Note
 If you're looking at the plain text version of this file, you may notice a few strange characters or punctiation in the text. These allow automatic generation of a formatted HTML version. The engine used for this (asciidoc) allows to do that with the least impact on readability in plain text. In short, just ignore the strange stuff :)
Important
 This “documentation” refers to the old scenery editor when you had to replace scenery and couldn't make new scenery. It is now mainly included as a historic document, most information is superceded. All in all if you're new, please read the online tutorials on http://rct3.sourceforge.net instead of this!

1. License

Copyright 2005 Jonathan Wilson
The RCT3 File Importer is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under
the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free
Software Foundation; either version 2, or (at your option) any later
version. See the file COPYING for more details.

2. Basics

The program includes source code so you can see how it works.

To use it,

Assuming all goes well, it will spit out a .unique.ovl and a .common.ovl. Use these to replace the origonal files (after backing the origonals up of course) and try in-game.

Warning
 This program has not been tested in all possible configurations with all possible input files. BACK UP all files you modify or mess with.

I am unaware of any instances where this program will mess up RCT3 but if it does, I need to know so I can fix it. Note that if you modify a file and frontier later patches that file, the patch will not apply properly. So, before you apply a patch, restore modified files to the origonal backed up copies. It is not my intention to release anything that screws up RCT3 but (due to bugs and/or me not understanding the data formats properly), ovl files created with this program may cause crashes, errors, loss of data (parks etc) or other side effects. Should any bugs or issues be found, I will fix them as soon as I an able. When using custom ovl files, make sure to save your parks and building files and etc often to prevent problems. And, remember, lots of stuff is still unknown so you might not get the exact results you expect (e.g. lighting might not be 100% on your object)

If you have any questions about the program or the source code (or about the work I I have done in reverse engineering the RCT3 code), please do ask.

You can post in the relavent threads on the RCT2.com forums or the atari forums.
Or you can email jonwil@tpgi.com.au.
Or you can sometimes find me in #rct3 on irc.enterthegame.com (the official atari RCT3 chat)
And in #rct3 on irc.centralchat.net
Of go to http://www.ataricommunity.com/chat/chat.html
Or you can use my MSN JonathanWilson623@hotmail.com
Or my ICQ 77572965
Or my AIM jonwil2002

3. Small Additions by Klinn - May 2005

  1. Added a completed message when theme has been successfully installed.

  2. Corrected “Top” & “Left” and “Bottom” & “Right” coordinate assignments for icon references. If you had previously switched these to make them come out right, load your theme and switch them back to normal.

  3. Added support for re-colorable objects.

The Create Scenery OVL has a new box at the bottom. Select one of four options to determine how many color sets the player will be able to change:

You must also create a texture for the object which is in a very specific format. This is the process to create a texture which supports recoloring, assuming you are starting with a 24-bit or 32-bit RGB image:

A few more technical details for the curious. The indexed color table for a recolorable object is split into three groups:

4. Brief Instructions On Using The Importer - by Klinn, updated by Belgabor

Here are the steps I follow to put an object into the game using JonWil's Importer, Belgabor's mod 1.5. These are by no means definitive, and not necessarily even good practice, but it should at least get you started and then you can refine the information to suit your needs. I'll number the steps in a detailed fashion just so we can refer to them from other parts of the process. Yes, the formatting is horrible, but I'll clean it up later - brain dump first!

I'm not going to address how to create the 3D mesh itself, convert it to ASE (if you don't use Milkshape), etc. Look in the Atari RCT3 General Forum for JonWil's threads for lots of advice on creating 3D meshes in the correct format and helpful hints contributed by folks who are using a variety of modelling software. The steps below are just about using JonWil's utility.

I'm going to be creating a theme called “KLN-ElectroBits”, with a scenery item called “KLN-EBitOne”. Here we go:

4.1. Step 1 - Preparation

Before even using JonWil's importer, you need to set up the files required.

  1. Create a working directory to hold the files you're working with, e.g. My Documents\RCT3-CustomObjects. Below are the basic ones you'll need.

  2. Create a texture bitmap for your object, must have square power-of-two dimensions, e.g. 128x128, 256x256, etc.

  3. Create the object mesh in your 3D Editor of choice, convert to ASE or MS3D format, e.g. I have one called KLN-EBitOne.ase.

  4. Create an icon texture bitmap, 24-bit colour, size 512x512 pixels. I suggest drawing a series of 64x64 pixel boxes across it in a variety of colours. Each box will eventually become an icon in the game, but just use distinctive colours for now. You should have a checkboard of 8 coloured boxes across by 8 down if each one is 64x64 pixels.

