ModdingWiki - User contributions [en-gb]

Bio Menace

2022-01-16T09:18:56Z

Szemigi:

{{Game Infobox
| Levels = Edit
| Tiles = Edit
| Sprites = Edit
| Fullscreen = Edit
| Sound = Edit
| Music = Edit
| Text = Edit
| Story = Edit
| Interface = Edit
}}
'''Bio Menace''' (working title: '''Bio Hazard''') is a series of three games known simply as Bio Menace 1, 2 and 3. They use a slightly altered version of the [[Commander Keen 4-6]] engine, so the file formats used are almost identical.

The game follows the adventures of Snake Logan, a top secret operative at the CIA, who takes on missions others would see as suicidal, as he battles hordes of strange mutant monsters that have suddenly appeared and are taking over cities. The goals of the game vary, from rescuing trapped prisoners to destroying an evil computer. Notably, in the second game, if you do not get the portable nuclear device in one of the levels, the game becomes unwinnable and you are treated to the story of Snake's eventual death.

{{BeginFileFormatTools|Type=game}}
{{FileFormatTool
| Name = [[keenwiki:Abiathar|Abiathar]]
| Platform = Windows
| grp = N/A
| map = Edit
| gfx = No
| mus = No
| sfx = No
| txt = No
| sav = No
| exe = No
| notes = Offers templates for Bio Menace projects
}}
{{FileFormatTool
| Name = [[TED5]]
| Platform = DOS GUI
| grp = N/A
| map = Edit
| gfx = No
| mus = No
| sfx = No
| txt = No
| sav = No
| exe = No
| notes = Must be [http://people.inf.elte.hu/szgrahi/bmenace_mod.zip configured to work with Bio Menace]
}}
{{FileFormatTool
| Name = [[Wombat]]
| Platform = Windows
| grp = N/A
| map = Read
| gfx = Read
| mus = Read
| sfx = Read
| txt = No
| sav = No
| exe = No
| notes =
}}
{{EndFileFormatTools}}

 
== File formats ==

{|class="wikitable"
! File name !! Description
|-
| <tt>audiohed.bm* audiot.bm*</tt>
| style="background: #CCFFCC;" | Sound effects and music in [[AudioT Format]] (and within that, music in [[IMF Format]])
|-
| <tt>bmenace[123].exe</tt>
| style="background: #FFFFCC;" | Exit text screens in [[B800 Text]] format
|-
| <tt>egadict.bm* egahead.bm* egagraph.bm*</tt>
| style="background: #CCFFCC;" | Graphics, text and miscellaneous data in [[EGAGraph Format]]
|-
| <tt>gamemaps.bm* maphead.bm* maptemp.bm* mapthead.bm*</tt>
| style="background: #CCFFCC;" | Levels in [[GameMaps Format]]
|}

* Sprite behaviours are governed by data structures in the .exe, arranged in [[Keen 4-6 Action Format]]

== Music ==

=== AudioT Format Details ===
Biomenace uses the uncompressed version of the [[AudioT Format]] to store music and sound. The main audio file for each game, the AUDIOT.xxx file, is called AUDIOT.BMx, where x is the number of the game (1, 2 or 3). For example, the file for Keen 2 is AUDIO.BM2. The secondary files needed for this format, the AUDIOHED.BMx are external.

=== Levels Songs Assignment ===
There is a place inside the executables too, where each level in the game is assigned a song from the AUDIOT.BMx file. From that addresses, the following bytes indicate the song for each level. Every 2 bytes is a value corresponding to a level. The first 2 bytes correspond to level 0; the next 2 bytes correspond to level 1; and so on. Each 2-byte value is an integer corresponding to the song number used in that level, starting from $00 $00, and going up to $00 $01, and so on. This numbers refer to the order the songs are in the AUDIO.BMx file; $00 $00 is the first one, $00 $01 is the second one, and so on.

It is notable that Biomenace has many more songs in it than the Keen 4-6 games upon which it was based.

== Obtaining the game ==

The full version of this game [http://www.3drealms.com/news/2005/12/bio_menace_released_as_freewar.html has been released as freeware].

* Three different versions are available from [http://www.classicdosgames.com/apogee.html Classic DOS Games]

[[Category:Apogee]]
[[Category:Sidescroller]]
[[Category:Freeware]]

User talk:Nyerguds

2022-01-04T23:22:44Z

Szemigi: /* Keen 1 v1.34 EXE problem */

== CAT Format ==
I just finished documenting the MPS Labs [[CAT Format (MPS Labs)|CAT Format]]. I think it would be a nice addition to your [[Librarian]] program if you're still adding to it. --[[User:TheAlmightyGuru|TheAlmightyGuru]] ([[User talk:TheAlmightyGuru|talk]])
:Funny story there... a while ago, I got my hands on a Dune II CD which was released in some collection pack, and which had its files saved in some proprietary archive format. I found [https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=728947 some info on the format and the pack on vogons.org] and implemented it in the Librarian tool. Now, while digging into this CAT format, when I needed examples of v2, the Darklands iso I found online was actually the one from that very same "Gold Medal 12 CD Pack" that that Dune II was from, and thus, it had its data stored in exactly the same type of archive. So I could actually use my tool to extract the required .cat archives to test the .cat implementation in my tool :) Anyway, v1.0.4 is released, with full support for these. --[[User:Nyerguds|Nyerguds]] ([[User talk:Nyerguds|talk]]) 08:30, 5 May 2021 (GMT)
:: Awesome! Thank you. --[[User:TheAlmightyGuru|TheAlmightyGuru]] ([[User talk:TheAlmightyGuru|talk]])

== ESI format ==
I don't know if you're still adding fonts to the [[Westwood Font Editor]], but I've figured out most of the [[ESI Format]], which was used in at least 15 games. It might make a good addition to your program. Unfortunately, it doesn't have much room for adding new characters, so it will only be useful in game translations if the translator is okay with sacrificing some characters. --[[User:TheAlmightyGuru|TheAlmightyGuru]] ([[User talk:TheAlmightyGuru|talk]]) 20:35, 17 December 2020 (UTC)
:Ooh. That looks interesting. I'll take a look. The page seems to be a bit lacking in describing the format of the final images, though. All it says is "monochrome" and "CGA"... so does that make it 1-bit black-white, 2-bit paletted, or somehow 2-bit grayscale?
:-[[User:Nyerguds|Nyerguds]] ([[User talk:Nyerguds|talk]]) 01:41, 18 December 2020 (UTC)
:Ah, judging from the code, it seems to be 1-bit. All right, I'm on it.
:-[[User:Nyerguds|Nyerguds]] ([[User talk:Nyerguds|talk]]) 12:10, 19 December 2020 (UTC)

== Minor edits ==

Hey just a heads up I see a lot of your edits are marked as minor when you're changing the actual content of the page. Flagging an edit as minor is only meant for when the content isn't changed in a meaningful way, e.g. you are fixing a typo or tweaking the formatting. Whenever actual content changes (including rewording) it's never considered a minor edit! -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] ([[User talk:Malvineous|talk]]) 06:40, 6 February 2021 (GMT)
: I know; it's marked as minor by default, and a few times I forgot to uncheck it when making major edits. I ''do'' try to keep it in mind, though. -[[User:Nyerguds|Nyerguds]] ([[User talk:Nyerguds|talk]]) 13:39, 7 February 2021 (GMT)
:: If you go into your preferences under the 'Editing' tab, you can switch off the option to mark the edits as minor by default if that makes it easier. -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] ([[User talk:Malvineous|talk]]) 00:52, 27 June 2021 (GMT)
::: Oh, I know. I disabled the option shortly after you posted your remark here, in fact. -[[User:Nyerguds|Nyerguds]] ([[User talk:Nyerguds|talk]]) 08:34, 27 June 2021 (GMT)

== Keen 1 v1.34 EXE problem ==

I mentioned CTPAX-X previously that the EXE of Keen 1 v1.34 was compressed by PKLite, which I decompressed with UNP, so that I can use KeenGraph (Keen 1-6, Dreams graphic editor). While trying to extract the graphics, KeenGraph mentions that 'EGASPRIT.CK1 LZW-compressed, decompressing...' 'EGALATCH.CK1 LZW-compressed, decompressing...' And then nothing happens, but just hanging. I tried to read the LZW-compression, but didn't help and I failed. Could you tell me what to do? (Oh, and Levellass is inactive for long, so I didn't become wiser.) [[User:Szemigi|Szemigi]] ([[User talk:Szemigi|talk]]) 23:08, 26 December 2021 (GMT)
: Look, all I did on the CTPAX-X talk page was trying to make it clear to you that you were talking to the wrong person about this subject. The fact I responded there '''does not magically make ''me'' the ''right'' person.''' If you want to fix this, look into LZW yourself. -[[User:Nyerguds|Nyerguds]] ([[User talk:Nyerguds|talk]]) 12:20, 3 January 2022 (GMT)
:: I asked it on the Xentax forum, but still no answer. Even on PCKF's Discord hasn't answered yet. All I wanted is a clue on how to start it. Nevermind. [[User:Szemigi|Szemigi]] ([[User talk:Szemigi|talk]]) 23:22, 4 January 2022 (GMT)

User talk:Nyerguds

2021-12-26T23:08:46Z

Szemigi: /* Keen 1 v1.34 EXE problem */ new section

User talk:CTPAX-X Team

2021-10-21T20:25:58Z

Szemigi: /* Keen 1 v1.34 EXE problem */

== SLB/M3 tools ==

Thanks for amplifying the page I created related to the M3/SLB format(s).
Are we aware of any tool to extract data from .SLB/.M3 formats yet ?

- [[User:Elia1995 | Elìa1995]]

: Added script to unpack archives. If you want to view images you can use IGC.EXE game program as a viewer (DOSBox). [[User:CTPAX-X Team|CTPAX-X Team]] ([[User talk:CTPAX-X Team|talk]]) 19:20, 16 October 2018 (UTC)

== FileInfoRec on SelectWare Archive ==

On the [[SelectWare Archive]] page, I'm not sure if it is useful to replace the information on the folder ID by the link to the FileInfoRec. I don't doubt that it's correct, but the page you linked to just describes that whole start block as "reserved", giving no information whatsoever about how a tool could distinguish files from folders and link them together correctly, while the previous information on the page did specify that. -[[User:Nyerguds|Nyerguds]] ([[User talk:Nyerguds|talk]]) 14:33, 8 May 2021 (GMT)

For more info on the problem, I refer to you the John Madden Football demo on [https://archive.org/details/cdrom-software-jukebox this CD]. It's the archive under the folder <tt>ELE15003</tt>. In that archive, there is no difference in directory level between "GRAPHICS\MISC\MISC.BMS" file and the following "GRAPHICS\STANCES" folder; without looking at those folder IDs, there is no way to know if "STANCES" is a "GRAPHICS\STANCES" folder, or an empty "GRAPHICS\MISC\STANCES" file. Here's [https://i.imgur.com/62F8afM.png an image of the files tree]. -[[User:Nyerguds|Nyerguds]] ([[User talk:Nyerguds|talk]]) 14:52, 8 May 2021 (GMT)

[EDIT]

Ah, I missed the fact there is a directory bit in the file attributes. With that, and the dir level from the entry, it is indeed completely possible without ever looking at that "reserved" information. Out of curiosity, does the SelectWare extractor actually look at that reserved block, or is its unpacking identical to your own? -[[User:Nyerguds|Nyerguds]] ([[User talk:Nyerguds|talk]]) 15:32, 8 May 2021 (GMT)

: Sorry, messed up logic for folder level. Example code fixed (thanks for pointing out on <tt>ELE15003</tt> example archive) - now it should be identical to how the SelectWare extractor works (rechecked disassembler code), except parts marked as TODO in comments. And yes, original code never use anything from reserved 21 byte block since it's undocumented DOS internals. Also it would be nice if someone ported to this Wiki information about FileInfoRec, DOS Packed Time/Date and DOS File Attributes, since there are few other file formats which uses this structures (except maybe FileInfoRec). [[User:CTPAX-X Team|CTPAX-X Team]] ([[User talk:CTPAX-X Team|talk]]) 18:26, 8 May 2021 (GMT)

:: Thanks for confirming that the reserved block is not used; it will come in handy when writing my code to save the archive type. I adapted my own reading code for the next version of the Librarian tool using the directory flag, and it's actually a lot simpler now. I also added a small section in the article now describing how to traverse the directory tree. -[[User:Nyerguds|Nyerguds]] ([[User talk:Nyerguds|talk]]) 22:02, 8 May 2021 (GMT)

::: One addition: the actual extractor code does not check the first filename character (it's just this implementation quirks), instead it checks that <tt>sizeof(swt_item)</tt> bytes was sucessully read from input file. Also add subdirectories and remove hidden tag since can't imagine a way to hide something with this format. [[User:CTPAX-X Team|CTPAX-X Team]] ([[User talk:CTPAX-X Team|talk]]) 16:03, 11 May 2021 (GMT)

== Black line at the bottom of Keen Dreams title ==

Hello. Could you tell me what to do in this case? Since nobody can help me (yet), read my topic: https://keenmodding.org/viewtopic.php?p=36634#p36634 (Oh, and the black line appears at the right bottom corner of the screen.) [[User:Szemigi|Szemigi]] ([[User talk:Szemigi|talk]]) 07:36, 7 September 2021 (GMT)
: TitleBuild was developed by [[User:Levellass|Levellass]] - you should ask for help there first. As for some suggestions - try to use nConvert:
: [https://www.xnview.com/en/nconvert/ nconvert.exe] -in -1 -out iff TITLESCR.BMP
: Rename output file "TITLESCR.IFF" to "TITLESCR.LBM" and pack it back with "SOFTLIB.EXE" to "KDREAMS.CMP". Maybe it will work correctly this time. [[User:CTPAX-X Team|CTPAX-X Team]] ([[User talk:CTPAX-X Team|talk]]) 09:44, 7 September 2021 (GMT)
:: I have a little problem at the end. I did everything as you mentioned, but SOFTLIB said titlescr.lbm is not a SOFTLIB file and I'm stopped. Please, tell me what can I do as it would be very important for me. [[User:Szemigi|Szemigi]] ([[User talk:Szemigi|talk]]) 23:36, 7 September 2021 (GMT)
:: No success. I managed to pack it back, but still the same black line at the bottom. Maybe TitleBuilder is the guilty? [[User:Szemigi|Szemigi]] ([[User talk:Szemigi|talk]]) 01:01, 8 September 2021 (GMT)
::: Do the following things (step-by-step):
::: 1. SOFTLIB.EXE E KDREAMS.CMP TITLESCR.LBM
::: 2. nConvert.exe -in -1 -out bmp TITLESCR.LBM
::: (edit output "TITLESCR.BMP" file here as you like)
::: 3. nConvert.exe -in -1 -c 1 -out iff TITLESCR.BMP
::: 4. del TITLESCR.LBM
::: 5. ren TITLESCR.IFF TITLESCR.LBM
::: 6. del KDREAMS.CMP
::: 7. SOFTLIB.EXE AC KDREAMS.CMP TITLESCR.LBM LZH
::: Just tested and everything works fine. Use DOSBox or any other DOS VM for running SOFTLIB.EXE. Do not use TileBuilder if you have issues with it. [[User:CTPAX-X Team|CTPAX-X Team]] ([[User talk:CTPAX-X Team|talk]]) 08:34, 8 September 2021 (GMT)
:::: Thanks! I will try it, too. [[User:Szemigi|Szemigi]] ([[User talk:Szemigi|talk]]) 08:50, 8 September 2021 (GMT)

== Keen 1 v1.34 EXE problem ==

Hello! Could you help me? The EXE of Keen 1 v1.34 was compressed by PKLite, which I decompressed with UNP, so that I can use KeenGraph (Keen 1-6, Dreams graphic editor). While trying to extract the graphics, KeenGraph mentions that 'EGASPRIT.CK1 LZW-compressed, decompressing...' 'EGALATCH.CK1 LZW-compressed, decompressing...' And then nothing happens, but just hanging. Tell me how to decompress these LZW-compressed files. [[User:Szemigi|Szemigi]] ([[User talk:Szemigi|talk]]) 22:52, 18 October 2021 (GMT)
: Sorry, not familiar with this game or modding tools, can't help. [[User:CTPAX-X Team|CTPAX-X Team]] ([[User talk:CTPAX-X Team|talk]]) 19:50, 20 October 2021 (GMT)
:: Alright, but any suggestions/tools on how to decompress LZW-decompressed files? [[User:Szemigi|Szemigi]] ([[User talk:Szemigi|talk]]) 21:42, 20 October 2021 (GMT)
::: Try the [[LZW Compression]] page? Or ask [[User:Levellass|Levellass]], who actually made the KeenGraph tool. -[[User:Nyerguds|Nyerguds]] ([[User talk:Nyerguds|talk]]) 23:15, 20 October 2021 (GMT)
:::: I managed to decompress EGALATCH.CK1, but EGASPRIT.CK1 not. Here are the compressed values from EGASPRIT.CK1:
0000 70 7B 00 00 0C 00 00 40
0010 40 80 6C 00 3B 82 1D 0E

Do you know how to decompress it? [[User:Szemigi|Szemigi]] ([[User talk:Szemigi|talk]]) 20:25, 21 October 2021 (GMT)

User talk:CTPAX-X Team

2021-10-20T21:42:59Z

Szemigi: /* Keen 1 v1.34 EXE problem */

User talk:CTPAX-X Team

2021-10-18T22:54:08Z

Szemigi: /* Keen 1 v1.34 EXE problem */

User talk:CTPAX-X Team

2021-10-18T22:52:11Z

Szemigi: /* Keen 1 v1.34 EXE problem */ new section

== SLB/M3 tools ==

Thanks for amplifying the page I created related to the M3/SLB format(s).
Are we aware of any tool to extract data from .SLB/.M3 formats yet ?

