Extracted Data File Types - HoraceAndTheSpider/Bloodwych-68k GitHub Wiki

Extracted data folders and file types

A named resource file contains bytes taken from the original game binary. Most resources do not contain a header, filename, dimensions, or other self-description. Their folder and faux-extension help describe what the bytes mean.

The faux-extension is documentation rather than a new file format: renaming a file does not change its contents.

Folders

Folder	Purpose
`data/`	General game tables which are not graphical resources, maps, or sound.
`gfx/`	General graphics and their companion tables: walls, floor and ceiling artwork, interface pieces, doors, objects, avatars, and similar resources.
`gfx-data/`	Shared graphics-renderer and viewport tables used by several resource types. They describe how pictures are selected and placed, rather than containing the artwork itself.
`monsters/`	Graphics and companion data belonging to a particular large monster: graphic blocks, component layout, picture offsets, colour grades, and palettes.
`maps/`	Tower maps and their switches, triggers, objects, monsters, entrances, and related data.
`sfx/`	Sound data.

Object and floor-rendering resources

The game has one four-byte definition per object. The table named data/objectdefinitions.block contains entries $00-$6D, including the empty-pocket record at $00. The fields are described under Object Definitions.

The floor-object renderer uses several small parallel tables. The projection tables describe how a map view cell and one of its four mini-spaces become one of the five visible distances. ObjectsOnFloor_ViewY.positions, ObjectsOnFloor_XPositions.positions, and ObjectsOnFloor_YAdjustments.positions provide the source screen anchors and shape-specific adjustments. ObjectsOnFloor_SubpositionRotation.lookup, ObjectsOnFloor_SubpositionDepthBias.lookup, ObjectsOnFloor_ViewCellDepthBase.lookup, and ObjectsOnFloor_ProjectionGroups.lookup provide the selection logic.

These tables are renderer data rather than a second object-definition list. The graphic bytes remain in gfx/ObjectsOnFloor.gfx, with offsets and heights in their companion resources. The game selects among five distance views and applies the Y adjustments when drawing objects on the floor.

Graphics-related faux-extensions

Extension	Meaning
`.gfx`	Raw Atari ST four-plane graphical data as stored by the game. It contains no dimensions or picture directory of its own.
`.offsets`	Big-endian word offsets locating individual pictures inside an associated `.gfx` block. This is the table that divides or selects pictures in sequential graphic data.
`.positions`	Signed screen X positions, Y positions, or packed X/Y pairs used when drawing a picture or component.
`.heights`	Stored picture heights used by the strip renderer. In several routines zero represents one drawn line because the value is used as a loop count.
`.layout`	A packed, resource-specific mixture of component dimensions, positions, graphic bases, spacing, or mirroring rules which cannot be separated cleanly without changing the original layout. This replaces the ambiguous `.renderdata` name.
`.lookup`	A value-remapping or selection table, such as view distance to graphic size or facing direction to a graphic variant. Unlike `.offsets`, its values are not necessarily byte positions in a `.gfx` file. Editable gameplay statistics use `.stats` instead.
`.flags`	Bit or word values which enable rendering behaviour such as animation or mirroring.
`.colours`	A monster's ordered selections from the master monster palette, used for colour grades.
`.palette`	Palette entries or groups of palette indices.

Other common faux-extensions

Extension	Meaning
`.stats`	Editable gameplay statistics indexed by an object, champion, or another game entity. Examples include weapon combat modifiers, shield armour bonuses, and bow power adjustments.
`.font`	Raw game-font data.
`.sound`	Extracted sound sample data.
`.block`	A fixed-size binary structure which has not yet been given a narrower file type.
`.locations`	Encoded map or game locations.
`.map`	One tower's packed map data.
`.switches`, `.triggers`, `.obj`, `.monsters`	The corresponding fixed-capacity tower data block.

Addresses within a resource

Giving a block a name does not change its position in the source. A smaller table inside it can be named as an offset from the start of that block. For example, two of the dungeon view tables begin at these offsets:

Dungeon_ViewCell_OcclusionMasks:
        equ Dungeon_ViewCell_RelativeCoordinates+$98

Dungeon_ViewCell_VisibleFaceMasks:
        equ Dungeon_ViewCell_RelativeCoordinates+$E4

These names refer to the same bytes whether the tables are stored together or in separate files. A label cannot be placed physically inside an INCBIN; a base label plus an offset preserves that interior address.

Odd-length resources and Devpac

Devpac's INCBIN alignment matters when reproducing the original executable: an odd-length included file receives a padding byte. That byte is not part of the original table. Even-length resources can be included directly; odd-length tables can instead be represented by dc.b declarations containing their exact bytes.

For example, Monster_SubPosition_DepthAdjustments.positions has five bytes and Monster_ViewCell_DepthSlots.lookup has 19. Including both directly added two unwanted zero bytes; using their exact bytes as dc.b data preserved the original SPS 439 executable.