[1.1]
How to Enable UTF-8
There are two ways to tell the devkit tools that a source file is UTF-8:
Method 1: .u8. in the filename
Name the file with .u8. before the final extension:
myquest.u8.evt (instead of myquest.evt) spells.u8.txt (instead of spells.txt)
The compiler detects the .u8. in the filename and converts each line from UTF-8 to CP437. If the filename does not contain .u8., the file is read as raw CP437 with no conversion. This method works with all devkit compilers and makepak.
Method 2: encoding marker comment
Add a marker comment as the very first line of the file:
# encoding: utf-8
This method is used by installer INI files. The installer detects the marker and converts UTF-8 to CP437 before display.
NOTE: The compiled output is always CP437 — identical to what a CP437 source file would produce. ASCII characters (letters, digits, punctuation) pass through unchanged.
[1.2]
Characters That Are Not Allowed
Certain Unicode characters that look similar to ASCII punctuation are blocked because they would break the game's pipe-code (|NN) and backtick-code (`XY) colour formatting. The compiler will print an error with a suggested replacement.
| Character | Use instead |
|---|---|
| U+2018 left single quotation mark / U+2019 right single quotation mark | ASCII apostrophe ' |
| U+201C left double quotation mark / U+201D right double quotation mark | ASCII quotation mark " |
| U+2014 em-dash | -- (double hyphen) |
| U+2013 en-dash | - (hyphen) |
These characters often appear when pasting text from a word processor. Replace them with the ASCII equivalents shown above.
Any Unicode codepoint not listed in the tables below (and not in the blocked list above) will also produce an error: U+XXXX has no CP437 equivalent.
[2.1]
High-Byte Table (CP437 0x80–0xFF)
The 128 high-byte entries of CP437 and their Unicode equivalents. Use the Unicode codepoint in UTF-8 source files; the converter maps it to the correct CP437 byte.
| CP437 | Unicode | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 0x80 | U+00C7 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER C WITH CEDILLA |
| 0x81 | U+00FC | LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH DIAERESIS |
| 0x82 | U+00E9 | LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH ACUTE |
| 0x83 | U+00E2 | LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH CIRCUMFLEX |
| 0x84 | U+00E4 | LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH DIAERESIS |
| 0x85 | U+00E0 | LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH GRAVE |
| 0x86 | U+00E5 | LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH RING ABOVE |
| 0x87 | U+00E7 | LATIN SMALL LETTER C WITH CEDILLA |
| 0x88 | U+00EA | LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH CIRCUMFLEX |
| 0x89 | U+00EB | LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH DIAERESIS |
| 0x8A | U+00E8 | LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH GRAVE |
| 0x8B | U+00EF | LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH DIAERESIS |
| 0x8C | U+00EE | LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH CIRCUMFLEX |
| 0x8D | U+00EC | LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH GRAVE |
| 0x8E | U+00C4 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH DIAERESIS |
| 0x8F | U+00C5 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH RING ABOVE |
