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With as little fanfare as possible, I'd like to announce the release of the third installment of The Lieutenant series: Foreign Affairs. Huge thanks for my beta testers: @Bergante @Cambridge Spy @chakkman @Mat99 @Shadow @wesp5 For a full list of credits, please see the readme.txt that ships with the mission, or go here. More screenshots can be viewed here: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBr44M Download link #1: https://github.com/FrostSalamander/lt3/releases/download/1.0/faffairs.pk4 Download link #2: https://drive.proton.me/urls/JESNV8CNKW#ljttGnbkkAOh @nbohr1more here's the 800x600 versions of the screenshots: https://drive.proton.me/urls/MFGZ3WXCAW#WXXAnYkPgGZX Stuff to be aware of: TDM 2.12 required The only difference in difficulty settings is the (optional) loot goal If you see a tile material, chances are it's a custom version changed to sound like stone. I did this in order to preserve the aesthetic of the setting without making it maddening to play. Some vines are climbable, some aren't. Just try them and see. The FM makes use of latches on doors, a new feature created by @Wellingtoncrab and myself. Read more here: https://github.com/thedarkmodcommunity/test-latch/wiki Known Issues Some people are having an issue with things being unfrobable, particularly the jewelry cabinets in Jerry's Jewels and also another lever in a secret place. Try exiting/re-entering the area to see if that fixes anything, as the frobability is triggered by entering and leaving the room/area/. Secrets Here's a list of the secret locations. Obvious spoilers:

EDIT: This topic was initially named "Frob Helper madness". ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- While working on something I analyzed the Frob Helper. The Frob Helper was enabled by default in 2.11. The options were: Show Frob Helper: Yes [Default] No [Tip] Makes interacting with small objects easier by temporarily displaying a white dot. ------------------------------------------------------------------ In 2.12 the Frob Helper remains enabled by default but things changed: Show Frob Helper: Always Hover Fade In [Default] Fade In Fast No [Tip] Makes interacting with small objects easier: Always = Show crosshair dot at all times Hover = Instantly show dot on highlight Fade In = Gradually show dot on highlight Fade In Fast = Same as Fade In but faster ------------------------------------------------------------------ If I was new to TDM I would expect a "Frob Helper" to help me identify frobs: you can interact with this, here is the helper so that you know it and you know where the center of the screen is in case you need it. The Frob Helper however was designed to compensate for the shortcomings of other mechanics of the game, and as such, the Frob Helper is flawed by design: it only shows up if the size of the object is smaller than the arbitrary value of 40. I will say at this point that I am well aware of the tdm_frobhelper_ignore_size cvar but this isn't the point. This game isn't a shooter and "Always on" is not required unless we are talking motion sickness, in which case it belongs in a hidden cvar, for the few that may need it. The starting point of the Frob Helper should have been: On (the helper shows up whenever you can interact with something) Off From this point we can expand with more options, of course: Always on (not recommended based on the nature of the game) On for all items - Hover On for all items - Fade In On for all items - Fade In Fast [Default] On for small items - Hover On for small items - Fade In On for small items - Fade In Fast Always off

