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This document briefly describes the different filename extensions used and/or created by the NeL 3D library. If you have any suggestions, or missing extensions, please report to us.

• build_gamedata : automatic fully incremental batch process that produce final compiled data from top most working data.
• WK: WORKING DATA: This data is a file edited by the artists. It will not be in client final data. This data is an input data for the build_gamedata process.
• RT: RUNTIME DATA: This data is generated by build_gamedata. It is not edited by the artists. It will be included in client final data.
• WR: WORKING and RUNTIME DATA: This data is a file edited by the artists but it will be included in final data. Build_gamedata will only copy it.
• TP: TEMPORARY DATA: This data is produce by build_gamedata to build another kind of data. This data is not edited by the artists and not included in final data.

Extension	Type	Comment
.anim	RT	NeL 3d animations. Contains several named animation tracks. Generated from .max files by build_gamedata. It is readable by NeL. Viewable in object_viewer.
.bank	WK	NeL tile bank. Bank of bitmap tiles used by the landscape. Edited by the artists with tile_edit.exe. build_gamedata generates .smallbank with it. Only one bank file per landscape. Readable by NeL.
.cfg	RT	Configuration file used by NLMISC::CConfigFile class. Used to set user parameters for NeL applications.
.clodbank	RT	Character LOD bank using 3d sprit objects (quake 1 like) to be quickly draw and animated when far away. Generated from .max files by build_gamedata. Readable by NeL.
.cmb	TP	Simple geometry dump used by build_gamedata to compute surfaces for interior collision meshes. Exported from .max files. Not readable by NeL.
.dds	RT	Microsoft DirectDraw Surface (DDS) format is used to store textures and cubic environment maps with mipmaps. It compress textures in a hardware friendly format. Generated from .tga files by build_gamedata. Readable by NeL. More information here
.farbank	RT	NeL far bank. Bank of bitmap used by the landscape to map patches when far away. Generated by build_gamedata from .tga tiles and the bank file. Only one farbank file per landscape. Readable by NeL.
.gr	RT	Instances of local retrievers. Used for NeL 3d collisions. Readable by NeL.
.ig	RT	NeL 3d Instance Group. Contains a list of instanced stuffs in a landscape (a shape reference with a matrix) (optinal), a list of lights (optinal) and a cluster system description (optinal). It is generated by build_gamedata from .max files. Readable by NeL.
.lr	TP	Temporary landscape zone surface file produced during by build_gamedata from a .tessel file. Used to build .gr and .rbank files. Not readable by NeL.
.max	WK	3dsmax file format. Used to produce .anim, .clodbank, .cmb, .ig, .pacs_prim, .shape, .skel, .swt, .zone files. NeL can't direclty read it. build_gamedata exports those files using 3dsmax scripts and plugins.
.pacs_prim	RT	Set of PACS primitive (Box or cylinder description with size, radius, height, position and PACS properties). Generated from .max file by build_gamedata. Readable by NeL.
.ps	WK	NeL 3d particule system. This file is edited with object_viewer.exe. Readable by NeL. In fact, .ps are .shape files.
.rbank	RT	Retrievers Bank. It is the bank of collision zones used by NEL::PACS. Generated by build_gamedata from .lr files. Readable by NeL.
.shape	RT	NeL 3d object used to store a 3d mesh. It can be a simple mesh, skinned mesh, a multilod mesh, a lensflare, a remanence mesh, a water mesh, a particul system. Generated by build_gamedata from .max files. Readable by NeL.
.skel	RT	NeL 3d skeleton description used to deform skinned shapes using .anim. Generated by build_gamedata from .max files. Readable by NeL.
.smallbank	RT	Same file than .bank but some informations have been removed to get a smaller runtime file. Generated by build_gamedata. Readable by NeL.
.swt	RT	NeL 3d file that contains weight for skeleton animation. Generated by build_gamedata from .max files. Readable by NeL.
.tessel	TP	Temporary landscape zone tesselation file produced during the build_gamedata process with a .zone and its neighbors. Used to generate .lr files. Very Hugh zone tesselation dump. (at 0.5 meter). Not used in final data. Not readable by NeL.
.tga	WK/RT	Targa Truevision Graphics bitmap file format. Edited by artists. Format RGBA 16 and 32 bits uncompressed, RGB 24 bits uncompressed readable by NeL. This file format is used by build_gamedata to generate .dds files. It is used to as runtime data for bitmap that doesn't need to be 'dds' compressed. (Like displacement tiles).
.veget	RT	Vegetable file. This file is a simple mesh with only few polygons used like a blade of grass by a vegetset. Generated from .max files by build_gamedata.
.vegetset	WK	Vegetable set file. This file describe a micro-vegetation material. It can be edited with object_viewer.exe. It can be assigned to a lanscape tileset (in bank file) using tile_edit.exe.
.zone	TP	NeL landscape zone made of patches of 160 x 160 meters generated by build_gamedata from .max files. Used by build_gamedata to produce .zonew files. Readable by NeL.
.zonew	TP	Same file than .zone but welding informations with neighbors has been computed by build_gamedata. Readable by NeL.
.zonel	RT	Same file than zonel but lighing informations have been computed by build_gamedata. Readable by NeL.