diff --git a/dataobj/tabfile.cc b/dataobj/tabfile.cc
index 828955297..f162e2d09 100644
--- a/dataobj/tabfile.cc
+++ b/dataobj/tabfile.cc
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
 bool tabfile_t::open(const char *filename)
 {
 	close();
+	substitute_map.clear();
 	file = dr_fopen(filename, "r");
 	current_line_number = 0;
 	return file != NULL;
@@ -36,6 +37,7 @@ void tabfile_t::close()
 		fclose(file);
 		file  = NULL;
 	}
+	substitute_map.clear();
 }
 
 
@@ -295,177 +297,220 @@ bool tabfile_t::read(tabfileobj_t &objinfo, FILE *fp)
 {
 	bool lines = false;
 	char line[LINEBUFFER_SIZE];
-
 	char line_expand[LINEBUFFER_SIZE];
 	char delim_expand[LINEBUFFER_SIZE];
 	char buffer[LINEBUFFER_SIZE];
 	char *param[10];
 	char *expansion[10];
+	
+	bool in_sub_block = false;
+	const char *ENDSUB = "sub-end";
+	const char *STARTSUB = "substart";
+	const char DEFAULT = '#';
+	char substitution = DEFAULT;
 
 	current_line_number = 0;
 
 	objinfo.clear();
-
+	
 	do {
 		while(read_line(line, sizeof(line))  &&  *line != '-') {
-			char *delim = strchr(line, '=');
-
-			if(delim) {
-				*delim++ = '\0';
-				format_key(line);
-				if (line[0] == 0) {
-					return false;
+			// This part of the code handles substitution blocks. Lines get stored in the substitution_map, unless it's the end of the block.
+			if(in_sub_block) {
+				if(!strcmp(line, ENDSUB)){
+					in_sub_block = false;
 				}
-
-				int parameters = 0;
-				int expansions = 0;
-				/*
-				@line, the whole parameter text (everything before =)
-				@delim, the whole value text (everything after =)
-				@parameters, number of fields enclosed by square brackets []
-				@expansions, number of expansions included in the value (text inside angle brackets <>)
-				@param, array containing the text inside each [] field
-				@expansion, array containing the text inside each <> field
-				 */
-				if(find_parameter_expansion(line, delim, &parameters, &expansions, param, expansion) > 0) {
-					int parameter_value[10][256];
-					int parameter_length[10];
-					int parameter_values[10]; // number of possible 'values' inside each [] field | e.g. [0-4]=5 / [n,s,w]=3
-					char parameter_name[256][6]; // non-numeric ribis strings for all parameter fields consecutively
-					bool parameter_ribi[10]; // true if parameters are ribi strings
-
-					int combinations=1;
-					int names = 0; // total number of ribi parameters
-
-					// analyse and obtain all parameter expansions
-					for(int i=0; i<parameters; i++) {
-						char *token_ptr;
-						parameter_length[i] = strcspn(param[i],"]");
-						parameter_values[i] = 0;
-						parameter_ribi[i] = false;
-
-						sprintf(buffer, "%.*s", parameter_length[i], param[i]);
-						int name_length = strcspn(buffer,",");
-
-						int value = atoi(buffer);
-						if (value == 0 && (tolower(buffer[0]) == 'n' || tolower(buffer[0]) == 's' || tolower(buffer[0]) == 'e' || tolower(buffer[0]) == 'w')) {
-							sprintf(parameter_name[ names++ ], "%.*s", name_length, buffer);
-							parameter_ribi[i] = true;
+				else{
+					char *helper = new char[strlen(line)+1];
+					strcpy(helper,line);
+					substitute_map[substitution].push_back(helper);
+				}
+			}
+			else{
+				
+				// Since we are not in a substitution block, first check if we encountered a substitution marker.
+				// In case of a substitution marker, we loop through the corresponding lines in the substitution map.
+				// Otherwise, we replace the line in the substitution map corresponding the default character.
+				
+				if(line[0] == '%'){ //this line is a substitution marker, since it starts with '%'
+					substitution = line[1];
+				} else {
+					substitution = DEFAULT;
+					substitute_map[substitution].assign(1,&line[0]);
+				}
+				for(size_t i=0; i < substitute_map[substitution].size(); i++) {
+					strcpy(line, substitute_map[substitution][i]);
+					
+					// from here, it's mostly the old code. Just the lines fed to this code are sometimes substituted.
+					char *delim = strchr(line, '=');
+					
+					if(delim) {
+						*delim++ = '\0';
+						format_key(line);
+						if (line[0] == 0) {
+							return false;
 						}
-						parameter_value[i][parameter_values[i]++] = value;
-
-						token_ptr = strtok(buffer,"-,");
-						while (token_ptr != NULL && parameter_values[i]<256) {
-							switch(param[i][token_ptr-buffer-1]) {
-								case ',':
-									value = atoi(token_ptr);
-									if (parameter_ribi[i]) {
-										value = parameter_values[i];