Welcome to the Snatcher's Workshop. Come on in, we may have something for you today. Feel free to look around. We trade everything here. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- We realize new ideas and take existing ideas for a spin. For fun. Somewhere in this post you will find a download with mods. Good care was put to make all mods as little intrusive as possible to make them compatible with as many missions as possible. This set of mods will never break your game but some features won't be available in a handful of missions (the reasons are known). Feel free to report here what works and what doesn't. TDM Modpack vs. Unofficial Patch The TDM Modpack and wesp5's Unofficial Patch are incompatible since both the Pack and the Patch use a similar approach to mods. With the release of recent versions of the TDM Modpack I consider the most relevant features of the Unofficial Patch have been matched, superseded, improved, or simply implemented in different ways. More importantly, the TDM Modpack is not only tightly packed and it has a minimal impact in your install but it achieves more by altering less core files, meaning more compatibility and less maintenance. One can, of course, argue. TDM Modpack v4.0 Compatible with The Dark Mod 2.12 ONLY A lightweight, stable, non-intrusive, mission-friendly Modpack for The Dark Mod that includes many enhancements and a new set of tools and abilities for our protagonist: peek through doors, blow and ignite candles, whistle to distract enemies, mark your location, an invisibility-speed combo and more. Mods included in the pack do not alter your game or any of the missions in any relevant way. The pack includes enhancements to the core game and additions that can be used in missions but at the same time respects the vision of the mission creators. It is up to you to make use of any of the new tools and abilities or not. Please note that sometimes authors include in their missions their own versions of core files and as a result, some mods are not available in some missions. All missions will play fine regardless. Release posts: v4 series: v4.0 v3 series: v3.0 | v3.2 | v3.3 | v3.4 | v3.5 | v3.6 | v3.8 v2 series: v2.0 | v2.2 | v2.4 | v2.5 | v2.6 | v2.7 | v2.8 v1 series: v1.0 | v1.2 | v1.4 | v1.6 | v1.8 What's included in the pack? -:- APP: GENERIC MOD ENABLER -:- Credits: JoneSoft License: Free for unlimited time for Home users and non-profit organizations. Description: A portable, freely distributable Mod enabler/disabler. This application is required to run mods safely and it is included in the pack. At the heart of the Modpack resides JSGME (JoneSoft Generic Mod Enabler), an application that allows players to enable and disable mods with one click. JSGME has been around for more than a decade and it is to be fully trusted. Refer to the install instructions section at the bottom for full details. -:- MOD: AUTO COMMANDS -:- By activating Auto Commands some key bindings will be set automatically. F1, F2, F3 and F4 keys are not used by the game and we are reserving them for mods: - F1: Cycle through the Skills category - F2: Cycle through the Tools category - F3: Switch between Loot and Stealth stats - F4: Direct shortcut to "Penumbra" None of these categories or shortcuts can be set to any hotkey in-game currently, so we are using the built-in autocommands.cfg file to set up the keys. It may be the case you already make use of the autocommands.cfg file to configure other things to your needs or liking therefore consider yourself warned. Enable Auto Commands if you plan on using Core Essentials and/or the Skill Upgrade. -:- MOD: CORE ESSENTIALS -:- A pack that includes a variety of mods from the best modders of TDM: ~ FAST DOORS Credits: Idea and programming by Obsttorte. Treatment by snatcher. Availability: All missions except Noble Affairs, Seeking Lady Leicester, Shadows of Northdale ACT II, Snowed Inn and a handful of lesser missions. Description: Being chased? In a rush? No problem: doors open and close faster when running. Topic: Slam doors open while running ~ QUIET DOORS Credits: An idea by SeriousToni (Sneak & Destroy mission). Mod by snatcher. Availability: All missions except Noble Affairs, Seeking Lady Leicester, Shadows of Northdale ACT II, Snowed Inn and a handful of lesser missions. Description: A vast number of doors play more subtle, sneaky sounds for a quieter, stealthier experience. This applies to doors that come with default sounds but only when manipulated by the player. Topic: Decrease volume of open/close door sounds triggered by player ~ LOOT ANIMATIONS Credits: Original idea by Goldwell (Noble Affairs mission). Programming by Obsttorte. Treatment by snatcher and wesp5. Availability: All missions except Noble Affairs, Seeking Lady Leicester, Shadows of Northdale ACT II, Snowed Inn and a handful of lesser missions. Description: Moves the loot towards the player before putting it in the inventory, underlining the impression of actually taking it. This mod comes with a subtle new loot sound that