MTM2.com

I thought I'd share what I know about manually editing the files within an MTM2 track pod, specifically the SIT and the LVL files. This is all coming from the perspective of a Traxx 1.2 and WinPOD user, old TrackEd pros probably know all about this stuff already ;-) In fact if you look at the old <a href=http://ymscorner.com/mtm_tracked_faq.htm target=faq>TrackED FAQ</a> for editing mtm1 you should spot some of this and more. If anyone has any additions or corrections then please speak up.

Quick-links to the most practical sections: (do not use links if this is your first time reading this)

• <a href=#winpod>Using WinPOD to extract and create POD files.</a>
• <a href=#prevpic>Changing track preview pictures.</a>
• <a href=#music>Changing the music soundtrack.</a>
• <a href=#weather>Setting a weather mask.</a>
• <a href=#bdrop>Adding a backdrop.</a>
• <a href=#sit>SIT file overview.</a>

The .SIT file:

<a name="sit"></a>The SIT (situation) file is a plain text file inside every track POD that sets many track variables, this file can be edited with a plain text editor and many variables can be changed quickly and easily. After using a program like WinPOD to extract all of the files from a track POD you will find the .SIT file in the WORLD sub-folder.

The sections of a .SIT file: (listed chronologically)

1) track data

2) truck data
*** Your Truck (not used) ***
*** Vehicles ***

3) model data
*** Ramps ***
*** Boxes ***
*** Cylinders ***
*** Top Crush ***

4) course data
*** Course ***
*** Extended Course Definitions ***

5) backdrop data
*** Stadium ***
*** Backdrop ***


Here is the track data section from Crazy98 (the very first section of the SIT):

<font size=1>
crazy98.lvl
!Race Track Name
Crazy '98
Race Track Locale
Margaritaville, TX
Track Longtitude, Latitude
7947984,7947988
Track Logo .BMP file
UI\Crazy98.bmp
Track Map .BMP file
UI\tn-98.bmp
Track Fly-By .AVI file
Sonic
Track Announcer .WAV file
Track
Track Description .TXT file
crazy98.txt
Track Race Type
2
@Redbook Audio Track
6
!ambient sound,track length,weather mask
14,5879.458984,65535
viewmode,spotd,spotp,spoth,zoom
0,16384,-16383,27480,81920
$racetime, raceStartTime, dragDebugTimer
0.000000,0.000000,0.000000
controlflag, autoShift, autoStage, bothStaged, bothStagedPrev
0,1,0,0,0
stageComFlag, bonusLapFlag
0,0
</font>

I will now detail the values I know or care about...

The first line indicates the LVL file the track will use, the LVL is also a plain text file contained in every track POD, it can be edited too (more info below).

The Race Track Name is the track name seen on the in-game menu.

The Track Logo .BMP and Track Map .BMP specify the images seen on the in-game menu.

The Track Description .TXT is a leftover from mtm1 and is not used for mtm2 tracks.

The Track Race Type number determines whether a track will be a circuit, rally or rumble. The number "2" is used for a circuit, "3" for a rally and "4" for a rumble. You can convert any Rumble or CNR track into one that is playable offline by changing its number, simply extract the POD, change the race type number in the SIT file and then re-create the POD.

The Redbook Audio Track specifies what CD audio track will be played during the race, the value works only if a person has the "play CD tracks" option selected in the game's sound options. This value will override the WAV specified in the LVL file (covered below), but only when the "play cd tracks" option is enabled and a CD is in the drive. The mtm2 CD has ten tracks so I assume the normal values are 1 through 10.

<a name="weather"></a>ambient sound,track length,weather mask:

The ambient sound value changes the background sounds, like birds chirping and whatever else. I believe the valid values are 1 to 15 -- easily set using Traxx.

I don't know how the track length value works.

The weather mask value sets the allowable weather masks, this value is easily changed but I don't have a list of usable values to share. All I know is that the number 65535 is the default setting that allows the user to choose from all weather options themselves. I also know the number 144 forces a rainy weather mask (it is used in the stock Graveyard track). A list of values would be easy to determine if you had the right tools, but considering how much I dislike forced weather masks I'm kind of glad I don't have a list to share ;-)


Continuing down the SIT file:

*** Vehicles ***
The truck data section is rather long, it lists each computer truck's starting position and other values.

