README.TXT for SCREWPAL.ZIP - Version 1.0 ScrewPal 1.0 A Quake Palette and Colormap Manipulator The Quickest, Easiest way to Screw(up) your Quake Palette Author : Alan Blaine (pinkdogg@best.com) Date : 22 feb 1997 Note: (a) The software is shareware.(see below for details) (b) The software is not guaranteed to work in your particular setup. 1. Description 2. Files 3. Installation Instructions 4. Working with ScrewPal 5. Advanced Palette Operations 6. Credits 7. Technical Issues 8. Shameless Plugs 9. Known Bugs and Limitiations 10. Miscellaneous Inspirations and Other Great Quake Stuff 11. History 12. Shareware info 1. Description ScrewPal allows you to modify the Quake palette and colormap. ScrewPal allows you to create brand new palettes and colormaps from scratch. ScrewPal frees the creative Quaker from the confines of the structure of the Quake palette. No more do new palettes have to be in 16 color ranges. ScrewPal allows TC's to have a new palette without alot of pixel-switching in a paint program. 2. Files screwpal.exe the executable quake.skr the quake palette in ScrewPal .skr format readme.txt this file 3. Installation Instructions ScrewPal is a Win95 console app. Should work in NT4. I suggest placing these in quake/screw/gfx. You can then run "quake -game screw" to see changes. However, you can place ScrewPal wherever. So long as the .lmp files outputted make it to the quake/gamex/gfx directory, you can run "quake -game gamex" 4. Working with ScrewPal The menuing system is fairly self-explanatory. If you want to just modify the quake palette as it exists, load quake.skr. Edit the current palette, then modify to your hearts content. If you want to get back to the quake palette, don't save over quake.skr. Trying to load palette.lmp won't work. If you want to start a new palette from scratch, bravo! This is what ScrewPal was really made for! ScrewPal works with similar concepts to the existing Quake palette. It asks for a number of color ranges, with starting and ending colors. It then asks for the number of colors to spread the range over. When you get to 256, thats it. It also asks for a color type. If you want the color to darken as light gets darker, enter 0. If you want the color to maintain its intensity no matter what the light level(ie Fullbright), enter 1. See 5. Advanced Palette Operations for info on halfbrights. ScrewPal outputs 4 filetypes: 1. xxxxxx.skr the ScrewPal file 2. palette.lmp the quake palette - a 16x16 rgb image 3. colormap.rgb the quake colormap prior to indexing - a 256x64 rgb image 4. colormap.lmp the quake colormap - a 256x64 indexed color image Color 255(the last one) will ALWAYS be transparent in quake. Don't put a useful color there. WARNING: ScrewPal is not very user-friendly. I haven't put any great error checking in yet. ScrewPal WILL break if you use it stupidly. i.e. Don't EVER type a number over 256 or under 0. I guarantee you won't need to. Don't type in letters when it asks for numbers. Don't try to edit palette entries that aren't there. If enough thick-fingered souls out there complain, I'll put some input checking in. 5. Advanced Palette Operations Midrange Color This is found under Edit-Advanced The midrange color is the color in the middle of a range. It allows a range to deviate from the hue area defined by start and end colors. Midrange defaults to the midpoint between start and end. DarkenTo Color This is found under Edit-Advanced The darkento color is the color that this palette range will 'darken to' when the light level goes down. DarkenTo defaults to 0,0,0. DarkenTo is experimental at this point, as there is no analog in Quake as we know it. Input into improving this feature would be appreciated. Halfbright Color This is found in Edit-Type and in the New palette choices. The halfbright color range is similar to fullbright, except that halfbright colors are partially affected by light level. Thus, halfbright. Think of a very dim lightbulb. Halfbright colors are experimental at this point, as, again, there is no analog in Quake. 6. Credits idSoftware - blah..blah..game...uh...quake 7. Technical Issues Umm...email me if you want to know. If you have bugs, mail me - but read my warning above first. If you send me a crash when you type in a red color of 5432, I will fart in your general direction. You also might check in with: Pinkdogg's Palette Mania! www.best.com/~pinkdogg/palette/ 8. A Bunch of Shameless Plugs util3d.zip My first contribution to the Quake Community. 3DStudio Model importer for Quake. Get it at cdrom.com www.cogswell.edu This is where I go to school. Its in Sunnyvale, CA, the once famous home of Atari:) I highly recommend Cogswell's CVI department to any aspiring Digital Artists out there. They are just starting a Game Production Department, right when I'm about to graduate. Sigh... www.newfire.com This is where I work. Makers of "Newfire Heat", a Killer VRML game engine. Check it out. www.best.com/~pinkdogg/luis/ My roommate's hate page. Show up and tell him you LOVE Marilyn Manson. 9. Known Bugs and Limitations Its a Win95 console app. Someday I'll make it a full 95 app. Maybe. See Warning Above for other limitations. 10. Miscellaneous Inspirations and Other Great Quake Stuff whaleboy's QuakeX - www.planetquake.com/~quakex blue's news - www.bluesnews.com Bubbah's Models - www.worldaccess.nl/~yue/mdl.htm Nakedman's TC Page - www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Arcade/4079/ 11. History 22 feb 1997 Version 1.0 Initial release. 12. Shareware and Legal Info ScrewPal is a trademark of Alan Blaine. Copyright 1997, all rights reserved. Quake is a trademark of id Software, inc. You may use ScrewPal forever, as long as you don't sell data made with ScrewPal. Under no circumstances will Alan Blaine be liable for any damages or losses arising from the use or misuse of this software. If you use this software, you agree to these terms. Distribution of ScrewPal is OK, with the following tenets: a) this text file and quake.skr are included and unmodified b) you aren't making any money from the distribution c) you aren't bundling ScrewPal with something you are making money with. If you want to distribute ScrewPal by a means that violates these tenets, you MUST GET MY PERMISSION. E-Mail me. I'm a nice guy. If you plan to sell data made with ScrewPal, you must register: the cost is $30 US. There are no royalties or other restrictions placed on data created with ScrewPal. This document is best viewed with WordWrap on.