In the "header" we have one VERY
important bit of information. The number of records in the file. If this
value is not changed as you go along, the bitmaps at the end of the file
will be ignored. We will look at how this header works: AF17 0400 0100.
Starting with AF17, this is the Number of Records in the file (17AF). 0400
is the record length in bytes (4), and 0100 is variables per record (1).
In Filelist this value is 1 and in Except.DAT it is 2 (one bitmap being
replaced by another). To arrive at the number of records after you are
done adding bitmap names, you have to do the following:
1. Put the cursor right after the last
digit in the file ( - at the very end of the file).
2. Note the offset number at the bottom
of your screen.
3. Bring up a HexCalculator under Tools,
and enter this number. (trying to figure it out via decimal system is a
veritable pain).
4. Subract 64 (Hex) from this number.
You will notice that the first Fokker bitmap name starts at 000064
5. Divide by record length, in this
case 4.
6. Enter the result, but with the low
and high bytes switched. In the above case the calculator result would
show 17AF, but you enter AF17 into the file.
Now for the bitmap names:
Starting at Offset 64, we have 1000
0003. By switching the bytes from front to back we get: 03 00 00
10, which corresponds to 03000010.bmp.
This is the filename for the Texture
for Fokker E.III, Fuselage, Jasta 10.
Don't let the 10 corresponding to Jasta
10 trick you into believing that it is that simple. No, it is actually
0x10 in Hexadecimal, which is #16.
Next is 1200 0003, Fuselage
for Jasta 12.
The first number in a dark red box
is a bitmap that I added into my file. Originally, there was no scheme
at all for Jasta 16, even though it uses Fokker E.IIIs. It used the 041x
numbers explained farther down.
The second number in a red box is my
attempt at including the scheme for E.Udet. So far no luck.
The file then goes on to 1003 0003.
By shuffling the bytes we get 03
00 03 10 or 03000310.bmp which is the texture for the middle
wing, upper surface, Jasta 10.
This goes on down the list of appropriate parts:
00=Fuselage
01=Upper Wing, top
02=Upper Wing, bottom
03=Middle Wing, top
04=Middle Wing, bottom
05=Lower Wing, top
06=Lower Wing, bottom
07=Rudder
08=Wheel
09=Elevator, top
0A=Elevator, botttom
0B=2nd Elevator, top (Only for
Hannover CL.III, The Handley Page O/400 double tail plane is HARD
CODED)
0C=2nd Elevator, bottom (Only
for Hannover CL.III)
0D=Upper Wing, bottom (from
cockpit)
0E=Upper Wing, bottom (damaged,
from cockpit)
The last sequence of numbers was figured out by Scott Mayger and he
was kind to inform me:
All the 041x numbers are default schemes used by RB2 for squadrons
which have no schemes specified in Filelist or Except specifically.
The x corresponds to the second digit in the part number. Thus
0412 is the upper wing bottom. Some of the planes also have
001x, 011x, 021x or 031x. Here the 0..3 correspond to
nationality, where:
0=German
1=French
2=British
3=US
4=Default
The second bright red number is the
first Aviatik Scheme for Squadron 0x3F, #63 or FA 1. Notice that the 0003
has become 0103.
This is a VERY important file. It is the reference for
RB2 to tell what squadrons and aces have what A/C for paining purposes.
For some reason there is a slight glitch in the Fokker E.III section and
if you scroll through the schemes in Paint Shop, it will DTD when you get
past Immelmann. So DON'T.
The header is again at 0x20 and has record number, record length and
variables/record. the latter are 5 and 2. The data, starting at 0x64, is
in the following format:
0000 0000 10 0000 0000 12. PlaneID in Long format
and SqdnID in Byte format. These IDs are outlined on the Lists page