Cutscene Info - X-Hax/SA2BModdingGuide GitHub Wiki
Depending on the version of SA2, the data for the event cutscenes can differ. EXXXX.PRS
is the main file, while the _0
to _J
files contain miscellaneous resources, such as audio timings and lighting/screen fade information. In the Dreamcast version, the models and animation data for a scene are all contained within the main file, while in SA2B, the animation data was split off into an uncompressed file labeled exxxxmotion.bin
. With two exceptions in the DC version - those being E0203
and E0210
- the event files can only be interpreted by the game if the main file is compressed.
Files that are labeled as evmes??.prs
contain the subtitle text and their assignments per cutscene. The first ?
wildcard starts with either H
, D
, or L
, denoting the text used for the Hero Story, Dark Story, and Last Episode respectively. The second ?
wildcard contains a number from 0
to 5
, which represents the language. As an example, evmesH1
contains all the English subtitle information for the Hero Story cutscenes. The contents of these files can be edited using SA2CutsceneTextEditor.
The main cutscenes can be previewed using SA2 Event Viewer and their contents can be extracted with the use of splitEvent. Editing the contents and rebuilding with buildEvent is mostly functional, but some changes can cause issues.
The base pointer for the DC version is 0xC600000
The base pointer for SA2B is 0x8125FE60
Offset | Type | Description |
---|---|---|
0 | Pointer | Cutscene entity arrays |
4 | Pointer | Texture list |
8 | UINT32 | Scene count |
C | Pointer | Texture sizes |
10 | Pointer | ARK character reflection control |
14 | Pointer | Blur model array |
18 | Pointer | Mech character parts (Usually contains pointers to their upgrades and weapons) |
1C | Pointer | Tails' tails |
20 | Pointer | Upgrade list |
24 | Pointer | Texture animation information |
28 | UINT32 | Drop shadow control. A value of 01 allows the character drop shadows to be rendered over updated geometry. (SA2B only) |
This section of the main file is the source for all things related to camera controls, models, animations, and Big the Cat cameos for the cutscene.
Offset | Type | Description | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
0 | Pointer | Scene Entity Array | |
4 | UINT32 | Scene Entity Count | |
8 | Pointer | Scene Camera Array | |
C | UINT32 | Scene Camera Count | |
10 | Pointer | Particle Motion Array | The animations in this array are used for positioning certain particle effects if the scene uses them |
14 | UINT32 | Particle Motion Count | |
18 | Pointer | Big Cameo Array | |
1C | UINT32 | Scene Frame Count* |
*"Scene 0" will contain the total number of frames for the entire cutscene, as its section stores the cutscene geometry and must remain visible at all times.
This section of the cutscene entity data array controls which models and animations are to be loaded as a singular entity in a scene. The contents of this section are slightly different between game versions.
Dreamcast
Offset | Type | Description | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
0 | Pointer | Model | |
4 | Pointer | Animation | |
8 | Pointer | Shape Motion | |
C | UINT32 | Unknown | |
10 | Float(3) | Position | |
1C | UINT32 | Flags |
SA2B
Offset | Type | Description | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
0 | Pointer | Model | |
4 | Pointer | Animation | |
8 | Pointer | Shape Motion | |
C | Pointer | GC Model | This section is primarily used for "Scene 0" whenever the scene geometry was updated. |
10 | Pointer | Shadow Model | These models are usually texture-less versions of the character models and are used in cutscenes with GC models |
14 | UINT32 | Unknown | |
18 | Float(3) | Position | |
24 | UINT32 | Flags | |
28 | UINT32 | Display Layer | This is a value between 0 and 4, which is tied to the game's rendering system. The higher values are sometimes used with models that use transparency to improve visibility |
The upgrade list is constant throughout the game. To work around a technical limitation with the character models in SA2B, Mech Tails and Mech Eggman were given an upgrade slot each for their windshields, as they would have problems rendering otherwise.
