About this manual
This manual explains how the Maker mode screen is put together, and where each kind of work begins. ACTION GAME MAKER is based on the Godot editor, but in Maker mode the screen itself switches per task — “build a map”, “make an object”, “organise assets”. It is built that way so you can get to the screen you need and start working without first learning about nodes and scenes.
How Maker mode and Godot mode relate
ACTION GAME MAKER has two UI modes.
| Mode | What is different |
|---|---|
| Maker mode (default) | Split into per-task views; docks, menus and the Inspector are narrowed to the task |
| Godot mode | The standard Godot layout (2D / 3D / Script views, all docks shown) |
There are two places to switch.
- The dropdown at the top right of the launcher (project list)
- The editor’s “Settings” menu → “Editor Settings” → “Switch Maker/Godot Mode”
Neither one needs a restart. The moment you press it, the menus, docks and toolbars are rebuilt. The one exception is the colour scheme, which is not regenerated. If you are using one of Godot’s standard theme presets, the warm shift Maker mode applies is not reflected immediately, and in that case only you get a notice saying the colours need a restart. If you have picked an AGM theme preset, the colours line up immediately as well.
In Maker mode the standard Godot 2D / 3D / Script buttons are not shown. Conversely, in Godot mode none of the view tabs are shown (to reach some of those features from Godot mode, use the Maker window described at the end).
The overall layout
From top to bottom there are four bands.
| Where | What is in it |
|---|---|
| Title bar | The menus (Scene / Project / Settings / Help), the “Database” button, the view tabs, the test-play buttons, and “MAKER” at the far right |
| Scene name bar / scene tabs | How this appears depends on the view (see below) |
| Dock columns + central work area | The composition switches per view |
| Bottom panel | Only the tabs the current view needs are shown |
The menus and the “Database” button are wrapped together in a single background bar. Database lines up with the same look and the same hover as the menu items, so you can treat it as one of the menus.
“MAKER” at the far right tells you that you are in Maker mode. In Godot mode that spot goes back to being the renderer dropdown.
Switching views
The tabs in the title bar switch the whole screen per task.
| Tab | What you do there |
|---|---|
| Maps | Place tiles and elements on a map (or a menu screen) |
| Object | Build objects such as characters and bullets |
| Advanced | A layout close to standard Godot. Use it when you want to add Godot nodes directly |
| Transitions | Wire up how maps connect, as a graph |
| Assets | Organise files such as images and sounds |
Visual script editing is a view too, but it is not a tab. You enter it from “Edit Visual Script” in the Inspector (or on the fixed toolbar of the object editing view), and leave it with “← Back to object” at the top left. The view you came from is remembered, so entering from map editing returns you to map editing and entering from Advanced returns you to Advanced.
When the screen is narrow (when the display scale is high) the tabs automatically become icons only. The names appear on hover.
What is remembered per view
- Which docks are open and how wide the columns are is remembered per view. A column you narrowed in map editing is not carried into object editing.
- The last view you had open is remembered per project, and that is where you start next time.
- The map you had open in map editing and the object you had open in object editing are remembered separately. However much you go back and forth, each view returns to whatever you last worked on.
The map editing view
The screen for placing tiles and elements on a map. Instead of Godot’s “Scene” dock it uses dedicated docks.
How the screen is laid out
| Where | What is in it |
|---|---|
| Left column (tabs) | The three lists Maps / Object / Image |
| The column to its right | The Map Layers dock |
| Centre | The 2D viewport (with the select / move / rotate toolbar) |
| Right column | The Inspector |
| Bottom panel | The tile palette |
The three tabs in the left column are shown as icons only. With names as well, three of them do not fit the default column width (170 px), and the tab bar switches to “one tab plus arrows”, which makes it impossible to notice that the other tabs exist. The names appear on hover.
What each list is for
- Maps: picks the map you are editing (double-click to switch). “+ New” lets you choose the kind (map / menu) and a name. The scene you create is saved automatically into the destination folder.
- Object: picks the object to place, and you drag it into the viewport to place it. “+ New” creates an object.
- Image: picks an image and places it on the selected layer (double-click, or drag into the viewport). You can narrow the list with favourites (☆), colour labels, search, and “used in this scene”. While a TileMapLayer is selected, you can import that image into the tile palette from the right-click menu.
The Map Layers dock
Lists the structure of the map (backgrounds, parallax layers, tile maps, UI layers) and adds elements as children of the layer you select. The map editing view has no “Scene” dock, so this is the only way in to adding nodes.
