Toad's Tool 64 FAQ 1.2

Q: Which platforms are supported?

A: TT64 was built using Adobe Director MX 2004 on a PowerPC Macintosh. Director can produce both Mac OS X and Windows (95/98/XP) applications from the same project file. So Windows 98/XP and Mac OS X 10.3 and 10.4 are the officially supported platforms.

Q: What about Windows Vista?

A: TT64 should run on Vista, but will have problems with the 3d display view, and wont be able to use your video-card acceleration. The next version of Director MX due to the end of 2007 should support Vista and intel Macs natively.

Q: What if I have an intel based Mac?

A: TT64 should run on intel Macs, though I didn't test it yet. It will run under Rosetta, a pretty fast PPC emulator. Early reports indicate that 3d stuff in Director projects work well under Rosetta. The next major version of Director MX will be intel native.

Q: What are the minimum requirements?

A: Loading the ROM and levels can take a few seconds on a slow machine, but overall I find that it's perfectly usable on my 1.25Ghz G4 Mac mini with a very low-end 32mb ATI Radeon 9200 video-card. The 3d display is responsive enough when you use the orbit camera mode, often displaying at over 30 fps. The fly-around mode can be a little slower when the whole level appears on the 3d view.

I would guess that the bare minimum requirements would be a 1Ghz cpu with a 32mb video-card and 320MB of RAM. But this is just a gross approximation, your mileage may vary. The editor itself will be around 12MB in size, but will require an additional 15MB of space.

Q: Do you plan on releasing a Linux version?

A: I'm very sorry to say that this won't be possible. Director MX simply doesn't exist on Linux, and there's no simple way to recompile a Director project to Linux. It's not that I don't care about Linux, but Director is a development platform I know very well and started to use before Linux was even released. Besides, there's simply no equivalent to Director.

Q: What features Toad's Tool 64 provides?

A: Features and limitations are described on this page: http://web.mac.com/qubedstudios/iWeb/Site/Blog/2A712E91-39F9-4773-B488-99DB40080712.html Some features, such as the text editing, won't be part of the first public beta release, but should be integrated eventually.

Q: Can you add objects in levels?

A: Not in this version, but I'm working on it. For example, if a level only has 20 objects, you'll have to limit yourself to changing those 20. You can transform objects into others, copy and paste their parameters.

Q: Can you modify the shape of the terrain and other polygon models?

A: No. The focus of the first release is being able to rearrange levels, by moving, rotating and changing objects found in levels. While this may seem limiting to some, you'll have to learn to appreciate what can be done with the editor, not focusing on what it can't do. Polygon shape editing may be added in version 2.0 of TT64, for which there's no timetable, and no guarantees that it will ever be done.

Q: Can I create new levels from scratch?

A: No, unfortunately, you'll have to work with existing levels. While levels like Bowser courses, Lethal Lava Land and RainBow Ride have movable platforms, unfortunately their collision data won't move with them.

Q: Could I import/export new 3d models into SM64 using TT64?

A: No, you won't be able to modify polygon shapes, nor replace them with something else. Displaying the objects on screen is one thing, but that doesn't mean it would be easy to import new models. SM64 has a non-linear command-based model format, with many subtleties that are not supported by external 3d programs and formats.

Q: Can I put Bowser on the top of the Castle?

A: This is not possible in the current version. You'll be restricted to a certain set of objects in each level, this is a limitation in the game engine, and hardware restrictions (RAM) in the n64. TT64 will take care of giving you a menu containing only objects that can be put in a particular level. While it means that you'll only be able to put objects types that already exist in a level, in many cases you'll be able to also put some objects that are normally only used in other levels (For example, you can put a Goomba on Castle Grounds).

Q: Will it be possible to swap object banks so you can chose which objects can be used in a level?

A: Not in current versions, but that will be one of the key feature of version 1.5. The problem with swapping banks is that you could instantly end up with a level full of objects that can no longer be used. Also, the editor will have to track down changes and update the level display accordingly when you change a bank. I'll try to implement a mechanism that will help you track which objects are affected so you don't end up with a crashing level.

Q: How easy will it be to use?

A: My goal is to make this program easy to use, but Super Mario 64 is a complex game. A basic and expert mode will be provided for the command menu and parameter bar. In basic mode, you'll have a much lesser chance to make a level crash when you play it, even if you don't know what you're doing. The Expert mode will provide more flexibility for experimentation, but also more possibilities for something to go wrong when you try to run the edited game.

Q: How much does it cost?

A: Toad's Tool 64 is completely and totally FREE. But I ask (not beg) for donations, for those who feel like it, to help cover the bandwidth costs and other expenses. If you don't donate, don't feel bad about it, I never did this with money in mind.