Spring - User contributions [en]

Gamedev:Archives

2006-05-12T21:00:40Z

Gnome: sidepics

The first step in understanding how Spring is put together is to understand
where the filetypes came from and how the files are organized, and what all the different files do. In Spring, there are several formats you can use, including relic supported TA formats and standards such as zlib and 7zip.

In Total Annihilation, all files were compressed with a format known as HAPI. Files of this format included .HPI, .UFO, .CCX, and .GP3. For all practical purposes, you can think of the HPI file like their own home-grown ZIP file, containing its own directory structure and groups of files. All HAPI files are compressed in the same way, the only difference is the extension used.

Spring also supports reading from zlib zip and non-solid 7zip files. The filenames for these compression types must be .SDZ for zlib and .SD7 for 7zip respectively. They are standard files, just with different extensions for Spring. Here's a list of all filetypes supported by Spring; a higher read order means the contents of a file of that extension will take priority over files of a lower read order.

An interesting twist is that map archivse can be placed into the /maps/ folder and contains another /maps/ folder inside the archive.

<table width="75%" border="1">
<tr>
<th width="5%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><h4>Read Order</h4></th>
<th width="10%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><h4>File Extension</h4></th>
<th width="10%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><h4>Compression Method</h4></th>
<th width="75%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><h4>Description</h4></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="5%"><h4>1</h4></td>
<td width="10%" valign="top"><h4><b>SD7</b></h4></td>
<td width="10%"><h4>Non-Solid 7zip</h4></td>
<td width="75%" valign="top">A 7zip file with the extension changed to .SD7. These files have the same structure as an HAPI file, they are just compressed in a different manner. 7zip compressed archives generally have the highest compression (and therefore lowest filesizes). Files of this type are read first, so any filetypes encountered after .SD7 with the same data will take priority. For example, if you have ARMCOM.FBI in an SD7 file, and a modified version of ARMCOM.FBI in a CCX file, the CCX version will be used.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="5%"><h4>2</h4></td>
<td width="10%" valign="top"><h4><b>SDZ</b></h4></td>
<td width="10%"><h4>ZLIB ZIP</h4></td>
<td width="75%" valign="top">A zlib ZIP file with the extension changed to .SDZ. These files have the same structure as an HAPI file, they are just compressed in a different manner. Maps and mods alike can be stored in these files. These are read second.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="5%"><h4>3</h4></td>
<td width="10%" valign="top"><h4><b>HPI</b></h4></td>
<td width="10%"><h4>HAPI</h4></td>
<td width="75%" valign="top">One of the HAPI file format extensions. These are read third.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="5%"><h4>4</h4></td>
<td width="10%" valign="top"><h4><b>UFO</b></h4></td>
<td width="10%"><h4>HAPI</h4></td>
<td width="75%" valign="top">Another HAPI file extension. Fourth in line of being read.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="5%"><h4>5</h4></td>
<td width="10%" valign="top"><h4><b>CCX</b></h4></td>
<td width="10%"><h4>HAPI</h4></td>
<td width="75%" valign="top">Yet another HAPI file. These are fifth in the chain of being read.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="5%"><h4>6</h4></td>
<td width="10%" valign="top"><h4><b>GP3</b></h4></td>
<td width="10%"><h4>HAPI</h4></td>
<td width="75%" valign="top">The sixth in the chain of files being read.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="5%"><h4>7</h4></td>
<td width="10%" valign="top"><h4><b>SWX</b></h4></td>
<td width="10%"><h4>HAPI</h4></td>
<td width="75%" valign="top">The seventh in the chain of command of files. This extension was originally used by the Star Wars Total Annihilation mod, but Spring doesn't care whether or not it's actually used for SWTA. It is an HAPI file.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="5%"><h4>8</h4></td>
<td width="10%" valign="top"><h4><b>GP4</b></h4></td>
<td width="10%"><h4>HAPI</h4></td>
<td width="75%" valign="top">The eighth filetype read. Any data in a .GP4 file will override any other compressed data in any other files. This is also an HAPI file.</td>
</tr>
</table>

The best tools to use to view the contents of a compressed Spring file, and
to pack and unpack the contents of such a file are:

*[http://fileuniverse.com/?page=showitem&ID=72 HPIView] to view, browse, and extract HAPI files.
*[http://fileuniverse.com/?page=showitem&ID=67 HPIPack] to pack HAPI files.
*[http://www.rarlabs.com WinRAR] to view, browse, extract, and pack SDZ files, or to browse SD7 files.
*[http://www.7-zip.org/ 7zip] to view, browse, extract, and pack SD7 files.
*[http://www.tafansite.com/index.php?page=downloads&cat=7 HPIEdit] to view, extract and pack HPI, SDZ or SD7 files.
*[http://www.fileuniverse.com/?p=showitem&ID=236 HPI Manager] to view extract and pack HPI files aswell.

There are many other utilities that can also serve the same purpose. Peruse [http://www.fileuniverse.com FileUniverse] if for some reason the tools listed here don't suit you.

<table width="75%" border="1">
<tr>
<th width="174" colspan="2" bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><h4>Subdirectory</h4></th>
<th width="140" valign="top" bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><h4>File Types</h4></th>
<th width="442" bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><h4>Description</h4></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="174" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>anims</strong></h4></td>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top">
[[Mod_Development:Cursors]]
</td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">Cursors</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="174" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>download</strong></h4></td>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top">
[[Units:Download_TDF]]
</td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">Information to assign a unit to a location on a given build menu.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="174" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>features</strong></h4></td>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top"></td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">Contains information about miscellaneous features, such as corpses, trees, scars, etc., that may or may not be specific to particular maps or map types.  </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="82" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>\</strong></h4></td>
<td width="86" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>corpses</strong></h4></td>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top">
TDF
</td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">Information about wreckage left behind when a unit dies.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="82" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>\</strong></h4></td>
<td width="86" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>allworlds</strong></h4></td>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top">
TDF
</td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">Information about features (such as trees, scars, etc.) for specific world maps.Other subdirectories may exist alongside "allworlds", such as "acid", "crystal", "green", etc.</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="174" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>gamedata</strong></h4></td>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top">
[[Mod_Development:Gamedata]]
</td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">General information, such as sound assignments, can-build information, and other such data.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="174" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>guis</strong></h4></td>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top">
GUI
</td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">Alternative build tree definition method</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="174" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>objects3d</strong></h4></td>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top">
3DO
</td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">3D object definitions for units, unit corpses.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="174" valign="top" rowspan="2" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>maps</strong></h4></td>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top">
SMD
</td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">Schema, starting points, and other information pertaining to a particular map.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top">
SMF
</td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">Map layout, heights, and features information.</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="174" valign="top" rowspan="2" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>scripts</strong></h4></td>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top">
BOS
</td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">Text description/subroutines that describe how a unit moves, animates, etc.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top">
COB
</td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">A compiled version of the .BOS file.</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="174" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>sidepics</strong></h4></td>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top">
BMP
</td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">The faction icons which display in the multiplayer lobby. See [[Mod Development:Sidepics]].</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="174" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>sounds</strong></h4></td>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top">
WAV
</td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">Sounds.</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="174" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>unitpics</strong></h4></td>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top">
[[Units:Buildpics]]
</td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">"Large" (96x96) color pictures of units.</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="174" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>unittextures</strong></h4></td>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top">
DDS and TGA (Maybe BMP)
</td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">Textures for S3O models.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="82" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>\</strong></h4></td>
<td width="86" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>tatex</strong></h4></td>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top">
BMP (also DDS or TGA)<br />
[[Units:Textures]]
</td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">Textures for 3DO models(buildings, kbots, vehicles, etc.)</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="174" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>units</strong></h4></td>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top">
[[Units:FBI]]
</td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">General properties of units.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="174" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>weapons</strong></h4></td>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top">
TDF
</td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">Contains the definition and properties of particular weapons that are used throughout the game.</td>
</tr>
</table>

[[Category:Mod development]]

Gamedev:Sidepics

2006-05-12T20:58:07Z

Gnome:

Sidepics are the faction icons which display in the Multiplayer Lobby. They follow simple rules:

*Must be 16x16 pixels
*Must be in Windows Bitmap (.bmp) format
*White (RGB: 255,255,255) is transparent
*Must be located in the [[Mod_Development:Archives|"sidepics"]] directory (see below)
*Must be named the same as the "name" field in sidedata.tdf (see below)

===Directory===
The "sidepics" directory goes in your mod's root. Plese see [[Mod_Development:Archives]] for more details on the directories Spring reads.

