DID.DAT Fully open!!!!

Hi, I have find the way to open the did.dat and extract its files to modify them. For more info and download the extraction tool go to http://www.f22taw.com/

WOW that is GREAT News 🙂

Don’t see a thing …?

Great news. Can this work in other directory? My TAW is in d:\Program Files\DID\TaW
Does this extractor deal with RA files?
Congratulations.

Polak

Great news. Can this work in other directory? My TAW is in d:\Program Files\DID\TaW
Does this extractor deal with RA files?
Congratulations.

The original tool was programmed to use d: as my copy is in that drive too, tell me you email and I´ll send you a copy for that drive.
About the second thing, yes, it extracts ALL files and decompress RA ones. In fact, taw can´t use compressed RA files when they are outside did.dat so that was a priority

Krusade

About the second thing, yes, it extracts ALL files and decompress RA ones. In fact, taw can´t use compressed RA files when they are outside did.dat so that was a priority

Then double congratulations.
As you perhaps know with the help of xentax.com people we have succeded in opening DID.dat before. But of course RA files were in compressed form which was good for nothing.

So if I understand you correctly the game is reading now the files from decompressed folder where all your game files reside. Renamed DID.dat is just a backup.

I shall send you my exact directory path as soon as I get home, but meanwhile tell what files are there. Would you say that DID.dat and its offsets are going to be disregarded? If such was a case we could pump some larger moded files as a substitutions.

What barriers are there to converting this tool for use with EF-2000 did.dat?

(I would normally test it myself, except that I am away from Ef-2000 for a couple of weeks)

So what is exactly in the DID.dat to modify? Skins, terrain textures?? ANYTHING texture wise?

My f22 path is:
D:\Program Files\DID\TAW\PROGRAM
please mail me exec ███████@███████.com
Appreciate highly.

Difficult to say what files could be moded, but possibly be few. The largest obstacle for moding textures is that the designers used to put all say terrain textures into one file. File is usually 8 bit indexed depth with fixed palette what worse that one palette is shared for terrain, cockpit and other views.

Is difficult to predjudge what can be done, but if the files are fully open we try to give them fair shake.

Well, there are lots of files to put here to put here but the complete tree for the english version seems to be this

├───3
├───ACMI
├───briefing
├───cdl
├───cfg
│ └───weapons
├───cgdat
├───colours
├───dat
├───f22data
├───fonts
│ ├───helvetic
│ ├───hudfont
│ ├───MICRO
│ ├───newhud
│ ├───topazmon
│ ├───TOPAZPRO
│ └───univers
├───huddle
├───iff
│ └───256
│ └───gui
├───Insignia
├───lev
├───mdl
├───mp_col
├───MUSIC
├───pcx
│ ├───background
│ ├───campaign
│ ├───credits
│ ├───debrief
│ ├───insignia
│ ├───mainmenu
│ │ └───english
│ ├───misc
│ ├───missions
│ ├───multipla
│ ├───OPTIONS
│ ├───pilots
│ ├───quitscreen
│ ├───scenario
│ │ └───sim
│ ├───skies
│ ├───stamps
│ └───titlebar
├───pdl
├───Pilots
├───players
│ └───0
├───red0600
├───red1000
├───red1400
├───samples
│ ├───beeps
│ ├───betty
│ ├───gui
│ ├───noise
│ ├───sfx
│ └───speech
├───ss
├───udl
├───waypoint
└───WINFONTS

When extracted, the files are copied to the path where they must be as taw loads the files only if they are in the correct path. And you don´t need to match the original file sizes, in some cases you can even use new filenames like for new missions.
… I have just take overview of the files but for example I have located were the SAM range definitions are (f22data/turrets.txt).

I have used reverse engineering (ASM debug) to locate the subroutines where the program load the files inside did.dat to memory. It isn´t an easy thing and the position of the routines is different for each version, in some cases even the subroutine, as is, is different so there isn´t a way to port directly the tool to EF-2000.
If it can help the subroutine to find path, offset and size is this

0057B211 call 0057ABF0
0057B216 test eax,eax
0057B218 je 0057B20E
0057B21A mov edx,ecx
0057B21C mov ebx,dword ptr [eax+8]
0057B21F mov eax,dword ptr [eax+4]
0057B222 call 0057AD74
0057B227 mov dx,word ptr [ecx+230h]
0057B22E cmp dx,524Ah
0057B233 je 0057B245
0057B235 cmp dx,4152h
0057B23A jne 0057B251
0057B23C mov eax,dword ptr [ecx+234h]
0057B242 pop ecx
0057B243 pop ebx
0057B244 ret

in 0057B211 eax has the memory address of the path string
in 0057B222 eax has the offset and ebx the size

First thank you for a tool for D: – received.

http://www.f22taw.com/

The tool works in background detecting the files that the f22.exe tries to load from did.dat and extracting/uncompressing them to the taw path.
Try to use all the sections to ensure that all the files are extracted.

