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Utility Data Files (util.dat)
Record Details
Record 33 - General Object

word      Object Id
word      Position X
word      Position Y
word      Color (1..15)
word      Radius
word      Speed (0..15)
word      Heading (-1..359)
char[20]  Name
char[20]  Info Field 1
char[20]  Info Field 2
word      Utility Code
...auxiliary data may follow.

This record is meant to be used as a template for external add-ons to use in communicating with client-side utilities, similar in style to HOST's ufo.hst mechanism. This record is never actually generated by PHost. It is proposed that add-on programs that wish to communicate the presence of objects in the universe to client-side utilities use this record format.

This record can be considered to contain 3 separate sections:

The 9 fields from Position X to Info Field 2 are generic fields not specific to any add-on program. They contain enough information to allow a client-side utility to display the object on a starchart without knowing which add-on program is the source of the object, or even what the object is. The Color field should follow the same encoding as for Ufos.
The Object Id and Utility Code can be used to identify the object. The Utility Code should be taken from the record type range assigned to the add-on utility. Client programs which know about the add-on program can use this information to process the next section.
The standardized data block may be followed by object-specific information. It is up to the writer of the add-on program to define the layout of this information.

The use of this record for communicating objects greatly simplifies the work of client-side utility writers. It is recommended that all add-on programs use this record for transmitting object position data. Client-side programs known to evaluate General Objects so far include:

EchoView
PCC
xk

There is one convention that should be followed regarding the Object Id field: If the object is also reported via ufo.hst, the Object Id should correspond to the same Id as for the entry in the ufo.hst file, so that client-side utilities know that the records actually describe the same object. Thus, objects which are not in the ufo.hst file should have Object Id values greater than 1000 (the maximum number of objects in the ufo.hst file).