps for example).

You can access the Level Editor by clicking on the door to the right of the main menu.

To create a new level, click on the NEW LEVEL button in the Level Editor’s main menu. A new window will open for you to choose a filename and a size (the default size is recommended).
Click the CREATE LEVEL button to create the level file and load the new level.

If you have already created a custom level it should be visible in the level list. Select it and click on the LOAD LEVEL button.

It is possible to edit of the game’s official levels, however, the modified level you create will not replace the existing official level, instead it will be available in the custom level section.

To import an official game level, select the level in the level list, choose a filename, then click on the IMPORT LEVEL button, it will create a copy of the level file and load the new level.

To edit or add chapters, click on the EDIT CHAPTERS button in the Level Editor’s main menu.

ADDING CHAPTERS
To add a chapter, click on the “+” button to add a new chapter to the list.

EDITING OR DELETING EXISTING CHAPTERS
You can edit any chapter by selecting them in the list. When the chapter is selected, you will be able to edit the levels on the right.

You can also delete a selected chapter by clicking on the “-” button under the chapter list.

CHAPTER SETTINGS
You can rename the chapter file by changing the text in the “Filename” text field. The filename (not to be confused with chapter title) is never shown to the player, it is only for your reference.

The chapter title can be edited as well. It will be visible to the player once they have downloaded your chapter.

The “Unlink” under the “Workshop ID” section allows you to unlink a chapter from a workshop item. It is useful only if you have deleted the chapter from the workshop and want to reuse the chapter files. Be aware that this action cannot be undone once you have saved the chapter.

Each chapter contains a list of levels and the level list contains a set of containers that allows you to add multiple sublevels to an existing level. It is useful if you want to add tutorials and cutscenes.

• To add a level, click on the “+” button below the level list to add an item that contains a list of levels.
  
• To add levels to the container, select the container then click on “+” below the list.
  
• A list containing all the levels you have created will be displayed. Click on the level you want to add and it will appear under the selected container.
  
• A list containing all the levels you have created will be displayed. Click on the level you want to add and it will appear under the selected container.
  
• On the right of a sub-level, you can see the following icon “->]” which represents the main level. Main levels are the ones where the score and challenges are used and there can only be one per container. They usually are the last level of a container but they can also be placed second to last if you want to show a cutscene after the main level.

Finally, you can add alternate levels under those sub-levels. This is useful if you plan on loading different levels when a player loses, or continue to the next level on the list. There can only be one alternate level per sub-level.

Level title, objective, etc.
Each level container has informative text about the level that is shown to the player in the level menu and the pause menu. These need to be filled accurately to guide the player through the objectives and challenges.

End cutscene
Each chapter can have an end cutscene that will be played when the player finishes the last level of the chapter. To add a cutscene, simply check the “Play End Cutscene” box under the level list then select a level in the “End Cutscene Level” dropdown menu. Make sure the level you choose is not already in use in the chapter and that the level is a cutscene.

Saving
Except for the filename, each modification you make to a chapter is not saved until you click on the SAVE CHAPTER button, so if you make a change you do not want to apply you can just discard the change by closing the window or by selecting another chapter—you will be prompted to save a chapter before any of those actions.

To publish chapters, click on the PUBLISH button in the Level Editor’s main menu.

Before publishing a chapter, you can choose to publish it either locally or to the Steam Workshop to share it easily with anyone.

The title that will be shown on the levels menu and in the Steam Workshop is the one specified in the chapter editor. If you want to modify it, do it from there.

You can add a description that will be shown in the Steam Workshop and an image that will be shown in the level menu.

Before the you upload your level to the Steam Workshop, make sure you have accepted the Steam Workshop legal agreement - the Steam overlay has to be enabled for this game to see it.

Once all the metadata is set, you can publish your chapter by clicking on the PUBLISH CHAPTER button.

If you are publishing to the Steam Workshop, an overlay to the workshop address should open once the upload is done - make sure the Steam overlay is enabled for this game to see it.

Layer types There are 2 types of layers: tile layers and prop layers. There can be multiple layers of each type.

