Mission File Discussion

[mvi]

Sorry for spamming the thread but you might also be interested in the colour editor variant of the UIB editor which I've just tested:

[mvi]

Sorry going off topic once more.

Above is a screen of my UIB editor loading the samples.uib files which previously I'd had no interest in, now after a bit of digging I found that the keys correlate to our friend SOUND.RS out of the GAMESFX folder, and looking at that file its obvious that it holds a lot of the games audio as the file alone makes up 2 meg of the sfx folders 6 meg. Also if the file extensions referenced in it are anything to go by it stores wave encoded audio. Be nice to get an editor for this file at some point.

[AMIgaBot]

beatyful

[mvi]

I found that the keys correlate to our friend SOUND.RS out of the GAMESFX folder, and looking at that file its obvious that it holds a lot of the games audio as the file alone makes up 2 meg of the sfx folders 6 meg. Also if the file extensions referenced in it are anything to go by it stores wave encoded audio. Be nice to get an editor for this file at some point.

Ok, looks like I was correct, after checking out the wave file specification here it was very easy to extract a couple of wave files from the SOUND.RS file. Also incidentally the footer "Copyright ©1996,1997 Westwood Studios ICRD   1998-01-08  IENG   Authorized User ISFT   Sound Forge 4.0" which I mentioned previously appears to be the wave file footer and is just the program that that wave file was made with.

Edit: Further to this, it seems that samples.uib references both the .aud files in the GAMESFX folder and also the .wav files contained within the SOUND.RS file. There appear to be 58 files in the SOUND.RS file (in addition to the 251 .aud files in the GAMESFX folder) meaning a total of 309 sfx files in the game, which is verified by the quick test I ran on the UIB file detecting the number of unique values, which returned 310, but one of these values (and correlating key) is just null so we can discount that entry for our nice round 309.

[mvi]

Ok guys, finished cracking most of the Sound.RS file, I've made some code which extracts all the wave files from the Sound.RS file, and I've packed up the extracted 57 files in a zip which I've attached. If you are not logged in you will not be able to see or download that zip, so make sure you're logged in ;)

SoundRSExtracted.zip

[mvi]

I hope no one has email subscribed to this topic otherwise they'll be getting a lot of emails heh.

Right finished cracking the SOUND.RS file, the spec is as follows:

4 bytes indicating header length

header:

null terminated string for track filename

4 bytes indicating the offset (from the start) in the file that the track begins at

4 bytes indicating the length in bytes of the track

the above three repeat until the end of the header

main body:

wave files stored flatfile one after the other as referenced in the header

Note, in the case of the default SOUND.RS there is a header size of 1152 bytes, and the first track is at 1156 bytes in to the file (starting "RIFF....") the track itself is 50232 bytes.

[MrFlibble]

I remember extracting WAV files from SOUND.RS with DragonUnPacker. Some had wrong headers when extracted, and had to be fixed manually though.

[mvi]

Looks like a useful tool, I've not encountered any problems with the wave files I extracted through my tool however, so maybe thats an issue with DragonUnPacker?

[D2k Sardaukar]

Wow, thanks for all the work.

Funny that there are 10 ways to hear an unit being killed.  :P

[mvi]

Wow, thanks for all the work.

Glad you like it :) Not sure whether I'll be able to make more progress tonight, depends on whether I go to the pub (it is a Friday afterall), but if I don't post any progress tonight it'll probably be a couple of days. I want to get the UIB editor into testing condition next, before working on the next tool. Still on track for the 31st October toolset release date :)

[AMIgaBot]

10  ways to kill? but  human can be killed with 1000 ways

[mvi]

Including with a spoon (because it'll hurt more)

[MrFlibble]

Actually various infantry screams were already in Dune II, and since then used in all Westwood RTS games.

[Hunoa]

Including with a spoon (because it'll hurt more)

And including water too because no1 will survive 15 minutes under water with 1 breathe.

[Nyerguds]

Hey now, remember you're posting in a Dune forum.

Say, wasn't this topic about mission files or something?

