DragonWars/gs Mapping Patch


Subject: New DragonWars GS patch
Date: 27 Mar 2000 23:46:48 GMT
From: ludowick@aol.com (Ludowick)
Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2



I found a new way to patch a DragonWars GS saved game.  It allows you 
to map all the areas in the game, except the one your party is 
currently in, (so save the game in an area you've already mapped 
completely, where you don't think there are any areas you've missed).

1.  Save your game and quit DragonWars GS (I haven't got a patch for
the 8-bit version).

2. Get your trusty file zapper, and load in or follow the saved game
file from step one.

3. Go to block $07 (I started counting at block $00).

4. Starting at byte $150 (started counting with $00 again), in block $07,
write "$FF" bytes in every byte position until the end of block $0A.

5. Save the changes and quit your zapper.  

6. Start up DWGS, load in your modified saved game file and presto!
Well, not quite presto.  The area your party's in won't be changed by
this patch, but _everywhere_ else in Dilmun has been mapped. Check your
automap once you get out of wherever your party is.

Using this method, I've spotted two islands in the eastern part of Dilmun
that I've never gotten to.  They have no buildings on them and are rather
small. Has anyone gotten to them?  You can spot them from the south coast
of Freeport (but the Golden Boots don't get to them; neither does swimming).

-----


Subject: Warning and more info about DragonWarsGS patches

DANGER!  DANGER!

The patch that I posted about the DragonWarsGS saved game patch should 
_only_ be used if your party has seven members!  DragonwarsGS saved game 
files are written as sparse files, and if your party has never had 7 
members, the location I gave will be incorrect (it appears if you dismiss
a character, the block is not freed up; so parties that had 7 members and
then dismissed one or more may be able to use the previous post's 
technique).  

The Deliverance block editor appears to use the disk's block $00 as place
holder for sparse blocks (a dangerous practice), and was how I goofed with
my original post.

The correct block to start to edit is the first block after the last 
character in your party. You should be able to recognize this block if you
get the patching info on how to edit your characters that is available in
several places online. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have
caused.

To recap:  Go to the block after your last character block in your saved
game file, and starting at byte $150, write $FF bytes until the end of 
this block. Fill the following three blocks with $FF bytes as well.
This will map every area in the Dragonwars map _except_ the area your 
party was in when you saved the game.

Another patch I've found is also in the block after your last character's
block. The first byte of this block is the number of squares from the 
bottom of the map of the area your party was in when you saved the game.
The second byte in this block is the number of squares from the left edge
of the map of the area your party was also in when you saved the game.
If these bytes are $0A 09 then your party is in the 10th row above the
bottom of the map, and 9 rows from the west edge.

Warning:  if you use this patch, don't put your party onto a water square,
or you will get stuck and have to reset. Only patch your party onto land
squares.  I haven't tried a wall square yet.

-------------


Subject: Final problem with DragonwarsGS patch fixed


Okay, one last bug in the patch info I provided.

The DragonwarsGS saved game files are written as sparse files not only if
you have fewer than 7 party members, but also if you haven't been to all 
of the areas of Dilmun.  Once your party has visited a couple of sites on 
each major island (just pop in and pop back out again), you'll be able to 
safely use the patch.  Otherwise the sparse blocks won't show up in your 
block editor. 

I find the safest editor to use is the "Zap" editor from ProSel-16 as it
skips over sparse blocks yet preserves the relative block numbering.
The only bad thing about "Zap" for me is that it counts the first block 
as "1" instead of "0".

Again, I apologize for any incovenience.  This is the _last_ bug in the
procedure.

Final Recap:

1. Don't edit the saved game file unless your party has seven members in it.

2. Use ProSel-16's "Zap" editor.

3. The blocks to edit are numbered by "Zap" as 8 through 11.  If your party
hasn't been to enough places, some of these blocks will be sparse.

4. The first two bytes of block 8 are the horizontal and vertical offsets of
your parties position in the map area they are currently in.  Don't zap 
them onto water squares.

5. Starting at byte $150 in block 8, and ending with the last byte in 
block 11, write $FF bytes in each position to map all areas of Dilmun.
This won't affect the area your party was in when you saved the game.
You can, however, go somewhere else, save your game and repeat the 
procedure; then the original area will be completely automapped for you.


Ludowick