------------------------------------------------------------------------------- XcomUtil 9.60 for XCOM/UFO and TFTD by Scott T Jones, Scott@ScottTJones.com This program modifies saved game files or program files for X-COM: UFO Defense (versions 1.0, 1.4, a Spanish version, and three version XCOM for Windows, from the XCOM Collector's Edition, the Classic Games Collections from PC Gamer and Computer Gaming World, and the version from abandonia.com), UFO: Enemy Unknown (the European release of XCOM, versions 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, and 1.2a), and XCOM: Terror from the Deep (versions 1.0, 2.0, the Italian version, the unnumbered Beta release, and two versions of TFTD for Windows, from the XCOM Collector's Edition and another unknown source), all by MicroProse. It also supports Hybrid games when you have both XCOM and TFTD installed on your system (see the Hybrid Games section). Use this program at your own risk, only after making backups of the directories containing the files it modifies. I am not liable for any damages this program may cause. You may freely distribute this ZIP file only if it is not modified and no money is charged for distribution. However, to ensure that the latest version of the program is distributed, please link to my web page instead of providing your own copy for download. Please report any bugs that you find on the XcomUtil subforum at XcomUfo.com, in the comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic or alt.games.x-com newsgroups, or send them directly to me at Scott@ScottTJones.com. The latest version is always available from my XcomUtil Homepage at: http://XcomUtil.ScottTJones.com A history of fixes and improvements is listed at the end of this file, as well as a section on known bugs. Fixes and enhancements will be provided as my free time permits. Since I make no money from this program, I only add those functions that I personally want to use or would have fun implementing. Suggestions are welcome, but I reserve the right to ignore them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Quick Start: The simplest way to use XcomUtil is to unzip the files into your XCOM or TFTD directory, execute XCUSETUP to finish the installation and prompt you for the most popular options, then follow the directions given by XCUSETUP to run the game. You can run XCUSETUP any time you want to change any of the options you selected. See the XCUSETUP section for detailed information about each question you are asked. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Overview: There are many XCOM editors which people use to make XCOM easier. Those are fine for novice XCOM players. However, after playing several games at the superhuman difficulty level, anyone would get bored. After playing TFTD at the superhuman level, I have discovered that something was needed to make it less impossible to play and less predictable. This program is intended to make both XCOM and TFTD interesting again, even challenging, but without making them impossible to win. This program is the result of my work decoding data in the XCOM and TFTD executable and data files. The only code I have ever disassembled is the few lines of code around the references to the IGLOB.DAT file, so that I could fix the Difficulty bug in XCOM and UFO, and the lines of the glue code used to merge GEOSCAPE and TACTICAL to produce the Windows versions. It is not my intention to steal algorithms, but rather to enhance the game. My thanks go to the authors of the base and weapon editors that allowed me to set files to the unique states that allowed me to easily understand the file layouts and implement some of my flags. XcomUtil is a command line utility, not an interactive editor. It was intentionally written that way to allow you to modify saved games in a generic way without learning everything about them and ruining the surprises. It also allows you to define your own .BAT files to automatically apply the changes you want. Use of XcomUtil usually requires that you save your game, exit the game, run XcomUtil, then reload your modified game. However, beginning with XcomUtil 5.0, you can execute XcomUtil between the phases of game by using XCUSETUP and RUNXCOM. By using these batch files, the game can be greatly enhanced by the addition of new ships and new terrains. These new ships and modifications of the old ships are always enabled. If you feel that they should not be used, just don't use them. Beginning with XcomUtil 9.0, you can also invoke the AutoCombat feature by saving your combat as the 10th saved game with the name AutoCombat. This tells XcomUtil to fight the battle for you and can be used to save you the tedium of fighting battles that are just too easy or as a way to play an entirely combatless game. See the AutoCombat section for more details. XCOMUTIL.EXE and its install file, XCUSETUP.BAT, try to make backup copies of all of the files it modifies that are not part of a saved game. These backup files all have the extension .XCU. Most, but not all, of the changes made to files by XcomUtil are reversible. However, you can undo almost everything by copying .XCU files back to their originals. Beginning with version 7.2, the XCUSETUP file has been enhanced so that you rarely have to actually run XcomUtil directly. All of the prompts have default values, so that the average user should be able to simply press the Enter key throughout XCUSETUP to enable the recommended features. XCUSETUP can safely be run at any time to change your selections. The rest of this section address the running of XcomUtil directly. The best time to make changes to the saved game files depends on the flags you are specifying. Refer to the chart that appears later in this document. Since backups are NOT made of any saved game files, you should save your game twice, using two different saved game numbers, to make a backup copy of your saved game before running XcomUtil against one of them. You can then reload the first saved game with the modified files to fight your enhanced battle. When you are done, you can reload your game from the second saved game. This is very important if you are switching sides with the aliens. In that case, success will mean the elimination of many of your men, possibly including the loss of a ship or even a base. It is best to run XcomUtil from the main directory of XCOM or TFTD, the one containing UFOEXE and the GAME_1 thru GAME_10 directories, but it can be run from anywhere if you do not mind typing long paths. The XCOMUTIL.CFG file MUST be found in the current directory, if it is to be used. The syntax of XcomUtil is as follows: XCOMUTIL path [flags] [WRT] The path to the directory containing the files to be modified is required. If it is not specified, or if the expected files are not found, a single screen of help will be displayed. The level of XCOM: UFO Defense, UFO: Enemy Unknown, or XCOM: Terror from the Deep will be determined automatically. NOTE: The WRT flag MUST be coded if you want any changes to actually be made. This is a safety feature that allows you to preview the results of using XcomUtil. Many people have forgotten to use the WRT flag and have erroneously reported that XcomUtil does not work. All operations on the files are controlled by the flags, all of which optionally begin with a slash and may be coded in any mixture of upper and lower case. Any number of flags may be coded in any order. If no flags are specified, only general information is displayed. Flags which modify GEOSCAPE.EXE or TACTICAL.EXE are permanent changes which effect all future combats. The path required for these flags is probably UFOEXE, so that the XCOM or TFTD version can be determined. The remaining flags only effect the saved game files in the directory you select. The paths required for these flags are probably GAME_1 through GAME_10. Only objects which are carried by aliens or which are on the ground will be changed by this program. Remember that the primary intent of this program is to make the game more difficult. If you want to improve your own equipment, use a different editor or utility. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Hard Disk vs CDRom: For all of the features of XcomUtil to work, you need to install your game completely to your hard disk from your CD. For TFTD, this is as easy as switching to the HARDDISK directory on your CD and entering INSTALL. For the original XCOM CD, you need to execute the following steps from the DOS command line: XCOPY x:*.* y:\XCOM /S INSTALL y:\XCOM CDSETUP y: where x: is your CD and y: is the drive on which you wish to install XCOM. When this is done, XcomUtil can be installed by unzipping XCOMUTnn.ZIP into your XCOM directory and running XCUSETUP. Now you can run XCOM/UFO or TFTD by entering RUNXCOM. If you bought XCOM and TFTD in the Conquer the Universe package from MicroProse, you should have no problems, since they only install to your hard disk. If you have trouble running XCOM or TFTD under Win95 with sound, you should try selecting Restart in MS-DOS Mode from the Shutdown menu. When you do this, you may have to load a mouse driver from another source. I got mine from the diskette that came with one of my replacement mice. If you still have trouble, make a backup copy of AUTOEXEC.BAT, then edit the file to remove the lines marked as "Created by Windows. Do not modify them." By removing these lines, I was able to get even XCOM 1.0 to run in MS-DOS mode. After doing this, Win95 will st...
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