Number | Description |
---|---|
1 | Sonic's Light Shoes |
2 | Sonic's Flame Ring |
3 | Sonic's Bounce Bracelet |
4 | Sonic's Magic Gloves |
5 | Shadow's Air Shoes |
6 | Shadow's Flame Ring |
7 | Knuckles' Shovel Claw (Left) |
8 | Knuckles' Shovel Claw (Right) |
9 | Knuckles' Hammer Glove (Left) |
10 | Knuckles' Hammer Glove (Right) |
11 | Knuckles' Sunglasses |
12 | Knuckles' Air Necklace |
13 | Rouge's Pick Nails |
14 | Rouge's Treasure Scope |
15 | Rouge's Iron Boots |
16 | Rouge's Heart Plates |
17 | Mech Tails' cockpit window (SA2B only) |
18 | Mech Eggman's cockpit window (SA2B only) |
The list used to detect mech character parts is constant throughout the game. The way this list works is that each part of the mech is referenced via pointer to its OBJECT struct and pieces that are deemed redundant are given the "hide" object flag to render them invisible. For example, if the player has acquired Mech Tails' Bazooka upgrade, his Vulcan Cannon won't render on his model and vice versa.
The list is essentially split into three sections, with the first two including pointers to the upgrade models and the last section focusing on the regular models if they exist. The order of the upgrades in the list is identical to a set of flags that are found in the game's code, which is the basis for the descriptions found in the table. The Tornado object in E0004 references its Vulcan Cannon where the Bazooka upgrade would normally be referenced. The reasoning for this is unclear at the moment.
The original purpose of this section was to serve as the upgrade application list for cutscenes. As such, all visible upgrades are supported here, but due to the inclusion of a new upgrade list that more closely matches the in-game implementation, the mech characters are the only ones to utilize the feature at all.
ID | Description | ID | Description | ID | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
0 | Sonic's Light Shoes 1* | 31 | Sonic's Light Shoes 2* | 62 | Null |
1 | Sonic's Ancient Light** | 32 | Null | 63 | Null |
2 | Sonic's Magic Gloves* | 33 | Null | 64 | Null |
3 | Sonic's Flame Ring* | 34 | Null | 65 | Null |
4 | Sonic's Bounce Bracelet* | 35 | Null | 66 | Null |
5 | Sonic's Mystic Melody** | 36 | Null | 67 | Null |
6 | Mech Tails' Booster (Left, Node 51) | 37 | Mech Tails' Booster (Right, Node 40) | 68 | Null |
7 | Mech Tails' Bazooka (Root, Node 11) | 38 | Null | 69 | Mech Tails' Vulcan Cannon (Root, Node 3) |
8 | Mech Tails' Laser Blaster (Root, Node 8) | 39 | Null | 70 | Mech Tails' Missile Blaster (Root, Node 5) |
9 | Mech Tails' Mystic Melody** | 40 | Null | 71 | Null |
10 | Knuckles' Shovel Claw 1* | 41 | Knuckles' Shovel Claw 2* | 72 | Null |
11 | Knuckles' Sunglasses* | 42 | Null | 73 | Null |
12 | Knuckles' Hammer Gloves 1* | 43 | Knuckles' Hammer Gloves 2* | 74 | Null |
13 | Knuckles' Air Necklace* | 44 | Null | 75 | Null |
14 | Knuckles' Mystic Melody** | 45 | Null | 76 | Null |
15 | Null | 46 | Null | 77 | Null |
16 | Shadow's Air Shoes 1* | 47 | Shadow's Air Shoes 2* | 78 | Null |
17 | Shadow's Ancient Light** | 48 | Null | 79 | Null |
18 | Shadow's Flame Ring* | 49 | Null | 80 | Null |
19 | Shadow's Mystic Melody** | 50 | Null | 81 | Null |
20 | Mech Eggman's Jet Engine (Right, Node 6) | 51 | Mech Eggman's Jet Engine (Left, Node 11) | 82 | Null |
21 | Mech Eggman's Large Cannon (Root, Node 22) | 52 | Null | 83 | Mech Eggman's Vulcan Cannon (Root, Node 17) |
22 | Mech Eggman's Laser Blaster (Root, Node 24) | 53 | Null | 84 | Mech Eggman's Missile Blaster (Root, Node 19) |
23 | Mech Eggman's Protection Armor (Node 16) | 54 | Null | 85 | Null |
24 | Mech Eggman's Mystic Melody** | 55 | Null | 86 | Null |
25 | Rouge's Pick Nails 1* | 56 | Rouge's Pick Nails 2* | 87 | Null |
26 | Rouge's Treasure Scope* | 57 | Null | 88 | Null |
27 | Rouge's Iron Boots 1* | 58 | Rouge's Iron Boots 2* | 89 | Null |
28 | Rouge's Mystic Melody** | 59 | Null | 90 | Null |
29 | Null | 60 | Null | 91 | Null |
30 | Null | 61 | Null | 92 | Null |
*Assumed upgrade/normal model
**Upgrade doesn't normally have a visual component
Originally, cutscene files that had a numbered suffix (e.g. E0000_1
) would contain all the graphical features and subtitle/audio timings for each cutscene, all of which could change depending on the language. This was changed in the final release so that the languages would only alter audio/subtitle timings as necessary, as only that information would require tweaking.