-										sprintf(parameter_name[ names++ ], "%.*s", (int)strcspn(buffer+name_length+1,","), buffer+name_length+1);
-										name_length += strcspn(buffer+name_length+1,",") + 1;
-									}
-									parameter_value[i][parameter_values[i]++] = value;
-								break;
-								case '-':
-									if (parameter_ribi[i]) {
-										value = parameter_values[i];
-										sprintf(parameter_name[value], "%.*s", (int)strcspn(buffer+name_length+1,","), buffer+name_length+1);
-										name_length += strcspn(buffer+name_length+1,",") + 1;
-										parameter_value[i][parameter_values[i]++] = value;
+						
+						// If the parameter indicates the start of a substitution block, 
+						// it's not a key-value-pair we want to store in the object,
+						// so we just break out of the loop.
+						if (!strcmp(line, STARTSUB)) { 
+							substitution = delim[0];
+							in_sub_block = true;
+							break;
+						}
+
+						int parameters = 0;
+						int expansions = 0;
+						/*
+						@line, the whole parameter text (everything before =)
+						@delim, the whole value text (everything after =)
+						@parameters, number of fields enclosed by square brackets []
+						@expansions, number of expansions included in the value (text inside angle brackets <>)
+						@param, array containing the text inside each [] field
+						@expansion, array containing the text inside each <> field
+						 */
+						if(find_parameter_expansion(line, delim, &parameters, &expansions, param, expansion) > 0) {
+							int parameter_value[10][256];
+							int parameter_length[10];
+							int parameter_values[10]; // number of possible 'values' inside each [] field | e.g. [0-4]=5 / [n,s,w]=3
+							char parameter_name[256][6]; // non-numeric ribis strings for all parameter fields consecutively
+							bool parameter_ribi[10]; // true if parameters are ribi strings
+
+							int combinations=1;
+							int names = 0; // total number of ribi parameters
+
+							// analyse and obtain all parameter expansions
+							for(int i=0; i<parameters; i++) {
+								char *token_ptr;
+								parameter_length[i] = strcspn(param[i],"]");
+								parameter_values[i] = 0;
+								parameter_ribi[i] = false;
+
+								sprintf(buffer, "%.*s", parameter_length[i], param[i]);
+								int name_length = strcspn(buffer,",");
+
+								int value = atoi(buffer);
+								if (value == 0 && (tolower(buffer[0]) == 'n' || tolower(buffer[0]) == 's' || tolower(buffer[0]) == 'e' || tolower(buffer[0]) == 'w')) {
+									sprintf(parameter_name[ names++ ], "%.*s", name_length, buffer);
+									parameter_ribi[i] = true;
+								}
+								parameter_value[i][parameter_values[i]++] = value;
+
+								token_ptr = strtok(buffer,"-,");
+								while (token_ptr != NULL && parameter_values[i]<256) {
+									switch(param[i][token_ptr-buffer-1]) {
+										case ',':
+											value = atoi(token_ptr);
+											if (parameter_ribi[i]) {
+												value = parameter_values[i];
+												sprintf(parameter_name[ names++ ], "%.*s", (int)strcspn(buffer+name_length+1,","), buffer+name_length+1);
+												name_length += strcspn(buffer+name_length+1,",") + 1;
+											}
+											parameter_value[i][parameter_values[i]++] = value;
+										break;
+										case '-':
+											if (parameter_ribi[i]) {
+												value = parameter_values[i];
+												sprintf(parameter_name[value], "%.*s", (int)strcspn(buffer+name_length+1,","), buffer+name_length+1);
+												name_length += strcspn(buffer+name_length+1,",") + 1;
+												parameter_value[i][parameter_values[i]++] = value;
+											}
+											else {
+												const int start_range = parameter_value[i][parameter_values[i]-1];
+												const int end_range = atoi(token_ptr);
+
+												if (parameter_values[i] + (end_range - start_range) >= 256) {
+													dbg->fatal("tabfile_t::read", "Invalid number range %d-%d (Max range %d values) in line %d", start_range, end_range, 256 - parameter_values[i], current_line_number);
+												}
+
+												for(int range=start_range; range<end_range; range++) {
+													parameter_value[i][parameter_values[i]++] = range+1;
+												}
+											}
 									}
-									else {
-										const int start_range = parameter_value[i][parameter_values[i]-1];
-										const int end_range = atoi(token_ptr);
+									token_ptr = strtok(NULL, "-,");
+								}
+								combinations*=parameter_values[i];
+							}
 
