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- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- XCOMUTIL.EXE 0.2 for XCOM/UFO and TFTD by Scott T Jones, stjones@vnet.ibm.com
-
- This program modifies GEOSCAPE.EXE or saved game files for X-COM: UFO Defense
- (both with and without the 1.4 patch) and XCOM: Terror from the Deep, both
- by MicroProse. It should also work with UFO: Enemy Unknown, but that has not
- been tested. Use this program at your own risk, only after making backups of
- the directories containing the files it modifies. IBM and I are not
- responsible for any damages. You may freely distribute this ZIP file only if
- it is not modified and no money is charged for distribution.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- WARNING: This is version 0.2, still a Beta test version. It has bugs and
- has not been completely tested, but I think you will find it worth using.
- Please report the bugs you find in the comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic
- newsgroup. Known bugs are listed at the end of this file. Fixes and
- enhancement will be provided as my free time permits.
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- There seem to be a wealth of XCOM editors which people use to make XCOM
- easier. Those are fine for novice XCOM players. However, after playing
- several games at the superhuman difficulty level, anyone would get bored.
- This program is intended to make XCOM interesting again, even challenging. It
- is the result of my work decoding GEOSCAPE.EXE in the UFOEXE directory and the
- files in the saved game directories, GAME_1 through GAME_10.
-
- This is a DOS command line utility, not an interactive editor. It was
- intentionally written that way to allow you to modify saved games without
- learning everything about them and ruining the surprises.
-
- Changes to GEOSCAPE.EXE can be made at any time, remembering to make a backup
- copy before running XCOMUTIL. The best time to make changes to the saved game
- files is just after you arrive at a combat scene. You should save your game
- twice, using two different saved game numbers, then run XCOMUTIL against only
- one of them. You can then reload the saved game with the modified files to
- fight your enhanced battle. When you are done, you can reload your game from
- the second saved game. This is very important if you are switching sides with
- the aliens. In that case, success will mean the elimination of many of your
- men, possibly including the loss of a ship or even a base.
-
- The syntax of XCOMUTIL is as follows:
-
- XCOMUTIL path [flags]
-
- The path to the directory containing the files to be modified is required. If
- it is not specified, or if the expected files are not found, a single screen
- of help will be displayed. The level of XCOM: UFO Defense or XCOM: Terror
- from the Deep will be determined automatically.
-
- All operations on the files are controlled by the flags, all of which begin
- with a slash and may be coded in any mixture of upper and lower case. Any
- number of flags may be coded in any order.
-
- Flags which modify GEOSCAPE.EXE are permanent changes which effect all future
- combats. The path required for these flags is probably UFOEXE. The remaining
- flags only effect the saved game files in the directory you select. The paths
- required for these flags are probably GAME_1 through GAME_10.
-
- Only objects which are carried by aliens or which are on the ground will be
- changed by this program. Remember that the primary intent of this program is
- to make the game more difficult. If you want to improve your own equipment,
- use a different editor or utility.
-
- The function of each flag is as follows:
-
- WRT = Enable writing of changes to the files in the selected subdirectory.
- You should be able to safely run XCOMUTIL as many times as you like
- before running it with the WRT flag.
-
- DIS = Display alien statistics. This displays all of the known information
- about the files and shows the way the information would look if WRT were
- used to actually modify the files. When this flag is used, many screens
- of information will be displayed. You should either use the MORE
- utility to make the listing pause at the end of each screen or redirect
- the output to a file for later printing or viewing with an editor. For
- example:
-
- XCOMUTIL GAME_1 DIS | MORE
-
- will display all of the information about the first saved game with a
- pause at the end of each screen, while:
-
- XCOMUTIL GAME_1 DIS >ABC.XYZ
-
- will copy the same information to file ABC.XYZ. This flag will not
- display the alien statistics in GEOSCAPE.EXE for XCOM:TFTD.
-
- ACC = Set all alien accuracy and reaction scores to 100. This makes the
- aliens shoot as soon as they see you. If they shoot, you will probably
- be hit. This flag modifies GEOSCAPE.EXE. This flag does not work with
- XCOM:TFTD.