- [[User:Elia1995 | Elìa1995]]

: Added script to unpack archives. If you want to view images you can use IGC.EXE game program as a viewer (DOSBox). [[User:CTPAX-X Team|CTPAX-X Team]] ([[User talk:CTPAX-X Team|talk]]) 19:20, 16 October 2018 (UTC)

== FileInfoRec on SelectWare Archive ==

On the [[SelectWare Archive]] page, I'm not sure if it is useful to replace the information on the folder ID by the link to the FileInfoRec. I don't doubt that it's correct, but the page you linked to just describes that whole start block as "reserved", giving no information whatsoever about how a tool could distinguish files from folders and link them together correctly, while the previous information on the page did specify that. -[[User:Nyerguds|Nyerguds]] ([[User talk:Nyerguds|talk]]) 14:33, 8 May 2021 (GMT)

For more info on the problem, I refer to you the John Madden Football demo on [https://archive.org/details/cdrom-software-jukebox this CD]. It's the archive under the folder <tt>ELE15003</tt>. In that archive, there is no difference in directory level between "GRAPHICS\MISC\MISC.BMS" file and the following "GRAPHICS\STANCES" folder; without looking at those folder IDs, there is no way to know if "STANCES" is a "GRAPHICS\STANCES" folder, or an empty "GRAPHICS\MISC\STANCES" file. Here's [https://i.imgur.com/62F8afM.png an image of the files tree]. -[[User:Nyerguds|Nyerguds]] ([[User talk:Nyerguds|talk]]) 14:52, 8 May 2021 (GMT)

[EDIT]

Ah, I missed the fact there is a directory bit in the file attributes. With that, and the dir level from the entry, it is indeed completely possible without ever looking at that "reserved" information. Out of curiosity, does the SelectWare extractor actually look at that reserved block, or is its unpacking identical to your own? -[[User:Nyerguds|Nyerguds]] ([[User talk:Nyerguds|talk]]) 15:32, 8 May 2021 (GMT)

: Sorry, messed up logic for folder level. Example code fixed (thanks for pointing out on <tt>ELE15003</tt> example archive) - now it should be identical to how the SelectWare extractor works (rechecked disassembler code), except parts marked as TODO in comments. And yes, original code never use anything from reserved 21 byte block since it's undocumented DOS internals. Also it would be nice if someone ported to this Wiki information about FileInfoRec, DOS Packed Time/Date and DOS File Attributes, since there are few other file formats which uses this structures (except maybe FileInfoRec). [[User:CTPAX-X Team|CTPAX-X Team]] ([[User talk:CTPAX-X Team|talk]]) 18:26, 8 May 2021 (GMT)

:: Thanks for confirming that the reserved block is not used; it will come in handy when writing my code to save the archive type. I adapted my own reading code for the next version of the Librarian tool using the directory flag, and it's actually a lot simpler now. I also added a small section in the article now describing how to traverse the directory tree. -[[User:Nyerguds|Nyerguds]] ([[User talk:Nyerguds|talk]]) 22:02, 8 May 2021 (GMT)

::: One addition: the actual extractor code does not check the first filename character (it's just this implementation quirks), instead it checks that <tt>sizeof(swt_item)</tt> bytes was sucessully read from input file. Also add subdirectories and remove hidden tag since can't imagine a way to hide something with this format. [[User:CTPAX-X Team|CTPAX-X Team]] ([[User talk:CTPAX-X Team|talk]]) 16:03, 11 May 2021 (GMT)

== Black line at the bottom of Keen Dreams title ==

Hello. Could you tell me what to do in this case? Since nobody can help me (yet), read my topic: https://keenmodding.org/viewtopic.php?p=36634#p36634 (Oh, and the black line appears at the right bottom corner of the screen.) [[User:Szemigi|Szemigi]] ([[User talk:Szemigi|talk]]) 07:36, 7 September 2021 (GMT)
: TitleBuild was developed by [[User:Levellass|Levellass]] - you should ask for help there first. As for some suggestions - try to use nConvert:
: [https://www.xnview.com/en/nconvert/ nconvert.exe] -in -1 -out iff TITLESCR.BMP
: Rename output file "TITLESCR.IFF" to "TITLESCR.LBM" and pack it back with "SOFTLIB.EXE" to "KDREAMS.CMP". Maybe it will work correctly this time. [[User:CTPAX-X Team|CTPAX-X Team]] ([[User talk:CTPAX-X Team|talk]]) 09:44, 7 September 2021 (GMT)
:: I have a little problem at the end. I did everything as you mentioned, but SOFTLIB said titlescr.lbm is not a SOFTLIB file and I'm stopped. Please, tell me what can I do as it would be very important for me. [[User:Szemigi|Szemigi]] ([[User talk:Szemigi|talk]]) 23:36, 7 September 2021 (GMT)
:: No success. I managed to pack it back, but still the same black line at the bottom. Maybe TitleBuilder is the guilty? [[User:Szemigi|Szemigi]] ([[User talk:Szemigi|talk]]) 01:01, 8 September 2021 (GMT)
::: Do the following things (step-by-step):
::: 1. SOFTLIB.EXE E KDREAMS.CMP TITLESCR.LBM
::: 2. nConvert.exe -in -1 -out bmp TITLESCR.LBM
::: (edit output "TITLESCR.BMP" file here as you like)
::: 3. nConvert.exe -in -1 -c 1 -out iff TITLESCR.BMP
::: 4. del TITLESCR.LBM
::: 5. ren TITLESCR.IFF TITLESCR.LBM
::: 6. del KDREAMS.CMP
::: 7. SOFTLIB.EXE AC KDREAMS.CMP TITLESCR.LBM LZH
::: Just tested and everything works fine. Use DOSBox or any other DOS VM for running SOFTLIB.EXE. Do not use TileBuilder if you have issues with it. [[User:CTPAX-X Team|CTPAX-X Team]] ([[User talk:CTPAX-X Team|talk]]) 08:34, 8 September 2021 (GMT)
:::: Thanks! I will try it, too. [[User:Szemigi|Szemigi]] ([[User talk:Szemigi|talk]]) 08:50, 8 September 2021 (GMT)

== Keen 1 v1.34 EXE problem ==

Hello! Could you help me? The EXE of Keen 1 v1.34 was compressed by PKLite, which I decompressed with UNP, so that I can use KeenGraph (Keen 1-6, Dreams graphic editor). After that, KeenGraph mentions that 'EGASPRIT.CK1 LZW-compressed, decompressing...' 'EGALATCH.CK1 LZW-compressed, decompressing...' And then nothing happens. Tell me how to decompress these LZW-compressed files. [[User:Szemigi|Szemigi]] ([[User talk:Szemigi|talk]]) 22:52, 18 October 2021 (GMT)

User talk:CTPAX-X Team

2021-09-08T08:50:35Z

Szemigi: /* Black line at the bottom of Keen Dreams title */

User talk:CTPAX-X Team

2021-09-08T01:01:22Z

Szemigi: /* Black line at the bottom of Keen Dreams title */

User talk:Levellass

2021-09-08T00:57:44Z

Szemigi: /* Titlebuild: black stripe */ new section

Hi Levellass - not sure if you've seen the question on [[Talk:Softdisk Library Format]] but since you wrote it you're probably best placed to answer! -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 02:26, 6 January 2012 (GMT)

Hi Levellass - I reverted your change to [[IMF Format]] (removing [[:Category:File Formats]]) because I am trying to remove all the pages from that category, instead putting them into more specific ones. So in this case [[IMF Format]] will appear in [[:Category:All file formats]] as well as [[:Category:All music formats]]. And these categories should apply automatically when an infobox is added to the article page, so hopefully there will be no need to add categories manually! So if you spot any pages missing categories, please add infoboxes to them instead of just the bare categories. Thanks! -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 09:03, 8 March 2013 (GMT)
: Nifty, that should certainly simplify things. -[[User:Levellass|Endian? What are you on about?]]

Hey, LL! Your new example/explanation of Huffman helped a lot in writing a decompressor, but I'm having an issue using it on EGAGRAPH. I verified that it is identical to the EGADICT created by KG and that I am reading it correctly. I get a tree full of reversed bit sequences, just like you said. However, the EGAGRAPH does not appear to use reversed bit sequences; it is completely uncompressed. (It does still have the UInt32LE at the front of the appropriate chunks specifying decompressed length.) Keen can read it and KeenGraph can read it, but using the provided dictionary, I can't. Can you help me? [[User:Fleexy|Fleexy]] ([[User talk:Fleexy|talk]]) 17:32, 3 January 2014 (GMT)

== Titlebuild: black stripe ==

Hey! I used your Keen Dreams title builder, but when I used it in my mod, black stripe appeared at the right corner of the title screen that doesn't and never wanna disappear at all. Fix it please! [[User:Szemigi|Szemigi]] ([[User talk:Szemigi|talk]]) 00:57, 8 September 2021 (GMT)

User talk:CTPAX-X Team

2021-09-07T23:36:27Z

Szemigi: /* Black line at the bottom of Keen Dreams title */ Titlescr.lbm is not SOFTLIB file. Interesting...

User:Szemigi

2021-09-07T07:54:28Z

Szemigi:

I love to make Commander Keen mods, but in the near future I'd like to make Bio Menace mods as well. I love the following old school ID Software/Apogee games: Commander Keen, Bio Menace, Duke Nukem, Doom, Wolfeinstein 3D, Quake, Shadow Warrior, and not at least Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure.

Commander Keen Dreams

2021-09-07T07:52:27Z

Szemigi: Other parts can be modified, too.

{{Stub}}

{{Game Infobox
| Levels = Edit
| Tiles = Edit
| Sprites = Edit
| Fullscreen = Edit
| Sound = Edit
| Music = N/A
| Text = Edit
| Story = Edit
| Interface = Edit
}}
== File formats ==

* [[AudioT Format]] - used for storing sound and music data
* [[B800 Text]] - there are a couple of text screens in the main .EXE file (including the text displayed on the screen when you quit)
* [[EGAGraph Format]] - used for storing graphics, text and miscellaneous data
* [[Keen Dreams level Format]] - used for storing level maps
* [[Keen 4-6 Action Format]] Sprite's behaviors are governed by this
* [[Keen 4-6 Tileinfo Format]] Tile information are governed by this
* [[Softdisk Library Format]] - The start menu is in this format
* [[SLIB compression]] The title screen is compressed with this

Compression used in KeenDreams is complex; most of the 'registered' (Non shareware) executables are compressed using [[PKLite compression]] and demo versions have additional files or filenames. Uniquely, the game maps are compressed using [[Huffman Compression]] instead of [[Carmack compression]], as they were made with an earlier version of [[TED5]] (TED3).

== Versions ==

There are no less than six versions of Keen Dreams available; these differ very little in actual gameplay, but markedly in file structure. Most of these are listed at [[http://www.shikadi.net/keenwiki/Keen_Dreams_Versions the Commander Keen Wiki]] (They omit version 1.0 and the Id Anthology)

The main moddable version is version 1.13, which is not the latest version of the game. Notably it has less in-game help and text, requires the player to run a program from Gamer's Edge before playing and names its files differently from the later Keen 4-6 manner. It also uses a seperate file for its start screen, which is unusual.

== Related Links ==
* [[Commander Keen 1-3]]
* [[Commander Keen 4-6]]
* The [[KeenWiki:Main Page|Commander Keen Wiki]]

[[Category:Softdisk]]
[[Category:id Software]]
[[Category:Sidescroller]]

User talk:CTPAX-X Team

2021-09-07T07:45:52Z

Szemigi: /* Black line at the bottom of Keen Dreams title */

User talk:CTPAX-X Team

2021-09-07T07:36:46Z

Szemigi: /* Black line at the bottom of Keen Dreams title */ new section

Talk:Softdisk Library Format

2021-09-06T07:53:54Z

Szemigi: /* Broken link */

== Compression and exceptions ==
I had a quick look at the LZW compression used by SOFTLIB.EXE and I was wondering in which case the exception that is mentioned in the text occured. I was able to write a very quick implementation of an LZW decompressor (with a sliding window of 4 KB) that worked perfectly, so I'd like to test that code for those exceptions. Another thing I noticed is that the LZH compressed data doesn't appear to be based on the compressed data that the LZW compression produces. This seems to be a different compression scheme, using codeword lengths of 8 and 9 bits. --[[User:K1n9 Duk3|K1n9 Duk3]] 22:32, 2 January 2012 (GMT)
: Seems I was a bit of a twit, I have rewritten the page entirely given my recent pokings at this format. There are no exceptions, just a faulty windows calculator that gave me the wrong binary for a hex value. The 'LZH' I think is just regular LZW, but using a dictionary instead of a sliding window, much like Keen 1's graphics use. --[[User:Levellass|Endian? What are you on about?]] 05:13, 18 April 2012 (GMT)
:: So I've implemented this in Wombat, and I've found the following: type 1 compression is LZSS (the description which talks about 'flag bytes' on this page confirms that). Would it make sense to move the text that describes the algorithm to the LZSS page? It's quite a good writeup, but would make more sense there. Type 2 is LZH: LZ77+Huffman, 4k window, adaptive Huffman for codes, offsets use a pre-defined Huffman tree, read-ahead of 30 bytes. It's identical to LHA's -lh1- compression, except that -lh1- uses a 60 byte read-ahead - which makes sense, as the algorithms in both were written by Haruhiko Okumura. ([[User:Szevvy|Szevvy]] ([[User talk:Szevvy|talk]]) 21:40, 14 July 2021‎ (GMT))
::: If it's definitely LZSS then it should be merged in with that description so we don't have multiple descriptions of what is ultimately the same thing! Worst case at least add a <nowiki>{{TODO|message}}</nowiki> to mention that it's LZSS to save future coders from reinventing the wheel! -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] ([[User talk:Malvineous|talk]]) 09:46, 4 August 2021 (GMT)
:::: There are already several articles with explanations about LZW. Some examples include [[Westwood LZW-12]] and [[Westwood LZW-14]]. Both were renamed to "LZW" after they were identified as such. Unfortunately, there are loads of slightly different implementations of the LZW compression, too. I'm honestly not sure how to sort out that mess. -[[User:Nyerguds|Nyerguds]] ([[User talk:Nyerguds|talk]]) 11:00, 4 August 2021 (GMT)
::::: I would link all those pages to the standard LZW algorithm, then mention the differences on each format's page, which seems to be more or less what has been done with the Westwood ones. I'd also put links on the LZW page to all the different variants, again just like Westwood. The goal is for someone trying to make use of a file format to quickly understand how to do so. Having to implement an algorithm from scratch isn't great, but having to only slightly modify a standard already existing algorithm is much easier. The way the Westwood articles are, mentioning the variations against a standard format, I think is the best we can hope for and it gives people a good place to start from. The ultimate goal, if possible, would be for the main LZW page to describe a generic enough algorithm that would handle most of the variations. I have tried to do this in [https://github.com/camoto-project/gamecompjs/blob/master/formats/cmp-lzw.js#L64-L77 the gamecomp.js LZW implementation] by having a bunch of options you can specify, where only the options are different between each game but the LZW code is the same. -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] ([[User talk:Malvineous|talk]]) 04:06, 6 August 2021 (GMT)
:::::: All right, thanks for the heads up. The reason I mentioned the WW ones was mostly because, as I wrote in the article, they are a 100% textbook implementation without any modifications at all. I found an implementation of it online to use in my program, and it just worked right away (besides the fact the programmer used an ASCII-stream in that code, which filtered out all higher-value bytes. Dev derp there, lol) -[[User:Nyerguds|Nyerguds]] ([[User talk:Nyerguds|talk]]) 08:11, 6 August 2021 (GMT)

== Broken link ==

Hello. Titlebuild's dropbox link is down: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3940020/Titlebuild.zip
Please fix or update it. Or tell me where to get Titlebuild. [[User:Szemigi|Szemigi]] ([[User talk:Szemigi|talk]]) 07:43, 6 September 2021 (GMT)

Softdisk Library Format

2021-09-06T07:52:43Z

Szemigi:

{{Archive Infobox
| MaxFiles = 65,535
| FAT = Beginning
| Names = Yes, 8.3
| Metadata = None
| Subdirectories = N
| Compressed = Y
| Encrypted = N
| Hidden = Y
| Games =
{{Game|Commander Keen Dreams}}
{{Game|Dangerous Dave 3}}
{{Game|Dangerous Dave 4}}
}}
SLIB, or Softdisk LIBrary, compression is a container file format used by [[Softdisk]] software to compress various files used by their games, most notably the Commander Keen Dreams series of games, (Including Dangerous Dave 3 and Dangerous Dave 4)to store title images used at the beginning of each game. It was created in 1992 by Jim Row.

The data held in the file can be compressed in any one of three ways, uncompressed, LZW and LZH. The compression used is primitive and rather different from later or traditional versions of LZW\LZH. SLIB files were created by the program <tt>SOFTLIB.EXE</tt> and as such any game that uses this format contains various segments of code in common with <tt>SOFTLIB</tt> for the decompression of data.

There is a closely related format, the SHL or Softdisk Help Library format. SHL files contain only a single file. Their header is slightly different, it's file signature is 'CMP1' (CoMPression of 1 file) while that of SLIB files is SLIB. The veracity of both files can be confirmed by checking for a word of value 2 at offset 4 in the file. The actual files have been given a number of extensions; <tt>.CMP</tt> (CoMPressed), <tt>.SHL</tt> (Softdisk Help Library) or the game extension.

The SLIB file can roughly be broken into a number of parts; the header, which contains data about the various data chunks, and the data chunks themselves, each containing a single file. Each chunk also has a short header.

== Header ==

The file header is found only in SLIB files and is absent in SHL files, which are loaded into memory in their enitrety. The SLIB header allows individual data chunks to be loaded inhto memory seperately.

The SLIB header is a variable length header that contains information about how many chunks there are in a file as well as their location in the file and size. It is used by the game to load chunks into memory and by <tt>SOFLIB</tt> to extract compressed files.

The first part of the header is a fixed length of 8 bytes and allows the game to identify the file as SLIB and also the total length of the header (Which will be 30 * the value at offset 6 plus 8.) The second part is a series of chunk headers that hold information about what file is held in each chunk. (The last six bytes are repeated at the start of the data chunk.)

FILE HEADER:
0 CHAR[4] fID Signature, 'SLIB' (Softdisk LIBrary)
4 UINT16LE Version Version number, always $0002
6 UINT16LE Chunks Number of data chunks in file
8 CHAR[30x] Chunk headers Chunk headers

IMAGE HEADERS:
? CHAR[16] Name Name of compressed image (Max len 12 chars) padded with nuls
+16 UINT32LE Dat st Start of image data in file (From start of first image chunk)
+20 UINT32LE Dat end End of image data in file (From start of first image chunk)
+24 UINT32LE iOriginalSize Decompressed data size
+28 UINT16LE iCompression Compression used, 0 = none, 1 = LZW, 2 = LZH

== Data Chunks ==

The data chunk has a short header followed by the actual data itself. The format differs slightly between SLIB chunkks and SHL files. Both format must identify themselves to the game, and they do so in different ways.

Notice that in the case of SLIB chunks bytes 4-10 are identical to bytes 24-30 of that chunk's header.

SLIB CHUNK FORMAT
? CHAR[4] cID Signature'CUNK' (Chunk UNKompressed size)
+4 UINT32LE iOriginalSize Decompressed data size
+8 UINT16LE iCompression Compression method
+10 CHAR[?] Data Image data

SHL files are slightly more tricky; an uncompressed SHL file is simply raw data, compressed data must identify itself as such and so the header is slightly longer. It can be considered a combination of the chunk header and the SLIB header in the section above.

