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*                                                                           *
*                              Track Preview Maker                          *
*                          (c) 2002 CarrotTop Software                      *
*                                                                           *
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This set of files will assist you in making preview screens for tracks for the
Ratbag racing games - DTR, DTRSC and Leadfoot.

Requirements:  Paint Shop Pro 5, 6 or 7

I used Paint Shop Pro 5 to create the template, and I also use PSP5
terminology to describe how to use it.  PSP6 and 7 are quite similar, so you
should be able to figure out what I'm talking about.

You should be at least somewhat familiar with using PSP.  In addition,
knowledge of "layers" and working with them is assumed.  The concept is not
that difficult, and will help you immensely in the long run.  I can't
imagine trying to paint anything anymore without using layers...

To create a track preview screen, follow these steps:

1.  Open the preview.psp file in Paint Shop Pro.
2.  In the "Layers" toolbox, select the "Track Picture" layer.
3.  Paste in a preview shot of your track, or whatever you want.
    a.  The image must be 256x128 (or smaller).
    b.  A significant portion of the right side will be covered up, so 
        don't put the most important part over there!
    c.  A trimmed-down screen shot of some on-track action is good.
4.  In the "Layers" toolbox, select the "Track Text" layer.
5.  Delete the text that is there now (unless you like it...  ;)  ) and
    put in your own.
    a.  Track name, author name, site...  all good things to show here.
    b.  Again, remember the area over on the right that will be masked.
    c.  Now is a good time to make sure your text shows up against the
        background.  Some colors don't show up well against other colors.
6.  If your track is in Canada, toggle OFF the visibility for the "USA Map"
    and "USA Map Text" layers and toggle ON the visibility for the "Canada
    Map" and "Canada Map Text" layers.
7.  In the "Layers" toolbox, select the "Map Dot" layer.
8.  Select everything in the layer - hit CTRL-A - to make sure you got
    the dot as well as the rings around it.
9.  Click and drag the dot to where you want it on the map.
10. If you want, select the "Border" layer and change the border color,
    hide it, or whatever.

Ok, you've got everything looking the way you want.  Now we're gonna get the
picture into the game.

1.  SAVE!!!  This is important all the time anyway, but especially now (next,
    we're going to stomp all over your work with big muddy boots...).
2.  In the "Layers" menu, select "Merge" > "Merge Visible".  (If you use
    "Merge All", you'll end up with maps of the US and Canada superimposed,
    which I doubt is what you want...)
3.  At this point I STRONGLY SUGGEST (though it's not required if you're
    comfortable doing it your way) that you copy the entire image and paste
    as a new image (CTRL-C and CTRL-V) and then CLOSE your original WITHOUT
    SAVING the changes.  Otherwise you'd end up with a flattened PSP file
    that would be extremely difficult to patch up later.  And we're going
    to perform radical surgery on our "working copy".
4.  Now, go to the "Selections" menu and choose "Load from disk..."  Select
    the "previewa_m_2.sel" file that I have included.  CTRL-C and CTRL-V to
    copy and paste as a new image.
5.  Repeat step 4, selecting the "previewb_m_2.sel" file.
6.  You should now have two square images, each of which are half of the
    original.  Save these as Truevision Targa (TGA) files, and make sure you
    choose "Options" in the Save dialog and specify "16 bits" and
    "Uncompressed" for "Bit depth" and "Compression", respectively.  Save
    the first one as "previewa_m_2.tga" and the second as "previewb_m_2.tga".
    You can close those images now.
7.  Back in our working copy of the original, go to the "Image" menu and
    choose "Resize...".  Choose "Percentage of Original" and enter 50 in the
    boxes.  (If "Maintain Aspect Ratio" is checked, you only need to enter
    50 in the first box and it will be put into the second automatically.)
    Hit "OK".  Your picture should now be 128x64 in size.
8.  Repeat steps 4 through 6, except that you're going to load the
    "..._m_3.sel" files and you're going to save as "..._m_3.tga".
9.  Repeat step 7.  Your picture should now be 64x32 in size.
10. Repeat steps 4 through 6, except that you're going to load the
    "..._m_4.sel" files and you're going to save as "..._m_4.tga".
11. Use TexDraw to import these TGA files into their corresponding TEX files.

This utility is posted at Sim Racing Connection.  It may not be posted at any
other site without permission.  It may not be used for any commercial purpose
without permission.  Use this utility at your own risk.  CarrotTop Software is
not responsible for any damage or loss you may suffer during the use of this
tool.

TexDraw may be found at Sim Racing Connection as well.

http://www.simracingconnection.racesim.net