The IPOS value indicates the trucks coordinates when the game starts. I can tell you the middle number indicates the height, and I think this height can be raised well above 255 ;-)


*** Ramps ***
Ramps are a special object type but I don't really understand them or the possibilities they offer. What I can see of them in SIT files makes little sense, I know Sidewinder Canyon (snake) has 8 of them but I can't spot them in the game. Other tracks have very obvious ramps that offer unique 'jumping' physics. Anyway, placing ramps manually looks to be very complicated if not impossible.


*** Boxes ***

Boxes are "scenery objects" -- models.

Here is an example of a model's data:

<font size=1>ipos
2388.546875,132.498047,1759.554688
theta,phi,psi
0.000000,0.000000,12.028519
model
backhoe.BIN
mass
0.000000
bvel
0.000000,0.000000,0.000000
p,q,r
0.000000,0.000000,0.000000
!type,flags
0,0
priority
2
@sound effect entries
NULL.WAV
NULL.WAV
0,0</font>

IPOS is the model's coordinates, the middle value is its height. If you ever want a model raised well above the highest terrain you can arrange it in a track editor and then raise it even higher by raising its IPOS value in the SIT file.

Theta, phi and psi indicate the model's angle and rotation values.

MODEL is model name and MASS indicates it's weight, of course.

BVEL sets the velocity values, used only for moving models (trains).

The TYPE value indicates the model type, as in "10" for moving "11" for post etc.

PRIORITY indicates the "scenery level" at which a model is displayed -- sparse, normal or complex whose values are 0, 1 and 2 if I'm not mistaken.

SOUND EFECTS are the impact sounds and continuous sounds optionally set for each model.


<a name="iposedit"></a>Changing IPOS: If you ever have a model that needs to be moved in smaller increments than Traxx can move it (too high/too low) then edit the IPOS number directly.

A certain model's ipos value of.....

ipos
4048.500000,240.000000,4995.500000

...corresponds to the object properties listed in Traxx 1.2 as
X= 8087 Y=9991

So Traxx seems to double the IPOS number, this is useful to know if you are hunting down a specific model in your SIT file. From a perspective of using Traxx, the "Y" value is north/south and the "X" is east/west (the south-west corner would be zeor/zero coordinates, so the ipos value is listed like this: x, height, y

*** Cylinders ***
*** Top Crush ***
These sections of the SIT file appear to be unused.


*** Course ***
*** Extended Course Definitions ***

Course data is fairly obvious and nothing you'd care to edit, SpeedLimit and TrackWidth I don't understand, but they sure look interesting.


*** Stadium ***
*** Backdrop ***

The stadium settings are only used for stadium tracks, used to specify the special kind of arena bin model..
<a name="bdrop"></a>Backdrop settings are pretty basic too. If you ever drive an mtm1 track and it appears to have no backdrop but instead shows a severe hall of mirrors effect along the horizon, it usually means there was NO backdrop put into the track, and the last lines of the SIT file will show whether that is the case or not. The real fix for that is to extract the pod, edit the SIT, add a backdrop model and textures and re-pod it....

Here is the very last lines of a SIT file WITHOUT a backdrop:

*** Backdrop ***
backdropType,backdropCount
0,0
backdropModelName


Here is the very last lines of a SIT file WITH a backdrop:

*** Backdrop ***
backdropType,backdropCount
0,1
backdropModelName
11bdrop.bin

<HR>


Making your track pods look and sound better using WinPOD.

<a name="music"></a><B>Changing an MTM2 track's music soundtrack:
(aka: "I never want to hear RockX.wav again!")</B>

Extract the track POD and then edit the .LVL file in the "LEVELS" folder using a plain text editor. Approximately two-thirds of the way down (what should be the 14th line of text) you will see the name of the WAV file used as the soundtrack, change the filename to the name of one of the "stock" WAV soundtracks listed in the Music.POD ( aztec.wav - break.wav - farm.wav - gravex.wav - rockx.wav - scrap.wav - splash.wav - surf.wav - voodoo.wav ). Tip: You can use WinPOD to view and preview the tracks in the music.pod.

Note: some MTM2 tracks will have a .MOD file listed in the .LVL file, change this to a valid .WAV file. MTM2 tracks cannot use .MOD soundtracks and the listing of a .MOD file in an MTM2 .LVL file causes the game to use the default "RockX.wav" (Traxx 1.2 writes pods like this if no custom WAV has been specified).