===Filename===
The filename must be the same as the name field in [[Units:SideData_TDF|Sidedata.tdf]] file. For example, if our sidedata file contains the following:

[SIDE0]
{
name=Empire;
commander=IMPCOM;
}
[SIDE1]
{
name=Old Republic;
commander=REPCOM;
}

We would need two sidepic bitmaps, named "empire.bmp" and "old republic.bmp" respectfully.

[[Category:Mod development]]

User:Gnome

2006-01-17T00:59:04Z

Gnome:

Star Wars mod dev, metal map hater extraordinaire

Main Page

2005-10-04T00:02:52Z

Gnome: /* New to Spring: */

== The Spring WIKI ==

'''''FEED THE WIKI!'''''

''"A wiki is a web application that allows users to add content, as on an Internet forum, but also allows anyone to edit the content."''

Quoted From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki Wikipedia.org]

=New to Spring:=

'''[[Getting Started]]'''<br>
'''[[Using Spring]]'''<br>
'''[[Lan]]'''<br>
'''[[Strategy and Tactics]]'''<br>
'''[[FAQ]]'''<br>
'''[[Features]]'''<br>
'''[[Maps]]'''<br>
'''[[Units]]'''<br>
'''[[Mods]]'''<br>

=Development:=
'''[[Development]]'''<br>
'''[[Mod Development]]'''<br>
'''[[Create units]]'''<br>
'''[[Create maps]]'''<br>
'''[[Linux]]'''<br>
'''[[AI]]'''<br>

=Navigation:=
'''[[Special:Allpages|All the pages in this wiki]]'''<br>
'''[[Special:Categories|List of Categories]]'''<br>
'''[[Special:Recentchanges|Recent Changes to pages]]'''<br>

See also, "Browse" links below.

If you find words or phrases which you don't understand, the [[Glossary]] may be of help.

For tips on editing wiki pages, usage and configuration help, see [[Help:Editing]]

Also of use: [http://meta.wikipedia.org/wiki/MediaWiki_i18n documentation on customizing the wiki interface]

This site is put together by the community, which could (read as SHOULD) mean YOU! If you see information missing, or find out new information you think would be helpful, put it in. If you find a spelling mistake or phrase that could be clearer, fix it. If you find yourself doing repeated searches or going back to the [[Special:Allpages|Topic Index]] repeatedly when trying to find out about a particular feature, consider combining articles or linking them to one another.

__NOTOC__

Main Page

2005-10-04T00:02:52Z

Gnome: /* New to Spring: */

Spring on a LAN

2005-10-03T23:03:03Z

Gnome:

=Playing Spring on a LAN=

==Introduction==
Hosting a LAN game of Spring is very simple.

First, you must have a working LAN. Obviously this is not within the scope of this article, so you are on your own there.

Once you have your network working, you can proceed. You must first install the following items:

'''Server Machine'''
*[http://spring.clan-sy.com/download.php Latest version of Spring]
*[http://spring.clan-sy.com/download.php Latest version of the Lobby server]
*[http://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp Java Runtime Environment]

'''Client Machine(s)'''
*[http://spring.clan-sy.com/download.php Latest version of Spring]
That's it!

We will now discuss configuration.

==Configuring the Server==
Hosting the server is actually very easy. First, the host computer must install the [http://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp Java Runtime Environment].

Once that is installed, the host then downloads the
[http://spring.clan-sy.com/download.php Lobby server] and extracts the ZIP file anywhere on his hard drive. For this article, we will assume the server software has been extracted to a sub-directory of the Spring folder named "server"; however, in practice, it does not matter where the server software is located.

[[Image:lanserver.gif]]

The host then opens the directory the server files are in and finds the file "LanServer.bat". Double click this file. A command prompt window should come up and not go away. This is a good thing, that means it is working.

After the server has successfully been started, the host then opens TASClient.exe, which is in the main Spring directory. The host should then open the Options dialog in the client, and set the "Server address" field to "localhost".

[[Image:lan_host.gif]]

Make sure you also have a nickname set in the "Account" section of the options menu. You do not need a password for LAN play.

Click apply and close, then hit the red connect button. If you have started up the LanServer correctly, it should connect regularly and put you in the #main chat room.

Now that we have that configured and working, you need to find your network IP address for the client machines. If you already know how to get this or what it is, you can skip down to the next section on configuring client machines.

To get your network IP is a very simple process. Click the "Start" button in Windows, then go to "Run". Type in "cmd" there. This will open up another command prompt.

In this command prompt, type "ipconfig". It will dump out information for every connection your computer has; don't worry, we only need one line of information here. Look for the section of the output that reads something like "Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:". This is the adapter we want. However, it will be called whatever your LAN connection is called. For example, if you have called your network connection "Home Network", the prompt would read "Ethernet adapter Home Network:".

Under that category, find the line that says "IP Address". Write down the number it gives you on the right. This is the IP the client machines will connect to.

[[Image:lan_hostip.gif]]

You're done with the host machine now. It's time to go set up the client machines.

==Configuring the Clients==
Configuring the client machines is far easier. First make sure the clients are all running the same version of Spring as the host. Then start up "TASClient.exe" on each client's machine, and go to the Options menu. Instead of typing in "localhost" here, however, you must type in the host machine's IP address we just retrieved. Again, make sure to go to the "Account" tab and enter a nickname for each client while you're at it.

[[Image:lan_client.gif]]

Once you have entered the information on the client machines, click Apply and close and hit the red connect button. The clients should connect to the host and go to the same #main chat room as the host machine.

That's it! Once all the client machines are connected with TASClient, '''anyone''' can click Battle Screen and host the game itself. The other players just need to join the game and agree on the settings and rules ;)

File:Lan hostip.gif

2005-10-03T23:00:53Z

Gnome: Getting the host's network IP for LAN play

Getting the host's network IP for LAN play

FAQ

2005-09-30T07:07:37Z

Gnome: Reverted to http://taspring.clan-sy.com/w/index.php?title=FAQ&oldid=1059 to get rid of penis jokes

==General information==

===What is TA Spring?===
TA Spring is a project to create the best RTS ever (no joke). There are three principle goals which we hope to achieve.

# Reach a stage where TA Spring can flawlessly execute most of Total Annihilation's original gameplay, with its original units in their original format.
# Add new features as we see fit, fix bugs, and release new versions when we feel it is appropriate to do so.
# Support the mod community as we see fit.

===When will TA Spring be ready?===
Now! You can get the latest beta from the [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/download.php download page].

===Will TA Spring be free?===
The core game is released under GPL License. However, some parts of the game are still under copyright by their owners. Therefore, today, you need to own the original TA game if you want to play. However the community is working hard in order to offer completely free alternatives.

===Why can I edit this page?===
This page, and several others, are located in the TA Spring [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki Wiki]. The link gives a full explanation of what it is, but in short it is a way of letting anyone who wants to contribute to the page content. This can of course be abused, but even while it is easy for someone to vandalise the page, it is just as easy for someone to restore it, since the wiki saves all previous versions of a page.

