PiP: levels and game modes

Panic in Paradise. A story level is set up by two scripts: a loader that says what the level is and what to load, and an entry in gamemodes that says how it is scored. Both are plain, commented source.

Where they live

  • levelloaders.lu: one script per level, named area1_loaderscript, area15_loaderscript and so on. Retail also has loaders for zoo levels and an older level1_loaderscript to level10_loaderscript set.
  • global.lu → gamemodes: see PiP: grades for the scores in it. This page is about how the pieces connect.

One level, three missions

Each story level (an area) holds three or four missions, the zones AREA_1, AREA_2 and AREA_3, each with its own target bear. The loader registers the level once, then every zone. Area 1, as in the script (the second and third zones left out):

local myLevelID = --[[HASH:"level_names_Area01":0x70a75517]]1890014487
local levelName = myLevelID
RegisterLevel( { name=myLevelID, globalIndex = 2, levelLoader = __this__:GetName(), locationID = 1, 
                 menuData={descTxtID=myLevelID, IconLU="", IconSWF=""}})

RegisterZone( { zoneID = AREA_1, levelName = myLevelID, targetImage = "Polaroid_Trembles", targetID = targetID1,
                objectiveID = objectiveID1, status = 2, briefingID = briefingID1, miniMap=--[[HASH:"Area01":0x3a0d5e1c]]973954588, 
                token=--[[HASH:"num_level_completed_03":0x6d024ea6]]1828867750, menuPos = 5, leaderboardID = engine.LEADERBOARD_TEMBLES,
                iconID = 1 } )

A comment above them lists the status values: 1-new 2-LOCKED 3-DEFFLUFED 4-Secret. Interpretation of the rest: targetImage is the polaroid of the bear to kill, objectiveID and briefingID point at text, menuPos is the slot on the menu, and globalIndex is the order the levels are played. Cuddles’ level, Area 15, is globalIndex = 1, and that is Stage 1 in the game.

Which areas are which

Worked out from each loader’s globalIndex, its targets, and the area names in the comments of gamemodes:

Order Area Name Target bears
1 15 Paradise Resort Cuddles, Giggles, Comfy
2 1 Grease Garage Trembles, Greasy, Buddy
3 9 Glasshouse Garden Pudding, Flopsey, Ghoulplant
4 3 Jungle Spa Cozy, Ketchup, Treacle
7 2 Silky Mansion Goober, Silky, Miyagi
8 7 Fiesta Docks Twinkles, Gordon, Peluso, Nibbles
13 12 Prof Workshop Fluffy, Robo, Professor B
15 5 Duegard Temple Normal, Tickler, Rubbert
16 11 Wellness Center Chubby, Juggles, Dr Docteur, Daddles
17 13 Paradise Beach Bubble, Danger Bear, DJ Fuzz, Oodoo
19 6 Fiesta Cantina Sunbeam, Stardust, Xoctopus

The numbers skip (5, 6, 9 to 12, 14, 18). Interpretation: levels that were cut or never made. The area numbers skip too (4, 8, 10, 14).

What a level loads

InitializeLoadUnits lists the containers the level needs. Things the whole game needs are loaded once; the three missions each add their own copy of the level’s containers:

    LibraryLoading.AddZonesLU(LOAD_INIT, "SkinNaughty")
    LibraryLoading.AddZonesLU(LOAD_INIT, "BearaBearaIsland")
    LibraryLoading.AddZonesLU(LOAD_INIT, "StoryMode")
    ...
    LibraryLoading.AddZonesLU(AREA_1, "Area01")
    LibraryLoading.AddZonesLU(AREA_2, "Area01")
    LibraryLoading.AddZonesLU(AREA_3, "Area01")
    LibraryLoading.AddZonesLU(AREA_1, "Area01_NPC")
    ...
    LibraryLoading.LoadZone(LOAD_INIT, levelLoadUnitRequester)
    -- Load everything in AREA_1 and ENVR_1
    LoadInitialZone()

LOAD_INIT containers load once and are never reloaded. The Area01_NPC files are the bears: _NPC_1, _NPC_2 and _NPC_3 are one per mission.

The level name

The level’s name is a hash, and it must match in two places: the loader (as name and descTxtID) and the AddGameModeToLevel line in gamemodes. The number is the CRC32 of the name in lowercase: level_names_area01 gives 0x70a75517. The beta page used the same rule to give its zoo levels IDs.

How to change it

Changes that are safe to try:

  • The objective, briefing and polaroid names, to point a mission at other text or art.
  • Which containers a level loads, to swap the bears or the level around.

Two things to know from the beta page: a loader has to keep its exact size (Seam Ripper pads it back), and anything you put in LOAD_INIT is loaded once, so a level restart will not rebuild it. Load a level’s own content as AREA_1 and call LoadInitialZone(), as the story levels do.

Confirmed and not

  • Confirmed: the structure above, and that Area 15 is Stage 1.
  • Interpretation: what each RegisterZone field is for, apart from the status comment, and the gaps in globalIndex.
  • Retail has loader scripts for zoo levels, but I found no zoo containers in the retail files, so those loaders have nothing to load.