Ishad Nha

In the Windows version, the save game file starts with three flags, from line 112 of "Edfileio.cpp": short flags[3][2] = {{5790,1342}, // slot 0 ... 5790 - out 1342 - town {100,200}, // slot 1 100 in scenario, 200 not in {3422,5567}}; // slot 2 ... 3422 - no maps 5567 - maps If anyone has any familiarity with Borland Turbo C++ they can try compiling the source code. In the meantime, I think I have devised formulas in an Excel spreadsheet that will convert the item data found in the exs file into a format that can be pasted right into the Character Editor. I have to do quality control to make sure that I have made no obvious mistakes. It is only good for one scenario, it is 5.45MB in its original form and is all of 1.1MB when zipped. It is only good for one group of scenarios having the same lists of items. It is also made solely for the Windows PC Editor.

Change of topic: hex editing. The notes above are scary to people who are not programmers. But if you open an exs file in a hex editor they start to make sense. Perhaps I should include some notes on how to hex - edit, when I find the time. How to Hex edit Download a free hex editor. I personally use Hexplorer, found at http://hexplorer.sourceforge.net Then install it and start it up. Open the file you want, a good choice to start with is an exs file. You can compare what you see in the hex editor with what the Scenario Editor displays. (Also it lacks the encryption found in the save game files.) The place that you are looking for is found in the left part of the status bar. Say you want to edit the Special Items in a password - protected Windows scenario. You are looking for place 3,028 which equals hexadecimal address BD4. Edit: to hex-edit is easy enough, if you can understand Blades of Avernum you are clever enough to hex-edit. From the BoE Compiled Suggestion List, what hex-editing enables you to do: Character Editor (Ishad Nha)Allow the player to add items from the scenario list rather than the default list. Scenario Editor (CM)Remove editing restrictions on the first 91 terrain types. (CM)Allow the designer to resize the outdoors (CM,Hrothgar)Allow the designer to import an outdoor section

Accelerator keys, hot keys, for dialog buttons are found from places 603,456 thru 603,605 of the game program. What the keys stand for is set out in the table “button_strs[150]” found on line 108 of the Spiderweb source file “dlogtool.cpp”. Thus it is possible to customize the keyboard assignments for all dialog buttons. In practice there could be a crash if the same hot key was used for different options occuring in the same dialog box. I will be inserting “b” in place 603,514 for "Bash Door" and “p” in place 603,515 for "Pick Lock". As for dialog, all options are already covered by appropriate hot keys. Edit: here I am talking about the Windows version of the open source Blades of Exile program.

If anyone wants to send him an email, these are the details from the profile of Ormus: Member Status: Apprentice Member Number: 8738 Registered: May 16, 2007 Posts: 14 Email Address: gkvl@tlen.pl Location: Poland, Warsaw Occupation: Student Homepage: http://info.wsisiz.edu.pl/~kowalsg0/ Birth Date: January 09, 1985 Real Name: Grzegorz Kowalski Favorite Spiderweb Game: Exile II

I imagine that it is the same. But I have yet to check the two different source files. If you have the official Spiderweb source code you will have both the Mac and the Windows versions of "global.h". In Windows the above tables come from the data structures "scenario_data_type" and "party_record_type". A difference of endianness won't by itself affect the above tables. Edit: I just checked the two source files and they both gave the same result, thus the above tables are valid for both Mac and Windows.

