List of Dune II Editing Tools

[MrFlibble]

For the convenience of all people interested in giving the good old Dune 2 a new twist, I've decided to compile a list of useful tools for editing and modding the game.

PAK Viewing and Editing

This section covers various tools that allow to view and/or edit the contents of PAK pseudo-archive files used by Westwood to store game data in Dune 2.

XCC Mixer

The number one tool for editing many of Westwood Studios' games, XCC Mixer allows you to view and extract the contents of PAK archives, as well as convert graphics and sounds to Windows-recognized formats.

Quick reference: How to set up XCC Mixer for viewing Dune II graphics.

WestPak2

This utility is solely designed to handle PAK files from various Westwood games like Dune 2, Legend of Kyrandia or Lands of Lore. Views contents and extracts files. Supports most, if not all, media formats used by the game.

WWPAK

This is a very handy, simple, easy-to-use command line program that can unpack the contents of a PAK file into a folder of the same name, and pack such a folder into a PAK file back.

NOTE: WWPak is known to incorrectly extract WSA animations from INTRO.PAK. Use alternate tools, like XCC Mixer, to extract WSA files from INTRO.PAK. Otherwise, PAK files created with WWPak contain no errors.

Dune 2 PAK

A Windows-based PAK editor written by TCH.

Text & Font Editing

Most text in Dune 2 is stored in ENG (GER and FRE for German and French versions respectively) files, which come in several types: a) uncompressed text table (example: DUNE.ENG), b) compressed text table (example: TEXTA.ENG) and c) structured compressed text table (example: MENTATA.ENG).

Siberian String Table Editor

Designed with the aim to be the ultimate text editing utility for Westwood games, the Siberian String Table Editor fully supports all types of ENG files used in Dune 2. It is advised that you turn off the "Auto Decompression" option though, and (de)compress files manually, since the code is not perfect yet and will incorrectly interpret the "end of paragraph" sign in some files.

Also, XCC Mixer can convert uncompressed text tables into plain TXT files, but it's generally not very useful.

Nyerguds' Westwood Font Editor

This is a graphical font editor that supports font file formats used in Westwood Studios' games. More details can be found here.

Graphics Editing

Dune 2 uses several formats for in-game graphics.

CPS: This is a single 320x200 image used for screen backgrounds. There are two types of CPS files: unpaletted and paletted. Dune 2 uses the first type, but the paletted variant is also recognized and used by the game.

SHP: This is a series of frames compressed into a single file. It is used for unit, smudge and menu button graphics. Unlike the later versions of SHP format (used in Command & Conquer for example), each frame can have different shape.

WSA: All animations like the intro sequence or animated unit and building images from menus and Mentat databases are in this format. It is different from the SHP that all frames are of the same shape, and there are additional parameters defining the frame rate at which the animation is played, and whether it is played once or loops endlessly. The WSA file format used in v1.0 is different from v1.07.

There is yet another format used for terrain tiles and buildings, which includes two files: ICON.ICN and ICON.MAP (located in DUNE.PAK). You can read more about it here, and also some bits are in this thread.

Dune 2 Tile Editor (Beta) by ArrakisResearchCo. It will read ICON.ICN and ICON.MAP directly from DUNE.PAK. Read the explanation here (link not working, sorry!). Some more info in this thread.

NOTE: Since the main site is down, you can get the editor here (thanks to Nyerguds for hosting the file!).

C&C64 File Converter by Nyerguds. This is a multifarious graphics editor/converter that supports a wide array of file formats from different games, and recently the Dune 2 SHP format was added to the list. Read the extensive description here.

Red Horizon Utilities

This tool pack developed by Ultraq was actually designed for the purposes of modding Red Alert, but it supports editing of Dune 2 graphical formats as well. Among other things, it allows to convert single or multiple PNG files into Dune 2 SHP and WSA, and PCX files into unpaletted CPS files.

