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                    3DS MAX R4 Plug-in Filter:
                    Nymph Palette Renderer 1.1
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1. Overview
--------------------
Nymph Renderer is an image filter, which converts character or 
background works made under 3D Studio MAX R4 into palettized 2D 
sprites to be used in a game. 
This filter is optimized to work with Deluxe Animator or ProMotion 
after filtering.

Nymph Renderer makes rendered output use the only given palette area 
for each object(or material), therefore, it's very simple to arrange 
and to adjust palette. It can also make some unique color feeling 
just like 2d dot work, quite different from common 3d work.


2. File List
--------------------
nymph.flt - Nymph Rendering Filter (put this into MAX's Plugin 
folder)
nymph_en.txt - English manual (this file)
nymph_kr.txt - Korean manual
sample_char.max - sample character fastfood girl
map_hair.gif - reflection mapping source for fastfood girl's hair
char_big.anm
char_sml.anm - sample file for deluxe animator (16 colors)
ani_pcx.zip - the same pcx files with anm files
dither.pcx - sample picture showing half-tone dithering
food0000.jpg - rendered scene of a pin-ball level in MAX
food0000.gif - Nymph-filtered 22-color scene of above file.


3. Usage
--------------------
Put nymph.flt file into MAX's Plugin folder and run MAX.
Open the video post window, push the Add Scene Event button and 
choose your camera. After pushing Add Image Filter Event button, 
select Nymph Palette Renderer in filter list. Click Setup button and 
control window will appear. With proper setting, click Execute 
Sequence button in Video Post and set range and click OK, then 
rendering will progress.
Note that the output will be saved as pcx files automatically
even there are no Image Out Event, unlike other image filters.
Frame number will be added to the last of pcx filename, so that you 
can read multiple pcx pictures in Deluxe Animator with Sequence 
option of that.


4. Control Window
--------------------

[Source]

It represents the method by which one assigns identity number(ID) to 
define its own palette area.
Material Effects Channel means the Material Channel ID given in 
Material Editor, and Object Channel means each object's channel ID 
given in Node Property Dialog (you can open this by right-clicking 
the object).
Assigning ID source method is the same as that of Glow Filter (Frame 
only), which is MAX's standard plug-in. If you can't understand the 
concept of ID, I advise you to use the Glow Filter first. 


[Output PCX File]

In this section you can specify the path and the name of palettized 
output pcx file. 
4-digit frame number will be added automatically after the file 
name. For instance, the actual name would be nmph0000.pcx if you set 
the file name as nmph.pcx.


[Color Assignment Method]

Nymph Renderer has 2 operation modes. One is Uniform Distribution 
mode, and the other is Find Most Similar Color mode. 
Suppose you set a object to use 10 colors from palette number 0 to 
9. Nymph Renderer in Find Most Similar Color mode will replace the 
object's original color into the most similar color among the 10 
colors. 

In Uniform Distribution (recommended) mode, Nymph ignores the 
original object's hue, rather it refers only its brightness and 
change the original color in bright order. If the object uses 0-9 10 
colors, a pixel which has about 30% brightness will be changed into 
the color 3, 70% will be 7... and so on. In this case black will be 
0, white will be 9, and the middle value will be 1-8. If you want to 
use black as 9 and white as 0, swap the 'from' value for 'to' value.
Compare food000.jpg(before) and food000.gif(after).


[Target Palette]

It shows the palette that will be used in rendering. 
Please note that it's not horizontal layout palette of Adobe 
Photoshop, but vertical layout of Deluxe Paint. The left-top is the 
color 0, numbers are increasing as you go down to the bottom. 
Default is 3:3:2 Universal Palette. You can read palette from other 
pcx file by clicking Browse from PCX button.


[Color Range]

These values mean palette area the objects given the ID can use. 
You can set values by clicking 'From' color in palette picture, 
'pick' button beside the ID number, 'To' color in palette picture, 
respectively. (What a bad interface.. huh?) If you check Dither 
option, the object will be drawn with half tone (draws one pixel and 
skips one pixel) between 2 colors. This option is available only in 
the Uniform Distribution mode. 


5. Tips
--------------------
- When you make character sprite (not a background image), it's 
  recommended to check 'Don't Antialias With Background' option in the 
  Rendering tab of MAX's File/Preferences menu.

- Turning on or off MAX's Antialiasing and Texture Filtering feature 
  have each their own merits and demerits. Use prefer option case by 
  case.

- I bet you'll understand Nymph's functions easily if you see the 
  example 'sample_char.max'. Please take a look at its Material Editor 
  and Video Post in the scene.

- To get better quality, cartoon-render with other plug-in first, 
  and palettize with Nymph.


6. Development History
----------------------
Originally I developed this simple filter (for MAX R2) to be used 
in Neo-Geo game development which has more palette restrictions 
than PC in 1998. I've compiled it again for R4 recently.
I'm sure you'll find it very useful in some platforms. 
(e.g. Game Boy Advance)


7. Copyright
--------------------
Use this plug-in at your own risk.
I have the copyright of Nymph Palette Renderer and example files 
included in the original compressed file, but it's freeware, so 
feel free to use and distribute it. 
Just keep in mind that you must maintain the original compressed 
file when uploading to another place.

(C) Eun-seok Yi, March 2002
doocub@hanmail.net

