Madspack file format decoder/encoder for Rex Nebular, Dragonsphere, Colonization and other Microprose games. Can run on Linux or Windows (using Cygwin). Designed as a translation/modding tool.

Version 1.9.2

1.9.2 - fix problem with ss RLE compression

1.9.1 - fix problem with incorrect colors when packing PNG in RGB mode

1.9.0 - optional TDAT handler for Rex DAT files containing one multiline text message

1.8.1 - TXR handler will now split text to multiple lines; FF handler will now accept P, RGB and RGBA images as input

1.8.0 - TXR handler; charmap: special handling of "[]" characters (see Notes below)

1.7.1 - fixed bug with transparency handling in SS files

1.7.0 - partial unpack and pack support for MCC file format from "The Legacy: Realm of Terror", see example

1.6.0 - lff unpack TMB10 TMB12 TMR10 TMR12 TMR14 HVR08 ("The Legacy: Realm of Terror" font files)

1.5.0 - charmaps added, see EXAMPLE.md

1.4.0 - Rex Nebular ART format support added; All png files are now written in indexed mode (see Notes below)

1.3.0 - MESSAGES.DAT is now unpacked/packed into/from 2 files: MESSAGES.DAT.msg.json and MESSAGES.DAT.id.json. If you have modified MESSAGES.DAT.msg.json you will need to pair it up with MESSAGES.DAT.id.json extracted from unmodified MESSAGES.DAT

1. Install dependencies

• On Debian run sudo apt-get install python3-pil
• On Windows install Cygwin (http://cygwin.com/install.html) with following packages (select them during install): wget, python3, python3-imaging, unzip, chere

2. Open terminal (Cygwin terminal on Windows) and run following commands:

# download
wget -O mpskit.zip https://github.com/institution/mpskit/archive/master.zip
unzip -o mpskit.zip
cd mpskit-master

# install in system path (sudo may be required)
echo "python3 `pwd`/main.py \$*" > /usr/local/bin/mpskit
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/mpskit

# test - should display usage
mpskit

# optional Windows step: add "Open terminal here" option to Windows Explorer
chere -i -t mintty

cd REX

# unpacking
mpskit hag unpack GLOBAL.HAG
mpskit mdat unpack GLOBAL.HAG.dir/MESSAGES.DAT
mpskit ss unpack GLOBAL.HAG.dir/*.SS

# now you can modify generated txt and png files

# packing
mpskit ss pack GLOBAL.HAG.dir/GRD1_2.SS
mpskit mdat pack GLOBAL.HAG.dir/MESSAGES.DAT
mpskit hag pack GLOBAL.HAG

# unpack
mpskit hag unpack SECTION9.HAG
mpskit aa unpack SECTION9.HAG.dir/RM951A.AA

Now in SECTION9.HAG.dir/RM951A.AA.msg.json

change this:
"msg": "\"Here it is, Stone."

to this:
"msg": "\"Hello, Kitty!"

pos_x can be changed to adjust text position on the screen
"pos_x": 159,

mpskit hag unpack GLOBAL.HAG
mpskit cnv unpack GLOBAL.HAG.dir/CONV000.CNV

# now modify GLOBAL.HAG.dir/CONV000.CNV.msg.json

mpskit cnv pack GLOBAL.HAG.dir/CONV000.CNV
mpskit hag pack GLOBAL.HAG

# for extended example read EXAMPLE.md

cd GLOBAL.HAG.dir
mpskit ff unpack FONTCONV.FF
cp FONTCONV.FF.099.png FONTCONV.FF.001.png

# edit image of the letter, Gimp works great for this
# you can modify image width but not height
#gimp FONTCONV.FF.001.png

mpskit ff pack FONTCONV.FF
mpskit hag pack ../GLOBAL.HAG

mpskit hag unpack *.HAG
mpskit ss unpack */*.SS
mpskit ff unpack */*.FF
mpskit aa unpack */*.AA
mpskit txr unpack */*.TXR
mpskit cnv unpack */*.CNV
mpskit art unpack */*.ART
mpskit pik unpack */*.PIK

mpskit charmap create

# unpacking of font files
mpskit lff unpack T???? HVR08

mpskit mcc unpack MCC
mpskit mcc pack MCC

# NOTE 1: MCC colors will be mixed but will work correctly in-game
# NOTE 2: sprite width and height cannot be modified

rex = Rex Nebular, col = Colonization, dsp = Dragonsphere, leg = The Legacy: Realm of Terror

• png files are written in indexed mode with embedded palette ("Colormap" dialog in GIMP)
• changes to embedded palette are ignored by mpskit
• charmap will not be applied to "[]" characters and anything between them

AGPLv3 or later

This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU Affero General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License along with this program. If not, see http://www.gnu.org/licenses/.

Institution, sta256+mpskit@gmail.com

ScummVM Project (http://scummvm.org/)