[TIP]You can play a sound file via the "Play Sound" action. You can either choose to play it while proceeding the next actions or play it entirely before proceeding.[TIP]You can quickly generate a skill table with the ÒCalculate from firstÓ button of the skill table editor. Enter a value in the first field and press the button. All the fields will be calculated with the value of the previous one times the multiplication factor (see the field of the same name). All the levels after 20 will be calculated with this multiplication factor.[TIP]You can link an event to a level. This event will be automatically launched  when the player will reach that level. In the skill table editor, select the ÒEvent linksÓ tab and click on the ÒAddÓ button. Enter the level at which the event should be launched and select the linked event. The link will appear in the event links list.[TIP]In the layout editor (which let you customize all your gameÕs interface), you can use the arrow keys to move a zone or resize it while pressing the shift key.[TIP]You can add menu commands to your game. Open the game options window and click on the ÒMenusÓ tab. Select the menu you want to add command to and use the Ò+Ó and Ò-Ó buttons to change its content.[TIP]You can quickly generate a new NPC using the ÒRollÓ button in the upper-right corner of the NPC editor. This will generate a random character depending on the level specified in the ÒLevelÓ field. The higher this level is, the better the stats will be.[TIP]You can double-click in most of the game object lists in the game editors to open that object. In the main location editor for example, you can double-click in the sub location list to open that location.[TIP]You can specify events that will be launched when the player will press a specific key. These events are called keydown events and can be global (anywhere in the game) or local. Local keydown events would be useful if you would like to add key shortcut to a specific game panel for example.[TIP]You can define up to three ambient sounds in main and map locations. You can specify a random value at which to play the sound. What about some birds in a forest or waves near the ocean?[TIP]In the map editor, you can quickly pick a tile picture with an option-click or with the eye-dropper tool.[TIP]You can use special tag values in your dialogs and other event actions. Tag values are replaced by their real values at runtime (during your game). You could use the tag Ò&&NameÓ in a dialog and it would be replaced by the name of the player when the dialog would be displayed. See the user manual for a complete list of the supported tag values.[TIP]You can use template to speed up your work. Let say that you want to create a bunch of specific monsters. Create a common monster, save it as a template (ÒExport->TemplateÓ menu command). Go in the Coldstone editor options window, under the ÒTemplatesÓ tab, click on the template type (NPCs in this case). Select your newly created template in the popup menu. Every new NPC created will have these default parameters.[TIP]Even if there is a built-in file viewer, you can set a particular application to handle your pictures. Go in the options window and check the ÒOption-click open picture withÉÓ option and click on the button to select the application (like Photoshop). When you will double-click a picture with the option key down, it will open it in this application![TIP]The Coldstone Game Engine has a integrated role-playing name generator! You can generate unlimited names of different types. Access it with the ÒName GeneratorÓ command in the ÒToolsÓ menu. You can also download the name generator as a stand-alone free application from our web site at http://www.beenox.com.[TIP]You need the maximum work space? You can close the game browser and/or the main toolbar with the ÒGame BrowserÓ and the ÒGame ToolbarÓ command in the ÒProjectÓ menu.[TIP]If you double-click on any folder in the game browser, it will open an other browser with this folder as the root, just like in the Finder![TIP]You can directly open your scenario folder in the Finder with the little folder button in the main toolbar.[TIP]If you want to use the same list of actions in two or more events, just can put all this in one event and call them with the "Call Event" action.[TIP]When creating your game, you can use globals via the "Global Change" action. This feature allows you to make your events take different paths.[TIP]With the "Attribute Wizard" action, you can change every attribute of the player. You can, for example, add 3 to his strength, set his dexterity to 10 or substract 20 percent from his chemical resistance, etc.[TIP]File extensionsFile extensions are very important in Coldstone due to its cross-platform mission. You donÕt have to remember all extension types. If you select the "Auto save in the appropriate folder" in the Coldstone options, Coldstone will append the extension to the file name automatically.[TIP]Passive VS Aggressive NPCsWhat makes the difference between an aggressive and passive NPC is its stamina value (see the stamina field). A NPC with a stamina value greater than 0 will be aggressive. Otherwise it will be passive.[TIP]Initializing global variablesYou donÕt have to worry about resetting the variables at the beginning of a game, Coldstone set all the global variable to 0 when a new game starts.[TIP]More about the "NPC Control" actionYou can do more than one thing at once with the "NPC Control" action type. You can add multiple actions to do in the list and they will be executed sequentially by the engine starting from the top of the list. You could for example start by deleting all NPCs from a map and then, adding different kind of NPCs at random coordinates.[TIP]When you create a game, Coldstone automatically creates a folder (which you name) with a very specific folder-hierarchy structure. It is extremely important that this basic structure remains unchanged. If it is altered, Coldstone will not be able to find certain elements of your game, which could result in serious errors. [TIP]With Coldstone, you can create your very own ground tools. A ground tool is a standard Coldstone animation file  that contains a predefined number of frames representing all the pictures needed to quickly generate a transition between two types of ground. You could build yourself a ground tool that will let you trace a river over a grass terrain in seconds without having to manually place all the corresponding transition tiles  between the grass and the river.See the "Ground Tool" section of the manual for more information.