18,700
edits
OBD:Instance file format: Difference between revisions
m
→Terminology: sometimes we mean the whole shebang, as on OniSplit
(lede and disambig for other .dat files) |
m (→Terminology: sometimes we mean the whole shebang, as on OniSplit) |
||
| Line 4: | Line 4: | ||
Oni's level data is broken into two kinds of files in Windows retail Oni. One type ends in ".dat" and is called an instance file. An "instance" is essentially a resource, such as a texture. Initially, all resources would have been stored in the levelX_Final.dat file, so it was rightfully called an "instance file". However eventually much of the resource data was moved to a new type of file ending in ".raw", simply called a raw file. By the time that Oni for the Mac was finalized for release, some of the raw data was moved to a third file type which ends in ".sep", short for "separate". You can read about raw and separate files [[Raw|HERE]]. | Oni's level data is broken into two kinds of files in Windows retail Oni. One type ends in ".dat" and is called an instance file. An "instance" is essentially a resource, such as a texture. Initially, all resources would have been stored in the levelX_Final.dat file, so it was rightfully called an "instance file". However eventually much of the resource data was moved to a new type of file ending in ".raw", simply called a raw file. By the time that Oni for the Mac was finalized for release, some of the raw data was moved to a third file type which ends in ".sep", short for "separate". You can read about raw and separate files [[Raw|HERE]]. | ||
Note that ".dat" is a generic suffix originally used by Oni for all kinds of data, including [[persist.dat]]. The only reason that any other suffixes exist at all is that when raw and separate files were created, they needed unique suffixes to distinguish them from the .dat files in the same folder. Therefore, the proper, specific name for the .dat files containing <u>level data</u>, as opposed to the .dat files containing the save-game data, films, etc. is "instance file". That being said, ".dat" has only been used by the community historically to refer to instance files, so you can reasonably assume that's what is meant when you see the suffix. | Note that ".dat" is a generic suffix originally used by Oni for all kinds of data, including [[persist.dat]]. The only reason that any other suffixes exist at all is that when raw and separate files were created, they needed unique suffixes to distinguish them from the .dat files in the same folder. Therefore, the proper, specific name for the .dat files containing <u>level data</u>, as opposed to the .dat files containing the save-game data, films, etc. is "instance file". That being said, ".dat" has only been used by the community historically to refer to instance files, so you can reasonably assume that's what is meant when you see the suffix. On occasion, ".dat" also refers to the complete set of level data files, .dat/.raw[/.sep]. | ||
==Introduction== | ==Introduction== | ||