Tile Layers

• Foreground: consists mostly of walls, they have no collisions and are generally used to hide holes in gameplay structures
  
• Gameplay: contains most of the useable gameplay related items like characters, doors, walls
  
• Interior Front: mostly decorative, can be used to paint walls on the background and give some hints to the player, like power cables
  
• Interior: some as the previous layer, but drawn behind it and behind interior props
  
• Stairs: contains stairs
  
• Triggers & Effects: this layer mostly contains invisible objects (except the rain, fog and snow effects) that are used to control some gameplay parameters • Exterior Front: similar to the interior front layer, but farther away
  
• Exterior: similar to the interior layer, but farther away

Prop Layers

• Foreground Parallax: drawn in front of every other prop with a parallax effect
  
• Foreground: same as the previous layer, without parallax
  
• Gameplay: on the same layer as the gameplay tiles
  
• Interior: show interior objects
  
• Exterior: show exterior objects
  
• Exterior Parallax: show exterior objects a little further than the previous layer
  
• Middleground: show structure moderately far
  
• Background: show buildings and clouds far away • Sky: show object very far away like the moon, the stars, clouds, etc.

Layer order
Not all tiles are in front of props and vice versa. From the closest to the farthest, here is the layer order:

• Props: Foreground Parallax
  
• Tiles: Foreground
  
• Props: Foreground
  
• Tiles: Gameplay
  
• Tiles: Stairs
  
• Tiles: Triggers
  
• Props: Gameplay
  
• Tiles: Interior Details
  
• Props: Interior
  
• Tiles: Interior
  
• Props: Exterior
  
• Tiles: Exterior Details
  
• Tiles: Exterior
  
• Props: Exterior Parallax
  
• Props: Middleground
  
• Props: Background
  
• Props: Sky

Visibility
If you need to see an object hidden behind a layer, you can switch each layer on and off in the LAYERS menu on the right. This menu also allows the grid to be turned on and off.

There are 2 types of objects you can paint onto each layer: tiles and props. Tiles are aligned to the grid and cannot be stacked. Props can be painted everywhere and can either be aligned to the grid or not. Tiles are essentially used for gameplay purposes such as characters, bonus generators, doors etc. while props are used for cosmetic purposes.

You can paint with the left mouse click and erase with the right click. To erase an item on a specific layer you need to select a tile or prop on that layer. You can also select an object and click on the TRASH button to delete it.

Characters

• Zombies: the characters you control - you can’t do much to do with these, you mainly place them where you want them to ‘live’
  
• Enemies: they are divided into 11 categories:
  
  • Civilians: they can be scientists, workers, etc. their only common attribute is that they do not attack
    
  • Melees: they can only attack in close quarters · Gunners & riflemen: they can only attack from a distance
    
  • Snipers: they can attack from very far away and can be recognized by their laser sights
    
  • Common enemies: they attack everyone, human or zombie
    
  • Static characters: cannot attack the player, they’ll stay in place
    
  • Drones: mechanical enemies, some attack only zombies, some attack both humans and zombies
    
  • Astronauts: space fighters, what else?
    
  • Cultists: fanatic moon colonizers
    
  • Bosses: powerful enemies used to create the campaign - some can move, others cannot
    
  • Special enemies: like bosses but less powerful

Walls
Walls don’t necessarily have the same purpose depending on the layer you are painting on:

• On the Gameplay layer walls can be walked on & climbed. Some walls are invisible, some of them are one way only
  
• On the Foreground layer walls are mostly for cosmetic purposes, they do not have collisions and are shown in front of the characters
  
• Other layers are cosmetic only, they are only shown behind the characters

Doors
Doors are useful to separate spaces:

• Basic doors: the player has no control over them, zombies destroy them automatically.
  
• Controlled doors: the player can order zombies to destroy them or not. This is useful when you need to pace some actions. • Armored doors: can only be destroyed with explosions or tanks.
  
• Indestructible doors: cannot be destroyed by anything.
  
• Sliding doors: used for elevators and in some areas they cannot be destroyed. You can use triggers to limit door access to certain types of characters.

Traps

• Fire
  
• Laser
  
• Acid
  
• Water
  
• Spikes
  
• Invisible traps
  
• Automatic turrets & cannons

Switches
Switches can be used to activate or deactivate pretty much anything. You can choose for the switches to be activated by zombies and/or humans and/or barrels.

Triggers
Triggers are like switches, but invisible and they can be made to be different sizes according to your needs. They are activated when a character enters or leaves the trigger zone. There are 3 types of triggers: red triggers react to zombies, blue triggers react to enemies, and green triggers react to both.

When a trigger is activated it will send a signal depending on which conditions are met:

• On Detected: this signal is sent when a character enters the trigger zone
  
• On Detected Exit: this signal is sent when a character exits the trigger zone.

