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[Jagged Alliance Deadly Games: campaigns | custom scenarios |
(made by others)-- file lists]

Soldiers at War-- modify it!

Download this page (.rtf document) for reference: modify.zip

When I first played Soldiers at War, I was surprised to find that
there were no custom editing programs or cheats to modify
the basic aspects to the game. I concluded that the game was
so unpopular that no one had ever tried to make special programs
for it. (After all, most other games have at least one cheat program!)

However, I realize now that all that you need to change many of the
basic aspects of the game is a simple text editor (such as Notepad)!
Yes, that's right! Most of the data files are in plain-text format!
No special programs are needed, nor do you need to look up hex/binary
addresses, thankfully.

Therefore, even a non-programmer can modify many things.
Take a look in your \ Soldiers at War \ Data \ folder . You'll find some
interesting files here, including the following:
  1. Credits.dat (list of credits)
  2. platoon.dat (your platoon)
  3. equip.def (equipment and ammo properties)
  4. stats.txt (assign stats for each rank)
  5. Administ.dat (change amount of mission points needed for promotion)
Change each file from read-only to regular status before trying to
edit it (right click on the file, select Properties, and uncheck
the Read Only box):

  1. Credits.dat

  2. Yes, you can list your name in the credits, if you really want to,
    as well as the portrait number assigned to your name! Play around
    with this! Invent some fascinating job titles! (]:-)

  3. platoon.dat

  4. You can change many aspects of your platoon, including rank, encumberance,
    name and portrait of each soldier, as well as assigning each soldier some
    equipment! This one is the most fun to change:

    • changing ranks (RANK):


    • Simply type the following exactly (including underlines) after RANK:

      Captain
      1st_Lieutenant
      2nd_Lieutenant
      Master_Sgt
      1st_Sgt
      Staff_Sgt
      Sergeant
      Corporal
      Private

    • encumberance (ENC):


    • After ENC:, type any number. 30 is the theoretical maximum, but you
      can go above this (I've reached 54 successfully)! I always felt that
      the soldiers should be able to carry more than the defaults.
      Anything above 44-46 is probably pointless, as you'll fill up all
      of your equipment slots first before reaching your encumberance
      weight limit.

      After playing around with this, encumberance values higher than 30
      only seem to work for individual campaigns. When a soldier is promoted
      in a campaign, you get a mesh error message and your encumberance
      drops to a maximum of 30. (]:-(

      The only way to get around this would be to make all of your soldiers
      Captains (so that they won't get promoted and won't have their
      encumberance ratings changed automatically). I guess that many
      of you could live with that!

    • portrait:


    • This is simply a number. It follows the exact order of the faces
      shown in the scenario editor. Click through the types of faces and
      count, beginning with 1 (Nick Tyson).

    • primary and secondary training:


    • type these exactly in PRIMARY: and SECONDARY:

      Semi/Automatic (semi-automatic and light automatic weapons)
      SubmachineGun (submachine guns)
      BoltAction (single-shot bolt action rifles only)
      Pistol
      MachineGun (heavy machine guns only)
      Explosive (includes bazookas and flame-throwers)

      If you're not sure about the classification of a weapon, just open up
      "equip.def" and look at the weapons class (WC) for any weapon:

      WC=1 (pistol)
      WC=2 (submachine gun)
      WC=3 (bolt-action rifle)
      WC=4 (semi-automatic rifle)
      WC=5 (heavy machine gun)
      WC=6 (explosive)

    • medic status (MEDIC):


    • to make any soldier a medic (obviously, you'll have a higher medical
      rating!), change the value from zero (0) to one (1).

    • assigning equipment:


    • Yes, you can pre-equip any of your soldiers with your favorite tools!
      This is perhaps the most difficult thing to edit: if you make a mistake
      with the placement of any item, the game will not work!! Please make
      backup copies of platoon.dat before giving any soldier his equipment!

