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(Readme.txt) by Oliver Pieper ************************************
I'm sorry, but writing a documentation is an arduous task and not as much fun as programming. This text should still offer some insight to those new to BIN editing, so I keep it in the ZIP. Take a look at "Bin-Masta's MTM and MTM2 Custom Designs Page" at http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Garage/5527/ for some Tips and Tricks on BIN editing. ************************************
============= BINedit beta ============= 0. What's new? -------------- see changelog.txt 1. What is BINedit? ------------------- BINs are the three-dimensional models used in the Microsoft/Terminal Reality games MTM, Hellbender, CART and MTM2. This program was developed with MTM (and MTM2) in mind, but should work with the other programs, too. BINedit is a utility for editing the BIN files (aka boxes, models, or props). Unlike my normal beta programs which tend to be quite stable,this one is REALLY BETA! I do my best to release only fairly stable versions, but I won't take any responsibility for lost BINs and similar stuff 8-) Please report any bugs you find or send me some general suggestions. Improved versions will be released in irregular intervals Because the program is still under development, this readme file will not yet discuss the functions in greater detail. BINedit is POSTCARDWARE. If you use it and have not sent me a postcard yet, please do so. See POSTCARD.TXT for details.
2. How to install BINedit ------------------------- BINedit will only work if you did use the "First Time Setup" feature of TRI's TrackEd (or some similar procedure that extracts BIN files and the appropriate textures to your hard drive). Simply copy the files
The Program should be ready to run. *****************************************************************
BE SURE TO USE A SCREEN MODE WITH AT LEAST 64K COLORS! 256 COLORS ARE NOT ENOUGH!
3. How to use BINedit --------------------- ////////////////////////////////////////////
A BIN file describes a three-dimensional model for MTM (and Hellbender, and CART, and MTM2, and...). The basic structure of a BIN consists of 3D points. I will usually call them vertices (singular: vertex). A vertex is not visible in MTM. 1 +
+ 2
3 + + 4 Three or four of these vertices can be used to form a visible surface. I will call these polygons faces. A face has only one visible side. The faces is visible from the side where the vertices seem to be defined clockwise. 1 +--------------+ 2
This face will only be visible from your side of the screen, if it is defined as 1,2,4,3 or 2,4,3,1 or 4,3,1,2 or 3,1,2,4. Reverse the order, and the face is only visible from within your monitor 8-). Each face uses a RAW file (a MTM texture file) for the rendering of its surface. Several faces can share the same texture. 1 +--------------+ 2
////////////////////////////////////////////
////////////////////////////////////////////
////////////////////////////////////// // Mini-tutorial: the hay pyramid... Ok, let's build a hay pyramid to get a feeling for the program 8-) Start BINedit. Do not load an object! (Or use the FILE/NEW function) Our pyramid needs a square base and four triangular sides. To add a face, we need vertices first. Let's start with the base. We need four vertices. For simplicity's sake, we will insert them at a y-coordinate of 0. Add the first vertex at x= 1000,
y=0, z= 1000
Press the keypad "+" key a few times to see the vertices in the 3d view. Viewed from the top (from the positive y-axis), they would look like this:
/\ z-axis
Press TAB a few times to see the 3d cursor cycle through the vertices. Before we can add the base face, we need to load the texture. Select the menu option TEXTURES/LOAD... and load HAYSTACK.RAW. Now we can add the face. It should be visible from beneath the pyramid (negative y-axis), which means that the vertices of the face will have to be defined clockwise when looking from the negative y-axis. My sketch of the vertices is from the positive y-axis, we need to use a counter-clockwise order: 3, 2, 1, 0 will do. Select the menu option FACES/ADD and enter the values in the edit fields. The new face will appear in the 3d view (well, it will, if you rotate the model with the cursor keys until you can see the pyramid from below). Since there is only the haystack texture in the texture pool, it will already be assigned to the face. We can test it by changing the FACES/PROPERTIES to "textured". The 3d view will now display the face with its texture. The pyramid still needs the four sides. First, we have to add the last vertex, the one at the top of the pyramid. Add the vertex (it's # 4) at 0, 1000, 0. This is 1000 units above the center of the base face:
/\ z-axis
Now we can add the four sides. Defined in clockwise order, they are
To add triangles, leave the last vertex value at -1. That's it! We've just built a (simple) MTM BIN model... Select FILE/SAVE AS to save the creation (I called it haypyra.bin). You will be warned that the model is not centered along the y-axis and asked if BINedit should center it vertically. Unless you are editing a truck shape which is usually floating above the ground, the left button ('Ja' is German for 'Yes') is the correct one. The pyramid will be lowered a bit. Now fire up the track editor and use the new BIN!
