Daggerfall Mod:BLOCKS.BSA/Map Block Records

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Map Block Records describe the exterior block data for locations from MAPS.BSA. Each Map Block Record describes one exterior block, which fits into a two-dimensional grid with the other blocks for that location's exterior. The architecture, the doors, the automap, flats, etc are all here.

Each Map Block Record name must be one of the defined combinations found in Block Record Indexes and must end with the string ".RMB". Ex: "TVRNAL00.RMB".

General File Layout[edit]

The Map Block Record (RMB) is the most common type found in the file. It is a variably sized record, but the RmbHeader is fixed at 6776 bytes long. This contains all the necessary information to compute the record's total length. It is a composite structure organized as follows:

Map Block Record coarse structure
RmbHeader
BlockList
?ModelList
?FlatList

RmbHeader[edit]

Each Map Block Record begins with a 6776 byte long header structure. This structure itself is a composite structure organized as follows:

RmbHeader structure
ObjectCount
BlockPositionList
BuildingDataList
Section2
GroundData
Automap
FileNameList

These substructures are contiguous within the RmbHeader; this is to say the FileNameList immediately follows the Automap. Some of these subsections are to be subdivided into 32 further subrecords as described in each section below.

ObjectCount[edit]

This structure reports the counts of the variably-sized data which compose the Map Block Record.

ObjectCount structure
Offset Type Name Description
0 UInt8 BlockCount This field reports the number of Block structures. This value must be less-than-or-equal to 32.
1 UInt8 ModelCount This field reports the number of Model structures.
2 UInt8 FlatCount This field reports the number of RecordFlat structures.

BlockPositionList[edit]

The BlockPositionList is a contiguous list of 32 BlockPosition structures, each 20 bytes long. Only ObjectCount.BlockCount elements are used; the remainder may be ignored but all 32 must be read. The BlockPosition structure is detailed below:

BlockPosition structure
Offset Type Name Description
0-3 UInt32 Unknown1 Unknown Purpose.
4-7 UInt32 Unknown2 Unknown Purpose.
8-11 Int32 X Gives the X position of the block in map coordinates.
12-15 Int32 Z Gives the Z position of the block in map coordinates.
16-19 Int32 RotationAngle This values specifies, in Daggerfall Angles (Da), how the block (including all meshes, flats, etc.) should be rotated about the Y-axis. See Angle Mathematics.

BuildingDataList[edit]

Found immediately following the BlockPositionList is a contiguous list of 32 BuildingData elements, as found in MAPS.BSA.

Section2[edit]

Immediately following the BuildingDataList is the following structure:

Offset Type Name Description
0-127 UInt32[ 32 ] BlockPtr Reserved.
128-255 UInt32[ 32 ] BlockSize Indicates the size in bytes of the Block elements which follow. Only ObjectCount.BlockCount elements are used; the remaining elements may be ignored but all 32 must be read.
256-259 UInt32 ModelPtr Reserved.
260-263 UInt32 FlatPtr Reserved.

GroundData[edit]

The GroundData structure immediately follows the BlockSizeList. This 512 byte fixed-size structure is a composite structure which specifies the ground textures and one additional piece of unknown data.

GroundData coarse structure
GroundTextureList
GroundDecoration

GroundTextureList[edit]

Following the GroundDataHeader structure is a contiguous list of 256 GroundTexture structures, each a 1 byte long. These are to be considered a 16x16 GroundTexture grid, detailed as follows:

bits Name Description
0-5 TextureIndex This value, ranging from 0-63, gives the new texture index to display. The texture file to use will depend on the current location (desert, temperate, etc…) and the time (raining, summer, winter, etc…).
6-7 Rotation Indicates that the texture is rotated Rotation * 90° counterclockwise.

GroundDecoration[edit]

Immediately following the GroundTextureList is a byte array, 256 bytes long. It corresponds to the same 16x16 grid.

bits Name Description
0-1 Unknown Some bitflag.
2-7 Decoration Index of a decoration to place, increased by 1.

The unspecified bytes seem to have a value of 0xff.