===I want to help, what can I do?===
Please look at the Messageboard. There are lots of things you can do according to your skills. Particularly important is to create viable and pleasing free alternatives to copyrighted material, mainly sounds and units.

===I want to donate.===
People have made clear their desire to donate to the project, and so far, we have been fairly reluctant about accepting donations. Our main concern? While we certainly hope to have something on the level of a commercial release in the near future, there is no guarantee that it will ever happen. Unforeseen events arise, and it would be most unfortunate if everyone who donated felt swindled because the project did not turn out as they had hoped.

We do not plan to be more or less productive solely based upon the quantity and frequency of donations received. The TA Spring project is here only because we view this as an enjoyable hobby.

Also, because we're such nice people, we'll let you view the Source, available [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/dl/taspring_0.63b1_src.zip here], so you can help in making this game better than it already is (as though that were possible).

===I read all that and I still want to donate.===
Very well then! You can find the required details [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/donate.php here]. It will be much appreciated. :)

----

==Technical==

===What port numbers does TA Spring use?===
Game uses port 8452 UDP by default, which can be changed in the lobby. If you are behind a router, make sure you forward the correct port first and also make sure firewall is not blocking it, or else you won't be able to host games (you will still be able to join others games though).

===What APIs does TA Spring use?===
The Windows version of the program (which one might call the official version, or at this point, simply the working version :) ) uses: OpenGL for rendering, DirectSound for sound, and Winsock for networking.

The Linux port (more info below) will use SDL/OpenGL for rendering, OpenAL for sound (which will connect to DirectSound on Windows and OSS or ALSA on Linux), BSD sockets for networking.

===What language is TA Spring written in?===
C and C++.

===Is TA Spring open source?===
Yes, it is. Go to the downloads section of the site to download the source code.

===Will there be a Linux port?===
There is an effort being made by some in the community to create a port. For more information see the separate wiki [https://opensvn.csie.org/traccgi/taspring_linux/trac.cgi/ here] and see the Messageboard, where most discussion is focused in this [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=743&highlight= thread].

----

==Requirements==

===What platforms will TA Spring run on?===
At the moment, it only runs on Windows.
Members of the community are working on porting the game to the Linux platform.
This will make the code more porteble so if someone wants to port it to another platform please contact us.
We (the Sy) will not, however, port it ourselves at any time (in the foreseeable future). There is simply no compelling reason for us to do so. Additionally, we would like to focus on getting it working well.

===What sort of a system will I need to run TA Spring?===
You will most certainly need a 3D graphics card to run TA Spring, which will probably require at least a GeForce3 (note that a GeForce4 MX is not better than a GeForce3) and the latest driver supported. Minimum CPU requirements are a little more complex. A more powerful CPU will have the capability to support larger maps and a greater maximum unit limit. A 1 GHz CPU should be able to support an estimated 500 units. The needed memory will also vary with unit count and map size, but 512 MB should be enough.

REQUEST - please provide a small checkconfig.exe to check if hardware is enough to run TA Spring. do you want thousands of useless downloads ?

===Spring says I need the GL_ARB_texture_env_combine extension, what can I do?===
If you encounter the error "Needed extension GL_ARB_texture_env_combine not found", this means that your video card driver does not support GL_ARB_texture_env_combine. You can try downloading a new video driver from the manufacturers website ([www.ati.com], [www.nvidia.com], ...) If this doesn't solve the problem then your video hardware is too old to support the extension. Buy a new video card.

EDIT: I am also having this problem with the geoforce 6800 ultra and I have the latest drivers.

REQUEST : please name some working and non-working 3D video cards. please give a value for minimum video memory : 32 Mo ? 64 Mo ?

List of video cards supposingly supporting GL_ARB_texture_env_combine :

http://www.delphi3d.net/hardware/extsupport.php?extension=GL_ARB_texture_env_combine

----

==Content==

===Do TA Spring maps need a "ground"?===
TA Spring maps do require a ground. We have had many requests to have space maps, however, a "true" (ala Homeworld) space setting is not likely. It would have to wait until a much later stage. This does not mean that TA's style of "space" maps won't be possible, (see the Final Frontier TC for examples of this).

===You stated that TA Spring uses the TA unit format.===
TA Spring does use the Total Annihilation unit format. However, we do plan to make TA Spring compatible with a custom unit format of our own design.

===How powerful will TA Spring's custom format be?===
Total Annihilation's unit format was extremely limited. Most of these limitations will either be expanded or non-existent in TA Spring's custom unit format. One of the most exciting improvements is the introduction of an entirely new method of scripting, with nearly complete control over every aspect of a unit's actions and behaviors.

===Does TA Spring have a limited number of weapons?===
No. Unlike Total Annihilation, TA Spring's weapon IDs will be unlimited. Meaning it will be possible to add as many third-party units as you want. However, the current model format limits 16 weapons to each unit.

===Does TA Spring have a limited number of unique units?===
No. Unit IDs, like weapon IDs, will be unlimited.

===Will units have a maximum of 3 unique weapons?===
Total Annihilation had a limitation that permitted a maximum of 3 unique weapons per unit. Spring currently has a way to have 16 weapons per unit. (Replace Primary, Secondary, Tertiary by 1 2 3 ...16). More can be made possible by modifying the source if there's a sufficient demand by mod makers.

===I'm curious as to the per-unit polygon limit.===
The engine itself does not have a polygon count limit. The limit is that of the processing power of today's computers. Since TA Spring requires a 3D card, the maximum polygon count per unit will be several times higher than Total Annihilation's. No real numbers yet though. We're gonna leave it up to the mod community to figure that one out.

===Will units be able to perform basic terraforming?===
Total Annihilation units probably won't have any terrain editable functionality. Future units may be endowed with such functionality, but it's more of a gameplay issue and has not been decided upon yet. However construction units can restore ground.

===Will tunnel building be possible?===
Subterranean areas of any sort is impossible. However, it is possible to heavily deform the ground with explosives.. Which is great fun!

===Will the ground's water retention be editable?===
No. Water will always collect when a piece of land has a height below sea level.

===Does TA Spring have a limit on the number of races?===
TA Spring has no limit on the total number of sides/races.

===What are the sizes of the biggest and smallest units?===
Static units (buildings, defenses, etc.) have no size limitations in the engine. Technically, neither do mobile units, but units with a footprint larger than 4x4 "squares" (an arbitrary size standard created by Cavedog) might have problems pathfinding.

===What is going to be the maximum possible sea depth?===
For all practical purposes, it will be unlimited. The depth values are stored as "float variables", so it is doubtful that maps would ever be made which even come close to approaching the limit.

===Will TA Spring support campaigns?===
No such support is planned at the moment but it is possible using the GroupAI interface.

===How big will the TA Spring files be?===
TA Spring will be as small as however much content is included with it. The "essential" files (engine files mostly) will only be several megabytes large. Content (such as maps and units) will add considerable size to the TA Spring download. However, it is not known at this point just how much "content" will be included with the first release.

Currently, the file size is roughly 40 MB.

===How will TA Spring render sound effects?===
Sound is rendered 3D, meaning that the volume and direction (assuming a multi-speaker setup) vary with the location of the camera from the sound "emitter". What this translates into gameplay terms means that the closer you are to a unit making a sound or motion, the louder the sound will be. Additionally, the sound will be heard differently depending on which way the camera is facing relative to units making sound.

===Will TA Spring have ambient sound?===
There is no ambient sound, and we haven't planned on adding it thus far.

===Will there be an AI or a "skirmish" mode?===
We have created an interface for AI's, and two are currently under development. In the meantime, the spawn script included in the latest version exists as a text file in the TASpring folder, and can be modified by any text editor such as MS Notepad, for your particular play style, or mod.

===Will a "possess" or a FPS option be present?===
Yes, it is possible to fully control a unit from the first person view. It is more of a gimmick, but it still allows for a nice diversion once in a while.

