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Redguard - SYSTEM.INI Info

19 February 2011

The SYSTEM.INI file can be found in the main Redguard directory and contains lots of options and settings for the game. This page is an attempt to document the various options and their effect in the game. I've only tested a few of the settings due to limited time. If you have any addition information or corrections on any options, please Contact Me. The file is divided into ? sections:

  1. [screen] - General display options.
  2. [system] - Important and critical game settings.
  3. [debug] - Options relating to debugging the game.
  4. [game] - Game play specific options.
  5. [cyrus] - Settings related to Cyrus himself.
  6. [3dmanager] - Stuff to do with the 3dmanager.
  7. [xngine] - Items related solely to the xngine, or software, version.
  8. [camera] - Settings for the camera, or viewpoint.
  9. [dialog] - Options related to NPC dialog.
  10. [3dfx] - Stuff for only the 3DFX version of the game.


NOTES

There a few items you should note about various game units and such.
Time Units
Most of the time specific units are in 'game ticks'. I would assume that this is the default timer rate of 18.2 Hz, or about 1/20 (0.05) of a second, but it could be just about anything.
Distance Units
Most distance values are using the games own coordinate system. It appears as though one game unit is approximately equal to 1 cm (this is a guess made by myself, it could be anywhere from 1 to 10 mm). It almost appears as though there are several unit systems in use by examining the values in the INI file.
Graphical Units
All graphical units are in pixels, based on a screen resolution of 640x480. The upper-left corner of the screen is at (0, 0).
Angles
All angles again use a custom unit system, not the usual degrees or radians. Looking at the possible values in the INI file, I would guess that angles range from 0 to 2000 representing a full 360 degrees.


[SCREEN]

The screen section is a small part and contains a few options for adjusting general display properties.
candle_mode
Values: 0, 1, 2
Default: 2
This value controls how the candle, representing Cyrus' health is displayed on the screen. Assumably, 0 is no candle, 1 is just a candle, and 2 is a candle and text.
colour_bits
Values: 8
Default: 8
Most likely sets the color depth of the screen mode. Changing this value has no apparent effect in the game.
resolution
Values: 0
Default: 0
Most likely affects what resolution the screen mode is set to. Changing this value has no apparent effect in the game.
Palette_red
Palette_green
Palette_blue
Values: 0-255
Default: 0
Sets some sort of color value. Changing these values has no apparent effect in the game.
smk_interlace
Values: 0, 1
Default: 0
Most likely affects if the movies are displayed interlaced or not. Interlaced movies will be faster but only have half the resolution (onlu every other line is displayed). Those with fast systems will want to leave this at 0, while those with slower systems might want to try 1 for better movie permforance.


[SYSTEM]

