Ultima V internal formats

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This article is a stub. You can help the Codex of Ultima Wisdom by expanding it.

This text was originally copied from "Nodling's", but has been refined extensively.

LZW compressed[edit]

Some files from the PC version of Ultima V have been compressed with the LZW algorithm:

  • .4
  • .16

(and possibly others)

The compressed files are stored as (uint32 uncompressedLength, uint8[] compressedData).

Graphics files (*.4 and *.16 extensions)[edit]

These are all LZW-compressed image files. Those with a .4 extension have four-colour, two-bit data; those with a .16 extension have 16-colour, four-bit data.

Pixels are stored in descending bit order. So for a 16-color byte the first pixel is mask 0xF0, and the second is mask 0x0F. For a 4-color byte, the first pixel is mask 0xC0, the second pixel is mask 0x30, the third pixel is mask 0x0C, and the fourth pixel is mask 0x03.

Rows of pixels are padded to a four-pixel (byte) boundary for 4-color data, and an eight-pixel (four byte) boundary for 16-color data. So for a given width in pixels, a 4-color row is ((width + 3) / 4) bytes long, while a 16-color row is ((width + 7) / 8 * 4) bytes long.

"tiles.4" and "tiles.16"[edit]

These files, when uncompressed, contain 512 (0x200) tiles that are each 16x16 pixels stored in order without any headers. Using the above rules, the 4-color rows are stored as 4 bytes per row, and the 16-color rows are 8 bytes per row.

The 16-color tile sets are :


PC:

Ultima 5 - Tiles-pc.png


Amiga:

Ultima 5 - Tiles.png


Here is the 4-color tileset using a gray-scale scheme with this file:

Ultima Tiles 4 grayscale.png


Apple II:

Shapes-apple2.png


X68000

Ultima V Sharp X68000 World Tiles.png

Ultima V Sharp X68000 NPC Tiles.png


All other *.4 and *.16 files[edit]

These LZW-compressed files are composed of a number of images of varying sizes. The header is (uint16 count, uint32[count] offsets), where count is the number of images, and offsets is the start of an image from the beginning of the file, or zero if there is no image in that slot (this only occurs in "dng*.16" files).

Each image is composed of (uint16 width, uint16 height, ImageRow[height] data). Each row has the number of bytes discussed above.

"items.*" and "mon*.*" contain dungeon ladders, chests, and monster graphics, and have an additional twist:

  • The offsets are actually in uint16 and not uint32
  • Immediately following the image data is an image mask, composed of (uint16 width, uint16 height, uint8[(width + height + 7) / 8] data); width and height must be identical to those in the image. Pixels are stored in descending bit order with no padding, so the first pixel is mask 0x80, the second pixel is mask 0x40, and so on. If a value is set, then that pixel is masked and should not be drawn.

*.CBT[edit]

The combat files define a series of combat maps that are 11 x 11 in size.

File Format[edit]

struct CBT_File {
  Combat_Map c_maps[n];
};
CBT File Format
Offset Length (in bytes) Purpose
0x0 352 Map 1
0x160 352 Map 2
... ... Rest

Each map row consists of 11 columns of tile data followed by 21 bytes of special data.

Special data:

New tile IDs: Tile IDs that each trigger creates

Party positions: 6 bytes of X coords followed by 6 bytes of Y coords, then 9 bytes of padding

Monster tiles: 16 tiles of monster IDs, then 5 bytes of padding

Monster coordinates: 16 X or Y coordinates, no padding

Trigger positions: 8 bytes of X coords followed by 8 bytes of Y coords, then 5 bytes of padding. Each activates a pair of new tiles: one from the corresponding index of Row 10, and one from Row 11

New tile positions: 8 bytes of X coords followed by 8 bytes of Y coords, then 5 bytes of padding

Still unknown: Where are object qualities stored? For example, a room containing a scroll has the scroll tile as one of its "monsters", but the monster "quality" (i.e., the type of scroll) doesn't seem to be stored anywhere.

Combat Map
Offset Length (in bytes) Purpose
0x0 32 Map Row 1 and new tile IDs, then 5 bytes of padding
0x20 32 Map Row 2 and party positions from east
0x40 32 Map Row 3 and party positions from west
0x60 32 Map Row 4 and party positions from south or below
0x80 32 Map Row 5 and party positions from north or above
0xA0 32 Map Row 6 and monster tiles
0xC0 32 Map Row 7 and monster X coords
0xF0 32 Map Row 8 and monster Y coords
0x100 32 Map Row 9 and trigger positions
0x120 32 Map Row 10 and new tile positions
0x140 32 Map Row 11 and new tile positions

Example of a dungeon room[edit]

Here is an example of a dungeon room entirely decoded. 

#Level 1
FF 4F 44 44 44 44 44 4F FF FF FF 
#New tiles for the changes
4F 4F 4F 44 44 44 44 44 
#Unknown
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 
#Unkown 
00 00 00 00 00 

#Level 2
FF 4F 44 44 44 44 44 4F 4F 4F 4F 
#Position X (east) 
08 09 09 0A 0A 0A 
#Position Y (east) 
04 03 05 04 02 06 
#Unkown
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 

#Level 3
FF 4F 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 
#Position X (west)
00 00 00 00 00 00 
#Position Y (west)
00 00 00 00 00 00 
#Unkown
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 

#Level 4
FF 4F 4F 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 
#Position X (south)
04 05 03 04 06 02 
#Position Y (south)
08 09 09 0A 0A 0A 
#Unkown
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 

#Level 5
FF FF 4F 4F 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 
#Position X (north)
04 03 05 04 02 06 
#Position Y (north)
02 01 01 00 00 00 
#Unkown 
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 

#Level 6
FF FF FF 4F 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 
#Monster tiles (what monsters are in the room)
DC D0 D0 D0 94 94 94 94 DC 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 
#Unkown 
00 00 00 00 00 

#Level 7
FF FF 4F 4F 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 
#Initial X position for monsters
09 02 01 01 01 01 01 01 09 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 
#Unkown 
00 00 00 00 00 

#Level 8
FF 4F 4F 44 44 44 44 44 44 46 46 
#Initial Y position for monsters
09 05 04 06 05 05 05 05 08 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 
#Unkown 
00 00 00 00 00 

#Level 9
FF 4F 44 44 44 44 44 44 46 44 46 
#Position X of trigger for 2 elements of level 1, positions are in level 10 and level 11
06 06 06 06 06 06 06 06 
#Position Y of trigger for 2 elements of level 1, positions are in level 10 and level 11
06 06 06 06 06 06 06 06 
#Unknown
00 00 00 00 00 

#Level 10
FF 4F 44 44 44 44 44 46 44 44 46 
#Position X of changes in map from trigger in Level 9
00 00 00 01 01 02 02 03 
#Position Y of changes in map from trigger in Level 9
03 05 07 04 06 04 06 05 
#Unkown 
00 00 00 00 00 

#Level 11
FF 4F 44 44 44 44 44 46 46 46 46 
#Position X of changes in map from trigger in Level 9
00 00 00 01 02 03 03 03 
#Position Y of changes in map from trigger in Level 9
04 06 06 05 05 04 06 05 
#Unknown 
00 00 00 00 00

Tiles for each monster[edit]

In the case of dungeon maps, the tile for each monster gives the engine which monster to load where. With the initial_X and initial_Y fields of the Map_MonsterX_Row or Map_MonsterY_Row, the system can load up any dungeon map with a maximum of 16 monsters in a given room.

The values of the the monster_tile array in the Map_MonsterTile_Row element coincide with the elements of the tile set. However, since we are considering monsters the first 256 tiles are ignored.

Thus 1 is a chest, 2 is gold, 3 is a potion, etc.