SHL FILE FORMAT
0 CHAR[4] cID Signature'CMP1' (CoMPressed s1ingle file)
4 UINT16LE iCompression Compression method (as above)
6 UINT32LE iOriginalSize Decompressed data size
10 UINT32LE iCompressedSize Compressed data size
14 CHAR[?] Data Image data

== Compression ==

As noted above there are three forms of compression. The first is simple enough, no compression at all, the data is simply stored in the file. (Actually increasing the size!) The other two are called 'LZW' and 'LZH' by the programmers but both differ from what are now standard implmentations of those formats.

=== LZW ===

A compression value of 1 means the chunk is [[LZW compression|LZW compressed]]. The format of the compression used is different from the more 'usual' implementation of LZW. Most LZW works by building a 'dictionary', but LZW is in essence just referring back to data that has already been read.

The core of the implementation is that if a sequence is encountered that has already been read then it is replaced with a pointer to it. There are three types of data, flag bytes, pointers and literals.

Flag bytes divide the datastream into segments of eight 'values' which can be either literals or pointers. Pointers are 2 bytes long, literals 1 byte. (Therefore there will be a flag byte every 8 to 16 bytes of data.) The value of each bit (In little endian) indicates whether a value will be a literal (1) or codeword (0) Thus a value of 199 (11000111 in binary) indicates three pointers, three literals and two pointers in that order. (Total of 13 bytes.)

Literals are sequences that have never been seen in the datastream before, they cannot be compressed and are thus the same in the compressed and decompressed datastreams. (If the data is text they become quite obvious.) Any string less than 3 bytes long that has not been read before or cannot be pointed to (See below) will be stored as literals.

Pointers are reference to data that has already been read. They are two bytes long, with the first 12 bits giving the location to read data from and the last 4 bits giving the length of data to read.

The lower nybble (4 bits) of the second pointer byte holds the length of repeat data to read minus three. (This makes sense, the shortest sequence it makes sense to code is three bytes which can be given the value 0.) It will be immediately apparent that the maximum length of repeated data that can be stored as a pointer is 18 bytes.

The high nybble of the second byte is multiplied by 256 then added to the first byte to give the location of the data to read in the 'sliding window' minus 18. In hexadecimal this is as simple as appending the nybble to the first byte. For example flag bytes of <tt>$EA $F6</tt> point to location <tt>$FEA</tt> with '6' relating to the data length to read.

The 'sliding window' in this case is the region of decompressed data that the compressed data can point to. It will be immediately obvious that the pointers can encode values between +-2048, or about 2KB. If the decompressed data is less than 2KB in size then zero is the start of the data, if it is larger than it is 2048 bytes from the end of the data. (This is the origin of the term 'sliding window'; it is a window of data that can be slid along the datastream as it gets bigger.)

It will be noted that it is probable that the compressed datastream will not be perfectly divisible by flag bytes. In this case the unused bits are set to 0. The decompressor stops when the decompressed data size is equal to the value given in the chunk header.

The last thing to keep in mind is that the flagged location obtained requires 18 to be added to it. This is due to how the decompressor is set up in memory; it needs a buffer of 18 bytes (the maximum length of compressed data that can be decompressed) between where it is working and the start of the datastream proper. These bytes are initially filled with blank spaces (<tt>$20</tt> not <tt>$00</tt>.) and considered part of the datastream but not part that is output to the final file. (Their locations are negative.)

This has an odd result; it's entirely possible for a flag byte to point to a negative value and output one or more characters that were never part of the uncompressed data. To illustrate this we will look at the text string 'I am Sam. Sam I am!' as compressed by <tt>softlib.exe</tt>. Note that on line 6 it requests 5 bytes from address -1. This is the string ' I am'. The last four bytes are from the start of the sentence but the first, a blank space, comes from the buffer.

FF Flag byte, 8 literals follow
49 20 61 6D 20 53 61 6D 'I am Sam' as literals
09 Flag byte, 1L, 2P, 1L,4Blanks ($09 = 00001001)
2E '.' as literal
F2 F1 Pointer, read 1 + 3 = 4 bytes from $FF2, or -14 + 18 = 4 in the data. This is ' Sam'
ED F2 Pointer, read 2 + 3 = 5 bytes from $FED or -19 + 18 = -1 in the data. This is ' I am'
21 '!' as literal

=== LZH ===

LZH is a combination of LZW and [[Huffman Compression]]. In its simplest implementation it is two levels of compression, first the data is LZW compressed, then it is Huffman compressed. This is used for example in <tt>GAMEMAPS</tt> However, the compression used in this case seems to be similar to that used in Keen 1, pure LZW using a dictionary.

The format is far from elucidated, but a table in the executables involved can be used to convert data into the 8 and 9 bit codes used for perfectly incompressible data. (Once compression starts being used this changes, indicative that this table is used to build the initial LZW dictionary.)

It is also notable that it seems to use both 8 and 9 bit codes, which is very difficult to do without some table to indicate the length of the codes. This varaible codeword length may be why the compression is said to be 'huffman'

The [http://www.apogeesoftware.com/uncategorized/apogee-releases-blake-stone-source-code Planet Strike source code release] contains C code that handles LZH compression and decompression in <tt>JM_LZH.C</tt>. The code was written by Jim T. Row, who apparently also wrote the Softlib utility, so chances are it is the same implementation of LZH.

== Softlib ==

Soflib (Softdisk Library Creator) is a DOS program that can be used to create or extract files from SLIB files. It can work with both forms of compression used in SLIB files. It is notable that for some reason files shorter than 24 bytes often fail to be compressed correctly. (Soflib outputs a library with an empty chunk in it.) Soflib can be downloaded from the tools section of this page.

== Data contained in libraries ==

Keen Dreams uses SLIB to compress its title screen and also comes with a number of LZH compressed .SHL files containing text. The title screen is in [[LBM Format]] It is notable that the game does not read most of the LBM chunks, focusing instead on the FORM, BMHD and BODY chunks. This is because while the compressed files were designed to be viewed and edited in a standalone program, the game did not need things such as the LBM palette.

Dangerous Dave 3 and 4 use an additional SLIB file to store their digital sound effects, which are seperate from their [[AudioT Format|PC\adlib sounds]]

== Tools ==

* [http://www.shikadi.net/files/games/softdisk/softlib.exe SOFTLIB.EXE] - original DOS program that can create and modify Softdisk Libraries
* [http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3940020/Titlebuild.zip TITLEBUILD] - Windows program to turn a 320x200 bitmap into <tt>KDREAMS.CMP</tt> for Keen Dreams - (broken download link)

== Credits ==

This format partially reverse engineered by [[User:Lemm]] and [[User:Levellass]].

Softdisk Library Format

2021-09-06T07:51:04Z

Szemigi: Titlebuild's link is broken.

{{Archive Infobox
| MaxFiles = 65,535
| FAT = Beginning
| Names = Yes, 8.3
| Metadata = None
| Subdirectories = N
| Compressed = Y
| Encrypted = N
| Hidden = Y
| Games =
{{Game|Commander Keen Dreams}}
{{Game|Dangerous Dave 3}}
{{Game|Dangerous Dave 4}}
}}
SLIB, or Softdisk LIBrary, compression is a container file format used by [[Softdisk]] software to compress various files used by their games, most notably the Commander Keen Dreams series of games, (Including Dangerous Dave 3 and Dangerous Dave 4)to store title images used at the beginning of each game. It was created in 1992 by Jim Row.

The data held in the file can be compressed in any one of three ways, uncompressed, LZW and LZH. The compression used is primitive and rather different from later or traditional versions of LZW\LZH. SLIB files were created by the program <tt>SOFTLIB.EXE</tt> and as such any game that uses this format contains various segments of code in common with <tt>SOFTLIB</tt> for the decompression of data.

There is a closely related format, the SHL or Softdisk Help Library format. SHL files contain only a single file. Their header is slightly different, it's file signature is 'CMP1' (CoMPression of 1 file) while that of SLIB files is SLIB. The veracity of both files can be confirmed by checking for a word of value 2 at offset 4 in the file. The actual files have been given a number of extensions; <tt>.CMP</tt> (CoMPressed), <tt>.SHL</tt> (Softdisk Help Library) or the game extension.

The SLIB file can roughly be broken into a number of parts; the header, which contains data about the various data chunks, and the data chunks themselves, each containing a single file. Each chunk also has a short header.

== Header ==

The file header is found only in SLIB files and is absent in SHL files, which are loaded into memory in their enitrety. The SLIB header allows individual data chunks to be loaded inhto memory seperately.

The SLIB header is a variable length header that contains information about how many chunks there are in a file as well as their location in the file and size. It is used by the game to load chunks into memory and by <tt>SOFLIB</tt> to extract compressed files.

The first part of the header is a fixed length of 8 bytes and allows the game to identify the file as SLIB and also the total length of the header (Which will be 30 * the value at offset 6 plus 8.) The second part is a series of chunk headers that hold information about what file is held in each chunk. (The last six bytes are repeated at the start of the data chunk.)

FILE HEADER:
0 CHAR[4] fID Signature, 'SLIB' (Softdisk LIBrary)
4 UINT16LE Version Version number, always $0002
6 UINT16LE Chunks Number of data chunks in file
8 CHAR[30x] Chunk headers Chunk headers

IMAGE HEADERS:
? CHAR[16] Name Name of compressed image (Max len 12 chars) padded with nuls
+16 UINT32LE Dat st Start of image data in file (From start of first image chunk)
+20 UINT32LE Dat end End of image data in file (From start of first image chunk)
+24 UINT32LE iOriginalSize Decompressed data size
+28 UINT16LE iCompression Compression used, 0 = none, 1 = LZW, 2 = LZH

== Data Chunks ==

The data chunk has a short header followed by the actual data itself. The format differs slightly between SLIB chunkks and SHL files. Both format must identify themselves to the game, and they do so in different ways.

Notice that in the case of SLIB chunks bytes 4-10 are identical to bytes 24-30 of that chunk's header.

SLIB CHUNK FORMAT
? CHAR[4] cID Signature'CUNK' (Chunk UNKompressed size)
+4 UINT32LE iOriginalSize Decompressed data size
+8 UINT16LE iCompression Compression method
+10 CHAR[?] Data Image data

SHL files are slightly more tricky; an uncompressed SHL file is simply raw data, compressed data must identify itself as such and so the header is slightly longer. It can be considered a combination of the chunk header and the SLIB header in the section above.

SHL FILE FORMAT
0 CHAR[4] cID Signature'CMP1' (CoMPressed s1ingle file)
4 UINT16LE iCompression Compression method (as above)
6 UINT32LE iOriginalSize Decompressed data size
10 UINT32LE iCompressedSize Compressed data size
14 CHAR[?] Data Image data

== Compression ==

As noted above there are three forms of compression. The first is simple enough, no compression at all, the data is simply stored in the file. (Actually increasing the size!) The other two are called 'LZW' and 'LZH' by the programmers but both differ from what are now standard implmentations of those formats.

=== LZW ===

A compression value of 1 means the chunk is [[LZW compression|LZW compressed]]. The format of the compression used is different from the more 'usual' implementation of LZW. Most LZW works by building a 'dictionary', but LZW is in essence just referring back to data that has already been read.

The core of the implementation is that if a sequence is encountered that has already been read then it is replaced with a pointer to it. There are three types of data, flag bytes, pointers and literals.

Flag bytes divide the datastream into segments of eight 'values' which can be either literals or pointers. Pointers are 2 bytes long, literals 1 byte. (Therefore there will be a flag byte every 8 to 16 bytes of data.) The value of each bit (In little endian) indicates whether a value will be a literal (1) or codeword (0) Thus a value of 199 (11000111 in binary) indicates three pointers, three literals and two pointers in that order. (Total of 13 bytes.)

Literals are sequences that have never been seen in the datastream before, they cannot be compressed and are thus the same in the compressed and decompressed datastreams. (If the data is text they become quite obvious.) Any string less than 3 bytes long that has not been read before or cannot be pointed to (See below) will be stored as literals.

Pointers are reference to data that has already been read. They are two bytes long, with the first 12 bits giving the location to read data from and the last 4 bits giving the length of data to read.

The lower nybble (4 bits) of the second pointer byte holds the length of repeat data to read minus three. (This makes sense, the shortest sequence it makes sense to code is three bytes which can be given the value 0.) It will be immediately apparent that the maximum length of repeated data that can be stored as a pointer is 18 bytes.

The high nybble of the second byte is multiplied by 256 then added to the first byte to give the location of the data to read in the 'sliding window' minus 18. In hexadecimal this is as simple as appending the nybble to the first byte. For example flag bytes of <tt>$EA $F6</tt> point to location <tt>$FEA</tt> with '6' relating to the data length to read.

The 'sliding window' in this case is the region of decompressed data that the compressed data can point to. It will be immediately obvious that the pointers can encode values between +-2048, or about 2KB. If the decompressed data is less than 2KB in size then zero is the start of the data, if it is larger than it is 2048 bytes from the end of the data. (This is the origin of the term 'sliding window'; it is a window of data that can be slid along the datastream as it gets bigger.)

It will be noted that it is probable that the compressed datastream will not be perfectly divisible by flag bytes. In this case the unused bits are set to 0. The decompressor stops when the decompressed data size is equal to the value given in the chunk header.

The last thing to keep in mind is that the flagged location obtained requires 18 to be added to it. This is due to how the decompressor is set up in memory; it needs a buffer of 18 bytes (the maximum length of compressed data that can be decompressed) between where it is working and the start of the datastream proper. These bytes are initially filled with blank spaces (<tt>$20</tt> not <tt>$00</tt>.) and considered part of the datastream but not part that is output to the final file. (Their locations are negative.)

This has an odd result; it's entirely possible for a flag byte to point to a negative value and output one or more characters that were never part of the uncompressed data. To illustrate this we will look at the text string 'I am Sam. Sam I am!' as compressed by <tt>softlib.exe</tt>. Note that on line 6 it requests 5 bytes from address -1. This is the string ' I am'. The last four bytes are from the start of the sentence but the first, a blank space, comes from the buffer.

FF Flag byte, 8 literals follow
49 20 61 6D 20 53 61 6D 'I am Sam' as literals
09 Flag byte, 1L, 2P, 1L,4Blanks ($09 = 00001001)
2E '.' as literal
F2 F1 Pointer, read 1 + 3 = 4 bytes from $FF2, or -14 + 18 = 4 in the data. This is ' Sam'
ED F2 Pointer, read 2 + 3 = 5 bytes from $FED or -19 + 18 = -1 in the data. This is ' I am'
21 '!' as literal

=== LZH ===

LZH is a combination of LZW and [[Huffman Compression]]. In its simplest implementation it is two levels of compression, first the data is LZW compressed, then it is Huffman compressed. This is used for example in <tt>GAMEMAPS</tt> However, the compression used in this case seems to be similar to that used in Keen 1, pure LZW using a dictionary.

The format is far from elucidated, but a table in the executables involved can be used to convert data into the 8 and 9 bit codes used for perfectly incompressible data. (Once compression starts being used this changes, indicative that this table is used to build the initial LZW dictionary.)

It is also notable that it seems to use both 8 and 9 bit codes, which is very difficult to do without some table to indicate the length of the codes. This varaible codeword length may be why the compression is said to be 'huffman'

The [http://www.apogeesoftware.com/uncategorized/apogee-releases-blake-stone-source-code Planet Strike source code release] contains C code that handles LZH compression and decompression in <tt>JM_LZH.C</tt>. The code was written by Jim T. Row, who apparently also wrote the Softlib utility, so chances are it is the same implementation of LZH.

== Softlib ==

Soflib (Softdisk Library Creator) is a DOS program that can be used to create or extract files from SLIB files. It can work with both forms of compression used in SLIB files. It is notable that for some reason files shorter than 24 bytes often fail to be compressed correctly. (Soflib outputs a library with an empty chunk in it.) Soflib can be downloaded from the tools section of this page.

== Data contained in libraries ==

Keen Dreams uses SLIB to compress its title screen and also comes with a number of LZH compressed .SHL files containing text. The title screen is in [[LBM Format]] It is notable that the game does not read most of the LBM chunks, focusing instead on the FORM, BMHD and BODY chunks. This is because while the compressed files were designed to be viewed and edited in a standalone program, the game did not need things such as the LBM palette.

Dangerous Dave 3 and 4 use an additional SLIB file to store their digital sound effects, which are seperate from their [[AudioT Format|PC\adlib sounds]]

== Tools ==

* [http://www.shikadi.net/files/games/softdisk/softlib.exe SOFTLIB.EXE] - original DOS program that can create and modify Softdisk Libraries
* [http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3940020/Titlebuild.zip TITLEBUILD] - Windows program to turn a 320x200 bitmap into <tt>KDREAMS.CMP</tt> for Keen Dreams (broken link)

== Credits ==

This format partially reverse engineered by [[User:Lemm]] and [[User:Levellass]].