| 0x90 | U+00C9 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E WITH ACUTE |
| 0x91 | U+00E6 | LATIN SMALL LETTER AE |
| 0x92 | U+00C6 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER AE |
| 0x93 | U+00F4 | LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH CIRCUMFLEX |
| 0x94 | U+00F6 | LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH DIAERESIS |
| 0x95 | U+00F2 | LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH GRAVE |
| 0x96 | U+00FB | LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH CIRCUMFLEX |
| 0x97 | U+00F9 | LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH GRAVE |
| 0x98 | U+00FF | LATIN SMALL LETTER Y WITH DIAERESIS |
| 0x99 | U+00D6 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH DIAERESIS |
| 0x9A | U+00DC | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH DIAERESIS |
| 0x9B | U+00A2 | CENT SIGN |
| 0x9C | U+00A3 | POUND SIGN |
| 0x9D | U+00A5 | YEN SIGN |
| 0x9E | U+20A7 | PESETA SIGN |
| 0x9F | U+0192 | LATIN SMALL LETTER F WITH HOOK |
| 0xA0 | U+00E1 | LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH ACUTE |
| 0xA1 | U+00ED | LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH ACUTE |
| 0xA2 | U+00F3 | LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH ACUTE |
| 0xA3 | U+00FA | LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH ACUTE |
| 0xA4 | U+00F1 | LATIN SMALL LETTER N WITH TILDE |
| 0xA5 | U+00D1 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER N WITH TILDE |
| 0xA6 | U+00AA | FEMININE ORDINAL INDICATOR |
| 0xA7 | U+00BA | MASCULINE ORDINAL INDICATOR |
| 0xA8 | U+00BF | INVERTED QUESTION MARK |
| 0xA9 | U+2310 | REVERSED NOT SIGN |
| 0xAA | U+00AC | NOT SIGN |
| 0xAB | U+00BD | VULGAR FRACTION ONE HALF |
| 0xAC | U+00BC | VULGAR FRACTION ONE QUARTER |
| 0xAD | U+00A1 | INVERTED EXCLAMATION MARK |
| 0xAE | U+00AB | LEFT-POINTING DOUBLE ANGLE QUOTATION MARK |
| 0xAF | U+00BB | RIGHT-POINTING DOUBLE ANGLE QUOTATION MARK |
| 0xB0 | U+2591 | LIGHT SHADE |
| 0xB1 | U+2592 | MEDIUM SHADE |
| 0xB2 | U+2593 | DARK SHADE |
| 0xB3 | U+2502 | BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT VERTICAL |
| 0xB4 | U+2524 | BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT VERTICAL AND LEFT |
| 0xB5 | U+2561 | BOX DRAWINGS VERT SINGLE AND LEFT DOUBLE |
| 0xB6 | U+2562 | BOX DRAWINGS VERT DOUBLE AND LEFT SINGLE |
| 0xB7 | U+2556 | BOX DRAWINGS DOWN DOUBLE AND LEFT SINGLE |
| 0xB8 | U+2555 | BOX DRAWINGS DOWN SINGLE AND LEFT DOUBLE |
| 0xB9 | U+2563 | BOX DRAWINGS DOUBLE VERTICAL AND LEFT |
| 0xBA | U+2551 | BOX DRAWINGS DOUBLE VERTICAL |
| 0xBB | U+2557 | BOX DRAWINGS DOUBLE DOWN AND LEFT |
| 0xBC | U+255D | BOX DRAWINGS DOUBLE UP AND LEFT |
| 0xBD | U+255C | BOX DRAWINGS UP DOUBLE AND LEFT SINGLE |
| 0xBE | U+255B | BOX DRAWINGS UP SINGLE AND LEFT DOUBLE |
| 0xBF | U+2510 | BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT DOWN AND LEFT |
| 0xC0 | U+2514 | BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT UP AND RIGHT |
| 0xC1 | U+2534 | BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT UP AND HORIZONTAL |
| 0xC2 | U+252C | BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT DOWN AND HORIZONTAL |
| 0xC3 | U+251C | BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT VERTICAL AND RIGHT |
| 0xC4 | U+2500 | BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT HORIZONTAL |
