Ultima IX internal formats

Here is a description of various data files used by Ultima IX. This compiles information from the sources given in the links, as well as information discovered by various contributors and the Forgotten World Team.

Definitions

These are definitions for byte formats used on this page:

• char - An 8-bit (1-byte) character code in Windows-1252 encoding.
• charz - As with char, but a nul character (code 0) terminates a string.
• cstring - A uint32 string length followed by that many chars.
• cstringz - A uint32 string length followed by that many chars, with a NUL (code 0) character as the last character.
• float32 - A 32-bit floating point value in IEEE-754's binary32 format, in little-endian byte order; this is the same floating-point format used natively on X86 machines.
• uint8 - Unsigned 8-bit (1-byte) integer, between 0 and 255 (2^8-1).
• uint16 - Unsigned 16-bit (2-byte) integer, between 0 and 65535 (2^16-1), in little-endian byte order.
• uint32 - Unsigned 32-bit (4-byte) integer, between 0 and 4294967295 (2^32-1), in little-endian byte order.
• vec3 - A 3-D vector stored as three float32 for x, y, and z.

Files

This is a hierarchical index of the files in Ultima IX and what is known about them. This assumes that everything is installed from the CD, using a custom install.

• 00000409.016, 00000409.256 - Installation background images in BMP format. No use to the game.
• autorun.exe, autorun.ico, eahelp.hlp, FinalSetup.exe, ip.cfg, ip.exe, Uninst.isu - Installation files with no use to the game.
• clcd16.dll, clcd32.dll, clokspl.exe, ConfigINI.exe, dplayerx.dll, drvmgt.dll, Dsetup.dll, secdrv.sys - Executable files with limited apparent applicability.
• D3D.TXT, Eula.txt, keymap.new, options.new, OPTIONS.TXT, PATCH.TXT, PERFORM.TXT, Readme.txt - Text files with no use to the game.
• Default.kmp - Keymap in INI format.
• Options.ini - Game options in INI format.
• u9.exe - Main executable.
• EREG/ - Electronic registration files; no use to the game.
• Movies/ - The game's movies files is in a MPEG (MPG) sequence, v1, system multiplex, video format.
• runtime/ - Data that can be modified during the game.
  • nonfixed.%d, where %d is between 0 and 239.
  • npc.flx - Contains a single record, which is a list of NPCs. Since "u9game0.sav" appears to be used for initial state and it also has a list of NPCs, it's not clear whether this is used by the game.
• savegame/ - Save files, as well as what looks to be temporary unpacked files used while playing.
  • savegame/u9game%d.sav, where %d is a number between 1 and infinity - The packed savegames, using the Savegame file format.
• sound/ - Speech, sound effects, and music files.
  • sound/music.flx
  • sound/sfx.flx
  • sound/sfxassoc.flx
  • sound/sfxcat.flx
  • sound/sfxenv.flx
  • sound/sfxtmpl.flx
  • sound/Speech.flx
• static/ - Data that cannot be modified during the game.
  • static/activity.flx
  • static/anim.flx - Animations for the NPCs and books, using the Animation FLX record format.
  • static/ankh.pal - Palette used in 8-bit rendering mode and in the pictures in the savegames, using the Palette file format.
  • static/areas.flx
  • static/bitmap16.flx, static/bitmapC.flx, static/bitmapsh.flx
  • static/books-en.flx - Books and stores files, using the Book FLX record format.
  • static/dimension.dat
  • static/fixed.%d, where %d is 0 to 239 - Immovable objects within the region, using the Fixed file format.
  • static/highway.dat
  • static/Mbrk.br, static/Mbrk.fn, static/Mbrk.ns, static/Mbrk.vl
  • static/misctext.flx - Miscellaneous text strings, in the Wide String FLX record format.
  • static/registry.txt - Appears to be a list of bone names and numbers.
  • static/rgbccube.dat, static/shade.tbl, static/shadegry.tbl, static/yiqccube.dat - Used in 8-bit rendering mode.
  • static/sappear.flx - 3D mesh data, in the Mesh FLX record format.
  • static/sdInfo.flx, static/sdInfo16.flx, static/sdInfoC.flx
  • static/spaces.flx
  • static/Tbrk.br, static/Tbrk.fn, static/Tbrk.ns, static/Tbrk.vl
  • static/terrain.%d, where %d is 0 to 239 - Terrain height map information, in the Terrain file format.
  • static/text.dat
  • static/text.flx - Text strings, in the Wide String FLX format.
  • static/Texture8.9, static/Texture8.14, static/texture16.9, static/texture16.14 - Textures where each panel is a 16x16 segment from the terrain for the given region. This may be used for the low-detail terrain rendering.
  • static/Tnbrk.br, static/Tnbrk.fn, static/Tnbrk.ns, static/Tnbrk.vl
  • static/treedat.flx
  • static/triggers.flx
  • static/typename.flx - Type name and icons, in the Type Name FLX format.
  • static/types.dat
  • static/u9game0.sav - Initial save state used when starting a new game, using the Savegame file format.