Notes:

  • For some reason, certain values provide unexpected results
    • 5C would normally be the bard but is the jocker instead
    • EC, ED, EE, and EF seem to be a random monster value
  • Though the system seems to use the first frame of each element, any frame seems to work indifferently:
    • 0x78 is Blackthorn but so is: 0x79, 0x7A, and 0x7B

Combat maps[edit]

BRIT.CBT[edit]

Combat zone 0 Combat zone 1 Combat zone 2 Combat zone 3 Combat zone 4 Combat zone 5 Combat zone 6 Combat zone 7 Combat zone 8 Combat zone 9 Combat zone 10 Combat zone 11 Combat zone 12 Combat zone 13 Combat zone 14 Combat zone 15

DUNGEON.CBT[edit]

Combat zone 0 Combat zone 1 Combat zone 2 Combat zone 3 Combat zone 4 Combat zone 5 Combat zone 6 Combat zone 7 Combat zone 8 Combat zone 9 Combat zone 10 Combat zone 11 Combat zone 12 Combat zone 13 Combat zone 14 Combat zone 15 Combat zone 16 Combat zone 17 Combat zone 18 Combat zone 19 Combat zone 20 Combat zone 21 Combat zone 22 Combat zone 23 Combat zone 24 Combat zone 25 Combat zone 26 Combat zone 27 Combat zone 28 Combat zone 29 Combat zone 30 Combat zone 31 Combat zone 32 Combat zone 33 Combat zone 34 Combat zone 35 Combat zone 36 Combat zone 37 Combat zone 38 Combat zone 39 Combat zone 40 Combat zone 41 Combat zone 42 Combat zone 43 Combat zone 44 Combat zone 45 Combat zone 46 Combat zone 47 Combat zone 48 Combat zone 49 Combat zone 50 Combat zone 51 Combat zone 52 Combat zone 53 Combat zone 54 Combat zone 55 Combat zone 56 Combat zone 57 Combat zone 58 Combat zone 59 Combat zone 60 Combat zone 61 Combat zone 62 Combat zone 63 Combat zone 64 Combat zone 65 Combat zone 66 Combat zone 67 Combat zone 68 Combat zone 69 Combat zone 70 Combat zone 71 Combat zone 72 Combat zone 73 Combat zone 74 Combat zone 75 Combat zone 76 Combat zone 77 Combat zone 78 Combat zone 79 Combat zone 80 Combat zone 81 Combat zone 82 Combat zone 83 Combat zone 84 Combat zone 85 Combat zone 86 Combat zone 87 Combat zone 88 Combat zone 89 Combat zone 90 Combat zone 91 Combat zone 92 Combat zone 93 Combat zone 94 Combat zone 95 Combat zone 96 Combat zone 97 Combat zone 98 Combat zone 99 Combat zone 100 Combat zone 101 Combat zone 102 Combat zone 103 Combat zone 104 Combat zone 105 Combat zone 106 Combat zone 107 Combat zone 108 Combat zone 109 Combat zone 110 Combat zone 111

*.CH and *.HCS files[edit]

Font files with 128 characters each, encoded as simple bitmaps. Within a byte, the most significant bit represents the leftmost pixel, and the least significant bit represents the rightmost pixel. Characters in the *.CH files are 8x8, and ones in the *.HCS files are 16 wide, 12 tall.

- IBM.* contain the Latin characters and a number of symbols:

  • Characters 1-4 are triangles pointing in four directions
  • 5-8 are the animation frames of the cursor
  • 11-12 are the male/female symbols
  • 14 is a staff
  • 15 is a dot
  • 16-23 (except 18) are the borders of a scroll
  • 18 and 24-27 are directional arrows
  • 28 is the Crown
  • 29 is the Badge
  • 30-31 are half-height directional triangles
  • 32-122 are the corresponding ASCII characters
  • 123-126 are quadrants of a solid circle
  • 127 is a solid square

- RUNES.* contain the Britannian runes and the remaining symbols:

  • 1: Helm
  • 2: Shield
  • 3: Armor
  • 4: Dagger
  • 5: Sling
  • 6: Club
  • 7: Flaming Oil
  • 8: Arrow (ammunition)
  • 9: Throwing Axe
  • 11: Sword
  • 12: Mace
  • 14: Sun symbol?
  • 15: Bow
  • 16: Crossbow
  • 17: Two-handed hammer
  • 18: Two-handed axe
  • 19: Glass Sword, maybe?
  • 20: Halberd
  • 21: Jeweled Sword
  • 22: Magic Bow
  • 23: Magic Axe
  • 24: Ring
  • 25: Amulet
  • 26: Spiked Collar
  • 27: Ankh
  • 28: Scroll
  • 29: Potion
  • 30: Morning Star
  • 43: High underscore?
  • 45-47: Ladders going down, up, and in both directions (for dungeon gems)
  • 48-55: Moon phases, starting with New
  • 56-59: Rounded border corners
  • 64: High dot
  • 65-90: Runes corresponding to the ASCII capital letters
  • 91-95: TH, EE, NG, EA, and ST runes (corresponding to ASCII [\]^_ characters)
  • 96: Diamond
  • 97-102: Scroll borders
  • 103-108: Square borders (like for a sign)
  • 109-110: Signpost top and bottom
  • 111: Staff
  • 112: Dungeon treasure
  • 113: Dungeon trap (looks like a trapezoid)
  • 114: "x"?
  • 115: Dungeon room (looks like box)
  • 116: Dungeon sign (looks like pixel-inverted equals sign)
  • 117: Dungeon skeletons-on-wall symbol
  • 118: Dungeon secret door
  • 119: Dungeon door

*.DAT[edit]

BRIT.DAT[edit]

The Britannian map. Its size is 256x256 tiles. It is divided into 256 chunks. Each chunk has a size of 16x16 tiles, and each tile is stored as a uint8 (in Ultima IV, the chunk size was 32x32 tiles).

To save space, chunks that are all water (tile 0x1) were left out. The location of the all-water chunks is stored in DATA.OVL. The chunks are stored from west to east, north to south, i.e. the first chunk in the uncompressed map is the one in the northwest corner.

The tiles in a chunk are also stored from west to east, north to south.

The complete map of Britannia is:

U5brit.gif


The complete map of Britannia with the original tileset is: [1]

CASTLE.DAT[edit]

The castle file contains all the maps concerning the castles.

  • Lord British's Castle

Lord British's Castle – level -1 Lord British's Castle – level 1 Lord British's Castle – Level 2 Lord British's Castle – level 3 Lord British's Castle – level 4

  • Blackthorn's Castle

Blackthorn’s Castle – level -1 Blackthorn’s Castle – level 1 Blackthorn’s Castle – level 2 Blackthorn’s Castle – level 3 Blackthorn’s Castle – level 4

  • Britannys

West Britanny North Britanny East Britanny

  • Small towns

Paws Cove Buccaneer's Den

DUNGEON.DAT[edit]

The DUNGEON.DAT file contains the dungeon maps for the game. It is made of 8 * 8 * 8 * 8 tiles where :

  • The first 8 is a line of Deceit
  • The first 8 * 8 is the first level of Deceit
  • The first 8 * 8 * 8 is the dungeon Deceit, each level being 8 * 8

The code for each tile is actually divided in two groups of 4-bits:

Higher 4 bits:

  • 0: Open hallway
    • Lower bits = 8: Visible ceiling hole
  • 1: Ladder Up
  • 2: Ladder Down
  • 3: Ladder Up and Down
  • 4: Chest
    • Lower bits:
      • 0: normal chest
      • 1, 2: trapped
      • 4: poisoned
  • 5: Fountain
  • 6: Trap or pit
    • Lower bits:
      • (None): Visible floor hole
      • 1: Invisible floor hole trap
      • 2: Bomb trap (no floor hole)
      • 8: Visible ceiling hole
      • 9: Visible ceiling hole and invisible floor hole trap
  • 7: Open chest
  • 8: Energy fields
    • Lower 3 bits:
      • 0: Poison
      • 1: Sleep
      • 2: Fire
      • 3: Energy
  • 9: Unused
  • A: Unused
  • B: Normal wall
    • Lower values:
      • 1: Text
  • C: Alternate wall (e.g., skeleton in manacles)
  • D: Secret door
  • E: Normal door
  • F: Room

TOWNE.DAT[edit]

This data file contains the cities of Ultima 5:

Moonglow 1 Moonglow 2

Britain 1 Britain 2

Jhelom 1 Jhelom 2

Yew 1 Yew 2

Minoc 1 Minoc 2

Trinsic 1 Trinsic 2

Skara Brae 1 Skara Brae 2

New Magincia 1 New Magincia 2

DWELLING.DAT[edit]

The dwelling data contains the various dwellings of the game.

