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DOCUMENTATION FILE FOR XWEDIT VER 1.0
XWEDIT is a combined MISSION editor and PILOT file editor for
LucasArts' X-WING space combat simulator. It is simple, easy to
use, and provides help for those starfighter pilots (like me) who
are unable to successfully complete some of the X-Wing missions. It
also helps those who want more credit for tried-but-failed mis-
sions, and a reprieve from losing tour of duty points, ratings,
etc. every time their pilot gets killed or captured.
XWEDIT is a windowed, menu-driven editor. Rather than forcing the
user to keep track of unique data values and byte offsets into the
structured records, all you do is make menu selections or enter
simple numerical values.
XWEDIT supports a mouse device. When XWEDIT starts, it checks your
system for a mouse driver. If a driver is found, a mouse cursor
will appear in the upper left area inside a menu window. If no
mouse cursor is seen, a mouse driver was not found. To use the
mouse, simply "point and click" on menu items using the LEFT mouse
button. At present, the right button is not supported.
Please spend a few minutes reading this file before running XWEDIT.
If you garble a mission or pilot file, just exit XWEDIT without
saving your file.
INSTALLATION
Installation is easy. Just copy the XWEDIT.EXE file (and this
README.TXT file if desired) to any directory that is included in
the system path. Run XWEDIT from the directory containing the
mission or pilot files you want to edit. See below for paths to
these files.
XWEDIT uses 80x25 color text mode (DOS "mode co80" command). Most
computers run this automatically so no special setup is necessary.
XWEDIT has been tested in both expanded and extended memory
environments and no memory conflicts have been found.
With some video systems, the hilighted menu bar will flicker a
little when the mouse cursor is placed on top of it. This is due
to the clashing refresh rates of the hilighted menu bar and the
mouse cursor.
BACKUP YOUR ORIGINAL PILOT OR MISSION FILE!
BEFORE you edit ANY file, be sure to make a BACKUP of it. For
example, if you want to edit the file "waistem.xwi", copy it to
"waistem.org" or some other name you can remember. XWEDIT saves
your original file under a temporary name (TMPxx.$$$). The temp
file is NOT erased, just in case... Don't forget to erase the
TMPxx.$$$ files from your system when done with your edits. XWEDIT
does not save a mission or pilot file until told to do so, so if
garble an edit, just exit XWEDIT without saving and start over.
I have made every attempt to ensure that XWEDIT is bug-free and can
process all current types of mission and pilot data files, but if
an XWEDIT error occurs while reading or saving your data file, I
hope you have that BACKUP you PREVIOUSLY made!
MISSION AND PILOT FILENAMES AND DIRECTORIES
The bottom of this file contains a listing of the mission filenames
for each proving ground, historical and tour of duty mission. Note
that the BRIEFING and MISSION files are different. Briefing files
are suffixed as *.BRF, and mission files are suffixed as *.XWI.
Editing a mission file does NOT change the briefing associated with
it. Do NOT attempt to edit a briefing file! All mission files are
stored in \xwing\mission.
All pilot files are the same size and are suffixed as *.PLT. All
pilot files are contained in \xwing.
XWEDIT looks for the *.xwi and *.plt suffixes and if your input filename
doesn't have one of these two, you will be prompted for the file type.
XWEDIT makes simple checks on the file type, but these checks may not be
foolproof. It is best to make sure you use the X-Wing naming format for
mission and pilot files.
MISSION FILE STRUCTURE
Data is organized in X-WING mission files (*.xwi) into VEHICLE
RECORDS and OBJECT RECORDS. Each vehicle record references a group
of vehicles and specifies the vehicle type (X-Wing, TIE Fighter, etc),
the name of this vehicle group (Alpha, Beta, Theta, etc), the number
of vehicles in this group, the group's shooting accuracy, how active
or aggressive the group is, the radar ID of this group (friendly,
enemy, neutral), and numerous other parameters I haven't identified yet.
Object records specify inanimate or non-vehicle objects (planets, mines,
space probes, etc) found in the mission.
XWEDIT performs edits on individual vehicle or object records in a
mission file. Note the RECORD NUMBER of the vehicle or object you
want to edit (using the XWEDIT summary feature) and then edit that record.
RUNNING XWEDIT
To run XWEDIT, type "xwedit" followed by the name of the mission or
pilot file you want to edit (i.e., "xwedit waistem.xwi" or "xwedit
ace.plt" for editing the mission file "waistem.xwi" or a pilot file
called "ace.plt"). Just enter "xwedit" for a brief usage statement
for the program.