Triggers can have specific activations:

• Disable on enter: When a character enters the trigger zone it is disabled and will not react to anything until reactivated.
  
  
• Disable on exit: Same as disable on enter except that it will disable when a character exits the trigger zone.
  
  
• Triggers When: If a condition is enabled, the “Items Number” field will be checked against the field “Are”. For example if 3 zombies enter the trigger zone and you need at least 4, the trigger will not activate unless a 4th zombie enters the trigger zone.
  
  
• On Trigger State Changes: If this option is disabled and the previous conditions are met, the trigger will send a signal every time a new character enters or exits the trigger. If the option is enabled, the trigger will activate only when the state changes from active to inactive and vice versa.

You can choose to hide or show part of the HUD with the “HUD Control” object. There 4 options:

• Show Time
  
• Show Mutations
  
• Show Objectives
  
• Show Health

You can apply the following values to the HUD parts:

• Do Nothing: nothing will change
  
• On: make visible
  
• Off: make invisible
  
• Toggle: toggle between visible and invisible

You will have to call the “Update HUD Control” signal to update the controls.


Brush
The brush can be used to paint single tiles or multiple tiles if you change its size; and you can also change the brush shape (square or circle). Some tiles can be painted in groups with a single stroke (mostly walls) while others can only be painted one by one (characters, doors, triggers, etc.). When painting single tiles such as a character, item size and shape options are not available.

Line
Only stroke items can be painted in lines. You can also erase with the line tool. To paint a line, hold the left mouse button then move your cursor to another location and release the mouse button.

Rectangles
You can paint filled or hollow rectangles. The filled mode will fill the entire rectangle while hollow mode will only draw the outlines. To paint a rectangle, hold the left mouse button then move your cursor to another location and release the mouse button.

Prop are mostly used for cosmetic purposes but some contain lights that can help the player move through the level (be careful not to use too many to keep performance as high as possible). Most props also have an option to set their brightness, it’s an easy way to light up your level without any performance costs.

Type
Select the level type:

• Normal: Select this option for main levels, objectives, and challenges shown at the end of a level that only use data from the main level
  
• Tutorial: Select this option if you want to introduce a new gameplay mechanic
  
• Cutscene: Select this option to disable the User Interface and to allow the level to be skipped by holding any key

Gravity
Select the gravity type from the menu:

• Earth: Default gravity setting
  
• Moon: Lower gravity setting

Sky color
You can change the darkness of the sky with this option (for example, you may want a darker sky for levels taking place in space).

Ambient light
You can change the darkness of the level (levels can be played in complete darkness).

Human rises from the dead
By default this option is turned off and humans turn into zombies only when they are killed by another zombie through biting, spitting, etc. (for example, humans who fall from a great height will not be turned into zombies). Turning on this option allows humans to turn into zombies from any type of death.

Max zombie count
This number represents the maximum number of concurrent zombies present in a level. There can be more zombies than this number in a level if they do not all appear at the same time.

Max enemy count
This number represents the maximum number of concurrent enemies present in a level. There can be more enemies than this number in a level if they do not all appear at the same time.



End condition rules are used to determine the win/loss conditions of a level.

Player can lose
When active, this option allows the player to lose a level when the zombie count drops to zero.

When player loses
Select what happens when the player loses:

• Show game over screen
  
• Restart current level
  
• Load next level
  
• Load alternate level

Delay
This is the number of seconds the game waits before triggering what happens when the player loses (see above).

Win conditions
Several win conditions can be set and you can choose to let the player win either when any objective is met or when every objective is met.

Kill humans
This objective lets you specify a number of human enemies to kill.

Kill targets
This objective lets you specify any target by selecting them in the editor and setting them as Target in the appropriate section. You can have as many targets as you want but all targets must die to complete the objective.

Escape level
Use this option if you want your zombies to reach a specific area to win. You can set the type and number of zombies required to win this objective

Player wins when
Select the winning condition for the player:

• Any condition is met
  
• All conditions are met

When all conditions are met
Select what happens when the player wins:

• Show continue button
  
• Load next level

When level is complete
Select what happens when the player wins and the challenge is completed:

• Show end level screen
  
• Load next level

End level delay
Similar to the delay when the player loses, the number of seconds the player has to wait before the level ends. Useful if you want the player to see an animation before the level ends.



DNA
You can specify the start and max DNA value for each level (can be infinite).

Other options let you activate or deactivate the mutations at the start of the level. Be aware that some mutations might not be active at the start of the level if the start DNA value is too low.



