Data files
SRB2 relies on a set of data files to run. These include the executable, WAD files that contain the game's resources, DLL files and various configuration files. The folder where all files related to an SRB2 installation should be located is referred to as the "SRB2 directory". This article lists the data files that are included (or can be included) in the SRB2 directory and explains their content and purpose.
Contents
Core installation
These are the files that are extracted from the self-extracting archive file for installing SRB2, most of which are required to run SRB2 itself. In most cases, modifying or deleting these files will cause the game to crash on startup.
Executables
These are the executables for running SRB2 itself – clicking on either of these files will start the game. With the use of batch files (such as the ones below) or a launcher, command line parameters for either of these files can be set before starting the game.
srb2win.exe
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SRB2's main executable, recommended for modern operating systems such as Windows 8. This executable runs under the SDL2 audio and video libraries. |
srb2dd.exe
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SRB2's secondary (deprecated) executable, available for users who have problems with srb2win.exe . This executable runs under the old DirectDraw libraries. The FMOD Ex library is used for audio. Note: Netplay is no longer available through this executable.
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Batch files
Batch files are included as a method to quick-launch SRB2 with particular settings without use of a launcher. Only two batch files to launch SRB2 in the OpenGL renderer are currently included in the SRB2 installation. These files can be deleted without harm.
SRB2 - OpenGL.bat
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Batch file for running srb2win.exe in OpenGL.
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SRB2 - OpenGL - DirectDraw.bat
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Batch file for running srb2dd.exe in OpenGL.
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Resources
These are WAD files containing all of SRB2's resources, all of which use file extensions other than the usual .wad
extension to make it easier to search for them – SRB2's main WAD file, srb2.srb
, uses the .srb
extension, while all other resource files use the .dta
extension.
srb2.srb
|
SRB2's main WAD file. This acts as the IWAD for WAD editors that are used for SRB2 editing. It contains most of the resources found in SRB2. These include most sprites, textures, patches, flats and graphics as well as SRB2's palette files (PLAYPAL , COLORMAP and TRANS10 –TRANS90 ).
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zones.dta
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A WAD file containing all maps, their level select images, and the MAINCFG lump for SRB2.
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player.dta
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A WAD file containing sprites and other related graphics for the three main characters, as well as the S_SKIN lumps for Tails and Knuckles. However, character select data for all three, as well as Sonic's character stats, are stored in SRB2's code itself, and can not be found in this file. Note that as Sonic's sprites are in fact the default sprites for SPR_PLAY , these appear between the S_START and S_END marker lumps unlike the sprites for Tails and Knuckles.
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rings.dta
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A WAD file containing the sprites for the weapon rings. |
music.dta
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A WAD file containing all of SRB2's music, both in Ogg format and MIDI format.
Unlike the other main resources, this WAD file can be modified to have custom music files, as there is no MD5 check for |
patch.dta
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A WAD file containing fixes to resources for SRB2, introduced for patches to Version 2.1. |
Libraries
exchndl.dll
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This library is used to create Dr. Mingw[1] debugging reports if SRB2 crashes. The reports are stored in a .RPT file sharing the same name as the executable used, e.g., srb2win.RPT .
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fmodex.dll
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This file contains the FMOD Ex library, a sound engine that srb2dd.exe (the DirectDraw version of SRB2) uses to play back music in the Ogg format.
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libFLAC-8.dll
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This file contains the LibFLAC library, which SRB2 uses to play back music in the FLAC format. |
libgme.dll
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This file contains the Game Music Emu[2] library, which SRB2 uses to play back music in various video game music formats. See Sound and music tutorial > Game Music Emu formats for all sound formats supported by the Game Music Emu library. |
libintl-8.dll
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This file contains the GNU gettext library, which allows SRB2 to load .mo files that translate the game's text into another language.
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libmikmod-2.dll
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This file contains the MikMod library, which SRB2 uses to play back music in module formats such as MOD. See Sound and music tutorial > MikMod formats for all sound formats supported by the MikMod library. |
libmodplug-1.dll
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This file contains the ModPlug library, which SRB2 uses to play back music in module formats such as MOD. |
libogg-0.dll
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This file contains the Libogg library, which SRB2 uses to play back music in the Ogg format. |
libvorbis-0.dll
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This file contains the Libvorbis library, which SRB2 uses to play back music in the Ogg format. |
libvorbisfile-3.dll
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This file contains the Vorbisfile library, which SRB2 uses to play back music in the Ogg format. |
r_opengl.dll
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Necessary for running the game in the OpenGL renderer for srb2dd.exe , the DirectDraw version of SRB2.