<a name="prevpic"></a>Changing an MTM2 track's preview pictures:

Extract the POD, replace the BMP's in the UI folder with your own, then re-create the POD. No more dull preview pictures! Your BMP's must be the exact size, format and color palette as the ones in the UI folder. You could open the extracted BMP's in your graphics program and then paint or paste your new image in on top of the existing image.


<a name="winpod"></a>Using WinPOD to extract and create track pods:

Get WinPOD along with it's required dll's here:
(ZIP contains all necessary files -- no installation necessary)

<a href=http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Corridor/9018/winpod.zip>http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Corridor/9018/winpod.zip</a>

(You must copy and paste the URL to the address bar of your web browser -- direct links from outside Geocities will not work.)


Create a temporary folder for the POD file you are going extract (to be deleted once the new POD is created).

Start WinPOD and load a POD file. (For easier POD loading you can "associate" the POD file type to the WinPOD.EXE, this will enable automatic loading when a POD file is double clicked.)

Once the POD is loaded, click the large "EXTRACT" button on the main WinPOD window. Browse to the folder you created for extracting the POD to. Select the "Extract All Files" and "Extract Response File" boxes and then click the "Extract" button.

A series of folders will be created when the POD is extracted and a *.LST file will be created in the main folder. This "list" file is the "response" file, it is a text file that lists all files within the POD, this list is used when creating a new POD. If you are adding files to a POD (inserting a backdrop and textures for example) you must place the files in the proper folders and add the filenames to the response file/LiST.

++(at this point choose one of the editing options listed above)++

Once you've made your changes, return to WinPOD and click the "OPEN" button on the main WinPOD window. Change the drop down menu to "Response File (*.lst)" and then browse for and open the .LST file in the main folder of the POD you extracted.

When the .LST file has successfully opened, click the "MAKE" button on the main WinPOD window. Now type the FULL filename of the POD you wish to create, including the ".POD" extension. Browse to the folder you wish to create the new POD file in, then click "MAKE". Alternately you can browse to and click on the POD you wish to replace.

A well written and very informative post WK... I just wish I had the time to investigate and implement all your suggestions! I am downloading the Sartori program as I write. I use Corel Photopaint myself (having paid for it, I'm gonna dern well make use of it!)
I have used PSP in the past and still do, because it has some unique features that even Corel can't seem to handle, but have never bought the full version 'cos I didn't like the "blocky" tool boxes (which takes up half yer screen space). Having said that, the later versions of PSP seem to have got around that problem and I am very tempted to shell out some cash for the latest version.
What I like about Corel is the infinite variety of customization... which could be daunting to a new user, and the fact that one can set the guidelines, grid, rulers etc. to very precise levels. A real handy tool for creating textures for use in MTM.
If PSP had that facility it would be perfect.
Well I think Sartori has finished downloading so I'm gonna try it out. Seeya laters.

------------------
Keep on Monster Truckin'

EmceeMart

Thanks EmceeMart, but since you have the latest, commercial version of Traxx you really shouldn't have to bother with most of this stuff
<a name=#cpp>
As for <a href=http://mtm2.com/~forum/pages/Forum16/HTML/000011.html>Satori PhotoXL</a>... very blocky tool boxes. ;-) I must say, I started/learned photo editing using Corel Photo-Paint 5, I love that old (16bit) program and would still be using it if it wasn't glitchy on my current video configuration. I switched to PSP5 because of this glitch, and am now pretty happy and used to it. But Corel Photo-Paint (any version) rocks!

Hmm, dunno what version of PSP you are running but version 5 and beyond does have pretty advanced "grid" and ruler options. The leap from PSP4 to PSP5 was an incredible advance, but I haven't seen 6 yet.

re: paint programs. they've come a long way and I think just about all of them can help you get by with what you need. I have three or four retail versions of some pretty major programs. It's too much to learn them all. Mostly, I use psp5 for the general things. I like it's easy interface and it's quickness of use. But sometimes I have to goto photopaint or photoshop for a few extra-advanced doodads.

re: the sit file. I think I've seen most of this before but the reminders are good. About 80% of that can be done using traxx. But it doesn't do it all. Two notes I'll add. First, sounds schemes are used up to 26 (first half for stock, second for add ons). There are two other sounds schemes 55 and 99. I mention this to avoid conflicts. The second thing to note is that I too don't really care for the rockx wav. But I think there's an easier way to get rid of it....since it's only on your own comp that you hear it. I made a few notes here that give, what I feel, is an easier workaround.