Challenges are made of a series of rules that all need to be met. You can set any number of rules but some rules might not work well together and you will have to explain them to the player, so try to keep it simple!

Show complete notification
If active, a challenge notification will be shown during the level, if not the challenge will only be shown in the end screen.

Show fail notification
If active, this notification will be shown in the end screen as some challenges can only be lost once the level is finished.

Available mutations
Don’t lose x zombies You can specify an absolute number of zombies or a percentage of zombies that must not be lost in the level (the percentage option is calculated based on the total number of zombies spawned during the level).

Don’t use mutations
You can specify mutations that will not be allowed in the level.

Kill enemies
You can specify a minimum number of enemies to kill. You can also set whether to count enemies killed on the ground, in mid-air, or both.

Kill targets
You can specify the number of targets to destroy. Remember to assign the “Is Target” field on any character in the level before you activate this challenge.

Limited mutations use
You can restrict the number and type of mutations that can be used. For instance, in the main game level “Alpha Complex” you can only use the Tank mutation 4 times.

Limited time
You can choose the maximum duration (in seconds) to complete the challenge.

Triggers
You can specify the number of triggers that need to be activated. You need to call the “Register” Event in the editor to apply this to each trigger.

User time usage
You can limit the usage of fast forward and pause functions.

Wake zombies
You can specify the number of zombies that need to be woken up as an absolute number or a percentage.

Zombie count
You can specify the number of zombies that need to remain animate (we would say alive, but…) when the level is complete.



Player can scroll
When checked, this option allows the player to move the camera laterally.

Player can zoom
When checked, this option allows the player to use the camera to zoom in and out.

Start zoom
This is the default zoom value at the start of the level. You can also test the current value and get the current zoom value.

Min zoom
This is the minimum zoom the player can set which is limited to 5.

Max zoom
This is the maximum zoom the player can set which is limited to 50.

Camera placement
Set start position
Lets you choose the starting position of the camera.

Set camera bounds
Lets you choose the outer camera limits.



Sound tracks:

1. No Music
2. Movie Night Terror
3. Junkie Town
4. Death Lab
5. Dead Heist
6. Underground
7. Hideout Assault
8. Cemetery
9. Hard Rain
10. Fast and Ravenous
11. Street of Rage
12. Meat Night Club
13. Survival
14. Brain Dead
15. Gertrude
16. Final Boss
17. Elevator
18. Terminator
19. Pitch Black
20. No Way Out
21. Final Cutscene
22. End Credits
23. Bone of the Dead
24. Moon Cave
25. Moon Battle
26. Moon Station
27. Monolith Trip
28. Chez Roger

Ambient sound
1. None
2. City
3. Underground
4. Office
5. Hospital
6. Laboratory
7. Complex
8. Subway
9. Skyscraper
10. Cemetery
11. Mine
12. Settlement
13. Sawmill
14. EndCutscene
15. Train
16. NasaStation
17. Spaceship
18. Moon
19. MoonStation
20. Monolith Boss
21. Vortex
22. Chez Roger

When selecting an object (tile or prop), you can edit several component parameters. It’s mainly used for characters, but aside from walls and some decorative tiles pretty much everything can be modified.

Common controls
Every selected object has an identifier and has buttons to reset, move, and delete the object.

Props also have controls to move the object draw order from back to front.



Health
Some objects let you set their health points and max health points. You can also set the objects to be invincible.

Target
You can specify if an object is a target.

End level target
You can register the object as a target for the “Kill Enemies” objective.

Register health bar
The character health is linked to the health bar. The health bar itself can be displayed by selecting the correct HUD event (see HUD Control).

Zombie behavior
You can set whether a zombie is glowing or whether it is static at the start of a level. Static zombies can ignore their senses to follow the zombie that woke them up by default. You can also specify different animation for static zombies.

Mutation
You can select the default zombie mutations, though only Tank & Crawler mutations are available here.

Movements
You can change the speed and direction of each character at the beginning of the level (if the character meets an enemy they will return to their default speed). By default zombies move at the level start while enemies stand still.

It’s possible to move enemies and create patterns with dialogues, animations, and more. You can modify the settings of a patrol by selecting a character and editing their patroller component.



Is active
The patroller component will do nothing if “Is Active” is off. Even calling the “Start Patrol” event will not work if the patroller is not ON.

Start type
If set to “Automatic” the patrol will start at level start, if set to “Manual” you will have to call the “Start Patrol” event.