The system section contains a lot of important and critical game options and settings.
game_bitmap
Default: system\powerup.gxa
Specifies a bitmap for some purpose, perhaps the startup screen or main menu. No need to change this.
pointers
Default: system\pointers.bmp
Most likely specifies an image containing all the mouse cursors for the game. No need to change this.
system_font
Default: fonts\redguard.fnt
Points to the file containing some of the required fonts for the game. No need to change this.
icon_font
Default: fonts\arialvs.fnt
Another font file. Not sure what they mean by 'icon'.
gui_font
gui_low_font
Default: fonts\arialbg.fnt
Default: fonts\arialvb.fnt
Perhaps the font for the debug screen?
animation_drive
This value points to your CDROM from which you installed the game from. You can change this to point to your hard drive if you want to run without a CD and copy all the movies over as well. Note that if you run the Redguard options program, this will be reset to your CD drive.
back_texture
Values: 0
Default: 0
Unknown
volume
Values: 0-255
Default: 255
Most likely sets the volume level for all sounds from 0 (none) to 255 (loudest).
sound
Values: 0, 1?
Default: 1
Possibly turns the sound on (1) or off (0).
fast_sound
Values: 0, 1
Default: 0
If you get a lot of sound stutters, turning this on (1) might help.
fidelity
Values: 0, 1
Default: 0
Something to do with sound?
redbook
Values: on, off?
Default: on
Turns the music on or off.
redbook_volume
Values: 0-255
Default: 255
Sets the volume of the music from 0 (none) to 255 (loudest).
sound_distance
Default: 64
Possibly sets how far away you must be before starting to hear sounds.
post_collide_height
hpost_collide_height
Default: 50
Something to do with collision detection. Not sure if post literally means a post.
pre_validate
Values: no, yes
Default: no
Unknown.
normal_frame_rate
Default: 12
Probably sets the target frame rate for the game. The rendering engine will attempt to display that number of frames each second, possibly approximating or 'dropping' things if it can't.
use_smooth_fps
use_smooth_divisor
Values: no, yes
Default: yes
Possibly has something to do with trying to achieve a constant frame rate (no sudden drops causing jerks).
min_frame_rate
Default: 6
The very minimum frame rate of the rendering system. Assumably if the acutual FPS drops below this the game becomes unplayable and bad things happen. Not sure what happens if you change this value.
max_frame_rate
Default: 300
The maximum number of frames that will be displayed each second. I suppose those with super fast systems could change this to 40-60 or so if they wanted to reduce system load.
jump_time
Default: 6
Something to do with the timing of a jump, either below you take off, or after you land. I haven't noticed much difference when changing this value.
jump_height
Default: 80
Assumably affects how high you can jump, although I didn't notice any effect in the game by changing this value.
sphere_object_scale
Default: 256
standing_height
Default: -2
disable_text
Values: yes, no
Default: no
Controls the display of certain texts, perhaps subtitles or item descriptions.
disable_debug_text
Values: yes, no
Default: yes
Controls the display of any debugging message of text.
normal_ink
Values: 0, 1
Default: 1
slide_range
Default: -60000
statics_load
Values: yes, no
Default: yes
Specifies that static objects should be loaded (at startup or map change?). Probably should leave to yes.
flats_load
Values: yes, no
Default: yes
Specifies that textures and images (I think) should be loaded (at startup or map change?). Probably should leave to yes.
objects_load
Values: yes, no
Default: yes
Specifies that objects should be loaded (at startup or map change?). Probably should leave to yes.
lights_load
Values: yes, no
Default: yes
Specifies that lights should be loaded (at startup or map change?). Probably should leave to yes.
ropes_load
Values: yes, no
Default: yes
Specifies that ropes should be loaded (at startup or map change?). Probably should leave to yes.
task_system
Values: yes, no
Default: yes
Specifies that the task system should be initialized (at startup or map change?). Probably should leave to yes.
animation_system
Values: yes, no
Default: yes
Specifies that the animation system should be initialized (at startup or map change?). Probably should leave to yes.
floating_point_physics
Values: yes, no
Default: yes
Specifies that floating point calculations should be used for any physics computations. Probably should leave to yes.
rtx_filename
Default: ENGLISH.RTX
Gives the filename containing all the game texts. Since there is only one RTX file, there is no need to change this.
world_ini
Default: WORLD.INI
Gives the filename containing data for all the map data.
item_ini
Default: ITEM.INI
Gives the filename containing all the item data.
start_fade
Values: on, off
Default: on
Most likely sets whether the starting screen is faded in or out.
compass_xco
compass_yco
Default: 546, 396
Specifies the location on the screen, in pixels, for the compass (tested and confirmed).
candle_xco
candle_yco
Default: 12, 8
Specifies the location on the screen, in pixels, for the candle.
logbook_xco
logbook_yco
Default: 540, 20
Specifies the location on the screen, in pixels, for the logbook icon when it is displayed.
pickup_xco
pickup_yco
pickup_text_yco
Default: 12, 386. 436
Specifies the location on the screen, in pixels, for the icon and text when you pickup an item.
game_xco1
game_yco1
Default: 576, 6
Location to display something on the screen in pixels, but I'm not sure what.
game_xco2
game_yco2
Default: 576, 96
Location to display something on the screen in pixels, but I'm not sure what.
lock_windows
Values: no, yes
Default: no
disable_drive_check
disable_cpu_check
disable_svga_check
Values: yes, no
Default: yes
Assumably disables or enables check on startup to ensure the computer has SVGA, or is fast enough, or has the correct CD in the drive (I think).
report_machine
Values: yes, no
Default: no
max_active_objects
Default: 32
Number of active objects that can be around at a time. Not quite sure what an active object is.
max_effects
Default: 32
Number of effects that can be displayed at a time. Effects might be something like Dram's fireball.
max_particles
Default: 512
Number of particles that can be displayed at a time.
max_remap_objects
Default: 64
disable_effects
Values: no, yes
Default: no
Enables, or disables, the rendering of effects. Not entirely sure what is classified an effect.


