7th Legion

7th Legion

Scene Select:
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Type "Zaphod Beeblebrox" (case-sensitive) at the opening screen. Then click 
on one of the four corners of the Ouija board


All the vehicles you want:
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Submitted by: Radon
radon@myrealbox.com
radon@gamebox.net

Finding 7th Legion a bit heavy going? It doesn't have to be such hard work if
you use this sneaky cheat. Look at the missions.ini file in your data directory;
at the bottom of each mission profile you'll see a header called PVSTART.

This 44-digit number sets the amount of starting vehicles; each digit represents
the number of vehicles the different units will have at the beginning of the game.
We recommend you take care when editing this though Ð you could find that your map
will load and your army will explode; it could be something to do with the amount 
of machine gunners...

Here's a list of the numbers and the vehicle they correspond to:

1st digit: Ore carrier
2nd digit: Ore truck
3rd digit: Crusader
4th digit: Oppressor
5th digit: Crucifier
6th digit: APC
7th digit: Faith hammer
8th digit: Annihilator
9th digit: Purifier
17th digit: Mortar unit
18th digit: Priest
19th digit: Medic
20th digit: Slaven rider
34th digit: Inquisitor AC
35th digit: Revelator AC
37th digit: Nova AC
39th digit: Redeemer AC

The last digit is a mobile construction vehicle (MCV). We suggest you
experiment with the others, but here's an example:

PVStart3D00000000700000000000000000000000040000800002. 

This will give you seven Purifiers, eight Redeemers, four Inquisitors and 2 
MCVs. Not bad, eh?


-=- Contents -=-
  Intro
  Section 1: The MISSION.INI file
  Section 2: DEPEND.DAT
  Section 3: BUILD.DAT & VDEPEND.DAT
  Section 4: GAMETEXT.TXT
  Section 5: Credits
-=- Intro -=-

This is a description of the elements in certain files in the 7th Legion/Data
directory, namely "mission.ini", "depend.dat", "build.dat", "vdepend.dat" and
"gametext.txt". These files control much of the way the game is played, and by
editing them you can "bend the rules" so to speak. Some of this is a little 
technical, but not too bad.

Just an idea for all you
I-gotta-make-a-perfect-addon-all-the-time-and-I-know-how-to-do-it-too people: 
mission.ini is ideal for "mission packs", because all information is right there.
Just figure out what maps are what, fiddle with start positions a bit, and the 
briefing text is right there... You can even change the goals/etc., perfect 
editor's material.

Anyway, here is everything you never wanted to know about the data
files...

-=- Section 1: The MISSION.INI file -=-
I'll describe each line in order here...
[GMission 1]
  the mission number (goes from 1,2,3, etc. - duh!)
Map=0
  the map (corresponds to mapo.000, mapo.001, etc.)
Difficulty=2
  the difficulty, basically how hard it is to kill them and them to kill
you (0-10)

Terrain=0
  block set (i.e. tiles), 0=desert, 1=winter, 2=grassland

StartCash=150000
  how much cash everyone starts with

AIXtraCash=2000
  computer gets this much extra in the beginning

AICheatCount=5
  instantly build a couple tanks, etc., for defense

Brief1=Destroy them! Pulverize them!
Brief2=Turn them into floating pieces
Brief3=of scrap metal!
Brief4=But don't let it happen to you...
  the description of the mission that shows up (I modified this a bit:))

HowToWin=3  ;0=credits, 1=destroyv, 2=destroyb, [3]=destroyvb
  how you win... 0=getting credits, 1=destroying vehicles, 2=destroying
bases,
                 3=destroying everything, 4=repairing (??)

StartX1=84
StartY1=74
StartX2=84
StartY2=74
StartX3=84
StartY3=74
StartX4=84
StartY4=74
  4 start locations, randomly picks one - in most single player missions
  they are all the same

NumAIs=2
  number of computer players, or bases, from 1-3

TechLevel=1     ;power,mine,ref,barr - inf,mgun
  technology level, from 0-9. 0=power plants & barracks, 6=have
everything to robot
  hangar & first 3 robots, 9=mines, super lasers, build all robots,
everything, other
  numbers in between

PVStart=0000000000000004000000000000000000000000001
  see below

PAStart=0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
  see below

------------ PVStart specs --------------
This is what most people seem to be interested in... Hmm... Okay, both
PAStart and PVStart are the same, these are the specs...

There are 43 "bits" in the string, each with the number of each
vehicle to start out with. 0=none, 1=one, etc.--- duh.

I hope it's obvious you can't have more than 9 of each unit :).

I've listed what bit it is, shown what it would look like if you had
just one of those units, and to the right what the name is and
what type of vehicle it is.