Fogsbane (1) Fogsbane (2) Fogsbane (3)

Stormcrom (1) Stormcrom (2) Stormcrom (3)

Greyhaven (1) Greyhaven (2) Greyhaven (3)

Waveguide (1) Waveguide (2) Waveguide (3)

Iolo's hut

Spektran

Sin Vraal's hut

Grendel's hut

KEEP.DAT[edit]

The keep data contains the various keeps of the game.

Ararat (1) Ararat (2)

Bordermarch (1) Ararat (2)

Farthing (1)

Windemere (1)

Stonegate (1)

The Lycaeum (1) The Lycaeum (2) The Lycaeum (3)

The Empath Abbey (1) The Empath Abbey (2) The Empath Abbey (3)

The Serpent's Hold (1) The Serpent's Hold (2) The Serpent's Hold(3)


LOOK2.DAT[edit]

This file contains the "look" descriptions for the 0x200 tiles. Each description is a zero-terminated ASCII string. Some descriptions consist only of an asterisk, which the game displays as a diamond. The offsets are relative to the beginning of the file.

look2.dat = set(0x200) of offset16, set(0x200) of ascii_string

offset16 = uint16 ascii_string = set of ascii_char, terminator ascii_char = uint8 terminator = (uint8) 0

MISCMAPS.DAT[edit]

This file contains:

  1. 4x Cutscene Screens (11x11 tiles)
  2. 4x Intro Screens (19x4 tiles)
  3. Intro Script Data
MISCMAPS.DAT File Structure
Offset Length (in bytes) Purpose
0x0 704 Cutscene Maps
0x2C0 512 Intro Maps
0x4C0? 655 Script Data [0x28F]

Cutscene Maps[edit]

The four cutscenes are:

  1. Blackthorn's interrogation (slightly different from the way his dungeon actually looks, probably revealing an older design
  2. Shrine of Virtue interior
  3. Shrine of the Codex interior
  4. Lord British's mirror room
Cut sceneMap Format
Offset Length (in bytes) Purpose
0x0 16 Map Row 1
0x20 16 Map Row 2
0x30 16 Map Row 3
...
0xA0 16 Map Row 11
Map Row Format
Offset Length (in bytes) Purpose
0x0 1 Tile 1
0x1 1 Tile 2
0x2 1 Tile 3
...
0xA 1 Tile 11
0xB 5 Zero Padding

Intro Maps[edit]

  1. Earth bedroom
  2. Circle of stones
  3. Shadowlord encounter (not actually a place on the map)
  4. Iolo's Hut (slightly different from the in-game version)
Intro Row Format
Offset Length (in bytes) Purpose
0x0 32 Map Row 1
0x20 32 Map Row 2
0x40 32 Map Row 3
0x60 32 Map Row 4
Intro Row Format
Offset Length (in bytes) Purpose
0x0 1 Tile 1
0x1 1 Tile 2
0x2 1 Tile 3
...
0x12 1 Tile 19
0x13 13 Zero Padding

Notes:

  • The intro maps are stored in the order in which they appear during the introduction:
  1. "The Summoning"
  2. "The Journey"
  3. "The Arrival"
  4. "The Welcoming"
  • the script data controls the movement of NPCs in the introduction
  • TODO: battle screen descriptions, script format

SIGNS.DAT[edit]

This file contains the set of 33 (0x21) sign groups in this game. First the 16-bit offsets to each sign are stored; after that comes the data for each sign. Each offset represents 0 or more sign groups for a single location, with differing XY coordinates and floors.

signs.dat = set(0x21) of offset16, set(0x21) of sign_group

offset16 = uint16 sign_group = set of sign_data

sign_data = header4, set of sign_char, terminator

header4 = location, coord_Z, coord_X, coord_Y location, coord_Z, coord_X, coord_Y = uint8 sign_char = uint8 terminator = (uint8)

SIGNS.DAT File Format
Offset Length (in bytes) Purpose
0x0 66 16-bit Offsets of each Sign
0x42 To End of File Sign Data
Sign Data Format
Offset Length (in bytes) Purpose
0x0 1 Location
0x1 1 Z Coordinate
0x2 1 X Coordinate
0x3 1 Y Coordinate
0x4 varies Sign text
varies 1 terminator (0x0)

Notes:

  • offset16[i] points to the signs in location i. For locations without signs, the corresponding offset16 is 0. If you remove the zero values, you'll find that the remaining offset16's are sorted in ascending order.
  • each sign starts with a 4-byte header, specifying location (shown below), z, x and y coordinates.
  • the data between your current offset and proceeding offset will contain 1..N signs (sign group) separated by a single NULL (0) byte
  • in some of the eight virtue towns, there are signs that refer to the laws - if there are two then one is defined by only a "\n", the second definition contains the strings.
Location Values
Value Location
0x00 Britannia/Underworld
0x01 Moonglow
0x02 Britain
0x03 Jhelom
0x04 Yew
0x05 Minoc
0x06 Trinsic
0x07 Skara Brae
0x08 New Magincia
0x09 Fogsbane
0x0A Stormcrow
0x0B Greyhaven
0x0C Waveguide
0x0D Iolo's hut
0x0E Sutek's hut
0x0F Sin'Vraal's hut
0x10 Grendel’s hut
0x11 Lord British's Castle
0x12 Palace of Blackthorn
0x13 West Britanny
0x14 North Britanny
0x15 East Britanny
0x16 Paws
0x17 Cove
0x18 Buccaneer's Den
0x19 Ararat
0x1A Bordermarch
0x1B Farthing
0x1C Windemere
0x1D Stonegate
0x1E Lycaeum
0x1F Empath Abbey
0x20 Serpent's Hold
Z Coordinate Values
Name Value
0x00 Britannia/Ground
0x01 First Floor
0x02 Second Floor
0x03 Third Floor
0xFF Basement/Underworld
  • The game may not support signs in dungeons.
  • Signs can contain characters from both ibm.ch and runes.ch:

0 <= sign_char <= 0x7F --> runes.ch[sign_char] 0x80 <= sign_char <= 0xFF --> ibm.ch[sign_char - 0x80]

  • If you want to review the plaintext string of a sign, simply subtract 128 (0x80) from any character > 127 (0x7F)
  • The signs each have the lines denoted as lower case alphabet characters.

UNDER.DAT[edit]

The Underworld map

Its size is 256x256 tiles.

It is divided into 256 chunks. Each chunk has a size of 16x16 tiles, and each tile is stored as a uint8 (in Ultima IV, the chunk size was 32x32 tiles). Unlike BRIT.DAT, it is not compressed (no chunks were left out).

The chunks are stored from west to east, north to south, i.e. the first chunk in the map is the one in the northwest corner. The tiles in a chunk are also stored from west to east, north to south.

U5compu-new.gif


SHOPPE.DAT[edit]

Shoppe.dat is a fairly straight forward file. It is a list of null byte terminated strings that also use the same compressed word methods used with the NPC dialogue (as referenced in data.ovl position 0x104c).

Symbol Meaning
% how much gold thing thing will cost or sell for
& the current piece of equipment
# current business name
$ merchants name
@ barkeeps food/drink etc
* location of thing (ie, see so-and-so at "location")
^ quantity of thing (ie. reagent)

*.NPC[edit]

Each file contains 4608 bytes.

