==============
 TXD Builder
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 Version 1.1
 28. 08. 2003
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E-Mail: st.mu@web.de
Web: http://people.freenet.de/steve-m


IMPORTANT!
~~~~~~~~~~

This program is freeware and can freely be spread, as long as this readme is included and no changes to both the program and the readme were made!
I take no responsibility of any damage caused by the usage of this product!


Installation and deinstallation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

No installation necessary.
Just extract the file into one directory und delete it (and TXDBuilder.ini) after use.


Features
~~~~~~~~

- assembles a list of textures (and alphas) to a new .txd file
- works with 8bit & 24bit .bmp bitmaps and 24bit JPEG images
- greyscale calculation for RGB alpha images
- allows you to export your texture list as text file and import it for further use
- "DFF Check" lists all textures, alphas and reflection maps used by a .dff file and tells you, which of them are missing in your current texture list
- remembers the directories you opened files from
- several security checks to avoid mistakes
- and much more...

TXD Builder comes with a script for 3DSMax R3 and higher. This script exports a texture list, which can be imported by TXD Builder ("File|Import List...").
BUT: The list will contain every texture used in the scene, also every alpha as single texture. You will have to correct this list with TXD Builder (import, delete unused, set alphas, and export again, to save the correct list)

New features in version 1.1:

- now there is an error report telling you why a texture wasn't added (e.g. wrong format or size)
- you can switch off the "power of 2" check now (NOT RECOMMENDED! - see below); your texture dimensions must at least be divisible by 4
- the options will be saved for the next session
- you can drag and drop image files on the TXD Builder window and they will be added to the list
- you can provide file names to the exe (parameters) or drag & drop files on the exe and TXD Builder will open with them in the list


Brief instructions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

- start TXD Builder and click the "Add" button
- select and open all images you want to have in your txd; you can also select lists (double images will automatically be filtered)
- you can also drag and drop image files on the application window and they will be added
- the selected images are checked and only the valid ones will be added to the list, you will get an error report for those having not been added
- if some of your textures are to have alphas or other names, double-click the texture in the list (or use the button "Change") to change the settings for the texture (image files, names), click "Apply" when you are finished
- if you think you will need this list again, click "File|Export List..." to save it
- now you can build your txd: click the "Build TXD" button and if (and only if) the process was successful, you will see the save dialog, where you type in the file name, and if you didn't cancel you will see a final statistic for your txd

Example: how to create cuban.txd (car textures)
- start TXD Builder and click the "Check DFF" button
- open cuban.dff (you must have extracted this file from gta3.img before)
- you will now see a list of textures you need to add to the txd; all of the entries are red, because your texture list is empty yet
- click the "Add Textures" button in the window or close it and click the "Add" Button in the main window to add the needed textures to your list (they must have been created before)
- don't forget to set the alphas
- when you think you are finished, use DFF Check again - every entry must be green
- then you can build your txd and save it as cuban.txd


Hotkey commands
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CTRL+R  Reset TXD  Deletes all textures in the list
CTRL+B  Build TXD  Creates a new .txd file from the textures in the list
CTRL+C  DFF Check  Lists which textures are used by a dff model file
CTRL+X  Exit       Closes the application
INSERT  Add        Adds textures to the list
F2      Change     Changes the settings for the selected texture (double-click on the texture will also open this window)
DELETE  Delete     Deletes the selected texture
F1      Help       Shows an overview of the supported image formats


Supported image formats
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

- BMP 8 bit with system palette
- BMP 8 bit with optimized palette
- BMP 8 bit greyscale
- BMP 24 bit
- JPEG 24 bit
Note: Image height and width must be a power of 2 (if enabled) and at least 4x4 px! You can also switch off the "power of 2" check and the texture dimensions just have to be divisible by 4, but this is not recommended. If textures are not power of 2, they will internally be risized. This means quality loss and furthermore it takes system ressources and could slow down your game. So better use power of 2 textures, you can resize them with your picture editing program. "Power of 2" means sizes like 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024 and 2048. Textures don't need to be quadratic, e.g. 128x64 is also possible.

The resulting texture will be either 8 or 32 bit, depending on the source images (see list below). All textures are saved uncompressed.

final texture formats:

  texture  alpha  result
     8bit      X    8bit
    24bit      X   32bit
     8bit   8bit    8bit (see note below)
    24bit   8bit   32bit
    24bit  24bit   32bit (alpha automatically converted to greyscale)
     8bit  24bit  NOT POSSIBLE!
   
Important note: When you want a 8bit texture with alpha, the palette of the alpha image must exactly fit the palette of the texture image, or you will get unexpected results!


History
~~~~~~~

Version 1.1 (28. 08. 2003)
- error report
- "power of 2" check can be disabled; textures must be divisible by 4
- settings are saved
- drag & drop
- parameter processing
- bug fixed, which allowed adding texture and alpha in different formats via list import
- *.jpe support added
- small changes on dff check

Version 1.0 (22. 07. 2003)
- first public release


If there are any problems, questions, mistakes, bugs or something else simply send an email! (st.mu@web.de)

Greetings

Steve