Talk:Softdisk Library Format

2021-09-06T07:43:14Z

Szemigi: /* Broken link */ new section

== Compression and exceptions ==
I had a quick look at the LZW compression used by SOFTLIB.EXE and I was wondering in which case the exception that is mentioned in the text occured. I was able to write a very quick implementation of an LZW decompressor (with a sliding window of 4 KB) that worked perfectly, so I'd like to test that code for those exceptions. Another thing I noticed is that the LZH compressed data doesn't appear to be based on the compressed data that the LZW compression produces. This seems to be a different compression scheme, using codeword lengths of 8 and 9 bits. --[[User:K1n9 Duk3|K1n9 Duk3]] 22:32, 2 January 2012 (GMT)
: Seems I was a bit of a twit, I have rewritten the page entirely given my recent pokings at this format. There are no exceptions, just a faulty windows calculator that gave me the wrong binary for a hex value. The 'LZH' I think is just regular LZW, but using a dictionary instead of a sliding window, much like Keen 1's graphics use. --[[User:Levellass|Endian? What are you on about?]] 05:13, 18 April 2012 (GMT)
:: So I've implemented this in Wombat, and I've found the following: type 1 compression is LZSS (the description which talks about 'flag bytes' on this page confirms that). Would it make sense to move the text that describes the algorithm to the LZSS page? It's quite a good writeup, but would make more sense there. Type 2 is LZH: LZ77+Huffman, 4k window, adaptive Huffman for codes, offsets use a pre-defined Huffman tree, read-ahead of 30 bytes. It's identical to LHA's -lh1- compression, except that -lh1- uses a 60 byte read-ahead - which makes sense, as the algorithms in both were written by Haruhiko Okumura. ([[User:Szevvy|Szevvy]] ([[User talk:Szevvy|talk]]) 21:40, 14 July 2021‎ (GMT))
::: If it's definitely LZSS then it should be merged in with that description so we don't have multiple descriptions of what is ultimately the same thing! Worst case at least add a <nowiki>{{TODO|message}}</nowiki> to mention that it's LZSS to save future coders from reinventing the wheel! -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] ([[User talk:Malvineous|talk]]) 09:46, 4 August 2021 (GMT)
:::: There are already several articles with explanations about LZW. Some examples include [[Westwood LZW-12]] and [[Westwood LZW-14]]. Both were renamed to "LZW" after they were identified as such. Unfortunately, there are loads of slightly different implementations of the LZW compression, too. I'm honestly not sure how to sort out that mess. -[[User:Nyerguds|Nyerguds]] ([[User talk:Nyerguds|talk]]) 11:00, 4 August 2021 (GMT)
::::: I would link all those pages to the standard LZW algorithm, then mention the differences on each format's page, which seems to be more or less what has been done with the Westwood ones. I'd also put links on the LZW page to all the different variants, again just like Westwood. The goal is for someone trying to make use of a file format to quickly understand how to do so. Having to implement an algorithm from scratch isn't great, but having to only slightly modify a standard already existing algorithm is much easier. The way the Westwood articles are, mentioning the variations against a standard format, I think is the best we can hope for and it gives people a good place to start from. The ultimate goal, if possible, would be for the main LZW page to describe a generic enough algorithm that would handle most of the variations. I have tried to do this in [https://github.com/camoto-project/gamecompjs/blob/master/formats/cmp-lzw.js#L64-L77 the gamecomp.js LZW implementation] by having a bunch of options you can specify, where only the options are different between each game but the LZW code is the same. -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] ([[User talk:Malvineous|talk]]) 04:06, 6 August 2021 (GMT)
:::::: All right, thanks for the heads up. The reason I mentioned the WW ones was mostly because, as I wrote in the article, they are a 100% textbook implementation without any modifications at all. I found an implementation of it online to use in my program, and it just worked right away (besides the fact the programmer used an ASCII-stream in that code, which filtered out all higher-value bytes. Dev derp there, lol) -[[User:Nyerguds|Nyerguds]] ([[User talk:Nyerguds|talk]]) 08:11, 6 August 2021 (GMT)

== Broken link ==

Hello. The Titlebuilder's dropbox link is down: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3940020/Titlebuild.zip
Please fix or update it. Or tell me where to get Titlebuilder? [[User:Szemigi|Szemigi]] ([[User talk:Szemigi|talk]]) 07:43, 6 September 2021 (GMT)

Bio Menace/Mods

2020-02-29T07:38:42Z

Szemigi: Added BioMenace 1 Gold in occassion of leap year

{|class="wikitable sortable" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 90%; border:1px solid gray; border-collapse: collapse; text-align: center; width: 100%;"
|-
! Title
! Download(s)
! Video
! Release date
! Modder(s)
! # of levels
! Protagonist
! Notes
|-
| Mangle is back from the dead
| [http://www.shikadi.net/wiki/files/moddingwiki/mods/bio-menace/mbd_20120501_0.99.zip final]
| -
| [http://www.pckf.com/viewtopic.php?t=1888 2011-03-14]
| [[User:Ny00123|Ny00123]]
| 23
| Snake Logan
| Level pack
|-
| [http://www.shikadi.net/keenwiki/Keen_Crisis_Earth Keen Crisis Earth]
| [https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3654819/Keen/BM%20Keen.zip latest]
| -
| [http://www.pckf.com/viewtopic.php?t=2608 2012-12-25]
| Paramultart, Ceilick
| 1
| Commander Keen
|-
| BioMenace 1 Gold Edition
| [https://www.dropbox.com/s/oq71ml8akd204cw/BM1Gold.zip?dl=0 latest]
| [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Btw_4Z-9VX8 demo footage]
| [https://pckf.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=6561 2020-02-29]
| Szemigi
| 12 original + 2 additional
| Snake Logan
| Leap Day present
|}

[[Category:Mods by game]]

Category:Bio Menace text patches

2019-12-16T21:47:30Z

Szemigi: Text color change for BM1

{{PatchCategory | game = Bio Menace | type = text}}

<patch title="Bio Menace 1 (freeware release v1.1)">

#Main menu texts
%patch $2AFCF "NEW GAME" $00
%patch $2AFD8 "LOAD GAME" $00
%patch $2AFE2 "SAVE GAME" $00
%patch $2AFEC "CONFIGURE" $00
%patch $2B445 "RETURN TO DEMO" $00
%patch $2B436 "RETURN TO GAME" $00
%patch $2AFF6 "END GAME" $00
%patch $2AFFF "QUIT" $00

#New game texts
%patch $2AEDB "BEGIN EASY GAME" $00
%patch $2AEEB "BEGIN NORMAL GAME" $00
%patch $2AEFD "BEGIN HARD GAME" $00
%patch $2AF0D "PRACTICE A LEVEL (15 sec)" $00

#Load game/Save game texts
%patch $2B3B3 "Empty" $00
%patch $2B3A7 "Loading" $00
%patch $2B3DA "Saving" $00

#Lower menu texts
%patch $2B3E5 "Arrows move" $00
%patch $2B3FF "ESC to back out" $00
%patch $2B3F1 "Enter selects" $00
%patch $2B40F "ESC to quit" $00
%patch $2B3C3 "Enter accepts" $00
%patch $2B3B9 "Type name" $00

#Status window texts
%patch $20B20 "LOCATION" $00
%patch $20B30 "SCORE" $00
%patch $20B40 "EXTRA" $00
%patch $20B70 "LEVEL" $00
%patch $20B60 "SHARDS" $00
%patch $20BF0 "GEMS" $00
%patch $20BE0 "CLIPS" $00
%patch $29465 "ITEMS" $00

#Level name texts
%patch $29F84 "DownTown Metro" $00
%patch $29F93 "High Rise" $00
%patch $29F9D "City Park" $00
%patch $29FA7 "South Side" $00
%patch $29FB2 "Sewer" $00
%patch $29FB8 "Cave" $00
%patch $29FBD "Skull Man" $00
%patch $29FC7 "Elevator" $00
%patch $29FD0 "No Man's Land" $00
%patch $29FDE "Lab Entrance" $00
%patch $29FEB "Computer Core" $00
%patch $29FF9 "Mangle's Last Stand" $00
%patch $29458 "Secret Level" $00
%patch $2940B "Secret Level" $00

#Loading window texts
%patch $2A2F1 "Loading" $00
%patch $2B454 "Control Panel" $00
</patch>

This patch inverts the color of the game difficulty's text box

<patch title="Bio Menace 1, freeware release (v1.1)">
#Difficulty has black background and white text
%patch $6011 $90
</patch>

Patch:Bio Menace/Text colour changes

2019-12-16T21:45:27Z

Szemigi:

This patch inverts the color of the game difficulty's text box

<patch title="Bio Menace 1, freeware release (v1.1)">
#Difficulty has black background and white text
%patch $6011 $90
</patch>

Patch:Bio Menace/Text colour changes

2019-12-16T21:45:15Z

Szemigi:

This patch inverts the color of the game difficulty's text box

<patch title="Bio Menace 1, freeware release (v1.1)">
#Difficulty has black background and white text
%patch $6011 $90
</patch>

{{PatchCategories|all}}

Patch:Bio Menace/Text colour changes

2019-12-16T21:44:46Z

Szemigi:

Patch:Bio Menace/Text colour changes

2019-12-16T21:43:56Z

Szemigi:

Patch:Bio Menace/Text colour changes

2019-12-16T21:43:04Z

Szemigi:

Patch:Bio Menace/Text colour changes

2019-12-16T21:42:49Z

Szemigi:

Patch:Bio Menace/Text colour changes

2019-12-16T00:41:30Z

Szemigi: Category added

Patch:Bio Menace/Text colour changes

2019-12-16T00:39:10Z

Szemigi: Text color change for BM1

This patch inverts the color of the game difficulty's text box

<patch title="Bio Menace 1, freeware release (v1.1)">
#Difficulty has black background and white text
%patch $6011 $90
</patch>

Patch:Bio Menace/Practice mode

2019-12-15T23:49:47Z

Szemigi: Practice mode removal patch added for episode 3.

This page covers patches for Bio Menace, regarding the practice mode. In that mode, the player can choose a level and practice it for a limited period. By default, this can be done as an alternative to selecting the difficulty for a normal game session.

== Practice mode counter ==
The practice mode has an internal counter, used for limiting the game session length. The length itself is measured in internal "units" of time. The scorebox displays a counter, where different units are used for measuring the length. By default, they're set so a single unit on the scorebox corresponds to an approximate period of one second.

<patch title="Bio Menace 1, shareware release (v1.1)">
#Time for practice mode, measured in configurable "units"
%patch $5677 $01F4W
#Units per (virtual) second, as shown on the scorebox
%patch $C9E9 $0021W
</patch>

<patch title="Bio Menace 1, freeware release (v1.1)">
#Time for practice mode, measured in configurable "units"
%patch $5694 $01F4W
#Units per (virtual) second, as shown on the scorebox
%patch $CFEB $0021W
</patch>

<patch title="Bio Menace 2, freeware release (v1.1)">
#Time for practice mode, measured in configurable "units"
%patch $5614 $01F4W
#Units per (virtual) second, as shown on the scorebox
%patch $D3E6 $0021W
</patch>

<patch title="Bio Menace 3, freeware release (v1.1)">
#Time for practice mode, measured in configurable "units"
%patch $55EE $01F4W
#Units per (virtual) second, as shown on the scorebox
%patch $CF18 $0021W
</patch>

== Removing practice mode ==
This patch removes the practice mode option entirely.

<patch title="Bio Menace 1, freeware release (v1.1)">
#Remove the "Practice a level" choice from the menu
%patch $27A43 $00
%patch $27A47 $00 $00 $00 $00
</patch>

<patch title="Bio Menace 3, freeware release (v1.1)">
#Remove practice mode
%patch $27D93 $00
%patch $27D97 $00 $00 $00 $00
</patch>

{{PatchCategories|gameplay}}

Patch:Bio Menace/Demo sequence (Non-gameplay screens included)

2019-12-15T01:51:01Z

Szemigi: Credit chunk bitmap added

This page covers a few patches for Bio Menace, dealing with the so-called "Demo sequence". Such a patch may deal with an actual demo playback, as well as a bit different thing, like the copyright notice displayed when running the freeware release of Bio Menace, v1.1.

<patch title="Bio Menace 1, shareware release (v1.1)">
#Skip Apogee Fanfare demo
%patch $3C7E $90 $90 $90 $90 $90

#Skip technical help
%patch $3CA9 $90 $90 $90 $90 $90
</patch>

<patch title="Bio Menace 1, freeware release (v1.1)">
#Credits screen (Story art, programming, etc.) demo screen bitmap chunk
%patch $508F $0032W
%patch $509A $0032W
</patch>

<patch title="Bio Menace 1, freeware release (v1.1)">
#Skip Apogee Fanfare demo
%patch $3C7E $90 $90 $90 $90 $90

#Skip technical help
%patch $3CA9 $90 $90 $90 $90 $90

#Skip copyright notice
%patch $3CBF $90 $90 $90 $90 $90
</patch>

<patch title="Bio Menace 2, freeware release (v1.1)">
#Skip Apogee Fanfare demo
%patch $3C7E $90 $90 $90 $90 $90

#Skip copyright notice
%patch $3C9E $90 $90 $90 $90 $90
</patch>

<patch title="Bio Menace 3, freeware release (v1.1)">
#Skip Apogee Fanfare demo
%patch $3C7E $90 $90 $90 $90 $90

#Skip copyright notice
%patch $3C9E $90 $90 $90 $90 $90
</patch>

{{PatchCategories|interface}}

User talk:Malvineous

2018-08-04T23:11:14Z

Szemigi: /* Bio Menace patches on PCKF? */ new section

== Wolfenstein 3D -> Wolfenstein 3-D ==
I've corrected the infamous 3D tyop in the names of several Wolf3D-related pages; can you please delete the following ones?

[[:Category:Wolfenstein 3D]] -> Superseded by [[:Category:Wolfenstein 3-D]] 
[[:Image:Wolfenstein_3D.png]] -> Superseded by [[:Image:Wolfenstein_3-D.png]]

Thanks :) --De Zeurkous (zeurkous@zeurcomp.nichten.info), Thu Nov 22 08:18:42 UTC 2007

:Haha, you've certainly been busy. Don't forget that this wiki isn't meant to be an encyclopaedia of the games, its main purpose is documenting the file formats and editing tools that can be used with the games, as opposed to how the games behave without any mods, or what they might be called if you forget to change the title screen :-) -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 11:14, 22 November 2007 (GMT)

::Nah, I haven't forgotten. As we're reinventing the wheel for a semi-virgin wiki, the naming and something static like the cheats seemed like a good place to start :) --De Zeurkous (zeurkous@nichten.info), Thu Nov 22 12:20:04 UTC 2007

== Jill of the Jungle palette ==

Hi, I'm currently working on a level viewer for [[Jill of the Jungle]] (maybe an editor later on). Some of the information I found here has been very useful, but there's one thing I'm a bit stuck on. On the [[SHA Format]] page it says:
:''Each array item contains 4 unsigned bytes, representing CGA, EGA and VGA, respectivley, and then a null value. [...] Each byte maps to the index of a colour in the palette. If there are no colours required, the tile set uses the default colours.''
However, it doesn't say anywhere where the palette can be found. Is it stored in the EXE file? I hope you can help me on this :)

Regards, [[User:Spinal|Spinal]] 13:00, 2 March 2008 (GMT)

:Unfortunately I didn't write the JotJ SHA page, and I haven't yet had the time to figure this out. For Xargon I've taken the quick and dirty route and used a screenshot from within DOSBox as the source of the palette, until I can figure out where the palette is located. If you find this out, don't forget to update the page! :-) -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 22:02, 2 March 2008 (GMT)

::Hey Spinal, sorry, I wrote the [[SHA Format]] page, so that was probably my bad. I wasn't able to find the palette either. I assume it's in the .EXE, however I spent a fair bit of time manually mapping it using a Wombat tool (http://www.szevvy.com/node/3). I was also writing a level viewer (initally in XHTML which turned out to be too slow, so then I moved to Flash 9). I tried to email you my findings, but the email bounced. I'm not sure if they were 100% accurat, which is why I never added them to the documentation.

::Hey Malvineous, it seems the Jill - [[DMA Format]] page has been removed. Do you have a log of what happened to it? I'm sure it existed at some point.

::- [[User:dheim|Daniel]] 20:00, 5 March 2008

:::I don't ever remember seeing a DMA page - certainly there's nothing in the wiki logs about it being deleted or renamed. Maybe you started working on it but never got around to saving it? Or is it one of the Xargon pages that shares the same format as Jill? (by the way, you can type <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> to automatically put in the signature in these messages.) -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 11:28, 5 March 2008 (GMT)

::::Sorry, it must have been the stuff in the [[SHA Format]] page that I was thinking of. I may have added the link to the [[DMA Format]] page, and never expanded on it. - [[User:Dheim|Daniel]] 02:46, 6 March 2008 (GMT)

:::::Hi guys. Sorry for the mistake, I mixed up the authors of the SHA and level formats. I've written a level viewer in PHP the last week, by using static images instead of getting them from the actual files. This causes some problems for episode 2, which uses a different palette, but besides that it works great :) When everything is done I'll upload the maps to my server and the tile/object lists to this wiki.
:::::@Daniel: strange that it bounced, I confirmed my address so it should be working fine... You can mail it to spinal -at- zanderz -dot- net. Also, I saw on your Wombat page that you "have a vague idea of how to do" [[Hocus Pocus]]. Could you share your findings on this wiki? I'd love to make maps, or even a level viewer/editor for that game :) -- [[User:Spinal|Spinal]] 00:32, 8 March 2008 (GMT)
:Okay, with help of [[User:Dheim|Daniel]] who send me the palette I found it! I'll put my findings on [[Jill of the Jungle palette]]. -- [[User:Spinal|Spinal]] 15:36, 13 March 2008 (GMT)

== Halloween Harry/Alien Carnage ==

Hi Malvineous. Thanks for your edits on the GMF article! I notice you mentioned there exist versions of the game which don't require exploding a BNK to get at the game data. What does the directory structure look like for the version you have? I'm working on a map viewer (which will become a map editor at some point) and would like it to be able to work on whatever versions are out there. Thanks for any info. -[[User:Duckthing|Duckthing]] 04:41, 11 December 2010 (GMT)

: Hi Duckthing - no worries, Halloween Harry has long been an interest of mine, but my map editor sadly needs a lot more work before I can begin reverse engineering more file formats so I'm glad you've made a start! AFAIK technically Halloween Harry has no compression, but for whatever reason (probably listed in the Apogee FAQ) they decided to swap episodes 1 and 3, compress the BNK file and then re-release it under the name Alien Carnage. You can download all available versions (including registered versions since the game was released as freeware in 2007) from [http://www.classicdosgames.com/game/Alien_Carnage.html RGB Classic Games]. BTW not sure if you noticed but I also posted a couple of things on the GMF article's talk/discussion page. -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 06:08, 11 December 2010 (GMT)

:: Thank you! Working with the uncompressed version will keep things less complicated. I did notice the GMF discussion you added, but haven't had a chance to really go through it yet. -- [[User:Duckthing|Duckthing]] 06:41, 11 December 2010 (GMT)

::: No worries. If you're running Linux or MacOSX you should be able to compile [[Camoto|libgamearchive]] which will let you copy files in and out of the BNK files. This is a library so it's also possible to use it in your own program for accessing and editing the map files while they're still inside the BNK, for instance. (BTW the 'minor' tickbox should only be used when the edit does not affect the information on the page - e.g. fixing a typo or a broken URL. If you are changing the actual content on a page it is never a minor edit!) -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 07:51, 11 December 2010 (GMT)

== Dangerous Dave ==

Working on this, does anyone have any info on the formats? The EGA graphics are 84KB and external, but CGA and VGA graphics unrelated to them are in the 174KB executable, apparently uncompressed, I don't know how this is possible. I've found the levels and partially reverse engineered the format (The first 1000 bytes, a 100x10 array of tiles.) but each level is followed by ~280 bytes of variable and unknown data I assume is sprites. I have a list of internal files in the executable, looks like most of it is non-game code. Any help would be appreciated. -[[User:Levellass|Endian? What are you on about?]] 06:03, 12 December 2010 (GMT)

: Hmm, interesting. All I can suggest for the levels is - as you're probably already familiar with - changing the values in a hex editor then loading the game to see what happens. I would suspect that all the graphics would be in a similar format, so if there are any headers or structures used in the EGA graphics files perhaps they're duplicated for CGA/VGA? Also John Romero seems pretty accessible, perhaps you could ask him directly? Failing that, randomly writing data into the .exe until the images change could be used as a last resort! -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 12:09, 12 December 2010 (GMT)

: Ha, that was easier than I expected - uncompressed VGA data is easy to find with a good hex editor ;-) [http://www.shikadi.net/pics/ddave-vga-hexdump.png This looks like it] -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 12:17, 12 December 2010 (GMT)

: Ok that was only the menu graphics. At offset 0xC629 there's some sort of offset table which looks very similar to the contents of EGADAVE.DAV but there are extra bytes dotted all over the place - perhaps it's RLE encoded? Actually just before that there's the number 0x6CAA. If you go a bit less than 0x6CAA bytes after this you end up with another table, which to me suggests that 0x6CAA is the decompressed size of that first table. -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 13:01, 12 December 2010 (GMT)

:If I remember it correctly, the VGA sprites and tiles are RLE compressed and it's not too hard to decompress them. The positions of the enemies in the levels on the other hand are still a mystery to me. [[User:Calvero|Calvero]] 20:43, 12 December 2010 (GMT)

: Looking at the levels, which directly follow the VGA palette, they seem to contain 256 bytes of header data, then the 100x10 tiles, then eight bytes of lead-out data. Then the next level's 256 bytes of header, 100x10 tiles, then eight bytes of lead-out. Although I say "level", the first "level" seems to contain both level 1 and 2, and this seems to be the way it works in the game - in some levels you can see through to others. I'm not sure what the 256 bytes of header data are for, but some levels have FF FF 00 00 repeated which seems to indicate two uint16 fields which are blanked out for those levels. -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 13:15, 13 December 2010 (GMT)

::First up, levels; where does level 1 start? It's possible I'm reading the start of a level as the previous level's end, I looked for the start of tile data, which I assumed, like Keen 1, would be the level start.

