The TransData command-line utility reads the Transcendence resources database and outputs various tables about the items, ships, and encounters in the game.

Installation and Usage

Click here to download the latest version. Place the TransData.exe file in the game folder (the same folder as Transcendence.exe). Open up a command-prompt (Cmd.exe) and CD (change directory) to the game folder. TransData can be run with various command-line switches, each of which invokes a different function. For a list of all functions, use the /? switch. For example,

transdata /?

lists all functions of the program.

In all cases, TransData uses the Transcendence.tdb or Transcendence.xml files as used by the game. If any extensions are installed (in the Extensions) folder, TransData will include those in its tables.

Item Tables

Use the /itemtable switch to output tables listing the items in the game. For example,

transdata /itemtable

lists all the items defined in the game sorted by level, type, and frequency. The output of the program is a text table with one item per line and tabs separating each piece of data. This format can be imported into Excel by piping the output to a text file and importing the data file into Excel (choosing tabs as the delimiter). For example,

transdata /itemtable > items.txt

will generate a file called "items.txt" that can be imported into Excel.

You can use additional switches to modify the behavior. Add the /? switch to see a list of all switches:

transdata /itemtable /?

The most important switch is the /criteria switch. This switch lets you limit the table to just the items that match the criteria. For example,

transdata /itemtable /criteria:"* +Illegal;"

will list all items with the Illegal modifier. Remember to put quotes around the criteria.

Other switches will add columns to the tables so that you can get more information about the items. For example, the /cost switch will add a column listing the price of each item (in credits). Use the /? switch to see all switches.

Ship Tables

Use the /shiptable switch to output tables listing the ships in the game. For example,

transdata /shiptable

Again, you can pipe the output to a text file to import it into Excel. Unlike the /itemtable switch, however, the /shiptable switch cannot be currently customized.

System Tests

The /systemtest is used to estimate the distribution of stations and other encounters in any given game. Invoking a system test will generate all the systems used in a game as if a player were playing. TransData then adds up all of the stations that get created and outputs the total number of stations generated per system and per level.

By default, the program will generate a single game and tabulate only the systems and stations encountered in that game. To get greater statistical significance, however, it is often useful to generate many games and average out the encounters. Use the /count switch to control the number of games generated. For example,

transdata /systemtest /count:10

will generate 10 separate and entire games and will average out the encounters across all of them.

As with other tables, it is often useful to pipe the output to a text file.