//////////////////////////////// // Modifying the pyramid The pyramid is about 8 feet wide and about 4 feet high. To change its dimensions, use the menu option MODEL/RESIZE. To move a single vertex, select it with TAB/SHIFT TAB and use the X/SHIFT X, Y/SHIFT Y, Z/SHIFT Z keys to move it in 100 unit steps. Or use the menu option VERTICES/SET COORDINATES. Now let's change the texture of two opposite faces. First we need to add the new texture to the texture pool. Select TEXTURES/LOAD and load the GOLFGRAS.RAW texture. Press SPACE or SHIFT SPACE until one of the side faces is selected (tinted purple). Now press SHIFT T. You will see a list with all textures in the pool. Select golfgras.raw. Now select the opposite face and do the same. Voila! Now we have a pyramid with two different textures. Experiment!
------------------------------------------------ 4. Known Bugs and Limitations (it's still BETA!) ------------------------------------------------ - too many to mention! - some few BIN files are not yet supported (may have been fixed with 0.904. Please report any BIN that still does not work). ---------------------
------------------------
email: pieper@ViaRegio.de
********************************************** * APPENDIX A - Wavefront/Digital Arts format * ********************************************** Wavefront/Digital Arts is a very simple format that stores three dimensional models as ASCII files. BINEdit implements only two Wavefront/Digital Arts commands: One. v #x #y #z defines a vertex at coordinates #x, #y, #z
Two. f #1 #2 #3 or f #1 #2 #3 #4 defines a face using the vertices #1 #2 #3 (triangle) or #1 #2 #3 #4 (rectangle) NOTE 1: Wavefront numbers the vertices 1, 2, 3... but BINedit starts
with vertex 0.
Examples:
I use this format to define my model shapes "off line". Its easier than using the menu commands to add each vertex and face. I've included the BARREL.OBJ that I've used to define the orange barrels for Derailed. View/Edit it with Notepad. To convert other formats (Autocad DXF, 3D Studio 3DS, ...) to Wavefront OBJs I use Pixel 3D
The shareware version is limited to a certain number of program starts. Make certain that Pixel 3D has access to your Windows directory. It needs to modify the file C:\WINDOWS\WINSYS.DLL every time it is started. Strange DLL, by the way. It is definitely no Windows system DLL.
********************* COPYRIGHT INFORMATION ********************* Resale of this product is strictly prohibited unless given explicit permission by the author. Distribution on CD-ROM is strictly prohibited unless given explicit permission by the author. All material contained with the ZIP file is considered copyrighted by the author. **********************
LIMITED WARRANTY THIS SOFTWARE AND MANUAL ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS. THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES RELATING TO THIS SOFTWARE, WHETHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NEITHER THE AUTHOR NOR ANYONE ELSE WHO HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN THE CREATION, PRODUCTION, OR DELIVERY OF THIS SOFTWARE SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE SUCH SOFTWARE, EVEN IF THE AUTHOR HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES OR CLAIMS. THE PERSON USING THE SOFTWARE BEARS ALL RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE. (sounds professional, doesn't it? 8-) )
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