- From the right-click menu you can move an element to another layer or group elements together.
- Elements support copy and paste, and the collapsed state is remembered.
- Menu scenes (MenuScene) are also edited in this dock. The CanvasLayers directly under the root appear as layers, and the elements you can add are swapped for menu ones.
The bar at the top
In the map editing view, instead of scene tabs you get a bar with just the name of the scene you are editing and a save button. It is there so you never have to think about operations that add tabs (opening and closing scenes).
The object editing view
The screen for building characters, bullets and so on. All the standard docks are hidden and the dedicated central panel takes over the editing (only switching objects is done in the “Object List” dock).
The three panes
| Column | What is in it |
|---|---|
| Left | The object name, a save button, a rename button, and the element list (sprites, collisions, variable settings and so on) |
| Centre | The Preview / Sprite Animation / Collision Animation tabs |
| Right | The Inspector (with a fixed toolbar on top) |
On the animation tabs the centre needs the space, so the left column hides itself automatically.
The four buttons on the fixed toolbar
Above the Inspector sit four buttons that can always be pressed, regardless of scrolling or whether “Advanced Settings” is expanded.
| Button | What it opens |
|---|---|
| Edit Visual Script | The visual script view |
| Variable / Switch Settings | The variable / switch settings window |
| Collision Compatibility Check | The collision compatibility check window |
| Edit Animation Set | Animation set editing |
The composition changes with the kind of object you are editing. Effects get only the Sprite Animation tab and particles only the Preview tab, and this fixed toolbar is not shown for them.
The visual script view
A screen narrowed to editing state machines. No docks are shown except the Inspector and the bottom panel (and the bottom panel itself is narrowed to just the “Module List” tab).
- You can edit the scripts of child nodes, not just the root.
- Layer tabs switch between layers.
- States can be told apart by their background colour.
- “← Back to object” at the top left restores both the screen and the scene you came from.
The scene transition view
The screen for wiring up how maps connect, as a graph. The graph editor in the centre does the editing, so only the “Maps” list in the left column and the Inspector remain.
The asset management view
The screen for organising files such as images and sounds. It works with the project’s actual folders, not folders filtered by asset type.
| Where | What is in it |
|---|---|
| Left | The list of folders (categories) |
| Centre | The contents of the selected folder (shown as-is, not filtered by type) |
| Right | The preview (images, fonts, and waveform playback for sounds) |
| Right-column dock | Import settings (only the Import dock remains) |
- Assets can also be imported by drag and drop.
- Multi-select in the list lets you sort things in bulk. Dropping onto a folder on the left moves the files directly into that folder.
- The buttons along the top take you to “Add Assets”, “New Folder…”, “Import Official Assets…”, “Manage Official Systems…” and “Import DLC Assets…”.
- Only while a sound folder is selected do “Open Sound Database” and “Register in bulk in the sound database” appear.
The Advanced view
A screen with a layout close to standard Godot. The Scene dock, Node dock, FileSystem, Import, History, bottom panel and Inspector are all there. Use it when you want to add Godot nodes directly, or work in detail, while staying in Maker mode.
How the menus are put together
In Maker mode, only the frequently used items are up front and the rest are gathered into an “Advanced Settings” submenu. Nothing has been removed, so you can always get to it.
| Menu | Items up front | What is inside “Advanced Settings” |
|---|---|---|
| Scene | Save Scene / Save Scene As / Quit | New, Open, Save All, Quick Open, Export As, Undo, Redo, Close, and so on |
| Project | Export / Reload Current Project / Quit to Project List | Find in Files, Version Control, Pack as ZIP, Android, Open User Data Folder, Tools |
| Settings | Basic Settings… / Input Settings… | The two submenus “Project Settings” and “Editor Settings” (the mode switch is in there too) |
“Basic Settings…”
Godot’s editor settings and project settings have an enormous number of entries, so there is a dedicated window gathering only the ones you actually touch while making a game. It has two tabs, “Editor” and “Project”, and a search box.
The main entries:
- Editor language, theme preset, font size, display scale, AGMaker button colours
- Visual script editor settings (auto-reflect the current scene, minimap, grid)
- The game’s window settings, mouse cursor, boot splash
- Save / load, player, loading scene (picked from a list of the loading scenes in the project)
- View Mode (side view / top view), default tile size, default camera zoom
- Tile effect names
- Where Maker mode’s asset lists look, and where new files are saved
How the Inspector is simplified
In Maker mode the entries shown in the Inspector are narrowed down.