Set inactive
This option will make the character invisible when the patrol starts. In this state the character is virtually nonexistent in the level. You can change this state in the patrol timeline. Used with the correct animation you can, for example, make a character walk in or out of a room.

Ignore senses on start
The character will ignore zombies while this option is turned on. This can be changed in the timeline.

Loop patrol & Loop type
Select this option if you want the patrol to loop. You can set it to “YoYo” or “Loop”.

Resume options
Patrols can be interrupted by external events like entering alert mode or combat mode. You can choose to resume the patrol when the character goes back to idle from the current waypoint, the previous waypoint, or the last waypoint. You can also choose the speed at which the character will return to the waypoint and whether his senses are active when resuming.



A waypoint is a virtual position the character will try to reach if the path from one waypoint to the next is traversable.

To access the waypoint editor, click on the “Edit Waypoints” button at the bottom of the selection panel. In this mode, you are now able to add, move or remove any waypoint.

A waypoint has two states and by default it shows only its position. If you click on it, you will access 6 buttons:

• Move: with the central button you can move the waypoint position. You cannot move a waypoint inside a wall or make it float in mid-air
  
• Speed: this button allows you to change the character movement speed after reaching this waypoint
  
• Add: there are two add buttons. The one on the right adds a waypoint after the current one, the one on the left adds a waypoint before the current one
  
• Remove: delete the current waypoint
  
• Actions: this button gives you access to the timeline where you can add dialogues, animations and change the character behavior

Tricky situation
Placing waypoints is straightforward, but some situations need to be handled precisely to work as intended.

Gaps
Most characters can only step over one tile so be careful while placing the waypoints because the characters can get stuck in pits. Some paths can also get deleted. If a character loses their path, they will stop trying to follow it after a while.

Stairs
If you want a character to take the stairs, you need to place a waypoint at the top and bottom of the stairs (see the pictures below). If one of the waypoints is misplaced the character will ignore the stairs.



In the timeline, you can set the actions the character will do at each waypoint. Some actions have a duration, others do not.

Activation
This action is instant and allows you activate or deactivate the character.

Aim
Only used on the sniper, this action allows the character to aim at a certain angle for a specific duration. You can also choose to play the aim animation depending on the current loop option selected.

Animation
You can play any animation exposed in the menu. By default, the animation duration will be set correctly, but you can change it.

Behavior
You can edit the behavior here. You can enable or disable senses and allow or disallow movements.

Dialogue
You can show any dialogue you want but the duration will not change the timeline because you do other actions in parallel. If you want to play a talk animation while the character talks, you need to add one manually with the correct duration.

Orientation
You can change the character orientation to make them face left or right.

Section separator
Section separators are useful if you need to play an action on a loop then to move on to another section after a number of loops, or if an external event tells the character to go to the next section.

Teleportation
You can teleport the character to the next waypoint. The character will appear at the next waypoint after a delay that you set. You might want to use an animation before using this or if no animation meets your needs, you can hide the character behind a wall.

Loop setting
You can set the loop setting of the current waypoint by clicking on the button to the left of the timeline.

Play mode

• Once: the waypoint actions will be played only once
  
• Loop: the waypoint will loop forever or a specified number of times
  
• Loop from: the waypoint will loop from the selected start index (the first action has the index 0)
  
• Loop sections: the waypoint will loop on all the sections but you will need to move the character to the next section. You need to use the section separator for this to work properly.

It is possible to call events from one object to another. On certain conditions, some objects can send signals and these signals can be linked to other objects.

For example doors have a signal called “On Break” and humans have a function called “Start Patrol”, so you can link the “On Break” signal to the “Start Patrol” function to make the character perform actions specified in the character patrol settings.

There are two types of objects in this mode:

• Sender: a sender is an object that can send a signal to another object, a sender is represented by this icon:
  
• Receiver: a receiver can receive a signal from a sender and act accordingly, a sender is represented by this icon:
  
• Some objects can be both senders and receivers, they are represented by this icon:

To link a sender to a receiver, first click on the sender, then choose the signal to use in the list, then click on it. After that, choose a receiver and click on it, then choose the receiving function in the list.

A box will appear between the two objects representing the signal between the two. This box can be moved wherever you want to reduce clutter.

When there are a lot of signals it can become hard to distinguish other objects. In that case, you can choose to show only show signals from a specific sender: click on the “Eye” icon inside the sender button. You can also it turn off by clicking on the same button again.