      Be particularly careful of the MESH placement, as well as the X and Y
      coordinates of each. X controls horizontal placement (left=0 to right)
      and Y controls the vertical placement (from top=0 to bottom)

      Please view the diagram below for the exact MESH numbers:

      mesh values in Soldiers at War

      mesh 0 = left arm (2 x 6)
      mesh 1 = backpack (4 x 2)
      mesh 2 = right arm (2 x 5)
      mesh 3 through 6 = pockets (1 x 1)
      mesh 7 = pistol belt (4 x 1)

      Here is how Nick Tyson's platoon.dat file would look for the above
      example, if you wanted to pre-equip him as shown:

      NAME:Nick Tyson
      NICKNAME:
      NATIONALITY: American
      RANK: Captain
      ENC: 36
      PRIMARY: Semi/Automatic SECONDARY: SubmachineGun
      MEDIC: 1
      SPRITE: American1
      PORTRAIT: 1
      MESH: 0 X: 0 Y: 0 EQUIPMENT: 21 ##M1E7
      MESH: 3 X: 0 Y: 0 EQUIPMENT: 75 ##30'06 Springfield (8)
      MESH: 4 X: 0 Y: 0 EQUIPMENT: 75 ##30'06 Springfield (8)
      MESH: 5 X: 0 Y: 0 EQUIPMENT: 75 ##30'06 Springfield (8)
      MESH: 6 X: 0 Y: 0 EQUIPMENT: 37 ##M2
      MESH: 1 X: 0 Y: 0 EQUIPMENT: 49 ##Med Kit
      MESH: 1 X: 1 Y: 0 EQUIPMENT: 49 ##Med Kit
      MESH: 1 X: 2 Y: 0 EQUIPMENT: 49 ##Med Kit
      MESH: 1 X: 3 Y: 0 EQUIPMENT: 49 ##Med Kit
      MESH: 1 X: 0 Y: 1 EQUIPMENT: 49 ##Med Kit
      MESH: 1 X: 1 Y: 1 EQUIPMENT: 49 ##Med Kit
      MESH: 1 X: 2 Y: 1 EQUIPMENT: 49 ##Med Kit
      MESH: 1 X: 3 Y: 1 EQUIPMENT: 49 ##Med Kit
      END
      
      (Please look at other soldiers in the platoon.dat file
      for more ideas on placement and types of equipment.)

      Here is a full list of equipment numbers:
      
      #######################################
      #          EQUIPMENT NUMBERS          #
      #######################################
      
      Weapons:
      
      00:		Colt M1911A1
      01:		OSS M1942
      02:		Glisenti M10
      03:		Walther PP
      04:		Mauser HSc
      05:		P-08 Luger
      06:		Walther P38
      07:		ThompsonM1928A1
      08:		ThompsonM1A1
      09:		M3A1
      10:		MAB 38A
      11:		MAB 38/42
      12:		MP35/I
      13:		MP40
      14:		M1903 A4
      15:		Fucile Mod 91
      16:		KAR 98K
      17:		Gew 33/40
      18:		M1 Carbine
      19:		M2 Carbine
      20:		M1 Garand
      21:		M1E7
      22:		BAR A2
      23:		MP 43
      24:		FG 42
      25:		Gew 43
      26:		M1919 A4
      27:		M1919 A6
      28:		Modello 37
      29:		MG 34
      30:		MG 42
      31:		M19A1 Bazooka
      32:		Sturmpistole
      33:		Panzerschreck
      34:		Panzerfaust
      35:		M1A1 Flame
      36:		M2-2 Flame
      
      Explosives:
      
      37:		M2
      38:		Mk A3
      39:		Satchel Charge 2lbs
      40:		Satchel Charge 10lbs
      41:		AN-M8
      42:		Gr 24
      43:		Geballte Ladung
      44:		M9A1 Anti-Tank/Adapter
      45:		M1939 Egg
      
      Knife:
      
      46:		Knife
      
      Equipment:
      
      47:		Radio
      48:		Wire Cutters
      49:		Med Kit
      50:		Metal Detector
      51:		M1 Grenade Launcher
      52:		M8 Grenade Launcher
      53:		M7 Grenade Launcher
      54:		Map
      55:		Secret Documents
      56:		Blueprints
      57:		Key
      58:		Dog Tags
      59:		Book
      
      Ammo:
      
      60:		45 ACP (7)
      61:		45 ACP (10) [NOT USED-- INVISIBLE]
      62:		9mm Glisenti (7)
      63:		32 ACP (8)
      64:		9mm Parabellum (8)
      65:		45 ACP (100)
      66:		45 ACP (30)
      67:		9mm Modello 38A (40)
      68:		9mm Parabellum (40)
      69:		9mm Parabellum (32)
      70:		30'06 Springfield (5)
      71:		6.5mm Carcano (6)
      72:		7.92mm Mauser (5)
      73:		30 M1 Carbine (15)
      74:		30 M1 Carbine (30)
      75:		30'06 Springfield (8)
      76:		30'06 Springfield (20)
      77:		7.92mm Kurz (30)
      78:		7.92mm Mauser (20)
      79:		7.92mm Mauser (10)
      80:		30'06 Springfield (250)
      81:		8mm Modello 35 (20)
      82:		7.92 Mauser (250)
      83:		60mm Rocket (1)
      84:		26mm Anti-Tank (1)
      85:		88mm Rocket (1)
      86:		Gas/Napalm (6) [NOT USED-- INVISIBLE]
      87:		15cm AT Grenade (1) [NOT USED-- INVISIBLE]
      
