CAMM (Crystal Alien Map Maker)

About this project:
CAMM allows you to create your own levels/maps for the Lego Mars Mission Crystal Alien Conflict Game.
It can create basic levels using tiles, buildings, and units from the game, but the goal is to make it able to create more advanced levels.
In a future update we plan to add more features including more advanced level properties. Check out the todo list further down this page.

This project has been in development for long time - and now the first release is finally here!
Thanks to everyone for your support. We couldn't have made it this far without everyone who contributed their knowledge, work, and ideas to the project.

The first release is now available!
Downloads and instructions for CAMM are now available at crystalien-redux.com, including the CAC Player, and additional information.

For the adventurous, there are automated builds available that are generated whenever there is a new commit on GitHub.
Please note if you download an automated build, that it is not necessarily a release-ready version, and you may find extra bugs.

Download automated builds from AppVeyor (click the status below) or from the CrystAlien Redux website builds directory.
AppVeyor build status: AppVeyor build status
You can post any bugs you encounter or suggestions you have to the GitHub Issue Tracker so that they do not get lost or forgotten about.
You may also give feedback, post comments, or report bugs and in a thread below this page if you'd like.

This project's source code is on GitHub!
https://github.com/leveleditor/CAMM-Crystal-Alien-Map-Maker

Interested in the project? Give it a star to show your support.

Interested in the project's development? Watch development progress.


Interested in making a code contribution? Fork the project to make your own changes to the code.

Note: Only make a fork if you plan to make a contribution and have it merged into the main project repository at some point.
If you are wanting to take the project in a totally different direction, and not contribute back to the main repository, then you won't want a fork.






Project Status:
The first release is now available, complete with playable levels via the CAC Player app! Check out the new CAMM download page at crystalien-redux.com!

Project News:
2019/04/24 - CAMM IS FINALLY RELEASED!

2017/02/20 - The previously mentioned Flash Wrapper source code has now been uploaded to GitHub. Check it out if you're into that sort of thing: https://github.com/leveleditor/CrystAlien-Conflict-Flash-Wrapper. It is written in ActionScript 2 and requires at least Adobe Flash Professional CS5.5 in order to edit it. The Flash Wrapper is what makes the bugfix edition possible, and with some further development will also make it possible to play maps created by CAMM in game.
In CAMM news, the format for map files was recently changed from the archaic INI format to the easier to use JSON format, which will help with the development of the level loader in Flash that will allow playing CAMM maps in game. The INI format was a bit of a nuisance for the longest time, because INI is not supported by much anymore, and there were no readily available INI parsers for ActionScript, and in general INI didn't support things we needed such as arrays, which JSON supports out of the box.

2016/10/22
- I have set up an automatic build system called AppVeyor. Whenever there is a new commit pushed to the CAMM project
on GitHub, AppVeyor will build and zip the program files, then upload the zip file. Check further up on this page for more information and links.

2016/09/23 - We are currently very close to having a version of CAMM (for Windows) that can create basic maps and have them playable inside CrystAlien Conflict by using something we've been calling the "Flash Wrapper" to load them into the game. The only things left to do are finish writing the level loading code in the Flash Wrapper and finish up a few features in CAMM that are needed for the basics of a map. This could be done as soon as we have time to just sit down and work on it for a few days. In other news, I'm also trying to figure out how I should go about preparing the Flash Wrapper source code for uploading to GitHub. I've already delayed a bit too long and I don't want to keep it to myself forever. I also feel this way about CAMM and so I'm considering just setting up an automated builds system so that at any time anyone could download the latest built version and try it out for themselves and see for themselves where we're at in development, and just play around with it, break things, see how it currently works, and provide early feedback on it and all that.
Let me know your thoughts in a thread at the bottom of this page if you like.




Screenshot of the program interface (as of 2016/09/23, outdated).
CAMM Dev Screenshot 8 - Click to view full size image.
(Click on the image for the full size image.)

You can preview more screenshots of CAMM and other
concept ideas in the CAMM Development Images Album
and the CAMM images directory on crystalien-redux.com.
Comments and ideas are welcome.


The Todo List:
The list has now been moved to GitHub, and most of the listed items have been created as issues/feature requests on the GitHub issue tracker.
GitHub Todo List:
https://github.com/leveleditor/CAMM-Crystal-Alien-Map-Maker/projects/1
GitHub Issue Tracker:
https://github.com/leveleditor/CAMM-Crystal-Alien-Map-Maker/issues
Programming Related Information:
- Programming Language: VB.NET
- Compatible IDEs: Visual Studio 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 (Any Edition, Windows), Visual Studio Community 2019 (macOS).
- Recommended IDE: Visual Studio Community 2019 (same as professional but free to use for open source projects just like this one).

- Technologies Used: Visual Studio 2019, .NET Framework 4.7.2, Json.NET library.

Source Code:
- GitHub:
https://github.com/leveleditor/CAMM-Crystal-Alien-Map-Maker

Operating System Compatibility:
- Confirmed: Windows (XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10 and newer).
- Partially: Mac OS X 10.7 or newer, using Mono (32-bit only).
Ubuntu 14.04 or newer, using Mono.
- Incompatible: Windows 98 & earlier, Mac OS X 10.5 & earlier, all 64-bit macOS, Android, iOS, and most other mobile systems.



Things you could help with:
Programming:
This project is in need of a few good programmers who have time to dedicate to the project.
Feel free to fork the project on GitHub, make your changes, and then submit a pull request! I will check pull requests frequently, and if I see one I will either accept it after checking it over or suggest any changes that should be made before I accept it :)
Feature requests / Issue reports:
If you think of an idea for a feature, or run into any bugs or other issues while using the program, feel free to mention them in a thread below this page oropen an issue/feature request on GitHub to ensure your idea or issue report doesn't get lost.
(Note: Please keep to one request/report per GitHub issue so we can keep everything organized.)

We can't guarantee that all ideas will be used, but they will definitely be considered.

Feel free to start a thread below this page or contact leveleditor6680 if you
would like more information about contributing to the project.

CAMM (Crystal Alien Map Maker) is part of the CrystAlien Redux Project.

Those who contributed to the project are listed below and mentioned in the program's credits.
Current Project Contributors:
User Name
Role
Leveleditor6680CAMM Programmer, Flash Wrapper Programmer, CrystAlien Redux Project Leader
299792458Developer/Programmer of CrystAlien Conflict
ETXAlienRobot201Helping with Flash Wrapper, Programmer, Occasional Graphics Design, Default Maps Export
rennatnave101User Interface Concept Design [1], Developing new sprite creation process with ETX
clawtankfanUser Interface Concept Design [1]
Mr.Mars.MissionUser Interface Concept Design [1]
If you helped out and I forgot to add you to the list, or your status is incorrect, let me know.