This is the first installment of decrypting the BoE save game file. It is based upon the source code file "global.h". Simply copy into the word processor of your choice and change all the tildes into tab stops. (Fine print, the save file uses an idiosyncratic system for recording values of letters and numbers. I have not fully decrypted it, but 0 thru 10 is usually: k,j,i,h,o,n,m,l,c,b,a.) PARTY RECORDS Data type~name~length~starts at (short)~(scenario flags)~6~0 long ~age;~4~6 short~gold, food;~4~10 unsigned char~stuff_done[310][10]~3,100~14 unsigned char~item_taken[200][8];~1,600~3114 short~light_level;~2~4714 location ~outdoor_corner, i_w_c, p_loc, loc_in_sec;~8~4716 boat_record_type ~boats[30];~300~4724 horse_record_type ~horses[30];~300~5024 creature_list_type ~creature_save[4];~33856~5324 short~in_boat, in_horse;~4~39180 outdoor_creature_type ~out_c[10];~290~39184 item_record_type ~magic_store_items[5][10];~3300~39474 short~imprisoned_monst[4];~8~42774 char~m_seen[256];~256~42782 char~journal_str[50];~50~43038 short~journal_day[50];~100~43088 short~special_notes_str[140][2];~560~43188 talk_save_type ~talk_save[120];~720~43748 short~direction, at_which_save_slot;~4~44468 char~alchemy[20];~20~44472 Boolean ~can_find_town[200];~200~44492 short~key_times[100];~200~44692 short~party_event_timers[30];~60~44892 short~global_or_town[30];~60~44952 short~node_to_call[30];~60~45012 char~spec_items[50]~50~45072 char~help_received[120];~120~45122 short~m_killed[200];~400~45242 long~total_m_killed, total_dam_done~8~45642 long~total_xp_gained, total_dam_taken;~8~45650 char~scen_name[256];~256~45658 "Age" means time, day of scenario&. Lengths of data types in bytes: 1~Boolean 1~char 1~unsigned char 2~location 2~short 4~long 6~talk_save_type 10~boat_record_type 10~horse_record_type 29~outdoor_creature_type 66~item_record_type 8,464~creature_list_type PC RECORDS short ~main_status;~2~0 char ~name[20];~20~2 short ~skills[30];~60~22 short ~max_health~2~82 short ~cur_health~2~84 short ~max_sp~2~86 short ~cur_sp~2~88 short ~experience~2~90 short ~skill_pts~2~92 short ~level;~2~94 short ~status[15];~30~96 item_record_type ~items[24];~1584~126 Boolean ~equip[24];~24~1710 Boolean ~priest_spells[62]~62~1734 Boolean ~mage_spells[62];~62~1796 short ~which_graphic~2~1858 short ~weap_poisoned;~2~1860 Boolean ~advan[15]~15~1862 Boolean ~traits[15];~15~1877 short ~race~2~1892 short ~exp_adj~2~1894 short ~direction;~2~1896 A lot of the Debug functions don't work. "Actions.cpp" lines 1,586 onwards, Debug keystrokes are listed. Only the case > and case W work. Apart from minor message keys: &,*,(,).

If anyone can contact Ormus, as he knows programming, ask him how the password works. Update to the EXS Decrypt file posted above: 36,47 thru 42,26: “Short out_data_size[100][2]” First column is always just the size of “outdoor_record_type”: 4,146 bytes. Second column seems to be the sum of the size of all signs and text messages. 42,59 thru 44,18: Special Items [50] A value of 1 means that the Special Item can be used, while a value of 10 means that the party starts the scenario with the item. A value of 11 means that it can be used and the party starts with it. Edit, further update: 44,19 thru 45,48: Special Items Specials [50] What scenario special is called when the item is used.

As for Lazarus's original post about getting nowhere compiling with Dev-C++, that is the story of my life. I have been unable to compile anything from Spiderweb on the Dev-C++. Perhaps he can email Ormus and ask directly? My notes will have to be made comprehensible to other people. They are based upon the official Spiderweb source code. I will also have to check that they match what you see in the exs file itself. I will include provision for hexadecimal addresses, programs like Hexplorer & are very useful. Edit: I have uploaded some notes that will enable decryption of an exs file: http://www.freewebs.com/ishadnha/EXSDecrypts.zip (Note these are Windows notes. The Mac version has no "unsigned char town_hidden[200],a;", instead it just has "unsigned char town_hidden[200];". I will have to compare the Mac and Windows source code later on.) Edit: I had to manually copy the address above and then enter it into the location bar before the link worked?!?

I just tried to alter the password with the wtfed editor and I got nowhere. Hex editing requires a decryption of the exs file, which I have done using the source code for the editor. I can clean up my notes and you can post them on your site if you like. It is less convenient than just editing but there you go.

Why do we need passwords removed anyway? If the scenario has an error there are only two solutions: Use the Debug function Edit the scenario file itself Both require the use and knowledge of the password. Hex editing is possible, but it takes more effort.

In the Scripts folder check the file "z20reiner.txt", this spells out that if a certain flag is not set then he may attack. I don't currently know the contents of his memory cells, so I can't finally say if there is a flag.

