Mod-Tools
This is a list of all official and non-official mod tools and how we use them in our project.
.dat-Editor
.dat-Editor download source: http://www.petrolution.net/item-172
This is a simple application by RenEvo that gives you the ability to edit the .DAT files in Empire at War and FoC. The .DAT files hold all the text strings that show up ingame so this is quite important for anyone that wants to add any new units, buildings, abilities or ANYTHING to the game that requires ingame text.
String Editor
String Editor download source: http://modtools.petrolution.net/tools/StringEditor
The String Editor also offers the ability to edit the .DAT files in Empire at War and FoC however it's much more powerful and also offers:
- Versioning. All changes you have made to the document are remembered, allowing you to check what a string looked like several versions ago.
- Multiple languages. The editor maintains the values for all strings for all languages in a single document with easy access and comparison. This will benefit translators and prevent cluttering of the disk.
- Powerful copy, paste, import and export. You can copy and paste strings, even into and from applications such as Excel. Pasting and importing have set manipulation options such as union, difference and intersection allowing you to quickly and easily compare different .DAT files or clipboard fragments.
Meg Editor
Meg Editor download source: http://modtools.petrolution.net/tools/MegEditor
The Meg Editor can be used to open, extract, create and edit .meg files. Empire at War collects most of its files in a few .meg files to reduce overhead from opening many different files. Some AI related files are only recognized by the game when packed into .meg files.
Alo Viewer
Alo Viewer download source: http://modtools.petrolution.net/tools/AloViewer
The Alo Viewer is used to view models and animations in the alamo format.