::Next, palette; I'm assuming, as you said, it is located just before the level data?

::There is VGA and CGA graphics in the executable, plus headers, but the bulk of graphics for CGA and VGA I haven't been able to locate. If the data is RLE compressed I should think it would use either Keen 1-3 fullscreen or Jazz Jackrabbit tile RLE, both of which I know well. I'll look into both of these options, cheers! -[[User:Levellass|Endian? What are you on about?]] 12:03, 20 December 2010 (GMT)

:::I've found the VGA and CGA data for the menu graphics. It looks like the CGA data is stored in a series of 1-bit-per-pixel (monochrome) images. Or it could be EGA data with the planes split out (e.g. red plane for all images, then green plane for all images, etc.) I think I found three planes which means it's probably EGA, as CGA would have a max of two planes. I've also found the font graphics, this looks like 4bpp/16 colour EGA data. Haven't seen level graphics yet. I've successfully modded the levels with a hex editor (putting the jetpack everywhere) so now I've finally looked at all the levels! The creatures are definitely not stored in the 100x10 tile data. Putting random bytes in there revealed that the values are indices into the image files, because if you put the value in for fire it will animate, and the following three or so values show up as still frames from the fire animation.

:::The VGA palette starts at 0x26B0A (I updated the main DDave page with this) + 768 bytes leads straight onto the start of level 1 at 0x26E0A. So at 0x26E0A there are 256 bytes of data, then 100x10 tiles, then 24 bytes of footer data. Some of this data (perhaps footer data) might be the level start coordinates, because Dave doesn't always start the level at the same place (e.g. the warp level when you climb the tree on level 5 and jump off the edge of the screen.) -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 12:24, 20 December 2010 (GMT)

:::I think I've found all the files so far, I've updated [[Dangerous Dave]] with the offsets of the files, including what appears to be CGA and VGA tiles. I'm not sure what sort of format they're in though, it looks like they might be compressed (and so the offsets in that list might be off by ~4, as I may have cut off the decompressed-size field.) I've also updated the map format page, I think it's pretty much fully reverse engineered now. -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 05:13, 21 December 2010 (GMT)

== Noahs Ark 3D and IMFs ==

Been poking around Noah's Ark 3D, an adaption of the Wolfenstein game and found a few interesting things which I'm hoping to confirm.

First, the game uses MID files, not IMF files for music, second, the MIDI files have an extra word at the start of the file giving the file length. Third, the code uses the first word of the midi file as the length of data to read from the file and put into memory to play. After poking around a bit in Wolfenstein and Keen I believe this is the same with IMF files, that is, ALL IMF files are type 0 as it were and the type 1s are read just like type 0s by the games (The first word is read as the amount of IMF data to copy into memory to play, this is then read as type 0.) I'm not quite sure what this does for the two types since type 1 is would essentially be a type 0 with a header and footer that are part of the AUDIO.xxx format, much like PC\adlib sounds can have the huffman lengths at the start. Are there any games that use 'individual' type 1 IMFs (Even if included as part of a group file. All I've seen are games like cosmo, where non-AUDIO IMFs are type 0.)

Should there be a Noah's Ark 3D page and should we add the midi note to the AUDIO format page? It seems that the format can hold any type of music file the game can read, not just IMFs. -- Levellass

: Yes it is known that the type-1 header might really be part of the AUDIO.xxx format but alas there were many type-1 files floating around the place (incorrectly extracted, you could argue) before this was realised, so the format variant is here to stay. It does have some advantages though (like tagging files with the song title) but I'm not sure whether anyone has figured out definitively whether the header (and footer, in the case of the Wolf3D files) belongs to the IMF or the AUDIO file. I guess you'd have to browse the game source code and see how the game uses the data to know for sure.

: As far as the MIDI goes, I believe the AUDIO.xxx file is just a container file like any other, capable of supporting any data at all. It's up to the game to decide how to use it. If anything this makes me think it would fit better if the AUDIO.xxx article was merely documenting the structure, with links to actual audio formats like PC SFX, Adlib SFX, IMF and MIDI and notes about which games make use of which formats.

: Oh and yes, by all means create a page for the new game. -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 08:41, 3 February 2011 (GMT)

== Sound Files category ==

I don’t know why there’s a Sound Files category and also an Audio Files category... it seems redundant. I left those categories the way they are though.

Also, the [[File format data types]] page needs some signed ints, but I didn’t know what naming convention you wanted to use. I described something as an [[INT16LE]] on [[BMC Format]]. [[User:Yellowantphil|Yellowantphil]] 20:12, 11 September 2011 (GMT)

: Not sure about the Sound vs Audio - I use the term 'audio' to mean both sound and music, but you're right, if there are separate sound and music categories we don't really need an audio one as well. Feel free to update. [[INT16LE]] is perfectly fine too! I added a note to the data types page. -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 22:30, 11 September 2011 (GMT)

== GamePage template ==

Should the GamePage template add the page to its own category? It seems a little odd that [[Wacky Wheels]] is not in the Wacky Wheels category. [[User:Yellowantphil|Yellowantphil]] 04:51, 16 September 2011 (GMT)
: I decided against this because there is a link to the game's page in the category intro at the top of the page. It seemed unnecessary having another link in amongst all the other pages. This was also because the game page was really only meant to be a summary, there wasn't supposed to be a huge amount of detail on it, only links to other pages with the detail (which then would appear in the category list.) I would imagine that, eventually, [[Wacky Wheels]] would be tweaked to move a lot of the content onto subpages. -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 12:58, 16 September 2011 (GMT)

== Scope of the wiki ==

I don’t know how extensive you want the information to be on ModdingWiki... I added a few lists of audio and graphics files a while ago, and there will probably be other information that I’ll find out that’s potentially helpful for level editing but not directly related to it. I can move some information to my website if it starts to become out of scope for your wiki. I also sometimes end up documenting everything imaginable... there’s some minutiae on my website and possibly on your wiki that I ought to go through and delete. [[User:Yellowantphil|Yellowantphil]] 05:28, 10 October 2011 (GMT)

:Hmm, that's a difficult one - I'm always in favour of documenting more rather than less. Generally speaking if it's related to a game and it would help either a programmer writing a utility or a someone trying to change a game manually then it should be documented. About the only thing that comes to mind that's over documenting is when some small calculation is expressed in a couple of different programming languages, but I've left that in so people can just copy it rather than trying to figure it out from the text. But the [[Wacky Wheels]] page is probably the gold standard for what all wiki pages should look like :-) Do you have anything in particular you're unsure of whether it would fit here? -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 10:07, 10 October 2011 (GMT)

::I was mainly thinking of the list of VOC files on [[Wacky Wheels Music and Sound Effects]] and the list of <tt>*.sp</tt> files on [[Wacky Wheels Graphics Formats]]. I have an expanded list of the <tt>*.sp</tt> files on my computer but it isn’t finished yet. I guess there isn’t all that much more Wacky Wheels information to be added to this wiki though. There is still some modding information on my website that ought to be moved over here, so that would take up another page or two. I’ve been lazy about doing Wacky Wheels stuff lately, but I might find some time for it this weekend.

::By the way, I guess that guy from Cascadia Games emailed you. It’s pretty interesting that WW might become an iPhone app. He told me that he was going to be using his own game engine, which sounds a lot easier than trying to get a hold of the WW source code and porting it. —[[User:Yellowantphil|Yellowantphil]] 16:46, 15 October 2011 (GMT)

::: I was going to say the list of VOCs might be overkill, but then the list of .sp files might be useful. To be honest, it's the sort of thing that you could probably omit if you were feeling lazy, but likewise I don't mind at all if you choose to include it, so since it's already there I'm happy to keep it.

::: Yes I did get an e-mail from Cascadia, I was going to pass along your details but it sounds like you're already aware of it! Using their own engine might make it a bit smoother than the original, as the jerkiness of turning is my only criticism of the game. -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 00:14, 16 October 2011 (GMT)

== Wacky Wheels ==

Basically all of the WW modding information from my website is here now. I moved one page when I realized it should probably be capitalized to match the rest of the pages on this site... you can delete the redirect at [[Wacky Wheels high score files]] if you want to.

Now, I need to remove most of the modding information from my website and refer people here. Then we’ll have reached the glorious future where all WW modding information is in one place. I’m going to keep those two text files of notes on my website though—the information in them is disorganized and I think not 100% accurate, but they might have some information that isn’t here yet.

By the way, how’s Camoto going? I’m planning to use it to make a new WW level, but I won’t have time for it for a few more months. —[[User:Yellowantphil|Yellowantphil]]

: Sounds good! Thanks for all the effort you've put in by moving it across. I think Wacky Wheels is now the most completely documented game on the wiki! Also can't hurt leaving your own info up - sometimes it's nice to go back to the original source if something is unclear. Camoto's going well, but unfortunately I haven't had much time to work on it over the last few weeks. You probably won't be able to make much of a level until I add in the ability to select a tile from the tileset, but that's in progress and hopefully will be ready by the time you are! Keep me posted when you do start your level(s?) -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 12:22, 2 February 2012 (GMT)

::Well, as I was reading some of the information on my website, I noticed that it isn’t written very well. I wrote those pages back when I had very little experience programming. Anyway, I’m planning to redesign my website soon, and this will save me from having to rewrite a few of those pages.

::The tile editor in Camoto as it is now is still certainly useful—I can add new tile types to a level using a binary editor and then move them around in Camoto. I think that it shouldn’t be too hard to make a new WW level using the Gimp and Camoto plus some binary editing. I recall having some problems with the route editor for the computer players, but I didn’t look into it at the time—I’ll let you know when I’m working with Camoto again, and I’ll try to come up with some useful bug reports or fixes if I run into problems. —[[User:Yellowantphil|Yellowantphil]] 14:06, 2 February 2012 (GMT)

== Catacomb ==

Hey [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]], do you know anyone who has properly read the [[Inverse_Frequency_Sound_format|Inverse Sound Frequency]] file format and got the sound playing? I'm struggling with some fine details in my game. Sounds play near what they should sound like, but the sound quality is all crackly and some sounds play totally incorrect. I followed a basic [http://web.archive.org/web/20000818033701/http://www.dd.chalmers.se/~f98anga/projects/keen/sounds2raw.c code sample] by Anders Gavare. Does your tool support this? Interested in helping me figure this out? My current code is available at [https://code.google.com/p/cataclone/source/browse/trunk/src/catacomb/catacomb_sound.c catacomb_sound.c] - [[User:Eros|Eros]] 11:57, 5 May 2012 (GMT)
: Should this be moved to my talk page? - [[User:Eros|Eros]] 11:59, 5 May 2012 (GMT)
:: Probably best to keep it on my talk page if you want me to respond in a timely manner :-) I based my old utility off Anders' one too, but it's been a long time since I looked at the code. My latest utility doesn't support sound effects yet. I know Levellass has written a few utilities to play and edit those sound files, so I think your best bet would probably be to post over at the [http://www.keenmodding.org Keen:Modding] forum. Do note that PC Speaker effects do sound crackly at the best of times, though! Also make sure you've got the right audio format (8-bit vs 16-bit, signed vs unsigned) - I remember some inconsistencies there causing some very distorted results for me. I love the name 'Cataclone' - does your code compile under Linux? -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 13:21, 5 May 2012 (GMT)
::: I currently compile the code using Code::Blocks with GCC 4.6 -std=gnu99. It *should* compile under Linux. But I haven't tested that out yet. [[Catacomb]] sounds also have flags attached to each one, It's not exactly the same specification as what it says @ the [[Inverse_Frequency_Sound_format|Inverse Sound Frequency]] format page. Perhaps the flags would make a difference to the sounds? I have the sound setup @ [https://code.google.com/p/cataclone/source/browse/trunk/src/sound_manager.c sound_manager.c] in the sound_manager_init() method. I use AUDIO_S16 (signed 16-bit) @ 22050 Hz with 2 channels. I have not added support for the priority of the sounds yet, I plan on doing that after I get them playing properly.
::: I found some information on the [[ROTT]] sound format here: [http://src.gnu-darwin.org/ports/games/rottdc/work/rottdc-1.0-2/rott/_rt_soun.h _rt_soun.h]. This format should be similar to Catacomb as ROTT was developed by [[Apogee]] using the [[Doom]] engine. Here are the flags for the sounds that they define:
#define SD_OVERWRITE 0x01
#define SD_WRITE 0x02
#define SD_LOOP 0x04
#define SD_PITCHSHIFTOFF 0x08
#define SD_PLAYONCE 0x10
::: There are also many other sound files for ROTT: [http://src.gnu-darwin.org/ports/games/rottdc/work/rottdc-1.0-2/rott/rt_sound.c], [http://src.gnu-darwin.org/ports/games/rottdc/work/rottdc-1.0-2/rott/rt_sound.h], [http://src.gnu-darwin.org/ports/games/rottdc/work/rottdc-1.0-2/rott/snd_reg.h], [http://src.gnu-darwin.org/ports/games/rottdc/work/rottdc-1.0-2/rott/snd_shar.h], [http://src.gnu-darwin.org/ports/games/rottdc/work/rottdc-1.0-2/rott/sndcards.h]
:::: I tried it last night and I was able to get it to compile (after a few changes, like using '/' instead of '\' in a couple of #includes) but all I got was a black window and a beep sound, then nothing. How far advanced is the project? Should I expect more than that? I would expect small variations in the file formats between games, but I would be surprised if the core sound data has changed over time. -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 02:38, 6 May 2012 (GMT)
::::: On Windows, you can run around the levels, collide with walls, collect items, etc... I still need to implement monsters, AI and power shots. However, that beep means that the sounds playing. (see line 71 in main.c: catacomb_sounds_play("foundsound");). I just committed the catacomb_data.h file. Update it accordingly, you should now see much more than a black screen.
:::::: Oh wow, that works really well now! I see what you mean by the sounds. You might have to output the PCM data to a .wav/.raw file and look at it in a sound editor to see what's going on. It sounds like there might be wrapping or something going on. Also some sounds (like being blocked by a door) play multiple times over the top of themselves. I guess this is what you meant by priority not being implemented (although maybe you wouldn't need to handle priority if you can play multiple sounds at the same time, unlike the real PC Speaker.) One suggestion - if you do decide to support Linux, abstract the calls that open files so that they search for filenames instead - that way you don't have to rename all the Catacomb files to be uppercase, since Linux has a case-sensitive filesystem and most filenames are usually all lowercase. -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 03:42, 6 May 2012 (GMT)
::::::: I have exported the raw data to a file, then imported the raw data into Audacity using various settings. All of them sound like they do in the game, crackly and sometimes distorted. I really think its some sort of post FX used by the flags. As for files, I'll code some sort of SafeFileOpen, SafeFileClose functions like the id codebase that open files regardless of case when i get around to implementing the Linux version. - [[User:Eros|Eros]] 03:54, 6 May 2012 (GMT)
:::::::: If you can e-mail me one of the files (preferably a 'quiet' one that's not supposed to be crackly) I can take a look if you like - malvineous@shikadi.net -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 03:57, 6 May 2012 (GMT)

== Merge ==

Is there a way to tag two pages such that it is clear that they should be merged?
For example, [[Crystal Caves Tileset Format]] describes the same format as [[Duke 1 Tileset Graphics]].[[User:Frenkel|Frenkel]] ([[User talk:Frenkel|talk]]) 21:00, 15 July 2013 (GMT)

: You can mention it on the talk page for one of the articles. Any suggestions as to what we should call the merged page? -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] ([[User talk:Malvineous|talk]]) 03:09, 20 July 2013 (GMT)

::Dark Ages is the first game that got released that uses this format, so ''Dark Ages Tileset Format'' could be the name, like all those formats that are named after Commander Keen 1-3.
::Or we name it after Duke Nukem 1, because that game is probably more popular than Dark Ages, Crystal Caves and Secret Agent, like [[Commander Keen 1-3 Level format]], although Slordax used it before Commander Keen 1-3 did.[[User:Frenkel|Frenkel]] ([[User talk:Frenkel|talk]]) 19:13, 20 July 2013 (GMT)

::: Yes I was thinking along the same lines, naming it after the first game that used the format. But then the release date doesn't necessarily indicate which game "invented" the format, if one game took longer to develop and was released late. I was wondering whether there is a common thread amongst all these games, such as the same programmer or company we could use instead. In many ways I would prefer a name like "Replogle tileset format" or "Apogee EGA tileset format". What do you think? -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] ([[User talk:Malvineous|talk]]) 23:36, 20 July 2013 (GMT)

:::: I've read the [http://www.3drealms.com/news/2006/04/the_apogee_legacy_15.html | Apogee Legacy interview with Peder Jungck] again today. He wrote the ProGraphx Toolbox.
:::: DN1.EXE contains the string ''Version 1.0 EGA/VGAProGraphx EGA/VGA Toolbox'',
:::: CC1.EXE contains the string ''Version 1.5 320x200 PAN EGA/VGAProGraphx EGA/VGA Toolbox'',
:::: SAM1.EXE contains the string ''ProGraphx EGA/VGA Toolbox Version 2.0 320x200 EGA/VGA Copyright 1991 by Peder Jungck'' and
:::: DA3.EXE contains the string ''Version 1.0 EGA/VGAProGraphx EGA/VGA Toolbox'' (DA1.EXE and DA2.exe contain gibberish).
:::: So I would suggest ''ProGraphx Toolbox tileset format''. Peder also wrote a book about the toolbox called ''Graphics Programming & Animation: Ultra-Fast Assembly Routines for EGA/VGA Graphics Animation''. Maybe that book has a better name for the file format. [[User:Frenkel|Frenkel]] ([[User talk:Frenkel|talk]]) 11:03, 21 July 2013 (GMT)

::::: So we know of three different versions of the ProGraphx Toolbox. Dark Ages and Duke Nukem 1 use version 1.0. Each tileset is 8064 bytes long and is in a separate file. Crystal Caves uses version 1.5 and each tileset is 8003 bytes long, but they are all in the same file. Secret Agent uses version 2.0 Each tileset is again 8064 bytes long, they are all in the same file and the file is encrypted. [[User:Frenkel|Frenkel]] ([[User talk:Frenkel|talk]]) 17:00, 28 July 2013 (GMT)

:::::: Thanks for figuring all that out. I've merged the pages and changed the name to [[ProGraphx Toolbox tileset format]] as suggested. Please feel free to correct anything I have missed. -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] ([[User talk:Malvineous|talk]]) 02:40, 4 August 2013 (GMT)

== Guidelines for proper Wiki Editing ==
Dear Malvineous! Could you post the guidelines (or guide) for proper editing of the Wiki? [[User:The coder|The coder]] ([[User talk:The coder|talk]])
: Hmm, there isn't really one, it's more about finding a similar page and matching the style found there! Copy and paste works well :-) There is [[ModdingWiki:Contributing]] but it's not very detailed. (BTW please put <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> at the end of your messages, when you preview the page you will see this gets replaced with your name and the date automatically.) -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] ([[User talk:Malvineous|talk]]) 21:59, 12 December 2014 (UTC)

== VGFM Music Format ==

Hello, Malvineous!