      equip.zip : download the equipment list above


  5. equip.def

  6. You can change equipment, such as weapons and ammo, by altering this file.

    For example, take a look at this portion of equip.def to see what you can alter:
    Firearm definitions:
    #W/H = width and height of weapon in outfitting screen
    #TOF = Type of fire,SA=semi-automatic, BA=bolt action, etc.
    #RT = reload time, no. of action points to reload weapon
    #ROF = rate of fire, number of rounds expended per 'shot'
    #AT = ammo type, for reference to the ammo list below
    #ACC = accuracy rating of weapon, see disign doc
    #DC = damage class, for determining damage to characters
    #PENT = penetration, campared against the protection value
    #           of objects in the map
    #DR = damage rating, indicates the amount of destructive force
    #         of the weapon, for damaging objects on the map,
    #         has no bearing on damage to characters
    #SPR = ???????????????
    #PRI = Priority of the weapon, listed above
    #SNS = Assigned sound single shot
    #SNA = Assigned sound automatic fire
    #SNP = assigned sound weapons locker placement
    #SNEX = assigned sound explosion
    
    #WC = Weapons class for primary & secondary training
    ##none=0,
    ##pistol=1,
    ##submachinegun=2,
    ##bolt=3,
    ##semiauto=4,
    ##machinegun=5
    ##explosive=6,
    
    Even if you don't change this file, it's useful to look at the exact accuracy,
    rate-of-fire, and damage class for each weapon. After looking at this, I was
    surprised to learn that the M1 Garand has a higher accuracy and damage
    than the M1 Carbine, and both have the same rate-of-fire (in the game)!

    Ammo can be changed as well! You can change the name and capacity of
    any ammo clip that you'd like! This is another solution to the game's
    tendency to not allow your soldiers to carry enough equipment.

    For example, you could assign a capacity of 16 for each 8-round Springfield
    clip, doubling the capacity for the same weight and space (although with a
    slightly unfair advantage in that you wouldn't need to reload until all 16
    rounds have been used.)

    You can use this cheat to grandiose extremes: have a modified pistol with top
    accuracy (15), DC=9, DR=6 (damage to objects equal to a 10-lb satchel charge!)
    a rate-of-fire of 15-25 (equal to the best heavy
    machine gun!), and 800-round capacity clips!!

    Or, imagine a bazooka with rockets that have a capacity of greater than one,
    semi-automatic or automatic rate-of-fire, and a tripled damage radius!

    Such examples illustrate that perhaps it's best not to alter this file, unless
    you don't care about having potentially unfair advantages! But what the heck!
    Have some fun with it! (]:-)

  7. stats.txt

  8. You can change the basic stats assigned to each rank, such as agility,
    medical skills, as well as primary and secondary training point bonuses.
    You can change stats for any nationality!

  9. Administ.dat

  10. The first set of numbers determines the amount of points you are awarded
    in each mission, based on the number of enemies you kill and the number
    of men in your squad: fewer people in your squad will result in more
    points per kill. Each member receives another 25 points for surviving
    a mission:
    Mission Points:
    #  Enemy KIA or   	Enemy WIA	   	Mission
    # Incapacitated	             		 	Completed
    #----------------------------------------------------------
           5		    0			25
           7		    0			25
           10		    0			25
           12		    0			25
           15		    0			25
           17		    0			25
           20		    0			25
           25		    0			25
    END
    
    (Therefore, if there are 8 men in your squad, you get 5 points per
    enemy. If you have 5 men, each kill counts for 12 mission points,
    and a 3-man squad would get 17 points per incapacitated enemy.)

    The next sets of numbers (not shown) deduct mission points
    for misconducts and determine the probabilities for earning medals
    relative to the amount of mission points that each soldier has earned.

    Most importantly, you can change the amount of mission points needed to
    advance in rank. If you don't want to alter your platoon, but wished
    that they would improve more rapidly, try lowering the values in Administ.dat!
    They are definitely on the high side (EX.: 500 points to advance
    from 1st Lieutenant to Captain??)

Please use and share my information freely!