[DEBUG]

The debug section contains anything related to debugging the game. Probably not that much use to us since we aren't the developers.
final_version
Values: 0, 1
Default: 1
If true (1) this indicates the final release of the game and any special debug stuff is suppressed. Turning this off (0) does all kinds of funky things. First, you get a message about something before you start. Then, the game automatically starts a new game, no menu or continue or anything. Then, pressing ESC exits the game immediately instead of displaying the main menu. There's no doubt lots of other things that only happen in debug mode as well. In addition, most likely some of the options in the SYSTEM.INI file might only work in, or out, of debug mode.
enable_logs
Values: 0, 1
Default: 0
Enables the creation of log files to monitor various game systems. A number of .LOG files are created by the game usually, whether this is on or off.
map_log
object_log
video_log
family_log
script_log
render_log
object_system_log
Values: no, yes
Default: no
Enables creation of various log files monitoring various systems.
disable_effects
Values: no, yes
Default: no
console_error
Values: no, yes
Default: yes
If an error occurs and this setting is yes, it will must likely be displayed in the debug console.
software_interrupt
Values: no, yes
Default: yes
This might refer to actual software interrupts or indicate the the game should be interrupted/paused when an error or something occurs.
software_break
Values: no, yes
Default: yes
Something to do with pausing the software on an error perhaps.
attempt_recover
Values: no, yes
Default: no
If yes, the game will attempt to correct an error when it occurs (or merely ignore it).
Values: no, yes
Default: no
More log file options.
node_marker
Values: no, yes
Default: no
Nodes probably refer to points in the 3D models.
task_debug
Values: no, yes
Default: no
Perhaps enable/disable debug settings in the task system.
memory_manager
Values: 0, 1
Default: 0
monitor_object
Default:
Probably specifies a particular item to log or keep an 'eye' on.
display_masters
display_slaves
display_edges
Values: no, yes
Default: no
Probably something to do with the 3D rendering system.
ignore_errors
Values: no, yes
Default: yes
If enabled any errors are ignored and the game continues.
disable_family
disable_master_slaves
disable_slaves
Values: no, yes
Default: no
show_manager
Values: no, yes
Default: no
display_node_map
display_nods
display_markers
Values: no, yes
Default: no
network_marker_file
Default: g:\PROJECTS\REDGUARD\DEMO\NETWORK.MRK
Kinda useless to use since we don't have that file.
convert_static_angles
Values: no, yes
Default: no
def_checksum
Values: no, yes
Default: no
idebug
Values: 0, 1
Default: 0
idebug_refresh
Values: no, yes
Default: no
memory_monitor
Values: no, yes
Default: no


[GAME]

The game section contains settings related to specifically to game play.
fall_bounce_height
Default: 100
Assumably the minimum height from which Cyrus will bounce when he lands.
fall_death_height
Default: 568
Assumably the minimum height from which Cyrus will die when he lands.
fall_hurt_height
Default: 300
Assumably the minimum height from which Cyrus will take damage from the landing.
fall_hurt_zap
Default: 10
The amount of damage taken from a long, non-lethal fall.
slide_hurt_height
Default: 1024
Assumably the minimum height for a slide from which Cyrus will take damage from the landing.
slide_hurt_zap
Default: 10
The amount of damage taken from a long slide.
rope_jump_add
Default: 18
rode_attach_angle
Default: 512
slide_speed
Default: 36
Controls how fast Cyrus will slide down a steep incline.
rtx_pickup_override_time
Default: 24
Something to do with text and picking up an item.
swim_depth
Default: 40
Perhaps how deep the water must be for Cyrus to start swimming.
player_dead_time
Default: 2
How long after the player dies before a message box appears. The time is most likely in game 'ticks' which might be 1/20 second each.
player_fall_dead_time
Default: 6
How long after the player dies from a fall before a message box appears. The time is most likely in game 'ticks' which might be 1/20 second each.
old_combat
Values: on, off
Default: off
Most likely switches between two combat systems. Not sure what the old combat is like.
lineup_distance
Default: 128
Probably the distance Cyrus tries to be from an NPC when initiating dialog.
dialog_radius
Default: 512
How close NPCs have to be before we can talk with them.
combat_sphere
Default: 200
Probably the range in which we can hit things.


[CYRUS]

