I am unable to find any .dat files in the ROM program folder (I d/l ROM from this website) I need to locate these files skills.dat, commands.dat, and socials.dat so I can link the Area Editor to them.
1) I know these .dat files aren't included with the Area Editor, but I don't see them in the ROM directory. Any idea where I could find them/download them from?
In the Area Editor dir. I see Romconfig.dat I tried that but it didn't work (get a "bad section" error mssg).
2) How do I use the romconfig.dat file, so that A.E. knows I'm building in ROM and not Smaug.
Perhaps I'm just missing something, if so my appologies (it's late and it's been a long day a work =)
Robert
Those files are used by SMAUG, not ROM.
The ROMCONFIG.DAT file is used in the Area Editor preferences (File menu) to describe the flags, etc. that you have in your particular version.
You must have a registered version to use that file.
To tell it you are making a ROM area you set the area type in the area header.
I have the same problem.
I downloaded the program and am trying to convert a smaug zone to rom to see how it works. But it refuses to do so. I set it to ROM in the area header and it says it cant find skills.dat and wont save. Its hard to assess if I should pay for a program if it dont work from the get go
As with most shareware programs, the trial version (unlimited admittedly, we love Nick for these things) has *very* limited functionality compared to what the registered version does. My guess from a few very basic experiments (I dont use smaug or rom so basic is all I can do) is that area conversion is only actually functional in the registered version - especially since Nick has already indicated the romconfig.dat (required to work with rom areas seemingly) is only functional in the registered version. Now, seeing as the romconfig file is only available in the registered version, and you don't have a registered version, converting areas to rom will be very difficult if not impossible. Attempting to do something outside the scope of the program version you have is going to be very frustrating at best. Judging a programs merits based on an admittedly limited trial version is well......
The .dat files you refer to are part of the stock SMAUG distribution. So, if you have SMAUG areas you should have those files as well (in the system directory).
It needs them so it knows how to do the conversion. The conversion should work in the unregistered version, however the unregistered version is optimised for SMAUG - I'm not sure how well the converted file will open in it.
I know what you mean about not paying for something that might not work, however if everything worked perfectly in the trial version, I doubt I would get as many payments. :)
However the trial version should do enough, including editing SMAUG areas, so show what it is capable of.
I might comment that SMAUG and ROM are different servers, and thus the conversion will never be perfect - even if you did it by hand. For instance, converting SMAUG to ROM and back again will not give you the exact same area, as they support different things.
However, converting an area from SMAUG to ROM, or ROM to SMAUG should largely work, and is a lot better than re-entering every room desc. The reason the ability is there, is that there are heaps of areas available (eg. ROM ones) and being able to convert them for use under SMAUG (or vice-versa) makes it easier to use them.