goes along nicely with the animation. ~ DYNAMIC LOOT INVENTORY Credits: snatcher. Availability: All missions except Noble Affairs, Seeking Lady Leicester, Shadows of Northdale ACT II, Snowed Inn and a handful of lesser missions. Description: When picking up loot this mod displays the loot info in the inventory and shortly after reverts back to the last non-loot item selected. ~ SMART CONTAINERS Credits: Obsttorte (source code updates), Dragofer (similar attempts), snatcher. Availability: All missions. Description: To facilitate looting, the bottom of many containers (chests, jewellery boxes, etc...) gets automatically disabled at the beginning of the mission and only the lid remains frobable. ~ STEALTH MONITOR Credits: kcghost, Dragofer, snatcher. Availability: All missions. Description: Display some stats (Suspicions / Searches / Sightings) and the Stealth Score during a mission. Bring up the "Loot" inventory icon and press "Use" or just press F3 repeatedly if using Auto Commands. ~ STEALTH ALERT Credits: snatcher. Availability: All missions. Description: Completing a mission without being seen is something that can be done with some practice and patience. This mod will play an alerting chime whenever you are seen so that you don't have to monitor the Stealth stats all the time. ~ BLINKING ITEMS Credits: snatcher. Availability: All missions. Requisites: Console command r_newFrob must be 0, which is the game default. Description: Items within frob distance that go into the inventory (plus static readables) emit a subtle blink. This pulse can help you identify some valuable items that otherwise are difficult to detect. Topic: New Frob Shader ~ SMART OBJECTS Credits: snatcher, Dragofer. Availability: All missions. Description: Sometimes it is difficult to tell if an object is being held or not. Three dots will be displayed on screen whenever you grab an object, unless the object has name, in which case the name of the object will be displayed. In addition, objects (except AI entities) do not make or propagate sounds on impact while being manipulated. Topics: No impact sounds while holding an object / Nameless objects... a missed opportunity ~ SHADOWMARK TOOL Credits: snatcher, Obsttorte. Availability: All missions. Description: Our protagonist's lucky deck! When the item is selected the player can drop and throw playing cards to mark a location. Cards can be retrieved. AI will not normally mind a single card lying around but cards can sometimes be noticed. Topic: Find more details in this post ~ ALT FOOTSTEPS ON WATER Credits: SeriousToni. Availability: All missions except Hazard Pay, Noble Affairs, Shadows of Northdale ACT I and ACT II, Snowed Inn, Volta 2: Cauldron and a handful of lesser missions. Description: Alternative sounds of footsteps on water for our protagonist (walk / run / land). Topic: New Footstep sounds ~ OTHER ADDITIONS Re-worked Inventory menu (more compact). Alternative high mantle sound for our protagonist. Revamped and extended "Mission Complete" audio theme. -:- MOD: SKILL UPGRADE -:- A new "Skills" category is added to the inventory on mission load and the category includes the below abilities: Did you know? When using Auto Commands you can press F1 to access the "Skills" category and F4 to quickly access "Penumbra"... ~ SKILL: OBSERVATION Credits: Dragofer, snatcher, wesp5 Availability: All missions. Description: When the "Peek Door" item is selected the player can peek through any regular door. Select the item in the inventory and "Use" it on a door. Topic: Peek through (almost) every door ~ SKILL: MANIPULATION Credits: Dragofer, wesp5, Obsttorte, snatcher. Availability: All missions. Description: When the "Blow / Ignite" item is selected the player can blow out and light up candles and oil lamps. Select the item in the inventory and "Use" it on small flame sources. Topic: Extinguish small lights with a blow ~ SKILL: COMBINATION Credits: OrbWeaver, MirceaKitsune, datiswous, wesp5, snatcher. Availability: All missions. Description: When the "Alchemy" item is selected the player can alter the properties of broadhead arrows by applying different reagents. Select the item in the inventory and "Use" it repeatedly to cycle through the different arrow types. Topic: Alchemy to alter arrow properties? Arrow types: Shadow arrow compound or "Darkdust": Widely believed to be a myth, little to nothing is known about anti-light matter. Where did our protagonist get his formula from? When this substance is subject to strain the particles implode and the residual component absorbs light until it dissipates completely. Flare arrow compound or "Starlight": A recipe based on luminescent mushrooms and other exotic herbs. The resulting powder produces, for limited time, a dim but steady blue-ish glow when mixed with the right reactive. A high concentration of the active mixture can cause a burning sensation to the eyes. ~ SKILL: DISTRACTION Credits: snatcher. Availability: All missions. Description: When the "Whistle" item is selected the player can whistle