Mission File Discussion

[mvi]

Thought it might be helpful to keep all mission file discussion in one topic.

Devasta and I noticed that the starting money is for all the 8 houses, the spec has now been updated.

Also been finding interesting results with the bytes immediately after the 8 house alloctaion bytes. Changing bytes 0x58-0x5B to 00 99 99 99 results in there being AI helping you, the AI moves units to attack enemy units (more than guard mode), repairs your base and will build units when it thinks it should. It however does not build any of the base.

Interesting, the AI appears to group units, then moves groups. For instance, try changing a trike's group number, the AI will change it back, or change it to something else. The AI seems to take units, stick them in a group, then use that group.

No idea how this relates to other houses or the structure of the mission file :-/

Daxx, what section of the file is it you're working on?

[AMIgaBot]

i knew it when  trying to get ally ai..

..

if you replace some map files with other maps (for mission 9 series use missions 9  smaller map willl crash..

i have worked out this...yoou changed an event and trigger.  also if you destroyn your bulding when ai will rebuild it only when your map see is located on place where bulding was gone

[mvi]

What? There aren't any events or triggers at the top of the file.

[mvi]

Okay, bytes 0x58 through to 0xEE17 are AI related, they are split into 8 sections, one for each player. Each section is 7608  bytes long. The first byte of each section is the side ID. So the first section's first byte is 00, second section's first byte is 01 etc.

So/

Player 1 starts at 0x58

Player 2 starts at 0x1E10

Player 3 starts at 0x3BC8

etc.

[mvi]

Also, I've been thinking about the variable called drip which is cash related. Presumably, this variable either increases or decreases your cash steadily. Either this functionality no longer is in effect due to hard code, or can be enabled in the mission file is an unknown. But it's mentioned in an error message if you make the starting cash too large a number.

[AMIgaBot]

well you can change cash.  i know there is something under ee58 .  we have not found the all events variables.  since there is 64 events in each mis file. locating of them isnt that easy. .. if we find some unknown event we don need to replace it. we mus cause game to crash. .. except situations where you get abnormal program terminations. soo editing stuff in game is so risky .

[mvi]

...

When I was speaking to one of the original developers he said that the mission files are compiled C header files, now while theres a lot of data here we can alter (which I've got to assume are just header variables out of mission.h), there's other data here which seems to be directly run in the game. Certain bytes in the file refer to actual memory addresses, meaning, I think, that mission files can actually alter in game memory to a limited degree. This would explain unhandled errors in game when you edit certain parts of the mission file.

The tileset ascii string has an extra byte because it's a null terminated string. For example try putting something other than 00 in the byte after it. (same goes for the tile bin file, see my post below which starts "Had a quick look at the TILEATR1.BIN file")

[mvi]

Also, bytes 10660 to 10667 (normally TILEATR1 or similar) is the collision data for the tiles out of D2K root/Data/bin/

Changing the file used changes the tile data.

[AMIgaBot]

o well i had the problem but differ.  i was doing random editing and soon after i had an error saying

[mvi]

That would have been editing the data at 0x10598 ish :)

[mvi]

Had a quick look at the TILEATR1.BIN file, its 6400 bytes, so 8 bytes per tile. Presumably these bytes represent different things like the type of tile, speed of units, whether its no-go, infantry only etc, whether worms can go on it etc. Things like that. Be nice if someone could take a look at  the file, then we could make new tilesets :) I'm off out now  and tonight to the cinema, so won't be able to make any progress until tomorrow at the earliest.

[Hunoa]

I try to copy and paste all events and triggersand i see what will happen...

[Gruntlord6]

so we can add a house to a level and enable its ai now correct?

im exited to speak with you about this shen i get back toomorow.

[AMIgaBot]

hey devasta copy all efents of  atreides mission 8 into harkonnen 8.

ok  plan is simple. as far as we know game mechanics are a bit understandable. but lets try

replace atredies base with harkonnen base on hark mission 8 and do same with ordos and harkonen enemies.    the top base should be ally femen to atreides.  i can manage for other ai for mission atreides 8 better bases. but too much actions causes an error. i think  campagin mission can handle 128 actions on map. or 64 or something....

if you put alot of refineries into map you might get error  too many deliveries --> new harv .

overloading events always cause error ..

returning to houses  you can have  255 houses if you want (tested somewhere)  but evry new house after 7 is atreides.  and you need have 16 bit grapchics set or you  will get error trying to play in 8 bits.

problem with sound files wont let us  control other house units.

but i have rewieved all missions and i didnt find any  choam base

the choams were not implemented in game. only smugglers and fremens and mercenaries plus emperor.  the other 8 house is sandworm thingy.

i have checked also skirmish things sturied some files and i now understand

on skirmish is 8 slots with modded uil file we get 7ai.

1.atreides

2.ordos

3.harkonnen

4.fremen

5.smuggler

6.mercenary

7.emperor

8.choam(mystic hosue other)

in skirmish  houses are tied to orginal. so you cant have mercenary factory, fremen sietch, emperor palace.  ever changing houses values it wont work.

by the way .h files could be helpful

[Gruntlord6]

you are confusing colors with  houses.

[AMIgaBot]

i am using example house model not orginal input for missions.

[Gruntlord6]

i am using example house model not orginal input for missions.

there is not 255 houses, choam is a color.

[mvi]

so we can add a house to a level and enable its ai now correct?

im exited to speak with you about this shen i get back toomorow.

We could possibly take the AI used for one house and apply it to another house, in theory. I mean this all needs testing, but I would have thought it'd work. We're talking a lot of data here for each house, each house's AI data is 7kb. And I doubt very much that this data contains that much understandable data, from the sound of what the developer told me it could contain some sort of compiled calls. Unsure, will test tomorrow.

[Gruntlord6]

cant you just activate it in the same way you did for the player?

[mvi]

I changed a lucky byte out of 7000 which seems to do some basic AI, it won't build bases though, and I don't know whether it will go on the attack. It may just build up a force and effectively defend its bases (beyond basic guarding.)

[Gruntlord6]

I changed a lucky byte out of 7000 which seems to do some basic AI, it won't build bases though, and I don't know whether it will go on the attack. It may just build up a force and effectively defend its bases (beyond basic guarding.)

well ai hardly ever builds anything, does it rebuild destroyed units?

[mvi]

Yes it will do to a degree, it slowly strengthens its base and if you destroy units it will inspire it to build some more.

[mvi]

You might be interested to know the tileset graphical to game tile data associations:

1.02:

BLOXTREE = TILEATR1

BLOXBASE = TILEATR2

BLOXBGBS = TILEATR3

BLOXWAST = TILEATR4

BLOXICE = TILEATR5

BLOXBAT = TILEATR6

1.06 - addition of:

BLOXXMAS = TILEATR7

[D2k Sardaukar]

When I was speaking to one of the original developers he said that the mission files are compiled C header files

....

Ooh, you found an original developer....  :)  That's very good news, right?

[Gruntlord6]

Ooh, you found an original developer....  :)  That's very good news, right?

hes known him a while.