----

==Getting into a game==

===People talk about 'Single Player'. How do I start a single player game?===
Go into your TA Spring folder and find the 'Spring.exe' file. Double click on it and say 'yes' to host.

===When I try to make a single player game, it gives me an error.===
Your graphics card probably can't support Spring. If you read the requirements it did say GeForce 3 or better. Go to the settings file in your TA Spring directory and lower some of the options. Sometimes that works.

===Does TA Spring support AI Players?===
Not yet. Fortunately for you they are currently working on it :) In the mean time you can use the [[random_enemies]] script, which spawns units out of thin air and sends them to attack you.

===When I try to connect to the lobby it gives me an error.===
There could be 3 problems. Either you don't have an account, the server is down, or you have not configured your router/firewall correctly. If you don't have an account, make one. If the server is down, you'll just have to wait (this doesn't happen often, though). If you have a router/firewall read below. Have a look at this website's News page and/or the Messageboard, it is likely that you will get some information there in the eventuality that the server is down.

===I have a router and I don't seem to be able to get a game===

If you are using a router you may have other problems. Explanations of [http://www.portforward.com/routers.htm how to forward ports] has instructions for every router.

===Where can I download more maps?===
As for most Spring downloads [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=listing&ID=90 FileUniverse] is the place to be! A collection of maps can be downloaded [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=listing&ID=91 here].

===I used the small installer where can I get the missing maps?===
Unfortunately the maps included in the regular installer (0.51b1) aren't available on File Universe. However, since many of the scripts included in the game rely on map4, this can be downloaded [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/dl/map4.7z here].

===How do I install downloaded maps?===
Most maps are released as .sdz or .sd7 files. These can be put directly into the "maps" folder inside the Spring folder. If they are compressed into another type of archive you will have to unpack them first. Just unzip them into your spring maps folder. Some map files use newer (smaller) file formats such as .rar or .7z, to unzip these newer formats, you'll need to download 7-Zip [http://www.7-zip.org/ http://www.7-zip.org/] or Zip-genius [http://downloads.zipgenius.it/ http://downloads.zipgenius.it/]. They both handle almost all formats and are totally free. There is also now a map browser in the TASClient lobby software, click the more maps button in a battle screen to access it.

===Sometimes when I try to join games it gives me an error.===
The host is behind a firewall that has not opened the correct ports for Spring.

===When I make games nobody joins.===
You are probably behind a firewall. See question above.

===When a multiplayer game starts I never make it past the loading screen.===
This indicates a problem with your video card. Once again the best way to deal with this situation is to make sure your video card has the latest driver updates and that all Spring video features are on the lowest settings.

===When a multiplayer game starts, I make it past the loading screen, but when I get into the game it says, "Waiting for Host", and does a 10 second countdown. It always reaches zero and boots me out, what gives?===
This is a firewall issue. There are three things you can do to fix this. First, make sure your windows firewall is either off, or is not blocking the TA: Spring application. Secondly, if you are behind a router, you can forward the ports that the host is using (especially if you are the host), and it usually fixes the problem. To do this you must go to your router configuration page. You can see what port 'you' are using (as the host), by hosting a multiplayer game in the Spring Lobby. You must make this your trigger port, and make sure that it is open for both TCP and UDP. Thirdly, if none of the aforementioned worked. The easiest thing to do (assuming you are behind a router) is to set the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone). This means your computer will be completely exposed to the internet, which will make you vulnerable to any unknown or unpatched exploits in windows. All you have to do is find the personal IP if the computer you are using and add it to your router's DMZ list. Please only try this last option if you can't get the others to work.
Good Luck

===I got into the game, but some people didn't.===
The host may have reached the number of players it has set.
Or the players may be experiencing firewall or video card difficulty. That is not your fault. Please ask them too leave if they are still there when you get into the 'game lobby'.

===I got into a game but my name is red, nobody can hear me speak, and eventually I get disconnected===
This is to do with how long it takes the game to start up (the "load time"). If it takes too long you will see this problem. The load time can be reduced by changing the game graphics settings to lower quality. In particular try setting texture quality to lowest.

----

==Playing==

===What is with this weird right-click mode? I'm 'bout to break my keyboard.===
Sorry, you'll just have to get used to it. As of now it can't be changed.

===Why is somebody else also controlling my units?===
In the 'game lobby' there are two sets of teams. There are the 'Teams' and the 'Ally Teams'. If you are on the same 'Team', then you both get the same commander, and can control the same units. If you are on 'Ally Teams', then you both get different commanders and can't control each others units.

===Then why would I want to be on the same 'Team' as somebody?===
Because it's fun to just drive around units and not have to worry about commanding. (Assuming that one of the people on the team is commanding.)

===How do I talk to my allies only?===
You must type 'a:' before you speak. Here's an example: a: Now I am talking to my allies only.

===Help! After I'm finished driving a unit, the camera is all insane! This is nuts! How do I fix it?===
Whoa now. Calm down. Just press ctrl + mouse button 3 to change camera modes. If your unit is destroyed in FPS mode, you will stay in FPS mode until you change camera modes. Also, the camera will stay in "free look" when FPS mode is disengaged, press middle-mouse or J to switch to normal scrolling.

===After I'm finished driving a unit, where what used to be my mouse pointer is now a crosshair. Why?===
-This is a special 'view mode' that allows you to move around the screen much faster. It's good for viewing the battle or getting screenshots. Simply press on your third mouse button to revert back to your mouse pointer.

===But I don't have a third mouse button!===
The key 'J' works in the same way as the 'middle mouse button' does. So where you would use ctrl + middle mouse button to change camera modes, ctrl + j does the same thing. Pressing J once will also switch you from 'crosshair mode' to 'pointer mode' and vice versa.

===When I start a game, I am stuck in this weird camera mode and my perspective is all messed up. How do I switch to the overhead (OTA style) camera?===
This happens when you start a single player game or when the host uses force start. Shift+Backspace (or Shift+J or Shift+MiddleMouseClick) switches between the fps style, total war style and OTA style cameras. Use it to get your camera back to normal in this situation.

===Sometimes my units just get deleted. Why?===
For some reason units get deleted when they go into the wrong places. Like out of the map edge.

This is already fixed in recent versions.

===People are cheating! How do I stop it?!===
Well currently, you can't.

Only the host can "activate" the cheat codes. After that, any player can do almost all cheats.

The best thing to do is just not play with the cheaters anymore. But with new spring version cheats are disabled in multiplayer, so that paragraph is hopefully now irrelevant.

===Well how do you cheat?===

<table border="3" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0">

<tr><th>Cheat Command</th><th>Effect</th></tr>

<tr>
<td>'''.cheat'''</td><td>'''enable cheats - Cheats don't work in multiplayer until the host types this'''</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.nocost</td><td>instabuild (doesn't work on things already under construction, only on new ones)</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.setmaxspeed 50</td><td>Changes the maximum speed multiplier (default is 3.0)</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.setminspeed 0</td><td>Changes the minimum speed multiplier (default is 0.3)</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.spectator</td><td>Allows you to see the entire map... but you lose control of your units</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.team 0, .team 1, etc.</td><td>Change player</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.give ARMCOM, .give 10 CORKROG, etc.</td><td>Place 1 or specified number of specified unit. Valid units are the internal names of units as specified in the unit definition.</td>
</tr>

</table>

===In Game Commands===
The following ''non-cheating'' commands are also available in game:

<table border="3" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0">

<tr>
<th>Command</th><th>Effect</th>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.info</td><td>Shows you what colour each player is and their ping delay in the bottom left corner of the screen</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.clock</td><td>Shows you the elapsed game time in minutes and seconds in the bottom left corner of the screen</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>.take</td><td>Pulls all allied units, that are owned by players who have lost connection to the server, to your team.</td>
</tr>

</table>

===How do I ally or unally in game?===
I'm pretty sure you can't. Yet.