I accidentally found that [[VGFM Music Format]] is absolutely similar to the [http://www.vgmpf.com/Wiki/index.php?title=MUS_(AdLib) MUS (AdLib)] format which I finished researching yesterday.

And [[VGFM Instrument Format]] is similar to [http://www.vgmpf.com/Wiki/index.php?title=SND_(AdLib) SND (AdLib)].

These formats were developed by Ad Lib Inc, I found the sources and documentation in the Ad Lib developer's manual downloaded from old BBS board site :) And these formats are used not only in [[Vinyl Goddess From Mars]] game.

--[[User:Binarymaster|Binarymaster]] ([[User talk:Binarymaster|talk]]) 02:05, 22 January 2015 (UTC)

: Oh wow, what an interesting discovery!! Do you have any links to the official documentation? I'd really like to see what else they have to say about the format. And yes, we should definitely rename the articles here. What do you think they should be called? "Ad Lib Music Format" is probably a bit generic given they have a few, like .ROL... -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] ([[User talk:Malvineous|talk]]) 09:45, 22 January 2015 (UTC)
:: Here it is: [http://files.mpoli.fi/software/programm/general/adlip.zip adlip.zip] - binaries and source code, probably from Ad Lib Programmer's Manual. MUS headers are described in CONVERT.C and CONVERT.H files. Fun fact that they also developed another similar format based on MIDI - [http://www.vgmpf.com/Wiki/index.php?title=MDI MDI]. It has similar musical features but stores all data in one file in MIDI format.
:: Well, I have no idea how to name it better, I think "Ad Lib Music Format" should be suitable for it :) --[[User:Binarymaster|binarymaster]] ([[User talk:Binarymaster|talk]]) 10:30, 22 January 2015 (UTC)

::: Many thanks!! I've updated the article pages with the info I could gain from the source code. There are still a few unresolved issues (like what exactly the default percussion pitch is) but it has certainly answered a number of questions. I called it "AdLib MIDI Format" because that's the name they use in one place in the source code, although it's not a very descriptive title! Thanks again for letting me know about this excellent find :-) -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] ([[User talk:Malvineous|talk]]) 12:48, 24 January 2015 (UTC)

:::: That's good! I think maybe this format should be named as "AdLib MIDI Format v1.0", because there is also an improved version of it, probably v2.0 - [http://www.vgmpf.com/Wiki/index.php?title=MDI MDI] (I made a typo in previous posted link), it uses a single file in MIDI format.
:::: And about [[AdLib Timbre Bank Format]] article - BNK format originally was created in the 1987 with the first release of the [http://www.vgmpf.com/Wiki/index.php?title=AdLib_Visual_Composer AdLib Visual Composer], so actually Ad Lib Inc released its formats in this order:
:::: '''1)''' ROL & BNK (1987, with AdLib Visual Composer)
:::: '''2)''' MUS & SND/TIM (1988, with player and converter)
:::: '''3)''' MDI (1989, also with player and converter)
:::: Information about third format was placed [http://cd.textfiles.com/soundsensations/MISCPROG/AD-PROG/ here], though the link is not working now.
:::: --[[User:Binarymaster|binarymaster]] ([[User talk:Binarymaster|talk]]) 13:08, 24 January 2015 (UTC)

::::: Oh wow that's interesting too. I think the MUS/SND/TIM format should stay as "AdLib MIDI Format" with no version number, because that file format does have version fields so it's possible to have v1.0, v2.3, etc. within that format. The MDI article you linked to actually looks like conventional MIDI with some extra events for setting OPL instruments, so I think this belongs as one of the many backwards-compatible extensions of the [[MID Format]].

::::: With the instrument bank formats that's really unusual if BNK came first! It seems very odd for AdLib to produce the SND/TIM format if they already had the more efficient BNK format available. I was going from the dates in the text files from the programmer's guide you kindly posted, and bkformat.txt says in Jan 1989 they are in the process of converting their software to use BNK. Can you confirm there was BNK software earlier than this? I'm just thinking that Visual Composer may have come out in 1987, but maybe it didn't get BNK support added until later? -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] ([[User talk:Malvineous|talk]]) 01:30, 25 January 2015 (UTC)

:::::: Well, I'm sure that first version of Visual Composer was released with AdLib music card, but I don't know exactly about BNK support. It's really strange that Ad Lib downgraded the format (BNK is better in structure), but the known formats has converters which converts BNK to X format, but not from X to BNK - this makes sense that BNK was the first format. Also Visual Composer doesn't support other bank formats, only BNK.
:::::: BNK creation date 1987 was contributed by [http://www.vgmpf.com/Wiki/index.php?title=User:TheAlmightyGuru Dean Tersigni], I'll ask him about it.

:::::: Update: I also read information from bkformat.txt, and it seems you're right :)
:::::: So actually it was:
:::::: '''1)''' ROL & INS (1987, with AdLib Visual Composer v1.0)
:::::: '''2)''' MUS & SND/TIM (1988, with player and converter)
:::::: '''3)''' BNK (1989, with AdLib Visual Composer v1.5)
:::::: '''4)''' MDI (1989, also with player and converter)
:::::: Wow, that feel when restored original order of events! :D --[[User:Binarymaster|binarymaster]] ([[User talk:Binarymaster|talk]]) 01:51, 25 January 2015 (UTC)

::::::: That seems to make the most logical sense - there's a clear improvement with each new format. I'm glad you agree! Note that when you say there's no conversion from "X to BNK" there is BANKMNG.EXE that comes with the programmer's manual which converts .ins files to .bnk. -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] ([[User talk:Malvineous|talk]]) 04:09, 25 January 2015 (UTC)

:::::::: True. I forgot about it :) Thanks! --[[User:Binarymaster|binarymaster]] ([[User talk:Binarymaster|talk]]) 12:02, 25 January 2015 (UTC)

== email ==

Hello! Can't send you e-mail. Got this:

This message was created automatically by mail delivery software.
A message that you sent could not be delivered to one or more of its
recipients. This is a permanent error. The following address(es) failed:
malvineous@shikadi.net
host mail.shikadi.net [52.11.27.19]
SMTP error from remote mail server after RCPT TO:<malvineous@shikadi.net>:
550 invalid recipient

[[User:CTPAX-X Team|CTPAX-X Team]] ([[User talk:CTPAX-X Team|talk]]) 09:12, 11 March 2017 (UTC)

:Whoops, moved my e-mail service to AWS and missed a step for that address! Please resend, should work now :-) Thanks for letting me know! -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] ([[User talk:Malvineous|talk]]) 11:34, 11 March 2017 (UTC)
::Yes, e-mail goes through this time. Hope you receive it. [[User:CTPAX-X Team|CTPAX-X Team]] ([[User talk:CTPAX-X Team|talk]]) 15:41, 11 March 2017 (UTC)

== Duplicate RLE page ==

After some edits to the [[RLE Compression]] page, I noticed that this was not the page linked from the [[:Category:Compression algorithms]] page. It seems there are in fact two of them; one with an uppercase 'c', and [[RLE compression|one with a lowercase 'c']]. The latter seems to be the better-written one, but since the LZW page was apparently moved from "LZW compression" to "LZW Compression", I suggest the final name of the RLE page should likewise be the uppercase-'c' one.

I have merged anything I deemed useful into the lowercase-'c' version. Could you make sure the uppercase-'c' duplicate is removed, and the other one is moved to its name?

-[[User:Nyerguds|Nyerguds]] ([[User talk:Nyerguds|talk]]) 16:48, 4 October 2017 (UTC)

: Done, many thanks for the clean up! -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] ([[User talk:Malvineous|talk]]) 10:38, 5 October 2017 (UTC)

== Account rename? ==
Hi Malvineous,

I am wondering if it's much of a hassle to rename accounts on this wiki. I'd kind of like to have my account use the same handle I'm using just about everywhere else (ETTiNGRiNDER). Don't sweat it too much if this is onerous to do, though.

Thanks! - [[User:Mysterioso|Mysterioso]] ([[User talk:Mysterioso|talk]]) 20:42, 29 January 2018 (UTC)

: I'm not sure how it can be done. If you can find out a quick way to rename a MediaWiki account then let me know! At any rate all your comments would still be signed with your old name however. -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] ([[User talk:Malvineous|talk]]) 10:15, 4 February 2018 (UTC)
: P.S. the e-mail address in your account is bouncing -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] ([[User talk:Malvineous|talk]]) 10:17, 4 February 2018 (UTC)
:: Ah, right, it was still set to that old e-mail. Hushmail nuked that address on me years ago, I've changed it to one that's current. As for the renaming, I don't really know anything about wiki administration, though a quick search suggests that there's this thing: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Renameuser
::If that's a bit much then no biggie. -- [[User:Mysterioso|Mysterioso]] ([[User talk:Mysterioso|talk]]) 14:43, 5 February 2018 (UTC)

== Removal request ==

It seems I made a page that was unnecessary; the [[Westwood Palette]] I documented turned out to be a known common format (6-bit RGB) already covered in the standard [[VGA Palette]] page. I have changed all links to link to the older page, but I don't think I have the user rights required to delete the Westwood Palette page. Can you take care of it? -[[User:Nyerguds|Nyerguds]] ([[User talk:Nyerguds|talk]]) 14:56, 6 February 2018 (UTC)

: Done! I made you an admin too so you should have delete access now. Thanks for your contributions! -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] ([[User talk:Malvineous|talk]]) 00:03, 7 February 2018 (UTC)

== Hi-Octane ==

Hi!

I've figured out the MUSIC.DAT container and I was wondering if you could shed out some light on what these song formats are, now that we know how to unpack it ?

Thanks !!!

: Yep, they're listed on the [[Hi Octane]] page, in the file format box. -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] ([[User talk:Malvineous|talk]]) 10:57, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

== ReCaptcha v1 problem ==

It seems I can no longer add links in articles; the ReCaptcha test added when new links are detected uses ReCaptcha v1, which gives a warning that "reCAPTCHA 1 IS SHUTDOWN". It does not allow the check to pass, so the page can never be submitted.

The FAQ on the ReCaptcha docs (can't link to them, obviously) says that "'''Any calls to the v1 API will not work after March 31, 2018'''".

-[[User:Nyerguds|Nyerguds]] ([[User talk:Nyerguds|talk]]) 09:26, 28 May 2018 (UTC)

== Bio Menace patches ==

Hey, I'll have Bio Menace 1 patches for the freeware release. Most of them are status window-related, but there are others as well.
Question: Could you create several other sections in All Bio Menace patches cathegory? Because I cannot submit them anywhere right now. Thanks! --[[User:Szemigi|Szemigi]] ([[User talk:Szemigi|talk]]) 00:57, 25 July 2018 (UTC)

: The status window patches should go into [[:Category:Bio Menace interface patches]]. The others *should* fit into existing categories, but if you're not sure let me know! -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] ([[User talk:Malvineous|talk]]) 05:23, 29 July 2018 (UTC)

:: I'll need several categories from you as I checked there'll be other BM patch stuff as well. So I need the following categories: status screen, hostage, help menu, main menu, B800 screen (I even built the BIN file and I made patch for that!). And I'll even submit these for BM2 and 3. Please, create these. Oh, and I'll surely submit! --[[User:Szemigi|Szemigi]] ([[User talk:Szemigi|talk]]) 01:36, 1 August 2018 (UTC)

== Bio Menace patches on PCKF? ==

Hey, how can I post my Bio Menace 1-3 patches on PCKF or keenmodding.org? I very want them to submit one of the forums!--[[User:Szemigi|Szemigi]] ([[User talk:Szemigi|talk]]) 23:11, 4 August 2018 (UTC)

Talk:Bio Menace/Cheats

2018-08-01T21:42:11Z

Szemigi: Super Plasma Bolt removes 1 lifebar? Answer.

When you use Super Plasma Bolt "cheat", you also lose a lifebar with that. Is it bug? --[[User:Szemigi|Szemigi]] ([[User talk:Szemigi|talk]]) 21:42, 1 August 2018 (UTC)

User talk:Malvineous

2018-08-01T01:36:31Z

Szemigi: Bio Menace patches

Category:Bio Menace text patches

2018-07-28T01:48:10Z

Szemigi: Game version added

User talk:Malvineous

2018-07-25T00:57:00Z

Szemigi: /* Bio Menace patches */

Patch:Bio Menace/Practice mode

2018-07-25T00:48:08Z

Szemigi: Category replaced

Patch:Bio Menace/Practice mode

2018-07-25T00:46:10Z

Szemigi: Episode 1 practice mode removal patch. Made by Levellass.

Category:Bio Menace text patches

2018-07-24T23:21:00Z

Szemigi: Bio Menace 1 freeware text patches

{{PatchCategory | game = Bio Menace | type = text}}

<patch title="Bio Menace 1 (freeware release)">

#Main menu texts
%patch $2AFCF "NEW GAME" $00
%patch $2AFD8 "LOAD GAME" $00
%patch $2AFE2 "SAVE GAME" $00
%patch $2AFEC "CONFIGURE" $00
%patch $2B445 "RETURN TO DEMO" $00
%patch $2B436 "RETURN TO GAME" $00
%patch $2AFF6 "END GAME" $00
%patch $2AFFF "QUIT" $00

#New game texts
%patch $2AEDB "BEGIN EASY GAME" $00
%patch $2AEEB "BEGIN NORMAL GAME" $00
%patch $2AEFD "BEGIN HARD GAME" $00
%patch $2AF0D "PRACTICE A LEVEL (15 sec)" $00

#Load game/Save game texts
%patch $2B3B3 "Empty" $00
%patch $2B3A7 "Loading" $00
%patch $2B3DA "Saving" $00

#Lower menu texts
%patch $2B3E5 "Arrows move" $00
%patch $2B3FF "ESC to back out" $00
%patch $2B3F1 "Enter selects" $00
%patch $2B40F "ESC to quit" $00
%patch $2B3C3 "Enter accepts" $00
%patch $2B3B9 "Type name" $00

#Status window texts
%patch $20B20 "LOCATION" $00
%patch $20B30 "SCORE" $00
%patch $20B40 "EXTRA" $00
%patch $20B70 "LEVEL" $00
%patch $20B60 "SHARDS" $00
%patch $20BF0 "GEMS" $00
%patch $20BE0 "CLIPS" $00
%patch $29465 "ITEMS" $00

#Level name texts
%patch $29F84 "DownTown Metro" $00
%patch $29F93 "High Rise" $00
%patch $29F9D "City Park" $00
%patch $29FA7 "South Side" $00
%patch $29FB2 "Sewer" $00
%patch $29FB8 "Cave" $00
%patch $29FBD "Skull Man" $00
%patch $29FC7 "Elevator" $00
%patch $29FD0 "No Man's Land" $00
%patch $29FDE "Lab Entrance" $00
%patch $29FEB "Computer Core" $00
%patch $29FF9 "Mangle's Last Stand" $00
%patch $29458 "Secret Level" $00
%patch $2940B "Secret Level" $00

#Loading window texts
%patch $2A2F1 "Loading" $00
%patch $2B454 "Control Panel" $00

User talk:Malvineous

2018-07-24T23:05:36Z

Szemigi: /* Bio Menace patches */ new section

== Wolfenstein 3D -> Wolfenstein 3-D ==
I've corrected the infamous 3D tyop in the names of several Wolf3D-related pages; can you please delete the following ones?

