Features TDF Information

Last updated: 12/20/98 21:34

The subdirectories beneath the features subdirectory describe any of a number of kinds of features, such as rocks, trees, and unit corpses. When creating a new unit, it is the features/corpses subdirectory that is of particular interest. The TDF file(s) found in this subdirectory describe the properties of the corpses that are left behind when a unit is destroyed.

A unit's corpse is described in in two parts:

Note: A unit need not be limited to these two "corpses". You can chain several different corpse types together if you'd like a more detailed series of "decaying" corpses.

An example of typical _DEAD and _HEAP entries:

[ARMALPHA_DEAD]
    {
    world=all;
    description=Wreckage;
    category=arm_corpses;
    object=armalpha_dead;
    featuredead=armalpha_heap;
    footprintx=5;
    footprintz=5;
    height=12;
    blocking=1;
    hitdensity=23;
    metal=344;
    damage=4545;
    reclaimable=1;
    featurereclamate=smudge01;
    seqnamereclamate=tree1reclamate;
    }

[ARMALPHA_HEAP]
    {
    world=all;
    description=Metal Shards;
    category=heaps;
    object=4x4a;
    footprintx=2;
    footprintz=2;
    blocking=0;
    hitdensity=4;
    metal=344;
    damage=34;
    reclaimable=1;
    featurereclamate=smudge01;
    seqnamereclamate=tree1reclamate;
    }

Within the features subdirectories can be the descriptions of any type of feature in the game, including unit corpses and other objects such as metal deposits, rocks, trees, shrubs, etc. Within the TDF file in any of the features subdirectories, the following variables can be set for a particular feature:

Variable Description Examples
animating Is this feature animated? Might be an animated GAF file or just smoking like a geothermal. animating=0;
animtrans I think the trans is short for "transparent"... make of that what you will, as I don't know what it does. animtrans=0;
autoreclaimable Whether or not an attempt to reclaim this feature will be made by a construction unit on Patrol orders. autoreclaimable=0;
burnmax Used in flammable features like trees and bushes. It might specify a maximum amount of time the object should be on fire. burnmax=15;
burnmin Same as above, but minimum. burnmin=5;
burnweapon The "weapon" description that defines the damage that a burning feature does to nearby affected units. burnweapon=ShrubBurn;
category The category to which the feature belongs. For a corpse, this can be "arm_corpses", "cor_corpses", or "heaps". Other values are valid, of course. category=rocks;
category=steamvents;
description What is displayed at the bottom of the screen when you hold the cursor over the corpse during a game. This is almost always simply "Wreckage", taking into consideration resurrection units, it might be more helpful to describe your rubble here. description=Wreckage;
blocking describes whether (1) or not (0) the object prevents a unit from walking over it. blocking=1;
damage indicates how much damage the object can take before turning into the next feature or before being removed (if it's the _DEAD object it changes to _HEAP, if it's the _HEAP it is removed). damage=1682;
energy the amount of energy you get for reclaiming the object. energy=250;
featuredead describes what the object turns into when it takes maximum damage. If this line is missing, no object is left behind when it is destroyed. featuredead=armbull_heap;
featurereclamate describes the feature that is left behind after being reclaimed. Usually just a "smudge". featurereclamate=smudge01;
filename This is used for 2D features, it specifies the GAF file that this feature is located in. The example would point to rocks.GAF. filename=rocks;
flamable Can the feature catch on fire? For example, trees and shrubs. flamable=1;
footprintx How wide (East-West) is the object. footprintx=7;
footprintz How wide (North-South) is the object. footprintz=6;
geothermal Can you build geothermal plants on top of this featuer? geothermal=1;
height Describes the height of the feature, to determine whether a gun shot will pass over it or not. If the height variable is missing, a value of zero is assumed. height=20;
hitdensity (unsure) probably has to do something with the chance of whether a shot fired toward it will hit it or just pass over. (?) hitdensity=100;
indestructible Is the feature indestructable? indestructible=1;
metal The amount of metal you get for reclaiming the object. For non-reclaimable features, such as metal deposits, this is the relative concentration of metal for extraction. Max value for this use seems to be around 255, the limit for reclaimable features is much higher. metal=127;
nodisplayinfo Do not display the name of the feature when the cursor is placed over it. nodisplayinfo=1;
object describes the name of the 3DO file that defines what the object looks like. Most "heap" object are found in the totala1.hpi file, unless you want to create one of your own. This tag is not used for 2D features like trees and rocks. object=armbull_dead;
permanent Is the feature permanent? I'm not sure of the actual effects of this setting. permanent=1;
reclaimable indicates whether the object can be reclaimed or not. 1=yes, 0=no. reclaimable=1;
reproduce Might have been originally used for features to "spread" like a forest growth or something. Currently it does nothing. reproduce=0;
reproducearea Presumably a parameter for the above functionality. reproducearea=6;
seqname This is the name of the GAF sequence to be used for this feature. It is located in the GAF file specified by "filename". seqname=rockmetal1;
seqnameburn Describes the animation sequence that is used when the feature is burned. seqnameburn=shruburn;
seqnamedie What is left behind when the feature is destroyed. seqnamedie=smudge04;
seqnamereclamate Describes the animation that is used when the object is reclamated.
seqnameshad Sequence name for the feature's shadow seqnameshad=;
shadtrans Specifies if the features shadow is transparent. Usually 1. shadtrans=1;
sparktime As far as I know this is used to catch a feature on fire. If there is another feature on fire close enough, and is burning for this amount of time, then this feature will also catch on fire. sparktime=5;
spreadchance The (percentage?) chance that if this object is on fire, it will spread to a neighboring object. (Note: could be the chance that THIS object catches fire from another - not sure) spreadchance=30;
world Describes to what worlds (i.e. metal, green, etc.) this corpse pertains. This is used in map editors so you can quickly find the features that suite your map's world. world=All Worlds;

Apart from the features/corpses subdirectory, most other directories within features are specific to different types of terrains, such as acid pools, lush world bushes, martian rocks, etc.