===How do I give somebody units or metal or energy?===
Press the 'H' key. Then select the amount of metal and/or energy to share. Then select the receiving player and press OK.

When sharing units, you must first select the units to share, then press 'H' key. Tick share units checkbox and choose a receiving player.

===How do I continually give somebody metal and/or energy after a certain point (i.e. Original TA commands +setshare..., +shareall)?===
You'll notice that on your metal and energy bars (top of screen), there are two red bars. You have to put them wherever you want your metal and energy to be shared after.

===Man I am soooo sick of XTA. How do I play AA or OTA instead?===
Well. Somebody has made a patch to turn TA Spring into OTA: [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=showitem&ID=679 click here]. But really, why would you want to go back to OTA? There are also patches available for various mods other than XTA (which is installed as default): [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=listing&ID=92 click here]. A switcher is available which makes it easier to switch between the different mods: [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=showitem&ID=805 click here]

===XTA? OTA? AA? OMFGLAMO? What those all the abbreviations mean?===
zwzsg maintains a handy dandy FAQ about TA, and the abbreviations that relate to Spring too, of course.
[http://www.tauniverse.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27309 click here]. See also the Spring [[Glossary]], which contains brief explanations for all non-standard words and phrases.

===Why am I destroyed so easily by long range assaults?===
This is a realistic feature of TA Spring. Units will automatically attack 'radar blips' (units that they can not actually see, but that are indicated on radar). However, the accuracy is very bad while shooting at radar blips until:
* Your unit kills a lot of units and gets experience
* You get a targeting facility.

===Can I kick people from my 'game lobby' or my game?===
First of all, you have to be the host to kick. In theory, you would right click on someone's name in the 'game lobby' and that would give you the option to kick them. This feature is not currently supported, however, but it will be fixed soon.

===When I'm 'driving' my commander, why can't I use my laser?===
The TA: Spring team will most likely add a way for you to use your commander's laser soon.

===I hate driving around with the 'arrow keys'. Is there any way I can use the 'W-A-S-D' controls (the controls most First Person Shooters use) anymore?===
Go into your Spring directory and edit the uikeys file. Keep in mind that 'S' is originally a 'hot-key' that will stop your units and that 'D' is a 'hot-key' for your commander's D-Gun. You might want to change those too.

===I turned the shadows feature on; I still don't see shadows. What gives?===
Your graphics card can't handle shadows, so Spring automatically turns them off.

===I can't go backwards when I am 'driving' a unit. Why not?===
Because TA units were never intended to go backwards. Sorry.

===I'm in an Unreal Tournament kind of mood. How do I strafe?===
You can only strafe in 'brawler type' ships, such as the brawler, rapier, and light gunships.

===How can I record and watch demos/replays?===
From version 0.62 onwards recordings of all the games you play are easily available for replay via the Replays button in the TASclient.

You can use the Speed up/Slow down game keys while watching the replay, along with other in-game commands like .team

From version 0.60b1 onwards, demos are automatically recorded in the "demos" folder, underneath your Spring folder (default is C:\Program Files\TASpring\demos), named for the date and map they were played on. If you play multiple games in the same day on the same map, the games will also be numbered to prevent them from overwriting each other.

From version 0.62 onwards, to view a demo from the Windows file manager you can just double click the file name. For versions 0,60 and 0.61, to view a demo start spring.exe as non server and enter the full demo name as server address ("050803-Ashpen-0.60b1.sdf" for example). Note that you don't need to enter the "demos" folder name. Due to the large font, you will find that the name is too big to fit on the screen. If you're confident typing blind from memory, that's OK. Otherwise go into windows explorer, select the demo file you want, press F2, Ctrl-C, and do Ctrl-V to paste it into the server address.

For versions prior to 0.60b1, the game was always recorded to test.sdf which is overwritten by each new game, so the name had to be changed by hand if you wanted to save it. You had to use a name other than test.sdf to view a demo.

===Sometimes when I play with certain people I get HUGE sync errors that continue throughout the game.===
It used to be because they have a different mod installed than you. If, for example, you had not installed a mod, and somebody was in the game with you that had the OTA mod installed, it would cause the 'sync' error. However, now those errors should show up as disabled units in the battleroom.

Check the list at the right hand in the game battleroom for disabled units.

If there are tons of them (not just 1, as this is known bug [naval flakker bug]), some players has a different mod installed.

===My aircraft repairing platforms don't work!===
This feature was not implemented until version 0.64b1. Note however that in Spring all units (including aircraft) automatically start to repair themselves if they are kept out of combat for long enough.

----

==Creating Content for Spring==
===How do I create maps===
See this page: [[Create maps]]

Mapdev:SMD

2005-09-21T07:30:40Z

Gnome:

== SMD Syntax ==
The SMD, to work correctly, must be set out correctly. The following are a few of these requirements that you have to follow:
*All lines must end in a ';'. This is just like any C derived programming language
*Sections begin with a keyword wrapped in [Square brackets], and are wrapped in {Curly Brackets}
*Each different tag must be placed on a different line (?)

The following are some recomendations to help other people read your SMD.
*Blank lines are allowed, and can be placed to help distinguish between different sections
*You may place comments in the SMD, and again like C programming languages, these are preceded by a '//'. Anything following a comment marker is ignored by the parser.
*You can tabulate your SMD to help the overall readability, and to show where sections begin and end.

== Example SMD ==

[MAP]
{
Description=Lot of metal in middle but look out for kbot walking over the mountains;
TidalStrength=20;
Gravity=130;
MaxMetal=0.03;

ExtractorRadius=400;
MapHardness=100;

DetailTex=mydetailtex.bmp;
AutoShowMetal=1;

[ATMOSPHERE]
{
Skybox=space.dds;

FogColor=0.7 0.7 0.8;
FogStart=0.2;

CloudColor=0.9 0.9 0.9;
SkyColor=0.1 0.15 0.7;

SunColor=1.0 1.0 1.0;
CloudDensity=0.55;

MinWind=5;
MaxWind=20;
}
[WATER]
{
WaterTexture=mywatertexture.jpg;
WaterSurfaceColor=0.4 0.6 0.8;
WaterPlaneColor=0.4 0.6 0.8;

WaterBaseColor=0.4 0.6 0.8;
WaterAbsorb=0.004 0.004 0.002;

WaterMinColor=0.1 0.1 0.3;
WaterDamage=20;
}
[LIGHT]
{
SunDir=0 1 2;

GroundAmbientColor=0.4 0.4 0.4;
GroundSunColor=0.7 0.7 0.7;

GroundShadowDensity=0.8;

UnitAmbientColor=0.3 0.3 0.3;
UnitSunColor=0.8 0.8 0.8;
UnitShadowDensity=0.8;

SpecularSunColor=0.3 0.3 0.3;
}
[TEAM0]
{
StartPosX=600;
StartPosZ=600;
}
[TEAM1]

{
StartPosX=3600;
StartPosZ=3600;
}
[TEAM2]
{
StartPosX=3600;
StartPosZ=600;
}
[TEAM3]
{
StartPosX=600;
StartPosZ=3600;

}
[TEAM4]
{
StartPosX=2000;
StartPosZ=600;
}
[TEAM5]

{
StartPosX=2000;
StartPosZ=3600;
}
//Up to [TEAM9]
[TERRAINTYPE0]
{
name=default;
hardness=1;
tankmovespeed=1;
kbotmovespeed=1;
hovermovespeed=1;
shipmovespeed=1;

