I came across this in another forum.

http://www.watto.org/extract/download.html

They have a game file extractor that will extract files out of RB3D's vol files. It is an easy Window interface, one click and extract (okay, maybe a few clicks) type of program.

The VOL files I tested it out on worked nicely and easily.

The program is free.

The full version ($5) is designed to make/put back together the game files, but RB3D's Vol files are not currently supported.

But for extraction, it currently supports over 1,300 games.

EDIT: Have done some additional testing, with modified vol files like PL1, it says it can't open the files, but if you select the "Use a Script" option, it has no problems.

Nice tool, thanks for the info Wail

S!

Vol files are file packs for the game. They include plane modes, FM and damage Models, sounds, and the graphics for plane parts and terrain amongst other files.

Of the stock game Vol files, 3dpatch.vol, 3dfall.vol and 3dwinter.vol are the most useful to extract. The other vol files, rbmulti.vol, rbmmulti.vol and rbshell.vol are not as useful as most of the files are not easily open-able either due to encryption or compression, but some have been converted to usable by others, such as the mapboards.

Some of the Mods also include these two extra vol files: 3dSpring.vol and lowres.vol.

What you can do is if there is something that is bothering you about the game, like a certain terrain tile, you can extract and find it, edit it, and then just having it in the folder of the game the vol file came from, your newly modified tile will be used. For example, in PL1, there is a river tile, "river6.bmp" that has a very snake like bend in it, that on the Island map for MP will travel up the side of mountains, well, you can take that bmp and all the others of it for the different distance viewing and seasons, and change it so it no longer runs up a hill.

I have attached the river6 file and what i did to fix it along with a field image that Gump modified to remove a bright yellow filed that created a checkerboard pattern in the game due to repetition.

For some of the mod packs, lowres.vol is filled with the sounds and plane parts, and let us say there is a specific sound that annoys you (for me PL1va has a few rotten eggs amongst it's mostly diamonds of sounds) you can extract the sounds and go through, find the offending ones and make new ones.

RB3D is very moddable if you have all the parts in front of you, it is just with most locked in vol files makes it hard to mod as you don't know what can be modded. For the stock vol files with the files that you can not open up, by opening them up you at least get thier names and then with a bit of work, you can make mods of them, such as new pilot pictures for the campaign.

This game extractor also extracts the files from over a thousand other games, so if there is something an another game you wished you could use, such as an image or a sound, you have a good chance of getting it.

Very cool ... so what is in the .dat, .ted, .spl, and .pal files then? (you don't have to go through specifics for each one, just looking for the general organization)

.dat are data files, like which aerodrome a squad is based amongst many things, or flight models.

.pal are color palettes

.spl have to do with the .pals, I believe they help make changes to the color palettes as the seasons change.

.dml are Data Material Lists, they tell the game what bmp to use for various parts of the aeroplanes or for the maps.

.ted are the Terrain Editor files, the actual maps used in the game. Baron1.ted is the Flanders map, while Baron3.ted is Alsace and Baron4.ted is the Island map for MP. Baron0.ted and Baron2.ted are Verdun and Marne maps, just can't remember which is which. With the TED editor you can modify the maps


If you are thinking of modifying images you need to use 256 colors and use the specific palettes the game is using for the other images like it, else you will get graphic corruptions.

cheers!

p.s. out of curiosity do you know how joystick control was implement in Red Baron 3D? Is it dinput? Winmm? something else?

I haven't a clue, sorry.

no worries