There are of course : - CASTLE.NPC - DWELLING.NPC - KEEP.NPC - TOWNE.NPC

CASTLE.NPC[edit]

Todo.

DWELLING.NPC[edit]

Todo.

KEEP.NPC[edit]

Todo.

TOWNE.NPC[edit]

It is divided into 8 parts.

These files contain information about NPCs.

The general structure of the whole file is : 

struct NPC_File {
  NPC_Info info[8]; // each NPC file has information for 8 maps
};

For each city, we have an information entry for the Npcs of the map: 

struct NPC_Info {
  NPC_Schedule schedule[32];
  uint8 type[32]; // merchant, guard, etc.
  uint8 dialog_number[32];
};

The dialog number gives the entry index to the *.TLK file.

Finally, the schedule says how the Npc moves around in the city and especially when: 

struct NPC_Schedule {
  uint8 AI_types[3];
  uint8 x_coordinates[3];
  uint8 y_coordinates[3];
  sint8 z_coordinates[3];
  uint8 times[4];
};

Notes:

1) All maps can hold a maximum of 31 (not 32) NPC's. In every map, schedule[0], type[0] and dialog_number[0] are not used. However, type[0] is sometimes 0 and sometimes 0x1C, so perhaps it has some unknown purpose.

2) Each NPC_Schedule contains information about 3 locations that the NPC will go to at different times of day. The x and y coordinates are between 0 and 31, because each map has a size of 32x32 tiles. The z coordinates represent the level, relative to level 0. 0xFF would make the NPC go to the level below level 0, while 0x1 would make the NPC go to the level above level 0.

The times are given in hours, so they range from 0 to 23.

times[0] --> NPC goes to location 0

times[1] --> NPC goes to location 1

times[2] --> NPC goes to location 2

times[3] --> NPC goes to location 1

Values for the dialog_number[edit]

Value Meaning
0 "No response" characters, including the guards who leave you alone
>0 && < Nbr defined in the value of the TLK file Defined by that talk information. Add 256 + dialog_number to get the first sprite. For example dialog_number=68 would be a bard because the bard sprite is 68+256=324.
129 Weapon dealer
130 Barkeeper
131 Horse seller
132 Ship seller
133 Magic seller
134 Guild Master
135 Healer
136 Innkeeper
255 Guards who will harass you

*.OVL[edit]

Code or data overlays.

DATA.OVL[edit]

Here is the data layout for this file:


Mapping of Data.ovl

Offset Length Notes
0 0x18 Unknown
0x18 0x38 Licence for the MS-Runtime
0x52 0xa6 Armour strings (13 of them)
0xf8 0x81 Weapon strings (10 of them)
0x179 0x5a Ring and amulet strings (5 of them)
0x1d3 0x158 Character type, monster names (44 of them)
0x32b 0x165 Character type, monster names in capital letters (44 of them)
0x490 0x33 Abbreviated scroll names
0x4c3 0x2b Item names (5 of them)
0x4ee 0x18 "(x" where x goes from 0 to 7
0x506 0x28 Shard names (3 of them)
0x52f 0x43 Additional item names (6 of them)
0x572 0x11a Shortened names (29 of them)
0x68c 0x30 Potion colors (8 of them)
0x6bc 0x4d Reagents (8 of them)
0x709 0x1bb Spell names
0x8c4 0x54 Character type and names (11 of them)
0x918 0x29 Health text (5 of them)
0x941 0x64 Spell runes (26 of them)
0x9a5 0xa8 Words of power for each spell, alphabetized (e.g., Kal Xen Corp is encoded as CKX; spells may be cast with the words in any order)
0xa4d 0x111 City names (in caps) (26 of them)
0xb5e 0x3a Dungeon names (8 of them)
0xb98 0x48 Virtue names (8 of them)
0xbe0 0x1e Virtue mantras (8 of them)
0xbfe 0x2fc Store names
0xefa 0x152 Barkeeper names
0x104c 0x24e Compressed words used in the conversation files
0x129a 0x11c Filenames
0x13b6 0x3a6 Unknown
0x160c 0x37 Armour, weapon and scroll Attack values

See below for ordered list of armour, weapons and scrolls

0x1644 0x2F Armour and Weapon Defensive values

See below for ordered list of armour, weapons and scrolls

0x1674 0x37 Armour, weapon and scroll range values (ignore scrolls)

See below for ordered list of armour, weapons and scrolls

0x1674 0x2F Scroll range values (start at 0x30)
0x175c 0xa9 Weapon strings (add + 0x10)
0x1806 0x70 Armor index (add + 0x10)
0x187a 0x1ee Text index (add + 0x10)
0x1e2a 0x8 Which Map index do we start in (for TOWNE.DAT)
0x1e32 0x8 Which Map index do we start in (for DWELLING.DAT)
0x1e3a 0x8 Which Map index do we start in (for CASTLE.DAT)
0x1e42 0x8 Which Map index do we start in (for KEEP.DAT)
0x1e4a 0x1a (13 * 2) Name of cities index (13 shorts, add 0x10)
0x1e6e 0x2c (22 * 2) Name of dwellings/castle/keeps/dungeons index (22 shorts, add 0x10)
0x1e9a 0x28 X-coordinates to Towns, Dwellings, Castles, Keeps, Dungeons
0x1ec2 0x28 Y-coordinates to Towns, Dwellings, Castles, Keeps, Dungeons
0x1f5e 0x20 Virtue and mantra index (add + 0x10)
0x1f7e 0x33b Unknown
0x22da 0x12 Arms seller's name index
0x22ec 0x20c Unknown
0x22da 0x12 Arms seller's name index
0x24f8 0x13e Indexes to the dialog text (add + 0x10) (see .TLK)
0x2636 0x2b .DAT file names (4 files)
0x2661 0x9 Unknown
0x266a 0x269 Text strings (some unknown in the middle)
0x28d3 0x83 Unknown
0x23ea 0x09 Shoppe Keeper – Towne indexes that have a tavern
0x23fa 0x04 Shoppe Keeper – Towne indexes that sell horses
0x240a 0x04 Shoppe Keeper – Towne indexes that sell ships
0x241a 0x05 Shoppe Keeper – Towne indexes that sell reagents
0x242a 0x03 Shoppe Keeper – Towne indexes that sell provisions (Guild)
0x243a 0x07 Shoppe Keeper – Towne indexes that sell healing
0x244a 0x06 Shoppe Keeper – Towne indexes that have an inn
0x2df4 0x14d Unknown
0x2f41 0x5b Initial string
0x2f9d 0xa STORY.DAT string
0x2fa7 0x175 Unknown
0x311c 0x76 Menu texts (6 texts)
0x3192 0x22 ibm.hcs, rune.hcs, ibm.ch, runes.ch strings
0x31b4 0x42 Random texts
0x31f6 0xa SAVED.GAM string
0x3202 0x462 Random texts
0x3664 0x2a Unknown
0x3683 0x100 Bitmap of which of the first 256 tiles an NPC will walk on (i.e., which things are solid, though there are some surprises in here)
0x3783 0x103 Unknown
0x3886 0x100 Chunking information for Britannia's map, 0xFF the chunk only consists of tile 0x1, otherwise see BRIT.DAT
0x3986 0xaf Random filenames, texts and unknown
0x3a35 0xd Unknown
0x3a42 0x28 Reagent base prices (towne by towne)
0x3a6a 0x28 Reagent quantities (towne by towne)
0x3a92 0x60 (UINT16) Armour/Weapons/Rings base prices