If begun with a filename, XWEDIT opens with a logo window. Hit any
keyboard key or the LEFT mouse button to clear the logo.
As soon as the logo window clears, XWEDIT will read your input file.
As previously mentioned, XWEDIT will check the suffix of your filename
and if it doesn't match the X-Wing file naming conventions for mission
and pilot file types (*.xwi and *.plt), you will be prompted for the
file type.
If XWEDIT suspects that your file either isn't what you say it is or is
somehow corrupted, you will not be allowed to proceed. Better safe than
sorry... If you try to edit a valid file and XWEDIT halts with a file
read or other file error message, please LET ME KNOW WHAT HAPPENED. It
is always possible that the file structures I use for determining file
type may have been changed by this or a future version of X-Wing. I'll
be glad to analyze the problem and hopefully issue a "fix".
Editing a file is painless. Just use the keyboard arrows or mouse
to hilight the menu item you want, and press <Enter> or the LEFT
mouse button. Some prompts require you to enter a number value.
Enter the number and press <Enter> to log your change or press
<Esc> to exit the prompt with no change.
SPECIAL NOTE TO MOUSE USERS: XWEDIT gives the mouse cursor
priority over the menu item selection routines which use the
keyboard arrows. Using this technique, the hilighted menu
selection bar moves automatically with the movement of your mouse
cursor. This avoids having to click twice on the menu item you
want - once to hilight a menu item and once again to select the
item for execution. The down side of this approach is that when
you place the mouse cursor on a menu item and it becomes hilighted,
the keyboard arrow keys cannot be used to move the hilighted menu
bar. Therefore, to use the keyboard arrow keys and a mouse
simultaneously, PLACE THE MOUSE CURSOR AWAY FROM ALL MENU
SELECTION ITEMS WHEN USING THE KEYBOARD ARROW KEYS.
Most menus and data entry windows can be exited by moving the
cursor to the "<Esc> - QUIT" area and pressing <Enter> or clicking
the LEFT mouse button. To exit the program, just <Esc> out of the
menu that opens when the program is started.
When finished with all edits, SAVE your file -- PROVIDED your edits
are what you want and PROVIDED you made a BACKUP of the original
file!
EDITING MISSION FILES
With XWEDIT you can view a summary of all vehicles and objects
active in the mission, edit several parameters for any vehicle or
object, view data from the mission file not directly related to the
vehicles and objects, and save the edited file.
PLEASE READ: The Mission Editor and Object Editor are still
analytical "works in progress". That is, I have not identified ALL
parameters related to the vehicle and object data records. If
XWEDIT finds a parameter or value that doesn't match anything in my
database, you will see an "UNKNOWN TYPE" or "U/I Value or Level" message.
Unless you want to experiment with these unkwown values, it is best to
avoid changing them right now. If you do change them, note the original
values so you can change them back if needed.
Editing Mission Vehicle Records
When editing a mission file, it is best to view a SUMMARY of the
vehicle records first. To edit a vehicle record, note the RECORD
NUMBER from the summary, and enter it when prompted after selecting
"EDIT a VEHICLE RECORD". This version of XWEDIT allows you to edit
the vehicle TYPE, the NUMBER of this type of vehicles, how
IMPORTANT this group is to the mission, the SHOOTING ACCURACY,
RADAR IDENTIFICATION, and ACTIVITY/AGGRESSIVENESS of this group,
and finally you can edit the actual BINARY data in each record.
Changing the vehicle TYPE allows you to substitute one type for
another. For example, you can change a TIE Fighter into a TIE
Bomber. Be careful if exchanging allied for enemy vehicles or vice
versa. If you substitute an enemy vehicle for a friendly, you may
get attacked! Its fun to substitute different types of enemy
vehicles, i.e., a TIE Bomber for a TIE Interceptor and then see how
the misson evolves.
Changing the NUMBER of vehicles will obviously allow you to fight
more or less bad guys. You can make the mission easier by just
making fewer bad guys. Note that you must enter the number of bad
guys.
Altering the IMPORTANCE of a vehicle can be a little dangerous, but
it can also help you complete a difficult mission. For example, if
the mission requires that three vehicle groups be destroyed, change
one of the groups to "NOT Critical to mission success". You can
then succeed even if you don't destroy all of this group. Note
that if ALL vehicles in the mission are changed to "NOT Critical to
mission success" you will automatically complete the mission as
soon as you start it. In other words, at least one vehicle must be
destroyed, boarded, recovered, etc. in a mission to make things
competitive.
