Dark Stone

Readme file for patch v1.04

Darkstone version 1.04

PLEASE NOTE:

This patch mainly adds the skin editing feature and minor bug fixes. However the skin feature is not supported by Technical Support.

What is new?

Version 1.04 adds support for edited skins and transferring the new skins to all players in a multiplayer game. Version 1.04 remains entirely compatible with version 1.03.

A skin is a display file which is used by the game to display its characters. By changing this file, one can thus change the look of his characters (its clothes, its skin, its face). It will also be necessary to change another file to personalize the label of a character.

To assign a skin to a character:
  1. If it does not already exist, create a folder named "skin" inside the folder containing the file darkstone.exe.
  2. Copy the skin to the "skin" folder and give it the same name as the character.
    1. ex: if your character is called Conan, the skin should be named conan.tga
  3. To assign a face to a character (i.e. to change the face displayed in the interface bar):
  4. Copy the face file to the "skin" folder and give it a name of the form xxx_face.tga.
    1. ex: for Conan, the face must be called conan_face.tga
  5. Then launch the game, create your character if it is not already made (by using the name corresponding to the names of the new files), and save the result.

In network mode, your skin will be automatically transferred to the other players. The progress bars which are displayed on the screen, indicate that there is a transfer of skin in progress. Until the transfer is finished, the character will keep his initial appearance but you can start to play.

If for some reason, the transfer is cancelled before it is finished, it is possible to start it again by pressing the Shift+M keys.

Good "skinning" and thank you for playing DarkStone.

FAQ:

  1. What is a skin? A skin is a display file which makes it possible to equip the 3D model with a character. Each character of DarkStone can now have a different and personalized look.
  2. What is the format of a skin? The size of a skin must be 256 X 256 pixels. The resolution of the image is 24bits. The file must be saved as a TGA format (not compressed).
  3. What is the format of the faces? The size of a face must be 64 X 64 pixels. The resolution of the image is 24bits. The file must be saved as a TGA format (not compressed).
  4. Where does one start? To make a new skin, you will need to download the generic skin (http://www.delphinesoft.com/darkstone/ under the skin section). There is a generic skin by type of character that can be used as a starting point to create a new skin.
  5. With which programs can one create a skin? Any drawing program able to create a TGA format file will work (Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, etc...)
  6. Is it possible to see the result during editing? Yes. The procedure is as follows:
    1. Copy the generic skin corresponding to the caste of character that you will be making to the "skin" folder on your system, and give it the name of the character whom you have chosen to customize.
    2. Launch the drawing program and load the skin.
    3. Launch DarkStone, create the character if it does not exist, and begin a new game.
    4. When you are in town, press the Alt+Tab keys to return to the Windows desktop.
    5. Make the modifications wanted on the skin in the drawing program.
    6. To see the result in the game: save the image, and press Alt+Tab to switch back to DarkStone.
    7. Repeat steps 5 & 6 as many time as necessary.
  7. If I play a network game, will the other players be able to re-use my skin? NO. The skin of your character is not saved on their system. Your skin will remain unique and cannot be used by another player unless you provide them with it.
    However, if you often play with the same people, you can accelerate the transfer process at the start of a game by sending them your skin via email. It can be saved in a folder named "netskin" located in the same folder as the DarkStone.exe file. In this case, your skin will be available for the other player to use as their own characters.

Credits

We want to make a point of thanking all the DarkStone community for its criticisms and its remarks which help us to build a better game.

Lots of thanks to the WebMasters (Dante, The Shadow and all others) for their support for DarkStone. Without you, none of this would be really possible.

Thank you to Macabre, without whom the skins would not exist.

The DarkStone Team. October 28, 1999.

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