[[:Category:Wolfenstein 3D]] -> Superseded by [[:Category:Wolfenstein 3-D]] 
[[:Image:Wolfenstein_3D.png]] -> Superseded by [[:Image:Wolfenstein_3-D.png]]

Thanks :) --De Zeurkous (zeurkous@zeurcomp.nichten.info), Thu Nov 22 08:18:42 UTC 2007

:Haha, you've certainly been busy. Don't forget that this wiki isn't meant to be an encyclopaedia of the games, its main purpose is documenting the file formats and editing tools that can be used with the games, as opposed to how the games behave without any mods, or what they might be called if you forget to change the title screen :-) -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 11:14, 22 November 2007 (GMT)

::Nah, I haven't forgotten. As we're reinventing the wheel for a semi-virgin wiki, the naming and something static like the cheats seemed like a good place to start :) --De Zeurkous (zeurkous@nichten.info), Thu Nov 22 12:20:04 UTC 2007

== Jill of the Jungle palette ==

Hi, I'm currently working on a level viewer for [[Jill of the Jungle]] (maybe an editor later on). Some of the information I found here has been very useful, but there's one thing I'm a bit stuck on. On the [[SHA Format]] page it says:
:''Each array item contains 4 unsigned bytes, representing CGA, EGA and VGA, respectivley, and then a null value. [...] Each byte maps to the index of a colour in the palette. If there are no colours required, the tile set uses the default colours.''
However, it doesn't say anywhere where the palette can be found. Is it stored in the EXE file? I hope you can help me on this :)

Regards, [[User:Spinal|Spinal]] 13:00, 2 March 2008 (GMT)

:Unfortunately I didn't write the JotJ SHA page, and I haven't yet had the time to figure this out. For Xargon I've taken the quick and dirty route and used a screenshot from within DOSBox as the source of the palette, until I can figure out where the palette is located. If you find this out, don't forget to update the page! :-) -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 22:02, 2 March 2008 (GMT)

::Hey Spinal, sorry, I wrote the [[SHA Format]] page, so that was probably my bad. I wasn't able to find the palette either. I assume it's in the .EXE, however I spent a fair bit of time manually mapping it using a Wombat tool (http://www.szevvy.com/node/3). I was also writing a level viewer (initally in XHTML which turned out to be too slow, so then I moved to Flash 9). I tried to email you my findings, but the email bounced. I'm not sure if they were 100% accurat, which is why I never added them to the documentation.

::Hey Malvineous, it seems the Jill - [[DMA Format]] page has been removed. Do you have a log of what happened to it? I'm sure it existed at some point.

::- [[User:dheim|Daniel]] 20:00, 5 March 2008

:::I don't ever remember seeing a DMA page - certainly there's nothing in the wiki logs about it being deleted or renamed. Maybe you started working on it but never got around to saving it? Or is it one of the Xargon pages that shares the same format as Jill? (by the way, you can type <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> to automatically put in the signature in these messages.) -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 11:28, 5 March 2008 (GMT)

::::Sorry, it must have been the stuff in the [[SHA Format]] page that I was thinking of. I may have added the link to the [[DMA Format]] page, and never expanded on it. - [[User:Dheim|Daniel]] 02:46, 6 March 2008 (GMT)

:::::Hi guys. Sorry for the mistake, I mixed up the authors of the SHA and level formats. I've written a level viewer in PHP the last week, by using static images instead of getting them from the actual files. This causes some problems for episode 2, which uses a different palette, but besides that it works great :) When everything is done I'll upload the maps to my server and the tile/object lists to this wiki.
:::::@Daniel: strange that it bounced, I confirmed my address so it should be working fine... You can mail it to spinal -at- zanderz -dot- net. Also, I saw on your Wombat page that you "have a vague idea of how to do" [[Hocus Pocus]]. Could you share your findings on this wiki? I'd love to make maps, or even a level viewer/editor for that game :) -- [[User:Spinal|Spinal]] 00:32, 8 March 2008 (GMT)
:Okay, with help of [[User:Dheim|Daniel]] who send me the palette I found it! I'll put my findings on [[Jill of the Jungle palette]]. -- [[User:Spinal|Spinal]] 15:36, 13 March 2008 (GMT)

== Halloween Harry/Alien Carnage ==

Hi Malvineous. Thanks for your edits on the GMF article! I notice you mentioned there exist versions of the game which don't require exploding a BNK to get at the game data. What does the directory structure look like for the version you have? I'm working on a map viewer (which will become a map editor at some point) and would like it to be able to work on whatever versions are out there. Thanks for any info. -[[User:Duckthing|Duckthing]] 04:41, 11 December 2010 (GMT)

: Hi Duckthing - no worries, Halloween Harry has long been an interest of mine, but my map editor sadly needs a lot more work before I can begin reverse engineering more file formats so I'm glad you've made a start! AFAIK technically Halloween Harry has no compression, but for whatever reason (probably listed in the Apogee FAQ) they decided to swap episodes 1 and 3, compress the BNK file and then re-release it under the name Alien Carnage. You can download all available versions (including registered versions since the game was released as freeware in 2007) from [http://www.classicdosgames.com/game/Alien_Carnage.html RGB Classic Games]. BTW not sure if you noticed but I also posted a couple of things on the GMF article's talk/discussion page. -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 06:08, 11 December 2010 (GMT)

:: Thank you! Working with the uncompressed version will keep things less complicated. I did notice the GMF discussion you added, but haven't had a chance to really go through it yet. -- [[User:Duckthing|Duckthing]] 06:41, 11 December 2010 (GMT)

::: No worries. If you're running Linux or MacOSX you should be able to compile [[Camoto|libgamearchive]] which will let you copy files in and out of the BNK files. This is a library so it's also possible to use it in your own program for accessing and editing the map files while they're still inside the BNK, for instance. (BTW the 'minor' tickbox should only be used when the edit does not affect the information on the page - e.g. fixing a typo or a broken URL. If you are changing the actual content on a page it is never a minor edit!) -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 07:51, 11 December 2010 (GMT)

== Dangerous Dave ==

Working on this, does anyone have any info on the formats? The EGA graphics are 84KB and external, but CGA and VGA graphics unrelated to them are in the 174KB executable, apparently uncompressed, I don't know how this is possible. I've found the levels and partially reverse engineered the format (The first 1000 bytes, a 100x10 array of tiles.) but each level is followed by ~280 bytes of variable and unknown data I assume is sprites. I have a list of internal files in the executable, looks like most of it is non-game code. Any help would be appreciated. -[[User:Levellass|Endian? What are you on about?]] 06:03, 12 December 2010 (GMT)

: Hmm, interesting. All I can suggest for the levels is - as you're probably already familiar with - changing the values in a hex editor then loading the game to see what happens. I would suspect that all the graphics would be in a similar format, so if there are any headers or structures used in the EGA graphics files perhaps they're duplicated for CGA/VGA? Also John Romero seems pretty accessible, perhaps you could ask him directly? Failing that, randomly writing data into the .exe until the images change could be used as a last resort! -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 12:09, 12 December 2010 (GMT)

: Ha, that was easier than I expected - uncompressed VGA data is easy to find with a good hex editor ;-) [http://www.shikadi.net/pics/ddave-vga-hexdump.png This looks like it] -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 12:17, 12 December 2010 (GMT)

: Ok that was only the menu graphics. At offset 0xC629 there's some sort of offset table which looks very similar to the contents of EGADAVE.DAV but there are extra bytes dotted all over the place - perhaps it's RLE encoded? Actually just before that there's the number 0x6CAA. If you go a bit less than 0x6CAA bytes after this you end up with another table, which to me suggests that 0x6CAA is the decompressed size of that first table. -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 13:01, 12 December 2010 (GMT)

:If I remember it correctly, the VGA sprites and tiles are RLE compressed and it's not too hard to decompress them. The positions of the enemies in the levels on the other hand are still a mystery to me. [[User:Calvero|Calvero]] 20:43, 12 December 2010 (GMT)

: Looking at the levels, which directly follow the VGA palette, they seem to contain 256 bytes of header data, then the 100x10 tiles, then eight bytes of lead-out data. Then the next level's 256 bytes of header, 100x10 tiles, then eight bytes of lead-out. Although I say "level", the first "level" seems to contain both level 1 and 2, and this seems to be the way it works in the game - in some levels you can see through to others. I'm not sure what the 256 bytes of header data are for, but some levels have FF FF 00 00 repeated which seems to indicate two uint16 fields which are blanked out for those levels. -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 13:15, 13 December 2010 (GMT)

::First up, levels; where does level 1 start? It's possible I'm reading the start of a level as the previous level's end, I looked for the start of tile data, which I assumed, like Keen 1, would be the level start.

::Next, palette; I'm assuming, as you said, it is located just before the level data?

::There is VGA and CGA graphics in the executable, plus headers, but the bulk of graphics for CGA and VGA I haven't been able to locate. If the data is RLE compressed I should think it would use either Keen 1-3 fullscreen or Jazz Jackrabbit tile RLE, both of which I know well. I'll look into both of these options, cheers! -[[User:Levellass|Endian? What are you on about?]] 12:03, 20 December 2010 (GMT)

:::I've found the VGA and CGA data for the menu graphics. It looks like the CGA data is stored in a series of 1-bit-per-pixel (monochrome) images. Or it could be EGA data with the planes split out (e.g. red plane for all images, then green plane for all images, etc.) I think I found three planes which means it's probably EGA, as CGA would have a max of two planes. I've also found the font graphics, this looks like 4bpp/16 colour EGA data. Haven't seen level graphics yet. I've successfully modded the levels with a hex editor (putting the jetpack everywhere) so now I've finally looked at all the levels! The creatures are definitely not stored in the 100x10 tile data. Putting random bytes in there revealed that the values are indices into the image files, because if you put the value in for fire it will animate, and the following three or so values show up as still frames from the fire animation.

:::The VGA palette starts at 0x26B0A (I updated the main DDave page with this) + 768 bytes leads straight onto the start of level 1 at 0x26E0A. So at 0x26E0A there are 256 bytes of data, then 100x10 tiles, then 24 bytes of footer data. Some of this data (perhaps footer data) might be the level start coordinates, because Dave doesn't always start the level at the same place (e.g. the warp level when you climb the tree on level 5 and jump off the edge of the screen.) -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 12:24, 20 December 2010 (GMT)

:::I think I've found all the files so far, I've updated [[Dangerous Dave]] with the offsets of the files, including what appears to be CGA and VGA tiles. I'm not sure what sort of format they're in though, it looks like they might be compressed (and so the offsets in that list might be off by ~4, as I may have cut off the decompressed-size field.) I've also updated the map format page, I think it's pretty much fully reverse engineered now. -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 05:13, 21 December 2010 (GMT)

== Noahs Ark 3D and IMFs ==

Been poking around Noah's Ark 3D, an adaption of the Wolfenstein game and found a few interesting things which I'm hoping to confirm.

First, the game uses MID files, not IMF files for music, second, the MIDI files have an extra word at the start of the file giving the file length. Third, the code uses the first word of the midi file as the length of data to read from the file and put into memory to play. After poking around a bit in Wolfenstein and Keen I believe this is the same with IMF files, that is, ALL IMF files are type 0 as it were and the type 1s are read just like type 0s by the games (The first word is read as the amount of IMF data to copy into memory to play, this is then read as type 0.) I'm not quite sure what this does for the two types since type 1 is would essentially be a type 0 with a header and footer that are part of the AUDIO.xxx format, much like PC\adlib sounds can have the huffman lengths at the start. Are there any games that use 'individual' type 1 IMFs (Even if included as part of a group file. All I've seen are games like cosmo, where non-AUDIO IMFs are type 0.)

Should there be a Noah's Ark 3D page and should we add the midi note to the AUDIO format page? It seems that the format can hold any type of music file the game can read, not just IMFs. -- Levellass

: Yes it is known that the type-1 header might really be part of the AUDIO.xxx format but alas there were many type-1 files floating around the place (incorrectly extracted, you could argue) before this was realised, so the format variant is here to stay. It does have some advantages though (like tagging files with the song title) but I'm not sure whether anyone has figured out definitively whether the header (and footer, in the case of the Wolf3D files) belongs to the IMF or the AUDIO file. I guess you'd have to browse the game source code and see how the game uses the data to know for sure.

: As far as the MIDI goes, I believe the AUDIO.xxx file is just a container file like any other, capable of supporting any data at all. It's up to the game to decide how to use it. If anything this makes me think it would fit better if the AUDIO.xxx article was merely documenting the structure, with links to actual audio formats like PC SFX, Adlib SFX, IMF and MIDI and notes about which games make use of which formats.

: Oh and yes, by all means create a page for the new game. -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 08:41, 3 February 2011 (GMT)

== Sound Files category ==

I don’t know why there’s a Sound Files category and also an Audio Files category... it seems redundant. I left those categories the way they are though.

Also, the [[File format data types]] page needs some signed ints, but I didn’t know what naming convention you wanted to use. I described something as an [[INT16LE]] on [[BMC Format]]. [[User:Yellowantphil|Yellowantphil]] 20:12, 11 September 2011 (GMT)

: Not sure about the Sound vs Audio - I use the term 'audio' to mean both sound and music, but you're right, if there are separate sound and music categories we don't really need an audio one as well. Feel free to update. [[INT16LE]] is perfectly fine too! I added a note to the data types page. -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 22:30, 11 September 2011 (GMT)

== GamePage template ==

Should the GamePage template add the page to its own category? It seems a little odd that [[Wacky Wheels]] is not in the Wacky Wheels category. [[User:Yellowantphil|Yellowantphil]] 04:51, 16 September 2011 (GMT)
: I decided against this because there is a link to the game's page in the category intro at the top of the page. It seemed unnecessary having another link in amongst all the other pages. This was also because the game page was really only meant to be a summary, there wasn't supposed to be a huge amount of detail on it, only links to other pages with the detail (which then would appear in the category list.) I would imagine that, eventually, [[Wacky Wheels]] would be tweaked to move a lot of the content onto subpages. -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 12:58, 16 September 2011 (GMT)

== Scope of the wiki ==

I don’t know how extensive you want the information to be on ModdingWiki... I added a few lists of audio and graphics files a while ago, and there will probably be other information that I’ll find out that’s potentially helpful for level editing but not directly related to it. I can move some information to my website if it starts to become out of scope for your wiki. I also sometimes end up documenting everything imaginable... there’s some minutiae on my website and possibly on your wiki that I ought to go through and delete. [[User:Yellowantphil|Yellowantphil]] 05:28, 10 October 2011 (GMT)

:Hmm, that's a difficult one - I'm always in favour of documenting more rather than less. Generally speaking if it's related to a game and it would help either a programmer writing a utility or a someone trying to change a game manually then it should be documented. About the only thing that comes to mind that's over documenting is when some small calculation is expressed in a couple of different programming languages, but I've left that in so people can just copy it rather than trying to figure it out from the text. But the [[Wacky Wheels]] page is probably the gold standard for what all wiki pages should look like :-) Do you have anything in particular you're unsure of whether it would fit here? -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 10:07, 10 October 2011 (GMT)

::I was mainly thinking of the list of VOC files on [[Wacky Wheels Music and Sound Effects]] and the list of <tt>*.sp</tt> files on [[Wacky Wheels Graphics Formats]]. I have an expanded list of the <tt>*.sp</tt> files on my computer but it isn’t finished yet. I guess there isn’t all that much more Wacky Wheels information to be added to this wiki though. There is still some modding information on my website that ought to be moved over here, so that would take up another page or two. I’ve been lazy about doing Wacky Wheels stuff lately, but I might find some time for it this weekend.

::By the way, I guess that guy from Cascadia Games emailed you. It’s pretty interesting that WW might become an iPhone app. He told me that he was going to be using his own game engine, which sounds a lot easier than trying to get a hold of the WW source code and porting it. —[[User:Yellowantphil|Yellowantphil]] 16:46, 15 October 2011 (GMT)

::: I was going to say the list of VOCs might be overkill, but then the list of .sp files might be useful. To be honest, it's the sort of thing that you could probably omit if you were feeling lazy, but likewise I don't mind at all if you choose to include it, so since it's already there I'm happy to keep it.

::: Yes I did get an e-mail from Cascadia, I was going to pass along your details but it sounds like you're already aware of it! Using their own engine might make it a bit smoother than the original, as the jerkiness of turning is my only criticism of the game. -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 00:14, 16 October 2011 (GMT)

== Wacky Wheels ==

Basically all of the WW modding information from my website is here now. I moved one page when I realized it should probably be capitalized to match the rest of the pages on this site... you can delete the redirect at [[Wacky Wheels high score files]] if you want to.

Now, I need to remove most of the modding information from my website and refer people here. Then we’ll have reached the glorious future where all WW modding information is in one place. I’m going to keep those two text files of notes on my website though—the information in them is disorganized and I think not 100% accurate, but they might have some information that isn’t here yet.

By the way, how’s Camoto going? I’m planning to use it to make a new WW level, but I won’t have time for it for a few more months. —[[User:Yellowantphil|Yellowantphil]]

: Sounds good! Thanks for all the effort you've put in by moving it across. I think Wacky Wheels is now the most completely documented game on the wiki! Also can't hurt leaving your own info up - sometimes it's nice to go back to the original source if something is unclear. Camoto's going well, but unfortunately I haven't had much time to work on it over the last few weeks. You probably won't be able to make much of a level until I add in the ability to select a tile from the tileset, but that's in progress and hopefully will be ready by the time you are! Keep me posted when you do start your level(s?) -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 12:22, 2 February 2012 (GMT)

::Well, as I was reading some of the information on my website, I noticed that it isn’t written very well. I wrote those pages back when I had very little experience programming. Anyway, I’m planning to redesign my website soon, and this will save me from having to rewrite a few of those pages.

