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Monster Media 1996 #15
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Monster Media Number 15 (Monster Media)(July 1996).ISO
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wadutils.zip
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README.TXT
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1996-04-18
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WADUTILS v1.0
README for:
INFO
MAKEWAD
BREAKWAD
PLEASE NOTE:
Apogee(tm) and 3DRealms(tm) do not in ANY WAY support these programs;
they are not the authors. PLEASE do not mail them any questions about
this software; instead, direct all inquiries to the author, Derek Greentree,
<derekg@icanect.net>. Thank you!
WADUTILS v1.0, is, of course, freeware! You may distribute these
files as long as they are in their original form: complete, intact,
and unaltered. The package includes:
INFO.EXE, MAKEWAD.EXE, BREAKWAD.EXE, DOS4GW.EXE, and README.TXT
P.S. If you make external wadfiles with this and distribute them in
a .RTC or .RTL level pack, please include the name of this package
in the editor(s) used section of the author file(RT?_AUTH.TXT); make
a simple programmer(me) happy.
TOC
{1} What are these programs?
{2} The Resource Textfile
{3} Building PWADs for use with new RotT levels(.RTLs) and COMM-BAT levels
(.RTCs)!
{4} Where do I go from here?
{5} About the Author/How to Contact the Author
{1} What are these programs?
INFO is a program which displays the information tables for
a Rise of the Triad(tm) WADfile. Its usage is:
INFO <WADFILE>
where <WADFILE> is the name of a WADfile in RotT format(i.e. DARKWAR.WAD).
INFO will pause at every new screen. When INFO pauses, press "Q"(or "q")
to quit, or any other key to continue the listing.
MAKEWAD is a program which will generate a RotT WADfile.
Its usage is :
MAKEWAD <RES LIST> <OUTFILE>
where <RES LIST> is a resource textfile(see below) and <OUTFILE> is
the name of the WADfile to be generated.
MAKEWAD will also optionally take a fourth parameter. If you enter
the letter "r" on the command line after <OUTFILE>, MAKEWAD will
delete the resource after it builds it into the wadfile.
BREAKWAD is a program which will decompose a RotT WADfile.
Its usage is:
BREAKWAD <WADFILE> <RES LIST>
where <WADFILE> is the name of the WADfile to be decomposed, and
<RES LIST> is a resource textfile(see below), which will be
built upon running.
{2} The Resource Textfile
This is a very simple textfile which tells MAKEWAD the number
of lumps in the WADfile to be made, and the filename of each of those
lumps.
A lump is a file resource. For example, when RotT loads a texture
called WALL1, this texture is a lump.
The resource textfile has the following format:
numlumps(N)
filename1
filename2
.
.
.
filenameN
So, if you wanted to make a new WADfile with only 2 resources, and
you wanted the data for those resources to come from the files
STEVE.TXT and JOHN.TXT, then your resource file would look like this:
2
STEVE.TXT
JOHN.TXT
The resource textfile is very rigid. Comments are NOT supported,
at least not in this version. Be sure that when you make your
resource textfile you adhere to the format above, or you will
get unpredictible results.
BREAKWAD makes a resource file exactly as this format
specifies. However, there are
complications, namely :
1) RotT stores the id for their lumps as a string with 8 places; therefore,
the extensions are automatically cut off files when they are made
into a lump, and null characters are added to the first part
of the filename.
Therefore, for our example resfile above, a wad would be
generated having two lumps with the id's(ignore the quote marks):
"STEVE " and "JOHN ".(the spaces here are actually null chars)
2) On account of number 1, whenever you run BREAKWAD on a wadfile, the
original extension of the files generated is unknown, so BREAKWAD
filters out nulls and appends ".XXX". BREAKWAD will always use
".XXX" unless a file of the same name already exists. For example,
in DARKWAR.WAD, the resource TSPHERE1 appears twice. BREAKWAD will
write the first one as TSPHERE1.XXX, and the second as TSPHERE1.XXZ.
Again using the sample WADfile described above, BREAKWAD would
create two files, STEVE.XXX and JOHN.XXX . Also, the
resource file generated would be:
2
STEVE.XXX
JOHN.XXX
The next version of these utilities(if there is one) should have a
little smarter extension control.
