08-Jan-2013, 7:43 AM
It took me quite some time to learn the ins and outs of how to best use tws-files
in Tile World. Wait a second, what are tws-files, you might ask?? Well, I'm glad you did, since I'll write a quick guide to get you started!
TWS apparently stands for Tile World Solution, and it is the file extension used by Tile World to automatically save all solutions to levels. You can then replay your solutions or share them with others. To understand them a bit we have to back up and briefly discuss DAC-files. Wait what?? Ok, let's first look at an example without these DAC-files.
So if you look at the folder structure in your folder containing Tile World, you should find at least the subfolders called data, save, and sets. Now say you download a new custom set to play, called Not_CCLP1.dat
, you might save it in the sets folder, right? Well, this works, and while it's not the best way to do it, for our example, this is exactly what we do. Next, when you open Tile World, it will have a set called Not_CCLP1.dat
in the list of sets you can play. So basically Tile World looks in the sets-folder for any sets it can play. If you now open it you can play the levels in MS mode. Now a new file called Not_CCLP1.tws
will appear in your save-folder. Notice the file extension tws added without the extension dat. If you share this file with others, they can view your solutions as long as they have the same setup of files. The solution file does not save the levels, but only the moves you make (and the random seed used) to solve the level. Attempts that do not solve a level are not saved. The file also remembers which passwords you had known. If the original set is updated, the solutions are not lost, but obviously they might not work any longer. However, the tws-file recognizes levels by their passwords, so if you change any password in a set, you run the risk of not being able to match the solution to the level again.
To get more flexibility out of your files, you should use DAC-files. Basically a DAC-file in the sets-folder tells Tile World to use a file in the data-folder as a set to play. So instead of putting our Not_CCLP1.dat
in sets, we put it in data, and create a text file with the text "file=Not_CCLP1.dat" and save it with any name, like Not_CCLP1-ms.dac
. (Note that the file extension is DAC, not TXT.) Now the tws file that is created in the save-folder is called Not_CCLP1-ms.dac.tws
. Notice that the "dac" is included in this name. The DAC-file allows you to give Tile World other instructions too. The main one might be allowing you to play in lynx mode, by including the text "ruleset=lynx" in the file. Other possible commands are "lastlevel=144" and "usepasswords=no". The contents of a dac-file have no effect on the tws file, (except for which passwords might be shown I assume).
Those are the basics. You should go and test it for yourself. If you have any trouble, ask about it in the comments below, since chances are someone else will face the same situation. Here are a few more advanced things to try if you want:
1) Multiple dac-files can link to a single set. Basically you can play both ms and lynx with one set in the data-folder and make dac-files for both rule sets. Or you can have multiple users with their own saves of the same sets.
2) You can save multiple copies of a tws and still view them in Tile World. To do this, make copy of your tws, like Not_CCLP1.dac.tws
renamed as Not_CCLP1-ms.dac.old.tws
, and keep both files in the save-folder. Now in Tile World 2.0, you can select which of the solution files you are using by selecting Solution Files... from the menu (or pressing Ctrl+S in older versions). The key thing here is to have the same file name upto the start of the ".tws" of the original file, otherwise only that original file will appear as a choice.
3) You can extract single solutions, or sets of solutions from a tws-file using the program Solex. It's available at Tile World's own site: http://www.muppetlab...d/download.html Ask if you have trouble using it!
4) Things you can't do include combining solutions from different files into one, or renaming both a dac-file and tws-file and still keep them working. These are things that can be done if you dig deeper into the files, but not just with the simple tools available.
A final disclaimer: future versions of Tile World might change some of the details listed here, but most likely any of your solutions will be still viewable with some method. Have fun sharing your solutions (or watching them yourself)!
-Miika
P.S. This is the second blog post I'm writing today, so you might have missed the first one. Check it out too!
in Tile World. Wait a second, what are tws-files, you might ask?? Well, I'm glad you did, since I'll write a quick guide to get you started!
TWS apparently stands for Tile World Solution, and it is the file extension used by Tile World to automatically save all solutions to levels. You can then replay your solutions or share them with others. To understand them a bit we have to back up and briefly discuss DAC-files. Wait what?? Ok, let's first look at an example without these DAC-files.
So if you look at the folder structure in your folder containing Tile World, you should find at least the subfolders called data, save, and sets. Now say you download a new custom set to play, called Not_CCLP1.dat
, you might save it in the sets folder, right? Well, this works, and while it's not the best way to do it, for our example, this is exactly what we do. Next, when you open Tile World, it will have a set called Not_CCLP1.dat
in the list of sets you can play. So basically Tile World looks in the sets-folder for any sets it can play. If you now open it you can play the levels in MS mode. Now a new file called Not_CCLP1.tws
will appear in your save-folder. Notice the file extension tws added without the extension dat. If you share this file with others, they can view your solutions as long as they have the same setup of files. The solution file does not save the levels, but only the moves you make (and the random seed used) to solve the level. Attempts that do not solve a level are not saved. The file also remembers which passwords you had known. If the original set is updated, the solutions are not lost, but obviously they might not work any longer. However, the tws-file recognizes levels by their passwords, so if you change any password in a set, you run the risk of not being able to match the solution to the level again.
To get more flexibility out of your files, you should use DAC-files. Basically a DAC-file in the sets-folder tells Tile World to use a file in the data-folder as a set to play. So instead of putting our Not_CCLP1.dat
in sets, we put it in data, and create a text file with the text "file=Not_CCLP1.dat" and save it with any name, like Not_CCLP1-ms.dac
. (Note that the file extension is DAC, not TXT.) Now the tws file that is created in the save-folder is called Not_CCLP1-ms.dac.tws
. Notice that the "dac" is included in this name. The DAC-file allows you to give Tile World other instructions too. The main one might be allowing you to play in lynx mode, by including the text "ruleset=lynx" in the file. Other possible commands are "lastlevel=144" and "usepasswords=no". The contents of a dac-file have no effect on the tws file, (except for which passwords might be shown I assume).
Those are the basics. You should go and test it for yourself. If you have any trouble, ask about it in the comments below, since chances are someone else will face the same situation. Here are a few more advanced things to try if you want:
1) Multiple dac-files can link to a single set. Basically you can play both ms and lynx with one set in the data-folder and make dac-files for both rule sets. Or you can have multiple users with their own saves of the same sets.
2) You can save multiple copies of a tws and still view them in Tile World. To do this, make copy of your tws, like Not_CCLP1.dac.tws
renamed as Not_CCLP1-ms.dac.old.tws
, and keep both files in the save-folder. Now in Tile World 2.0, you can select which of the solution files you are using by selecting Solution Files... from the menu (or pressing Ctrl+S in older versions). The key thing here is to have the same file name upto the start of the ".tws" of the original file, otherwise only that original file will appear as a choice.
3) You can extract single solutions, or sets of solutions from a tws-file using the program Solex. It's available at Tile World's own site: http://www.muppetlab...d/download.html Ask if you have trouble using it!
4) Things you can't do include combining solutions from different files into one, or renaming both a dac-file and tws-file and still keep them working. These are things that can be done if you dig deeper into the files, but not just with the simple tools available.
A final disclaimer: future versions of Tile World might change some of the details listed here, but most likely any of your solutions will be still viewable with some method. Have fun sharing your solutions (or watching them yourself)!
-Miika
P.S. This is the second blog post I'm writing today, so you might have missed the first one. Check it out too!