::The tile editor in Camoto as it is now is still certainly useful—I can add new tile types to a level using a binary editor and then move them around in Camoto. I think that it shouldn’t be too hard to make a new WW level using the Gimp and Camoto plus some binary editing. I recall having some problems with the route editor for the computer players, but I didn’t look into it at the time—I’ll let you know when I’m working with Camoto again, and I’ll try to come up with some useful bug reports or fixes if I run into problems. —[[User:Yellowantphil|Yellowantphil]] 14:06, 2 February 2012 (GMT)

== Catacomb ==

Hey [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]], do you know anyone who has properly read the [[Inverse_Frequency_Sound_format|Inverse Sound Frequency]] file format and got the sound playing? I'm struggling with some fine details in my game. Sounds play near what they should sound like, but the sound quality is all crackly and some sounds play totally incorrect. I followed a basic [http://web.archive.org/web/20000818033701/http://www.dd.chalmers.se/~f98anga/projects/keen/sounds2raw.c code sample] by Anders Gavare. Does your tool support this? Interested in helping me figure this out? My current code is available at [https://code.google.com/p/cataclone/source/browse/trunk/src/catacomb/catacomb_sound.c catacomb_sound.c] - [[User:Eros|Eros]] 11:57, 5 May 2012 (GMT)
: Should this be moved to my talk page? - [[User:Eros|Eros]] 11:59, 5 May 2012 (GMT)
:: Probably best to keep it on my talk page if you want me to respond in a timely manner :-) I based my old utility off Anders' one too, but it's been a long time since I looked at the code. My latest utility doesn't support sound effects yet. I know Levellass has written a few utilities to play and edit those sound files, so I think your best bet would probably be to post over at the [http://www.keenmodding.org Keen:Modding] forum. Do note that PC Speaker effects do sound crackly at the best of times, though! Also make sure you've got the right audio format (8-bit vs 16-bit, signed vs unsigned) - I remember some inconsistencies there causing some very distorted results for me. I love the name 'Cataclone' - does your code compile under Linux? -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 13:21, 5 May 2012 (GMT)
::: I currently compile the code using Code::Blocks with GCC 4.6 -std=gnu99. It *should* compile under Linux. But I haven't tested that out yet. [[Catacomb]] sounds also have flags attached to each one, It's not exactly the same specification as what it says @ the [[Inverse_Frequency_Sound_format|Inverse Sound Frequency]] format page. Perhaps the flags would make a difference to the sounds? I have the sound setup @ [https://code.google.com/p/cataclone/source/browse/trunk/src/sound_manager.c sound_manager.c] in the sound_manager_init() method. I use AUDIO_S16 (signed 16-bit) @ 22050 Hz with 2 channels. I have not added support for the priority of the sounds yet, I plan on doing that after I get them playing properly.
::: I found some information on the [[ROTT]] sound format here: [http://src.gnu-darwin.org/ports/games/rottdc/work/rottdc-1.0-2/rott/_rt_soun.h _rt_soun.h]. This format should be similar to Catacomb as ROTT was developed by [[Apogee]] using the [[Doom]] engine. Here are the flags for the sounds that they define:
#define SD_OVERWRITE 0x01
#define SD_WRITE 0x02
#define SD_LOOP 0x04
#define SD_PITCHSHIFTOFF 0x08
#define SD_PLAYONCE 0x10
::: There are also many other sound files for ROTT: [http://src.gnu-darwin.org/ports/games/rottdc/work/rottdc-1.0-2/rott/rt_sound.c], [http://src.gnu-darwin.org/ports/games/rottdc/work/rottdc-1.0-2/rott/rt_sound.h], [http://src.gnu-darwin.org/ports/games/rottdc/work/rottdc-1.0-2/rott/snd_reg.h], [http://src.gnu-darwin.org/ports/games/rottdc/work/rottdc-1.0-2/rott/snd_shar.h], [http://src.gnu-darwin.org/ports/games/rottdc/work/rottdc-1.0-2/rott/sndcards.h]
:::: I tried it last night and I was able to get it to compile (after a few changes, like using '/' instead of '\' in a couple of #includes) but all I got was a black window and a beep sound, then nothing. How far advanced is the project? Should I expect more than that? I would expect small variations in the file formats between games, but I would be surprised if the core sound data has changed over time. -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 02:38, 6 May 2012 (GMT)
::::: On Windows, you can run around the levels, collide with walls, collect items, etc... I still need to implement monsters, AI and power shots. However, that beep means that the sounds playing. (see line 71 in main.c: catacomb_sounds_play("foundsound");). I just committed the catacomb_data.h file. Update it accordingly, you should now see much more than a black screen.
:::::: Oh wow, that works really well now! I see what you mean by the sounds. You might have to output the PCM data to a .wav/.raw file and look at it in a sound editor to see what's going on. It sounds like there might be wrapping or something going on. Also some sounds (like being blocked by a door) play multiple times over the top of themselves. I guess this is what you meant by priority not being implemented (although maybe you wouldn't need to handle priority if you can play multiple sounds at the same time, unlike the real PC Speaker.) One suggestion - if you do decide to support Linux, abstract the calls that open files so that they search for filenames instead - that way you don't have to rename all the Catacomb files to be uppercase, since Linux has a case-sensitive filesystem and most filenames are usually all lowercase. -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 03:42, 6 May 2012 (GMT)
::::::: I have exported the raw data to a file, then imported the raw data into Audacity using various settings. All of them sound like they do in the game, crackly and sometimes distorted. I really think its some sort of post FX used by the flags. As for files, I'll code some sort of SafeFileOpen, SafeFileClose functions like the id codebase that open files regardless of case when i get around to implementing the Linux version. - [[User:Eros|Eros]] 03:54, 6 May 2012 (GMT)
:::::::: If you can e-mail me one of the files (preferably a 'quiet' one that's not supposed to be crackly) I can take a look if you like - malvineous@shikadi.net -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] 03:57, 6 May 2012 (GMT)

== Merge ==

Is there a way to tag two pages such that it is clear that they should be merged?
For example, [[Crystal Caves Tileset Format]] describes the same format as [[Duke 1 Tileset Graphics]].[[User:Frenkel|Frenkel]] ([[User talk:Frenkel|talk]]) 21:00, 15 July 2013 (GMT)

: You can mention it on the talk page for one of the articles. Any suggestions as to what we should call the merged page? -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] ([[User talk:Malvineous|talk]]) 03:09, 20 July 2013 (GMT)

::Dark Ages is the first game that got released that uses this format, so ''Dark Ages Tileset Format'' could be the name, like all those formats that are named after Commander Keen 1-3.
::Or we name it after Duke Nukem 1, because that game is probably more popular than Dark Ages, Crystal Caves and Secret Agent, like [[Commander Keen 1-3 Level format]], although Slordax used it before Commander Keen 1-3 did.[[User:Frenkel|Frenkel]] ([[User talk:Frenkel|talk]]) 19:13, 20 July 2013 (GMT)

::: Yes I was thinking along the same lines, naming it after the first game that used the format. But then the release date doesn't necessarily indicate which game "invented" the format, if one game took longer to develop and was released late. I was wondering whether there is a common thread amongst all these games, such as the same programmer or company we could use instead. In many ways I would prefer a name like "Replogle tileset format" or "Apogee EGA tileset format". What do you think? -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] ([[User talk:Malvineous|talk]]) 23:36, 20 July 2013 (GMT)

:::: I've read the [http://www.3drealms.com/news/2006/04/the_apogee_legacy_15.html | Apogee Legacy interview with Peder Jungck] again today. He wrote the ProGraphx Toolbox.
:::: DN1.EXE contains the string ''Version 1.0 EGA/VGAProGraphx EGA/VGA Toolbox'',
:::: CC1.EXE contains the string ''Version 1.5 320x200 PAN EGA/VGAProGraphx EGA/VGA Toolbox'',
:::: SAM1.EXE contains the string ''ProGraphx EGA/VGA Toolbox Version 2.0 320x200 EGA/VGA Copyright 1991 by Peder Jungck'' and
:::: DA3.EXE contains the string ''Version 1.0 EGA/VGAProGraphx EGA/VGA Toolbox'' (DA1.EXE and DA2.exe contain gibberish).
:::: So I would suggest ''ProGraphx Toolbox tileset format''. Peder also wrote a book about the toolbox called ''Graphics Programming & Animation: Ultra-Fast Assembly Routines for EGA/VGA Graphics Animation''. Maybe that book has a better name for the file format. [[User:Frenkel|Frenkel]] ([[User talk:Frenkel|talk]]) 11:03, 21 July 2013 (GMT)

::::: So we know of three different versions of the ProGraphx Toolbox. Dark Ages and Duke Nukem 1 use version 1.0. Each tileset is 8064 bytes long and is in a separate file. Crystal Caves uses version 1.5 and each tileset is 8003 bytes long, but they are all in the same file. Secret Agent uses version 2.0 Each tileset is again 8064 bytes long, they are all in the same file and the file is encrypted. [[User:Frenkel|Frenkel]] ([[User talk:Frenkel|talk]]) 17:00, 28 July 2013 (GMT)

:::::: Thanks for figuring all that out. I've merged the pages and changed the name to [[ProGraphx Toolbox tileset format]] as suggested. Please feel free to correct anything I have missed. -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] ([[User talk:Malvineous|talk]]) 02:40, 4 August 2013 (GMT)

== Guidelines for proper Wiki Editing ==
Dear Malvineous! Could you post the guidelines (or guide) for proper editing of the Wiki? [[User:The coder|The coder]] ([[User talk:The coder|talk]])
: Hmm, there isn't really one, it's more about finding a similar page and matching the style found there! Copy and paste works well :-) There is [[ModdingWiki:Contributing]] but it's not very detailed. (BTW please put <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> at the end of your messages, when you preview the page you will see this gets replaced with your name and the date automatically.) -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] ([[User talk:Malvineous|talk]]) 21:59, 12 December 2014 (UTC)

== VGFM Music Format ==

Hello, Malvineous!

I accidentally found that [[VGFM Music Format]] is absolutely similar to the [http://www.vgmpf.com/Wiki/index.php?title=MUS_(AdLib) MUS (AdLib)] format which I finished researching yesterday.

And [[VGFM Instrument Format]] is similar to [http://www.vgmpf.com/Wiki/index.php?title=SND_(AdLib) SND (AdLib)].

These formats were developed by Ad Lib Inc, I found the sources and documentation in the Ad Lib developer's manual downloaded from old BBS board site :) And these formats are used not only in [[Vinyl Goddess From Mars]] game.

--[[User:Binarymaster|Binarymaster]] ([[User talk:Binarymaster|talk]]) 02:05, 22 January 2015 (UTC)

: Oh wow, what an interesting discovery!! Do you have any links to the official documentation? I'd really like to see what else they have to say about the format. And yes, we should definitely rename the articles here. What do you think they should be called? "Ad Lib Music Format" is probably a bit generic given they have a few, like .ROL... -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] ([[User talk:Malvineous|talk]]) 09:45, 22 January 2015 (UTC)
:: Here it is: [http://files.mpoli.fi/software/programm/general/adlip.zip adlip.zip] - binaries and source code, probably from Ad Lib Programmer's Manual. MUS headers are described in CONVERT.C and CONVERT.H files. Fun fact that they also developed another similar format based on MIDI - [http://www.vgmpf.com/Wiki/index.php?title=MDI MDI]. It has similar musical features but stores all data in one file in MIDI format.
:: Well, I have no idea how to name it better, I think "Ad Lib Music Format" should be suitable for it :) --[[User:Binarymaster|binarymaster]] ([[User talk:Binarymaster|talk]]) 10:30, 22 January 2015 (UTC)

::: Many thanks!! I've updated the article pages with the info I could gain from the source code. There are still a few unresolved issues (like what exactly the default percussion pitch is) but it has certainly answered a number of questions. I called it "AdLib MIDI Format" because that's the name they use in one place in the source code, although it's not a very descriptive title! Thanks again for letting me know about this excellent find :-) -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] ([[User talk:Malvineous|talk]]) 12:48, 24 January 2015 (UTC)

:::: That's good! I think maybe this format should be named as "AdLib MIDI Format v1.0", because there is also an improved version of it, probably v2.0 - [http://www.vgmpf.com/Wiki/index.php?title=MDI MDI] (I made a typo in previous posted link), it uses a single file in MIDI format.
:::: And about [[AdLib Timbre Bank Format]] article - BNK format originally was created in the 1987 with the first release of the [http://www.vgmpf.com/Wiki/index.php?title=AdLib_Visual_Composer AdLib Visual Composer], so actually Ad Lib Inc released its formats in this order:
:::: '''1)''' ROL & BNK (1987, with AdLib Visual Composer)
:::: '''2)''' MUS & SND/TIM (1988, with player and converter)
:::: '''3)''' MDI (1989, also with player and converter)
:::: Information about third format was placed [http://cd.textfiles.com/soundsensations/MISCPROG/AD-PROG/ here], though the link is not working now.
:::: --[[User:Binarymaster|binarymaster]] ([[User talk:Binarymaster|talk]]) 13:08, 24 January 2015 (UTC)

::::: Oh wow that's interesting too. I think the MUS/SND/TIM format should stay as "AdLib MIDI Format" with no version number, because that file format does have version fields so it's possible to have v1.0, v2.3, etc. within that format. The MDI article you linked to actually looks like conventional MIDI with some extra events for setting OPL instruments, so I think this belongs as one of the many backwards-compatible extensions of the [[MID Format]].

::::: With the instrument bank formats that's really unusual if BNK came first! It seems very odd for AdLib to produce the SND/TIM format if they already had the more efficient BNK format available. I was going from the dates in the text files from the programmer's guide you kindly posted, and bkformat.txt says in Jan 1989 they are in the process of converting their software to use BNK. Can you confirm there was BNK software earlier than this? I'm just thinking that Visual Composer may have come out in 1987, but maybe it didn't get BNK support added until later? -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] ([[User talk:Malvineous|talk]]) 01:30, 25 January 2015 (UTC)

:::::: Well, I'm sure that first version of Visual Composer was released with AdLib music card, but I don't know exactly about BNK support. It's really strange that Ad Lib downgraded the format (BNK is better in structure), but the known formats has converters which converts BNK to X format, but not from X to BNK - this makes sense that BNK was the first format. Also Visual Composer doesn't support other bank formats, only BNK.
:::::: BNK creation date 1987 was contributed by [http://www.vgmpf.com/Wiki/index.php?title=User:TheAlmightyGuru Dean Tersigni], I'll ask him about it.

:::::: Update: I also read information from bkformat.txt, and it seems you're right :)
:::::: So actually it was:
:::::: '''1)''' ROL & INS (1987, with AdLib Visual Composer v1.0)
:::::: '''2)''' MUS & SND/TIM (1988, with player and converter)
:::::: '''3)''' BNK (1989, with AdLib Visual Composer v1.5)
:::::: '''4)''' MDI (1989, also with player and converter)
:::::: Wow, that feel when restored original order of events! :D --[[User:Binarymaster|binarymaster]] ([[User talk:Binarymaster|talk]]) 01:51, 25 January 2015 (UTC)

::::::: That seems to make the most logical sense - there's a clear improvement with each new format. I'm glad you agree! Note that when you say there's no conversion from "X to BNK" there is BANKMNG.EXE that comes with the programmer's manual which converts .ins files to .bnk. -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] ([[User talk:Malvineous|talk]]) 04:09, 25 January 2015 (UTC)

:::::::: True. I forgot about it :) Thanks! --[[User:Binarymaster|binarymaster]] ([[User talk:Binarymaster|talk]]) 12:02, 25 January 2015 (UTC)

== email ==

Hello! Can't send you e-mail. Got this:

This message was created automatically by mail delivery software.
A message that you sent could not be delivered to one or more of its
recipients. This is a permanent error. The following address(es) failed:
malvineous@shikadi.net
host mail.shikadi.net [52.11.27.19]
SMTP error from remote mail server after RCPT TO:<malvineous@shikadi.net>:
550 invalid recipient

[[User:CTPAX-X Team|CTPAX-X Team]] ([[User talk:CTPAX-X Team|talk]]) 09:12, 11 March 2017 (UTC)

:Whoops, moved my e-mail service to AWS and missed a step for that address! Please resend, should work now :-) Thanks for letting me know! -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] ([[User talk:Malvineous|talk]]) 11:34, 11 March 2017 (UTC)
::Yes, e-mail goes through this time. Hope you receive it. [[User:CTPAX-X Team|CTPAX-X Team]] ([[User talk:CTPAX-X Team|talk]]) 15:41, 11 March 2017 (UTC)

== Duplicate RLE page ==

After some edits to the [[RLE Compression]] page, I noticed that this was not the page linked from the [[:Category:Compression algorithms]] page. It seems there are in fact two of them; one with an uppercase 'c', and [[RLE compression|one with a lowercase 'c']]. The latter seems to be the better-written one, but since the LZW page was apparently moved from "LZW compression" to "LZW Compression", I suggest the final name of the RLE page should likewise be the uppercase-'c' one.

I have merged anything I deemed useful into the lowercase-'c' version. Could you make sure the uppercase-'c' duplicate is removed, and the other one is moved to its name?

-[[User:Nyerguds|Nyerguds]] ([[User talk:Nyerguds|talk]]) 16:48, 4 October 2017 (UTC)

: Done, many thanks for the clean up! -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] ([[User talk:Malvineous|talk]]) 10:38, 5 October 2017 (UTC)

== Account rename? ==
Hi Malvineous,

I am wondering if it's much of a hassle to rename accounts on this wiki. I'd kind of like to have my account use the same handle I'm using just about everywhere else (ETTiNGRiNDER). Don't sweat it too much if this is onerous to do, though.

Thanks! - [[User:Mysterioso|Mysterioso]] ([[User talk:Mysterioso|talk]]) 20:42, 29 January 2018 (UTC)

: I'm not sure how it can be done. If you can find out a quick way to rename a MediaWiki account then let me know! At any rate all your comments would still be signed with your old name however. -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] ([[User talk:Malvineous|talk]]) 10:15, 4 February 2018 (UTC)
: P.S. the e-mail address in your account is bouncing -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] ([[User talk:Malvineous|talk]]) 10:17, 4 February 2018 (UTC)
:: Ah, right, it was still set to that old e-mail. Hushmail nuked that address on me years ago, I've changed it to one that's current. As for the renaming, I don't really know anything about wiki administration, though a quick search suggests that there's this thing: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Renameuser
::If that's a bit much then no biggie. -- [[User:Mysterioso|Mysterioso]] ([[User talk:Mysterioso|talk]]) 14:43, 5 February 2018 (UTC)

== Removal request ==

It seems I made a page that was unnecessary; the [[Westwood Palette]] I documented turned out to be a known common format (6-bit RGB) already covered in the standard [[VGA Palette]] page. I have changed all links to link to the older page, but I don't think I have the user rights required to delete the Westwood Palette page. Can you take care of it? -[[User:Nyerguds|Nyerguds]] ([[User talk:Nyerguds|talk]]) 14:56, 6 February 2018 (UTC)

: Done! I made you an admin too so you should have delete access now. Thanks for your contributions! -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] ([[User talk:Malvineous|talk]]) 00:03, 7 February 2018 (UTC)

== Hi-Octane ==

Hi!

I've figured out the MUSIC.DAT container and I was wondering if you could shed out some light on what these song formats are, now that we know how to unpack it ?

Thanks !!!

: Yep, they're listed on the [[Hi Octane]] page, in the file format box. -- [[User:Malvineous|Malvineous]] ([[User talk:Malvineous|talk]]) 10:57, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

== ReCaptcha v1 problem ==

It seems I can no longer add links in articles; the ReCaptcha test added when new links are detected uses ReCaptcha v1, which gives a warning that "reCAPTCHA 1 IS SHUTDOWN". It does not allow the check to pass, so the page can never be submitted.

The FAQ on the ReCaptcha docs (can't link to them, obviously) says that "'''Any calls to the v1 API will not work after March 31, 2018'''".

-[[User:Nyerguds|Nyerguds]] ([[User talk:Nyerguds|talk]]) 09:26, 28 May 2018 (UTC)

== Bio Menace patches ==

Hey, I'll have Bio Menace 1 patches for the freeware release. Most of them are status window-related, but there are others as well.
Question: Could you create a status window section in All Bio Menace patches cathegory? Thanks!

Category talk:All Bio Menace patches

2014-05-17T08:21:38Z

Szemigi: All Bio Menace patches

I've heard some (other?) Bio Menace patches have been made. Where are those? [[User:Szemigi|Szemigi]] ([[User talk:Szemigi|talk]]) 08:21, 17 May 2014 (GMT)Szemigi