See Ordered list of Armour, Weapons and Scrolls

0x3af2 0x48 (9 groups of 8 bytes) What weapons are sold by the merchant in cities: Britain, Jhelom, Yew, Minoc, Trinsic, British Castle, Buccaneer's Den, Bordermarch, Serpent’s Hold
0x3b3a 0x38 Unknown
0x3b72 0x8 Innkeeper welcome text index into SHOPPE.DAT (+0x0, 2 bytes for each index)
0x41e4 0x8c1 Random texts
0x4aa5 0x2f2 Unknown
0x4d97 0x361 Random texts
0x4e7e 0xc Inn room description text
0x4e8a 0x5 Inn bed X-coordinate
0x4e90 0x5 Inn bed Y-coordinate

The old list is here for the moment: 

  offset      length      purpose

  // monster flags
  0x154C      0x30*2      flags that define the special abilities of
                          monsters during combat; 16 bits per monster
                          0x0020 = undead (affected by An Xen Corp)
                          todo:
                          - passes through walls (ghost, Shadowlord)
                          - can become invisible (wisp, ghost, Shadowlord)
                          - can teleport (wisp, shadowlord)
                          - can't move (reaper, mimic)
                          - able to camouflage itself
                          - may divide when hit (slime, Stone gargoyles)
 
  // moon phases
  0x1EEA      28*2        moon phases (28 byte pairs, one for each day of the month)

  // shrines and mantras
  0x1F7E      8           x coordinates of shrines
  0x1F86      8           y coordinates of shrines
  
  // this section contains information about hidden, non-regenerating objects that you can search for
  // (e.g. the magic axe in the dead tree in Jhelom); there are 0x71 such objects; the last entry
  // in each table is 0.
  0x3E88      0x72        tile to draw when found (beginning at 0x100 in the tile table, the one that looks like a circle of dots)
  0x3EFA      0x72        quality (number of gems/torches, or item number for single-quantity tiles)
  0x3F6C      0x72        location number (see "Party Location")
  0x3FDE      0x72        z coordinate
  0x4050      0x72        x coordinate
  0x40C2      0x72        y coordinate

  0x4513      0x8         Sprite indexes of dungeons after word of power has opened them
  // dock coordinates (where purchased ships/skiffs are placed)
  // 0 = Jhelom
  // 1 = Minoc
  // 2 = East Brittany
  // 3 = Buccaneer's Den
  0x4D86      0x4         x coordinate
  0x4D8A      0x4         y coordinate

  // scan code translation table:
  // when the player presses a key that produces one of the scan codes in
  // the first table, the game translates it to the corresponding code in
  // the second table
  0x541E      8           scancodes
  0x5426      8           internal codes

  // wells
  0x7252      0x32        wishing for one of these keywords at a wishing well gets you a horse

The other OVL[edit]

The other OVL files, as far as we can tell are actually binary files containing code. The base executable actually loads these up on a need to execute basis.

*.TLK[edit]

These files contain conversation scripts. Here is the transcript for Ultima V. There are 4 files for each group of Maps :

FileName Size (in bytes)
CASTLE.TLK 21868
DWELLING.TLK 7979
KEEP.TLK 17947
TOWNE.TLK 26835

The format for each of these files is:

Full file
Number of entries into the set of script indices Set of script index Script data
uint16 Npc index Offset Set of uint8 filling the file
uint16 uint16

Notes:

1) The first NPC number is 1.

2) The script_indexes are sorted by NPC number, in ascending order.

3) The script_data blocks are sorted by NPC number, in ascending order.

4) The conversations appear to be scripted, like the ones in Ultima VI.

The way this is linked together is via the NPC information since it gives us the dialogue index which links itself to the script index.

The text encoding[edit]

For each NPC, there are a certain number of '\0' terminated strings which are encodings of what is the name, job, etc. of the NPC. To decode these texts, I've taken Nodling's decoder and tweaked it a bit.

First part: fixed entries[edit]

For each NPC, it starts with a certain number of fixed entries:

- Name, Description, Greeting, Job, Bye

Second part: key words[edit]

We specify it by: 

<Key word> (Therefore text only)

[<OR character code (see below)> <0 set byte> <Key word> [<OR character code> <0 set byte> <Key word>]...]

<Answer text> (Potentially anything


Third part : labels[edit]

Then it's question/answers with labels.

Todo

Generalities[edit]

For the moment, for each entry, I do : 

       if((c >= 160) && (c < 255))
       {
           c -= 128;
       }
       else
       {
           special = true;
       }

If it's a special case, then we have two cases : it's a code based symbol, it's an entry to an array of texts from DATA.OVL (the offset table starts at 0x24f8).

For the moment, I've confirmed these bindings :

Symbol value Meaning
c < 129 entry to the offset table
129 Insert Avatar’s name
131 Conversation pause
135 Or in the key words
136 Ask for avatar's name
140 If/Else the NPC knows the Avatar's name
141 New line
143 Key wait
145 ~ 155 Labels 1 to 10

If it's not a special case, then I just copy the character in the string.

General Notes[edit]

1) Wishing Wells

There are two wishing wells in the game: - Paws (location 0x16) - Empath Abbey (location 0x1F)

These locations are hard-coded into the game. There is no difference between horses from wishing wells and horses from vendors. It also doesn't make any difference if you wish for "horse" or a car brand.

EGA.DRV[edit]

See u5_ega_drv.txt

INIT.GAM[edit]

Initial "SAVED.GAM".

SAVED.GAM and RAM[edit]

Ultima V (PC version) SAVED.GAM

This file contains the current saved game, which is just a copy of the game's working RAM up to a certain point (there's no need to waste disk space saving, say, the in-memory copy of the current map, since that will just be loaded from the read-only file on demand anyway).

When you start a new game, "SAVED.GAM" is initialized from "INIT.GAM".

Beginning with the leather helm, item numbers are marked below. For instance, "0. Leather helm" means it's Item 0. These numbers are used in the *.TLK files in situations where an NPC gives the party an item, to indicate which item it is. They're also the order items show up in the party inventory listing.