[AMIgaBot]

lets try how much bullets you can take on skull

about missions we should be able to build our own missions  instead of editing existing

[Nyerguds]

if you don't know how the format works, you can't make your own. The first step is always investigating the format in the existing files.

[AMIgaBot]

yes true but the problem is that you can  make map with buldings and other stuff you can setup houses but not events and triggers.  these last tbhings were not crushed fully so still there si secret ..

there is way to find what event or trigger do on map

go to  any mission with large bases and many ais

look for event system (for best use both ordos mission 9 v1 and v2  if there is no difference then this means that  both missions use single event system.

but look at atreides mission 3 v1 and v2 . note that on one map ordos has tiny base and on second map ordos has enhanced with light factory so he can make  more units. now lets look at events. since both maps are other  its possible that events and triggers are coded other way

pleease note that on one of atreides mission 2 maps  harkonnen has base without money - he cant train any infantry

[mvi]

Hey now, remember you're posting in a Dune forum.

Sorry I meant a crys-spoon ;)

The issue with the .MIS AI, Events section and Triggers (although I don't believe thats the correct word any more) is that it appears to be actual compiled code which is loaded into memory along with the rest of the file. While thats fine for much of the file because it's ordinary static variables and arrays, these parts can cause real problems when trying to modify them (especially the AI section.) It would be nice if we could reverse engineer the actual part of D2k that loads in the mission files.

[Hunoa]

Hmm maybe i found starport reinforces but im not really sure thats it and that event are: EFD3 to FE01E.

[mvi]

Hmm maybe i found starport reinforces but im not really sure thats it and that event are: EFD3 to FE01E.

Please see my reply to your personal message, the events section is varied mission to mission, although it may be related to starports in one mission it is only because it is part of that event in one mission.

[AMIgaBot]

Hmm maybe i found starport reinforces but im not really sure thats it and that event are: EFD3 to FE01E.

id does not doing anything . i dont get reinforcement by starport.. value must be other

[Hunoa]

Please see my reply to your personal message, the events section is varied mission to mission, although it may be related to starports in one mission it is only because it is part of that event in one mission.

I saw your reply but understanded it in 90% which is though percent(that event type are only for O6V1(i edited that and i got 9 units from starport instead of 6 {2 deviator and siege which means 4 and 4 missile and 1 combat which all means 9[ixian reinforces ONLY]).

//EDIT

I did same for O6V2 and i got 8 units( 3 missiles 2 devias 2 combats and siege from ixian reinforces).

And i edit part of the event and i got lots of times message:The Atreides have been annihilated.

Repeating by half second to the neverend and enemy because of that dont get reinforces from carryal.

To make starport reinforcements u must not only edit 1 event but make too connects between sound of the speaker"the noides 1" or something like that which means countdowning and event what makes choam frigate appear at same time as the countdown,i will update this post as soon as i will find an unit numbers for ixian reinforces that we could edit actually reinforcements and maybe in future make OUR missions and EVERYTHING.

[AMIgaBot]

I CAN  MAKE SMUGGLERS  REINFORCEMENTS VIA CARRYAL! I DID IT. NOW  EVRY 5 SECONDS SMUGGLER GET CARRYAL .

NOW WE NEED FIND WAY TO ACTIVATE  HOUSE ON MIS FILE.

i edited this FE01 .. it control carryal reinforcements!!!    smuggler get reinforced with atreides tanks and infantry.

edit

i  copied content of file into practice -  no result but confirming that   smugglers get reinforcements.. but  need help to make house smuggler  play the game as they are sitting duck

[Gruntlord6]

I CAN  MAKE SMUGGLERS  REINFORCEMENTS VIA CARRYAL! I DID IT. NOW  EVRY 5 SECONDS SMUGGLER GET CARRYAL .

NOW WE NEED FIND WAY TO ACTIVATE  HOUSE ON MIS FILE.

i edited this FE01 .. it control carryal reinforcements!!!    smuggler get reinforced with atreides tanks and infantry.

edit

i  copied content of file into practice -  no result but confirming that   smugglers get reinforcements.. but  need help to make house smuggler  play the game as they are sitting duck

pic please.