-
- BAS = Use the configuration for the default base that I feel is best. This
- makes the game slightly easier. This flag modifies GEOSCAPE.EXE.
-
- FLY = Add flying ability to all Celatids, Silacoids, and Engineers. This flag
- modifies GEOSCAPE.EXE. This flag does not work with XCOM:TFTD.
-
- PSI = Give Psi skill to all alien leaders and commanders. This flag modifies
- GEOSCAPE.EXE. This flag does not work with XCOM:TFTD.
-
- B2S = Change all alien blaster bombs and blaster launchers to stun bombs and
- small launchers. This makes combat less dangerous.
-
- S2B = Change all alien stun bombs and small launchers to blaster bombs and
- blaster launchers. This makes combat more dangerous.
-
- W2H = Change all alien pistol and rifle weapons to heavy weapons. This makes
- combat more dangerous.
-
- W2R = Change all alien pistol and heavy weapons to rifle weapons.
-
- W2P = Change all alien rifle and heavy weapons to pistol weapons. This makes
- combat less dangerous.
-
- CHG:old:new = Change objects of type old to type new. This will change any
- known object into any other known object. For example,
- chg:alien-grenade:elerium-115 will change every alien grenade that is
- carried by an alien or is lying on the ground into a clump of 50
- elerium-115. Be very careful when using this flag. Unusable situations
- can be created.
-
- DEL:name = Delete all objects of type name. This is equvialent to using
- CHG:name:NOTHING. This is useful for disarming aliens or making more
- room for additional opponents.
-
- LST = Display the list of all of the object names available for use by the
- CHG and DEL flags.
-
- DXC = Delete all extra clips carried by the aliens. This does not delete the
- clips that are already loaded into weapons. This is used to free up
- more room to be used for generating additional aliens.
-
- typ:n = Add n units of SEC, SNA, ETH, MUT, FLO, CEL, SIL, CHR, REA, SPD, CYB,
- CIV, or ALL. ALL:n is used to quickly specify n units of each of the
- other types. This flag does not work with XCOM:TFTD.
-
- Due to limited space in the object and unit tables, you may not be able
- to add all of the aliens that you want. The game has a limit of 80
- units of all kinds, including humans, aliens, and civilians. Tanks and
- large aliens use 4 entries each. The game also has a limit of 170
- objects. This must accomodate not only all of the equipment used by
- both sides, but also the bodies that accumulate during the battle. I
- strictly enforce both limits. You may want to use the DEL:name and DXC
- flags to make more room.
-
- All weapon carrying aliens are equipped with Heavy Plasma weapons and a
- single clip. Thus, each one requires one entry in the unit table and
- three entries in the object table. Large aliens use four entries in
- each table. The remaining three types aliens and civilians use only one
- entry in each table.
-
- I simplified the distribution of the new units by placing them in the
- same locations with existing units of the same size. Once they begin to
- move, this stacking of aliens usually corrects itself. This was done to
- avoid decoding the map. However, the result was that large aliens
- cannot move when stacked together, since they block the movement of each
- other. This will be fixed in future versions.
-
- Another side effect of this technique is that you can only add more
- large aliens if at least one large alien of some type is already in the
- battle. Civilians are treated as a group unto themselves. They are
- placed only with other civilians to avoid instant annihilation.
-
- SWP = Swap units with the aliens. This allows you to play the aliens and hunt
- down the soldiers and civilians.
-
- VIS = Make the entire map visible. This does not make your opponents visible,
- it simply marks the entire map as seen.
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- Change History:
-
- 15 MAR 95 -- Version 0.0. First Beta test version of XCOMUTIL.EXE. Known
- bugs: Stacking of large aliens prohibits their movement,
- Modification of SEEMAP.DAT when /SWP and not /WRT.
-
- 21 MAR 95 -- Version 0.1. Fixed SEEMAP.DAT bug and eliminated the need for
- slashes in flags. Large alien bug still exists.
-
- 03 APR 95 -- Version 0.2. This version now works with both the shipped and
- patched versions of XCOM: UFO Defense. Many of the flags also
- work with XCOM: Terror from the Deep. The LST flag has been
- added to make the use of CHG and DEL easier.