The EXXXX_0
files were meant to store subtitle data and audio timings for the Japanese language setting, but in all retail versions of SA2, they were repurposed to store graphical effects and features for each specific cutscene. The following is a list of what can be found in each segment of the file.
Information starting at 0x9800 denotes any screen effects that occur within the scene, such as fades or color changes. Each chunk of this information is 64 bytes long, with the last 32 bytes acting as a buffer.
The maximum number of screen effect entries per cutscene is 64.
Offset | Type | Description |
---|---|---|
0 | UINT32 | Frame in which the screen information takes effect |
4 | Byte | Effect Type |
5 | Char Array [3] | Null |
8 | Char Array [4] | ASCII color (ARGB) |
C | Byte | Fadeout check |
D | Byte | Null |
E | UINT16 | Screen texture ID* |
10 | UINT32 | Visible time* |
14 | INT16 | X Position* |
16 | INT16 | Y Position* |
18 | Float | Width* |
1C | Float | Height* |
*These values are used in combination with the texture screen effect IDs
ID | Description |
---|---|
1 | Screen fade-in |
2 | Screen cut-in |
3 | Texture fade-in |
4 | Texture cut-in |
5 | Background fade-in |
6 | Background cut-in |
Information starting at 0xA800 denotes any simple particle effects that are loaded in the scene, such as flashing lights or the sun. Each chunk of this information is 56 bytes long, with the last 32 bytes acting as a buffer.
The maximum number of simple particle effect entries per cutscene is 2048.
Offset | Type | Description | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
0 | UINT32 | Frame in which the particle information takes effect | |
4 | Byte | Particle ID | |
5 | Byte | Particle Motion ID | |
8 | Float | Texture ID* | |
C | Float | Pulse Control* | X displacement for normal particles |
10 | Float | Unknown* | This is a constant used for the "Pulsing texture cancel" ID, otherwise it's Y displacement for normal particles |
14 | Float | Size* |
*Custom particles treat these values as depicted in the list, while normal particles treat these as displacement values
ID | Description |
---|---|
0 | Null |
1 | Dust puff |
2 | Sparkle |
3 | Sparkle |
4 | Dirt patch |
5 | Fire blast |
6 | Steam |
7 | Snow blast |
8 | Sun |
9 | Sun cancel |
A | Water splash |
B | Smoke cloud |
C | Steam puff |
D | Rocket steam puff |
E | Flame puff |
F | Null |
10 | Invalid |
11 | Pulsing texture |
12 | Pulsing texture cancel |
Starting at 0x26800 are 68-byte chunks that dictate the object lighting information for the corresponding cutscene. The last 20 bytes can be considered a buffer for now.
Lighting information is split into four sections of 256 entries each and all four sets are combined at runtime, depending on certain settings and game versions. Dreamcast uses the first set of instructions and a combination of the other three via enabling specific entity flags, while SA2B will always use the first two sets of lighting information while ignoring the other two sets. "Scene 0" models are always given a default lighting value unrelated to these parameters, with the Dreamcast version allowing for the usage of entity flags to apply certain lighting combinations.
There are a maximum of 1024 possible lighting entries per cutscene.
Offset | Type | Description |
---|---|---|
0 | UINT32 | Frame in which the lighting information takes effect |
4 | UINT32 | Fade control. 1 is a hard cut, while 2 is a fade-in from the previous set of instructions |
8 | Float | Light Direction Vector (X-Component) |
C | Float | Light Direction Vector (Y-Component) |
10 | Float | Light Direction Vector (Z-Component) |
14 | Float | Red |
18 | Float | Green |
1C | Float | Blue |
20 | Float | Light intensity |
24 | Float | Ambient R |
28 | Float | Ambient G |
2C | Float | Ambient B |
Information starting at 0x37800 denotes the controls for motion blur effects used by models in the blur array. Each chunk is 64 bytes in size.
