TwistedDIRT Tool Documentation
This collection reconstructs practical documentation for legacy track-making and game-modification tools preserved with the TwistedDIRT site. It combines packaged readmes and help files with public forum posts, former team-only discussions, and personal messages from admin_twisteddirt.20260727.sql.
Before running legacy software
- Work on copies. Most tools edit project, game, or resource files in place.
- Keep clean backups of every original
RES,PAK,ENV, executable, and project file. - Use a period-appropriate Windows virtual machine when possible. These programs may expect 32-bit Windows, DirectX 8, Visual Basic 6 runtime files, old PhysX releases, or 3ds Max 3.1.
- Treat unsigned executables and installers as historical software. Scan them and isolate them from important systems.
- Do not combine instructions for similarly named MCM1, MCM2, MVA, and Reflex utilities unless the page explicitly says they are compatible.
MCM2
| Tool or download | Purpose | Documentation |
|---|---|---|
| Armadillo and APM | Official editor and extended project/resource manager | Guide |
| Dillo Too 0.97.4 | Advanced project, spline, object, animation, and packaging editor | Guide |
| Unibastard | 3ds Max 3.1 SLT exporter | Guide |
| MakeCMP | Packages custom TGA textures into CMP/TEX resources | Guide |
| ASC to POV/TGA | Converts 3ds Max terrain into high-precision heightmaps | Guide |
| BikeSwitcher | Installs bike/rider PKG modifications | Guide |
| MCM2 Package Manager | Successor to BikeSwitcher; edits several RES files | Guide |
| Track Manager 1.01 | Activates, archives, retrieves, and deletes ENV tracks | Guide |
| Sik Trix 1.04 | Edits MCM2 rider and bike trick animation | Guide |
| No AI Stunts | Builds an executable in which AI riders do not perform stunts | Guide |
| Max Calculator | Converts Armadillo grid/light settings for 3ds Max | Guide |
| Armadillo Object/Enviro Scripters | Builds Max scripts for accurate object and environment shadows | Guide |
| SLT Assistant | Examines and adjusts SLT level-of-detail data | Guide |
| Custom Object Manager | Organizes custom-object menus in Armadillo and Dillo Too | Guide |
| MXU resource downloads | Enables TwistedDIRT MX Unleashed remakes in MCM2 | Guide |
| TwistedDIRT Objects 2001 | Catalog and installation workflow for MCM2 custom objects | Guide |
MX vs ATV Unleashed (MVA)
| Tool | Purpose | Documentation |
|---|---|---|
| Rainbow Unleashed Editor | Official project/activity editor | Guide |
| Unleashed Editor Too / UE2 | Advanced tile, spline, object, scene, and package editing | Guide |
| SLTtoDXG | Converts MCM2 SLT objects and textures for MVA | Guide |
| POV Injector | Injects a high-precision POV TGA into an MVA project | Guide |
| Sik Trix Unleashed | Edits MVA rider and vehicle animation | Guide |
Reflex
| Tool | Purpose | Documentation |
|---|---|---|
| Reflex Track Compiler | Compiles a text .track definition and its assets |
Guide |
| Create Topdown | Blends base/overlay textures through a mask map | Guide |
| Digital Earthworks | Visual terrain, object, activity, water, ecosystem, and spline editor | Guide |
| Surface Creator and Library Maker | Converts and packages custom Reflex objects | Guide |
MCM1
The preserved MCM1 folder contains many small utilities rather than one dominant editor. See the MCM1 legacy utility catalog for ASCEdit, Skywalker, Track Converter, displacement-map viewers, scripts, and related downloads.
Evidence labels
Each guide ends with a source section. Statements are categorized as:
- Packaged documentation: supplied with the archive or installer.
- Program inspection: filenames, dialog text, and capabilities visible in the preserved executable.
- Forum evidence: posts from the SQL dump. Links use the restored forum base
https://bruceatkinson.com/dirttwister/smf. - Reconstruction: a workflow inferred by combining the above. These instructions are identified as such and should be tested on copies.
The original and expanded game-level research remain in TRACK_MAKING_KNOWLEDGE.md and TRACK_MAKING_KNOWLEDGE_EXPANDED.md.