Editing Custom level creation/Getting started

{{Breadcrumbs|Alpha Branch|Custom level creation}}
{{Early-access-version|0|1346}}
== Preparation ==
# Use your favorite <code>git</code> tool to fork the main <code>tc_campaign</code> repository from https://github.com/Stuffe/tc_campaign.
# Make sure the game is closed and that Steam has completed it's cloud sync (if enabled).
# Navigate to your game installation directory in your OS' file system (eg: Explorer in Windows, Finder in MacOS).
#* In Steam, you can right-click Turing Complete in your library list and select Properties → Installed Files → Browse.
# Delete the existing <code>campaign</code> directory.  You can back it up first if you like, or just trust Steam's ''Verify integrity of game files'' functionality to repair everything if needed.
# Clone your fork: <code>git clone https://<your repository>/tc_campaign.git campaign</code>

You should now be able to start Turing Complete with your newly-cloned campaign files.

{{note|type=warn|It is highly recommended that you push changes to your repository regularly in order to avoid Steam updates overwriting files unexpectedly, or otherwise conflicting with your work.}}

== Getting started ==
The easiest starting point is to copy an existing level that is similar in style to what you're trying to create.

Each level is stored in a separate directory containing several files:
* [[Custom level creation/circuit.data|<code>circuit.data</code>]] is the default level layout, allowing the inclusion of indelible (red) components, suggested components, etc.
* [[Custom level creation/meta.txt|<code>meta.txt</code>]] contains the bulk of the level metadata including the level's display name, level log text, level dimensions, default assembly ISA, default assembly code, and several other bits of data.
* [[Custom level creation/ui.txt|<code>ui.txt</code>]] contains metadata regarding images and text properties (font, size, etc.) used in the display panel at the bottom of the screen.
* [[Custom level creation/test.si|<code>test.si</code>]] is the code the game will run to initialize and perform testing of the player's circuits.

== Naming conventions ==
Your new level directory should be named in all lowercase, with words separated by underscores (<code>_</code>), a style known as "snake case".  This is to ensure maximum compatibility across platforms.

The level's display name (from [[meta.txt|<code>meta.txt</code>]]) does not have to be related to the directory name (for example, the ''Storage Cracker'' level is located in the directory <code>binary_search</code>).  It is of course more convenient for everybody if the display name and the directory name are correlated in an obvious manner.

== The console ==
Several steps throughout the level creation process will require you to input commands into the {{Console}}.  To access the {{Console}}, open the main menu by clicking {{Hamburger}} in the upper left corner and then press <code>q</code>.  A small console window will appear in the upper right where you can enter any required commands.