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Tag: The Power of Paint

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Title Screen

Tag: The Power of Paint

Developer: Tag Team
Publisher: DigiPen
Platform: Windows
Released internationally: May 1, 2008


AreasIcon.png This game has unused areas.
CodeIcon.png This game has unused code.
DevTextIcon.png This game has hidden development-related text.
GraphicsIcon.png This game has unused graphics.
ModelsIcon.png This game has unused models.
ItemsIcon.png This game has unused items.
MusicIcon.png This game has unused music.
SoundIcon.png This game has unused sounds.
TextIcon.png This game has unused text.
DebugIcon.png This game has debugging material.
Carts.png This game has revisional differences.


NotesIcon.png This game has a notes page

This cactus is UNDER CONSTRUCTION
This article is a work in progress.
...Well, all the articles here are, in a way. But this one moreso, and the article may contain incomplete information and editor's notes.

Tag: The Power of Paint is a parkour-like game with a banging soundtrack where you use a paint gun and you have three different kinds of paint to jump, speed up, and stick to walls. Later, Valve hired the developers to distribute in creating Portal 2.

Sub-Page

Miscellaneous tidbits that are interesting enough to point out here.
Notes

File Name Oddities

In the folder Assets/Sounds/Music there is a duplicate of titlescreen.mp3 labeled song1.mp3, which is a minute and twenty-three seconds longer than the former, while also being uncut. Also, some of the songs in the folder have song tags.

Unused Levels

Download.png Download Deprecated Levels Folder
File: TPOP_Deprecated_Levels.zip (77 KB) (info)

There is a folder called Deprecated Levels in \Game Data\Level Definitions\ with a lot of testing material. To play these levels you need to put the unused objects into the Objects folder.

Hmmm...
To do:
document the other levels.
A test level named appropriately gjktest.
A test level named PaintLevel.

Unused Objects

Download.png Download Deprecated Objects Folder
File: TPOP_Deprecated_Objects.zip (91 KB) (info)

There is a folder called Deprecated Objects in \Game Data\Object Definitions\ with a lot of testing material just like the levels.

Unused Text

//TestBuilding
shader CelShader.fx
technique CelShadedTexture
begin
float4	DiffuseColor <1,1,1,0>
texture DiffuseTex TestPaint.png
end

TestBuildingMaterial.txt

//Waterfall material
shader Waterfall.fx
technique ColorFaceCelShaded
begin
end

WaterfallMaterial.txt

Development Text

Aw, you fail.  Try "setnetmode host" or "setnetmode client"
Failed to render mesh, shit happen.
No goal object set for the game. Game will go on FOREVA
Invalid Message received by Game Logic

A few error messages found in the executable.

Debugging Material

Press ~ to open up the developer's console, and type Help for more commands.
Here are a list of commands:

Code Description
Help Brings up a list of commands.
connecthostip xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx A command for an undocumented online play.
toggledd Toggles a bunch of debug information on the top right of the screen.
togglegraphicsprofiler I think this does something in the ERRORS txt file?.
togglepostprocess Enables/Disables the black outlines.
physicsdebug -b: draw bounding, -k: draw kd-tree, -all, -none Draws a bounding box over objects.
toggleframestep Enables/Disables everything.
scaletime float Slows or speeds up time. 1 is the default.
lookat object name Looks at an object. Edit mode only.
editor A level editor.
aidebug Enables/Disables free-cam.
playaidebug Same as above.
togglecam Lets you move the camera freely.
createobject object name Creates an object in the editor.
save filename Must be in editor. Saves current level to Level Definitions.
createspawnpoint spawn point type Creates spawnpoint while in editor.
newlevel Clears level while in edit mode.
setfps float Sets FPS. When set to 0, the game will crash.
togglestickcam Enables/Disables stick paint physics.
videoram Says how much RAM is used in the console.
objectcount Displays number of objects.
setfov Alters field-of-view. Crashes the game if no float value is specified.
stopbgm Stops playing background music.
playbgm Plays background music.
listlevelnames Lists level names.
loadlevel levelname Loads levels.
objectcount Lists number of objects in level.
scalegravity float Changes gravity.
connecthostindex A command for the undocumented online play.
setnetmode host/client Sets if you are a host or client when using the online play.
chat Should send a chat message when playing with someone else.
log string Repeats text from string.

TAG.ini also has a couple of strings, too.

[Debug]
bDebugdraw = 0
fProfilerInterval = 0.25
bGraphicsProfiler = 0

bStickCam = 1 toggles stick camera/physics. Just like togglestickcam.

Changing 0 to 1 for bDebugdraw just enables debugging information like the console command, toggledd.

Online Multiplayer

Hmmm...
To do:
Do some testing. I am not able too currently as I only have one PC.

Tag has an entire multiplayer mode hidden away in the commands. Multiplayer is never mentioned anywhere on the download page or anywhere else so it seems it's yet to be documented.



Localplayer.png
Players.png


Seems like in early development game supposed to be team based shooter. Leftover of that facts can be found at object definition LocalPlayer.xml, there is empty filed PlayerTeam, aswell as Tag.exe has links to it. It can also be indirectly confirmed, if you modify LocalPlayer.xml by setting Visible field on true, and now you can see yourself by using console command aidebug or editor or just by looking up or down, you will see porition of model of player instance you control, now pickup any paint, and you will see how player model will be colored to match selected paint color of your gun.

You can spawn another LocalPlayer object, by entering editor mode with editor console command and then spawning it with createobject localplayer. You always will control latest created player instance, when previous instacne still be able to interact with paint surfaces, pickups and triggers (like death triggers or tips)

Unused Graphics

TagTPoP-billboard sign 8.png TagTPoP-billboard sign 10.png TagTPoP-billboard sign 12.png TagTPoP-Billboard sign 13.png TagTPoP-billboard sign 15.png
There are a few billboard textures that are not in the game.

TagTPoP-billboard sign template.png


A template for the billboard signs.

TagTPoP-particle spark.png
Unused particle effect for sparks.

TagTPoP-Tooltip change.png
Early version of the color change tip.

TagTPoP-Tooltip change1-2.png
The game displays the 1-2-3 tooltip instead of this one.

TagTPoP-tiger specular.png
A specular map for a tiger model from the Microsoft DirectX SDK.

Unused Models

Hmmm...
To do:
Get screenshots for the rest.
An unused boss from a test level.
An unused player model.

Unused UI Elements

In Game Data/UI Definitions there are some unused UI elements. It is currently unknown how to use them though. Replacing other files does nothing.

Unused Sound Effects

Hmmm...
To do:
Convert the .mp3s to .oggs then post them here.

There are 3 unused sound effects inside of Tag. All of them are from free sound libraries.

A short clip of rain. No metadata.

A ricochet sound effect taken from a sound pack by Hollywood Edge.

A strange sound effect that is never used in-game.

Unused Music

There is one unused song titled song2.mp3 in the game's files.