and draw the attention of nearby AI. The more you whistle, the more attention it draws. Select the item in the inventory and just "Use" it. Keep a safe distance. ~ SKILL: ALTERATION Credits: VanishedOne (speed potion), kingsal (invisibility potion), snatcher (alchemy). Availability: All missions. Description: When the "Penumbra" item is selected the player can avoid light sources and run faster than usual for limited time. Health consumed will gradually be restored. Penumbra doesn't muffle the noise you make and it doesn't work when in contact with water. Press F4 to quickly access this ability if using Auto Commands. THE PATH TO UMBRA: How to become one with the shadows -:- MOD: CLASSIC BLACKJACK -:- Credits: Obsttorte, snatcher. Availability: All missions except A House of Locked Secrets and By Any Other Name. Description: A straightforward approach to blackjacking with new rules and mechanics inspired by the original Thief games. Never miss a KO again! - No indicator required. "Classic Blackjack" rules: Some AI are KO-immune and cannot be KOed: * Undead, creatures... * Guards wearing heavy helmets (to respect TDM vision) * Other: set by mission authors for the plot, in example The rest of AI can be KOed, just aim for the head: * Civilians: Can always be knocked out from any direction * Combatants: Can always be knocked out (including when fleeing) from any direction except when in high alert state (normally in combat mode) As reference, you can find in the Wiki the set of rules of the non-modded TDM: https://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=The_Dark_Mod_Gameplay#Blackjacking -:- MOD: FLASH GRENADE -:- Credits: snatcher, kingsal. Availability: All missions except Hazard Pay and Moongate Ruckus. Description: Flashbombs are clumsy and loud but as effective as ever. Instead of throwing Flashbombs like a cannonball we now toss them. Instead of exploding on impact Flashbombs now have a fuse. The chances of blinding have been greatly increased. -:- MOD: HUNTER BOW -:- Credits: snatcher. Availability: Most missions (a few missions do things differently but you should never notice). Description: Nock and draw arrows at a faster rate. Extended radius of gas arrow effect. Chance to retrieve rope arrows when missing a shot. -:- MOD: SHOCK MINE -:- Credits: wesp5, snatcher. Availability: All missions. Description: This mod replaces the Flashmines with customized, "High Voltage" electric mines. Remember: mines can be disarmed with the lockpicks! -:- MOD: SIMPLE SUBTITLES -:- Credits: Geep, stgatilov, snatcher. Availability: All missions. Description: A minimalist, imperfect approach to subtitles (you can set the scope of the subs in the audio settings). Topics: Subtitles - Possibilities Beyond 2.11 / English Subtitles for AI Barks Go to the audio settings and set the scope you prefer: Story: Story only On: Story and general speech (Give it a try!) Off: Disable subtitles Features of the mod: Background replaced with a font outline. Audio source widget replaced with a text transparency based on distance (volume) to the source. Yellow font color for story subs for best contrast, light grey font color for anything else. Non-story subs limited to a single instance, so that players aren't bothered too much with non-relevant subs (barks). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- DOWNLOADS / INSTALL / UNINSTALL So, how do I install and play with all this? Quite easy, but pay attention. I don't want you to break your game so we will be using a "Mod Enabler". A Mod Enabler allows you to enable and disable mods at will, with a few clicks. Before moving forward you must know a couple of things: The moment you enable a mod, previous saves will not work. If you want to load previous saves then you will have to disable the mod. If you play a mission with mods, the saves will only work when that exact set of mods are enabled. This above is important in case you deem your current saves precious. Consider yourself informed. DOWNLOADS You can download the TDM Modpack from Mod DB: INSTALL INSTRUCTIONS Download the zip, unzip it, and move contents to your TDM root folder: Folder "MODS" File "JSGME.exe" Go to your TDM root folder and double click on JSGME.exe (yellow icon). The first time you launch JSGME, it will ask for the "Mods Folder Name". Leave "MODS" and click OK. Now to your left you will find a list of mods available. To your right you will find a list of mods currently enabled. To enable a mod, select a mod on the left, and click on the arrow pointing to the right. To disable a mod, select a mod on the right, and click on the arrow pointing to the left. Go and enable the mods you want: UNINSTALL INSTRUCTIONS Quit the game (to unblock files) Go to your TDM root folder and double click on JSGME.ese (yellow icon) Disable all mods found on the right Close JSGME Delete the following: Folder "MODS" File "JSGME.exe" File "JSGME.ini" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- I hope you enjoy the mods. No coin? then leave a like for pirate's sake!