}
}

== SMD Tags List ==
<table border="1">
<tr>
<th valign="top" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">Variable</th>
<th valign="top" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">Description</th>
<th valign="top" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">Examples</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">'''[TEAM''X'']'''</td>
<td valign="top">The number of the team, starting at 0 for player 1 and going on up to 9 for player 10, where ''X'' is the player number</td>
<td valign="top">[TEAM3]</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">'''[TERRAINTYPE''X'']'''</td>
<td valign="top">Used to define different terrain types that exist on the map. The value starts at 0 and goes on for as many terrain types as you have, where ''X'' is the type number. Which terrain type goes where on the map is determined by the typemap when compiling the map.</td>
<td valign="top">[TERRAINTYPE0]</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">'''AutoShowMetal'''</td>
<td valign="top">A boolean, turning it off makes it so the user must press F4 to view the metal map, leaving it on will make it so the metal map is turned on whenever they choose to build a metal extractor.</td>
<td valign="top">AutoShowMetal=0;</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td valign="top">'''CloudColor'''</td>
<td valign="top">The color of the clouds. The values are in the order Red, Green, Blue. For all intensive purposes, 0.0 is black and 1.0 is white; however, giving values higher than 1.0 will give brighter fog and less than 0.0 will give darker.</td>
<td valign="top">CloudColor=0.9 0.9 0.9;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">'''CloudDensity'''</td>

<td valign="top">The number of clouds in the sky. A percentage in decimal form, 0.0 to 1.0.</td>
<td valign="top">CloudDensity=0.55;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">'''Description'''</td>
<td valign="top">The description of the map that shows in the multiplayer battleroom.</td>
<td valign="top">Description=Strong wind, good for 2v2 team games;</td>

</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">'''DetailTex'''</td>
<td valign="top">The texture which will be shown on the map in the color of the texture map when a player zooms very far in. Leaving this blank will make the game default to detailtex2.bmp. It is assumed you can only use the bitmap format for these textures.</td>
<td valign="top">DetailTex=mydetailtex.bmp;</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td valign="top">'''ExtractorRadius'''</td>
<td valign="top">The radius of effect that a single extractor will extract from. If two radii intersect, both extractors will suffer from reduced output.</td>
<td valign="top">ExtractorRadius=400;</td>
</tr>
<tr>

<td valign="top">'''GroundAmbientColor'''</td>
<td valign="top">The ambient (non-sun-lit) color of ground, grass, trees and other features.</td>
<td valign="top">GroundAmbientColor=0.4 0.4 0.4;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">'''GroundShadowDensity'''</td>
<td valign="top">How far from the non shadowed to the ambient color stuff in shadow will go.</td>

<td valign="top">GroundShadowDensity=0.8;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">'''GroundSunColor'''</td>
<td valign="top">The color of ground where it is fully sun lit (added to <i>GroundAmbientColor</i>).</td>
<td valign="top">GroundSunColor=0.7 0.7 0.7;</td>

</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">'''FogColor'''</td>
<td valign="top">The color of the fog and the infinite plane below the world. The values are in the order Red, Green, Blue. For all intensive purposes, 0.0 is black and 1.0 is white; however, giving values higher than 1.0 will give brighter fog and less than 0.0 will give darker.</td>
<td valign="top">FogColor=0.7 0.7 0.8;</td>
</tr>
<tr>

<td valign="top">'''FogStart'''</td>
<td valign="top">The distance from the camera at which the fog will start.</td>
<td valign="top">FogStart=0.2;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">'''Hardness (terraintype)'''</td>
<td valign="top">Used as a multiplier against the <i>MapHardness</i> value. Can be used to make a particular terrain type softer or harder. A value of '1' will make it as hard as <i>MapHardness</i>, and 0.5 will make it half as hard.</td>

<td valign="top">hardness=0.75;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">'''HoverNoveSpeed'''</td>
<td valign="top">Speed multiplier for hovercraft when travelling on the parent terrain type. A value of '1' is normal speed, 0.5 will make them travel at half speed on the parent terrain type.</td>
<td valign="top">hovermovespeed=1;</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td valign="top">'''KbotMoveSpeed'''</td>
<td valign="top">Speed multiplier for Kbots when travelling on the parent terrain type. A value of '1' is normal speed, 0.5 will make them travel at half speed on the parent terrain type.</td>
<td valign="top">kbotmovespeed=1;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">'''MapHardness'''</td>
<td valign="top">Defines how much the terrain will deform due to explosions and weapons.</td>
<td valign="top">MapHardness=100;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">'''MaxMetal'''</td>
<td valign="top">How much metal a map square with the maximum metal value gives. Unsure how this is calculated, but a value of around 0.03 will give OTA-esque levels of metal from metal extractors.</td>
<td valign="top">MaxMetal=0.03;</td>

</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">'''MaxWind'''</td>
<td valign="top">The maximum amount of energy the wind on the map will give.</td>
<td valign="top">MaxWind=20;</td>
</tr>
<tr>

<td valign="top">'''MinWind'''</td>
<td valign="top">The minimum amount of energy the wind on the map will give.</td>
<td valign="top">MinWind=5;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">'''Name (terraintype)'''</td>
<td valign="top">Used to define the name of the type of terrain. "Snow" or "Rock" or whatever you want.</td>
<td valign="top">Name=default;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">'''ShipMoveSpeed'''</td>
<td valign="top">Speed multiplier for Ship when travelling on the parent terrain type. A value of '1' is normal speed, 0.5 will make them travel at half speed on the parent terrain type.</td>
<td valign="top">shipmovespeed=1;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">'''SkyBox'''</td>
<td valign="top">The image to display in the sky during gameplay, rather than having the engine dynamically render one. This allows for complex skies, which may include stars, planets, etc overhead. Skyboxes are stored as .DDS cubeboxes. A skybox's .dds file should be placed in the maps directory of a compressed file, along with the .smf, .smd, and .smt files.</td>
<td valign="top">Skybox=space.dds;</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td valign="top">'''SkyColor'''</td>
<td valign="top">The color of the sky itself. Works the same way as <i>CloudColor</i> and <i>FogColor</i>.</td>
<td valign="top">SkyColor=0.1 0.15 0.7;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">'''SpecularSunColor'''</td>
<td valign="top">The color of the reflected light off of stuff (otherwise will be UnitSunColor)</td>
<td valign="top">SpecularSunColor=0.1 0.15 0.7;</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td valign="top">'''StartPosX'''</td>
<td valign="top">The X (east-west in the TA camera) coordinates on the map where the player will start.</td>
<td valign="top">StartPosX=600;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">'''StartPosZ'''</td>

<td valign="top">The Z (north-south in the TA camera) coordinates on the map where the player will start.</td>
<td valign="top">StartPosZ=600;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">'''SunColor'''</td>
<td valign="top">The color of the sun in the sky. This will also effect the size of the star. As the value increases (including over 1.0), the disc will get bigger; the inverse is also true.</td>
<td valign="top">SunColor=1.0 1.0 1.0;</td>

</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">'''SunDir'''</td>
<td valign="top">The direction of the sun, which is normalized by Spring. The Y-axis is up. In the following chart, using the values in a square will make shadows fall in that square if the shadow caster (like a unit) is placed in the center. ie: you use the values from the top-left (North-West) corner box, shadows will be cast in a North-Westerly direction:
<center>[[Image:ShadowDirection.gif]]</center>
</td>
<td valign="top">SunDir=0 1 2;</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td valign="top">'''TankMoveSpeed'''</td>
<td valign="top">Speed multiplier for tanks when travelling on the parent terrain type. A value of '1' is normal speed, 0.5 will make them travel at half speed on the parent terrain type.</td>
<td valign="top">tankmovespeed=1;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">'''TidalStrength'''</td>
<td valign="top">The amount of energy which will be given by tidal generators.</td>
<td valign="top">TidalStrength=30;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">'''UnitAmbientColor'''</td>
<td valign="top">The ambient (non-sun-lit) color of units and corpses.</td>
<td valign="top">UnitAmbientColor=0.3 0.3 0.3;</td>

