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  • Create Date 11/08/2022
  • Last Updated 13/08/2022

GSC File Utility

GSC Utility v1.0
This tool is designed to extract files contained within GSC files of the game Cossacks for editing, and then recombine them together to make another GSC format file. This can be used to alter various unit and
nation statistics as you see fit.

Requirements:
Windows (tested on WinNT4, Win98SE, WinME and WinXP)
More than 64MB of system memory with a fast CPU
VB6 Run-Time Library (this can be downloaded at
http://download.microsoft.com/download/vba6/Utility/1/WIN98/EN-US/vbrun60sp3.EXE)

How to use:
This tool has two main modes, file extraction and file generation. File generation mode is only available if you have the game Cossacks: EW installed on your machine.

FILE EXTRACTION MODE:
This is used to look into files like All.gsc and patch01.gs1/patch02.gs1 files in Cossacks installation directory, and extract the files within. Use the FILE menu at the top to open a particular GSC file. Once opened, a list will be presented in the big box below with all the files contained in the GSC file. The ones with "*" are encrypted files. Choose some of them and click the EXTRACT button. The files will be extracted to the default folder called "extracted", or you can name another folder by typing into the text box "Extract to folder:"

Double clicking on the file name will give you information about the file size in the status bar.

The DECRYPT option (recommended), chosen by default, will decrypt the file to its original format before the file is extracted. This however may take a bit of time, especially with larger files like picture files.

The EXTRACT AS "+" option, when chosen, will extract the file as FOLDER+FILENAME rather than a file within a folder. This will make it easier when you re-add the file for GSC file generation (see below in FILE GENERATION MODE, to make more sense of this).

A lot of these files are text files, and can be manually edited using notepad or wordpad. For example, TKP.MD is the control file for the Winged Hussar. Extracting this, you can then open it to edit unit parameters such as strength, armor, attacks, etc.. AUSTRIA.NDS is the control file for Austrian nation.

.MD = unit parameters
.NDS = nation parameters

How do you put all these files back in the game to make it work?. See below...

FILE GENERATION MODE:
This is not available unless you have the game Cossacks installed already on your machine. This is used to recombine all the files that you have extracted and edited into a "usable" file by Cossacks game engine. If you have only Cossacks:EW, the file you should make is PATCH01.GS1. If you have AoW, you should make PATCH02.GS1. If you have MODS1, you should make MODS01.GS1 file.

Depending on which version of Cossacks you have installed, the different options are available on the combo box on the top right hand side of the GSC Utility. Choosing the appropriate mode will allow you to make a suitable .GS1 file for that game. This is because each of the files within the GSC file seems to be tagged with a unique ID number. As such, if you add a file that has not already existed in that game (eg. adding file BAVARIA.NDS to Cossacks:EW) will give you a warning and no file will be generated.

To add the files to combine for .GS1 file generation, you simply drag and drop them into the box. To remove files, double click on the filename in the box. Note that you must NOT drop a folder into the box. This will cause the utility to crash. This is a known bug.

Please note that if a file you want to add is nested within a folder inside the Cossacks installation directory, you must change the name of that file to FOLDER+FILENAME format. Eg. AGEW_1.PAL file is nested within a folder called 0. You should name this file 0+AGEW_1.PAL before adding it to the box. This can easily be done if you have extracted the file with the EXTRACT AS "+" option chosen.

Also, if you were to make patch01.gs1 or patch02.gs1 files, it is highly advisable that you rename the original file to something like patch01.bak. It is also important that you extract the files within these files first and recombine them later with your edited files.

What's new in version 1.03

1. Added option for naming your path name to Cossacks installtion directory. This is only needed if your Cossacks installation was not detected by the utility. You can check if it finds your installation by switching to File generator mode and using the top box on the right hand corner to see the options available.
2. Added decryption scheme for those who finds their version of Cossacks did not extract
and decrypt properly.

Version 1.10

This version has support for all files and does not require any installation of Cossacks on user's computer for the generator to work.

Version 1.11

This is a minor update to include added functionality including a Select All button (for the extractor module) and Find/Find next menu (under Edit) for easier navigation through larger files (eg. ALL.GSC). Removal of GAME MODE choice as this option is no longer needed.

For more information check this link.

  c1tool     cossacks1  

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