I've been trying out editing u7 with Exult Studio a bit and while its fun, I found the terrain editing to be just too slow and fiddly to consider making any large changes to the map. The problem is that the basic floor patterns are all split up into 8x8 pixel pieces and while it doesn't take too long to draw out a single section when you have to repeat it about it about eight times to fill a single chunk it becomes a major chore.
One solution to the problem would obviously be a basic cut and paste system so you could draw the pattern once then paste it multiple times. Another solution would be to make a pre-fab system like the current groups system. It wouldn't have to be that complex, just allowing the user to make and save small groups of objects to be dragged onto a chunk. Another idea, although I'm to sure if it would be possible is to allow the user to drag rectangles of objects like the 8x8 tiles and have the system automatically increment the frame number for each one so the entire basic pattern could be drawn in one go.
Anyway these are just some ideas I came up with while I was playing around with ES. Thanks for all the great work you've done on the project already by the way, you people rock!
You're right. It is too tedious now, and I'm thinking about your suggestions. One, though, is already somewhat implemented: If you hold the control-key down, each tile will use the next frame in the currently-selected shape. But that assumes you've designed the shape's tiles appropriately.
