Fighter to Boxer converter batch file by MZL & Rogue Trooper 01/14/92
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The files you should have:
FIG2BOX.BAT - Batch file that converts FIG files to Boxer format.
FIG2BOX.DOC - You're reading it now!
FIG-JOIN.BAT - Batch file that joins a split FIG file into 1 large file.
CHOP.EXE - A utility that splits files into specified pieces.
What FIG2BOX does:
This small batch file changes a FIG file to a Boxer file in the follow steps:
1) Removes the 512 byte header that is not needed on Boxer/MGH files.
2) Chops the file up into 32k blocks.
3) Assembles these blocks into a different order needed for Boxer/MGH units.
4) Splits the completed file into 2 parts.
As far as I have seen, the finished file will NOT load on my MGH or others
MGH units unless it is split into 2 parts. I don't know why this is, but it
seems to be a requirement for Boxer files. If you'd like the 2 files joined
back to how they were, simply do a COPY /B filename.1+filename.2 filename.box
on your IBM.
What FIG-JOIN does:
This file is needed if the FIG file you want to convert is in 2 parts. A good
example is Final Fantasy V. Just run this batch file and you are now set to
use FIG2BOX on the new joined file.
What files this program converts:
So far, this batch file has successfully converted Battle Soccer, Lord Monarch,
Psycho Dream, Ranma 1/2 II, Romance of the 3 Kingdoms 3, and Final Fantasy V!
Super Mario Kart & Pilot Wings will not work, simply because they require a
different chipset. A game I tried that did not convert was The 7th Rune. I
don't know if this game has a custom chipset like Kart & Wings, or if it
never worked in the first place. The batch file will not convert a Boxer file
to the FIG file format. I was going to make such a batch file, but wasn't
sure if the 512 byte header was different for every game. If not, then a
conversion would be simple.
Notes about the batch file:
I wrote this in a batch file format to make it easy for anyone with programming
knowledge to incorporate this into a program of their own. Because it's a batch
file, it has no real memory of it's own, so it uses the hard disk to store all
information. A 16MB Fig file will require nearly 6 megs of your hard disk
space, and room for 64 files that it will create from the source file. These
temporary files are created in directories that are erased when the conversion
is completed, so some of you may want to run a DEFRAG program after you've
converted a few files, as disk space gets a bit choppy.
Other stuff:
Do you have a Game Hunter and an EPROM burner? Are you sick of those MD & SF
headers on your files? Look for my modified version of BIOS 1.3 coming soon.
All it requires is an EPROM burner and a 27C256 EPROM.