Save Format
Offset Length (in bytes) Range Purpose
0x0 2 ? ?
0x2 32 n/a character record 1 (Avatar)
0x22 32 n/a character record 2
0x42 32 n/a character record 3
0x62 32 n/a character record 4
0x82 32 n/a character record 5
0xA2 32 n/a character record 6
0xC2 32 n/a character record 7
0xE2 32 n/a character record 8
0x102 32 n/a character record 9
0x122 32 n/a character record 10
0x142 32 n/a character record 11
0x162 32 n/a character record 12
0x182 32 n/a character record 13
0x1A2 32 n/a character record 14
0x1C2 32 n/a character record 15
0x1E2 32 n/a character record 16
0x202 2 0-9999 food
0x204 2 0-9999 gold
0x206 1 0-99 keys
0x207 1 0-99 gems
0x208 1 0-99 torches
0x209 1 0,0xFF grapple
0x20A 1 0-99 magic carpets
0x20B 1 0-99 skull keys
0x20C 1 1-28 Last day Minoc skull keys were taken
0x20D 1 0,0xFF Amulet of Lord British
0x20E 1 0,0xFF Crown of Lord British
0x20F 1 0,0xFF Sceptre of Lord British
0x210 1 0,0xFF Shard of Falsehood
0x211 1 0,0xFF Shard of Hatred
0x212 1 0,0xFF Shard of Cowardice
0x213 1 ? ?
0x214 1 0-99 spy glasses
0x215 1 0,0xFF HMS Cape plans
0x216 1 0-99 Sextants
0x217 1 0,0xFF Pocket watch
0x218 1 0,0xFF Black badge
0x219 1 0,0xFF Sandalwood box
0x21A 1 0-99 0. Leather helm
0x21B 1 0-99 1. Chain coif
0x21C 1 0-99 2. Iron helm
0x21D 1 0-99 3. Spiked helm
0x21E 1 0-99 4. Small shield
0x21F 1 0-99 5. Large Shield
0x220 1 0-99 6. Spiked Shield
0x221 1 0-99 7. Magic Shield
0x222 1 0-99 8. Jewelled Shield
0x223 1 0-99 9. Cloth
0x224 1 0-99 10. Leather
0x225 1 0-99 11. Ring mail
0x226 1 0-99 12. Scale mail
0x227 1 0-99 13. Chain mail
0x228 1 0-99 14. Plate mail
0x229 1 0-99 15. Mystic Armour
0x22A 1 0-99 16. Dagger
0x22B 1 0-99 17. Sling
0x22C 1 0-99 18. Club
0x22D 1 0-99 19. Flaming oil
0x22E 1 0-99 20. Main gauche
0x22F 1 0-99 21. Spear
0x230 1 0-99 22. Throwing axe
0x231 1 0-99 23. Short sword
0x232 1 0-99 24. Mace
0x233 1 0-99 25. Morning star
0x234 1 0-99 26. Bow
0x235 1 0-99 27. Arrows
0x236 1 0-99 28. Crossbow
0x237 1 0-99 29. Quarrels
0x238 1 0-99 30. Long sword
0x239 1 0-99 31. 2-H hammer
0x23A 1 0-99 32. 2-H axe
0x23B 1 0-99 33. 2-H sword
0x23C 1 0-99 34. Halberd
0x23D 1 0-99 35. Chaos sword
0x23E 1 0-99 36. Magic bow
0x23F 1 0-99 37. Silver sword
0x240 1 0-99 38. Magic Axe
0x241 1 0-99 39. Glass sword
0x242 1 0-99 40. Jeweled sword
0x243 1 0-99 41. Mystic sword
0x244 1 0-99 42. Invisibility Ring
0x245 1 0-99 43. Protection Ring
0x246 1 0-99 44. Regeneration Ring
0x247 1 0-99 45. Amulet of Turning
0x248 1 0-99 46. Spiked collar
0x249 1 0-99 47. Ankh
0x24A 1 0-99 48. mixed In Lor
0x24B 1 0-99 49. mixed Grav Por
0x24C 1 0-99 50. mixed An Zu
0x24D 1 0-99 51. mixed An Nox
0x24E 1 0-99 52. mixed Mani
0x24F 1 0-99 53. mixed An Ylem
0x250 1 0-99 54. mixed An Sanct
0x251 1 0-99 55. mixed An Xen Corp
0x252 1 0-99 56. mixed Rel Hur
0x253 1 0-99 57. mixed In Wis
0x254 1 0-99 58. mixed Kal Xen
0x255 1 0-99 59. mixed In Xen Mani
0x256 1 0-99 60. mixed Vas Lor
0x257 1 0-99 61. mixed Vas Flam
0x258 1 0-99 62. mixed In Flam Grav
0x259 1 0-99 63. mixed In Nox Grav
0x25A 1 0-99 64. mixed In Zu Grav
0x25B 1 0-99 65. mixed In Por
0x25C 1 0-99 66. mixed An Grav
0x25D 1 0-99 67. mixed In Sanct
0x25E 1 0-99 68. mixed In Sanct Grav
0x25F 1 0-99 69. mixed Uus Por
0x260 1 0-99 70. mixed Des Por
0x261 1 0-99 71. mixed Wis Quas
0x262 1 0-99 72. mixed In Bet Xen
0x263 1 0-99 73. mixed An Ex Por
0x264 1 0-99 74. mixed In Ex Por
0x265 1 0-99 75. mixed Vas Mani
0x266 1 0-99 76. mixed In Zu
0x267 1 0-99 77. mixed Rel Tym
0x268 1 0-99 78. mixed In Vas Por Ylem
0x269 1 0-99 79. mixed Quas An Wis
0x26A 1 0-99 80. mixed In An
0x26B 1 0-99 81. mixed Wis An Ylem
0x26C 1 0-99 82. mixed An Xen Ex
0x26D 1 0-99 83. mixed Rel Xen Bet
0x26E 1 0-99 84. mixed Sanct Lor
0x26F 1 0-99 85. mixed Xen Corp
0x270 1 0-99 86. mixed In Quas Xen
0x271 1 0-99 87. mixed In Quas Wis
0x272 1 0-99 88. mixed In Nox Hur
0x273 1 0-99 89. mixed In Quas Corp
0x274 1 0-99 90. mixed In Mani Corp
0x275 1 0-99 91. mixed Kal Xen Corp
0x276 1 0-99 92. mixed In Vas Grav Corp
0x277 1 0-99 93. mixed In Flam Hur
0x278 1 0-99 94. mixed Vas Rel Por
0x279 1 0-99 95. mixed An Tym
0x27A 1 0-99 96. Vas Lor (scroll)
0x27B 1 0-99 97. Rel Hur (scroll)
0x27C 1 0-99 98. In Sanct (scroll)
0x27D 1 0-99 99. In An (scroll)
0x27E 1 0-99 100. In Quas Wis (scroll)
0x27F 1 0-99 101. Kal Xen Corp (scroll)
0x280 1 0-99 102. In Mani Corp (scroll)
0x281 1 0-99 103. An Tym (scroll)
0x282 1 0-99 104. Blue potion
0x283 1 0-99 105. Yellow potion
0x284 1 0-99 106. Red potion
0x285 1 0-99 107. Green potion
0x286 1 0-99 108. Orange potion
0x287 1 0-99 109. Purple potion
0x288 1 0-99 110. Black potion
0x289 1 0-99 111. White potion
0x28A 8 n/a 0-0xFF Moonstone X-coordinates (valid only if buried)
0x292 8 n/a 0-0xFF Moonstone Y-coordinates (valid only if buried)
0x29A 8 n/a 0=buried,0xFF=Inventory moonstone flags
0x2A2 8 n/a 0=Britannia,0xFF=Underworld moonstone Z-coordinates (valid only if buried)
0x2AA 1 0-99 144. Sulphurous ash
0x2AB 1 0-99 145. Ginseng
0x2AC 1 0-99 146. Garlic
0x2AD 1 0-99 147. Spider silk
0x2AE 1 0-99 148. Blood moss
0x2AF 1 0-99 149. Black pearl
0x2B0 1 0-99 150. Nightshade
0x2B1 1 0-99 151. Mandrake root
0x2B2 3 ? Day each of the three nightshade/mandrake spots was last harvested
0x2B5 1 1-6 # Party members
0x2B6 0xF n/a Non-regenerating object flags[1]
0x2C5 1 ? ?
0x2C6 1 ? ?
0x2C7 1 ? ?
0x2C8 1 ? ?
0x2C9 1 ? ?
0x2CA 1 ? ?
0x2CB 1 ? ?
0x2CC 1 ? ?
0x2CD 1 ? ?
0x2CE 2 1-? Current year
0x2D0 2 0-? # of active monsters & charmed PCs[2]
0x2D2 2 0-? # of active PCs and charmed monsters[2]
0x2D4 1 n/a Icon shown between stats window and the food/gold/date window (from one of the *.CH files)
0x2D5 1 0-5,0xFF=None Active character
0x2D6 1 n/a Mode of transportation (foot, ship, skiff, horse, carpet) [3]
0x2D7 1 1-13 Current month
0x2D8 1 1-28 Current day
0x2D9 1 0-23 Current hour
0x2DA 1 0-23 copy of 0x2D9
0x2DB 1 0-59 Current minute
0x2DC 1 ? ?
0x2DD 1 ? ?
0x2DE 1 ? ?
0x2DF 1 0x30-0x37 Phase of Trammel [4]
0x2E0 1 0x30-0x37 Phase of Felucca [5]
0x2E1 1 0-0x10 Current moongate height (in pixels) [6]
0x2E2 1 0-255 Karma
0x2E3 1 ? ?
0x2E4 1 ? ?
0x2E5 1 0-0xFF # of turns since game began of (stops at 0xFF)
0x2E6 1 0-0xE # of hours until party heals again via camping [7]
0x2E7 1 ? ?
0x2E8 1 n/a Protective spell duration [8]
0x2E9 1 ? ?
0x2EA 1 ? ?
0x2EB 1 0,1,0xFF Animations during next frame [9]
0x2EC 1 0-4 Wind direction (0=calm, 1=N, 2=S, 3=E, 4=W)
0x2ED 1 s.b. Current party location
0x2EE 1 s.b. Combat backup of 0x2ED
0x2EF 1 0xFF,0-7 Z-coordinate of party [10]
0x2F0 1 0xFF] X-coordinate of party
0x2F1 1 0xFF] Y-coordinate of party
0x2F2 1 0=hidden,1=visible Crosshair visibility (combat only, 0=hidden, 1=visible)
0x2F3 1 0-0xA X-coord of crosshair
0x2F4 1 0-0xA Y-coord of crosshair
0x2F5 1 0-0xF0 X-coord of upper left chunk [11]
0x2F6 1 0-0xF0 Y-coord of upper left chunk
0x2F7 1 0-? Attacker's weapon [12]
0x2F8 1 ? ?
0x2F9 1 0=hidden,1=visible Visibility state of focus rectangle & crosshair
0x2FA 1 0-6 Exit direction from combat map 0=None,1=W,2=E,3=N,4=S,5=U,6=D
0x2FB 1 s.d. Combat type flags [13]
0x2FC 1 ? ?
0x2FD 1 0,1 "No more enemies" flag (whether or not Esc leaves combat)
0x2FE 1 0,1 Update/animate 2-D map? [14]
0x2FF 1 0-? Current light intensity
0x300 1 0-0xFF Remaining light spell duration (in turns) [15]
0x301 1 0-0xF0 Remaining rorch duration (in turns) [15]
0x302 0x20 (1 per creature) n/a Monster interference table [16]
0x322 1 0-8,0xFF Location of the Shadowlord of Falsehood [17]
0x323 1 0-8,0xFF Location of the Shadowlord of Hatred ([17]
0x324 1 0-8,0xFF Location of the Shadowlord of Cowardice [17]
0x325 1 ? ?
0x326 1 0-0xFF
Ordained Shrine quests
bit 0 = Honesty
bit 1 = Compassion
bit 2 = Valor
bit 3 = Justice
bit 4 = Sacrifice
bit 5 = Honor
bit 6 = Spirituality
bit 7 = Humility