NOTE: The latest version of Red Horizon Utilities is 0.28a, but you might also need v0.24 to create Dune 2 SHPs with varying frame dimensions (for some reason SHPs of this kind created with v0.28a may crash the game). Earlier versions of Red Horizon Utilities can be downloaded here:

http://www.ultraq.ne...izon/Downloads/ (this link is down, kept for historical purposes)

Nyeruds has been very kind to create a mirror at his Open Directory:

http://nyerguds.arsa...ols/redhorizon/

XCC Mixer can convert Dune 2 CPS, SHP and WSA into PCX files, and will also convert PCX files into paletted CPS. IMPORTANT NOTE: XCC Mixer only supports WSA files from Dune 2 v1.07.

Scenario Editing

Probably the most widely edited part of the game, the missions! Here are the various scenario editors.

DuneMaps

A brand new scenario editor for Dune 2 by Segra with lots of nice features. First off, it implements the correct map generation algorithm, meaning that the maps displayed are 100% accurate. Moreover, the editor uses in-game graphics to draw the map and the units, allowing to view the map as it would look in the game. It also supports editing scenario files directly from SCENARIO.PAK. Learn more about DuneMaps in this thread.

Dunedit

The popular editor by Stefan Hendriks has almost everything a Dune 2 mapper could ever need. It allows to view the map terrain (via the auxiliary seed map files), a feature that most other editors lacked. More Dunedit-related stuff can be found here.

Dune 2 Scenario Editor

The most recent, Windows-based editor by TCH is an improvement over Dunedit in that it adds mouse support (which is more than handy) and a few other things. The seed map database can be easily expanded. Recommended.

Dune II Savegame & Scenario Editor

Allows to edit both Dune 2 savegames and scenarios. Doesn't display terrain, and has other limitations. With the two editors above, this one is pretty obsolete.

Dune II Scenario Editor

This one is important in that its author discovered the Dune 2 team bug (a syntax error that did not allow the AI to form attack teams of vehicles - read more here). The editor is Windows-based and could be useful if it were not for a nasty bug: somehow it doesn't display about 1/4 of the map. Also, the terrain cannot be viewed too.

Dune II: The Building of A Scenario

A neat-looking, albeit outdated editor that uses in-game graphics for objects on the map. Does not display actual map terrain. Loads mission files directly from SCENARIO.PAK. Download link.

Unit and Structure Editing

Dune II Editor

An all-out game executable editor by Nyerguds. Supports all known versions of Dune 2, and allows to edit all unit and structure parameters in the game, as well as file types, House profiles and units orders. A definite must have for all Dune 2 modders! ;D

DUNE 2 CHEAT The Ultimate Cheat Program v1.0 by Jens Defendorf

An old unit and structure editor compatible only with Dune 2 v1.0. Mostly of historical value.

Miscellaneous Tools

Eastwood

A multi-purpose tool based on the "libeastwood" game data library that provides support for handling WSA, SHP, ICN, CPS, PAL, ADL, VOC, PAK data files used in Dune 2. Created by Proyvind of the Dune Legacy/Doon Lunacy team. For more info about libeastwood, go here.

IDA Pro Database for DUNE2.EXE

Now this is a very useful resource for all kinds of Dune 2 EXE hacking. Segra did an excellent job thoroughly analysing the code of the game, great thanks man! Note that the offsets are different in the different versions of DUNE2.EXE depending on the release.

EMC Editor [download directory]

EMC files contain additional code that governs different aspects of the game like structure animation sequences. So far, out of the three EMC files Dune 2 utilizes (BUILD.EMC, UNIT.EMC and TEAM.EMC) only one - BUILD.EMC - has been fully decoded. This utility pack created by Minniatian allows to convert EMC files into easily editable text format and back, and contains a guide to EMC editing basics. More info on EMC files can be found here and here.

Dune 2 Script Tools

Another utility to handle EMC files, written by Segra. Download link.

Dune II Scenario Editing Pack

(attached to this post; you must register in the forum to download the attachment)

This is a small package that contains an improved seed pack for TCH's editor (all seed maps verified to be 100% accurate) and a set of original Dune 2 scenario files with all errors and mistypes fixed (this concerns the team bug in the first place).

