Dats - Override Files Easily!

[atom0s]

Dats
Final Fantasy XI file replacement made easy!

What is Dats?

• Dats is a plugin that allows users to override any file found within their FINAL FANTASY XI folder without having to replace the original file.
  
  Love dat modding but hate having to maintain what file is replaced and so on?
  Hate having to replace files after a client update because it undoes all your mods?
  
  Look no further! Dats is here to prevent all that hassle and headache!

How Does It Work?

• Dats internally hooks the file loading of Final Fantasy XI and overrides the path where the game will attempt to load the file first.
  If the file is within the FINAL FANTASY XI folder, then it will be rerouted to attempt to load it from Dats' local path first.
  If the file does not exist (meaning you have no override for it) it will load the original game file as normal.

What Files Can I Override?

• Simply put, any. Any file that routes through the loading method that Dats hooks should be able to be overridden.
  
  Please note, this does not change how the game loads the file internally, simply where it loads from.
  This means that Dats cannot force the game to load a different format for a file it does not understand.

How To Use / How To Install?

• To install Dats, simply load up the Ashita v3 launcher and download it via the Plugins list.
  Once installed, you will need to manually create the folders and files you wish to override.
  
  Dats will attempt to load file overrides from the following path:
  <Path To Ashita>\plugins\dats\
  
  You should place the files in the same folder format as the game does. For example:
  C:\Ashita\plugins\dats\ROM\0\0.DAT

Important Notes

• Dats cannot and will not force the game to read file formats it is not already familiar with.
• Dats simply reroutes the path where the file is loaded from, nothing more.
• The game loads certain DAT files only once when the game is first starting, such as the in-game fonts. If you wish to override those, you must load Dats.dll within your autoload script (ex. Default.txt)
• The game often times loads a DAT file once per-zone. You can undo these overrides by simply zoning after making your changes.
• The game often times loads a DAT on the fly as its needed. You can undo these changes by simply causing the game to update that specific DATs purpose. (ie. cancel and recast a buff to replace an icon or viewing a map via /map)

[Kenjigoku]

Dats plugin doesn't seem to work, folders are as supposed to be i even overwritten the original game files to make sure they work. Seeing as it worked i copied the whole sound folder and pasted it in C:\Ashita\plugins\dats\sound, replaced the original game-file back to normal, loaded dats and still playing the original game files music. I zoned each time and its autoloaded.

[Sinnersslayer]

Some mods for some reason just don't.
I couldn't get to work status icon mod where after overwriting the oryginal DATs in FF folder, it works.
But after copying them to plugins folder, they don't.

[Kenjigoku]

Right but its just Sound that i really just wanted to work. Maybe other stuff down the line.

[atom0s]

At the moment its hit or miss on which will work due to how the game loads certain files.

For this to work at all Dats must be autoloaded before anything else and it must be autoloaded before any waits. So at the top of your Default.txt it should look like:

Code: Select all

/load dats
/wait 5

Ensuring Dats is loaded before that initial wait!

This is known to work with mods such as:
- Fonts
- Status Icons
- UI Windows
- Some model mods.

I have not tested it for use with sound overrides. Some model / animation overrides do not work.

[Kenjigoku]

Sorry late reply but sound don't work, i did wait no avail, just thought id give an update. Just wanted to test out the plugin