Difference between revisions of "Talk:FA1C39F7"

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(Updated with the results of my latest research, plus I learned how to format tables.)
(Updated with the results of additional research.)
Line 1: Line 1:
 
==Say What?==
 
==Say What?==
−
I`ve been investigating this record format because it is one of the most numerous formats in a lot file that I believe is corrupted. Unfortunately, I have been having some difficulty with the record format as described [[FA1C39F7|here]]. Still, I have been able to decode nearly all of it. However, as my understanding of the record format has improved, I have discovered that the data I am seeing does not quite match the description. In the hope that someone could help me, and that my experience might help others, and not wanting to mess up the existing description with my misunderstandings, I documented my observations here. Even though my understanding of the format has improved considerably since originaly posting this commentary, and I have updated my description to match, I am still working on this record at the time of writing.
+
I`ve been investigating this record format because it is one of the most numerous formats in a lot file that I believe is corrupted. Unfortunately, I have been having some difficulty with the record format as described [[FA1C39F7|here]]. Still, I have been able to decode nearly all of it. However, as my understanding of the record format has improved, I have discovered that the data I am seeing does not quite match the description. In the hope that someone could help me [Please?], and that my experience might help others, and not wanting to mess up the existing description with my misunderstandings, I documented my observations here. Even though my understanding of the format has improved considerably since originaly posting this commentary, and I have updated my description to match, I am still working on this record at the time of writing.
  
 
I start with some relatively simple structures that occur a variable number of times in the record, and build my way up towards the full description:
 
I start with some relatively simple structures that occur a variable number of times in the record, and build my way up towards the full description:
Line 12: Line 12:
 
| [[7BITSTR]] || Unknown || apparently always "", "int", "lat", "sim", "obj", "osl", "ovh", "ovl", or "ovm"
 
| [[7BITSTR]] || Unknown || apparently always "", "int", "lat", "sim", "obj", "osl", "ovh", "ovl", or "ovm"
 
|-
 
|-
−
| 377 Bytes || Unknown || some of the data patterns resemble CoOrdinate block data patterns.
+
| 377 Bytes || Unknown || some of the data patterns resemble CoOrdinates block data patterns
 
|-
 
|-
−
| [[7BITSTR]] || Unknown || appears to always end in "_anim"
+
| [[7BITSTR]] || Unknown || if not empty, always ends in "_anim"
 
|-
 
|-
 
| DWORD || Unknown || always 0 or 1
 
| DWORD || Unknown || always 0 or 1
Line 128: Line 128:
 
| [[7BITSTR]] || Name || always "cLocomotable"
 
| [[7BITSTR]] || Name || always "cLocomotable"
 
|-
 
|-
−
| DWORD? || Unknown || always 0, 1, or 2?
+
| cLocomotable block || ||
−
|-
+
−
| DWORD? || Unknown || always 0 or 1?
+
 
|}
 
|}
 
{| class="wikitable"
 
{| class="wikitable"
Line 149: Line 147:
 
| cPerson block || || Only if BlockID matches cPerson BlockID
 
| cPerson block || || Only if BlockID matches cPerson BlockID
 
|-
 
|-
−
| || || See Notes
+
| Additional data || Unknown || See Notes
−
|-
+
−
| DWORD || Unknown || apparently always 0x00000000 or 0x00FE0000
+
 
|}
 
|}
 
==Notes==
 
==Notes==
−
The formerly inexplicably-varying portions of the record suspected to depend on the fields labeled "(Version?)" [as reported in the first version of this page] has been confirmed: the cAnimatable blocks actualy *do* contain cObject blocks, and the cPerson blocks also contain [or are always followed by] cLocomotable blocks, which contain [or are always followed by] cAnimatable blocks.
+
After the main block, additional data occurs that varies with the type and version of the outermost block, but which does NOT appear after a block of the same type and version within another block.
 +
 
 +
*cObject blocks:
 +
:When the main block is a cObject block of version 16, it is sometimes followed by a single additional DWORD.
 +
:When the main block is a cObject block of version 17, it is followed by one of the following:
 +
:*A single DWORD, always 0x00FE0000.
 +
:*A DWORD Count with Count additional DWORDs.
 +
:If either is present, it marks the END of the record; any other data present will be in place of, rather than in addition to, this data.
 +
:
 +
:Other versions of cObject blocks have not been seen.
  
−
The cLocomotable blocks seem to be singularly useless, apparently adding no significant information to the record.
+
*cAnimatable blocks:
 +
:When the main block is a cAnimatable block of version 16, it is always followed by one of the following, all of which mark the end of the record:
 +
:*Nothing at all.
 +
:*A single DWORD, always either 0x00FE0000 or 0xFD000000.
 +
:*A DWORD Count with Count additional DWORDs.
 +
:*A DWORD Count with Count Anim blocks.
 +
:When the main block is a cAnimatable block of version 17, it is always followed by one additional DWORD, always 0x00000000.
 +
:When the main block is a cAnimatable block of version 14, the format is unknown.
 +
:
 +
:Other versions of cAnimatable blocks have not been seen. At this time, it appears that version 14 blocks never occur as the main block, as this should cause my tool to raise an exception that has not occured. As well, the existance of version 17 blocks needs to be verified.
  
