MTM2.com

I know that Wint has explored what info each track file type holds but has it been documented anywhere? ie CLO, CLR, TEX, LTE etc...

I need to know which file(s) contain the lighting and shadow info in particular. I inadvertently regenerated that info on a track and cannot get it back to where it was using the traxx sliders because the terrain is now drastically different than when I first generated the info.

Only two or three people would know something that technical. Try sending OP a note.

Right, I'll give OP a holler if need be.

I'm perty sure it's all contained in the lte... swapping one tracks lte with anothers has some pretty interesting effects which you saw in that bwaha beta I posted months ago.

whacky crazy stuff lol :o)

Allow me to illustrate...





That's not supposed to happen on mountain tops, and shouldn't have.

Let's try it from the other end. Here's what we do know.
<blockquote><pre>
LEVELS\TRACK.LVL <- a reference file, of sorts
FOG\TRACK.MAP <- associated with track palette
DATA\NULL <- a traxx creation, probably
DATA\TRACK.ANI <- animated textures
DATA\TRACK.RAW <- terrain
DATA\TRACK.TEX <- texture list
DATA\TRACK.TTY <- texture type and depth
DATA\TRACK.TXT <- description, not used
DATA\ZERO.RAW <- doesn't look like much ;-)
</pre></blockquote>
That leaves .CL*, .LTE, .PUP, .RA*
<blockquote><pre>
DATA\TRACK.CL0 <- ground box texture list
DATA\TRACK.CL1 <- unknown
DATA\TRACK.CL2 <- unknown
DATA\TRACK.CLR <- terrain texture info
DATA\TRACK.LTE <- terrain & ground box lighting info
DATA\TRACK.PUP <- not used
DATA\TRACK.RA0 <- upper ground box
DATA\TRACK.RA1 <- lower ground box
DATA\TRACK.RA2 <- not used
DATA\TRACK.RA3 <- not used
DATA\TRACK.RA4 <- not used
DATA\TRACK.RA5 <- not used
</pre></blockquote>
I would change all the CL's and pod it, and then the RA's and pod it, then the LTE, and then the PUP. One of those has to get you something.

The other two files
<blockquote><pre>
ART\TRACK.ACT <- track palette
ART\TRACK.RAW <- used to generte track palette
</pre></blockquote>

LTE = contains info for terrain lighting, also upper and lower ground box faces

RA0, RA1, contain ground box altitude info (upper, lower) RA2, 3, 4, and 5 were probably dropped by TRI and unused.

CL0 = texture index for each of the 6 GB faces.

PUP = not all tracks have this file, and those that do the file size is zero in size, perhaps it just signifies that something is present in a track, ie moving object?

I have not confirmed that any of the above is fact, yet.

I can't find my old notes, but you've already surpassed them here (well done), and asking OP or GB would sure nail things down.

I think.... the .pup is a pre-mtm1 relic, because it is a zero byte file even in mtm1 tracks. It is absent in mtm2 stock pods (at a glance), but must be present in an mtm1 track for it to function (I discovered this when trying to convert mtm2 to mtm1). I think it was a dead file in mtm1 but was still hooked up, so to speak, but it was unhooked in mtm2 even while a reference for it remained in the .LVL file. Traxx adds it to all pods.


[docpac - mtmtrackedfaq.doc]

Q: If I wanted to make a night time race, would it be possible? If so, how could I set the light?

A: In the LEVELS Directory, for the track file that you are working on (i.e. MYTRACK.LVL) there will be a line that has something like "earthsky.raw" down in the middle of the file. If you change that entry to "stars.vox" (without the quotes) and save your file off, you should be able to get a night time stars effect for your level. There are some other values down near the bottom that set the light level and the light vector. Their range is from -65535 up to 65536. You can experiment with these to see the effect. Each time that you make a change, you should go into the FOG directory and delete the file associated to your track (MYTRACK.FOG, MYTRACK.LTE). This forces the game to rebuild the fog and light tables for your track. Be very careful doing this and make back ups before editing any of these files.


other:
http://forum.mtm2.com/viewtopic.php?t=1222


<font color=yellow size=+2>Edit:</font>

The .TEX file inside a pod lists all the textures used in a track and the .CLR file holds the data that determines how they are laid out on the terrain (the two files used to convert evo terrain texturing).

.CLR is 131,072 bytes, it's a 256x256 16-bit greyscale raw file (just like evo and cart terrain, which TxRaw will convert to 8-bit if it finds it in a 'data' folder).
.CL0 is 786,432 bytes (131,072 x 6) ?
.CL1 is 262,144 bytes (131,072 x 2) ?
.CL2 is 786,432 bytes (131,072 x 6) ?


zero.raw (78 bytes, from the stock pods) is listed in the mtm level file where .qke is listed in the hellbender level. I replaced zero.raw with a standard terrain texture and nothing happened, I tried viewing it and didn't see much.

fyi, a hellbender data folder, which explains some of the junk in the mtm level file:

DATA\IOWAH.ANI
DATA\IOWAH.GLT
DATA\IOWAH.TDF (still listed in mtm .LVL)
DATA\IOWAH.TXT
DATA\IOWAH2.CL0
DATA\IOWAH2.CL1
DATA\IOWAH2.CL2
DATA\IOWAH2.CLR
DATA\IOWAH2.CRS
DATA\IOWAH2.DEF (still listed in mtm .LVL)
DATA\IOWAH2.LTE
DATA\IOWAH2.NAV (still listed in mtm .LVL)
DATA\IOWAH2.PUP (still listed in mtm .LVL)
DATA\IOWAH2.QKE
DATA\IOWAH2.RA0
DATA\IOWAH2.RA1
DATA\IOWAH2.RA2
DATA\IOWAH2.RA3
DATA\IOWAH2.RA4
DATA\IOWAH2.RA5
DATA\IOWAH2.RAW
DATA\IOWAH2.TEX
DATA\IOWAH2.TTY

<SPECULATION>

Hellbender has several features that are not in mtm/mtm2. For example, you fire missiles at "targets" in order to "open passageways" that allow you to continue your "mission".

It is very likely that TDF, DEF, NAV and PUP (as well as CRS, GLT, QKE) are part of that scenerio. Also, mtm1 had working drags in which you ran a series of races. It is equally likely these files could have lent themselves to this function as well.

Thinking along these lines, if CL0 is the ground box layer, and CLR is the terrain layer, then it stands to reason that CL1 and CL2 are the other layers of hellbender (residual traces of which are still found in tracked2). OR. More likely, CL 1 through 3 are the layers and CLR is the rotation.

</SPECULATION>

an easier way to replace files in pods is to open the pod in c-pod and then drag files to the file list - c-pod will prompt for a name and confirm overwrite.

So did u guys figure out what has the shadows? I wasnt quite folowing what u guys are saying in here lol. Seems like lots of speculation. Any answer on shadows?

> what has the shadows?

The LTE holds that info. I confirmed it by swapping one track's lte with anothers and the difference was like night and day.