What do you mean use all sections – like different menu options, or startup and tutorial missions and campaign?

I do not think that any additional explanations are needed anymore. All worked beautifully.

HISTORICAL MOMENT for TAW

Models are in SS folder, terrain files in LEV and mystery folder and file format 3.
I have to do something else now and it is going to be torture to know that all those files are finally open and waiting.

👍 👍 👍

All credit and thanks to Kruz – u need a statue here my man.

When I present my doggy with new stuffed toy, it does not take usually more than few seconds to dispatch it garbage bin in predictably serious state of disrepair. But this always swift and rapid head moving action is leaving him with very happy and satisfied face. I admit that I took some of this behaviour from him. 😉

I could not help it but to dive quickly into the terrain file.
Here is the TAW terrain height map and tiles.

Next step is to play with this files make them bigger and try to save. If it will work then terrain modding for TAW could be quite fun.

I have doubled the size of the tile file and renamed the did.dat. But program crashes due to shortage of file pdl\sim6A.pdl.
I admit that I have not subjected TAW to decompress with all options, but I want to proceed step at the time so so far I just run the program without any additional sections on.
If any of you guys have this file already decompressed please send me and I try to run TAW again.

The height map up above is actually the shade map, but that does not really matter as the heightmap has been located and is in Waypoint folder. Shade map determines the position and orientation of each tile.

One more thing … there is Colours folder containing just palette files. All files are in RA files which are enrypted. But having access to the color information from the pictures we may have a fighting chance to decrypt the RA encryption … maybe.

The tile file is size 320×1000 and is containing 820 tiles. Part of the file is empty (black area). The size is very small only 219KB. But of course this resulting in minute resolution for each tile which is only 16×16pxls. And it shows in the game, does it not 🙁

We need to try to increase its size. If only twofold, then we end up with 219×4 =876 KB or if 4× then it will end up over 3 MB. That over 3MB is not much for current video cards and may give us 64×64 pixels for each tile. Nothing earth shattering, but one may count on seeing some improvement … I hope.

Hey, where is everybody? It is so exciting to see TAW revealing its secrets after so many many, years.

I think that this thread should perhaps be a sticky because I can see that a pile of useful info will be brought up here. A kind of roadmap to TAW, if you will.

So perhaps before I go out two more files revealed. Env (I guess roads, cities, rivers) and clouds (I think).

Sorry that I cannot help and open those files one after another. I just been waiting such a long time to get hold of the the game like TAW. Its secrets are hidden, but once the 1st layet is peeled off (THANKS TO KRUZ! ) it reveals itself more readily. But now I leave the rest for the rest of us here. Please enjoy.

I have seen there are some RA files not decompressed, may be the use a different function to do it, but now that I know how to search it won´t be difficult to find them

The sim6A.pdl is one of the files of a training mission. They are loaded when you just select the missions

Since yesterday I’ve opened those TAW files quite in the hurry, I did not want to proceeed too far without taking some notes what files are processed in just on the begining of the game without loading any section else.

The reason for me mentioning those RA palette files is to try to establish some Rosetta Stone if you will in case we get stuck somwhere with RA. It is pretty involving task to decrypt unknown encryption and/or compression so help of all who know something about it could be very much in demand.

Those graphic representation of files I presented above are very initial attempt to peel off all secrets of TAW. I do not know how far this journey could take us, but it may be pretty far.

The most important is to direct modding effort in some agreed and coordinated direction so it will rekindle the interest and hopefully revigorate the group again. Or just take the sightseeing tour over the files and folders and move on to something else.

Be nice to have a similar program for ADF then it may be fairly easy to port Quick Combat over to TAW.

Small correction: that first map and tile file is NOT the main terrain file of course. They are the MFD map file, however the main terrain textures probable are being distributed according to the same shade map.

3

folder contains 3D models

cgdat

probable sh (shape) files for IR monitor

ss

ssd (also shape) files with scenery objects

lev

main terrain, sky folder with distribution files for terrain tiles, sky tiles and targets.

red600, red1000, red1400

folder with terrain textures

samples

speech, music and sfx effects

pcx and iff

interface screens

huddle

cockpit

All initial guesswork of course, but reality should not be that far away.