| 0xC5 | U+253C | BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT VERT AND HORIZONTAL |
| 0xC6 | U+255E | BOX DRAWINGS VERT SINGLE AND RIGHT DOUBLE |
| 0xC7 | U+255F | BOX DRAWINGS VERT DOUBLE AND RIGHT SINGLE |
| 0xC8 | U+255A | BOX DRAWINGS DOUBLE UP AND RIGHT |
| 0xC9 | U+2554 | BOX DRAWINGS DOUBLE DOWN AND RIGHT |
| 0xCA | U+2569 | BOX DRAWINGS DOUBLE UP AND HORIZONTAL |
| 0xCB | U+2566 | BOX DRAWINGS DOUBLE DOWN AND HORIZONTAL |
| 0xCC | U+2560 | BOX DRAWINGS DOUBLE VERTICAL AND RIGHT |
| 0xCD | U+2550 | BOX DRAWINGS DOUBLE HORIZONTAL |
| 0xCE | U+256C | BOX DRAWINGS DOUBLE VERT AND HORIZONTAL |
| 0xCF | U+2567 | BOX DRAWINGS UP SINGLE AND HORIZ DOUBLE |
| 0xD0 | U+2568 | BOX DRAWINGS UP DOUBLE AND HORIZ SINGLE |
| 0xD1 | U+2564 | BOX DRAWINGS DOWN SINGLE AND HORIZ DOUBLE |
| 0xD2 | U+2565 | BOX DRAWINGS DOWN DOUBLE AND HORIZ SINGLE |
| 0xD3 | U+2559 | BOX DRAWINGS UP DOUBLE AND RIGHT SINGLE |
| 0xD4 | U+2558 | BOX DRAWINGS UP SINGLE AND RIGHT DOUBLE |
| 0xD5 | U+2552 | BOX DRAWINGS DOWN SINGLE AND RIGHT DOUBLE |
| 0xD6 | U+2553 | BOX DRAWINGS DOWN DOUBLE AND RIGHT SINGLE |
| 0xD7 | U+256B | BOX DRAWINGS VERT DOUBLE AND HORIZ SINGLE |
| 0xD8 | U+256A | BOX DRAWINGS VERT SINGLE AND HORIZ DOUBLE |
| 0xD9 | U+2518 | BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT UP AND LEFT |
| 0xDA | U+250C | BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT DOWN AND RIGHT |
| 0xDB | U+2588 | FULL BLOCK |
| 0xDC | U+2584 | LOWER HALF BLOCK |
| 0xDD | U+258C | LEFT HALF BLOCK |
| 0xDE | U+2590 | RIGHT HALF BLOCK |
| 0xDF | U+2580 | UPPER HALF BLOCK |
| 0xE0 | U+03B1 | GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA |
| 0xE1 | U+00DF | LATIN SMALL LETTER SHARP S |
| 0xE2 | U+0393 | GREEK CAPITAL LETTER GAMMA |
| 0xE3 | U+03C0 | GREEK SMALL LETTER PI |
| 0xE4 | U+03A3 | GREEK CAPITAL LETTER SIGMA |
| 0xE5 | U+03C3 | GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA |
| 0xE6 | U+00B5 | MICRO SIGN |
| 0xE7 | U+03C4 | GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU |
| 0xE8 | U+03A6 | GREEK CAPITAL LETTER PHI |
| 0xE9 | U+0398 | GREEK CAPITAL LETTER THETA |
| 0xEA | U+03A9 | GREEK CAPITAL LETTER OMEGA |
| 0xEB | U+03B4 | GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA |
| 0xEC | U+221E | INFINITY |
| 0xED | U+03C6 | GREEK SMALL LETTER PHI |
| 0xEE | U+03B5 | GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON |
| 0xEF | U+2229 | INTERSECTION |
| 0xF0 | U+2261 | IDENTICAL TO |
| 0xF1 | U+00B1 | PLUS-MINUS SIGN |
| 0xF2 | U+2265 | GREATER-THAN OR EQUAL TO |
| 0xF3 | U+2264 | LESS-THAN OR EQUAL TO |
| 0xF4 | U+2320 | TOP HALF INTEGRAL |
| 0xF5 | U+2321 | BOTTOM HALF INTEGRAL |
| 0xF6 | U+00F7 | DIVISION SIGN |
| 0xF7 | U+2248 | ALMOST EQUAL TO |
| 0xF8 | U+00B0 | DEGREE SIGN |
| 0xF9 | U+2219 | BULLET OPERATOR |
| 0xFA | U+00B7 | MIDDLE DOT |
| 0xFB | U+221A | SQUARE ROOT |
| 0xFC | U+207F | SUPERSCRIPT LATIN SMALL LETTER N |
| 0xFD | U+00B2 | SUPERSCRIPT TWO |
| 0xFE | U+25A0 | BLACK SQUARE |
| 0xFF | U+00A0 | NO-BREAK SPACE |
[2.2]
Control-Character Glyphs (CP437 0x01–0x1F + 0x7F)
In CP437, bytes 0x01–0x1F display as graphical glyphs rather than control characters. In UTF-8 source files, use the Unicode equivalents listed below. Tabs (0x09), newlines (0x0A), and carriage returns (0x0D) work normally in UTF-8 files — they are not converted to glyphs.
