Sins Data Converter is a modding tool for the classic PC strategy game Sins of Solar Empire. It provides an easy-to-use, comprehensive GUI for the ConvertData command line utility provided by game developer Ironclad Games. Use of ConvertData is required to translate game files from the machine-readable binary format into an human-readable raw text format for modding. Sins Data Converter boasts a full set of impressive features that take advantage of ConvertData's flexibility to offer modders a large selection of options, none of which require any knowledge of or proficiency with the command line.
This utility was abandoned in 2013 amid an ambitious code rewrite project that seemed to attract very little interest from the community. It's now being resurrected as an open-source project so that it has a better chance at usefulness, improvement, and continued maintenance moving forward. The initial GitHub version of the project throws out the abandoned rewrite and returns to the last released version, the v2.1 Beta that added basic support for the Rebellion expansion. That means, among other things, that the code is absolutely awful. But it seems to still work despite changes to SoaSE and Windows itself over the years.
- Basic Mode for conversion of individual files and folders
- Drag-and-drop file support
- Support for in-place conversions
- Support for external output locations
- Automatic ConvertData support for any non-Steam installed version of Sins
- Ability to select custom ConvertData executable
- Include/exclude specific subfolders at will
- Quickly switch between BIN-to-TXT and TXT-to-BIN modes
- Advanced Mode for conversion of multiple files and folders
- Set modes, outputs, and ConvertData's on a per-file basis
- Manage files and folders with the Conversion Queue
- Create ReferenceData from any installed version of Sins
- Change the location of the Sins mod folder
- Easily create entity.manifest files for your mod
- Windows XP or newer
- .NET Framework 3.5
- Sins of a Solar Empire OR a ConvertData*.exe