SPECIAL NOTE:
Since the .RTS files used in Rise of the Triad and Duke Nukem 3D
are, for all technical purposes, WADfiles, the utils can be used
to make and break Remote Ridicule Files.
{3} Building PWADs for use with new RotT levels(.RTLs) and COMM-BAT
levels(.RTCs)
Yes, now you can distribute new textures, sounds, songs, etc. with
your Rise of the Triad Levels. RotT is set up so that a properly
generated and formatted WADfile with a IWAD id can be loaded
(with the command syntax "ROTT file <WADFILE>"), and if RotT
finds a resource it needs, it will use one from the external wad file,
if it is present. The upshot of all this is that you can make
a WADfile with altered resources and distribute it with your
.RTC and .RTL level packs. For an example of the usefulness of this
feature, consider the following:
You have made a level pack with an unusual theme. The only problem
is that you think some different sounds would really add to the
atmosphere of your pack. Now, you can simply record a new .VOC file,
and use it in an add-on wad. For example, the resource DA_SAY1.XXX,
from DARKWAR.WAD, is a .VOC file that is played when you are
fighting the boss General Darian. Replace this file, and RotT will
play YOUR .VOC file! To do this, you would simply create a new wadfile
with this resource by running MAKEWAD with a textfile like this:
3
DIGISTRT.XXX
DA_SAY1.VOC
DIGISTOP.XXX
The DIGISTRT/DIGISTOP are the section headers, and are generated from
zero-length files. I am unsure whether or not they are required,
I just use them because RotT does. For more exmaples of what these
resources are, see the next section.
The SETUP utility distributed with RotT supports command-line option
passing. So, to use both a new .RTC file and a new WADfile, one would
type
SETUP file mywad.wad
(mywad is the name of your wadfile, duh)
and then proceed through the menu system normally to use an alternate
level file.
{4} Where do I go from here?
Take a look at the resource textfile generated by breaking down
a WADfile, like DARKWAR.WAD. You will see groups of files encased
by markers, which are written to your hard drive as zero-length files.
Examples are WALLSTRT, WALLSTOP, ANIMSTRT, ANIMSTOP, etc.
Below I will discuss the most easily "editable" of these files.
WALLSTRT/WALLSTOP
Files between these headers are raw screen data; that's it. If you
can program, then if you open these files and write them straight to
video memory(after setting the palette), you will see that they
are wall textures.
DIGISTRT/DIGISTOP
These are sounds used in RotT. They are standard .VOC files, and can be
edited and replaced as you wish.
SONGSTRT/SONGSTOP
These are MIDI songs. Once again, they can be replaced. ( I used the
Dopefish theme, and a bunch of other neat MIDIs )
"SPECIAL" resources
PAL.XXX - This is the palette used in RotT
LICENSE.XXX - This is the legal stuff for RotT(don't mess with it).
WARNING:
Feel free to change the file extensions freely. However, a reminder,
if you change the file NAME, you are also changing its id in the WADfile.
----
Other files in the game are discussed in the file HACKROTT.COM, which I
strongly suggest you read.
Any industrious programmer should be able to write a simple editor
for the graphics resource files. (If anybody has plans to do this,
please let me know.)
{5} About the Author/Contacting the Author
I am Derek Greentree, also the author of the RotT FAQ v3.0.
I can be reached via email at
derekg@icanect.net
or via the WWW at
http://www.icanect.net/~derekg/
Be aware that for the WWW site above you will need a frames capable browser.
Miscellaneous technical info you probably don't care about:
These programs were written in C and compiled with Watcom C/C++ v10.5,
and they use Tenberry Software's DOS/4GW Protected Mode Runtime Extender.
"And now the questions. Do I kill them? become their friend? Do I eat
them? raw or well done? Do I trick them? I don't think they're that
dumb! Do I join them? I guess that's the one."
Rise of the Triad is (c)1995 Apogee Software Ltd.
These programs are (c)1996 Derek Greentree.
DOS/4GW (c)1990-1994 Rational Systems Inc.
DISCLAIMER:
Even though it is very unlikely, I cannot be held responsible for any
damage caused by using these programs.