The VBP way to do this would be to pass macro values on the command-line (i.e., RESTART=y STARTSTEP=xyz), which will be available as temporary macros in the called project.
http://www.kinook.com/VisBuildPro/Ma...nd_linegui.htm
http://www.kinook.com/VisBuildPro/Manual/consoleapp.htm
http://www.kinook.com/VisBuildPro/Ma...hainsample.htm
You can then reference these macros (i.e. %RESTART%) in build rules and other step fields in the project.
http://www.kinook.com/VisBuildPro/Manual/macrostab.htm
http://www.kinook.com/VisBuildPro/Manual/buildrules.htm
You can also iterate over all temporary macros using the object model (see attached sample).
http://www.kinook.com/VisBuildPro/Ma...bjectmodel.htm
http://www.kinook.com/VisBuildPro/Ma...osproperty.htm