"Bit 1"  (1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000) - Ore Carrier
"Bit 2"  (0100000000000000000000000000000000000000000) - Ore Truck
"Bit 3"  (0010000000000000000000000000000000000000000) - Crusader
(7th tank)
"Bit 4"  (0001000000000000000000000000000000000000000) - Oppressor
(Chosen tank)
"Bit 5"  (0000100000000000000000000000000000000000000) - Crucifier
(7th tank)
"Bit 6"  (0000010000000000000000000000000000000000000) - APC
(7th tank)
"Bit 7"  (0000001000000000000000000000000000000000000) - Faith Hammer
(7th tank)
"Bit 8"  (0000000100000000000000000000000000000000000) - Crucifier
(7th tank)
"Bit 9"  (0000000010000000000000000000000000000000000) - Annihilator
(Chosen tank)
"Bit 10" (0000000001000000000000000000000000000000000) - Purifier
(7th tank)
"Bit 11" (0000000000100000000000000000000000000000000) - blows up??
"Bit 12" (0000000000010000000000000000000000000000000) - blows up??
"Bit 13" (0000000000001000000000000000000000000000000) - blows up??
"Bit 14" (0000000000000100000000000000000000000000000) - blows up??
"Bit 15" (0000000000000010000000000000000000000000000) - Machine Gunner
(7th unit) *
"Bit 16" (0000000000000001000000000000000000000000000) - Machine Gunner
(7th unit) *
"Bit 17" (0000000000000000100000000000000000000000000) - Mortar Unit
(7th unit)
"Bit 18" (0000000000000000010000000000000000000000000) - Priest
(7th unit)
"Bit 19" (0000000000000000001000000000000000000000000) - Medic
(7th unit)
"Bit 20" (0000000000000000000100000000000000000000000) - Slaven Rider
(7th unit)
"Bit 21" (0000000000000000000010000000000000000000000) - Marine
(7th unit) **
"Bit 22" (0000000000000000000001000000000000000000000) - Commander
(7th unit)
"Bit 23" (0000000000000000000000100000000000000000000) - Air Transport
(air unit)
"Bit 24" (0000000000000000000000010000000000000000000) - Sparrow
(air unit)
"Bit 25" (0000000000000000000000001000000000000000000) - Eagle
(air unit)
"Bit 26" (0000000000000000000000000100000000000000000) - Hovercraft
(air unit)
"Bit 27" (0000000000000000000000000010000000000000000) - blows up??
"Bit 28" (0000000000000000000000000001000000000000000) - blows up??
"Bit 29" (0000000000000000000000000000100000000000000) - blows up??
"Bit 30" (0000000000000000000000000000010000000000000) - blows up??
"Bit 31" (0000000000000000000000000000001000000000000) - blows up??
"Bit 32" (0000000000000000000000000000000100000000000) - blows up??
"Bit 33" (0000000000000000000000000000000010000000000) - blows up??
"Bit 34" (0000000000000000000000000000000001000000000) - Inquisitor
(7th mech) ***
"Bit 35" (0000000000000000000000000000000000100000000) - Revelator
(7th mech)
"Bit 36" (0000000000000000000000000000000000010000000) - Light Mech
(7th mech) ***
"Bit 37" (0000000000000000000000000000000000001000000) - Nova
(7th mech)
"Bit 38" (0000000000000000000000000000000000000100000) - Pyroclast
(Chosen mech) $
"Bit 39" (0000000000000000000000000000000000000010000) - Redeemer
(7th mech)
"Bit 40" (0000000000000000000000000000000000000001000) - blows up??
"Bit 41" (0000000000000000000000000000000000000000100) - blows up??
"Bit 42" (0000000000000000000000000000000000000000010) - blows up??
"Bit 43" (0000000000000000000000000000000000000000001) - Base (aka
Mobile Construction Vehicle)

------------ Comments on start units -------------
[*] Both machine gunners are called "Machine Gunner" and look exactly alike,
but the second one has 3x much health or whatever.

[**] Maybe it's a bug, but the Marine is COMPLETELY INVISIBLE.
Right-click on some unit just standing there to see where he is, then mark him
so you'll be able to tell where he is. Maybe good for sneaking up on enemies?

[***] Both these mechs look exactly the same, I think the light mech has
less armor/power.

[$] The Pyroclast seems to crash the game when used to attack a base, but is fine
when attacking units. Another bug? Oh, and the Pyroclast looks very similar to 
the Spider.

One annoyance is that many of the units seem to "blow up" immediately
when the game starts. Perhaps they have a dependence on something else? Or maybe
I should buy the registered version :).

Another problem is that I can't move most of the air units... I can only
move Air Carrier, and it won't do anything anyway. Oh well.

If you have any info on some of the ones I can't figure out (because I can't get 
a look at them :)) please e-mail me (at bottom of file).


-------------- How to use the PVStart chart -----------------
All right... Let's use the first mission as a guide.
Here's the original version:

PVStart=0000000000000040000000000000000000000000001

If we look at our chart, we see this is:

"Bit 15" (0000000000000040000000000000000000000000000) - Machine Gunner
                            +
"Bit 43" (0000000000000000000000000000000000000000001) - Base

Or, 4 machine gunners and 1 base.

