Slot Name

Miners

Money

Misc.

The stats page for the currently selected digger, as shown in the actual game.

Level Completion

Choose which maps are marked as completed.

labels / form controls go here via javascript.
The Diggers level selection screen, in the style of a map. Each area in the map signifies a different level.
1: Azerg 2: Dhobbs 3: Eleevate 4: Deena 5: Juhstyn 6: Fujale 7: Haewould 8: Sairruha 9: Trarghe 10: Kurvelynn 11: Sqweek 12: Mykeborl 13: Zorlyack 14: Ftargus 15: Traisa 16: Klindyke 17: Eeanzone 18: Chyeishia 19: Djenneee 20: Dwindera 21: Twang 22: Habbard 23: Benjar 24: Shrubree 25: Barok 26: Muhlahrd 27: Chonskee 28: Purth 29: Ankh 30: Zelios 31: Fruer 32: Klarsh 33: Suhmner 34: ?

Notes

This save file editor has been tested with version 1.94 for MS-DOS. Other versions are likely to work but haven't been tested.

I originally created this tool to allow completed maps to be played again (just untick a box and enable level replay!). Since the file format stores minimal data I thought it was worth just surfacing everything for completion's sake.

By splerp. The source code can be found on GitHub here. Enjoy!

File format details

The file size is fixed to 352 bytes exactly (since there are 8 save slots and no variable-length data). All 352 bytes set to 0 would be considered a valid empty save file.

Setting the "race selection" byte to values higher than 0x03 causes overflow behaviour - players will start with reduced health, interface UI sprites will be misaligned and players will sometimes cycle through all sprites in the game (not just their own).

The goal of the game is to raise 17,500 money, so "money in bank" and "captial carried" should be set to values lower than this. Since they're stored as 16-bit unsigned ints, the maximum is actually 65535. Setting values too close to this maximum will cause overflows in the game's calculations. A level's target money goal is set to current money + *specific level target*, and if current money is too high then this will overflow to a negative value, ending the level instantly. Then since the player has negative money, their total money in the bank actually reduces (since we're doing current money + (negative money)).

I think this file format is a great example of just how little needs to be made persistent to make a save game feel "complete".

Playing Diggers via DOSBox

  1. Get DOSBox (https://www.dosbox.com/)
  2. Get a ROM of the game

    Version 1.94 of this game added keyboard shortcuts, which are necessary to enjoy the game (in my opinion). It can be difficult to find a ROM online which is v1.94 AND includes the soundtrack.

    If you're searching for a ROM, have a look at this thread on abandonia.com and the comments on this longplay on youtube. Always be careful with downloading untrusted files from the internet!

  3. Open DOSBox and run these commands: 
    Get access to a directory on your computer
mount C /path/to/diggers/cue-and-bin

Mount the rom to a new drive D:
C:
imgmount D /DIGGERS.CUE -t iso

Run the installer. Necessary for save games and music. Otherwise, can use just DIGGERS.EXE. In install window, set save location to somewhere like C:\DIGGERS
D:
INSTALL.EXE

Return to the place where the game was installed and run DIGGERS.BAT.
C:
cd DIGGERS
DIGGERS.BAT