In addition to the normal set of result files, PHost creates an additional set of files, called utilX.dat. Those files are intended to simplify life for player-side information presentation utilities.
Traditionally, programs have been reading sub-space messages the Host sends, to figure out information like mine field locations, sensor scans, and so on. This is a tedious and error-prone process, and doesn't go well with PHost's multi-language support. To solve that problem, PHost also sends most of the sub-space messages again, in a machine-readable format, in the utilX.dat files. Ideally, all interesting information should be presented in utilX.dat, so if you're missing something, don't hesitate to tell us.
The utilX.dat files are also used to transmit data requested by players (using the send command).
This page documents the format of these files. It is of interest for host-side and player-side programmers only. Hosts, however, should make sure to send the utilX.dat files with the RST files to their players.
This page also documents other aspects of host-to-client communication, namely messages and Ufos. For the preferred means of client-to-host communication in PHost, see the Command Messages page.