FLX Format

This is an archive file used extensively throughout the game. The header for each flx files contains records throughout the file for what are essentially subfiles.

Header format

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
00h	4Ch	text		Optional comment; always blank.
4Ch	4	uint32
50h	4	uint32	count	Number of entries.
54h	4	uint32
58h	4	uint32	size	Total file size.
5Ch	4	uint32	size2	Also total file size.
60h	20h	??	??
80h	8n	dir.		List of directory entries, as below.
x	x	data		Actual data.

Directory entry format

Offset	Length	Format	Description
0	4	uint32	Offset of the record from the start of the file, or 0 if there is no record in this entry.
4	4	uint32	Length of the record in bytes.

Map Files

Terrain files

This is the format for the "static/terrain.%d" files, where %d is between 0 and 239 with some gaps for nonexistent regions. This contains the height map information for that region, and is present even if the region doesn't have any visible terrain. The terrain is cut into 16x16 point tiles, which are 8x8 world coordinates each. Each tile refers to a chunk, and it is possible for a chunk to be used by multiple tiles (such as if it's the bottom of the ocean). Curiously, there are always more chunks than tiles. This is the format of the header:

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
00h	4	uint32	width	Width in tiles of the region.
04h	4	uint32	height	Height in tiles of the region.
08h	80h	charz	name	Name of the region. This appears to only be used for internal purposes.
88h	4	uint32	waterlevel
8Ch	4	uint32	waveamplitude
90h	4	uint32	flags
94h	4	uint32	chunkCount	The number of chunks.

This is followed by the tile indices into the chunks:

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
00h	2*width*height	uint16	indices	Index of the chunk for each tile, in [x + y * width] order.

The chunk data itself then follows:

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
00h	4*16*16	uint32	points	Points in the chunk.

Each tile is a bitmask with the following format:

First bit	Last bit	Bits	Mask	Name	Description
0	11	12	4095	height	Height of the point, between 0 and 4095 (realistically much less). Each value is 0.25 world coordinates.
12	12	1	1	hole	If this is set, this quadrangle should be removed when the terrain is viewed at maximum detail, and it should not impede movement.
13	13	1	1	swap	Swap the X and Y axes for the texture coordinates.
14	14	1	1	mirror	Mirror the X and Y axes for the texture coordinates.
15	15	1	1	??
16	21	5	31	frame	The index of the frame within the texture to use.
22	31	10	1023	texture	The index of the texture to use in the "static/bitmaps8.flx" or "static/bitmaps16.flx" files. Texture index 29 is used but cannot be visible, so it can safely be discarded even if the point is not a hole.

Fixed Files

This is the format for the "static/fixed.%d" files, where %d is between 0 and 239 with some gaps for nonexistent regions. This contains the objects which cannot be moved or interacted with, such as trees or houses. The region is cut into 32x32 point blocks. The format of the block is not known, but they somehow map to pages, which store a sequence of fixed objects. This is the format of the header:

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
00h	4	uint32	??
04h	4	uint32	??
08h	4	uint32	pagesSize	The size in bytes of all the pages.
0Ch	4	uint32	??
10h	4	uint32	width	The number of tiles the region is wide. This is the same as the terrain height map's width divided by two.
14h	4	uint32	height	The number of tiles the region is tall. This is the same as the terrain height map's height divided by two.
18h	4	uint32	??
1Ch	4	uint32	??

This is followed by some kind of value related to the tiles:

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
00h	4*width*height	uint32	??	These are either 0 or a number in the form nnnn001h, where nnnn is a number that may be a page index. This may be in [x + y * width] order, but that doesn't seem to corroborate with where objects are located in the maps.

The pages themselves follow. Each is 1000h (4096) bytes long:

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
000h	4 × 3	uint32	??
00Ch	4	uint32	baseX	The base X coordinate to add to the X coordinate of all objects in the page. This is divisible by 4096.
010h	4	uint32	baseY	The base Y coordinate to add to the Y coordinate of all objects in the page. This is divisible by 4096.
014h	4 × 13h (19)	uint32	??
060h	18h × A6h (24 × 166)	Fixed object	objects	The list of objects in the page.
FF0h	10h	zero		Padding to a 1000h (4096)-byte boundary.

