As I recall from my SE4 demo days before I took the plunge

, it was possible to mod even the most recalcitrant file. I know some files were up for grabs for modding, while some would prevent the game from loading. I then tried keeping the file size the same by adding to or deleting from parts of a component; that seemed to do the trick. My favorite area to edit was component descriptions. I just kept track of what I changed and added or deleted accordingly.

I'm not sure if this would work for wholesale modding, though; there may be a check for number of components, etc, or even a spot check to match positions N through N+10 of the file with a hard-coded value from the original. Can't hurt to try, though.
[EDIT: fixed typos]
[ 15 February 2002: Message edited by: Krsqk ]
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The Unpronounceable Krsqk
"Well, sir, at the moment my left processor doesn't know what my right is doing." -
Freefall