CITY.TXT File Format

CITY.TXT contains data about locations on the world map. This includes both fixed locations, such as cities, and random encounters that are not saved.

The file is a text format and is divided into tables describing locations. Each table contains a list of variables which have values of various types – text, numerical, combined. The order of variables in the list is usually the same, but not always, so the order may not matter. As with several other configuration files, a semicolon comments out the rest of the line it's on.

1. Description of location tables

Each table starts with a header in the format:

[Area 01]

This line marks the beginning of the table, and also gives it a unique ID number. There can be up to 100 areas, numbered 00 through 99.

Immediately after the header is a list of variables.

2. List of Variables

Each variable has the format var_name=value ; no spaces are used except in text strings.


 * area_name - name of the location described in the table. Necessary parameter.


 * world_pos - position of this city on the world map. Format is x_pos,y_pos ; calculating the value is a little tricky. Take the coordinates of the upper-left corner of the a square bounding box around the city circle, and add 23,22 to it. This will be at the center of a large circle, the lower-right corner of a medium circle, and some distance away from a small circle. Necessary parameter.


 * start_state - whether or not this city is visible at the beginning of the game. Values are 'On' and 'Off'. Necessary parameter, possibly (at least, it's always used).


 * size - the size of the circle to draw on the world map. Values are 'Large', 'Medium', and 'Small'. Necessary parameter unless lock_state is set to 'On'.


 * lock_state - whether or not to save the location of this city and mark it on the map. If set to 'On', the location is not saved. If set to 'Off', the location is saved. Not necessary; the default is 'Off' if not present.


 * townmap_art_idx - the image to use when selecting an entrance to the city. Value is a line number from intrface.lst . Necessary parameter; -1 indicates no image is used.


 * townmap_label_art - the image to use in the list of known cities on the world map screen. Value is a line number from intrface.lst . Necessary parameter; -1 indicates no image is used.


 * entrance_n - an entrance to the city. There can be up to ten (numbered 0-9), and there must be no gaps in the sequence. Format is start_state,x_pos,y_pos,map_index,elevation,tile_num,orientation . Start_state is whether or not this entrance is initially available; values are 'On' and 'Off'. X_pos and y_pos indicate the position of the entrance triangle on the city map screen, measured in pixels from the upper-left corner. Map_index matches the value of the lookup_name variable in the record for the map to go to in maps.txt . Elevation, tile_num, and orientation indicate where the player appears on the map.