There are 64 total blur effect entries per cutscene.
Offset | Type | Description |
---|---|---|
0 | UINT32 | Frame Start |
4 | UINT32 | Effect Duration |
8 | Char Array [6] | Blur Model ID |
E | UINT16 | Null |
10 | UINT32 | Blur Entity Count |
Information starting at 0x38800 denotes any animated particle effects that are loaded in the scene, such as sparkles or smoke clouds. Each chunk of this information is 64 bytes long.
The maximum number of animated particle effect entries per cutscene is 64.
Offset | Type | Description |
---|---|---|
0 | Float(3) | Position |
C | Float(3) | Rotation and Speed controls |
18 | UINT16 | Unknown |
1A | UINT16 | Unknown |
1C | UINT16 | Unknown |
1E | UINT16 | Unknown |
20 | UINT32 | Frame in which the particle information takes effect |
24 | Float(3) | Particle spread controls |
30 | UINT32 | Number of particle instances |
34 | UINT32 | Unknown |
38 | UINT32 | Particle ID |
3C | UINT32 | Unknown |
ID | Description |
---|---|
0 | Invalid |
1 | Dust cloud |
2 | Sparkle |
3 | Sparkle |
4 | Dirt patches |
5 | Fire blast |
6 | Steam |
7 | Snow blast |
8 | Invalid |
9 | Invalid |
A | Water splash |
B | Smoke cloud |
C | Steam puff |
D | Rocket steam puff |
E | Flame puff |
F | Null |
10 | Invalid |
Information starting at 0x39800 determines whether or not an FMV overlay is meant to be loaded in a scene. Depending on the settings, the video can either be superimposed over the screen, or onto a mesh that's in the cutscene. The chunks are 48 bytes long, with the last 16 acting as a buffer.
The maximum number of video entries is 64.
In the Dreamcast and GameCube versions, .m1v files are loaded for these cases. The 2012 re-release checks for and loads the .sfd equivalents of the video overlays.
Offset | Type | Description |
---|---|---|
0 | UINT32 | Frame in which the video begins to play |
4 | INT16 | X Position. |
6 | INT16 | Y Position. |
8 | Float | Depth value. A higher value means the video overlay will be pushed further away from the screen |
C | Byte | Overlay type |
D | Byte | Overlay texture ID*. Any meshes that use the texture ID denoted here will have the specified texture replaced with the video. |
E | INT16 | Null |
10 | Text | Name of the video file that's to be loaded |
*This is used in combination with the "Mesh overlay" type.
ID | Description |
---|---|
0 | Null |
1 | Screen overlay |
2 | Mesh overlay |
3 | Screen overlay |
4 | Screen overlay |
5 | Pause video |
6 | Resume video |
Suffix | Language |
---|---|
1 | English |
2 | French |
3 | Spanish |
4 | German |
5 | Italian (2012 port only) |
J | Japanese |
The start of the file contains subtitle data. Each data set is 8 bytes long and is tied to the subtitle order found in the external evmes??
file.
There are a maximum of 256 possible entries for subtitle timings.
Offset | Type | Description |
---|---|---|
0 | INT32 | Frame in which the subtitle is set to appear. A value of -1 in this slot will set the mapped subtitle text as the opening text crawl for the cutscene. |
4 | UINT32 | Number of frames in which the subtitle is to remain onscreen. |
Information starting at 0x800 and continuing until the end of the file contains audio timings for voices and BGM for each language. Each chunk is 72 bytes in size. Voice clip playback is determined by using the cutscene ID, so a value used by E0000
will not be the same as a value used by E0102
, for example.
The maximum number of audio entries is 512.
Offset | Type | Description |
---|---|---|
0 | UINT32 | Frame in which the audio clip begins to play |
4 | Byte | SFX initializer. Setting this value to 0 will start sound effect playback at the frame specified |
5 | Byte | Credits control. FF is a null entry and the effect seems to only work with E0210 . Higher values reduce the scrolling speed of the credits |
6 | UINT16 | Number of the voice clip that's to be loaded if applicable. This number is added to a default value set by each cutscene and the result is compared against a master array to load the desired voice clip. FF FF denotes a null entry |
8 | Text | Name of audio track that's to be loaded, if applicable. Placing a hex value of 30 in this spot will stop the current audio track from playing |
18 | Text | Name of the jingle that's to be loaded, if applicable. No cutscenes appear to use this feature. |