The cyrus section contains settings related to specifically to Cyrus and his actions.
sheath_sword_delay
Default: 3
Probably related to the pause before Cyrus sheaths his sword once you press the button.
auto_defend
Values: 0, 1
Default: 1
This option enables or disables the auto-defend option in the game.
walk_mode
Values: 0, 1
Default: 0
Specifies either walk or running mode. In walk mode you move slower but are prevented from walking over a ledge.
turn_speed
Default: 8
Something to do with Cyrus' turning speed. Didn't notice much of an effect in the game when I changed the value.
turn_max_speed
Default: 48
Cyrus' maximum turning speed. Not sure what the difference between this and the turn_speed option is.
mouse_turn
Values: 0, 1
Default: 0
This option enables or disables the use of the mouse to turn Cyrus (I think). When I changed this value the only effect in the game was that the ALT key no longer activated the camera move mode. The mouse didn't appear to do anything still. Perhaps it depends on the system or mouse.
joy_tolerance
Default: 60
Something to do with moving Cyrus with a joystick.
camera_distance
Default: 200
The default distance of the camera behind Cyrus.
tap_time
Default: 12
poly_push_units
Default: 16
Perhaps something to do with pushing polygons?
auto_grab
Values: on, off
Default: off
Might cause Cyrus to automatically grab onto ledges or something.
smooth_post_min
Default: 2
smooth_post_max
Default: 10
smooth_post_divisor
Default: 2


[3DMANAGER]

The game section contains settings related to specifically to the 3D manager, whatever that may be. Probably most values here shouldn't be changed.
buffer_kbytes
Default: 800
Assumably the amount of memory allocated to the 3D manager in kilobytes.
heap_kbytes
Default: 22000
The size of the game's heap in kilobytes. For those none-programmers, the heap is the memory used for dynamic allocation of everything (maps, textures, items, etc...). If you have a lot of memory you might try increasing this value for better performance (maybe).
max_objects
Default: 255
Perhaps the maximum number of objects that can be loaded at a time. Objects might be stuff that Cyrus can pick up like gold, potions, torches, etc...
compress
Values: 0, 1
Default: 1
Probably enables or disables the storing of certain data in a compressed format to reduce the amount of memory consumption. I suppose you could disable this if you had a lot of RAM in order to increase performace.
save_compressed
Values: 0, 1
Default: 0
Specifies whether data should be save in a compressed format or not. Uncompressed data would be saved/loaded much quicker but would take more hard disk space.
cache_objects
Values: yes, no
Default: yes
Specifies the caching on objects. Caching would take up memory but improve the game's performance.
cache_lifetime
Default: 32
How long an object stays in the cache before it will be removed. Not sure the units on the number, whether in minutes, seconds or some game specific unit.
dummy_manager
Values: 0, 1
Default: 0
in_view_enabled
Values: no, yes
Default: yes
shutdown_mode
Values: no, yes
Default: yes


[XNGINE]

The game section contains settings related to only to the software, or XnGine, version of the game. They should have no effect in the 3DFX version.
texture_kbytes
Default: 12000
The amount of memory to allocate for the texture images in kilobytes. Those with a lot of RAM might try increasing this value for better game performance.
gfx_kbytes
Default: 256
Perhaps the amount of memory to allocate for any GFX image files. I believe GFX files are only used for static images like the startup screen and menus, so increasing this probably wouldn't affect the game's performance.
front_plane
Default: 7
Probably specifies the distance from the camera where objects are started to be clipped. IE, no object closer that 7 units will be seen.
back_plane
Default: 7800?
Specifies the maximum distance that an object will be seen before it is clipped. If you increase this value you will see objects farther away but the game's performance will drop. If you have a very fast system running the software version you can try increasing this.
perspective_low_x
perspective_low_y
Default: 190
All the perspective options are probably related to how objects appear at different distances or at difference resolutions.
perspective_med_x
perspective_med_y
Default: 400
perspective_high_x
perspective_high_y
Default: 800
perspective_ultra_x
perspective_ultra_y
Default: 800
detail
Default: 8
Specifies some sort of detail level. Assumably if you increase this value the game will be rendered with more detail (thus slowly the game down) and vice-versa.
ambient_light
Default: 32
Sets the value for the ambient light. Ambient light is that which lights all surfaces in the game equally, independant of their direction. If you increase this value things might appear brighter (perhaps a simple gamma correction factor).
screen_scale
Default: 256
haze_depth
Default: 1768
The depth of the haze which appears at the edge of your visibility. Decreasing this value will make objects far away fade out more quickly.
sky_disable
Values: 0, 1
Default: 0
Enables or disables the rendering of the sky. If you have a slower system you might try disabling it for better performance.
sky_move
Values: 0, 1
Default: 1
Specifies whether or not the sky appears to move. Disabling this might improve game performance slightly.
sky_xrotate
Default: 3
sky_yrotate
Default: 40
Something to do with the skies angle or how much it rotates.
game_detail
Default: 2
exclusion
Default: 0 exclusion=0


[CAMERA]

