View Full Version : Structure of the savegame file?
RedKnight
05-03-2004, 15:38
Hi folks,
I've asked over on ezboard a bunch of times, and no one was able to help - now that ezboard is down (laugh), maybe someone here can...
Does anyone know the structure of the MTW/VI savegame file?
I'd like to make a utility that e.g. pulls out Province income and General's abilities, so that we can pair the best lord with the best region. Also it would allow for analyzing how the economics works, a lot better than trying to do it by hand.
That or, does anyone know a game dev who might be amenable? I think it's a good cause, and I wouldn't bother them too much - just a message or two. I believe a few hardcore players would like to have a util that shows stats for the current game.
TIA if you can help
Mike, Atlanta
If only... http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/mecry.gif I very much doubt if anyone knows the format of the save file, but if you have the time you could always have a play around with it... http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-juggle.gif
RedKnight
05-03-2004, 19:28
Quote[/b] (tombom @ May 03 2004,13:29)]If only... http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/mecry.gif I very much doubt if anyone knows the format of the save file, but if you have the time you could always have a play around with it... http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-juggle.gif
Aye my friend - I tried that. I can find general areas (like where Province and Army info starts), but can't take it far it all... it's pretty headily coded. A.k.a. a very few text strings, and all the rest numbers. There are approx. 4,000 bytes for each Province, almost all of it, just numbers. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-help.gif
Gregoshi
05-03-2004, 19:49
Welcome to the Org RedKnight. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wave.gif
I think if anyone could figure out the save game format, it would be a major step towards building an online, MP campaign. I've heard of no one around here who knows the answer.
I took a look at it at one point as i wanted to do a more detailed army organiser, eg to be able to allow you to sort individial soldiers based on valour, and move them into their own unit.
from what i could tell it was a chunk based format, with each chunk storing a different part of the campaign, eg one was provinces, one armies etc, other than that it seemed pretty complex to reverse engineer and i didnt have the time for it. that not taking into account any form of encryption that may be used.
RedKnight
05-03-2004, 20:18
Thanks, Gregoshi... I'll wait a few days and see if anybody steps up. If not, I'll make a new post, asking which dev I might try to email http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/cheers.gif
Yep, Finn, that's just how it looks to me. I doubt it's encrypted, because a few text things stand in the clear (like Region name and Castle name)... the rest just numbers; various settings and levels, probably. (Why encrypt only certain fields? shrug) If there had been a couple dozen bytes per Region, I might've tried to compare savegames. But 4kb per region? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-wall.gif Not only that, but the number of bytes per region varies... too much fun for this amateur hacker.
RedKnight
05-06-2004, 15:49
Ok, now I'm ready to ask -- can someone recommend a game dev or two that I might email, to ask the savegame structure? I promise I won't write more than 1 or 2 emails... I don't want to harass them. There's no requirement that they publish the structure. Just the same, I think a number of folks would like to be able to work with it... I'd post here, whatever I got.
You can email me at mikestar@speedfactory.net if you don't want to announce it. Or, if you're buds with them, I can email you a plea that you can forward to them.
TIA -- Mike
RedKnight
05-25-2004, 19:15
*bump* -- can someone please suggest a dev or three for me to ask politely?
Gregoshi
05-27-2004, 07:04
Well, your best bet would be GilJaysmith. He spent the most time here. He will most likely not know the answer, but he can either point you to the right person, find out for you or tell you they can't tell you the format.
TonkaToys
05-27-2004, 09:34
Don't forget to let us know if you get a result.
I could do with this for my MP campaign.
RedKnight
05-27-2004, 15:52
Thanks, Gregoshi I'll give it a shot. Right, Tonka - I will tell Gil (or any dev that will take me up) that whatever they give me, I'll give to others. I can't imagine they would only want to give it to me... they don't even know me.
With fingers crossed, I'm going to write him an email
Gregoshi
05-27-2004, 18:40
Good luck RedKnight.
RedKnight
05-27-2004, 18:56
I already sent it... go ahead and clean it up. I don't think anybody will care, as long as it results in the community getting the specs, hey? (fingers crossed) Want to see a copy of what I sent?
Thanks again http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-2thumbsup.gif
Gregoshi
05-28-2004, 00:02
You can send me a copy of it if you'd like RedKnight. I'm sure you were the model of courtesy and diplomacy.
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