OAW+revisited


 * //Submited by Mr Jelly//**

Understanding EAW and OAW.
In this document I am attempting to give a simplified picture of how these programs work, and how they inter-relate in general. I am not attempting to address the complexities.

When you do a full install of EAW, and patch it to whatever version you need (usually 1.2) you will end up with a folder named EAW or European Air War containing the eaw.exe and a number of other files and folders including some "*.cdf" files. If you then run the eaw.exe and fly a mission it will create some other files, in particular the "eaw.ini" file. This file contains your game settings, and you can change them when you select "Configure Game" and choose your preferences.
 * Part #1: An overview

Once these are set, you can use the program in any way that is possible with the basic set-up.

Obviously the standard EAW set-up has limited possibilities. However, the game is structured so that many more can be added. The key to most of them is the collection of "*.cdf" files. For example, if you choose a campaign or mission which involves a P47C and run EAW then at some stage the game will read and use a "P47C.FLT" file for that aircraft. You will not see that file in your EAW folder, because it is one of 30 files stored in the "flt.cdf" file. Note here that EAW is structured to have 30 aircraft slots,#00 to #29, and the P47C slot is slot #02. However, if you add a mod which has an individual "P47.FLT" file in it, and put this file in your EAW folder then when you run EAW it will use this file in preference to the one in the "flt.cdf" file. In this way Knegel has been able to offer a "P47C.FLT" file which has the flight characteristics of a Yak 7. If this were the only file loaded (i.e. added to your EAW folder), and you flew a P47C, it would look like a P47C, but it would have some of the flight characteristics of the Yak 7. It would not have them all because some other files affect flight characteristics, especially "planes.dat" which has data for all 30 aircraft slots. However, this example shows how mods work. Individual alternative files to those stored in the "*.cdf" packages are copied into the EAW folder, so the game uses them in preference to the originals in the "*.cdf" packages. There is a myriad of mods available, but this is how most of them work.
 * Part #2: How mods work


 * Part #3: Unmodding!**

If you delete the "P47C.FLT" file that you put in the EAW folder, then the next time EAW runs and the "P47C.FLT" file is needed by the game, then you will be back to the original P47C. The game will use the one in the "flt.cdf" file. The problem is that you have now erased this file from your system, and it cannot be used again, unless you get a new one and put it back. Obviously, with the massive numbers of files that can be added the problem escalates, and that is where file managers such as the OAWSelector come in.


 * Part #4: How OAW manages files**

The OAW system works on having an "OAW" folder inside your "EAW" folder. Inside the "OAW" folder there are a number of folders. For example, I have a folder named "T EuroWinter_1", which is a European winter terrain. If I select this file using the OAWSelector the selector reads all of the files inside the "T EuroWinter_1" folder, and puts a copy of each one into the EAW folder. If I now fly I get see the winter terrain. Then, if I de-select that folder, the OAWSelector reads the names of the files inside the ""T EuroWinter_1" folder, and deletes any files which have the same names from the EAW folder. In other words it deletes the copies that it made. This is essentially how the OAWSelector allows you to load your selections and unload them as required.You do not lose your original files as only copies are deleted when you unload a folder.


 * Part #5: OAW Autoscripts**

Inside your OAW folder there will be an "Autoscripts" folder. It basically contains text files which the selector can read, and let you load a large combination of files with one mouseclick. Furthermore, the user can save any combination that they have assembled as an autoscript, and load it again any time they want to. One of my Autoscripts is named "Pacific early islands.txt " and it reads as follows:

Q 3 Islands F 1(EAWrp2.6) O Gunsi_close U Euro_Default HR H PacificStormSky R Mia1 D (empty) i DAW T Russ_Summer_1 B Pacific_Pearl M 3 Islands L 3 Islands J 3 Islands V 3 Islands A-00-P38H(.)_1 A-01-P38J(.)_1 A-02-P47c(F4F)_1 A-03-p47D(TBF)_1 A-04-P51B(.)_1 A-05-P51D(F4U)_1 A-06-B17(.)_2 A-07-B24(.)_1 A-08-B26(B25)_1 A-09-Hurr(.)_2 A-10-Sp1(.)_2 A-11-Sp09(.5b)_1 A-12-Sp14(.09)_1 A-13-Typh(Haw75A)_3 A-14-Temp(P40)_1 A-15-Mossi(Blen)_1 A-16-109E(KI43)_1 A-17-109G(Ki61)_1 A-18-109K(KI44)_1 A-22-190A(A6M2)_1 A-23-190D(A6M5)_8 A-25-Ju88A(B5N2)_1 A-27-Ju87(D3A1)_1 P-00_38H(0) P-01_38J(0) P-02_47C(F4F-4) P-03_47D(TBF) P-04_51B(0) P-05_51D(F4U)_1 P-06_B17(0) P-07_B24(0) P-08_B26(B25) P-09_Hu(Hu1) P-10_Sp1(2) P-11_Sp9(5b) P-12_Sp14(IXHF) P-13_Tiffi(Haw75c) P-14_Temp(P40C) P-15_Mosq(Blenheim) P-16_109E(Ki43-II) P-17_109G(Ki61-Ib) P-18_109K(Ki44-IIb) P-22_190A(A6M2) P-23_190D(A6M5) P-25_J88A(B5N2) P-27_Ju87(D3A1)

If I select it then all of the files in the folders listed will be loaded and processed.