</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">'''UnitShadowDensity'''</td>
<td valign="top">How far from the non shadowed to the ambient color stuff in shadow will go.</td>
<td valign="top">UnitShadowDensity=0.8;</td>
</tr>
<tr>

<td valign="top">'''UnitSunColor'''</td>
<td valign="top">The color of units where they is fully sun lit (added to <i>UnitAmbientColor</i>).</td>
<td valign="top">UnitSunColor=0.8 0.8 0.8;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">'''WaterAbsorb'''</td>
<td valign="top">How fast different colors (RGB in order) are absorbed by the water. Can be used to make the water look murky at deeper sections and so on.</td>
<td valign="top">WaterAbsorb=0.004 0.004 0.002;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">'''WaterBaseColor'''</td>
<td valign="top">The color of the water at the surface.</td>
<td valign="top">WaterBaseColor=0.4 0.6 0.8;</td>

</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">'''WaterDamage'''</td>
<td valign="top">Amount of damage water does to units in it. Someone add the value that make water impassable (like lava) and the rate at which damage is applied. It is assumed for now that it does WaterDamage per 30 internal frames.</td>
<td valign="top">WaterDamage=20;</td>

</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">'''WaterMinColor'''</td>
<td valign="top">The smallest values the water will go down to due to <i>WaterAbsorb</i>.</td>
<td valign="top">WaterMinColor=0.1 0.1 0.3;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">'''WaterSurfaceColor'''</td>
<td valign="top">Changes the surface color of the water (mother thinks this is an XOR thing with WaterTexture. WaterTexture is for non-reflective water and WaterSurfaceColor only for reflective water)</td>
<td valign="top">WaterMinColor=0.1 0.1 0.3;</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td valign="top">'''WaterPlaneColor'''</td>
<td valign="top">The color of the 'water plane' outside the map's bounds</td>
<td valign="top">WaterPlaneColor=0.1 0.1 0.3;</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td valign="top">'''WaterTexture'''</td>
<td valign="top">Replaces the default ocean texture with the one specified. Must apparently be jpeg format, though bitmap might work.</td>
<td valign="top">WaterTexture=mywatertexture.jpg;</td>
</tr>

</table>

Gamedev:Archives

2005-08-30T00:52:18Z

Gnome:

The first step in understanding how Spring is put together is to understand
where the filetypes came from and how the files are organized, and what all the different files do. In Spring, there are several formats you can use, including relic supported TA formats and standards such as zlib and 7zip.

In Total Annihilation, all files were compressed with a format known as HAPI. Files of this format included .HPI, .UFO, .CCX, and .GP3. For all practical purposes, you can think of the HPI file like their own home-grown ZIP file, containing its own directory structure and groups of files. All HAPI files are compressed in the same way, the only difference is the extension used.

Spring also supports reading from zlib zip and non-solid 7zip files. The filenames for these compression types must be .SDZ for zlib and .SD7 for 7zip respectively. They are standard files, just with different extensions for Spring. Here's a list of all filetypes supported by Spring; a higher read order means the contents of a file of that extension will take priority over files of a lower read order.

<table width="75%" border="1">
<tr>
<th width="5%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><h4>Read Order</h4></th>
<th width="10%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><h4>File Extension</h4></th>
<th width="10%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><h4>Compression Method</h4></th>
<th width="75%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><h4>Description</h4></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="5%"><h4>1</h4></td>
<td width="10%" valign="top"><h4><b>SD7</b></h4></td>
<td width="10%"><h4>Non-Solid 7zip</h4></td>
<td width="75%" valign="top">A 7zip file with the extension changed to .SD7. These files have the same structure as an HAPI file, they are just compressed in a different manner. 7zip compressed archives generally have the highest compression (and therefore lowest filesizes). Files of this type are read first, so any filetypes encountered after .SD7 with the same data will take priority. For example, if you have ARMCOM.FBI in an SD7 file, and a modified version of ARMCOM.FBI in a CCX file, the CCX version will be used.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="5%"><h4>2</h4></td>
<td width="10%" valign="top"><h4><b>SDZ</b></h4></td>
<td width="10%"><h4>ZLIB ZIP</h4></td>
<td width="75%" valign="top">A zlib ZIP file with the extension changed to .SDZ. These files have the same structure as an HAPI file, they are just compressed in a different manner. Maps and mods alike can be stored in these files. These are read second.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="5%"><h4>3</h4></td>
<td width="10%" valign="top"><h4><b>HPI</b></h4></td>
<td width="10%"><h4>HAPI</h4></td>
<td width="75%" valign="top">One of the HAPI file format extensions. These are read third.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="5%"><h4>4</h4></td>
<td width="10%" valign="top"><h4><b>UFO</b></h4></td>
<td width="10%"><h4>HAPI</h4></td>
<td width="75%" valign="top">Another HAPI file extension. Fourth in line of being read.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="5%"><h4>5</h4></td>
<td width="10%" valign="top"><h4><b>CCX</b></h4></td>
<td width="10%"><h4>HAPI</h4></td>
<td width="75%" valign="top">Yet another HAPI file. These are fifth in the chain of being read.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="5%"><h4>6</h4></td>
<td width="10%" valign="top"><h4><b>GP3</b></h4></td>
<td width="10%"><h4>HAPI</h4></td>
<td width="75%" valign="top">The sixth in the chain of files being read.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="5%"><h4>7</h4></td>
<td width="10%" valign="top"><h4><b>SWX</b></h4></td>
<td width="10%"><h4>HAPI</h4></td>
<td width="75%" valign="top">The seventh in the chain of command of files. This extension was originally used by the Star Wars Total Annihilation mod, but Spring doesn't care whether or not it's actually used for SWTA. It is an HAPI file.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="5%"><h4>8</h4></td>
<td width="10%" valign="top"><h4><b>GP4</b></h4></td>
<td width="10%"><h4>HAPI</h4></td>
<td width="75%" valign="top">The eighth filetype read. Any data in a .GP4 file will override any other compressed data in any other files. This is also an HAPI file.</td>
</tr>
</table>

The best tools to use to view the contents of a compressed Spring file, and
to pack and unpack the contents of such a file are:

*[http://fileuniverse.com/?page=showitem&ID=72 HPIView] to view, browse, and extract HAPI files.
*[http://fileuniverse.com/?page=showitem&ID=67 HPIPack] to pack HAPI files.
*[http://www.rarlabs.com WinRAR] to view, browse, extract, and pack SDZ files, or to browse SD7 files.
*[http://www.7-zip.org/ 7zip] to view, browse, extract, and pack SD7 files.

There are many other utilities that can also serve the same purpose. Peruse [http://www.fileuniverse.com FileUniverse] if for some reason the tools listed here don't suit you.