−
When the main block is a cAnmatable block, and the next DWORD is neither 0x00000000 nor 0x00FE0000, and the remaining data is more than a few DWORDS long, a counted group of Anim blocks appears; its presence bears no relation to the version number of any known part of the record. I am still engaged in verifying that this "rule" holds true for all lots in all EAxis neighborhoods in my game, none of which has ever been played.
+
*cPerson and cLocomotable blocks.
 +
:Because of the way that cPerson and cLocomotable blocks always occur only with a single instance of the other, it is impossible to determine if any data present belongs to the cPerson block or the cLocomotable block. At any rate, the cLocomotable block`s embedded cAnimatable block has been observed to be followed by any of the following:
 +
:*A single DWORD, always 0x00FE0000. Always marks the end of the record.
 +
:*Two DWORDs, both always 0x00000000. Always marks the end of the record.
 +
:*A DWORD Count with Count additional DWORDs. Always marks the end of the record.
 +
:*A DWORD Count with Count Anim blocks, optionally followed by:
 +
::*Two DWORDs, both always 0x00000000. Always marks the end of the record.
 +
::*A DWORD Count with Count additional DWORDs. Always marks the end of the record.
 +
:
 +
:Other data may follow the Anim blocks, or appear in place of them, but this data has proven very resistant to analysis.
  
−
As part of my ongoing investigation, I have used my tool to test-read every lot in neighborhoods E001 and F001 and begun scanning the lots in neighborhoods G001, N001, and N002, and still have some troubles with the data where the Anim block resides. As of the last scan of the file it resides in, at least one cPerson record had a Anim-block count of 3, followed by TWO Anim blocks and something that clearly is NOT an Anim block. Several other files have one or more of these non-Anim blocks at the end of one or more cPerson records, but so far I have only found the one record with such within the *counted* Anim blocks.
+
As part of my ongoing investigation, I have used my tool to test-read every lot in neighborhoods E001 and F001 and begun scanning the lots in neighborhoods G001, N001, N002, and N003, and still have some troubles with the data following the cLocomotable`s embedded cAnimatable block. As of the last scan of the file it resides in, at least one cPerson record had a Anim-block count of 3, followed by TWO Anim blocks and something that clearly is NOT an Anim block. The record in question is Neighborhoods\G001\Lots\G001_Lot23.package, TypeID=0xFA1C39F7, GroupID=4294967295, InstanceID=218. Several other files have what appears to be one or more of these non-Anim blocks at the end of one or more cPerson records, but so far I have only found the one record with such within the *counted* Anim blocks.
  
−
I still don`t know how to identify the presence of the Anim blocks by any way other than checking for the length of the unused data at the end of the record, but that method had proven absolutely reliable until that one abberant record was found. Incidentally, the record in question is Neighborhoods\G001\Lots\G001_Lot23.package, TypeID=0xFA1C39F7, GroupID=4294967295, InstanceID=218. --GeneralOperationsDirector
+
I still don`t know how to identify the presence of the Anim blocks by any way other than checking for the length of the unused data at the end of the record, but that method had proven absolutely reliable until that one abberant record was found, and has proven reilable for all other records observed to date. --GeneralOperationsDirector

Revision as of 22:48, 16 October 2010

Say What?

I`ve been investigating this record format because it is one of the most numerous formats in a lot file that I believe is corrupted. Unfortunately, I have been having some difficulty with the record format as described here. Still, I have been able to decode nearly all of it. However, as my understanding of the record format has improved, I have discovered that the data I am seeing does not quite match the description. In the hope that someone could help me [Please?], and that my experience might help others, and not wanting to mess up the existing description with my misunderstandings, I documented my observations here. Even though my understanding of the format has improved considerably since originaly posting this commentary, and I have updated my description to match, I am still working on this record at the time of writing.

I start with some relatively simple structures that occur a variable number of times in the record, and build my way up towards the full description:

Anim blocks
16 Bytes Unknown
7BITSTR Unknown
7BITSTR Unknown apparently always "", "int", "lat", "sim", "obj", "osl", "ovh", "ovl", or "ovm"
377 Bytes Unknown some of the data patterns resemble CoOrdinates block data patterns
7BITSTR Unknown if not empty, always ends in "_anim"
DWORD Unknown always 0 or 1
Blend blocks
7BITSTR Name
7BITSTR Partner
DWORD Unknown
CoOrdinates blocks
FLOAT X
FLOAT Y
FLOAT Height
16 Bytes Quaternion Does anyone know how to "read" one of these?
MaterialMesh blocks
7BITSTR Material
7BITSTR Mesh
Slot blocks
7BITSTR Name
CoOrdinates block

