arcanum.dat question

Ok this is going to be sort of hard to understand, so please bear with me.

A couple of days ago, I looked at a thread that showed how to edit the main arcanum module. I followed the instructions and everything worked out fine, I used undat on arcanum1,2,3,4 and arcanumpatch0.dat and arcanum.dat, and was able to open the module on worlded. Then, yesterday, I decided to re-install arcanum, but I made a backup copy of the one with everything un-datted.

With this new installation directory, arcanum 1,2,3,4 and arcanumpatch0 un-datted just fine, but the arcanum.dat is not working. I re-installed twice and it still won't work. This brings me to my question:

Can I use the folder from my backup copy of the un-datted arcanum.dat on this new directory? Like moving my folder of arcanum.dat's files to the newly installed folder. Will it work the same way as if i had un-datted it from the arcanum.dat that is installed?

Thanks for any help.

 

It should work.
You may notice it takes a little longer for the game to load, but it won't be too bad. 1 - 2 minutes depending upon your CPU speed.

I'm using a similar process to build my hack and the problems have been minimal.

 

ok i did it, and it working fine. Thanks

i have another question though:

i've been going through some old topics in the forum, and it seems worlded 1070 is a lot more famous than the newer one, 1074. anyone care to explain why? i didn't really understand what people meant about compiling and whatever. I'm asking because I'm currently using 1074 and haven't really encountered any huge problems yet. What benefits does the older one have?

 

The 1070 WorldEd works with unpacked DATs, while the 1074 works with the packed ones.

The main advantage of the old one is time savings. You only need to unpack a DAT once or create a folder to begin your project to use it as many times as you want without waiting for the unpacking. This is best if you're doing a big project rather than an occasional scene tweak.

And, as I understand the term, compiling in WorldEd means to compress the module. Create a DAT.

 

Ah ok, thanks

 

Last question - i promise

i now have these files in my "modules" folder:

Vormantown.dat (dat file)
Arcanum.PATCH0 (folder)
Arcanumpatch0.dat (dat file)
Arcanum.dat (dat file, original one)
xArcanum.dat (dat file, created by worlded, i think)
Arcanum (folder, this one is the one that contains all the undatted files)
xArcanum (folder, this one is the original one with only maps, movies, save, sound, inside it.)

When i open my worlded to edit the main module it gives me 3 options:
Arcanum.PATCH0
Arcanumpatch0
xArcanum

i open xArcanum, and it gives me all the arcanum maps and whatever. i open the first one (Arcanum 1-024-fixed) and put some clothes in the starting area. I just wanna test if it works. I save, it creates a database, and i exit. I fire up arcanum and get this problem:

The modules I can choose from are Arcanum, Vormantown, xArcanum, and Arcanumpatch0

When I choose Arcanum, it opens the normal unmodded arcanum (without the 2 intro movies working, for some reason :S)
When i open xArcanum, the 2 intro movies work, but then it just goes to a map with only water in it, and my character in the middle (he can't move)

Anyone know what the problem is?

 

Honestly, I don't.

Unless.... You changed the start location from the Crash Site to open water. I'll admit this is an extremely remote long-shot.

I've never encountered your problem before so I'm just kind of groping in the dark here.

Try this: Using WorldEd, go to the Crash Site and in the center of the green script-tiles, right-click and then click "set as start location". Save and try the game again.

 

Heh, it actually worked. Must've changed the start location by mistake.
Thank you, rroyo

 

You're welcome.

damn..... It worked.....

 

That's what I said

I have another problem though Well, it not really a PROBLEM per se

Just a question...

To load arcanum onto my worlded it takes around an hour :/ if i use worlded 1070 will it also go through the process of unloading the dat, or will it be faster?

 

With the 1070 WorldEd you'll need to unpack the DAT using one of the undat tools in the download section, and that'll take almost an hour, but it's a one-time deal.

After that, the 1070 loads the module in two minutes on a 1.6 ghz computer. And when you're finished with all the changes or creations, it'll compress the folder into a nice, neat DAT for you - when you tell it to.