Dune II Seed Map Revealer

The latest version of the tool to create seed maps for use with Dune 2 scenario editors or "clones" like Stefan Hendrik's Dune 2 The Maker or old versions of Dune Legacy. The original code for this tool was written by Olaf van der Spek and Stefan Hendriks. This tool is pretty much obsolete now that the map generator code had been deciphered.

D2ScenarioPack.zip

[Nyerguds]

Actually, my editor allows to edit all unit and structure data in the game... only, much of it is still unidentified :P

(I hate those boolean bit lists  :-)

[edit]

I edited the first post in the editor's thread to link to the latest version :)

[MrFlibble]

Actually, my editor allows to edit all unit and structure data in the game... only, much of it is still unidentified :P

(I hate those boolean bit lists  :-)

Well, I was trying to convey exactly that idea, but failed, as it seems :) Of course, I meant that many things are not identified, so people probably won't edit these unknown values unless they want to try to learn what they are responsible for.

Will edit your editor's description ASAP :)

[Nyerguds]

lol. You could add "even those which aren't identified yet" ;)

There's one thing seriously bothering me about Siberian String Editor though... it starts counting its strings from "1", while all games' internal counting (afaik) start from "0" -_-

[MrFlibble]

lol. You could add "even those which aren't identified yet" ;)

Done ;)

There's one thing seriously bothering me about Siberian String Editor though... it starts counting its strings from "1", while all games' internal counting (afaik) start from "0" -_-

So far, I haven't encountered any troubles with files edited with SSTEditor (I used it to edit Dune II, C&C and RA ENG files).

[Nyerguds]

well I'm hacking C&C95, so I see the REAL internal values. And they're all one off compared to how SST displays it. -_-

[edit]

Yep, same problem here... just look:

http://nyerguds.arsaneus-design.com/dune/dune2edit/images/d2editor_vs_sst.png

[MrFlibble]

Ah, now I see. But knowing this, you just need to subtract 1 from the string number provided by SST, right?

[Nyerguds]

yes, but it gets annoying nonetheless.

[MrFlibble]

Added the "Dune II Scenario Editing Pack" (attached to the first post), which basically contains all the original scenario files with all errors removed (otherwise some editors like TCH's Scenario Editor will not recognize certain scenarios and/or some functions - for example, the wrongly spelled vehicle team types: it simply replaces Wheel and Track with Foot instead of Wheeled and Tracked respectively). Also, the package contains an improved version of the seed map pack for use with the aforementioned TCH's Scenario Editor, since the default pack has some inaccuracies.

[2468_1454213254]

Hey guys, how do we edit the mentat text descriptions for each unit and structure in the game? I used WWPAK to extract all of the files within mentat.pak, but the files are in WSA format. I don't know how to edit these...

[MrFlibble]

Have you bothered reading the first post?

Text Editing

Most text in Dune 2 is stored in ENG (GER and FRE for German and French versions) files, which come in several types: 1) uncompressed text table (example: DUNE.ENG), 2) compressed text table (example: TEXTA.ENG) and 3) structured compressed text table (example: MENTATA.ENG).

Siberian String Table Editor

Designed with the aim to be the ultimate text editing utility for Westwood games, the Siberian String Table Editor fully supports all types of ENG files used in Dune 2. It is advised that you turn off the "Auto Decompression" option though, and (de)compress files manually, since the code is not perfect yet and will incorrectly interpret the "end of paragraph" sign in some files.

The only thing, if you put modified MENTAT#.ENG files back into ENGLISH.PAK, they're very likely to crash the game :P Siberian_GRemlin might fix that in future releases though.

[2468_1454213254]

I see. Yeah, I missed that part. Thanks.

[MrFlibble]

The only thing, if you put modified MENTAT#.ENG files back into ENGLISH.PAK, they're very likely to crash the game.

