This is one of the quote from the previous post in DotA Media Forums by Infrisios, one of the beta tester. Credit to Infrisios by providing the Dota Themes to us.
Infrisios said
"First, screw everything you have read here back when it was called Beachpack.
That's old, now it is the Theme Manager!With ~9MB for the rar file, it is much smaller now.More themes will come!"
Overview:
1. What does this "Theme Manager do?
2. What does it contain?
3. How to use it?
4. Spoiler - what will come in the future?
5.-links, FAQ, Credits, Changelog, screenshots, etc sig
1. What does this "Theme Manager do?The Theme Manager allows you using different terrainsets in DotA without using a different map. This works by replacing the textures / models in your MPQs - WC3's data files - itself. It will not only change DotA's terrain (where it has no glitches), but also other maps. In other maps, it will look quite bad, so this is more useful for DotA.
While it strongly changes the appearance of the map, it does not change anything of the gameplay - the changes are of PURE visual nature and the process is easily reversible.
The Theme Manager is completely compatible with every platform / hosting program (b.net / GGC / DC / LC / Hamachi /...).
Most of this discussion is old ( "Beach Pack") and belongs to versions where it was not compatible and worked in other ways.
The "real" discussion begins somewhere at page 11
The patch seems to have brought no problem at all
2. What does it contain? Beach Theme:
Beach-terrain everywhere
-- "Pandaren" UI for both parties (thanks to Unwirklich)
Hell Theme:
-- "Hell"-terrain everywhere
-- "Demon" UI for both parties (thanks to Unwirklich)
Snow Theme (Beta)
Every terrain-Snow
-- "Frost" UI for both parties (self-made, based on human)
- no 100% guarantee for stability:-P
3. How to use it? QUOTE (installation)
How to install the Theme Manager?
1. If you have beachpack installed, to restore original (if you can not, it will not be too bad afaik). You would have exchanged your War3Patch.mpq in this case and should have a backup (with lower filesize).
2. Unpack the file in your warcraft folder - in most cases C: \ Program Files \ Warcraft III.
3. DO NOT move or rename any of the files you unpacked.
4. If you want it on your desktop, create a shortcut of the executable file.
5. Go! (2,3,4,5 step after checking again)
QUOTE (Usage)
1. Close your warcraft AND warcraft world editor. Else it does not work!
2. Start the program. If you start it the first time, it will create a backup of your MPQ
3. Select your favourite Toolkit. If you select one, it will always be activated unless you change it!
4. Start WC3. Whether you start it out of the program or not is not important.
Other maps might have a (visually) screwed terrain - I suggest you to use "original" when playing something different than DotA
Of course, is DotA Icefrog's map, and I would not do something like this without his explicit permission ....
Ice gave me specific permission to do that as long as it is done in conjuction with the beta team and is beta tested and screened by IceFrog and his Betatesters.
Beach Pack in action - in "End Game"!
Have fun!
Infrisios
4. Spoiler - what will come in the future As the preview screenshots show, the long awaited Snow Theme is close to being finished.
After that, I have a bunch of different basic ideas:
Themes:
Bar - that's what should come after snowpack.
- highland - something rocky -.-
- Dungeon - dunno, this could be a very dark version of the snow theme or something ... I will again have a problem with trees ... sad.gif
Others - these are purely hypothetic
Special functions in the GUI (again, only basic ideas):
- custom user interfaces for each race (with checkboxes or something you can select the interface you'd like)
- custom models, again with checkboxes
- special icons (or do you like the Song of the Siren icon?)
5. DL-links, FAQ, Credits, Changelog, screenshots, etc sigDownloads: *.rar - you can only unpack these when you have winrar, but they are much smaller.
DL 1 - Megaupload
DL 2 - Rapidshare
DL 3 - Sendspace
Old versions:
DL 1 - Megaupload[DTM1]
DL 2 - Rapidshare [DTM1]
DL 3 - Sendspace[DTM1]
Downloads: *.zip - bigger, but everyone can unpack them
DL 1 - Rapidshare
Old versions:
DL 1 - Rapidshare [DTM1]
Credits go to:
-- Infrisios, idea and development
-- Yak, immense. Would not all, without him. It was also a curse texture issue for the beach
-- Laku_0o using the graphical user interface (and the founding of the first!)
-- 4nTr4xX to me the War3Patch.mpq English (no longer on the important issue Manager)
-- Ereskigal, murdoc_rocks, Revil0 the above (examination of stability)
-- Unwirklich for the Panda (beach) and Demon (hell) user interfaces (user interfaces)
-- Betatesters support for the revival and a bit of the idea of a habit Dota
-- YOU support for the issue of motivation me and this program, starting with a simple, non-multiplayer program!
Changes:
-- Incorporated demon ui Preview Screenshot
-- Update - Bug resolved, the multiplayer. The beachpack works in a completely different now.
-- Added English version
-- Added IE version
-- Added the theme hell alpha Screenshots Preview
-- Added GUI with the theme Beta Hell. Does the same way, but that is something else. No need for more language versions ;-)
-- Added snow theme screenshots of the beta-preview [Photobucket only]
-- [18.07.2008] Uploaded DTM V2. Added data to the new changes òÓ
Screen shots:
Beach Theme
Hell Theme
Snow Theme
Read More......