------------------
- Phineus

A good idea there Phin, in fact I replaced rockx some time ago myself, with (believe it or not) the farmroad soundtrack (I guess my mtm2 demo days gave it a good vibe, hehe). Yeehaw.

To be honest, my instructions above are meant for use by track makers to be able to choose some different stock music before they release their new tracks. Gray preview pics and rockx.wav on new tracks just doesn't cut it anymore.


And now for something completely different......

Model data entries in SIT files are identical in both mtm1 and mtm2 tracks.

Here is a Swiss Chalet entry from Snowy Canyon for mtm1:

<font size=1>*********************************************
ipos
3342.398438,251.998047,5109.808594
theta,phi,psi
0.000000,0.000000,-3.107558
model
13ECHALT.BIN
mass
0.000000
bvel
0.000000,0.000000,0.000000
p,q,r
0.000000,0.000000,0.000000
!type,flags
0,0
priority
0
@sound effect entries
NULL.WAV
NULL.WAV
0,0
*********************************************</font>

I edited the Swiss Chalet entry, changing the model type to 10 (moving) and giving it a velocity (-70):

<font size=1>*********************************************
ipos
3342.398438,251.998047,5109.808594
theta,phi,psi
0.000000,0.000000,-3.107558
model
13ECHALT.BIN
mass
0.000000
bvel
0.000000,0.000000,-70.000000
p,q,r
0.000000,0.000000,0.000000
!type,flags
10,0
priority
0
@sound effect entries
crash1.wav
TRAIN22.WAV
0,0
*********************************************</font>


Having made that change, I successfully made a Swiss Chalet take off moving across the landscape inan mtm1 track

An mtm1 track made specially for and played in mtm2 can have moving trains.

Something else: I have always wanted to use MOD music in my mtm2 tracks,as it turns out, the way to do this is to make an mtm1 track, but make it specifically for use by the mtm2 game engine. Use mtm2 textures (with two pixel overlap), use mtm2 models (like flat, facing trees with mtm2 transparent face types). All of these elements put together give you a fully compliant mtm2 track but with MOD music

As far as I can tell, the only thing you can't do is have fully functional mtm2 water in an mtm1 track, but I have seen a a few hacked tracks (mtm1 tracks hacked for exclusive use in mtm2) in which the visible water level is made to have the "hard sky mirror" effect instead of normal reflective animated water. This effect is the same one seen when groundboxes penetrate below the water level of a track and the bottoms have that strange transparent look. Anyway, as you drive along the water you see the hard sky mirror effect, but when you drive into the water it is murky as ever underneath. This can be seen in a few tracks by MTFc_TheReaper. If interested, go to <a href=http://vales.com/mtm/tracks.html> KC's</a>, sort the mtm2 tracks by date, oldest first, and you will see them all very near the top of the list.

I've thought of trying the mtm1 mod trick to see how it would work in mtm2 but never found the time to get around to it. Have you figured out what the game is picking up on that will make it read and play a mod in one track but not in the other?

------------------
- Phineus

Sorry, I can't determine what distinquishes an mtm1 track from an mtm2 track, I've tried tricking the game engine into using a mod in an mtm2 track but nothing I've tried works. The editable text files are almost identical so the difference must lie in the indecipherable (to me) data files.

I've also got some bad news, it seems. I just made two new sets of models, one is mostly light tan/beige in color and the other is bright pale yellow. The look fine in binedit and in an mtm2 track, but when I load them into a new mtm1 track their colors shift, beige becomes very close to white and the yellow turns more beige, they look very wrong

So it seems that starting an mtm1 track automatically sets a global color palette that is not fully compatibable with my model's palettes.

Palettes are a freaking headache.

the palette trouble is easy to answer; a bummer to solve. The trick is that mtm and mtm2 use a single palette for a track. In the case of mtm1 it is the metalcr2.act file. Whatever you want to make must use that or it will distort in the game. For mtm2, the game works on a track by track basis. All the individual palettes for models etc, draw on the common track palette. Sure, it seems little better than metalcr2 but really it's an improvement: a dirt track needn't include green in the palette and a grass track needn't include brown - you get the idea. But the mystery still remains. How the game knows which is which is still undetermined by us...and tri isn't saying.


