Blobs Themes

Currently, Blobs Themes fall into two categories, Player and Board.  Player
themes include the picture, numbers, and background color used by that
player.  Board themes include all the pieces used on the board (empty square,
4 players, and blocked squares).  Each of these elements can be "large" or
"small".  Small graphics are exactly half the size of their larger
equivalents.  These sizes are:

Player
  backgr.bmp   - 1x1
  numbers.bmp  - 160x32  (each number is 16x32)
  racelrg.bmp  - 128x256
  racesml.bmp  - 64x128


Board (large)
  backgr.bmp   - 1x1     The background color
  blocked.bmp  - 36x36   Blocked square
  empty.bmp    - 36x36   Empty square
  player1.bmp  - 36x36   Player 1 blob, idle
  player1s.bmp - 36x36   Player 1 blob, selected
  player2.bmp  - 36x36   Player 2 blob, idle
  player2s.bmp - 36x36   Player 2 blob, selected
  player3.bmp  - 36x36   Player 3 blob, idle
  player3s.bmp - 36x36   Player 3 blob, selected
  player4.bmp  - 36x36   Player 4 blob, idle
  player4s.bmp - 36x36   Player 4 blob, selected



The upper-left hand corner of all graphics defines the background color for
that graphic.  All graphics except for race???.bmp and empty.bmp are drawn
transparently over the appropriate place in the play area.

If there are three or four players, the race pictures are divided in half
to make room for two players on each side.  All divided graphics show the
upper half.  Because of this, race pictures should have an even height.


In the future:

- There will be ways to define animations and a description file that eliminates
the backgr.bmp and can turn on or off transparency for each graphic file.

- Backgrounds drawn by tiling backgr.bmp?

- The Player/Board system was designed so that in a network multiplayer game
you could see some picture that represented your opponent yet still have control
over the board (so that, say, your opponent can't use the same color pieces as
you to try to confuse you.)  Other than giving you an override option, this
will probably remain as is.

- The engine behind Blobs is not restricted to these size pieces; they can be any
size that will fit in memory.  If you're designing a theme feel free to work at
at any size as long as you keep the proportions and people's resolutions in mind.