I forgot to mention that to circumvent this, you've got to either remove the MENTAT#.ENG files from ENGLISH.PAK completely and to place the modified ones right into your Dune II directory (otherwise the game will ignore them and read those that are inside ENGLISH.PAK), or place them in a different PAK file (for example, GERMAN.PAK) - but to do this, you'll need to edit the EXE so that the game will "know" where to look for them.

[2468_1454213254]

OK. And how do we edit the EXE?

[MrFlibble]

What exactly do you want to edit? Nyerguds' unit/structure editor is listed above. For everything else, you gotta use a HEX editor.

EDIT: I'm sorry for this very short reply, I forgot we were talking about the MENTAT#.ENG replacement. Here's how you do it:

Later Westwood RTS games like Command & Conquer look for the necessary game files in their root directories and then (if files are not found) browse through the available MIX files for them (there are certain limitations to this, e.g. in RA, but they are not very strict). Dune II, however, has a specific list of contents for each PAK archive, and if you put extra files into any PAK file, the game will ignore them, since it doesn't know they are there. Therefore, since you can't enlarge the PAK contents list, you've got to replace some files.

With the MENTAT#.ENG files, the obvious course is to replace the MENTAT#.GER inside GERMAN.PAK (given that you use the patched Dune II US 1.07 version, or any other 1.07 version if you don't care about the other languages). This is fairly easy: open DUNE2.EXE in any HEX editor, and search for the file names MENTATA.GER, MENTATH.GER etc. Replace GER with ENG and, just to be sure, look for the original MENTAT#.ENG filenames above and change them to MENTAT#.GER. Now the game will look for MENTAT#.ENG in GERMAN.PAK instead of ENGLISH.PAK. Create GERMAN.PAK with any PAK tool you like, and put the modified MENTAT#.ENG files there. You can rename GERMAN.PAK into something else if you like (e.g. EXPAND.PAK), but in this case you need to write this new name in the EXE as well - search for GERMAN.PAK in the DUNE2.EXE and replace it with any other name you like (make sure the filename length is the same, or shorter - in the latter case, put a zero byte in the end).

Hope this helps (and isn't too messy ;)).

[Nyerguds]

C&C trivia time :P

For C&C it's a stupid triviality... internally in C&C, there are 3 ways of opening a file. RawFile is read from the game directory, MixFile is read from the MIX archives, and CCFile looks in both. Missions are read as CCFile, graphics as MixFile, so graphics HAVE to be inside a mix archive to be read by the game.

[MrFlibble]

Hm, it seems to me that Dune II reads non-compressed text files (ENG/GER/FRE) either from PAK files or from the game directory, while the compressed text/Mentat databases are only read from the directory when they are not to be found in the PAK files.

[MrFlibble]

Added the Dune 2 Tile Editor by ArrakisResearchCo to the list.

[ArrakisResearchCo]

Thanks for adding my editor MrFlibble :)

I'm still working on the changes we've discussed in the Format80 thread and I'll inform you when the changes are done and the final release is out.

[MrFlibble]

Added segra's Dune 2 Script Tools.

[Nyerguds]

Heh, this thread still lists my editor as "units and structures editor". I guess it's grown a bit beyond that ;D

[MrFlibble]

That's for simplicity's sake. If I just put "Dune II Editor", people wouldn't understand what exactly it edits, and listing all the features (the list remains open, right?) could become tedious.

After all, the thread you're pointing to is just to lure potential modders into our domain ;) This one here gives real thread names.

[Nyerguds]

heh, yeah, I guess.

[MrFlibble]

Check this out: http://forum.dune2k.com/index.php?topic=2121.0

I wonder if this is the same editor as the one downloadable from Nahoo's site...

Also, I have recently learned about a previously unknown (to me) scenario editor called Dune II: The Building of A Scenario ;D Haven't checked it out yet though.

Info page: http://members.fortunecity.com/swhisper/htmls/duneed.html

Download link: http://193.125.152.107/pub/games/msdos/cheats/duneedit.zip

[Nyerguds]

The scenario editor is nice, but it doesn't have actual terrain.