Alternative ways of saving Moo I games

[Groc]

Is there a way to save Moo I games into a file, or floppy, rather than only the six slots that are used on the save game screen?

I like to save the games I have labored over, but have to erase them in order to play a new game.

Also, I like to same a game at a crucial junction so I can go back if the decisions I made at that junction tirn into diaster. Saving at a junction enables me to play the same position in a variety of ways. It's kind of a learning tool or a practice tool. Plus, if I make any goofy mistakes I can just go back and fix it. Or I can keep playing the position until I find the perfect move for that positon (sometimes).

Of course doing this could be considered cheating, but I'm not playing anybody but myself, and I am playing to have fun, and like I said I enjoy replaying a position. It's kind of like chess in that way. It can help learn the game, and, of course, I feel better when I win!!!

So, does anyone know of a way to save the game other than on the save game screen. I noticed that there were several folders or files in the download of the game from Jon Sullivan, but when I opened them with Word Pad they were all gobbledygook. I don't know enough about computers to translate the gobbledygook into a saved game that can be retrieved, so can any body help?

Thanks for any responses.

[vmxa1]

I have some saves. I just would stop at the point I wanted to save, after the six slots were used.

Open a new folder some place and copy in my 6 saves to that folder. I use this in Moo2 as well.

Now you can have as many saves as you have disk spac for.

[Brutalisk]

Groc, I don't have MOO installed at the moment, but if it's anything like MOOII in the way it is handling the saves, then there should be 6 files somewhere that most probably have the file extension ".gam"

look for 6 such files - I'm using moo ii as a guide, so not 100% sure -

if they exit, then Save1.gam Save2.gam etc or whatever their names are, then:

just COPY them into some backup folder. Then you can overwrite the "originals" with new saves and at some other time when u wish to return to those you can bring them back and replace your "new" current saves. If ofcourse u don't want to lose those either then back them up as well...


As I said, this is solely based on mooII experience

[vmxa1]

Re: Alternative ways of saving Moo I games

Originally posted by Groc

I noticed that there were several folders or files in the download of the game from Jon Sullivan, but when I opened them with Word Pad they were all gobbledygook. I don't know enough about computers to translate the gobbledygook into a saved game that can be retrieved, so can any body help?

I know some of the files there are in WinRar format. You need to have WinRar to unzip them. It can be downloaded as a test tool for free.

[vmxa1]

Yes they are save1.gam thru save7.gam in the MPS/Orion directory. IIRC save7 is the autosave.

I would name my folders for the game and have a master folder for Moo1 and the sub folders for the game name. Then rename the saves to the year such as T2525. Then you can have as many in that sub folder as you want for that game and will know the order they are to be used in.

[Brutalisk]

There you go, same as moo II

And yes, you can rename them to whatever descriptive name you like, just make sure, before you restore a specific save, that you rename it back to one of the 7 save games and it will overwrite the save that is in that "save slot" (and don't worry, it doesn't matter if it used to be in a different slot before, so u don't have to remember)

[vmxa1]

The only pain in Moo1 is that you have to go into the race screen to get the turn date.

Moo2 has it in the save name by default, so it is easy to ignore the slots and just use the timestamp.

[Brutalisk]

vmxa: i was personally reffering to the actual FILENAME of the save file:

eg renaming "save1.gam" to "mysaveforthisandthat.gam"

[vmxa1]

Yeah, I understood. I was just saying that when I want to name a MOO1 save to the date, it is a bit of a pain as I have to drill down to find the date.

It is nice in Moo2 that if you take the default for each slot it has the leaders name and the stardate. so I can easily go save1 is 3500.1 or what ever it is.

IOW I was just rambling.

The only reason I mentioned it was in case he did not know where to find the date in Moo1. It is in the race screen under status.

I use A1-A6, then B1, C1, D1 to keep them deliniated in Moo1. So when I come back to the game and see b3/b4/b5/b6/a1/b1, I know b6 is my last save. I just don't know what the stardate may be.

When I come to Moo2, even if it was weeks later, I can see the dates and have no problem knowing where I am.

Should I choose to save any of those games for any reason, I have to find the dates for Moo1 by loading the game and then use the naming convention.

Gane_Bin is my master directory for all my games. It has a folder for each game. Game_Bin\Moo\Moo1\whatever\T2300.gam.
Game_Bin\Moo\Moo2\whatever and so on.

So if i wnat to see all the patches for a game I know where it is and any docs I have accumulated and saves and screenies, whatever I have.

Since many of my games are very old like Alien Legacy or MoM I have them backed up to CD's. I have encountered a lot of games where you cannot easily find the patch any longer.

Sorry to have bored everyone with that.

[Groc]

Hey thanks a lot for your help, guys. In general I think I understand what you are saying, but still need help with the particulars.

First of all, I did not load the game from a disk I downloaded it from .JonSullivan.com/misc/moo.php; He calls it Master of Orion I Resources. I found it via a google search using Master of Orion I as the search criteria (and later added Jon Jullivan's name to the search criteria to make it come up as the first result).

He offers two downloads: 1. one called 'download game' which loads a file called Moo_ all, which is a composite he made, and 2. one called 'download all discs', where each disc can be downloaded seperately. I tried both ways and found the 'download game' easy as pie to use, but this being his composite rather than loaded from discs means my files where labeled by Jon and have similar, but different, names (than yours). And it means that I cannot tell what kind of format the files are. This may not be an issue, I hope not. I just wanted to mention it to be thorough in my description, so as to give you the whole picture of my situation. Whew - talk about long winded! I do find the 'save' files in his composite, but as I mentioned the content is in computer gobbledygook, that I don't know how to relate to at all.

These are the particulars I need help with. When I am looking at the save game screen there is only the screen. No tool bars, no way for me to select part or all of it to be saved - no nothing. I need to know how to manipulate the information on the screen into a file. I can open file in Moo_all, or anywhere else, but, I can't even touch the save game screen ( except in playing the game). I can only look at it. I have no toolbar, no nothing, to grap hold of any of the information on the save game screen.

And if you guys can somehow instruct me how to manipulate the save game screen, then what? I have to know how to manipulate the other end of the connection, the file that I that I created W will it be in gobbledygook? If it is, I'm lost. How to I get around, the gobbledygook. I need to see the information in english in order identify the games I've saved in english. You see what I mean? And since using english is a limitation I have. I'll need to solve than end of the process also. And I forgot to mention how is the information from the save game screen dropped into the file? So, I have know: 1. how to get the information form the game screen, 2. how to put it into the file, and 3. how to get it out of the file, in english. and 4. how to put the information from the file back onto the game screen. Whew, again.

I hope I am making myself clear. I am confident that you know you know how to do it. I just need you to spell out the interim steps for me.

Thanks, again. for you heip.

[Brutalisk]

Groc -> icq me 4506289

It's better to "talk live" , rather than long essays...

[vmxa1]

I do not use chat channels, so just in case it is useful, let me take a stab.

I am not sure I have a clear picture of the issue, but:

In the game you go to the load game option. Once you select that you get a screen with 6 slots. You use the mouse to select any one of the 6 and once selected it shows as green.

That will load the game. The files are in \MPS\Orion as
\MPS\Orion\Save1.gam or save2 through save7.gam.

Save7 is the auto save.

Ypu can use your windows explorer application to open the directory I just mentioned. You then rename them or copy them as you please.

I highlight the ones I want and copy them to some other folder.
In that folder you can rename then in any fashion. It is best to leave the filetype as GAM, unless you want to post the save here, then it must have filetype of sav or zip.

When you are playing the game and go to the save screen, you can select any of the six slots and back space over it to clear the current name out (if any is there) and type in any name you please. This name is not going to match the name in the \MPS\Orion\ directory as it will be save1 to save6.gam, regardless of the name used by you.

This is where I use the convention of A1 to A6, then B,C,D. Then start all over again, once I get done with D6. This is just a way to let me know the order of use. It could be anything such as the stardate. I don't use that as I never seem to know what it is at any given moment.

Once I decide that I want to save a game, I will copy the appropriate save (save1 to save6) to a new location and rename it to something useful.

I tend to do it with a folder that gives me a clue as to why I saved it in the first place and then rename the save to the star date. I look up the stardate as months later, I will not know what save1 is and also I may have 20 saves and you can only have one save1 anyway.

Actually I have very few saves form Moo1, lots from Moo2, but I treat them the same. The difference is that Moo2 has the stardate available.

Here is what I am dojing for the demo game going on in Moo2 now. I have my \Game_Bin\MOO\Moo2 directory. It has a folder called Demo1 and in it I placed saves from my run of the game last year and downloaded turns from the current plays.

So I have \Game_Bin\MOO\Moo2\Demo1\Team262.gam. This is the last one posted my Whoha. I have T0/T25 and others from my run.

I have lots of these folders from games I have played with other players at one point or another.

Hope that is what you are looking for.

[vmxa1]

The part I am not sure I follow is the part about manipulation of the files. The saves are probably in binary and you would need a hex editor to make use of them and have to understand the format they are in to do anything with.

Some eidtors do exist that change or manipulate data, such as planets and ships. I would imagine that Jon's web has links to them.

[Groc]

Thanks, vmxa, and my apology, Brutalisk, for being so long. I what you mean by saving the game and copying it to a special file with a more useful name. That is what I meant by manipulating the file (content).

Just to be sure, inorder to load a game that I have saved, I would put that back into the Orion file thne return to the save game screen and simply select and load the appropriate. But - say, if I put a 'saved 6' game back into the Orion file I would then have two 'saved 6' files How will the computer know which one to load, or do I just delete the extra one I won't be using. I should just try deleting it and find out but I am gun shy to delete elements from programs, it may disappear forever. So, better to ask and be sure rather than experiment with deleting.

As you said, if I ever wanted to post a game I don't know if I could because, as far as I know, I can't tell what format it is in. It has to be in some kind of format, I'll givve Jon a call on that one. It will probable be a while before I want to post a game.

Thanks again.

P.S. This game is a lot of fun, and am surprised that it never came out in human vs human version. That would be fun - and instructional to the newbies.

[Brutalisk]

They made MOO II a multiplayer game and ppl r sitll playing it

As for the file groc, you jsut need to "right-click" on it and select "copy", then copy it to some other folder and it's your to keep. it leaves the original file intact