------------------
- Phineus

Thanks Phineus, I have been wondering about mtm1 and palettes.

Funny thing, even some mtm1 tracks by tri have raw files with their own act files, which made me believe that other palettes were possible.

Funny thing. Try and get people to understand that mtm2 only uses one palette. btw, v1.4 has a tool that'll build a custom composite palette for an individual track - it makes a big difference.

------------------
- Phineus

Is that how it's possible to have a raw that has no act but still works?

I've seen a few models that were like that, I think the drums and guitar in the BINs section, but I'm not 100% sure.

Actually, Traxx will generate missing act files automatically. Take a look in any pod that was made using models with missing act files; they'll be there.

More on the story: in mtm1 we saw one palette work for all tracks. In mtm2, each track has it's own palette. If you saw traxx 1.3, then you know that you could choose, for your own track, any of the palettes used for the stock tracks. Now, in traxx 1.4 you can actually build your own palette based on the content of your track. This is an amazing bit of work by guitar bill. It even gives priority to more frequent occurrences of a color. I think this is why it creates the missing palettes...in order to know what to include in the palette and what not to. It wouldn't really matter, say if you used tracked2 and somehow managed to get a model in there without it's act because the game reads from the track palette anyway.

This act generating feature would also account for the use of mtm1 models that have no corresponding act files. The only thing I'm not sure about is where it gets the colors. Either from the metalcr2.act or from the current track's palette and exactly at what time it's generated: when it's inserted into the terrain or when the pod is written.

In any case, the palette plays a major role in the way a track looks. To see the difference, all you need to do is load up the tumbleweed flats template and then add the appropriate palette. The change is almost unbelievable.

I hope that tells more.

------------------
- Phineus

I thought i would like to share a couple of other things to do with editing the SIT file.here it is:

>********************************<
>******MYSTERIES OF THE SIT******<
>****More about the SIT file.****<
>********************************<


BY HAC-MAN (Hacman@start.com.au)

WinterKill,you seem to know most of
the stuff to do with editing a SIT file
But there are a couple of things i would
like to add....

|------------------------------|
|The Weather Mask Explained....|
|------------------------------|

I have been looking at the weather mask
section in my Reactor Rumble and i was
trying to find the number needed for night
or pitch black.When i was trying to get
the night weather mask i found heaps of
other weather masks.I found out the weather
mask by multiplaying square numbers
e.g.
12x12=144 (Rain)

I tried this mathematical idea with some other numbers.Sometimes they worked and sometimes they did'nt but they usually worked.I haven't been able to find out the Night,Pitch Black,random or snow yet but i will eventually.The main reason why i
haven't found all of the weather yet is because there is SO MANY different numbers and most of them do the same weather effects as others.

If you're the type who likes to put weather masks on levels i have made a table of the weather effects.
NOTE:I have only listed 1 number to get the weather with because there are heaps of numbers that do the same weather effect.


Weather type=The name of the weather mask
Number to x=What number i multiplyed to get the final number.
Final Number=the number that you put into the weather mask in the SIT file
N/A = Not Available or ?
{LR} = Light Rain
{HR} = Heavy rain

|------------|-----------|------------|
|Weather Type|Number to x|Final number|
|------------|-----------|------------|
|Default | None | 65535 |
|(No Mask) | | |
|------------|-----------|------------|
|<Random> | N/A | N/A |
|------------|-----------|------------|
|Clear | 5x5 | 25 |
|------------|-----------|------------|
|Cloudy | N/A | N/A |
|------------|-----------|------------|
|Foggy | 6x6 | 36 |
|------------|-----------|------------|
|Dense fog | 2x2 | 4 |
|------------|-----------|------------|
|Rain {HR} | 20x20 | 400 |
| {LR} | 4x4 | 16 |
|------------|-----------|------------|
|Snow | N/A | N/A |
|------------|-----------|------------|
{I used to know this one but i forgot it}
|Dusk | N/A | N/A |
|------------|-----------|------------|
|Night | N/A | N/A |
|------------|-----------|------------|
|Pitch black | N/A | N/A |
|------------|-----------|------------|

If you know one or more of the weather codes
that i dont know email me them at :
(Hacman@start.com.au)


|--------------|
|MODEL DATA....|
|--------------|

WinterKill knows most of the stuff about the
model data.I thought i would like to add a
little about the top crush....