This is set when you first chant the mantra at the shrine.
Once you have visited the codex it then turns the bit on at 0x328 (Complete Shrine quest)
Once you return the shrine, chant the mantra and receive your attributes bonus, this bit will be unset, but 0x328 will remain set.

0x327 1 ? ?
0x328 1 0-0xFF Completed Shrine quests. The bits map to shrines similar to 0x326.
0x329 1 ? ?
0x32A 8 n/a
open/sealed flag for each dungeon
0 = sealed
0x80 = open
0x332 8 n/a
destroyed/ok flag for each shrine
one byte per shrine, only bit 7 is used
bit 7 = 0 --> ok
bit 7 = 1 --> destroyed
0x33A 0xE n/a

dungeon room cleared flags (7 dungeons, 2 bytes per dungeon) when you kill all monsters in a dungeon room, two things happen:

  1. the bit corresponding to the dungeon room is set to 1
  2. in the dungeon map at 0x3B4, the room's upper nibble is set to 0xA

Note: there are no flags for Doom, because you can't leave Doom (except by winning the game)

0x348 0x20 n/a X-coordinates of annotations
0x368 0x20 n/a Y-coordinates of annotations
0x388 0x20 n/a Annotation tiles
0x3A8 1 0-0x20 Number of entries in the annotation

table (see below)

0x3A9 1 s.d. When you open a door, the game stores door tile in this byte. Only onedoor can be open at any time.
0x3AA 1 0-0x1F X-coord of open door
0x3AB 1 0-0x1F Y-coord of open door
0x3AC 1 0-FF Number of turns the door stays open. Decremented every turn, wraps aroundto 0xFF.
0x3AD 1 0-0xFF X-coord of purchased ship (see 0x105F)
0x3AE 1 0-0xFF Y-coord of purchased ship (see 0x105F)
0x3AF 1 0-4
When you hoist your ship's sails and press an arrow key, the game stores the direction in this byte
0 = none
1 = west
2 = east
3 = north
4 = south
0x3B0 1 0,1
New prompt at end of current turn
0 = don't display newline and prompt when the current turn ends
1 = display newline and prompt at end of current turn
0x3B1 1 0-0x19 Number of drunken moves until you can move normally again; set to 0x19 when you get drunk
0x3B2 1 ? ?
0x3B3 1 ? ?
0x3B4 0x200 n/a Map of the current dungeon 8 levels, 8x8 tiles per level
0x5B4 0x80 n/a
"NPC killed" flags, 4 bytes (32 bits, 32 NPCs) per settlement
flag = 0 --> NPC is alive
flag = 1 --> NPC has been killed
0x634 0x80 n/a
"NPC met" flags, 4 bytes (32 bits,32 NPCs) per settlement
flag = 0 --> party hasn't met NPC yet
flag = 1 --> party has met the NPC

Note: ("met" means that the NPC has asked the Avatar's name and received a truthful answer)

0x6B4 0x100 n/a Monster table (has 0x20 slots)

monster format: see below

0x7B4 4 ? ?
0x7B8 0x200 n/a NPC schedules

See *.NPC in u5tech.txt (used only in settlements)

0x9B8 0x200 0x20 * 0x10 Character/monster states (32 of them, each 16 bytes; see below)
0xBB8 0x400 n/a Movement list table (see below)
0xFB8 0x40 n/a Movement list pointers (see below)
0xFF8 0x20 n/a NPC types. These are the sprite numbers for the NPCs on the current map (must add 0x100 because they are in bytes, but extend to top half of sprite grid)

(See *.NPC in u5tech.txt (used only in settlements)

0x1018 0x44 ? ?
0x105C 1 ? Copy of 0x105D?
0x105D 1 0-3
orientation in a dungeon
0 = north
1 = east
2 = south
3 = west
0x105E 1 1-3
graphics for the current dungeon
1 = cave
2 = mine
3 = dungeon
0x105F 1 s.d.

When you buy a ship or skiff, the game encodes your purchase in this byte: 0x40 = skiff n = frigate with (n-0x80) skiffs on board, n >= 0x80 when you leave the settlement where you bought the vessel, the game creates it at the coordinates stored in 0x3AD and 0x3AF

Beyond this point is data that is only kept in RAM and is not included in the save file.

Save Format
Offset Length (in bytes) Range Purpose
0x1060 2 ? ?
0x1062 0x400 0-0xFF 32x32 grid of the current map's ground tiles


Notes:

Save Game Format Notes
NoteNum Note
[1]
one bit per object
bit = 0 --> object is still there
bit = 1 --> object has been taken
[2]
(combat only)
active = sleeping, good, poisoned
inactive = charmed, dead, fled
[3] Add 0x100 to get the real tile
[4] If the hour is 0-4, this byte determines where moongates take the party.
[5] If the hour is 20-23, this byte determines where moongates take the party.
[6]
[7] This is set to 0xE when the party gets healed by camping; it is decremented every full hour.

If this byte is 0 at the end of your camping rest, the party gets healed, but only if you rested for 6-9 hours; camping for 1-5 hours never heals the party

[8]
0 = no protective spell is active
0xFF = spell remains active until removed (Badge, Crown, Sceptre, Amulet)
else = turns until the spell expires (spell type is stored in 0x2D4)
[9]
When time has been stopped, the game sets this byte to 0 during every frame.
0 = skip animations during the next frame
1 = animate tiles during the next frame 0xFF = ?
[10]
Dungeons
0 = level 1
7 = level 8
settlements
0xFF = basement
0 = ground floor,
1 = first floor, etc.
outside
0 = Britannia
0xFF = Underworld
[11]
[12] (combat only)

When a PC attacks a monster during combat, the game stores the attack method in this byte. The attack method can be a weapon or a spell.

