.PATCH0 Woes

I'm too lazy to re-phrase all of this so here is a copy of the e-mail I sent out to Sinbad, Chris and Asrudin (don't know if any of the e-mails are still active).

"I've been tearing my hair out for a few days trying to figure out why Arcanum is ignoring my .PATCHX and .DAT files.
I made them using Troika's original DAT utility in XP.
I go to "Run" and use this kind of instruction:
C:\SIERRA\Arcanum2\modules\test\test2\test5\dbmaker -r arcanum.patch0 C:\SIERRA\Arcanum2\modules\test\test2\test5\originalpatch\*.*
So I am telling it to compress everything in the folder "originalpatch" into a patch file called "arcanum.patch0".
It produces the file but when I drop it in the module folder and start a new game, nothing changes.
The same thing happens when I call the files Arcanum5.DAT and drop it in the main folder.
However when I used DJ Unique DAT utility to create Arcanum5.DAT (using the exact same files) the game did change.
My problem is that when I put an updated version of WMap_Rnd.mes in the .DAT file the game does not seem to acknowledge it.
I assume that a PATCH file supercedes a DAT file
e.g. Arcanum1.DAT is read first then 2.DAT, etc
Then Arcanum.PATCH0, .PATCH1, etc.
So the data in PATCH0 would overwrite my changes in Arcanum5.DAT.
I deleted the PATCH files but still the random encounters in the game had not changed. So I assume my WMap_Rnd.mes in Arcanum5.DAT is being ignored.
I noticed that Troika put their updated WMap_Rnd.mes in a PATCH rather than a DAT so I assume some property of the WMap_Rnd requires it to be in a PATCH rather than a DAT.
DJ Unique's utility does not support PATCH creation and Troika's DAT utility seems to be producing corrupt files (perhaps because it is windows in XP?). So I'm a bit stuck.

Do you know of any solution?
What DAT utility did you use to create your PATCH files?
Am I using the Troika DAT utility incorrectly?

There is a file in the Troika PATCH and in your patch called "map.patch" which I cannot undat. What does this file contain? How did you create it?

Any answers will be greatly appreciated."



Additional:
It seems that the game reads data in this order:
Arcanum1.DAT, Arcanum2.DAT, etc
Arcanum.DAT
Arcanum.PATCH0, Arcanum.PATCH1, etc

The WMap_Rnd.mes file is in Arcanum.DAT so to replace that file I must place my file in a file that is read "later" i.e. a .PATCH file.
The only piece of software I know of that can make .PATCH files is dbmaker and all I can get it to make is files that the game refuses to read.

Am I using dbmaker with the wrong commands?
Is it XP?
(I've tried using DOSBox and it tells me that dbmaker is not a DOS program).
Help me!
If I can't get this to work then lots of content I've spent months working on will be missing from my hack.
(The alternative is that I have to incorporate them into Arcanum.DAT which means a 300Mb download).

EDIT: There is definitely something not right with dbmaker (or the way I am using it). I just undatted and then immediately redatted Arcanum4.DAT using dbmaker. It started as 438kb and finished as 440kb.
It was set at maximum compression.

 

So far - and I've just really gotten started - I've had no trouble creating patch files using DJ Unique DAT utility. When you are ready to pack everything, just rename the folder to say, 1Arcanum (no extention), compress the data, then rename the new dat to Arcanum.patch1. Drop it into a new game and go.

So far, I haven't had a bit of problems, but then, what I've done isn't as complex as yours - yet.

 

I've discovered the reason why the file is slightly larger.
The main folder is being datted along with the subfolders. My DOS knowledge is limited to navigating and formatting so I don't know what symbols I should be using to get around this.

e.g.
In a folder called "working" I put my "rules" and "mes" folders.
"Rules" and "mes" contain files I want to compress. So basically I want to compress everything that is in the "working" folder but I do NOT want to compress the "working" folder itself.

I am using this command:
c:\folder1\dbmaker.exe -r Arcanum5.DAT c:\folder1\working\*.*

However the result is that I get a file called Arcanum5.DAT which contains the "working" folder and everything in it.
How do I compress the contents of "working" without actually including the main folder?



Also, the files have a built in location.
e.g.
I compress a file in a directory called c:\folder1\working.
I then move the compressed file to a completely different directory called c:\banana\grapefruit
If I then undat the compressed file which is sitting in the "grapefruit" folder the contents automatically go back to the folder they were compressed in, the "working" folder.
The Troika .DAT files stay wherever you put them so why don't mine?
I must just be using the wrong commands but I can't think what else to put.

 

Update:

I've discovered that by putting dbmaker.exe in the folder that I want to compress it gets around my 2 earlier problems i.e. the main unwanted folder is not included and the files do not have a built in location.

The problem I have now however is that since dbmaker is in the folder being compressed, it compresses itself into the DAT!
So if I then undat my new DAT it contains dbmaker. This is not a big deal as the DATs I have made using this method seem to work. However it is really bugging me because earlier mods don't seem to have had this problem. If you undat Chris and Sinbad's mods they don't contain dbmaker. So I'm still very curious how they managed to do it.

Also, there is a file called map.patch which is inside the Arcanum.PATCH0 file. I cannot undat map.patch and I need/want to make use it for my mod. Once again, Sinbad and Chris have used a map.patch so I know it can be done. I just don't know how to do it.

(If you are reading this in 3 years time, post an answer anyway. I mean it!)

 

I believe, from what I remember, map.patch is simply an editable notepad file to maintain the actual map. I once made a test addon that added a 6 by 2 tile map with using this and some other files. I wish i could be more clear, but I can't. Don't have the files nor tools installed for many years and not intending on doing so either. Sorry for that. But try opening it with notepad to see what it is. Because if I am not mistaken it had something to do with coordinates or some sort and wasn't a datted file.

(Not gravedug, posting on posters command, hasn't even been 3 years yet!)

About the dbmaker.exe program, put it in a system folder, like windows\system32 or so, that way you can execute the command from any directory of your choice. Are just use the wildcards properly for in and output, but both methods should work.