diff --git a/settings.h b/settings.h
--- a/settings.h
+++ b/settings.h
@@ -3,61 +3,77 @@
 #ifndef SETTINGS_H
 #define SETTINGS_H
 
-/* Convention/Type of settings. This will be merged mostly with the SaveLoad
- * SLE_ enums. So it looks a bit strange. The layout is as follows:
- * bits 0-7: the type (size) of the variable. Eg int8, uint8, bool, etc. Same as VarTypes
- * bits 8-15: the generic variable type. Eg string, oneofmany, number, intlist
- * bits 16-31: the size of a string, an intlist (which is an implicit array). */
-/* XXX - the GenericType will NOT be shifted in the final implementation, just for compatility */
+#include "saveload.h"
+
+/** Convention/Type of settings. This is then further specified if necessary
+ * with the SLE_ (SLE_VAR/SLE_FILE) enums in saveload.h
+ * @see VarTypes
+ * @see SettingDescBase */
 enum SettingDescType {
 	/* 4 bytes allocated a maximum of 16 types for GenericType */
-	SDT_NUMX        = 0 << 8, // value must be 0!!, refers to any number-type
-	SDT_BOOLX       = 1 << 8, // a boolean number
-	SDT_ONEOFMANY   = 2 << 8, // bitmasked number where only ONE bit may be set
-	SDT_MANYOFMANY  = 3 << 8, // bitmasked number where MULTIPLE bits may be set
-	SDT_INTLIST     = 4 << 8, // list of integers seperated by a comma ','
-	SDT_STRING      = 5 << 8, // string which is only a pointer, so needs dynamic allocation
-	SDT_STRINGBUF   = 6 << 8, // string with a fixed length, preset buffer
-	SDT_STRINGQUOT  = 7 << 8, // string with quotation marks around it (enables spaces in string)
-	SDT_CHAR        = 8 << 8, // single character
-	/* 7 more possible primitives */
+	SDT_NUMX        = 0, // any number-type
+	SDT_BOOLX       = 1, // a boolean number
+	SDT_ONEOFMANY   = 2, // bitmasked number where only ONE bit may be set
+	SDT_MANYOFMANY  = 3, // bitmasked number where MULTIPLE bits may be set
+	SDT_INTLIST     = 4, // list of integers seperated by a comma ','
+	SDT_STRING      = 5, // string with a pre-allocated buffer
+	/* 10 more possible primitives */
+};
 
-	/* 4 bytes allocated a maximum of 16 types for NumberType */
-	SDT_INT8        = 0 << 4,
-	SDT_UINT8       = 1 << 4,
-	SDT_INT16       = 2 << 4,
-	SDT_UINT16      = 3 << 4,
-	SDT_INT32       = 4 << 4,
-	SDT_UINT32      = 5 << 4,
-	SDT_INT64       = 6 << 4,
-	SDT_UINT64      = 7 << 4,
-	/* 8 more possible primitives */
-
-	/* Shortcut values */
-	SDT_BOOL = SDT_BOOLX | SDT_UINT8,
-	SDT_UINT = SDT_UINT32,
-	SDT_INT  = SDT_INT32,
-	SDT_STR  = SDT_STRING,
-	SDT_STRB = SDT_STRINGBUF,
-	SDT_STRQ = SDT_STRINGQUOT,
-
-	/* The value is read from the configuration file but not saved */
-	SDT_NOSAVE = 1 << 31,
+enum SettingGuiFlag {
+	/* 8 bytes allocated for a maximum of 8 flags
+	 * Flags directing saving/loading of a variable */
+	SGF_0ISDISABLED  = 1 << 0, ///< a value of zero means the feature is disabled
+	SGF_NOCOMMA      = 1 << 1, ///< number without any thousand seperators (no formatting)
+	SGF_MULTISTRING  = 1 << 2, ///< the value represents a limited number of string-options (internally integer)
+	SGF_NETWORK_ONLY = 1 << 3, ///< this setting only applies to network games
+	SGF_CURRENCY     = 1 << 4, ///< the number represents money, so when reading value multiply by exchange rate
+	/* 3 more possible flags */
 };
 
-typedef enum {
-	IGT_VARIABLES = 0, // values of the form "landscape = hilly"
-	IGT_LIST = 1,      // a list of values, seperated by \n and terminated by the next group block
-} IniGroupType;
+typedef int32 OnChange(int32 var);
+typedef byte SettingDescType;
+typedef byte SettingGuiFlag;
+
+typedef struct SettingDescBase {
+	const char *name;       ///< name of the setting. Used in configuration file and for console
+	const void *def;        ///< default value given when none is present
+	SettingDescType cmd;    ///< various flags for the variable
+	SettingGuiFlag flags;   ///< handles how a setting would show up in the GUI (text/currency, etc.)
+	int32 min, max;         ///< minimum and maximum values
+	const char *many;       ///< ONE/MANY_OF_MANY: string of possible values for this type
+	StringID str;           ///< (translated) string with descriptive text; gui and console
+	OnChange *proc;         ///< callback procedure for when the value is changed
+} SettingDescBase;
 
 typedef struct SettingDesc {
-	const char *name;
-	uint32 flags;
-	const void *def;
-	void *ptr;
-	const void *many;
+	SettingDescBase desc;   ///, Settings structure (going to configuration file)
+	SaveLoad save;          ///< Internal structure (going to savegame, parts to config)
 } SettingDesc;
 
+/* NOTE: The only difference between SettingDesc and SettingDescGlob is
+ * that one uses global variables as a source and the other offsets
+ * in a struct which are bound to a certain variable during runtime.
+ * The only way to differentiate between these two is to check if an object
+ * has been passed to the function or not. If not, then it is a global variable
+ * and save->variable has its address, otherwise save->variable only holds the
+ * offset in a certain struct */
+typedef SettingDesc SettingDescGlobVarList;
+
+typedef enum {
+	IGT_VARIABLES = 0, ///< values of the form "landscape = hilly"
+	IGT_LIST = 1,      ///< a list of values, seperated by \n and terminated by the next group block
+} IniGroupType;
+
+/** Get the address of the variable. Which one to pick depends on the object
+ * pointer. If it is NULL we are dealing with global variables so the address
+ * is taken. If non-null only the offset is stored in the union and we need
+ * to add this to the address of the object */
+static inline void *ini_get_variable(const SaveLoad *sld, const void *object)
+{
+	return (object == NULL) ? sld->address : (byte*)object + (unsigned long)sld->address;
+}
+
 void IConsoleSetPatchSetting(const char *name, const char *value);
 void IConsoleGetPatchSetting(const char *name);