Topic: Can we have the complete flatfile structure for OP 2.5.4.10? (Read 4139 times)

Cleaven · « **Reply #20 on:** July 20, 2003, 05:11:28 pm »

It is probably not wise to expect an answer over the weekend. Especially if the powers that be will probably need a meeting of some sort to discuss/approve it. I would imagine that you could have to wait five working days for a final response, and that's if the required people are all in town.

Bonk · « **Reply #21 on:** July 20, 2003, 06:04:32 pm »

A simple "we'll look into it" would suffice...

FireSoul · « **Reply #22 on:** July 20, 2003, 06:16:09 pm »

I'm a linux system administrator..
.. today, when someone asked me "do you know something about devfs?", I immediately answered:
"No, I don't know anything about devfs or devusbfs on Sundays." (which I'm sure made stany smile.)

.. I imagine it's the same everywhere.

-- Luc

Bonk · « **Reply #23 on:** July 20, 2003, 06:27:21 pm »

At least you were considerate enough to give that reply. You didn't simply ignore the request.
I'm going to step back a bit for a while, so I don't end up creating bad feeling here. I'm just a bit
frustrated at the moment.

From my post on the Dynaverse II Experiences forum:

Quote:

Yes, I should have been patient until the work week, but repeated posts by Taldren over the
weekend without so much as a glance at my request has rubbed me the wrong way. I'll get
over it shortly (certainly if I at least get a response).

Note that I originally made this request last Thursday, it was ignored as well:
SFC:Orion Pirates Patch 2.5.4.10 (Thats Two.Five.Four.Ten) Now Available!

Toasty0 · « **Reply #24 on:** July 20, 2003, 06:37:31 pm »

I just took a quick look with VC++.Net (MFSP $109 U.S. for the standard edition) and at the risk of once again embrassingly revealing my ignorance of programming and C++/DB specificly it looks like the DB is proprietary. As such it is considered source code and Taldren has made it clear that *will not* be released. (Please read the following thread Petition for the realese of the SFC source code )

<sardonic voice>

Of course this is the point where Erik, Sean, or David post saying that they'll release the DB code.

</sardonic voice>

Best,
Jerry

Bonk · « **Reply #25 on:** July 20, 2003, 07:07:50 pm »

Post deleted...

Edit: Toasty, I misunderstood your post - I'm getting too touchy about this - I apologise profusely for jumping on you like that. I better stay away for a bit, my emotions are clouding my reading comprehension.

Note that the API will only work with VC++ 6. The API source I pointed you to does not represent the db itself. That source does have this message in it: "This document contains CONFIDENTIAL, PROPRIETARY, TRADE SECRET information belonging to Taldren, Inc." But I understood that only to mean the code in those files. The flatfile database is a binary file on disk generated by the compiled code of the serverplatform - something else entirely.

Toasty0 · « **Reply #26 on:** July 20, 2003, 07:49:27 pm »

OK, I've cooled off. Contents of flamage doused and swept away.

Best,
Jerry

Bonk · « **Reply #27 on:** July 21, 2003, 08:09:22 am »

Please see my retraction above (moments after I posted).

David Ferrell · « **Reply #28 on:** July 21, 2003, 01:54:21 pm »

I had a chat with Ken and there is no map of the structure
available at all.

Ken suggested, if you are not already, that you join the Server
admin list and talk with the people that are already doing this
for EAW.

Thanks,

Dave

Bonk · « **Reply #29 on:** July 21, 2003, 03:57:43 pm »

Thanks for taking the time to look into it. It is much appreciated.
Thanks also for suggesting the admin group - I had forgotten it is a good resource.
Co-operation is what has broken the most ground on this in the
past, and that is certainly what it will take to figure out the remainder.

Bonk · « **Reply #31 on:** July 22, 2003, 09:31:07 am »

I concur, that is very interesting. Maybe we can be a help to Taldren by figuring it out.

The overall structure of the db is relatively obvious, but it is a few small items that have stumped us. Things like how the political tension matrix is encoded (not it's location) and how does it point to the corresponding text strings for alliances, or the two as yet unidentified ship systems in the damage "blob', or the two unidentified numbers in the "shipcachevector", the order items are stored in the ship stores and how they are represented... This information is critical to the function of the game and would certainly help future campaign customizations.

If we had that information a ship editor and other goodies could easily be produced. As it stands now we cannot add a ship to the database because we do not know how to completely transcribe the info from the shiplist into the damage and stores area of a ship record in the flatfile. Additionally, the "shipcachevector" of the character records must be understood before we can actually edit a players ships.

Production of a db cleaner shouldn't be too hard as it stands, one simply needs to remove all AI's not created on initial startup, all ships belonging to them and then modify the object count. The EAW db parser source could be used as a starting point for this. (let me know if anyone wants a copy)

The other information will have to be obtained through trial and error on a running D2 server dedicated to finding this info. I have been working on this for the last year, I have made some progress with some help, but key information is still missing. I'll try and put some more time in on it this year and maybe fill in the missing pieces.

Toasty0

Re: Can we have the complete flatfile structure for OP 2.5.4.10?

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