Unlike the other DLL files included with SRB2, this is custom-built for the game itself – compiling the DirectDraw version of SRB2 with OpenGL support will produce this file alongside |
SDL2.dll
|
This file contains the Simple DirectMedia Layer library, which SRB2 uses for various purposes, such as audio and video input as well as handling the input devices. |
SDL2_mixer.dll
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This file contains the SDL_mixer library, which is used for sound mixing. See Sound and music tutorial > SDL_mixer formats for all sound formats supported by the SDL_mixer library. |
smpeg2.dll
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This file contains the SMPEG library, which SRB2 uses to play back music in the MP3 format. |
Other files
Game data files
These files will automatically be created by the game to store progress made in Single Player's campaign mode, and will be updated by the game whenever necessary. These can deleted without harm, but this will result in the loss of game progress.
gamedata.dat
|
A data file containing information on time attack records and unlocked secrets. Both of these areas of information can be overwritten independently in the options menu in SRB2. This file is saved every time a new goal or record is set.
If the game has been modified, the game will not save new data to this file until the game has been restarted. However, custom modifications can provide their own custom gamedata files with the use of SOC – the If the command line parameters |
srb2savX.ssg
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These are save game files that store saved progress for each save slot in unmodified SRB2; they will automatically be created when a new game is started in a particular slot, and will be updated after every zone cleared or when the game itself has been cleared.
For any save game file X is the save slot number, which will be a number between 0 and 29 – If the game has been modified, the game will not save new data to these files until the game has been restarted. However, custom modifications with a custom gamedata file will allow SRB2 to use save game files of different names instead – the name of the save game files will be |
Configuration files
These files will automatically be created by the game to store various settings, and will be updated by the game whenever necessary. They can deleted without harm, but this will result in the loss of settings.
config.cfg
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A text file containing all settings for the user in SRB2. It will automatically be created when the game is started for the first time, or when the file can't be found in SRB2's directory otherwise on game start-up. It saves all keys set for the player's controls, as well as all the values of console variables that are intended to be retained on restarting SRB2 itself – these include various options such as screen resolution, mouse settings, sound/music volume settings, console settings, and many other tidbits of information.
The command line parameter Certain console commands can also be used to change/save the configuration file used while the game is running: |
dconfig.cfg
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A text file containing settings in SRB2. This is identical to config.cfg , except it will only be used when a dedicated server is being set up.
The command line parameter |
User-created configuration files
These files are not included with the core installation of SRB2 and will not be created by the game in any situation, so they have to be created manually if necessary. Otherwise, these can be deleted without harm if they exist.
autoexec.cfg
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A console script file that SRB2 automatically loads on startup if it exists. It can be used to execute console commands for applying settings such as control configurations, player name and color. |
adedserv.cfg
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A console script file that SRB2 automatically loads on startup if it exists. This is identical to autoexec.cfg in function, but will load only when a dedicated server is being set up.
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md2.dat
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A configuration file to determine which MD2 models replace certain sprite prefixes or player skins in OpenGL. |
Log files
These are text files that will automatically be created by the game for logging purposes. They can safely be deleted without any harm, but for ban.txt
this will result in the loss of IP addresses for banned players from the user's netgames.
log.txt
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A text file that saves all console in- and output for the last SRB2 session. Note that starting a new SRB2 session will overwrite the old contents of this file with the console in- and output for the new session while the game is running. |
ban.txt
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Stores info on banned players from netgames hosted by the user. When the game is closed, all banned IP addresses and their ban reasons are saved into this file, to be reloaded back into the game when it is restarted or if reloadbans is used.
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srb2win.RPT srb2dd.RPT
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When SRB2 crashes, resulting error reports can be found here. Such crashes should be reported on the SRB2 Message Board. In previous SRB2 versions, error reports were stored in errorlog.txt , but this file is no longer used.
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Other
srb2XXXX.png
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Naming format for screenshots or APNG movies taken in SRB2, XXXX being a four-digit number from 0000 to 9999. |
srb2XXXX.gif
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Naming format for GIF movies recorded in SRB2, XXXX being a four-digit number from 0000 to 9999. |
Folders
Certain subfolders in the SRB2 directory have special purposes for the game itself. None of these are included with the SRB2 installation, but will be automatically generated by the game itself or will have to be created manually.
/replay
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Stores replay lumps for Record Attack and NiGHTS Mode. For unmodified SRB2, the folder the files are stored in is:
/replay/main For custom gamedata files, the name of the folder used is: /replay/[gamedata file name] where Deleting |
/DOWNLOAD
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Stores files downloaded from a netgame. |
/md2
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Stores MD2 models and their skin files. This folder must be created manually if needed. |