Technical Documentation
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Most of the articles below are planned to be rewritten. The new map files documentation will replace the old WLD / SWD once I’m sure the new one covers everything the old one did.
File formats
NEW! Map files documentation has new information on WLD/SWD and how savegame files relate to the map files.
Game internals
Analysis assets
- Tools to help analyze the game
siedler-welt.de
This was a German site in 1998 – 1999, here are a few articles written by Sven Liebich.
The articles appear to be written for “this is my first time touching a hex editor” level of audience.
The original site backup on Wayback Machine is very hard to navigate as it used to link to all main level links through an extra script which does not work in the archived version. You need to manually write the correct address to browser address bar. Also you need to open each page from a frame to new tab alone out of the frameset so that the character set is correct. Lots of hassle.
Game files overview
Root directory
📁 DATA | Game data. 📁 DRIVERS | Contains DOS drivers required to play music and sounds. 📁 GFX | Graphics. 📁 SAVE | Saved games and progress. 📁 VIDEO | Intro video. 📁 WORLDS | Custom maps. 📄 DOS4GW.EXE | DOS memory extender. 📄 INSTALL.SCR | Install script instructions text file. 📄 S2.EXE | Main game executable. 📄 S2EDIT.EXE | Map Editor executable. 📄 SETTLER2.EXE | English game launcher. 📄 SETTLER2.VMC | Virtual Memory Manager configuration text file. 📄 SETUP.EXE | Setup sound and music. 📄 SETUP.INI | Setup configuration file. 📄 SIEDLER2.EXE | German game launcher.
DATA directory
📁 ANIMDAT | Animation. 📁 BOBS | Carriers and workers. 📁 CBOB | Workers. 📁 IO | Fonts, graphics. 📁 MAPS | The Roman Campaign 📁 MAPS2 | World Campaign 📁 MAPS3 | Old Unlimited Play maps 📁 MAPS4 | New Unlimited Play maps 📁 MASKS | Masks 📁 MBOB | Buildings 📁 MISSIONS | Campaign mission scripts 📁 ONLINE | Game help strings 📁 SOUNDDAT | Sounds and music 📁 TEXTURES | Palette light table for light and shadow on textures 📁 TXT | Game strings 📁 TXT2 | Credits and keyboard strings 📁 TXT3 | Map Editor strings 📄 BOOT_Y.LST | - 📄 BOOT_Z.LST | - 📄 BOOTBOBS.LST | - 📄 CREDITS.LST | - 📄 EDITBOB.LST | - 📄 EDITRES.DAT | - 📄 EDITRES.IDX | - 📄 IO.LST | - 📄 MAP_0_Y.LST | - (Greenland) 📄 MAP_0_Z.LST | - (Greenland) 📄 MAP_1_Y.LST | - (Wasteland) 📄 MAP_1_Z.LST | - (Wasteland) 📄 MAP_2_Y.LST | - (Winter World) 📄 MAP_2_Z.LST | - (Winter World) 📄 MAP00.LST | - (Greenland) 📄 MAP01.LST | - (Wasteland) 📄 MAP02.LST | - (Winter World) 📄 MAPBOBS.LST | - 📄 MAPBOBS0.LST | - 📄 MAPBOBS1.LST | - 📄 MIS0BOBS.LST | Special graphics for a mission. 📄 MIS1BOBS.LST | Special graphics for a mission. 📄 MIS2BOBS.LST | Special graphics for a mission. 📄 MIS3BOBS.LST | Special graphics for a mission. 📄 MIS4BOBS.LST | Special graphics for a mission. 📄 MIS5BOBS.LST | Special graphics for a mission. 📄 REMAP.DAT | - 📄 RESOURCE.DAT | - 📄 RESOURCE.IDX | -
Graphics directories (GFX)
📁 DATA\TEXTURES ╙─📄 GOURAUD.DAT | Greenland light table (V0.15, V0.16) ╙─📄 GOURAUD0.DAT | Greenland light table (V1.00 to V1.02) ╙─📄 GOURAUD1.DAT | Wasteland light table (V1.00 to V1.02) ╙─📄 GOU5.DAT | Greenland light table (V1.51) ╙─📄 GOU6.DAT | Wasteland light table (V1.51) ╙─📄 GOU7.DAT | Winter World light table (V1.51) 📁 GFX\PALETTE ╙─📄 PAL5.BBM | Greenland palette (V1.51) ╙─📄 PAL6.BBM | Wasteland palette (V1.51) ╙─📄 PAL7.BBM | Winter World palette (V1.51) ╙─📄 PALETTI0.BBM | Greenland palette (V0.15 – V1.02) ╙─📄 PALETTI1.BBM | Wasteland palette (V0.15 – V1.02) ╙─📄 PALETTI8.BBM | Unknown use; replaces brown with greyscale, also differences in some other colors 📁 GFX\PICS ╙─📁 MISSION | World Campaign mission selection continents ╙─📄 *.LBM | Various background graphics ╙─📄 WORLD.LBM | World Campaign mission selection screen ╙─📄 WORLDMSK.LBM | World Campaign mission mask for determining selection 📁 GFX\PICS2 ╙─📄 CREDIT00.LBM | Credits background image 📁 GFX\TEXTURES ╙─📄 TEX5.LBM | Greenland texture set ╙─📄 TEX6.LBM | Wasteland texture set ╙─📄 TEX7.LBM | Winter World texture set ╙─📄 TEXTUR_0.LBM | Greenland texture (V0.15 – V1.02) ╙─📄 TEXTUR_3.LBM | Wasteland texture (V0.16 – V1.02)
- Most of the graphics are Amiga IFF (Interchange File Format) files, but use extensions LBM and BBM.
- The gouraud files are raw byte tables 256×256 pixels in size, but only use the top half for actual data.
- Colors used during gameplay always come from the palette files, so palette in main texture set is ignored.
Making changes to a palette will also require changing the gouraud table, otherwise the light and shadow colors will become corrupted. Blue Byte developers made late changes to the palette but forgot to update the gouraud table in V1.0 releases of the game so there is corrupt / glitchy colors visible with some of the colors in the game in some levels of shadow. The issue was fixed in V1.51 release.
SAVE directory
📄 DIR.DAT | Table of saved games (900 – 909) 📄 MISSION.DAT | Roman Campaign mission play status: text file with "1" for enabled, "0" for disabled 📄 MISSION2.DAT | World Campaign missions play status: binary file with 01 for enabled, 00 for disabled 📄 RES.DAT | Unknown use 📄 CNTRL800.DAT | Beta/demo map (control / metadata, later versions include the name of the loaded map) 📄 COMPY800.DAT | Beta/demo map (unknown / AI status?) 📄 CONTI800.DAT | Beta/demo map (table of regions: sizes and starting points of bodies of land and water) 📄 DESKT800.DAT | Beta/demo map (unknown) 📄 MAILS800.DAT | Beta/demo map (messages) 📄 TRANS800.DAT | Beta/demo map (transportation) 📄 WORLD800.DAT | Beta/demo map
Beta and demo versions of the game has one of their playable maps stored as a saved game with the number 800.
Normal savegame slots use numbers 900 to 909.