GAM files are indexed text files. They contain global variables for each core Fallout game and its maps, and are found in master.dat\data and master.dat\maps, respectively.
Format and editing of GAM files is identical between Fallout 1 and 2.
Structure[]
At the beginning there is a header - "MAP_GLOBAL_VARS:" in GAM files for maps and "GAME_GLOBAL_VARS:" in VAULT13.GAM.
Next is a list of variables - first the name (as in most programming languages it can contain Latin letters, numbers, and underscores, as in "MVAR_Last_Respawn_Map"), then the assignment operator (:=, attributed to Pascal, Fallout's proprietary scripting lanugage), then the initial value of the variable, and at the end a semicolon.
Variables are referred to in scripts by their number in the list (starting at zero).
Variable names are always written with capitalized internal words to distinguish them from map variables, and following each variable is a comment with its number. This is done for the convenience of programmers.
Notes[]
- Comments are indicated by two slashes (
//), attributed to C, one of Fallout's programming languages. - Do not exceed 256 characters in any one line in this file. Any lines above 256 characters will overflow into the following line, causing all global variables after that to hold incorrect data.
Example 1[]
Taken from ARGARDEN.GAM, which corresponds to the ARGARDEN.MAP file (Fallout 2):
// Map vars for Arroyo Garden Map // Comments //MAP_GLOBAL_VARS: MAP_GLOBAL_VARS: //GLOBAL NUMBER MVAR_Last_Respawn_Map :=0; // (0) MVAR_Current_Gecko_Easy :=0; // (1) MVAR_Current_Gecko_Hard :=0; // (2) MVAR_Current_Xander_Root :=0; // (3) MVAR_Current_Broc_Flower :=0; // (4) MVAR_Last_Spot :=0; // (5) MVAR_Kill_Runaway :=0; // (6) MVAR_Dog_Already_Dead :=0; // (7)
Example 2[]
Taken from VAULT13.GAM (Fallout 2):
GAME_GLOBAL_VARS: //GLOBAL NUMBER GVAR_PLAYER_REPUTATION :=0; // (0) GVAR_CHILDKILLER_REPUTATION :=0; // (1) GVAR_CHAMPION_REPUTATION :=0; // (2) GVAR_BERSERKER_REPUTATION :=0; // (3) GVAR_BAD_MONSTER :=0; // (4) GVAR_GOOD_MONSTER :=0; // (5) GVAR_PLAYER_MARRIED :=0; // (6) GVAR_ENEMY_ARROYO :=0; // (7)
Open with[]
.GAM files can be opened with any simple text-editing programs, like Notepad or WordPad.
TeamX document[]
Original document at teamx.ru (in Russian)