[TIP]If you add a value to the experience points of the player and the new total exceed the number required for the next level, the level up dialog will immediately  show up and all event linked to the new level will also be executed before the original event can proceed to the next action.[TIP]Main locations doesnÕt support animated stamps added with an action of type "Stamp Control".[TIP]Tag values are precise expressions that can be inserted in a dialog text in the editor. At the time the text is displayed during the game, these indices are replaced by the current value of what it represents. For example, the expression "&&Name" will be replaced by the name of the player. All the tag values are case-sensitive. See the "Tag values" section of the manual for more information.[TIP]There are 23 events that are automatically executed by the engine on precise occasions. The engine will recognize these events by their name and call them at the appropriate time. Most events are optional (otherwise stated). See the "Automatic events" section of the manual for the complete list.[TIP]Special objects are items that the player canÕt wear. These items canÕt be sold at a shop. They can only be used or dropped. Their use has absolutely no effect but to launch linked events. This type of object will often be used to represent important objects that are linked to the story line.[TIP]An item with a price equal to 0 canÕt be sold at a shop, no matter what type it is.[TIP]You can set an item as being "cursed". When the player uses or equips the cursed item, the parameters of the "true item" will be used! While itÕs more logical to have the true item be of the same type as the cursed item, Coldstone can handle different types as well.[TIP]Hostile characters may leave the max range radius when chasing the player during a battle. However, if the player escapes the character, it will immediately seek to return to an area within its original movement radius.[TIP]At each level can be linked an event. This event will be automatically launched by the engine when the player reaches that level. When the event is executed, the player has already gained the level so if you check the "Level" value of the player, it will be equal to the new gained level. Also, if you want to have an event executed each time the player gains a level, create an event linked to level 0. If such an event link exists, it will be executed before any other. If after executing an event link the player stamina is equal or less than zero, no more event links are executed.[TIP]You can specify either a negative or positive value in the damage fields of a spell according to whether you wish to penalize or improve the target.[TIP]In the animation editor, you can drag and drop files from the Finder in the frame list (the files must be in your "Pictures" folder).[TIP] A character with a directional 4 animation will never walk diagonally. ItÕs also true for the player.[TIP]There is some situations where the engine will automatically switch the current animation for the player and the other characters (if those use an animation file, not a still picture) to a specific animation ID if this ID is available. Consult the "Automatic animation switch" section of the manual for details.[TIP]Linear interpolation in animation is great but more advanced users might want to have more control over the interpolation to create more fluid animation. Luckily, Coldstone gives you the possibility to use bezier curves for interpolation. See the "Bezier interpolation" section of the manual for details.[TIP]In the animation editor, you can directly specify a collision sphere by holding down the shift key and clicking in the animation viewer. Hold the mouse button and move your cursor around to scale the sphere (the old one will be displayed as a reference until you release the mouse button).[TIP]To create a keyboard shortcut for a menu, add a slash followed by the shortcut character to the menu item name (example:  "New Game/N"). If you want to add a menu separator, add a command named "-".[TIP]As the creator of the original game, you have the option to allow other game developers to create plugins for your game. This can greatly extend the life of your product and open it to a wider audience. Plugins can modify existing parts of your game or add completely new elements to it. You could also use the plugin system yourself to distribute add-on packs for your game. See the "Plugin development options" section of the manual for details.[TIP]If you check "Allow additional races/classes" but you donÕt check the  "Show race/class dialog" option in the "Misc" panel, the original  game will not let you pick any race.  However, if someone develops a plugin that has a least one race or class in it, it will show the appropriate dialog but only the races or classes from the plugins will show up. Pillars of Garendall, a game created with Coldstone, works like this.[TIP]When in plugin development mode, you can add events that are to be executed when a specific location is loaded called plugin load calls. You could for example, use those to modify an existing map with a "Change map cell" action or a "Stamp control" action. You can edit those events by either clicking on the button to the far right of the Coldstone toolbar or by selecting select the "Plugin load callsÉ" command under the sub-menu "Game plugin" of the "Project" menu.[TIP]The best place to go for help on Coldstone is the Ambrosia Web Board.  Go to: http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/news/webboard/ and then click on the Coldstone board.  If you register, and why not, it's free! you can post your question, where it will be read and soon answered, by other developers like you.  You can also scroll through questions and answers already posted.