Let's spice things up. How about 4 Novas (gotta love those rapid-fire
missiles), 3 Faith
Hammers (best tanks around in my opinion) and 2 Pyroclasts (for good
measure). And let's
throw in 8 Slaven Riders. Add up the bit fields:

"Bit 7"  (0000003000000000000000000000000000000000000) - Faith Hammer
"Bit 20" (0000000000000000000800000000000000000000000) - Slaven Rider
"Bit 37" (0000000000000000000000000000000000004000000) - Nova
"Bit 38" (0000000000000000000000000000000000000200000) - Pyroclast
"Bit 43" (0000000000000000000000000000000000000000001) - Base

so PVStart=0000003000000000000800000000000000004200001

Don't forget that base, you won't last long without it :).

--------- MMission -----------
You can also edit the MMission parts, which are the multiplayer missions, but
I would not recommend it. Not having played online I don't know exactly how this
works, but my guess is that if you edit these and join a game where it is still
in original form, things will not go well with you...

If you are the server, it may or may not work... Like I said, I don't know how 7th 
Legion deals with this.

---------- BMission -----------
Don't forget BMission! This is EXACTLY the same as GMission, except GMission=7th 
Legion missions and BMission=Chosen missions. Got it? G=Good, B=Bad :-).

-=- Section 2: DEPEND.DAT -=-

This gets a little more complex, or at least cryptic... But not to hard to figure
out once you get used to it...

Just read the first line:
  bt_base=bt_power
Means:

  "To build a power plant, you need a base"
Look a little lower where it says:
  bt_power=bt_mine,bt_refinery,bt_barracks,bt_wall

Means:
  "To build a mine, refinery, barracks, or wall, you need a power plant"

What use is this file? Well, if you want (or need :)) to get some of these things
sooner, try changing the first line to:

  bt_base=bt_power,bt_robot

Now you can build a robot hangar without spending 11500 credits to build a barracks
vehicle factory!

Here is a list of the names and their equivalents:
--------------------------------------------------
bt_base     - duh
bt_power    - Power Plant
bt_mine     - Mine (duh again)
bt_refinery - Refinery
bt_barracks - Barracks
bt_wall     - Wall
bt_radar    - Radar thingy
bt_tank     - Vehicle Factory
bt_gun      - Defense Gun
bt_hospital - Hospital
bt_randd    - High Tech Lab (I assume randd = research & development)
bt_repair   - Repair Bay
bt_robot    - Robot Hangar
bt_bmine    - Big Mine :)
bt_supergun - um... "Super Gun" (laser gun)
bt_naval    - Naval thingy
bt_air      - Air thingy
bt_power2   - More power plant
bt_advcomms - Advanced Communications
bt_chem     - Chemical plant
bt_silo     - Silo
bt_shield   - Shield thingy
bt_pad      - Pad thingy


NOTE: Unfortunately I don't have the registered version yet, so maybe someone could
fill me in as to what some of the names are... I'm just guessing on those last few.

-=- Section 3: BUILD.DAT & VDEPEND.DAT-=-
Now this is REALLY interesting... Take a look at the 5th line:

  bt_robot=vt_mech1,vt_mech1c,vt_lmech,vt_mmech,vt_spmech,vt_amech

Hmmm... So you need a Robot Hangar to make these mechs, eh? Well, let's try adding
something.. After the second line, stick this in:

  bt_barracks=vt_mech1,vt_mech1c,vt_lmech,vt_mmech,vt_spmech,vt_amech

Now, we SHOULD be able to build some robots with barracks... Let's try...


DANG IT! IT DOESN'T WORK! Well, I'll tell you why. It's in the VDEPEND.DAT file.
Let's take a look at line 5:

  bt_robot=vt_mech1,vt_mech1c,vt_lmech,vt_mmech,vt_spmech,vt_amech

What the heck?!? It looks like just like BUILD.DAT! Well, I'll tell you what's going
on. You see, just like DEPEND lists dependencies on structures, VDEPEND lists 
dependecies on units (or "vehicles", hence the V). So, BUILD tells us we can build 
a robot with a barracks, but NOT UNTIL we have built a robot hangar...

So, let's try something... Add the line we made earlier

  bt_barracks=vt_mech1,vt_mech1c,vt_lmech,vt_mmech,vt_spmech,vt_amech

into the VDEPEND.DAT file.
YES! It works! The moral of this story is, always make changes in BOTH vdepend.dat,
build.dat.

Another (easier) way is to change every line in VDEPEND.DAT by changing whatever
is on the left (bt_robot in our example) to bt_base. That way the only restrictions
are in BUILD.BAT. You'll also notice you can build a whole lot more with a barracks
than you thought... :).

You can get the list of bt_ things from above, but I'm not sure about the vt_items.
Some of them are obvious (vt_medic), others you can guess (vt_bazooka might be mortar
guy?), but others are completely arbitrary (vt_mech1c?!?). I suppose just copy whole 
lines, it doesn't matter much, just experiment. Do some of the work yourself :).

-=- Section 4: GAMETEXT.TXT -=-

This is not really useful, but it's funny... This file has all the text messages 
used in the game, including the menus...

If you have a file called JIVTEXT.TXT, copy it over GAMETEXT.TXT (after making a 
copy, of course). Now all of the menus and text should be "Jive talk" - Try it out.

Aside: All you C programmers out there should recognize the text as printf() format,
this would be an easy way to crash the game (changing a %s to %d). Not that it 
doesn't crash enough already.

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