Game edition flags?

[Inge]

Can anyone throw any further light on this, posted by Sophie-David:

As predicted, Teen Style tested true for Flag 12. But surprisingly, Freetime tested true for both Flag 13 and Flag 14. It makes one wonder if Freetime were originally intended to be shipped as two separate EPs. Certainly there are a lot of new features in it (I just got it today). Unless EA corrects this anomaly, Kitchen and Bath Stuff will have to be Flag 15, the very last one available.

[J. M. Pescado]

My FT Install is reports game edition of "12287", or 10 1111 1111 1111 b. Free Time is thus flag 14, confirmed internally by samples of EAxis code I've seen in passing.

Here's what I know of the flagbits:
1: Original.
2: UNI
3: NL
4: OFB
5: FFS
6: GLS
7: ZOMGPETZ!!!111oneoneone
8: Seasons
9: Stuff Pack: CS? (not sure on the order of these two)
A: Stuff Pack: HM? (not sure on the order of these two)
B: BV
C: TSS
D:
E: FT
F: UNUSED: Kitchen & Bath Crap?
10: UNUSED: Possibly never used, because this is normally the sign bit on int16?

Oddly enough, according to the bitfield above, my game thus has Celebrations and H&M installed on it...except that neither of those two expansion packs has ever even been installed on my hard drives! So while FT is definitely bit 14, 0xE, it is apparently not unusual for the bitfield to contain pure and utter twaddle with regards to older expansion bits. Bit D is definitely NOT, however, FT or any part of FT.

My guess is that this bit-D business is either twaddle, much like how the game has set my CS and HM bits despite that I have never installed those packs, possibly simply because I installed FT or TSS, or that Sophie-David has made a mathematical error, which we can't troubleshoot as he did not show his work.

[Inge]

That's very helpful, thank you

[Inge]

Hang on - have you actually got Teen Style?

[J. M. Pescado]

Stupidlilley made me install it to make her stupid house work. Can't torture her properly without her house, y'see.

[Inge]

In that case I *think* your summary list is out in one respect.  I think Teenstyle is the bit next to Freetime (ie if Freetime is 14, Teenstyle is 13).  Your gap is in a different place from what you summed it up to be further down the post.

[J. M. Pescado]

Nah, it's just a transcription error. The original DEC 12287 is the correct value.

[Inge]

Ah - pity!  Would have been so much neater if the error was where I thought it was.  Peter is moaning that with TS at 12, it works out that:

If you had { BV, H&M, CEL, SSN, PETS, FFS }, that would test the same as base game...

Though reading that again, what's it got to do with FT and TS anyway?

[J. M. Pescado]

Peter is moaning nonsense, then. The original game is denoted specifically by the code "0x7D0", which is "111 1101 0000b". While it DOES correspond to the bits "BV, HM, CS, SSN, Pets, FFS", this combination of bits alone is illegal because you cannot have a game install such that the Original game (flag 1) is 0! Your game would not run! Therefore, != 0x7D0 ALWAYS means TS2 + some expansions or a Stories-edition game. One simply does not just Tankcat into Mordor. The LEGAL code for BV, HM, CS, SSN, Pets, FFS would be 0x7D1, "111 1101 0001b". An edition code of just "1", meaning original game, but not 0x7D0, is Life Stories. And relevance to TSS at all? Codswallop, I say!

[Inge]

Codswallop, I say!

I shall pass on your authoritative contribution

[syberspunk]

I can has MOAR info on latest game edition flags?

BTW, FYI, when I last asked Pescado this in #grah, I noted that:

CS! = 9
H&M = 10  A

Which sounds about right, as I think that's the order those SPs came out anyway.


But what about the more recent releases:

Kitchen & Bath Crap ?
IKEA Home Crap?
AL ?


Ste

[Inge]

In decimal assuming first entry is flag 1,

Flag 11=Teen
12=Store Edition
13= Freetime
14=K&B
15=Ikea

Global 0x3A is game edition flags 2, and flag 1 of that is Apartment Life.

[syberspunk]

In decimal assuming first entry is flag 1,

Flag 11=Teen
12=Store Edition

buh   But I thought...

B: BV
C: TSS
D:
E: FT
F: UNUSED: Kitchen & Bath Crap?
10: UNUSED: Possibly never used, because this is normally the sign bit on int16?

So... isn't B (hex) = 11 (dec) ?

Then... C (hex) = 12 (dec), etc.

13= Freetime
14=K&B
15=Ikea

Global 0x3A is game edition flags 2, and flag 1 of that is Apartment Life.

And... it seems like Pes is certain that Freetime is E (hex) = 14 (dec)


Please clarify if Pes' list above is incorrect.  Thanks. 


Ste

[Inge]

Flag 1 (ie first flag) is offset zero, that's why I said assuming first entry is flag 1.  In the SimPE list, they start from line 0 which is flag 1.

[syberspunk]

Ah IC.  I just wanted to confirm then.


Also... I don't have the Q&A version of SimPE yet.  I'm still running 0.68, but you say:

Global 0x3A is game edition flags 2, and flag 1 of that is Apartment Life.

In SimPE, I tried using:

3A000100000806070000000000000000

And it doesn't show up as game edition flags 2, instead it shows up as:

[prim 0x0002] Expression (Global 0x003A (Ambient Environment) Flag Set? flag# Literal 0x0001)

Is this just because I don't have SimPE updated for AL?  Or are i doin it rong?


Ste

[Inge]

It's because you don't have the most up to date version where we knew the correct labels

[syberspunk]

Ok.  So then if I get the Q&A version, that should fix it, amirite?

I made some updates last night, but I just wanted to be sure I was testing for AL properly.  Thanks Inge.


Ste

[J. M. Pescado]

Where did you get the INCORRECT label from? I've never heard a reference to an "Ambient Environment" variable anywhere!

[Inge]

From the GLUAs.  It's still called that in there.

[Inge]

Go away silly necromancy man!!

Now...  The valid EP flags from the OBJD.

Just what is meant to be ticked on or otherwise set in order for an object to appear in all games?

[J. M. Pescado]

If you want an object to appear in all games, use version 0x8b and don't set any of the bits. If you must use 0x8c or 0x8d, set the "base game" bit and nothing else.

[Inge]

Aaaaaaaaah!  Now it's all making sense.  Baaaaa!

Ah just one more question.  What if using an 8d I set the basegame bit as well as one of the EP bits?  Is that ok (as in does it mean basegame plus that EP), or does that mean something else then?

[J. M. Pescado]

Setting the basegame bit in combination with some other bit only makes your object look stupid to those of us who have the view-expansion-pack thing enabled. Also, it may break the object, as it will appear in all games with "base game" (all games, period) installed, instead of ONLY in those games with that expansion. I have no idea what 0x8d will do if fed into a pre-AL game (presumably it will be treated similar to 0x8c), but obviously, as the "expansion 2" bitfield does not exist in 0x8c as far as I know, if you set the base game bit AND an 0x8d xp2 bit, an 0x8c-era game would see this object as "for all versions", and incorrectly enable the object with potentially negative consequences, whereas if you had not done this, the game would see that no bits are set in a post-0x8b and not enable the object, producing the correct behavior.

In short, don't do it.

[Argon]

What about those OFB "shelves" for putting cars on, doesn't that check for OFB and NL? I know it didn't show up if you just had OFB or just NL (and some later EP) originally but maybe they changed it since then, I haven't looked at that in a while.

[J. M. Pescado]

There are some items with two expansion bits set. Presumably, this means that the items will appear if you have Either/Or. For obvious reasons, setting BaseGame Or Something Else results in a meaningless setting, as everyone must have the base game.