Another approach to passwords is possible now that we have access to the source code. Have someone who knows C read the source and figure out how the program handles the passwords. I think they are recorded in the exs file by the means of "scenario flags", there are nine of them. They are found at the following locations, when the file has a line width of 70 characters: Short flag a: 6, 69 - 70 Short flag b: 7, 13 - 14 Short flag c: 36, 45 - 46 Short flag d: 595, 55-56. Short flag e: 42, 57 - 58 Short flag f: 45, 53 - 54 Short flag g: 449, 23-24. Short flag h: 509,1-2 Short flag i: 600, 7-8. (Notation format is : Short flag @: line number, column number-column number.) Here is one example from line 1,319 of the Spiderweb source file tfileio.cpp: Code: short town_s(short flag){ long k = 0; k = (long) flag; k = k * k * k; jl = jl * 54; jl = jl * 2 + 1234 + k; k = k + 51; k = k % 3000; jl = jl * 2 + 1234 + k; k = k * scenario.num_towns; k = k % 10000; jl = jl * jl + 84 + k; k = k + 10000; return (short) k;}

Use the Editor, type Shift + D, this brings up the Editor. Then type "backtostart" and hit Enter, leave out the quotation marks. This takes you back to Blackchasm Outpost.

Job board quests seem to have no connection to the dialog scripts. Which could be a problem if you can't complete one.

We need to make this post "sticky": http://www.ironycentral.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=23;t=000143

So we already have an E3 re-enactment in the form of Assault on Valorim: Part One. It may be dreadful but who cares, you only need the floors and terrain from the thing. (As for an Avernum 3 resource, all I need do is port the above Exile scenario to Blades of Avernum. Not practical, it also features lousy maps of Valorim for good measure.) Removing the password, requires a re - write of the editor, quite simple if anyone knows how to program. I can't do it because I can't get the editor source code to compile properly into a functioning program. Alternately, if you can figure out the password formula, you might be able to write a program that derives the password from the exs file. These are the only passwords that I know: All scenarios by "Drizzt" – 071576. Password found on home page. "Rubacus", by Leon Lin: 28134. "Islands of the Wheel": 23457 (best hand in deuce-to-seven lowball) "Tatterdemalion": akqj10 (as a royal flush, best hand in most forms of poker) "War on Bigail": bob

I am occasionally doing a translation of Avernum 3 to a Blades of Avernum resource scenario. One thing that I have found: a lot of the floor numbers are different for the two programs. It is not just a matter of cut and paste, I would need to figure out a list of translations first. You might have the same problem, I don't know as I have never tried an Exile 3 to Blades of Exile translation.

Generally crafted items are not worth bothering about, the party usually has better stuff of their own. Thus any improvement in this area would be a good idea if it does not unbalance the game.

I checked out the trapdoor while in "ghost mode", you go through it and find that there is nothing much below it. For ghost mode see the Strategy Central post.

I hate to sound like an idiot but the SuprEditor by itself seems just like the original old official Editor. Does it require supporting files? Is there something wrong with the version posted on True Site?

The two programs mentioned by Jewelz are both Windows 95 vintage. WTFED, this program is a Windows Blades of Exile Scenario Editor that allows you to view the password protected scenarios. No need for knowledge of the password. However to actually save your changes you will still need to know the password. SuprEdit, seems to be just a conventional Windows BoE Scenario Editor. I can’t see any major differences or improvements. Both of these editors are incompatible with the new BoE package by Ormus. The latter has a different file path for the standard graphics used. So you will need to copy the entire BlScenEd folder into the BoE Package before you can use either editor with the Package. In the MS-Dos Edit command, when Line Width = 70 Line 5,629 Column 62, start of the text on the main screen. Here you can alter the name of the program as it appears on the main screen. This is how you can tell one program from another. (Title bar: ?!??!! Now what is going on here?! Normally this is no problem for me. For whatever reason I can’t alter the text on the title bar.)

You haven't made it hidden or anything else like that?

Harkin's Landing: you get branded a thief even if you never steal anything. You will need this edit.

The Shadow Vale Scenario archives is down or restricted or whatever, I tried to access it and I got: "Forbidden You don't have permission to access /index.htm on this server. Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request." This has been the case for a few days.

Excel is clunky but you can get used to it. This post will explain why I used Word and Excel together: http://www.ironycentral.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=23;t=000348 A tab stop in Word corresponds to a new cell in Excel. Thus when you send text from Word to Excel you can isolate the stuff you want in a column of its own, if you handle the tab stops correctly.