CAUTION: I have not fully identified all the IMPORTANCE levels,
and you will notice that some of the IMPORTANCE labels are
duplicated in the menu selection list. There are probably
underlying differences between these "duplicate" levels, so use
them with caution. For example, levels 3, 7, and 19 change vehicle
IMPORTANCE to "Vehicle Must Be RECOVERED".
Changing the vehicle ACCURACY alters the shooting accuracy. A low
accuracy value means the bad guy may shoot, but will frequently
miss you.
Changing the RADAR IDENTIFICATION can be a little dangerous. For
example, if you make an enemy vehicle into a friendly, but that
vehicle is supposed to be destroyed in order to complete the
mission requirements, you may NEVER complete the mission! Making
a friendly vehicle into an enemy will cause it to fire on you. The
"default" ID setting in the ID menu appears to make the vehicle(s)
behave as you would expect them to. A TIE Fighter with a "default"
ID setting will be an enemy.
The AGGRESSIVENESS/ACTIVITY level determines how aggressive the
vehicle is with regard to combat and flight patterns. If set to
the higher levels (6-10) an enemy fighter will make charges at you
while firing. Setting this variable to lower levels will "mellow
out" the enemy and give you more chances to "take him out".
Setting this level high for large enemy craft such as frigates or
corvettes will likely cause you to be killed quickly. These are
nasty vehicles when made aggressive. They will turn and fire all
guns on you before you have time to react defensively. Note that
the level ranges are different between fighter craft and large
vehicles. To change this level you must enter a number value.
Editing the vehicle RECORD STRUCTURE is VERY DANGEROUS. You can
easily DESTROY a mission file by making changes in the record
structure. BE CAREFUL!! Remember, if you garble a record, EXIT the
program without SAVING!
The VEHICLE COMMANDING and COMMAND VALUES are purely analytical
readouts at this point and you cannot edit them except via the
RECORD STRUCTURE Editor. They are the last four bytes in each
vehicle record and my best guess is that they "alter" a vehicle's
behavior. For example, when all four bytes are set to hex FF
(255), the vehicle responds as expected via the TYPE and Radar ID
settings (i.e., a TIE Fighter having an ID of enemy will attack
you). Changing these last four bytes to values such as all 0's
will cause an allied or neutral vehicle group to ATTACK you, and
if you ask them to "report in" via the shift-r keys, they will tell
you they are setting up for an attack run -- except it is directed
toward you! That's the reason for the "May ATTACK If Armed Fighter
Or Large Craft" message in the summary or edit windows. This may be
how "pirates" are created out of allied or neutral X-Wings, Y-Wings,
or A-Wings.
Editing vehicle records can be fun. Personally, I like to change
the TYPE, NUMBER, SHOOTING ACCURACY, and ACTIVITY/AGGRESSIVENESS
values and then do "target practice". Just pick a favorite
mission, and create 10 bad guys that aren't very good shots and
aren't very aggressive. Take them out as desired.
Editing Mission Object Records
I have included an OBJECTS EDITOR as part of the MISSION EDITOR
routines. You can edit the individual TYPES and NUMBERS of objects
in a mission. Most of the mission objects are harmless -- planets,
satellites, probes, buoys, etc. SPACE MINES are the exception --
they are LETHAL objects. They are the primary reason I built the
Object Editor -- several missions contain too many mines and I
needed to reduce their numbers.
Use the Objects Editor using the same techniques used with the
Vehicle Editor. View a summary of the mission objects and note the
RECORD NUMBER of the object you want to edit. Enter this number
when prompted for an edit.
When selecting an object TYPE, you must enter the number corre-
sponding to the object. For example, enter "49" when selecting
the Death Star object. There are number ranges for several types
of objects. I have not determined the differences between the
various MINE objects (types 18 to 21).
The NUMBER of objects can be changed, again by entering a number.
Changing the number of MINES is not straightforward. X-Wing
appears to multiply the NUMBER of objects by itself when calculat-
ing the number of mines. For example, a mine object with a number
of 2 will generate 4 mines. An object number of 3 will generate 9
mines. The object number for some inanimate objects such as
planets appears to be IGNORED -- X-WING generates only 1 of such
objects.