<table width="75%" border="1">
<tr>
<th width="174" colspan="2" bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><h4>Subdirectory</h4></th>
<th width="140" valign="top" bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><h4>File Types</h4></th>
<th width="442" bgcolor="#C0C0C0"><h4>Description</h4></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="174" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>anims</strong></h4></td>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top">
[[Mod_Development:Cursors]]
</td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">Cursors</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="174" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>download</strong></h4></td>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top">
[[Units:Download_TDF]]
</td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">Information to assign a unit to a location on a given build menu.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="174" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>features</strong></h4></td>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top"></td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">Contains information about miscellaneous features, such as corpses, trees, scars, etc., that may or may not be specific to particular maps or map types.  </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="82" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>\</strong></h4></td>
<td width="86" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>corpses</strong></h4></td>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top">
TDF
</td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">Information about wreckage left behind when a unit dies.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="82" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>\</strong></h4></td>
<td width="86" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>allworlds</strong></h4></td>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top">
TDF
</td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">Information about features (such as trees, scars, etc.) for specific world maps.Other subdirectories may exist alongside "allworlds", such as "acid", "crystal", "green", etc.</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="174" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>gamedata</strong></h4></td>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top">
[[Mod_Development:Gamedata]]
</td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">General information, such as sound assignments, can-build information, and other such data.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="174" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>guis</strong></h4></td>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top">
GUI
</td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">Alternative build tree definition method</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="174" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>objects3d</strong></h4></td>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top">
3DO
</td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">3D object definitions for units, unit corpses.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="174" valign="top" rowspan="2" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>maps</strong></h4></td>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top">
SMD
</td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">Schema, starting points, and other information pertaining to a particular map.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top">
SMF
</td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">Map layout, heights, and features information.</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="174" valign="top" rowspan="2" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>scripts</strong></h4></td>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top">
BOS
</td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">Text description/subroutines that describe how a unit moves, animates, etc.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top">
COB
</td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">A compiled version of the .BOS file.</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="174" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>sounds</strong></h4></td>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top">
WAV
</td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">Sounds.</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="174" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>unitpics</strong></h4></td>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top">
[[Units:Buildpics]]
</td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">"Large" (96x96) color pictures of units.</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="174" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>unittextures</strong></h4></td>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top">
 
</td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="82" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>\</strong></h4></td>
<td width="86" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>tatex</strong></h4></td>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top">
[[Units:Textures]]
</td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">Bitmap textures used on units (buildings, kbots, vehicles, etc.)</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="174" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>units</strong></h4></td>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top">
[[Units:FBI]]
</td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">General properties of units.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="174" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080"><h4><strong>weapons</strong></h4></td>
<td width="140" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080" valign="top">
TDF
</td>
<td width="442" valign="top" bordercolor="#000000" bordercolorlight="#808080">Contains the definiteion and properties of particular weapons that are used throughout the game.</td>
</tr>
</table>

Gamedev:Buildpics

2005-08-29T10:33:02Z

Gnome:

The buildpic is the small picture of a unit which appears in the build menu of its constructor. It is always 96x96 pixels regardless of the format used (see below), and it must always be located in the <b>unitpics</b> directory.

Spring supports multiple image formats for buildpics. These formats are <b>PCX</b>, <b>JPG</b>, <b>BMP</b>, and <b>DDS</b>. By default, Spring will load <b>unitname.pcx</b>, where unitname is the short name of your unit. To override this and use a different format, use the <b>Buildpic</b> tag in the FBI file.

Here's a detailed list of the formats supported:

<div align="center">
<table width="75%" border="1">
<tr>
<th width="10%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">Requires Buildpic tag</th>
<th width="10%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">File Extension</th>
<th width="30%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">Color Depth</th>
<th width="50%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">Description</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="10%">No</td>
<td width="10%"><b>PCX</b></td>
<td width="30%">8-bit (256 colors)<br/>Lossy (palette)</td>
<td width="50%" valign="top">A PCX file using the Total Annihilation palette. Don't use it unless you're converting TA units to Spring and you're too lazy to make a new buildpic.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="10%">Yes</td>
<td width="10%"><b>JPG</b></td>
<td width="30%">24-bit (16.7 million colors)<br/>Lossy (compression)</td>
<td width="50%" valign="top">Your bog standard JPEG file. Not recommended since the compression decreases image quality.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="10%">Yes</td>
<td width="10%"><b>BMP</b></td>
<td width="30%">24-bit (16.7 million colors)<br/>Non-Lossy</td>
<td width="50%" valign="top">A standard Windows bitmap file. Recommended because of the high color depth and no loss due to compression or palette.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="10%">Yes</td>
<td width="10%"><b>DDS</b></td>
<td width="30%">24-bit (16.7 million colors)<br/>Slightly Lossy (compression)</td>
<td width="50%" valign="top">Nvidia's DirectX-enabled .dds format. This is how the maps in Spring are stored. It offers compression, but it can be lossy. It is also difficult to work with. BMP is still recommended.</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>

3DModels:Textures

2005-08-29T10:01:34Z

Gnome:

Textures are stored in the <b>UnitTextures\tatex</b> subdirectory. They may be Windows .BMP format at 24 bit color depth, or a Targa .TGA file in 32 bit (alpha layer) color depth.

==Rules for textures==
Spring only has support for 2048x2048 pixels worth of textures installed at any given time. However, the game sorts the textures on this sheet (which only exists while the game is loaded) very well, so if you follow a few simple rules the texture limit will be no problem:

*Keep textures limited to dimensions that are base-2 numbers, such as 8x8, 16x16, 32x32, or 64x64. They may also be oblong, 64x32 for example.
*Keep your textures as small as possible while still looking good. You can use a texture which is 256x256 pixels, for example, but a set of those would quickly eat up the available space.
*Don't make "shaded" textures like Cavedog did for Total Annihilation; let Spring handle the shading instead.

For Spring to read your textures, they must also be named properly. For example, if you use the texture "MetalTexture1" on your 3do file, the texture must be named "MetalTexture100.bmp".

==Logo Textures==
In the case of logo textures, you must edit the file <b>teamtex.txt</b> in the <b>UnitTextures/tatex</b> directory. It is easy to understand. Just add the name of your texture to the list, without the "00" as previously detailed. For example, if you wanted to add ArmLogo00.bmp to the team color list, you would put ArmLogo in the teamtex.txt file. As team colors are sequential, you must have a file for each different color. If you have ArmLogo00.bmp, there must also be an ArmLogo01.bmp, ArmLogo02.bmp, etc which match the colors of the other team textures available (it would look weird if the paint job was blue but the logo was red!).

==Reflections==
To make a texture reflect its environment, you must create a Targa file with an alpha layer with a program such as Photoshop. Targa textures follow the same rules above as bitmaps, however, Spring will display reflections on the texture in game if the user has that graphics option enabled and available to him. In the alpha layer itself, a darker shade will reflect less, whereas a lighter shade will reflect more.

3DModels:Textures

2005-08-29T10:00:10Z

Gnome:

Textures are stored in the <b>UnitTextures\tatex</b> subdirectory. They may be Windows .BMP format at 24 bit color depth, or a Targa .TGA file in 32 bit (alpha layer) color depth.

Spring only has support for 2048x2048 pixels worth of textures installed at any given time. However, the game sorts the textures on this sheet (which only exists while the game is loaded) very well, so if you follow a few simple rules the texture limit will be no problem:

*Keep textures limited to dimensions that are base-2 numbers, such as 8x8, 16x16, 32x32, or 64x64. They may also be oblong, 64x32 for example.
*Keep your textures as small as possible while still looking good. You can use a texture which is 256x256 pixels, for example, but a set of those would quickly eat up the available space.
*Don't make "shaded" textures like Cavedog did for Total Annihilation; let Spring handle the shading instead.

For Spring to read your textures, they must also be named properly. For example, if you use the texture "MetalTexture1" on your 3do file, the texture must be named "MetalTexture100.bmp".

In the case of logo textures, you must edit the file <b>teamtex.txt</b> in the <b>UnitTextures/tatex</b> directory. It is easy to understand. Just add the name of your texture to the list, without the "00" as previously detailed. For example, if you wanted to add ArmLogo00.bmp to the team color list, you would put ArmLogo in the teamtex.txt file. As team colors are sequential, you must have a file for each different color. If you have ArmLogo00.bmp, there must also be an ArmLogo01.bmp, ArmLogo02.bmp, etc which match the colors of the other team textures available (it would look weird if the paint job was blue but the logo was red!).

To make a texture reflect its environment, you must create a Targa file with an alpha layer with a program such as Photoshop. Targa textures follow the same rules above as bitmaps, however, Spring will display reflections on the texture in game if the user has that graphics option enabled and available to him. In the alpha layer itself, a darker shade will reflect less, whereas a lighter shade will reflect more.