Torment Meetings
A screen saver for Planescape: Torment
Download TormentSaver-setup.exe (7.6Mb)
Requires Windows XP.
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(If you prefer not to use installer programs, download just the Torment Meetings.scr file and stick it manually in your windows directory.)
Note: all of the artwork and dialog on this page, and in the screen saver itself, are the property of Black Isle Studios (the authors of the game 'Planescape: Torment') and of Interplay (the distributors). The game is the best RPG ever written, so you should buy it! Unfortunately it is no longer in print. So find a copy on ebay. I extracted the artwork and dialog from the game using Infinity Explorer by Dmitry Jemerov, and benefited from the discussion forums at www.teambg.com - thank you!
Why does the screen saver require Windows XP? Because XP is easier and more fun to write programs for! In particular, XP and its GDI+ technology include built-in support for transparent GIFs and for JPEGs and for alpha-blending, so I can spend my time on the fun programming instead of the boring graphics programming (my attempts would in any case be slower than what XP offers). I have no plans to make a version compatible with earlier versions of Windows. Sorry.
Why is the screen saver such an enormous download? Each character animation takes 40k. Multiply this by 8 directions of walking, add in 8 directions of just standing around talking, and you get about 600k per character. Times by 9 characters makes 5.4Mb. Add in 200k per backdrop, for 20 backdrops, and you get up to 9.4Mb. It all adds up very quickly. Sorry!
This screen saver can be customized with new conversations, new characters, new backgrounds. Minsc says it should even be possible to customize it for Baldur's Gate. Cover your nose, Boo - we are entering a den of stinking evil...
(1) Look inside your Windows directory where you will find a file called "Torment Meetings.scr". Make a copy called "MyCustomizedMeetings.scr", or similar.
(2) The screensaver will be entirely controlled by a text file called "MyCustomizedMeetings-quotes.txt" in the same directory as the saver: if this file is present, then everything will be run according to its instructions. (If no file is present, then the saver defaults to its built-in Planescape quotes.) You can download the default quotes file, Torment Meetings-quotes.txt, to see how it's written. Rename it, and place it in the same directory as the saver.
(3) Adding new conversations is easy, and so is adding new backgrounds - read the comments in the quotes.txt file to find out how. (For the backgrounds, you will need to specify external filenames like "c:\docs\mybackground.jpg", since the existing names "res:///RT_RCDATA/file.gif" refer to resources that are already embedded inside the .scr file).
(4) But adding new characters is a little more time-consuming. You will have to download "Infinity Explorer" from the teambg website. With this you can extract the character animations as GIF files.
(5) Finally, once you're done, please email me (lu.pst@wischik.com) and send me your quotes.txt file and GIFs and backgrounds. Then I will bundle them up as a single self-contained .scr file, which will be easier for others to download. (This step is optional! If you prefer, you can distribute the files separately and independently.)
Last updated December 2002 by Lucian Wischik.