I was working on the Hearts of Iron 4 parser this week and made good progress there. I am able to parse both text and binary formats to extract information. I have expected that binary files will have more similarities to EU4, but besides the format, the actual token values are mostly different, which indicates that the development lines for the savefiles must have diverged early in the HOI4 development stage.
I have also completed the integration of the parser with the backend webservice so files can be uploaded, parsed, and saved in the database. Now the next step will be to provide a user interface, so I am now working on building up views for the PDXGA web page. The initial release this month will include the following features:
- Basic file information (in-game date, players list, game version, etc.) – replicating what you can see for EU4 basic file view
- View of HOI4 files in user files view, including tagging
- Country ledger showing resources, fuel, total production, manpower, number of provinces owned, etc.
- Commanders ledger showing commanders’ names and skill levels
The other views will be part of the February release – I plan to add map visualizations (similar to EU4) and combat history, plus more attributes for the country ledger, and maybe some additional functionalities. Aspirationally I’d like to have the initial release of HOI4 support next week, but as it depends on many factors, it may get delayed a week.
Again, if you reading this, please contribute the HOI4 savefiles, so I can have a more comprehensive test set for the parser.
I am a member of a HOI IV modding community. I am a database architect. I have been thinking about doing something similar to what you have done, parse the save files to track what changes a mod does to the outcome. Perhaps we could collaborate?