Welcome to the TWC Wiki! You are not logged in. Please log in to the Wiki to vote in polls, change skin preferences, or edit pages. See HERE for details of how to LOG IN.

Difference between revisions of "Descr geography.db"

From TWC Wiki
Jump to navigationJump to search
(will regenerate now in M2TW)
(Editing descr_geography.db for RTW: squid's tool)
Line 14: Line 14:
 
==Editing descr_geography.db for RTW==
 
==Editing descr_geography.db for RTW==
 
The file can be opened with a normal text editor but attempts to edit with a text editor will result in a non-functioning game.  The file can be edited successfully with a hex editor.  The main source of information on editing this file is the '''[[Guide to Battlemap Modification*|Guide to Battlemap Modification]]''' tutorial by [[Muizer]].
 
The file can be opened with a normal text editor but attempts to edit with a text editor will result in a non-functioning game.  The file can be edited successfully with a hex editor.  The main source of information on editing this file is the '''[[Guide to Battlemap Modification*|Guide to Battlemap Modification]]''' tutorial by [[Muizer]].
 +
 +
 +
===Tool===
 +
The file can be edited easily with Squid's descr_geography.db editor available [http://www.twcenter.net/forums/downloads.php?do=file&id=2870 here]
 +
  
 
===Re-pathing for mod-folder===
 
===Re-pathing for mod-folder===
Line 20: Line 25:
 
when using a mod-folder if you put revised battlefield texture files on that equivalent path in the mod-folder they are not read and the game goes directly to rtw/data/terrain.
 
when using a mod-folder if you put revised battlefield texture files on that equivalent path in the mod-folder they are not read and the game goes directly to rtw/data/terrain.
  
However you can relatively easily edit the path so it looks for a name not present in rtw/data/terrain.  To avoid problems with this file the path length should remain the same.  Putting files in ''my_mod/terrain/battlemynew/'' folder so path length stays same  and entry becomes:
+
However you can relatively easily edit the path so it looks for a name not present in rtw/data/terrain.   
 +
 
 +
If amending the file with a hex editor the path length should remain the same.  Putting files in ''my_mod/terrain/battlemynew/'' folder so path length stays same  and entry becomes:
 
:''terrain/battlemynew/texture_name.tga''
 
:''terrain/battlemynew/texture_name.tga''
seems to work without messing up the .db file and picks up the revised textures from the mod-folder.
+
seems to work without messing up the .db file and picks up the revised textures from the mod-folder. Using the tool mentioned above allows more flexibility
  
 
==See Also==
 
==See Also==

Revision as of 14:09, 21 May 2014

descr_geography.db is the file that determines which ground textures are used in the battlemap, which colours are used for groundtypes in distant views and various factors concerning the elevation and shape of the battlemap.

It appears to have been originally based (by CA) on the contents of descr_geography.txt however unlike the descr_vegetation.db in RTW it will not re-generate from the text file if deleted, the text file is not read by the game and is only useful for record keeping purposes.

The file is located originally in RTW/data only, it can be copied into BI or a mod-folder and any changes made to that version will effect BI / the mod solely.

Problem in M2TW

With earlier patches of M2TW a timestamp issue meant if you unpacked your M2TW files you had to delete completely the unpacked version of descr_geography_new.db and the descr_geography_new.txt file so the game refers back to the packed version. Failure to do this resulted in a CTD when attempting to start a battle. With the current patch you can simply delete the descr_geography.db file and use
[misc]
rebuild_geography_db = true
in your config file and a new db file will be generated from the txt file.

Editing descr_geography.db for RTW

The file can be opened with a normal text editor but attempts to edit with a text editor will result in a non-functioning game. The file can be edited successfully with a hex editor. The main source of information on editing this file is the Guide to Battlemap Modification tutorial by Muizer.


Tool

The file can be edited easily with Squid's descr_geography.db editor available here


Re-pathing for mod-folder

The texture file paths are listed in the db file as path:

terrain/battlefield/texture_name.tga

when using a mod-folder if you put revised battlefield texture files on that equivalent path in the mod-folder they are not read and the game goes directly to rtw/data/terrain.

However you can relatively easily edit the path so it looks for a name not present in rtw/data/terrain.

If amending the file with a hex editor the path length should remain the same. Putting files in my_mod/terrain/battlemynew/ folder so path length stays same and entry becomes:

terrain/battlemynew/texture_name.tga

seems to work without messing up the .db file and picks up the revised textures from the mod-folder. Using the tool mentioned above allows more flexibility

See Also