[13]
[14]
0 = don't update/animate 2D map
1 = update and animate 2D map

Ignored in dungeons. Set to 1 when you enter or leave a settlement. I don't know if the game ever sets it to 0.

[15]

In Lor spell, borrowed torch = 0x64 Vas Lor spell = 0xFF Vas Lor scroll, ignited torch = 0xF0

[16] 0xFF = no monster interferes with this creature else = index of the monster that interferes with this creature
[17]
0 = none
1 = Moonglow
2 = Britain
3 = Jhelom
4 = Yew
5 = Minoc
6 = Trinsic
7 = Skara Brae
8 = New Magincia
0xFF = destroyed
[18]
  1. If you set one of the bytes at 0x322-0x324 to 0xFF, that just means the respective shadowlord won't visit the towns anymore. You'll still encounter the shadowlord in Stonegate, unless you've also set its "NPC killed" flag.
  2. The Crown and the Sandalwood Box are treated as NPC's. When you take them, the game sets their "NPC killed" flag.
    1. Crown = NPC 1 in Blackthorn's castle
    2. Sandalwood Box = NPC 31 in Lord British's castle
    • You can cast spells in Blackthorn's castle if you have the Crown in your inventory. If you don't have the Crown, the game assumes that it's still in Blackthorn's castle, and all spells you cast there will be absorbed.
  3. Annotation table: when you're in a settlement, this table contains the locations of drawbridges.
    • At 8 PM, the game places water tiles (tile 3) at the locations stored in the annotation table.
    • At 5 AM, the game places the tiles stored in the annotation table at the corresponding locations. Changing the table in SAVED.GAM has no effect, because the game restores it from somewhere else when you Journey Onward.
  4. Chunk cache:
    • Britannia and the Underworld are divided into chunks of 16x16 tiles.
    • Four of these chunks are cached in at any time; you see them when you view a gem.
    • The coordinates of the upper left corner of the upper left chunk are stored at 0x2F5 and 0x2F6. Both coordinates are divisible by 0x10. In settlements, both coordinates are set to 0.


--- Movement Lists ---
When it's time for an NPC to move to a new location (as dictated by his schedule), the game calculates a path to the new location and stores this path in the NPC's movement list. The movement lists are stored at 0xBB8. There are 0x20 lists (one for eachNPC). Each list can store up to 0x10 movement commands. The movement commands are made up of two bytes: the number of repetitions and the direction. 

   struct Movement_List_Table {
      Movement_List mov_lists[0x20]; 
   }
   struct Movement_List {
      Movement_Command mov_commands[0x10];
   }
   struct Movement_Command {
      uint8 repeats;
      // 1 = east
      // 2 = north
      // 3 = west
      // 4 = south
      uint8 direction;
   }

The table at 0xFB8 contains 0x20 word offsets (one for each NPC). Entries can have the following values:

  • 0xFFFF = movement list for the NPC is empty
  • else = offset into the NPC's movement list (must be a multiple of 2)

If the NPC hasn't reached his destination after going through the movement commands, the game calculates a new path and stores it in the NPC's movement list.
Notes:

  • There are no up/down movement commands. When an NPC wants to move to a location on another level, he goes to the nearest stair/ladder and then teleports to his destination.


----Character/Monster States---

States
offset Description
0 ?
2 Current position - x
4 Current position - y
6 Current position - z (floor)
8 Tile reference number (add 0x100)
10 ?
12 Character animation state index
14 (?) if > 0, then the character is active on the map

Note: referenced in MapCharacterState.cs


--- Monster Format ---

Monster Format
offset length purpose
0 1 Tile (always the first of an animated group regardless of animation frame)
1 1 Tile of current animation frame
2 1 X-coordinate
3 1 Y-coordinate
4 1 Z-coordinate (level)
5 1 Value 1; nonzero seems to correspond to item numbers (e.g., amulet is 243)
6 1 Value 2; nonzero seems to correspond with literal monsters
7 1 Value 3


Notes:

  1. The monster table contains not only monsters, but also inanimate objects (e.g. empty ships) and the party.
  2. The party is always in slot 0.
  3. Non-empty entries don't have to be contiguous.
  4. For frigates, Value 1 is their hull strength and Value 3 is the number of skiffs on board.
  5. Value 2 might be commonly used as a bitmap; common values include 0, 16, 32, 48, 64, and 80, corresponding to the bits 0xxx0000. It also seems to change even when the player is not doing anything, so it might have to do with animations.

Todo: empty entries, object-specific fields



--- Character record format ---

Monster Format
Offset Length Purpose Range
0 9 Character name Zero-terminated string (length = 8+1)
9 1 Gender
0xB = male
0xC = female
0xA 1 class
'A'vatar,
'B'ard
'F'ighter,
'M'age
0xB 1 Status 'G'ood, etc.
0xC 1 Strength 1-50
0xD 1 Dexterity 1-50
0xE 1 Intelligence 1-50
0xF 1 Current MP 0-50
0x10 2 Current HP 1-240
0x12 2 Maximum HP 1-240
0x14 2 Exp points 0-9999
0x16 1 Level 1-8
0x17 1 Months at inn 0-25 (updated when month rolls; capped at 25)
0x18 1 ? Seems to always be set to 7, even in INIT.GAM
0x19 1 Helmet 0-0x2F,0xFF
0x1A 1 Armor 0-0x2F,0xFF
0x1B 1 Weapon or shield (left hand) 0-0x2F,0xFF
0x1C 1 Weapon or shield (right hand) 0-0x2F,0xFF
0x1D 1 Ring 0-0x2F,0xFF
0x1E 1 Amulet 0-0x2F,0xFF
0x1F 1 Inn/party n/a


Notes:

  • If the character is staying at an inn, the byte at offset 0x1F contains the settlement number (see "Party Location") of the inn.
  • If the character is in the party, it contains 0.
  • If the character hasn't joined the party yet, it contains 0xFF.
  • If the character has been permanently killed, it contains 0x7F.



--- Party Location ---

Equipment
index Location
0x0 Britannia/Underworld
0x1 Moonglow
0x2 Britain
0x3 Jhelom
0x4 Yew
0x5 Minoc
0x6 Trinsic
0x7 Skara Brae
0x8 New Magincia
0x9 Fogsbane
0xA Stormcrow
0xB Greyhaven
0xC Waveguide
0xD Iolo's hut
0xE Sutek's hut
0xF Sin'Vraal's hut
0x10 Grendel's hut
0x11 Castle British
0x12 Castle Blackthorn
0x13 West Britanny
0x14 North Britanny
0x15 East Britanny
0x16 Paws
0x17 Cove
0x18 Buccaneer's Den
0x19 Ararat
0x1A Bordermarch
0x1B Farthing
0x1C Windemere
0x1D Stonegate
0x1E The Lycaeum
0x1F Empath Abbey
0x20 Serpent's Hold
0x21 Deceit
0x22 Despise
0x23 Destard
0x24 Wrong
0x25 Covetous
0x26 Shame
0x27 Hythloth
0x28 Doom
0xFF Combat/resting/shrine

Sources[edit]

Nytegard <email: append "at yahoo dot com" to his nick>

http://nodling.nullneuron.net/nytegard/nytegard.html

http://nodling.nullneuron.net/ultima/ultima.html

http://martin.brenner.de/ultima/u5save.html

http://www.cosy.sbg.ac.at/~lendl/ultima/ultima5/ on the Internet Archive

http://www.wi.leidenuniv.nl/~psimoons/ultima5t.htm on the Internet Archive

Sheng Long Gradilla <email: replace the two spaces in his name with dots and append "at gmail dot com">

Brad Hannah <email: wellthisisfunsoftware at gmail dot com>

Technical Details
Game Ultima III ☥ Ultima IV ☥ Ultima V ☥ Ultima VI ☥ Ultima VII ☥ Ultima VIII ☥ Ultima IX ☥ Ultima Underworld
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