| CP437 | Unicode | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 0x01 | U+263A | WHITE SMILING FACE |
| 0x02 | U+263B | BLACK SMILING FACE |
| 0x03 | U+2665 | BLACK HEART SUIT |
| 0x04 | U+2666 | BLACK DIAMOND SUIT |
| 0x05 | U+2663 | BLACK CLUB SUIT |
| 0x06 | U+2660 | BLACK SPADE SUIT |
| 0x07 | U+2022 | BULLET |
| 0x08 | U+25D8 | INVERSE BULLET |
| 0x09 | U+25CB | WHITE CIRCLE |
| 0x0A | U+25D9 | INVERSE WHITE CIRCLE |
| 0x0B | U+2642 | MALE SIGN |
| 0x0C | U+2640 | FEMALE SIGN |
| 0x0D | U+266A | EIGHTH NOTE |
| 0x0E | U+266B | BEAMED EIGHTH NOTES |
| 0x0F | U+263C | WHITE SUN WITH RAYS |
| 0x10 | U+25BA | BLACK RIGHT-POINTING POINTER |
| 0x11 | U+25C4 | BLACK LEFT-POINTING POINTER |
| 0x12 | U+2195 | UP DOWN ARROW |
| 0x13 | U+203C | DOUBLE EXCLAMATION MARK |
| 0x14 | U+00B6 | PILCROW SIGN |
| 0x15 | U+00A7 | SECTION SIGN |
| 0x16 | U+25AC | BLACK RECTANGLE |
| 0x17 | U+21A8 | UP DOWN ARROW WITH BASE |
| 0x18 | U+2191 | UPWARDS ARROW |
| 0x19 | U+2193 | DOWNWARDS ARROW |
| 0x1A | U+2192 | RIGHTWARDS ARROW |
| 0x1B | U+2190 | LEFTWARDS ARROW |
| 0x1C | U+221F | RIGHT ANGLE |
| 0x1D | U+2194 | LEFT RIGHT ARROW |
| 0x1E | U+25B2 | BLACK UP-POINTING TRIANGLE |
| 0x1F | U+25BC | BLACK DOWN-POINTING TRIANGLE |
| 0x7F | U+2302 | HOUSE |
[2.3]
Alternative Codepoints Accepted Silently
Some CP437 characters have more than one plausible Unicode equivalent. The converter accepts the alternatives listed below without warning, mapping them to the same CP437 byte as the canonical codepoint.
| Alternative | Canonical | CP437 | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| U+03B2 | U+00DF | 0xE1 | Greek beta → sharp-s |
| U+03BC | U+00B5 | 0xE6 | Greek mu → micro sign |
| U+2205 | U+03C6 | 0xED | Empty set → phi |
| U+2208 | U+03B5 | 0xEE | Element of → epsilon |
| U+2126 | U+03A9 | 0xEA | Ohm sign → omega |
| U+00D8 | U+03C6 | 0xED | O-stroke → phi (visual similarity) |
| U+03D5 | U+03C6 | 0xED | Phi symbol → phi |
| U+2300 | U+03C6 | 0xED | Diameter sign → phi |