 * Part #6: Reset All!**

With a multitude of files loaded from folders, it would be time consuming to unload the folders in the Autoscript one at a time, and it would be easy to miss one. That is why the OAWSelector has a Reset All button. If you click it any file with a standard EAW file extender in your EAW folder will be deleted. There are many of these extenders, such as ".3dz", ".dat", ".flt" (like the P47C.FLT file), ".tpc", and ".ter". So, effectively the Reset All button deletes all of the files you have loaded in one mouseclick. That is why we recommend using it before you load a new autoscript.

With all of these mods your OAW folder and your HDD can get full. The OAW team came up with the "Gup" system, and provided this in OAWUnified. "Gup" is an abbreviation for "Ground Up", so the concept is to build a selection from the ground up. The Autoscript I listed above is a modification of a Gup, so it will serve as an example. In it you will see "T Russ_Summer_1". This is a terrain file set, and it can be listed and therefore loaded by the Gup. The only files in the "T Russ_Summer_1" folder are terrain files. It does not include other files such as "eaw.tm" which is a tilemap file or an "eaw16.hm" file which is a height map file of the tiles in the tilemap file. That way we can include the "T Russ_Summer_1" reference in other Gup files of different composition, but only provide the single copy of the "T Russ_Summer_1" folder in the OAWUnified download. This saves download time and disk space. However, if we had also included the "eaw.tm" and eaw16.hm" files for the European map in the "T Russ_Summer_1" folder then if you loaded it to get a Russian terrain to work with the Russian or Finnish map, then the "eaw.tm" and eaw16.hm" files from the "T Russ_Summer_1" folder would be loaded, and overwrite the "eaw.tm" and eaw16.hm" for the Finnish or Russian map. You would fly, and find you are back in the standard European theatre, not in Russia (or Finland) which you thought you had selected. That is why we encourage modders to produce their work in an additional format which fits the OAW folder structure, and so we can include it in future versions, or additions to the OAWUnified folder set.
 * Part #7: Special Autoscripts- "Gups"

Therefore, we are not encouraging other users to actually write the Gups. It is up to the OAW team to provide them, so that OAW users can use them.

These give you a convenient way to load Gups. Once again, it is up to the OAW team (and more expert users) to provide them, for others to use. The greatest benefit is that a magic number can be posted in online chat for others to copy. The OAWSelector loads it automatically. That way all players have an identical set-up which is needed for the online game. Otherwise a player may try to join and get error messages such as "Player X has different aircraft data", and as a result the host cannot launch the game until Player X leaves, and this causes much frustration for all involved.
 * Part #8: Magic Numbers!

For those curious, here is a magic number, and I will show you what it means:

27151610050900S

Online, the individual user's PC and not the host's sets the probability of AI types appearing. Player A and B could fly a co-op intercept in Spit 1as in 1940 and there is a slim chance that player A will see Ju88as escorted be 109Es, and player B will see He111s escorted by 110Cs! These probabilities are set in certain files. These first 8 digits (27151610) set the AI planes, and make the probabilities of them appearing as 100% (if they appear at all- you would not get enemy bombers in a sweep), by writing these "certain files" directly into each user's EAW folder. 27 means that if an axis AI bomber appears for escort or intercept it will be the one in slot 27 (the Ju 87 slot in stock EAW) 15 means that if an allied AI bomber appears it will be the one in slot 15 (Mosquito in stock EAW) similarly the 16 sets the AI Axis fighter to the Me109E slot, and the 10 sets the allied AI fighter to the Spit1a slot.

The next four digits (0509) refer to the Gup files, in this case the M05.gup and the P09.gup files, which will be read and loaded. M05 selects the "Islands close" combination, and the P09 selects the Pacific Late plane and skin set, which meant that the "27151610" actually set the Spit V, Blenheim, Ki-43III, and the D3A1as the AIs that we might encounter. I saved this magic number in my log and added the comment "Blue did this one and we had a great battle in Corsairs F4U-4".

The final "00S" first sets the KC setting to 0 so nothing is disabled in the eaw.ini file. These settings are on the first page of the OAW selector, and the hosts setting can be included in the magic number. The final "S" sets the terrain and skin set to summer, which is the default. If it were "W" then a winter skin and terrain set would be loaded, if available. "D" would load the desert skin and terrain set, again if it were available.


 * Conclusion:**

I hope this gives a basic overview of how OAW and EAW relate, and why we encourage modders to produce OAW compatible versions of their work. I have deliberately not addressed the more complex matters of how OAW handles careers, music, and the eaw.ini file, or the use of "ldr" files to modify data in the eaw.exe file itself. Hopefully, if you read it you will ralise that the OAW system is not some different version of EAW, and that that despite its name it is not specially for online gaming- two of the current "urban myths"! All that I hope is that the system will allow users to realise the full potential that EAW has to offer as a result of its structure based on those original "*.cdf" files, and the preferential loading of alternative versions.

Mr Jelly.