-										if (parameter_values[i] + (end_range - start_range) >= 256) {
-											dbg->fatal("tabfile_t::read", "Invalid number range %d-%d (Max range %d values) in line %d", start_range, end_range, 256 - parameter_values[i], current_line_number);
+							// start expansion of the parameter
+							for(int c=0; c<combinations; c++) {
+								int names = 0;
+								int combination[10];
+								if(parameters>0) {
+									// warp values around the number of parameters the expansion has
+									for(int j=0; j<parameters; j++) {
+										combination[j] = c;
+										for(int k=0; k<j; k++) {
+											combination[j]/=parameter_values[k];
 										}
-
-										for(int range=start_range; range<end_range; range++) {
-											parameter_value[i][parameter_values[i]++] = range+1;
+										combination[j]%=parameter_values[j];
+									}
+									char* prev_end = line;
+									line_expand[0] = 0;
+									for (int i=0; i<parameters; i++) {
+										// if expanding non-numerical parameters
+										if (parameter_ribi[i]) {
+											sprintf(buffer, "%.*s%s", (int)(param[i]-prev_end), prev_end, parameter_name[ names + combination[i]]);
+											names += parameter_values[i];
 										}
+										// if expanding numerical parameters
+										else {
+											sprintf(buffer, "%.*s%d", (int)(param[i]-prev_end), prev_end, parameter_value[i][combination[i]]);
+										}
+										strcat(line_expand, buffer);
+										prev_end = param[i]+parameter_length[i];
 									}
-							}
-							token_ptr = strtok(NULL, "-,");
-						}
-						combinations*=parameter_values[i];
-					}
-
-					// start expansion of the parameter
-					for(int c=0; c<combinations; c++) {
-						int names = 0;
-						int combination[10];
-						if(parameters>0) {
-							// warp values around the number of parameters the expansion has
-							for(int j=0; j<parameters; j++) {
-								combination[j] = c;
-								for(int k=0; k<j; k++) {
-									combination[j]/=parameter_values[k];
+									strcat(line_expand, param[parameters-1]+parameter_length[parameters-1]);
 								}
-								combination[j]%=parameter_values[j];
-							}
-							char* prev_end = line;
-							line_expand[0] = 0;
-							for (int i=0; i<parameters; i++) {
-								// if expanding non-numerical parameters
-								if (parameter_ribi[i]) {
-									sprintf(buffer, "%.*s%s", (int)(param[i]-prev_end), prev_end, parameter_name[ names + combination[i]]);
-									names += parameter_values[i];
-								}
-								// if expanding numerical parameters
 								else {
-									sprintf(buffer, "%.*s%d", (int)(param[i]-prev_end), prev_end, parameter_value[i][combination[i]]);
+									strcpy(line_expand, line);
 								}
-								strcat(line_expand, buffer);
-								prev_end = param[i]+parameter_length[i];
-							}
-							strcat(line_expand, param[parameters-1]+parameter_length[parameters-1]);
-						}
-						else {
-							strcpy(line_expand, line);
-						}
 