The camera section contains many settings controlling the camera's properties and movements.
static_rope_threshold
Default: 5
obstacle_size
Default: 20
Might specify the default size of an object used for navigating the camera around it.
camera_size
Default: 10
The size of the camera used for detecting collisions with other objects.
camera_scape_size
Default: 5
target_offset_x
target_offset_y
target_offset_z
Default: -6000, -14000, 0
Might specify what the camera target relative to the camera origin.
offset_pos_x
offset_pos_y
offset_pos_z
Default: 0, -14000, 0
offset_angle_x
offset_angle_y
offset_angle_z
Default: 0
camera_distance
Default: 250
The default distance of the camera from Cyrus?
camera_min_distance
Default: 120
camera_right_pos
camera_left_pos
Default: 5000
camera_combat_angle_offset_x
camera_combat_angle_offset_y
camera_combat_angle_offset_z
Default: 135, 245, 0
Related to the angle of the camera during combat.
camera_combat_distance
Default: 260
The distance of the camera from Cyrus during combat.
camera_hang_angle_offset_x
camera_hang_angle_offset_y
camera_hang_angle_offset_z
Default: 256, 0, 0
Angle of the camera when Cyrus is hanging from something.
camera_hang_distance
Default: 250
Distance of the camera from Cyrus when he is hanging from something.
camera_rope_max_vel
Default: 18000
Maximum speed of the camera when Cyrus is on a rope?
camera_rope_angle_offset_x
camera_rope_angle_offset_y
camera_rope_angle_offset_z
Default: 96, 128, 0
Angle of the camera when Cyrus is on a rope.
camera_rope_distance
Default: 300
Distance of the camera rom Cyrus when he is on a rope.
camera_rope_above_angle_offset_x
camera_rope_above_angle_offset_y
camera_rope_above_angle_offset_z
Default: 96, 128, 0
camera_rope_above_distance
Default: 300
camera_rope_above_aim_x
camera_rope_above_aim_y
camera_rope_above_aim_z
Default: -512, 0, 0
camera_rope_below_offset_x
camera_rope_below_offset_y
camera_rope_below_offset_z
Default: 96, 128, 0
camera_rope_below_distance
Default: 300
camera_rope_below_aim_x
camera_rope_below_aim_y
camera_rope_below_aim_z
Default: 512, 0, 0
camera_debug_angle_offset_x
camera_debug_angle_offset_y
camera_debug_angle_offset_z
Default: 128, 256, 0
Camera angle when the game is in debug mode.
camera_debug_distance
Default: 300
Camera distance from Cyrus when the game is in debug mode.
min_x_angle
max_x_angle
Default: 400, 1692
The minimum and maximum camera x-angles when it is being moved around.
max_vel
Default: 8000
The maximum velocity of the camera.
max_y_vel
Default: 5000
The maximum camera velocity in the y-direction.
max_acc
Default: 5000
The maximum acceleration of the camera.
player_control_x_inc
player_control_y_inc
Default: 70, -70
The angle increment in the x and y directionx when the player is moving the camera.
gilde_x
gilde_y
gilde_z
Default: 0.9, 0.2, 0.9
Something to do with how easily the camera glides or moves around.
gilde_angle_x
gilde_angle_y
gilde_angle_z
Default: 1.0, 1.0, 1.0
cam_prox_up
Default: 70.0


[DIALOG]

The dialog section contains settings related to talking with NPCs.
menu_start_x
menu_start_y
Default: 35, 25
The pixel location when the dialog menu will appear on the screen.
dialog_max_menu_items
Default: 20
The maximum number of dialog menu items that will be displayed on the screen at a time.
dialog_max_dialog_lines
Default: 20
Perhaps the maximum number of dialog text lines that will be displayed on the screen at a time.
dialog_max_text_width
Default: 500
The maximum length of a text line in pixels that will be displayed.
dialog_print_text
Values: 0, 1
Default: 1
Enables or disables the dialog subtitles for NPCs.
dialog_use_speech
Values: 0, 1
Default: 1
Enables or disables the NPC dialog speech.
dialog_max_distance
Default: 1600
The maximum distance an NPC can be from Cyrus for initiating a conversation.
menu_traverse_delay
Default: 4
The amount of time to delay when the user moves from one dialog menu item to another. If this is set too low you might have trouble properly selecting a menu item.


[3DFX]

The 3dfx section contains settings related only to the 3DFX version of the game. They should have no effect in the software version.
resolution
Default: 7
Sets the video mode resolution for the game?
text_scale
Default: 2, 1
anim_text_scale
Default: 1, 1
font_sel
Default: 255, 255
Might specify which palette index to render a selected text item in.
font_norm
Default: 125, 255
The border and fill colors of a normal text item.
font_used
Default: 125, 128
The border and fill colors of a used dialog menu item.



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