___TOP CRUSHES___

Top crushes cannot be inserted into an MTM2
track by Traxx but they can be inserted
using TrackEd2.Once you have loaded a level
there is something that mentions
'insert top crush' or something like that and
under it is 'move/edit/delete top crush' or
something

Top crushes (i think) were used in MTM1 and
were going to be used in MTM2 but they were
never used.

As Far as i know they act the same as an OBJECT.I am having a wild guess here but they could be used in some levels where you need a roof or something.

Example.
I Am Working on a VERY detailed level called
'MIDTOWN MADNESS'
There are car parks which i want to be more
than one story high.With the use of a flat
2d model i made for the roof of the carpark
i inserted it in Traxx1.2 as a model.After
a little bit of editing and test driving i had a 3 story carpark.

You might be able to do the same thing with
TOP CRUSHES except that trucks can go on them ???.More on top crushes once i have tested using them in some levels.

___RAMPS___

Ramps are basically BOXES that act like jumps.When you run into the model instead of crashing into the BOX you get thrown up into the air like a cannon.Sometimes these ramps can be good and sometimes they might do nothing more than throw you to the side and flip you over.The reason why WinterKill could'nt find any ramps are because in
Tracked2 & Traxx 1.2 they look like ordinary BOXES.

ramps can be made/edited in Tracked2 only so if you want to put ramps in your level you will have to wait forever for the textures to load....

To insert ramps....

1. Once you have loaded your MTM2 track into
Tracked there is a section which says something like : Insert ramps & Move/Edit/delete Ramps

2.Open up one of these and you can put jumps in.

These JUMPS were used in MTM1 i think,because there are a couple of BINs from MTM1 which are jumps.If you placed one of these BIN models as a BOX it would not be a jump you would simply crash into it

___CYLINDERS___

I dont yet know what a cylinder is.My guess is that it is something that was going to be put in MTM2 but was never put into it.It could possibly have been the same as a ground box except round instead of reactangular but i dont know if this
is what it was going to be used for,just a guess!

As far as i know you cannot insert cylinders in Traxx1.2 or Tracked2.I am currently trying to add some of these cylinders into my MIDTOWN MADNESS level for MTM2 manually i haven't had any sucess so far.


___COURSE DATA___

the Course Data is the course which the AI trucks follow as most people would know

+++++++++++++++++
+++Speed Limit+++
+++++++++++++++++

The speed limit determines how fast the trucks go.Usually on most tracks there is no speed limit.I have tried editing this before.You can make the computer trucks go at speeds of 110 KM/H which is seriously fast for MTM2 trucks.This works in
Tracked2 & Traxx1.2

::Tracked2::

1.Load your track in tracked2
2.Go to the course editing section
3.I used to know what button to press but i
have forgotten it.It is a letter key that you press to bring up a little menu which lets you change the speed

::Traxx 1.2::

1.Go to course editing in traxx and right click on a segment
2.There is an option that says speed limit.
3.
O means no limit
apply to all segments with the same index means ????

+++++++++++++++++
+++Track Width+++
+++++++++++++++++

The track width is an option which allows you to specify whether the trucks can go off road or not.Very handy in levels that have very small roads

You can only do this in Tracked2 and it is in the same menu as the speed limit section (above) which i have forgotten how to get into


Hope this helped you in your track editing....
Lots of my tracks will be implementing these
features in the future so stay tuned to find out what my web pages URL will be
(At the moment it is http://members.xoom.com/hacmansMTM2/StartPage.htm

But it is still under construction and will be
for another 3-10 months as it will have HEAPS of stuff on it which no one has ever done before and archive areas like KC's except 10 times bigger

If you have anything to add about SIT files please post it.

Bye 4 Now!!


------------------
---> HAC-MAN

Whoops!!!!
sorry how some of the tables & headings look bad i did'nt mean it to turn out like that

------------------
---> HAC-MAN

In addition to any Tracked/2 instructions you might find on yeastman's site, the only other words on the program that I could find are here . This used to be posted at Nicky's but it's not there anymore. I saved it to disk long ago should it ever disappear completely.