Automap[edit]

Immediately following the GroundData are 4096 bytes used to generate a 64x64 pixel bitmap. This is the location's automap, as displayed in the game. The bitmap does not control the placement of any architecture; it is merely displayed to the user. Value 0x00 indicates a transparent pixel; otherwise subtract one from the value and it conforms to the Building Type enumeration values. Ship, Special1, Special2, Special3, and Special4 are never displayed on the automap.

FileNameList[edit]

FileNameList structure
Offset Type Name Description
0-12 7-bit ASCII string BlockFileName This null-terminated 8.3 (13 total characters) filename seems to be the name of the block record itself, as it would exist as a separate file.
13-428 7-bit ASCII string[ 32 ] FileNameList This is an array of null-terminated 8.3 filenames (13 total characters each). The list itself is not null-terminated since it is a fixed size.

BlockList[edit]

Following the RmbHeader is a contiguous list Block structures, RmbHeader.ObjectCount.BlockCount elements in count. The byte length of each element is reported by the BlockSizeList.

A Block structure is a composite structure containing two BlockData structures; the first structure defines the exterior of the block and the second BlockData structure defines the interior of the block. A Block structure is variably-sized. The size of each Block structure is provided by the BlockSizeList in the RmbHeader via ordinal index; that is to say the second element of the BlockSizeList declares the size of the second Block element of the BlockList. Therefore these two lists must be synchronized for proper operation.

Fundamental Structures[edit]

Before delving into the Block structure it is important to understand some basic types used by Daggerfall.

BlockSectionBase[edit]

This structure is used as a base template for the Section3, Flat, Person, and Door structures. The format is as follows:

BlockSectionBase structure
Offset Type Name Description
0-11 Point Position This is a standard Daggerfall Point structure, as defined in ARCH3D.BSA.
12-13 UInt16 BaseField1 This field is overloaded in each of the derived structures.
14-15 UInt16 BaseField2 This field is overloaded in each of the derived structures.

The structures which rely on BlockSectionBase each redefine the BaseField1 and BaseField2 fields for their own specific purposes.

Section3[edit]

The Section3 structure is a standard BlockSectionBase, with the following redefinitions:

Section3 redefinitions
Original Field Name New Field Name Description
BaseField1 Unknown1 Unknown Purpose
BaseField2 Unknown2 Unknown Purpose
Door[edit]

The Door structure both extends and redefines the BlockSectionBase. These describe the doors which one may open and close within a scene, such as those found in buildings.

Door structure
Offset Type Name Description
0-15 BlockSectionBase RootData This is the core data, with field redefinitions below.
16-17 UInt16 Unknown2 Unknown purpose.
18 UInt8 NullValue This value is always 0x00.
Door redefinitions
Original Field Name New Field Name New Field Type Description
BaseField1 Unknown1 UInt16 Unknown purpose.
BaseField2 RotationAngle Int16 The angle of rotation the door should swing about her hinges in Degrees. See Angle Mathematics.
FlatBase[edit]

The FlatBase structure is an extension of the BlockSectionBase. The structure is as follows:

FlatBase structure
Offset Type Name Description
0-15 BlockSectionBase RootData This is the core data, with field redefinitions below.
16 UInt8 Flag Unknown purpose.
FlatBase redefinitions
Original Field Name New Field Name Description
BaseField1 Texture This field is a standard Daggerfall Texture structure, as defined in ARCH3D.BSA.
Flat[edit]

Flat structures redefine the FlatBase structure. Flat structures are just that: merely textures painted on planes which always face the viewer (often called "decals" or "billboards" in Direct3D or OpenGL).

Flat redefinitions
Original Field Name New Field Name Description
BaseField2 Unknown1 Unknown Purpose.
Person[edit]

Person structures redefine the FlatBase structure. These are the people with whom the character may interact (receive quests, ask for directions, etc).

Person redefinitions
Original Field Name New Field Name Description
BaseField2 FactionId The specific faction to which this person represents. For vaild FactionIDs see here.

Model[edit]

The Model structure is a composite structure which reports the 3D object information for the block.