EDITING PILOT FILES
Many pilot parameters can be changed using the Pilot Editor. You
can edit such parameters as: general pilot data including pilot
rank, duty status, rating, and tour of duty total score; proving
ground scores and levels completed for each vehicle (X-Wing,
Y-Wing, and A-Wing); historical combat mission scores and
completion flags for each vehicle; tour of duty completion medals
and the Kalidor Crescent Awards including upgrades; tour of duty
statistics including all mission scores, highest mission number
completed records for each tour, making all tour of duty missions
available as historical combat missions without completing them
first, status changes in all tours (active, inactive, incomplete,
etc); all laser and projectile usage summaries; and finally, all
kill/capture summaries including totals for individual vehicles.
Most of these parameters are straightforward and no explanation is
needed. Many selections require you to enter a number -- scores,
levels, etc. There are LIMITS to the values you can enter, so be
reasonable with your entries. If your entry is rejected, the
original data is retained.
You will notice in the Individual Vehicle Kills or Captures menu
listing (under the TOUR OF DUTY MENU) that there are FOUR MINES and
TWO COMM SATS. I have not fully analyzed the differences between
these vehicle types and I'm not even sure they are used in this
version of X-Wing.
The following list contains several things to be aware of when
changing pilot file data:
1) Changing the last mission completed in a tour of duty
will go into effect at the CHANGE TOURS desk. For
example, if you change the last mission completed in tour
2 to mission 10, you must go to the CHANGE TOURS desk and
select tour 2 mission 11 to proceed.
2) Setting a tour of duty status to COMPLETED will prevent
you from accessing these missions.
3) The TOUR OF DUTY MENU item, "Edit Space Kills", allows
you to change an INTERNAL X-Wing total kills accumulator.
This item does NOT change the X-Wing pilot log "TOD Space
Victories(Captured)" display values. X-Wing appears to
sum all INDIVIDUAL vehicle kills and captures for these
totals. For this reason, if you enter HUGE numbers of
individual vehicle kills, the "TOD Space Victories(Captured)"
totals will be VERY WRONG!
Reviving A Killed/Captured Pilot
PLEASE READ: When your pilot gets killed or captured, immediately exit
X-Wing and run XWEDIT on your pilot file. Revive the pilot with XWEDIT
to avoid losing scores, point, ranks, etc.!
When your pilot gets killed or captured, your pilot file is
"marked" to indicate this condition. All your active tours of duty
are made "incomplete" and your "total craft lost" count is bumped
up one. When you "revive" your pilot, X-Wing clears your total
tour of duty score along with your pilot rating (rookie, ace, etc.)
and rank.
The XWEDIT Pilot Editor has a "REVIVE a Killed/Captured Pilot" menu
item. By selecting this option, XWEDIT will check your pilot file
for a "killed" or "captured" status. If this condition is found,
it will then reinstate your pilot back to an "alive" status with no
loss of scores, ratings, rank, or tour of duty activity status.
Your record for total space craft lost will be cleared.
FINAL COMMENTS
XWEDIT was not written to allow one to cheat his/her way through
X-Wing. It is intended as a tool to allow your progression through
X-Wing when confronted with an impossibly-difficult mission.
Please use it with this attitude in mind.
The same attitude should be used with regard to editing pilot
files. Don't give yourself credit for a mission unless you've
tried it. For me, doing any less than this takes the "spirit" (or
"force" - sorry for the pun) out of the game.
As much time as I spent analyzing data files and debugging source
code, it is possible that an "undocumented feature" will show its
ugly head. If any bugs appear, or you discover any X-Wing features
that I haven't found and used in XWEDIT, or you have any comments
or questions concerning this program (and yes, I can take a little
criticism too..), please contact me at:
CompuServe: 70733,1562
Internet E-Mail Address: sikes@meediv.lanl.gov
Phone: (505)-869-3522
The XWEDIT X-Wing Mission & Pilot File Editor System is FREEWARE.
I do not ask for any compensation for its use. Feel free to
distribute it. The only thing I ask is that you DO NOT MODIFY this
readme file or the XWEDIT.EXE program. When distributing, PLEASE
ALWAYS INCLUDE A COPY OF THIS README FILE ALONG WITH THE EXECUT-
ABLE. Thank you.
