Patterns

Select the “Design a Level” button in the Practice dialog, as explained in the previous chapter. A number of features now become available, including the ability to create and save your own patterns of bumpers and traps.

Creating a Pattern

Begin playing a level. Click with the mouse on any blank spot in the playing field; a left-hand bumper will appear. Click in the same place again, and it changes to a right-hand bumper. Click again, and it becomes a trap; click once more and the spot is empty again. This allows you to easily create any pattern you like.

If nothing happens when you click, make sure you have selected “Design a Level” from the Practice dialog.

You can ignore the ball while you are creating your pattern. It will be moving around the field as usual, perhaps bouncing off your bumpers as you place them, but it will not interfere. When you are ready, you can set the ball into your pattern by holding down the command key (the ⌘ key) and clicking where you want the ball to appear. The ball will immediately move to the clicked spot, and will begin moving down, so pick a spot where vertical motion is okay.

If you want to keep your pattern, select “Save Pattern...” from the Patterns sub-menu. You’ll be asked to enter a name for your pattern. The program will automatically add a bullet character to the front of your pattern’s name (e.g. “• My Pattern”), and will put the name into the Patterns sub-menu. The bullet character makes it easy to see which patterns are yours, and which are built into the game.

Changing a Pattern

You can also change an existing pattern. Just select the pattern you want to change and begin playing a level. Make your changes with the mouse as usual, then select “Save Pattern...”. You’ll be asked whether you really want to replace the old pattern; click “Replace” and the change will be made.

Deleting a Pattern

You can delete your patterns by first selecting them from the menu, and then selecting “Delete Pattern...” from the menu. You can only delete your own patterns, so the menu item is disabled when a built-in pattern (or none) is selected.