-						// expand the value
-						if(expansions>0) {
-							int expansion_length[10];
-							int expansion_value[10];
+								// expand the value
+								if(expansions>0) {
+									int expansion_length[10];
+									int expansion_value[10];
 
-							for(int i=0; i<expansions; i++) {
-								expansion_length[i] = strcspn(expansion[i],">")-1;
-								sprintf(buffer, "%.*s", expansion_length[i]+1, expansion[i]);
+									for(int i=0; i<expansions; i++) {
+										expansion_length[i] = strcspn(expansion[i],">")-1;
+										sprintf(buffer, "%.*s", expansion_length[i]+1, expansion[i]);
 
-								expansion_value[i] = calculate(buffer, parameter_value, parameters, combination);
-							}
+										expansion_value[i] = calculate(buffer, parameter_value, parameters, combination);
+									}
+
+									sprintf(delim_expand, "%.*s%d", (int)(expansion[0]-delim), delim, expansion_value[0]);
+									for(int i=1; i<expansions; i++) {
+										char *prev_end = expansion[i-1]+expansion_length[i-1]+2;
+										sprintf(buffer, "%.*s%d", (int)(expansion[i]-prev_end), prev_end, expansion_value[i]);
+										strcat(delim_expand, buffer);
+									}
+									strcat(delim_expand, expansion[expansions-1]+expansion_length[expansions-1]+2);
+								}
+								else {
+									strcpy(delim_expand, delim);
+								}
 
-							sprintf(delim_expand, "%.*s%d", (int)(expansion[0]-delim), delim, expansion_value[0]);
-							for(int i=1; i<expansions; i++) {
-								char *prev_end = expansion[i-1]+expansion_length[i-1]+2;
-								sprintf(buffer, "%.*s%d", (int)(expansion[i]-prev_end), prev_end, expansion_value[i]);
-								strcat(delim_expand, buffer);
+								printf("%s = %s\n", line_expand, delim_expand);
+								objinfo.put(line_expand, delim_expand);
+								if (fp != NULL) {
+									fprintf(fp, "%s=%s\n", line_expand, delim_expand);
+								}
 							}
-							strcat(delim_expand, expansion[expansions-1]+expansion_length[expansions-1]+2);
 						}
 						else {
-							strcpy(delim_expand, delim);
-						}
-
-						printf("%s = %s\n", line_expand, delim_expand);
-						objinfo.put(line_expand, delim_expand);
-						if (fp != NULL) {
-							fprintf(fp, "%s=%s\n", line_expand, delim_expand);
+							objinfo.put(line, delim);
+							if (fp != NULL) {
+								fprintf(fp, "%s=%s\n", line, delim);
+							}
 						}
+						lines = true;
 					}
-				}
-				else {
-					objinfo.put(line, delim);
-					if (fp != NULL) {
-						fprintf(fp, "%s=%s\n", line, delim);
+					else if(  *line  ) {
+						dbg->warning( "tabfile_t::read", "No data in \"%s\"", line );
 					}
 				}
-				lines = true;
-			}
-			else if(  *line  ) {
-				dbg->warning( "tabfile_t::read", "No data in \"%s\"", line );
 			}
 		}
 	} while(!lines && !feof(file)); // skip empty objects
diff --git a/dataobj/tabfile.h b/dataobj/tabfile.h
index 83239a566..881d04c5b 100644
--- a/dataobj/tabfile.h
+++ b/dataobj/tabfile.h
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@
 
 
 #include <stdio.h>
+#include <map>
+#include <vector>
 
 #include "../simcolor.h"
 #include "../tpl/stringhashtable_tpl.h"
@@ -47,7 +49,7 @@ class tabfile_t
 public:
 	tabfile_t() : file(NULL) {}
 	~tabfile_t() { close(); }
-
+	std::map<char, std::vector<char*>> substitute_map; // keeps substitution lines
 public:
 	bool open(const char *filename);