Model sructure
Offset Type Name Description
0-2 ModelId ModelId This field specifies which record should be loaded from ARCH3D.BSA.
3 UInt8 Unknown1 Unknown Purpose.
4-7 UInt32 Unknown2 Unknown Purpose. Non-zero only in 1297 of 236250 records. Seems to repeat within the same file. Could be two or four separate fields.
8-13 UInt32 Unknown3 Unknown Purpose.
14-17 UInt32 Unknown4 Unknown Purpose. Non-zero only in 272 of 236250 records. Seems to repeat within the same file. Could be two or four separate fields.
16-23 UInt64 NullValue1 Always 0x0000000000000000.
24-35 Point Point1 A coordinate of some form. Only 370 records have non-zero values. Most likely an input into a translation matrix.
36-47 Point Point2 The coordinates used for placing the model within the scene.
48-51 UInt32 NullValue2 Always 0x00000000.
52-53 Int16 RotationAngle This values specifies, in Daggerfall Angles (Da), how the model should be rotated about her Y-axis. See Angle Mathematics.
54-55 UInt16 Unknown5 Unknown Purpose.
56-59 UInt32 Unknown6 Unknown Purpose.
60-63 UInt32 Unknown8 Unknown Purpose. Only non-zero in "CUSTAA45.RMB", where it is 0x00000200. CUSTAA45.RMB is referenced only by Wayrest.
64-65 UInt16 NullValue4 Always 0x0000.

The ModelId structure is used to reference an ARCH3D.BSA record.

ModelId structure
Offset Type Name Description
0-1 UInt16 Id1 This is combined with Id2 to calculate the RecordId for the model from ARCH3D.BSA, as below.
2 UInt8 Id2 This is combined with Id1 to calculate the RecordId for the model from ARCH3D.BSA, as below.

To compute the RecordId for the ARCH3D.BSA record to which this structure refers, multiply Id1 by 100 and add Id2: ( Id1 * 100 ) + Id2.

BlockDataHeader[edit]

The BlockDataHeader structure reports the counts of Models, Flats, etc. found within the BlockData the header describes.

BlockHeader structure
Offset Type Name Description
0 UInt8 ModelCount The count of Model elements within the BlockData structure.
1 UInt8 FlatCount The count of Flat elements within the BlockData structure.
2 UInt8 Section3Count The count of Section3 elements within the BlockData structure.
3 UInt8 PersonCount The count of Person elements within the BlockData structure.
4 UInt8 DoorCount The count of Door elements within the BlockData structure.
5-16 UInt32[3] Pointers Reserved.

BlockData[edit]

A BlockData structure is a composite structure containing a BlockDataHeader, and the data described by that header.

BlockData coarse structure
BlockDataHeader A single BlockDataHeader.
ModelList Contiguous list of Model structures.
FlatList Contiguous list of Flat structures.
Section3List Contiguous list of Section3 structures.
PersonList Contiguous list of Person structures.
DoorList Contiguous list of Door structures.

The count for each of the list is provided by the BlockDataHeader structure.

Block[edit]

A Block structure is a composite structure which defines all external and internal elements for the block. It consists of two BlockData structures. Some records include an additional padding byte, which editors can safely ignore and omit. The BlockSize array

Block coarse structure
Type Name Description
BlockData Exterior This section describes the exterior data for the block. This would be the models and textures for the exterior of the tavern or house, as well as any flats such as sign posts or kittens.
BlockData Interior This section describes the interior data for the block. This would be the models and textures for the interior of the tavern or house, as well as any flats such as prostitutes or barkeeps.

ModelList[edit]

Following the BlockList, there is a contiguous list of Model elements. These further decorate the scene described by the current block. Models can be placed arbitrarily within the scene via this list, rather than associating them with specific BlockData elements. There are RmbHeader.ObjectCount.ModelCount elements.

FlatList[edit]

Following the ModelList, there is a contiguous list of Flat elements. These further decorate the scene described by the current block. Flats can be placed arbitrarily within the scene via this list, rather than associating them with specific BlockData elements. There are RmbHeader.ObjectCount.FlatCount elements.