**********************************************************************
**********************************************************************
* LISTING OF PROVING GROUND, HISTORICAL, AND TOUR OF DUTY MISSIONS *
* All comments surrounded by a * *
**********************************************************************
**********************************************************************
*******************************************************
* PROVING GROUND MISSIONS *
*******************************************************
level1.xwi * Proving Ground Mission File-Level 1 *
level2.xwi * Proving Ground Mission File-Level 2 *
level3.xwi * Proving Ground Mission File-Level 3 *
level4.xwi * Proving Ground Mission File-Level 4 *
level5.xwi * Proving Ground Mission File-Level 5 *
level6.xwi * Proving Ground Mission File-Level 6 *
level7.xwi * Proving Ground Mission File-Level 7 *
level8.xwi * Proving Ground Mission File-Level 8 *
*******************************************************
* HISTORICAL COMBAT MISSIONS *
*******************************************************
******* X-WING HISTORICAL COMBAT MISSIONS ********
waistem.xwi * X-Wing Historical Mission 1 *
max4.xwi * X-Wing Historical Mission 2 *
satlit1.xwi * X-Wing Historical Mission 3 *
max5.xwi * X-Wing Historical Mission 4 *
halley.xwi * X-Wing Historical Mission 5 *
keyan.xwi * X-Wing Historical Mission 6 *
******* Y-WING HISTORICAL COMBAT MISSIONS ********
ywastem.xwi * Y-Wing Historical Mission 1 *
ywaistem.xwi * Y-Wing Historical Mission 2 *
hello.xwi * Y-Wing Historical Mission 3 *
max7.xwi * Y-Wing Historical Mission 4 *
wyresc2.xwi * Y-Wing Historical Mission 5 *
ackbar.xwi * Y-Wing Historical Mission 6 *
******* A-WING HISTORICAL COMBAT MISSIONS ********
awaistem.xwi * A-Wing Historical Mission 1 *
waaggr1.xwi * A-Wing Historical Mission 2 *
max2.xwi * A-Wing Historical Mission 3 *
convoy2.xwi * A-Wing Historical Mission 4 *
max15.xwi * A-Wing Historical Mission 5 *
warecon1.xwi * A-Wing Historical Mission 6 *
*******************************************************
* TOUR OF DUTY MISSIONS *
*******************************************************
******** TOUR OF DUTY 1 MISSIONS ***********
defect.xwi * Tour Of Duty 1 Mission 1 *
id-recon.xwi * Tour Of Duty 1 Mission 2 *
wxrgard1.xwi * Tour Of Duty 1 Mission 3 *
wxprot2.xwi * Tour Of Duty 1 Mission 4 *
attackxy.xwi * Tour Of Duty 1 Mission 5 *
max13.xwi * Tour Of Duty 1 Mission 6 *
max10.xwi * Tour Of Duty 1 Mission 7 *
attack3.xwi * Tour Of Duty 1 Mission 8 *
sullust.xwi * Tour Of Duty 1 Mission 9 *
ack-hard.xwi * Tour Of Duty 1 Mission 10 *
cygnus.xwi * Tour Of Duty 1 Mission 11 *
max20.xwi * Tour Of Duty 1 Mission 12 *
******** TOUR OF DUTY 2 MISSIONS ***********
starsndb.xwi * Tour Of Duty 2 Mission 1 *
rescue1.xwi * Tour Of Duty 2 Mission 2 *
ystrike5.xwi * Tour Of Duty 2 Mission 3 *
wycapt2.xwi * Tour Of Duty 2 Mission 4 *
max9.xwi * Tour Of Duty 2 Mission 5 *
crndrft1.xwi * Tour Of Duty 2 Mission 6 *
max18.xwi * Tour Of Duty 2 Mission 7 *
max1.xwi * Tour Of Duty 2 Mission 8 *
std1.xwi * Tour Of Duty 2 Mission 9 *
std2.xwi * Tour Of Duty 2 Mission 10 *
leia.xwi * Tour Of Duty 2 Mission 11 *
intcep1.xwi * Tour Of Duty 2 Mission 12 *
******** TOUR OF DUTY 3 MISSIONS ***********
defend2.xwi * Tour Of Duty 3 Mission 1 *
yraid.xwi * Tour Of Duty 3 Mission 2 *
max14.xwi * Tour Of Duty 3 Mission 3 *
max17.xwi * Tour Of Duty 3 Mission 4 *
wyresc3.xwi * Tour Of Duty 3 Mission 5 *
larry1.xwi * Tour Of Duty 3 Mission 6 *
larry2.xwi * Tour Of Duty 3 Mission 7 *
larry3.xwi * Tour Of Duty 3 Mission 8 *
assault2.xwi * Tour Of Duty 3 Mission 9 *
max19.xwi * Tour Of Duty 3 Mission 10 *
defend1.xwi * Tour Of Duty 3 Mission 11 *
dstar1.xwi * Tour Of Duty 3 Mission 12 *
dstar2.xwi * Tour Of Duty 3 Mission 13 *
dstar3.xwi * Tour Of Duty 3 Mission 14 *
**************** END OF README *********************