MetaBrush, copyright 2001,2002 Wes Morrison Cow/Cowgen copyright Tels

This file contains a description, requirements, installation instructions,
and usage instructions for MetaBrush beta 5.


DESCRIPTION

MetaBrush is a "plug-in" to DromEd that allows you to create complex
structures quickly. It has a library of MetaBrush "scriptlets" that can
create such structures as stairs, bridges, or building parts such as
roofs. These structures are not "static", they are customized to fit into
the space where you want them. For instance, the number of stairs in a
staircase is automatically calculated based on the desired size of the
staircase you are creating. MetaBrush can also import .mis files (terrain
and lights only,) preserving the textures used in the imported mission. In
this respect it is better than importing .vbr files, which can contain no
texture information.


REQUIREMENTS

MetaBrush works with DromEd for Thief2. It should theoretically also work
with Thief 1 and System Shock 2, except any textures referenced by
MetaBrush are Thief 2 textures, therefore most terrain created by
MetaBrush will need retexturing.

MetaBrush requires Perl and Perl/Tk.


INSTALLATION

If you have not already installed Perl, go to www.activestate.com. Download
and install the latest version of ActivePerl. At the time of this writing,
the link can be found on the right of the page, at the bottom of the
"RELEASES" list.

Unzip the archive containing MetaBrush into your game directory, preserving
directory structure. After this you should find a "Cow" directory under your
game directory.

Open a command window and CD to your Thief 2 game directory. Type the
following command:

setupmb

This batch file will run a Perl script that will check for Tk and install it
if necessary, verify a few file locations, edit menus.cfg to add MetaBrush
menu entries, and build a list of available MetaBrush scriptlets.

After this, you should br ready to run DromEd and use MetaBrush.

Note: MetaBrush will always create a few markers at location 0,0,0. Please do
not delete these, or MetaBrush may not work.


USAGE

In the DromEd menu, you should see an item called "MetaBrush". Underneath this
item should be "Create MetaBrush", "Repeat Last MetaBrush", Import mis file",
and "Undo (reload .mis)". Following is a description of these items.

"Create MetaBrush" - This converts the currently selected brush into a
MetaBrush. The type is selected from a dialog that pops up. Select the basic
type in the left list box and the specific type in the center list box. An
image of the MetaBrush, if available, will appear in the image box on the
right. Beneath it may appear a short text description of the MetaBrush.
Press OK to continue or Cancel to cancel. A second dialog may pop up with
other options you may set. These will be discussed later.

"Repeat Last MetaBrush" - This converts the currently selected brush into a
MetaBrush, displaying no dialogs and using exactly the same parameters as
specified for the previous MetaBrush. This is useful when converting a
number of brushes to the same type of MetaBrush, for instance a series of
door frames.

"Import mis file" - This replaces the currently selected brush with the
terrain brushes and lights from a mis file. This is similar to importing
a vbr file from the Multibrush menu, except that MetaBrush remaps and
imports textures as necessary so that the imported mission's textures are
preserved. No scaling is done to the imported mission file.

"Undo (reload .mis)" - This reloads the mission from immediately before
creating a MetaBrush. This works fine for smaller missions, but may cause
significant delays when loading larger missions.


THE SCRIPTLETS

A "scriptlet" is a fragment of Perl code that creates a MetaBrush. It is not
a complete Perl script in and of itself, but the main program provides the
rest of the code it needs. To understand this process is not necessary to
use MetaBrush.

Documentation for each scriptlet will be provided separately. This file will
only address them in a general way.

All scriptlets are able to display a dialog that allows the user to override
default values for parameters the scriptlet uses. The dialog displays a
scrollable list of text boxes and list boxes, with an OK button and a Cancel
button. To accept the scriptlets default options, simply press OK and your
MetaBrush will be created. Or, change any options you please before pressing
OK. Cancel will cancel the creation of the MetaBrush.

One option shared by all scriptlets that display this dialog is Texture
Schemes. Texture Schemes are lists of specific textures categorized by
simple identifiers such as "stone", "wood", "floor", "wall", etc. Scripts
generally refer to textures by these identifiers. You may select a Texture
Scheme file that defines some of these textures. This allows you to, for
instance, create one staircase using one type of stone texture, and another
staircase with a different stone texture. For more complex structures such
as buildings or rooms, Texture Scheme files are a very convenient way of
changing the appearance of a MetaBrush.

This release of MetaBrush includes a small set of scriptlets and texture
scheme files. More scriptlets may be released separately, either one at a
time, or in "scriptlet packs". Either way, all that is required to use them
is to unzip them into your game directory, preserving directory structure,
and then run the update_scripts.pl script. This may even be done while
DromEd is running.


Many thanks to GayleSaver for his custom script code and his support.
A custom OSM is used to run all the MetaBrush commands seamlessly in DromEd.
