Pip-Boy Text Data Files

The Pip-Boy status screen combines two small text configuration files with normal MSG message lists and the current game-global variable array. data\quests.txt decides which quest descriptions appear under each location. data\holodisk.txt decides which holodisk entries appear in the DATA column. The visible strings themselves are stored in game\map.msg, game\quests.msg, and game\pipboy.msg.

These files are not save files. They are loaded when the Pip-Boy window opens, then interpreted against the current GVAR values from the running game or save slot.

File	Role
`data\quests.txt`	Quest-to-location table. Each row points at a location name, a quest text line, and one GVAR used for visibility and completion state.
`data\holodisk.txt`	Holodisk registry. Each row points at one GVAR, one displayed title, and the first MSG id of the holodisk body.
`text\<language>\game\map.msg`	Location names used by the quest list. Quest rows store message ids from this file.
`text\<language>\game\quests.msg`	Quest descriptions shown after choosing a location in the Status tab.
`text\<language>\game\pipboy.msg`	Pip-Boy UI labels, holodisk titles, and holodisk body text.
`data\vault13.gam` and saves	Define and store the GVAR indexes used by both text config files.

Loading sequence

Fallout 2 CE loads the Pip-Boy text data while opening the Pip-Boy window:

Read data\holodisk.txt into a holodisk description array.
Load game\pipboy.msg for UI labels and holodisk text.
Load the Pip-Boy interface FRMs.
Load game\quests.msg.
Read data\quests.txt into a quest description array and sort it by location id.

The source comment above the quest structure says data\quest.txt, but the loader opens data\quests.txt. Tools should use the actual plural path.

Shared text syntax

Both quests.txt and holodisk.txt are line-oriented text files read with a 256-byte buffer. The parser trims leading whitespace, skips lines whose first non-space character is #, and splits data with spaces, tabs, or commas as delimiters. Values are parsed with atoi, so use plain decimal integers.

Syntax feature	Behavior
Leading whitespace	Ignored before comment detection and token parsing.
`#` comments	Only skipped when `#` is the first non-space character on the line.
Separators	Any run of spaces, tabs, or commas separates fields. The common comma-separated style is conventional, not required.
Missing fields	The line is ignored once a required token is missing.
Extra fields	Ignored by the loader after the required fields are parsed.
Inline comments	Unsafe unless they are after all required numeric fields. A trailing `#` token is not special to the tokenizer.
Line length	Keep each physical line below 256 bytes for engine-equivalent behavior.

quests.txt format

# location, description, gvar_index, display_threshold, completed_threshold
1500, 100, 9, 2, 6
1500, 110, 183, 1, 3

Field	Description
`location`	Message id in `game\map.msg`. The engine uses this as the displayed location heading and as the grouping/sorting key.
`description`	Message id in `game\quests.msg` for the quest description.
`gvar_index`	Index into the game-global variable array.
`display_threshold`	The quest is visible when `global_var(gvar_index) >= display_threshold`.
`completed_threshold`	The visible quest is drawn as completed when `global_var(gvar_index) >= completed_threshold`.

After loading, quest rows are sorted by location. The Status tab then draws each visible location once, using the first visible quest for that location as the representative row. When the player chooses a location, the engine displays all visible quest rows in that sorted location group.

Completed quests are not removed. They are rendered with strike-through styling and a dimmer color. If a quest should disappear after completion, that behavior has to be implemented through scripts and GVAR choices; quests.txt itself only knows the two thresholds.

Quest display behavior

Situation	Result
No visible quests	The Status tab displays message `203` from `pipboy.msg`.
At least one holodisk is known	Quest locations are drawn in the left column and holodisks in the right DATA column.
No known holodisks	The Status heading and quest locations are centered instead of using the two-column layout.
Quest selected	The detail page title is `map.msg[location]` followed by `pipboy.msg[210]`.
Quest description wraps	The engine word-wraps the numbered description to the Pip-Boy content width and applies completion styling to every wrapped line.

The location field is a message id, not necessarily a map index. In vanilla Fallout 2, city names commonly live in the 1500 + city_index range of map.msg, but the quest loader only sees the final message number.

holodisk.txt format

# gvar_index, name, description
42, 300, 301

Field	Description
`gvar_index`	Index into the game-global variable array. The holodisk appears when this value is non-zero.
`name`	Message id in `game\pipboy.msg` for the title shown in the DATA list and on the first page of the disk.
`description`	First message id in `game\pipboy.msg` for the disk body text.

Holodisks are displayed in file order. Unlike quests, the holodisk array is not sorted after loading. The list includes only rows whose GVAR value is not zero.

Holodisk body text

A holodisk body is a run of consecutive pipboy.msg entries starting at the row's description id. The body ends at a message whose text is exactly **END-DISK**. Paragraph breaks are represented by a message whose text is exactly **END-PAR**.