  5. Decide on a prefix for all of your themes, e.g. “KLN-”.

  6. Decide on a name for your theme, the whole group of objects, e.g. “ElectroBits”.

  7. Decide on a name for the specific object(s), e.g. “KLN-EBitOne”. I strongly recommend that you use your initials as a prefix. If you choose something simple like “Wall”, it will likely be over-written by somebody else's custom wall later.

4.2. Step 2 - Create Parts of Theme in JonWil's Editor

Before assembling a theme, you need to create the parts it needs.

  1. Start RCT3Imp.

    1. Enter the Prefix from step 1.5

    2. On the main RCT3 Scenery Editor window, enter your Theme Name from step 1.6.

    3. Select the theme type it is most similar to, e.g. “Sci-fi”. This affects if it will appear when the user is filtering the scenery list by RCT3 theme.

  2. Select the Create New Scenery OVL button.

    1. Click the Open button in the 3D Object box, select your object's model file (ASE or MS3D, from step 1.3 above). Depending on your modeler you might need to fix the orientation of your model file.

      • If you use a modeler with a right-handed, z-axis up coorinate system (eg Blender), click Fix Orient. in the Transformation Matrix Box.

      • If you use a modeler with a right-handed, y-axis up coorinate system (eg MilkShape), click Edit in the Transformation Matrix Box. In the new Window click MirrorZ and Ok.

      • If you will always import from that same modeler, select "File→Save Default Matrix" to save the fixup as a default. You won't need to repeat the 2.a steps for further objects then. NOTE: This setting is stored in a small file in the same directory as the importer executable. If you delete it, the default is gone.

    2. Click the Add button in the Texture box

      • Press Open Texture

      • Select the texture bitmap for object (step 1.2 above).

      • Press Ok

    3. If your object needs more than one texture, repeat from 2.b

    4. Select the first model mesh in the mesh list and press Mesh Flags. IMPORTANT: Biturn creates a dummy “root” mesh. Ignore that one.

      • Select the Texture Name of the texture that should be applied to this mesh in the respective dropdown list.

      • Select the Texture Style Name “SIOpaque”.

      • Select No Colors for the number of colors the player will be able to re-color in-game.

    5. If your object has more than one mesh, repeat from 2.b selecting the next mesh.

    6. Click Save OVL File button, make sure you're in your working directory (step 1.1), give OVL file a name. The importer proposes “prefix3DObjectname” (from step 1.3/2.2.a). It's usually a good idea to keep it. Whatever you choose, at least keep the prefix. You should now see the *.common.ovl and *.unique.ovl files appear in your working directory.

    7. Select “File → Save Scenery File” to save the object's settings. You can load them later if you need to change something or to recreate the ovl with an updated model file.

    8. Close the Create Scenery OVL window.

  3. Select the Icon Textures button.

    1. Click the Add button.

    2. Click Load Texture, select the icon texture bitmap (step 1.4).

    3. Give it a Texture Name, e.g. “KLN-IconTexture”. You can also keep the default which is the name of your bitmap file.

    4. Click the Close button to get rid of the Icon Textures Manager window.

  4. Select the Icon References button. We'll be creating two icons, one for the theme group as a whole, one for the specific scenery item. The “icons” will just be those boring solid-coloured boxes described in step 1.4, but that will show you how to get started. NOTE: If you need a lot of icons, you can simply press the Auto button in the Icon References Manager window to automatically create 64x64 references for your complete icon texture.

    1. Click the Add button.

    2. Create an icon for the group as a whole. I'll use the name “KLN-ElectroBits” and set Top=0, Left=0, Bottom=63, Right=63. This is the first coloured square of the icon texture bitmap, the one in the upper-left corner (step 1.4). Click the OK button.

    3. Create an icon for the scenery item. I'll use the name “KLN-EBitOne” and set Top=0, Left=64, Bottom=63, Right=127. This corresponds to the second coloured square of the first row of the icon texture bitmap. Click the OK button.

    4. You should see the two icon references in the list. Click the Close button to get rid of the Icon References Manager window.

  5. Select the Text Strings button. This is where we'll be creating some names used later on in the program.

    1. Click the Add button, enter a text string for the theme or group of objects as a whole, e.g. “KLN-ElectroBits”, this will be copied to the name field if you leave it empty, click the OK button.

    2. Click the Add button again, enter a text string for the scenery object, e.g. “KLN-EBitOne”, click the OK button.

    3. Click the Close button to get rid of the Text Strings Manager window.

4.3. Step 3 - Combine Info Into Scenery Item and Theme File

Now we can finally pull the pieces together. I'm going to using specific values and settings that have worked for me, but no doubt you'll want to change them to suit the objects you're making.

