• Changed compiler from CW 8 to CW 9. Quite a cut-down in size.
• Added some error-checking. Not much. :)
• Custom Installation should be easier now (I hope). Collection # now represents the real texture set #, and Image # goes from 0 to 29 now.
Version 1.0a3
• Some bugs fixed. I strongly recommend you use this version instead of previous ones - it is safer on PPCs.
Ok, what's this?
You just saw the Marathon Wall Extractor, and you couldn't wait to download it? Now you're working on these awesome wall textures, and you wish you could put them in an installer like the M1 Shapes Shuttle? Well, that's exactly what this is.
Why use it? Well, to prevent people from downloading a 2 Meg M1 Shapes file then install it with MWE - only to find out you only changed three wall textures. Or to simplify the installation process. You get the drift.
The package includes three programs: M2 Wall Extractor, Shapes Mover and M2 Shapes Shuttle. All of them are FAT, so they should work fine on both 68K and PPC.
M2 Wall Extractor
The M2 Wall Extractor does exactly the same thing as MWE by Ambrose111@aol.com. So why is it included, to beef up your download? Well, after fiddling for a while with MWE, I found out a weird bug. Whenever I extract the wall textures, the last texture set (alien) gets screwed up - the resource is bigger than necessary. For some reason, it works fine with Pfhred, but I can't use it with my Shapes Shuttle.
So I decided to write this quick hack. If you didn't experience those problems with MWE, then you can still use it. But if this problem has happened to you, I suggest you use the M2 Wall Extractor instead - this way you will be sure that the shapes you edit will be compatible with the Shapes Shuttle.
Note: my Extractor doesn't create CLUT resources for walls. If you wish to have them, either use Pfhred to export them or use MWE and open the resulting Shapes file with ResEdit.
Shapes Mover
The Shapes Mover simply helps you in creating your Shapes Shuttle. You can use it to create your very own Installer, with just the textures you need, thus saving on download time.
To create your installer:
- Make a copy of the M2 Shapes Shuttle.
- Run the Shapes Mover. You will be asked to select your M1 Shapes file, then your Shapes Shuttle. Note: make sure the Shapes file you use comes from either MWE or the M2 Wall Extractor - the resource IDs are important.
- Select the Installation you want. These are:
• Install all texture sets: Just what it says, all four texture sets will be added to the
Shuttle.
• Install one texture set: You will be prompted to select the texture set you want, and
only this one will be added to the Shuttle.
• Custom Installation: See below.
- If you wish, you can run the Mover again to add another texture set, or some individual images (see below). Be careful NOT to install the same thing twice, because it will not be detected and may screw things up. Sorry, hopefully this will be fixed in a future version (which I may release if I receive enough feedback, hint hint :).
There, your Shuttle is ready.
Custom Installation: I'm not sure this works perfectly yet, but so far it didn't crash. Basically, this lets you add individual textures to the Shuttle - like, say, just the terminal panel in set 5. Using this will reduce the size of your installer by a great deal - but it requires some extra work. When you select this option, you will be shown a dialog with two values: Collection # and Image #. The Collection number is the number of the texture set:
1 = Water
2 = Lava
3 = Sewage
5 = Alien
and Image number is just that - the number of the image in the set. This goes from 0 to 29 now, just like Pfhred and MSE (hopefully this will prevent some confusion).
Type in both values, and the image will be installed. Keep adding individual images, and when you're done click on "That's it". Note: if you install an entire set in the Shuttle, it will not look for individual images.
M2 Shapes Shuttle
This is the installer. You first need to build it with the Shapes Mover (see above). Then, run it and you will be prompted to select your M2 Shapes file. You will then be asked to confirm the installation, since it is irreversible - so make a backup first. Then, everything will be installed and the Shuttle will quit. Simple as that.
Usual stuff
This program has been tested a bit - but bugs may still lurk around (hence the alpha). If you find one, or if you simply want to send me feedback, feel free to e-mail me at clechasseur@cmq.qc.ca. And remember: always make backups.
A note about Pfhred: I don't know why, but whenever I use Pfhred to paste some new textures in my shapes file, they get screwed up when I install them in M2 - but using MSE works fine. So, if you're experiencing trouble with Pfhred, switch to MSE and see if it works.