I'll give you something on weather mask codes in a while. Shouldn't be hard to figure out.

------------------
- Phineus

Here are the basic settings that will only allow one weather type.

Clear = 1
Cloudy = 2
Foggy = 4
Dense Fog = 8
Rain = 16
Snow = 32
Dusk = 64
Night = 128
Pitch Black = 256

Now combine the first type (clear) with the other types.

Clear + Cloudy = 3
Clear + Foggy = 5
Clear + Dense Fog = 9
Clear + Rain = 17
Clear + Snow = 33
Clear + Dusk = 65
Clear + Night = 129
Clear + Pitch Black = 257

A pattern emerges. Determine the weather you want to allow, add up their individual numbers and presto. For example.

Clear + Rain + Dusk = 81

Dusk + Night + Pitch Black = 448

Everything except clear = 510

Which means that all allowable weather types can be obtained with 511. This begs the question, then why the 65535 value? My guess would be that this is the maximum number permissible based on the product of the largest given value (i.e., 256x256 minus the unrepeated default clear) - a failsafe default for anything the game might encounter.

----------------------


Of course everything mentioned in this thread can be done using traxx 1.3+ For those of you without, I hope this helps.

------------------
- Phineus

[This message has been edited by Phineus (edited 17-04-2000).]

I checked out all the SIT files in the original mtm1 game pod to see if any had top crush or cylinder data listed in them, there was no cylinder data but I did find top crush.

Top crush was something apparently developed by TRI but never used in the game. It was to be used to make things like crushable cars, so the roof would collapse when you drove on top of it. A 'secret' track within the mtm1 game.pod contains a demonstration of the top crush in action. This demo track contain two examples of top crush, one using actual car models and one using no models - which are simple "blank" boxes defined by some dimensions (much like blank models in tracks, except these are visible).

Top crush in the SIT file looks like this:

<font size=1>
Hillclim.sit

!Race Track Name
Hill Climb Practice

*** Top Crush ***
2
*********************************************
ipos
5419.691406,61.310547,145.828125
ipos2
-2772.308594,63.306641,145.828125
theta,phi,psi
0.000000,0.000000,1.570796
modelName
WREC2.BIN
cabModelName
WREC1.BIN
mass
0.000000
bvel
0.000000,0.000000,0.000000
p,q,r
0.000000,0.000000,0.000000
*********************************************
ipos
5373.812500,61.500000,142.933594
ipos2
-2818.187500,63.500000,142.933594
theta,phi,psi
0.000000,0.000000,4.712389
length,width,height
16.000000,7.000000,3.000000
length2,width2,height2
9.000000,7.000000,5.000000
mass
0.000000
bvel
0.000000,0.000000,0.000000
p,q,r
0.000000,0.000000,0.000000</font>

I can tell you WREC1.bin is the 'animated control bin'.
WREC2.bin is the car body, without a roof.
WREC1.bin calls upon two other bins, one is the whole roof section and the other is a flattened roof section.


[This message has been edited by Winterkill (edited 11-05-2000).]

ZooN and I have played around with this for his ZMX track. I also played with this in for Rally Adventure. I tried making the pop cans so that they would crush when you hit them, using 2 bins: A crushed can, and a whole can.

What I can remember, is I set the whole can to 'top crush' in model properties, and there was a place to put the name of the crushed bin. My attempts were unsuccessful.

ZooN, however, had a little bit more luck. I'm not exactly sure what he did, but he got very close to getting it to work. You will notice in ZMX there are some gray barriers, slightly larger than the hale bales. Some are dented in the middle, and some are not.

He tried to have it so that when you hit the barrier, it would crush into the dented one. What happened, was that when you hit the barrier, it turned into the crushed one, but it didn't quite work because the normal was still there. It was like the old one was sort of transparent, and you could sorta see the crushed one through it. Strange.

That's the closest I've gotten with custom crushable objects. Whatcha think?

-=ObeOne=-

Cool, ObeOne. Too bad that pop can crush didn't work, that would have a been a killer use for it!

As for everything else, I'll leave it up to someone else to figure out now

I guess I should get out more often. It seems that top crush is no mystery at all to some folks. I've personally never seen it in use except in the TRI track I isolated, but I guess it's been used many times. I suppose some people had a good laugh at all of this.


[This message has been edited by Winterkill (edited 11-05-2000).]