Converting DAT files?
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Converting DAT files?
Is it possible at all to take the pc dat files and convert and use them with the amiga emulation ?
Re: ?
I have to say, as a programmer, I don't understand why DMute doesn't do this.
If DMute is programmed in any sort of sensible fashion, then it would simply READ the different formats of the dungeons (Amiga format, PC format, ST format, etc) and write them back in the same format after editing. The actual information held in memory for editing would be in an "internal" format which would be the same no matter which format file was being read from. If this was the case, as it really should be, then it would be no problem for DMute to simply ask which format you wanted the data written out in before saving it back to disk.
If you think about it that would make it simple to, for example, load the amiga CSB dungeon and immediately save it in DM PC format - CSB ported straight to DM. Of course, all the traps wouldn't work because of physical differences, but it would be a starting point.
The only reason this would not be possible is if DMute held the information in memory in it's native format without converting it, which would mean it must have several sets of internal editing functions for each format - very bad programming.
Has anybody got any idea of the DM file format? One of these days, when I get time, I could write a Windows editor for DM - I wrote an editor for EOB and EOB II a while back and it wasn't that hard...
Hmmm. I'll have to get thinking.
If DMute is programmed in any sort of sensible fashion, then it would simply READ the different formats of the dungeons (Amiga format, PC format, ST format, etc) and write them back in the same format after editing. The actual information held in memory for editing would be in an "internal" format which would be the same no matter which format file was being read from. If this was the case, as it really should be, then it would be no problem for DMute to simply ask which format you wanted the data written out in before saving it back to disk.
If you think about it that would make it simple to, for example, load the amiga CSB dungeon and immediately save it in DM PC format - CSB ported straight to DM. Of course, all the traps wouldn't work because of physical differences, but it would be a starting point.
The only reason this would not be possible is if DMute held the information in memory in it's native format without converting it, which would mean it must have several sets of internal editing functions for each format - very bad programming.
Has anybody got any idea of the DM file format? One of these days, when I get time, I could write a Windows editor for DM - I wrote an editor for EOB and EOB II a while back and it wasn't that hard...
Hmmm. I'll have to get thinking.
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Gambit37
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File formats
I agree with you, but I was only repeating what I had picked up from previous discussions.
It does seem odd that George managed to find out so much information about the format of the DAT files - and the fact that there are differences between the PC and Amiga versions - and then couldn't implement some kind of converter. I guess he got bored with the project, and as he said in the readme.txt file that comes with it - it already did everything HE wanted it to do, so anything else WE might think of would probably only be implemented if we <i> really</i> bugged him...
If you look at some of the older posts on the Unofficial DM messageboard, there's loads of interesting info about the development of DMUTE. Worth a read if you get some time.
It does seem odd that George managed to find out so much information about the format of the DAT files - and the fact that there are differences between the PC and Amiga versions - and then couldn't implement some kind of converter. I guess he got bored with the project, and as he said in the readme.txt file that comes with it - it already did everything HE wanted it to do, so anything else WE might think of would probably only be implemented if we <i> really</i> bugged him...
If you look at some of the older posts on the Unofficial DM messageboard, there's loads of interesting info about the development of DMUTE. Worth a read if you get some time.