I call these blocks "Slot" blocks because some of the "Name" fields actually have the word "slot" as part of their value, and because the co-ordinates they contain often [if not always] make perfect sense as the object-relative locations of the object features mentioned in the correspoding "Name" field.

cObjectBlock blocks
7BITSTR Unknown Name?
DWORD Unknown
  • only present for cObject Version=17
  • always 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, or 12
DWORD Count
MaterialMesh block Repeat Count times

I had to invent a name for these blocks, but was singularly uninspired at the time. Any suggestions?

cObject blocks
7BITSTR Model
DWORD Count
cObjectBlock block Repeat Count times
CoOrdinates block
DWORD Count
Slot block Repeat Count times
cAnimatable blocks
DWORD BlockID always the BlockID for cObject blocks
DWORD Version of embedded cObject block
7BITSTR Name always "cObject", matching the BlockID
cObject block
DWORD Count
Blend block Repeat Count times
Float Unknown nearly always 1.0, but values as low as 0.939999997616 have been seen
DWORD Unknown always 1
CoOrdinates block Occurs twice
Unknown
  • 24 bytes long for Version<16
  • 28 bytes long for Version>15
  • apparently cannot be a CoOrdinates block, not only because of the size, but because some values decode into "Not A Number"
CoOrdinates block
cLocomotable blocks
DWORD BlockID always the BlockID for cAnimatable blocks
DWORD Version of embedded cAnimatable block
cAnimatable block
cPerson blocks
DWORD BlockID always the BlockID for cLocomotable blocks
DWORD Version of embedded cLocomotable block
7BITSTR Name always "cLocomotable"
cLocomotable block
Full Record
64 Bytes Unknown always zeroes
DWORD BlockID
DWORD Version of outermost block
7BITSTR Name always matches BlockID
cObject block Only if BlockID matches cObject BlockID
cAnimatable block Only if Block ID matches cAnimatable BlockID
cPerson block Only if BlockID matches cPerson BlockID
Additional data Unknown See Notes

Notes

After the main block, additional data occurs that varies with the type and version of the outermost block, but which does NOT appear after a block of the same type and version within another block.

  • cObject blocks:
When the main block is a cObject block of version 16, it is sometimes followed by a single additional DWORD.
When the main block is a cObject block of version 17, it is followed by one of the following:
  • A single DWORD, always 0x00FE0000.
  • A DWORD Count with Count additional DWORDs.
If either is present, it marks the END of the record; any other data present will be in place of, rather than in addition to, this data.
Other versions of cObject blocks have not been seen.
  • cAnimatable blocks:
When the main block is a cAnimatable block of version 16, it is always followed by one of the following, all of which mark the end of the record:
  • Nothing at all.
  • A single DWORD, always either 0x00FE0000 or 0xFD000000.
  • A DWORD Count with Count additional DWORDs.
  • A DWORD Count with Count Anim blocks.
When the main block is a cAnimatable block of version 17, it is always followed by one additional DWORD, always 0x00000000.
When the main block is a cAnimatable block of version 14, the format is unknown.
Other versions of cAnimatable blocks have not been seen. At this time, it appears that version 14 blocks never occur as the main block, as this should cause my tool to raise an exception that has not occured. As well, the existance of version 17 blocks needs to be verified.
  • cPerson and cLocomotable blocks.
Because of the way that cPerson and cLocomotable blocks always occur only with a single instance of the other, it is impossible to determine if any data present belongs to the cPerson block or the cLocomotable block. At any rate, the cLocomotable block`s embedded cAnimatable block has been observed to be followed by any of the following:
  • A single DWORD, always 0x00FE0000. Always marks the end of the record.
  • Two DWORDs, both always 0x00000000. Always marks the end of the record.
  • A DWORD Count with Count additional DWORDs. Always marks the end of the record.
  • A DWORD Count with Count Anim blocks, optionally followed by:
  • Two DWORDs, both always 0x00000000. Always marks the end of the record.
  • A DWORD Count with Count additional DWORDs. Always marks the end of the record.
Other data may follow the Anim blocks, or appear in place of them, but this data has proven very resistant to analysis.

As part of my ongoing investigation, I have used my tool to test-read every lot in neighborhoods E001 and F001 and begun scanning the lots in neighborhoods G001, N001, N002, and N003, and still have some troubles with the data following the cLocomotable`s embedded cAnimatable block. As of the last scan of the file it resides in, at least one cPerson record had a Anim-block count of 3, followed by TWO Anim blocks and something that clearly is NOT an Anim block. The record in question is Neighborhoods\G001\Lots\G001_Lot23.package, TypeID=0xFA1C39F7, GroupID=4294967295, InstanceID=218. Several other files have what appears to be one or more of these non-Anim blocks at the end of one or more cPerson records, but so far I have only found the one record with such within the *counted* Anim blocks.

I still don`t know how to identify the presence of the Anim blocks by any way other than checking for the length of the unused data at the end of the record, but that method had proven absolutely reliable until that one abberant record was found, and has proven reilable for all other records observed to date. --GeneralOperationsDirector

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