is there a way to have 'guide objects' that don't get added to the runtime?

[Volnaiskra]

Is there a way to have a graphical object in your frame editor (eg. a large pre-rendered image of your level to help you place things properly) that doesn't get included in the runtime at all?

I know I can disable "create at start", but that will still increase file size, and probably loading time too.

IIRC, Flash had/has a feature like this.

[jn2002dk]

Couldn't you place the image in a separate layer and then delete it before building the final version?

[Volnaiskra]

It's not just the final version I'm worried about (if such a thing as a final version of a game even exists :p ). It's also the countless demos and test builds that I make. Manually deleting and recreating guide objects whenever I do a new iterative build would be a lot of busywork.

[mobichan]

ThIs is a perfect reason to make a simple level editor and store your level object positions to an external file array or text file. You would work mostly in your editor and make an export button that writes out the level object data. Then load that data in you main project which would be a separate mfa. I usually have a simple setup where the editor is an exe that I run on a separate monitor from mmf and can keep both running at the same time.

[Volnaiskra]

I do use a level editor. I need the guide objects for something else.