Track Editor Plan

As you know, the focus over the next few months is a track editor for OutRun levels. This was always the plan once Cannonball became a reality; I first blogged about this long-term goal back in in 2009!

Cannonball will of course continue, but there's a shift in focus as the next exciting instalment begins. It will mean fewer blog updates whilst I get the project off the ground, until I have something interesting to talk about.

The plan for the initial release is as follows:

• The editor will be a separate application from Cannonball.
• The editor will be developed in C++ and QT. This will support a solid cross-platform GUI. 
• The editor will use Cannonball to preview the final level in some kind of debug mode.
• The editor will output to a format compatible with Cannonball, and the original OutRun hardware. So you could potentially play the best levels on original hardware.
• The following features will be supported: Road path/direction, road width, road height, scenery & track debris placement, road palettes.

Future releases could include additions like:

• Road texture editor.
• Sprite editor.
• Sprite palette editor.

I've made a start, I'm learning QT and progress is steady. Maybe you have an idea for a feature or even the name of the editor. If so, comment below!