NPS

NPS Frequently Asked Questions

This page lists some common questions I've been asked about NPS. If you have any other questions, feel free to contact me.

What is NPS?

NPS is an image editing and drawing program created by Lyosha Blinnikov, a student programmer. It has been nicknamed "Microsoft Paint on steroids", and true to its name, it has a user interface that resembles the familiar one of Microsoft Paint albeit with far more functionality.

What does "NPS" stand for?

"NPS" stands for "Nookkin's Paint Shop," which is the name used in previous versions of the program. NPS is still sometimes referred to as Nookkin's Paint Shop.

Why should I use it?

The intent of NPS is not to compete with professional graphic design suites such as Adobe Photoshop. Rather, it aims to make simple image edits much more enjoyable. It excels at editing pixel art and "Microsoft Paint art", and contains the features of Microsoft Paint that we've all wanted.

Not only that, but NPS also provides various tools you can use without opening NPS itself. The 17-mode color picker dialog can be used in standalone mode, which gives you the ultimate control in building a color string that can be copied and pasted into another program. Additional planned features include a batch image converter and resizer, a simple HTML photo gallery designer with thumbnail generation, and more.

When did you start working on NPS?

I started working on the "old" NPS when I was 13 years old, and have worked on it throughout the years. I started working on NPS 3 in summer 2008.

What's the deal with NPS codename Obsidian? How is it different from NPS 2.1?

NPS codename Obsidian is a complete rewrite of the RatTamer-Lagoon codebase (the "old" NPS). Due to the many issues with the old code, NPS is being rewritten from scratch using VB 2008. Please see the NPS codename Obsidian page for more information.

The current version of NPS available for download (2.1) is somewhat out of date and is no longer being actively developed. Due to the lack of fairly "basic" features such as zoom and PNG support, it may not be a good candidate for replacing even Microsoft Paint as your image editor... but NPS 3.0 will fix that. Version 2.1 runs without problems on Windows XP through 7.

What is "legacy NPS", "NPS Lagoon", and "NPS RatTamer"?

These are all names that refer to pre-Obsidian (3.0) versions. RatTamer is the codename of version 2.0, Lagoon is the codename of version 2.1, and Legacy NPS is a general term that is used to refer to anything older than NPS 3.

What are the system requirements of NPS 2.x?

NPS 2.x does not have high minimum system requirements, and will likely run on computers that do not meet even these modest specs. However, as with any program, it will perform considerably better on a faster computer. Here are the suggested minimum requirements:

Operating system: Windows 2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista, Server 2008, 7. (NPS runs on Windows 98, NT 4, and ME, but support for these operating systems is being phased out.)
CPU: 600 MHz. or faster
RAM: 128 MB or more
Hard Disk Space: 10 MB required
Graphics card: Any display adapter that supports 24-bit color and 800x600 resolution.

NPS 3's requirements are still being determined, but if you have a system with the above specs running Windows XP and above, you should not have any issues.

Will there be a Linux or Mac version of NPS?

Quite likely. Since NPS 3 is a .NET application, creating a Mono-optimized release is not too difficult; the Mono version will run on Linux and Mac OS X (both x86 and PowerPC). Please read about NPS on Mono for more information.

Is it available right now? Yes, an entirely "on your own" unsupported build is available by request (just shoot me an email), but it's only intended for those of you willing to spend time trying to get it to work. And NPS 2.x and older will not run on Mono because they are not .NET applications.

Will NPS run on Wine?

NPS 2.x has not been tested to run on Wine or Darwine. I have successfully run it in Safe Mode on Wine (be sure to install MFC42.DLL before installing NPS). However, despite most of the painting functionality working, the program is unable to save images, rendering it quite useless.

Will NPS 2.x run on Wine? Yes. Will it be usable on Wine? No.

Can I add more features to NPS via extensions?

Yes. You can add filters and add-ins to NPS 2.x (which can both be used for processing images). Instructions for doing so can be found in the NPS Help System.

NPS 3 includes an entirely new extension model which will allow you to add file handling plugins, import/export plugins, filters, general add-ins, and more. The Obsidian Extension Model is still being developed, and thus no more information is available for the time being. Note that NPS 3 will be fully compatible with filters and add-ins for older versions, but these add-ins may not support all features.

How much are you selling it for?

Nothing. NPS is free software. However, donations for purposes of NPS development are highly appreciated.

Can I redistribute NPS?

I encourage the distribution of NPS. You are welcome to link to the download page and share the link with others. You may also copy the binary installation package and distribute it directly to individual persons.

However, please do not upload any NPS binaries to another server, and do not include them in any software packages or compilations, without my express permission.

Where can I download the source code?

NPS is free software, but is not open-source (for the most part, that is).

This was a tough decision on my part. On the one hand, opening up the source code will allow for more contributions to its development; on the other hand, it will be a prime target for ripping off. Even Paint.NET, a fairly well-known application, suffered from this problem.

I may eventually release portions of NPS as source code, and it goes without saying that I will post information about various coding techniques and tricks I learned throughout its development. Please e-mail me with any requests.

The source code for the Brighten filter is included with NPS 2.x, and various sample extensions (with source code, of course) are provided for use with NPS 3. You can – and should – use these as a base for creating your own extensions for NPS.

Which versions of NPS are supported?

I have shifted development entirely to NPS 3, and thus I will be providing pre-release support for the latest build. NPS 2.1 is over 2 years old, and is missing many key features. Thus I will not be developing it any further.

Will NPS 3 run on Windows 9x/2000?

NPS 3 will run on Windows 98, ME, and 2000. However, these systems are so old that it has become impractical to test and provide support for them.

How can I support the development of NPS?

There are many things you can do, including monetary donations and non-monetary support. Please check out the Donate page for more information on both.