Hello taffers, The campaign "Hidden Hands: Blood & Metal" consisting of five missions is now basically ready for beta testing (the briefing videos are missing and there are still some "real" speakers missing, at the moment there are tentative robot voices in these places, hope to replace them in the next two or three weeks). Unfortunately, the project has become somewhat more extensive than originally planned. It took me about two hours to test each mission. So you should allow at least12 hours for all five missions on the first run. Beta testing shall start at the beginning/middle of next week. The difficulty level is somewhere between "The Anomaly" and "The Lost Citadel". Some things are easier, others are not, but proper exploration and usage of the available resources/objects should always pave the way to success. Sign in here, if you are taff enough! Jack Testing thread:

I really liked this mission, the variety, the architecture, the verticality, the soundscapes, the nice little touches like In some ways I think it expands the TDM universe in a totally new direction, like few other missions do.

Here are some guidelines I sort of use: err on the small side rather than large. A common complaint in maps from new mappers is too much open space, rooms too large, etc. Smaller rooms also provide a more medieval feel. If you make a room you need to fill it with stuff to avoid the above - so the smaller the better keep room for AI to move - minimum of 36 units to pass between objects Place an AI and/or furniture in the room first thing as a reference point Also need to make sure there is room for AI to open/close doors. Test the AI in your room as early as possible work in multiples of 8 - so hall width of 64/96/128 and room height of 128, etc. And then just pick whichever one suits your scene the best.

I wonder if just leaving/re-entering the room will fix the issue with the jewelry cabinets. I've left a 'known issues' section in the original post to try that. As this seems to be far too common, I will probably need to release an update.

Regarding "Fade In" and "Fade In Fast" I think I know what these two visions were going for. "Fade In" wants to delay the help as much as possible (not to spoil the fun, I guess) by making use of an initial delay - where nothing happens - and a slow fade in. "Fade In Fast" takes a more direct approach (in disagreement with "Fade In", I guess) and goes for a shorter initial delay - where nothing happens - and a faster fade in. In my opinion the fade in speed (tdm_frobhelper_fadein_duration) must be discarded. Players should not be waiting to see if they can detect the helper but should wait because they know the helper is about to popup in its full glory.

I think it would be smart to go ahead and start a "Newbie thread" that covers all newbie questions in one place, as with the TDS Forum. It doesn't have to be this one, just for future reference. Aaanyway, I was going through the A-Z Tutorial, and right about the time you make the pool of water, I fixed some leaks, thought I got them all. Now it won't Dmap again, but when I hit Pointfile, it says "Could not open pointfile: E:/games/ ... /TutorialMap.lin" I don't know why since it's been working up to now. So if I have a leak I can't find it, but it's troubling just that Pointfile suddenly, inexplicably doesn't open! There isn't any ".lin" file either; not sure what happened to it. Any ideas? Edit: I started a map from scratch and Pointfile didn't show up again. So whatever it is, it isn't something I messed up in that first map, but a general problem I'm having with DR. Edit2: But it does Dmap and Map just fine, so that's ok.

Hey! Can I claim to be a newbie here? I am trying to make an improved version of the Ropescroller script that sets a shader parm on the rope texture to make it scroll and fakes movement. I am working with a 3 state elevator rather than the two state elevator that was in "A New Job" ( where my original script was designed ). The elevator position entities only offer call_on_arrive and call_on_leave spawnargs so you cannot distinguish when the middle buttons intend to go up, down, or called to player. I tried adding a frob_action_script spawnarg to the buttons but it just kills the entities. Is there a preferred way to query which button was pressed and pass that to a script variable? As I can tell, the "elevator buttons entities" don't offer any end-point for making such a request?

So recently I tried upscaling the old TDM logo video that can seen as intro before loads of old missions and some newer ones. The old one looks like this: But inside TDM the video is stretched because it has an aspect ratio of 1:1 . On 16:9 screens it looks very stretched and on 4:3 and 5:4 a little. A 16:9 aspect ratio for the video would be better for most users (using 16:9) and on 4:3 and 5:4 it still looks ok. Now one could say: "who cares about that old video?" (I do, every time I watch it before a new mission). But I would say: "How much work is it to convert the video to mp4 (smaller file) and make it 16:9?". I mean pure conversion, no upscaling. The upscaled variant I made (in 16:9) looks like this: I think it looks better than the original, but that's just my opinion and not really the point of this topic.

Here is a 16:9 version of the briefing_video: I had to increase the contrast a bit though, because the changed aspect ratio means there are black area's left and right of the video, while the inner part is dark-grey, which looks bad. Apart from that the video shows now smaller on-screen (at least in 16:9) because it doesn't get stretched. This means that the video has been slightly changed. briefing_video.mp4 briefing_video.zip

I am going to go with four options: Always Hover Delayed ("Fade In" and "Fade In Fast" will do the same) No

You're asking a pretty tough question here and it's more about game-play aesthetics than a technical issue. I would humbly offer that my favor room sizing is in Sir Talbot's Collateral but I also enjoyed the spacing in Seeking Lady Leicester so there may not be a hard \ fast rule here. Mostly just need to have enough patrols to make the place challenging but have fair escape points that can be accessed with careful maneuvering. I especially enjoy escaping into the ceilings ( Sir Talbot's ) pipe climbs and nooks are also cool.

You ok with testing the release candidat maybe next week?

Nobody? While working on the mod I noticed that while "Fade In Fast" parameters apply it does not stick in the menu from session to session and it reverts back to "Fade In". The preset is missing in game/game_local.cpp: int frobHelperPreset = 0; // Off if (cvarSystem->GetCVarBool("tdm_frobhelper_active")) { if (cvarSystem->GetCVarBool("tdm_frobhelper_alwaysVisible")) { frobHelperPreset = 1; // Always } else if (cvarSystem->GetCVarInteger("tdm_frobhelper_fadein_delay") == 0 && cvarSystem->GetCVarInteger("tdm_frobhelper_fadein_duration") == 0) { frobHelperPreset = 2; // Hover } else { frobHelperPreset = 3; // Fade In } }

I think I found the hex value for the Shroud/Dark Vignette effect in the Latest Epic Games Version: \ThiefGame\CookedPCNG Find the File ThiefGame.u Make a Backup Copy of the File just in case. Find the Following Hex Value: 02 CD CC 4C 3F 37 CC 66 FC 0A 2E BC 00 01 9C DE Change it to: 02 00 00 00 00 37 CC 66 FC 0A 2E BC 00 01 9C DE Not Fully tested in a complete playthrough but back and forth and it does take away the nasty effect.

The peek will be reviewed by the Devs at some point, and not because of the 32bit, but because it apparently does not work in Linux. This requisite is in your head and while legit, it is not what I was going for. I have yet to find one of these!

I've been asked to post about the increased mantle speed in 2.12 as some folks have been curious about the change. After a lengthy internal discussion along with testing and input by several mission authors, it was agreed internally to increase the mantle speed. But during 2.12 beta testing, we would like feedback on any bugs or issues that you find. The reason for the change was to address feedback from players that mantling was "painfully slow", "slow and clunky", "mantling sucks - it's just slow", and so on. Several mission authors supported making mantling faster, and so the dev team decided to tweak the mantle speed. There were multiple implementations with the final implementation being a compromise. Also, the dev team studied some parkour techniques to ensure that the mantle phases and timings were good enough. The changes include: The original mantle phases were kept as that is what longtime TDM players are used to, and only the duration of some phases were reduced. Changed the pull animation so that it has both acceleration and deceleration rather than just deceleration. Tweaked the swaying back and forth a bit to work better with the increased speed. When the player in forced into the crouch position at the end of a mantle, crouch near the end of the mantle rather than the beginning in order to remove the sudden "dip" of the player's view. A majority of dev team members were against adding a menu setting, so being able to toggle between the old and new mantle speeds will not happen. It is recommended that you try out different "Mantle Roll" values as some prefer "0.1" and others prefer "0.5". We hope you all enjoy this adjusted mantle speed, especially the overhead mantle, which is now more consistent with the other mantle types. Bug tracker: https://bugs.thedarkmod.com/view.php?id=6343

To be honest, while I kept the frob helper available in my latest patches, I use the dark outline instead which is really nice :)!

https://www.eizo.com/products/flexscan/ev2730q/ TDM devs at the time depicted the future of gaming..

Yep, sorry about that! I know from experience that figuring out using space effectively in a new engine/editor comes with experience, I just wanted to see if anyone had any thoughts that could put me on the right path for my anniversary mission. I'll play through those levels you mentioned again and take some notes. Thank you as usual, Nbohr1more!

Yeah I don't know why that format was chosen. The install_splash.tga files are also often in 1:1 and then get stretched in some direction with every monitor resolution. It's even documented that you have to save the file in that format (256x256). Maybe it's used as a middle ground between 4:3 and 5:4 (probably most common used aspect ratio's used then).