“Advanced Settings”
Entries that come from Godot’s inherited classes are gathered under the “Advanced Settings” button at the very bottom of the Inspector. Press it and they appear. Whether it is expanded is remembered per edited object for the editor session only; it is not saved into the scene.
Note also that each section of the Inspector opens collapsed by default.
Property Visibility Settings
Separately from the “Advanced Settings” division, you can also hide individual properties.
- Right-click an empty part of the Inspector (or right-click a property).
- Choose “Property Visibility Settings…”.
- Click or drag to select the entries you want to hide (the selected ones are dimmed).
- Press Apply to confirm.
- Inside this window everything is visible, including the entries that “Advanced Settings” hides.
- “Reset to Default” returns that class’s setting to its initial state (restoring hidden entries).
- The setting is per class, and is saved in the editor settings.
The main feature buttons
The ways in to visual script editing, animation set editing, variable / switch settings and the collision compatibility check are inserted into the Inspector as buttons with a shared look. In the object editing view these appear on the fixed toolbar instead, so they are not duplicated in the Inspector.
How scene tabs behave
In Maker mode, the open scenes are kept to “one map plus one object”. It works by closing only the older tab in the same slot, so double-clicking through a list does not keep adding tabs (unsaved tabs are not closed).
How the tabs appear also varies by view.
| View | Scene tabs |
|---|---|
| Map editing | Not shown (you get the scene name + save button bar instead) |
| Object editing / Visual script / Transitions / Assets | Not shown |
| Advanced | The usual tabs are shown |
Theme and font size
Both are under “Settings” → “Basic Settings…”.
- Six AGM theme presets (three light, three dark)
- A font size dropdown
They can also be chosen from the launcher’s setup wizard (on first launch). While an AGM preset is selected, switching between Maker and Godot mode brings the colours along without a restart.
The on-screen tutorial
On first launch, a dedicated tutorial project is opened to walk you through how to read the screen. Only the place being explained stays bright while everything else is dimmed, so following it in order takes you once around the four views: map editing, object editing, transitions and asset management. It can also be started from the launcher’s “Tutorial” button.
Using Maker features from Godot mode (the Maker window)
While working in Godot mode, the “Maker” button in the title bar opens a window you can toggle.
- It has two tabs: “Object Editing” and “Assets”.
- The Inspector simplification applies only inside that window. The Inspector in the main window stays standard Godot.
- Map editing is not provided as a view in Godot mode. Edit maps with the standard 2D + TileMap.
Worked examples
From making one character to placing it on a map
- Switch to the “Object” tab.
- In the “Object List” on the left, press “+ New” and pick a template, an object group and a collision role.
- Build the look on the centre “Sprite Animation” tab, then press “Edit Visual Script” on the fixed toolbar to build the behaviour.
- Return with “← Back to object” and save with the save button in the left column header.
- Switch to the “Maps” tab and drag it into the viewport from the “Object” tab in the left column.
When you want to add a Godot node
- Switch to the “Advanced” tab. The standard Scene dock and Node dock appear.
- Add the node the usual Godot way.
- Go back to the tab you were on. Each view remembers its own open scene, so returning to map editing shows the map again.
When the Inspector has too many entries you never use
- Right-click the entry and open “Property Visibility Settings…”.
- Drag over the entries you want to hide and press Apply.
- If you go too far, “Reset to Default” in the same window restores that class.
Things to watch out for
- In Maker mode the standard Godot 2D / 3D / Script buttons are not shown. If you want to work in the standard Godot screen, switch modes (almost everything is also reachable in the “Advanced” view).
- Switching modes needs no restart, but the colour scheme is the exception. If you are using one of Godot’s standard theme presets, the colours line up at the next launch. Pick an AGM preset and they line up without a restart.
- The map editing view has no “Scene” dock. The only way in to adding nodes is the “Map Layers” dock.
- The three tabs in the left column (Maps / Object / Image) are shown as icons only. Hover to check the names. The order is always fixed as “Maps / Object / Image”.
- Which docks are open and how wide the columns are is saved per view. A dock you closed in one view being open in another is not a fault.
- The visual script view is not a tab. You enter it from “Edit Visual Script” in the Inspector or on the fixed toolbar.
- Items moved into “Advanced Settings” have not gone away. Both in the menus and in the Inspector, everything that used to be there is still reachable.
- Property Visibility Settings work per class. They apply to every object of that class.
- The Godot-mode “Maker window” does not rewrite the main window’s Inspector. Only the inside of the window is simplified.