  1. Select the Scenery button.

    1. Click the Add button.

    2. Click the Select OVL button, choose the object's OVL file (from step 2.2).

    3. From the Group Icon list, select the one we made in step 2.4.b.

    4. From the Scenery Icon list, select the one we made in step 2.4.c.

    5. For Location Within Theme, specify a subfolder within the theme's overall folder, e.g. “KLN-ElectroBitsSet”.

    6. Set Cost = 1000, Refund = 800. (becomes $10 and $8 respectively in US/Canada)

    7. The Group Name String is the one from step 2.5.a.

    8. The Scenery Name String is the one from step 2.5.b.

    9. Set Position X=0, Y=0, Z=0.

    10. Set Size X=4, Y=3, Z=4.

    11. Set Size In Squares X=1, Y=1.

    12. Set Size Flag to “Full Tile”.

    13. Set Scenery Type to “Small Scenery”.

    14. Set Supports Type to “None”.

    15. Set Extra Parameter to “None”.

    16. Set Unknown1 to “Unknown1”, Unknown2 to “Unknown2”.

    17. Set Unknown3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 all equal to zero.

    18. Don't check any of the Flags.

    19. Click the OK button.

    20. Click the Close button to get rid of the Scenery Manager window.

  2. Time to save our theme file with all this info we've been entering. Select Save Theme from the File menu.

4.4. Step 4 - Install Theme in Game

  1. Select the Install Theme button. If all goes well, check in the game's installation folder, e.g. C:\Program Files\Atari\RollerCoaster Tycoon\Style\Themed\ and you should find a folder with your theme's name, inside it is a subfolder (from step 3.1.e), and inside that are your object's OVL files.

4.5. Step 5 - Test In-Game, Revise

  1. Start up the game with a new scenario or sandbox park.

  2. Go to the Scenery → Scenery Items list, you should see a group named as per step 3.1.g, using an icon as per step 3.1.c.

  3. Open the group, should see an icon for the object (step 3.1.d) using name from step 3.1.h. When you move your cursor over it, the rotating preview should appear in the bottom left. If you get any crashes, probably a bad ASE file, check previous posts for help.

  4. Place your custom object, get annoyed at how it isn't what you expected, re-do 3D mesh and re-import it, make some real icons in the Icon Texture bitmap, etc, etc. Any time you make some changes, don't forget to “re-compile” the scenery item info (step 3) and re-install the theme (step 4). Whew.

Be sure to check the Atari RCT3 General Forum for JonWil's threads about his Importer. People are slowly figuring out what some of the flags and other settings do, so helpful info can usually be found there.

5. Brief Instructions On My Effect Point Improvements - Belgabor

First we need to get some terms straight:

Probably much of this is common knowledge, but you need to know what I exactly mean (especially with “object”). So let's say you want to create a lamp, a pyramid with the light floating over the tip:

[picture missing, see atari forums]

You'll notice the point over the tip of the pyramid in the center of Blender's 3D cursor. This is a (from the pyramid) separate object which consists of only one vertex. This is essential, separate object, only one vertex.

Now you export, convert etc. and bring your intem into the create scenery dialog of the importer. You should see at least two meshes (in the example: the pyramid and the single vertex object). If you go to the mesh options you'll find that the single vertex object has been automatically disabled (like the root object created by biturn).

If you now add an effect point you'll see a combo box that says Reset Default. If you open it you'll see your single vertex object listed. Select it and press Pos. The position of the vertex will be entered into the matrix, effect point set

If you press the Create button you'll get a list of templates for effect point names. The ones for lightstart and particlestart lead to dialogs with more options, the other ones just paste in the effect point name and select the number part if there is one.

An even slicker option is that if you name one-vertex objects like the effect point you want to create (and the conversion of the item in biturn doesn't mangle them) you can press the Auto button below the effect point list and they will be created automatically. Even if you don't name them, just press auto to add all your one-vertex objects as effect points and edit their names.

6. Brief Instructions On My Recolorable Texture Improvements - Belgabor

Introduction flom the changelog: Make the first color shades of red, the second shades of green and the third shades of blue. Colors should be clean (eg no green in red). The darkest color should be still slightly colored, not completely black (eg RGB 1,0,0 for red is enough). The brightest color should be the full color (eg RGB 255,0,0), not the lightened color like in the original Blue/Magenta/Yellow scheme. Important: These textures need to be truecolor, indexed images will be used as-is and need to use the old Blue/Magenta/Yellow palette. Also the RGB textures are saved with the old palette, so don't be surprised if they look Blue/Magenta/Yellow in the RCT3 dumper =)

Now here is the tutorial to explain why this is easier (at least for me) than the other method: