Dat Files format embedded database

joe_44850 · 05-25-2010, 05:57 AM

Could anyone tell me what type of files the dat files are? I would love to query them directly instead of having the user export as csv (the program I have written imports the csv files into an sqlite database, which is handy, but I'd prefer to have a method to query the dat files directly).

OOTP doesn't appear to be using any of the usual embedded database types (Foxpro, Firebird, Informix, HSQLDB), so if anyone knows what it is using, it would be a huge help!

(PS, if anyone does actually know the answer to this, God bless you. If anyone even understands this question, try to get out of the house occassionally)

Thanks,
Joe Boggs

bullschuck · 11-17-2011, 11:20 PM

I don't know if you are still looking into this, but I have an idea of the format. Unfortunately I haven't taken the time to get into the nitty-gritty of it to do anything useful yet. The .dat file is just a binary stream. You can open it with a hex editor. The problem is, I don't know the schema. So a certain number of bits are for the player id number, then the next set of bits (I don't know how many) is for the next player info column, et cetera. Unfortunately, those bits don't line up nicely with the hex editor. If they did, then you would be able to read off the player's name and info in any text editor. I just happened to open a player.dat file and the bits of one of the 1st player's columns lined up with where the hex editor thought they should and I could see "alicea1" clearly, followed by "SLN." In two other player.dat files, there weren't any discernable plaintext past the filename.
So, now I need to break down the number of columns and rows, and the number of bits for each column, then figure out what each column is for. Some other folks have done this but it's read-only and it's Windows based and all my personal computers are macs. And i want to use it do directly edit the player.dat files for iOOTP, which doesn't have all the player editor functionality that the mac/pc versions have.

joe_44850 · 11-18-2011, 05:28 AM

Hey, thanks for the reply. I still think the idea of querying data (even if it's one way) from the dat files would be helpful, though I haven't developed any programs for the new version of OOTP. Most of what I did was later added to the game as part of the release (I had a pretty cool baseball card editing program for OOTP10), so it seems a moot point - at least for now.
Thanks!
Joe

05-25-2010, 05:57 AM	#1
joe_44850 Minors (Single A) Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 66	Dat Files format embedded database Could anyone tell me what type of files the dat files are? I would love to query them directly instead of having the user export as csv (the program I have written imports the csv files into an sqlite database, which is handy, but I'd prefer to have a method to query the dat files directly). OOTP doesn't appear to be using any of the usual embedded database types (Foxpro, Firebird, Informix, HSQLDB), so if anyone knows what it is using, it would be a huge help! (PS, if anyone does actually know the answer to this, God bless you. If anyone even understands this question, try to get out of the house occassionally) Thanks, Joe Boggs __________________ Southerners are very strange about that war -- Shelby Foote

11-18-2011, 05:28 AM	#3
joe_44850 Minors (Single A) Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 66	Hey, thanks for the reply. I still think the idea of querying data (even if it's one way) from the dat files would be helpful, though I haven't developed any programs for the new version of OOTP. Most of what I did was later added to the game as part of the release (I had a pretty cool baseball card editing program for OOTP10), so it seems a moot point - at least for now. Thanks! Joe __________________ Southerners are very strange about that war -- Shelby Foote

11-17-2011, 11:20 PM	#2
bullschuck Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 25	I don't know if you are still looking into this, but I have an idea of the format. Unfortunately I haven't taken the time to get into the nitty-gritty of it to do anything useful yet. The .dat file is just a binary stream. You can open it with a hex editor. The problem is, I don't know the schema. So a certain number of bits are for the player id number, then the next set of bits (I don't know how many) is for the next player info column, et cetera. Unfortunately, those bits don't line up nicely with the hex editor. If they did, then you would be able to read off the player's name and info in any text editor. I just happened to open a player.dat file and the bits of one of the 1st player's columns lined up with where the hex editor thought they should and I could see "alicea1" clearly, followed by "SLN." In two other player.dat files, there weren't any discernable plaintext past the filename. So, now I need to break down the number of columns and rows, and the number of bits for each column, then figure out what each column is for. Some other folks have done this but it's read-only and it's Windows based and all my personal computers are macs. And i want to use it do directly edit the player.dat files for iOOTP, which doesn't have all the player editor functionality that the mac/pc versions have.