{300}{}{Security Disk}
{301}{}{First displayed line.}
{302}{}{**END-PAR**}
{303}{}{Second paragraph line.}
{304}{}{**END-DISK**}

Marker or limit	Behavior
`END-DISK`	Stops rendering the holodisk. The marker itself is not displayed.
`END-PAR`	Adds a blank line and is not displayed.
500 message ids	The engine scans at most 500 ids from the starting description id while searching for the end marker.
35 lines per page	Holodisk text paginates after 35 message entries. Paragraph markers count as a line for pagination.
First page	The holodisk title is drawn from `pipboy.msg[name]`.
Later pages	Later pages continue from the calculated body offset and show the page counter.

The page counter uses message 212 from pipboy.msg, normally the word "of". Navigation labels are also hardcoded message ids in pipboy.msg: 200 for More, 201 for Back, and 214 for Done.

GVAR dependencies

Both tables depend on game-global variable indexes, so they must be edited together with scripts and vault13.gam index allocation. The name beside a variable in vault13.gam is only documentation for humans; the Pip-Boy loaders store the numeric index from the text file and read the current integer from the runtime array.

Use	GVAR rule
Quest becomes visible	`GVAR >= display_threshold`.
Quest appears completed	`GVAR >= completed_threshold`.
Holodisk becomes visible	`GVAR != 0`.

For save editors, the current values are in SAVE.DAT, not in vault13.gam. For mods, append new GVARs where possible and keep old indexes stable, because scripts, quest rows, holodisk rows, and existing saves all refer to numbers.

Inter-file dependencies

Dependency	What can go wrong
`quests.txt` -> `map.msg`	A missing location id displays the MSG fallback string instead of a location heading.
`quests.txt` -> `quests.msg`	A missing description id produces a bad quest line in the detail page.
`holodisk.txt` -> `pipboy.msg`	Missing title or body ids make the DATA list or disk text unreadable.
Holodisk body -> end marker	Without `END-DISK` within 500 ids, the engine logs an error and can scan unrelated message ids.
Text rows -> GVAR indexes	Wrong indexes make quests or holodisks appear too early, too late, completed incorrectly, or never.
Scripts -> GVAR thresholds	Scripts must set progression values that match the thresholds used by the tables.

Editing notes

Keep quest rows for the same location together after sorting by location id. The engine sorts by location, but preserving grouped source text makes reviews much easier.
Use monotonic quest state values when possible, because both visibility and completion are threshold checks.
Set completed_threshold higher than or equal to display_threshold unless an already-completed first appearance is intentional.
Keep holodisk body ids contiguous and reserve enough space for translations that may need more lines.
Do not reuse holodisk sentinel strings as visible text. Exact marker text has control meaning.
Validate every referenced MSG id and GVAR index after adding or removing rows.
When localizing, keep the config numbers stable and translate the MSG text, not the numeric references.

Validation checklist

Every quests.txt data line has five numeric fields.
Every holodisk.txt data line has three numeric fields.
Quest location ids exist in map.msg.
Quest description ids exist in quests.msg.
Holodisk title and body ids exist in pipboy.msg.
Every holodisk body reaches **END-DISK** within 500 ids.
Every referenced GVAR index exists in the target game-global array.
Scripts can actually set the GVAR values required by the display and completion thresholds.
Save-game testing covers both a fresh game state and a state where some referenced GVARs are already set.

Source-backed function map

Function	Relationship to these files
`pipboyWindowInit`	Initializes the Pip-Boy window, loads `pipboy.msg`, and calls the holodisk and quest loaders.
`questInit`	Loads `game\quests.msg`, parses `data\quests.txt`, and sorts quest rows by location.
`pipboyWindowRenderQuestLocationList`	Draws visible quest locations using `map.msg` and the quest display thresholds.
`pipboyWindowHandleStatus`	Handles the Status tab, selected quest locations, completed quest strike-through, holodisk selection, and navigation.
`holodiskInit`	Parses `data\holodisk.txt`.
`pipboyWindowRenderHolodiskList`	Draws known holodisks whose GVAR value is non-zero.
`pipboyRenderHolodiskText`	Reads holodisk body lines from `pipboy.msg`, handles markers, pagination, and More/Done labels.

Source references

Fallout 2 CE pipboy.cc - quest and holodisk loaders, Status tab rendering, GVAR checks, holodisk pagination, and Pip-Boy MSG usage.
Quests.txt File Format on The Fallout Wiki - classic field description and examples.
Objects in Fallout 2 on Fallout Mod Wiki - high-level relationship among holodisks, quests, GVARs, and Pip-Boy message files.

History

2026-05-08 - Documented Pip-Boy quest and holodisk text data with Fallout 2 CE source-backed behavior by OpenAI