The fixed objects are 18h (24) bytes long:

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
00h	4	uint32	reference	A byte offset from the start of the file to another object, or 0. Some objects have invalid references, and some are circular.
04h	2*3	uint16	position	The location of the object within the tile, between 0 and 4095. This means that for each terrain quad there are 128 discrete positions.
0Ah	2	uint16	type	The type index.
0Ch	2*3	int16	angle	Angle of the fixed stored in 0.16 fixed point as a conjugated normalized quaternion. This means that to convert to a regular quaternion, if we consider the input values x, y, z, and w, then you compute the angle as Quaternion(-x / 32767.0, -y / 32767.0, -z / 32767.0, w / 32767.0).
12h	2	uint16	Flags	Flags for the object.
14h	4	uint32	?

The flags have these known values:

First bit	Last bit	Bits	Mask	Name	Description
0	0	1	1	Required	Crashes the game if this is not set.
1	1	1	1	CollideWithPlayer	Collide with the player, and maybe other NPCs.
12	12	1	1	Semitransparent	Render the object as semi-transparent.

Nonfixed Files

This is the format for the "runtime/nonfixed.%d" files, where %d is between 0 and 239 with some gaps for nonexistent regions. This holds dynamic objects whose state can change. This is the format of the header:

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
00h	4 × 5	uint32	??
14h	4	uint32	Width	Width of the region in chunks.
18h	4	uint32	Height	Height of the region in chunks.
1Ch	4	uint32	??
20h	Width × Height × 4	uint32	Byte offset of the first page in the chunk, relative to the end of the header.
??	4	uint32	??

This is then followed by the pages. Each starts with the following header, which is 60h/96 bytes long:

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
00h	4	uint32	nextPage	Offset of the next page in this chunk, relative to the end of the header minus 1, or 0 for none.
04h	4	uint32	endEntityOffset
08h	4	uint32	endTriggerOffset
0Ch	4	uint32	baseX	Base X coordinate of the chunk.
10h	4	uint32	baseY	Base Y coordinate of the chunk.
14h	4	uint32	entityCount	Number of entities in the chunk.
18h	4	uint32	triggerCount	Number of triggers in the chunk.
1Ch	4 × 17	uint32	Further offsets to either entities or extra data. (It's not currently clear how to distinguish them.)

This is then followed by entityCount entities:

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
00h	2	uint16	nextEntitiy	Offset to the next entity in a linked list.
02h	2	uint16	??
04h	2	uint16	offsetX	X offset of the entity relative to the chunk's baseX value.
06h	2	uint16	offsetY	Y offset of the entity relative to the chunk's baseY value.
08h	2	uint16	z	Z position of the entity; the elevation.
0Ah	2	uint16	typeIndex	Type index.
0Ch	2 × 4	int16	rotation	Rotation of the entity expressed as an 0.16 quaternion (divide integer values by 32767).
14h	4	uint32	flags	Entity flags.
18h	2	uint16	meshIndex	The mesh index to render for this entity.
1Ah	2	uint16	triggerId
1Ch	4	uint32	extraDataOffset	Offset of the extra data, relative to the end of the file header.

If extraDataOffset is not zero, extra data is present at the given relative offset. It has this format:

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
00h	1	byte	argCount	Number of parameters in this structure.
01h	3 x 1	byte	arguments	First, second, and third parameter type (or 0 for none). For example, 66 indicates scaling across all axes.
04h	3 x 4	uint32	values	Arguments for each of the 1-3 parameters indicated above. For example, for scaling, this is the scaling factor.

Graphics Files

The following sub-sections contain the record formats for graphics related FLX files along the file formats for other graphics based files.

Palette files

This is used with "static/ankh.pal", which is the master palette used in 8-bit mode and for the pictures in savegames.

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
0	256*4	uint32	palette	256 colors, each using the format below.

Each color has the following format:

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
0	1	uint8	blue	Blue component, from 0 (black) to 255 (most intense).
1	1	uint8	green	Green component, from 0 (black) to 255 (most intense).
2	1	uint8	red	Red component, from 0 (black) to 255 (most intense).
3	1	uint8	zero	Must be zero.

Texture8 FLX record format

This is the format for the items in the texture8.* files.

NOTE: len is the length of the item

Header

Offset	Length	Format	Description
0	4	uint32	width
4	4	uint32	height
8	??	??	??
len-width*height	width*height	data	image data, each byte indexes a palette entry in ankh.pal

Bitmap Format

Header

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
00h	2	uint16	width	Maximum width in pixels of all frames.
02h	2	uint16		Possibly format-related.
04h	2	uint16	height	Maximum height in pixels of all frames.
06h	2	uint16	compression	0 = uncompressed, 1 = 8-bit compression of some sort.
08h	4	uint32	frameCount	Number of frames.
0Ch	3	??	??
0Fh	1	uint8		frameCount - 1
10h	8frm	Frame Record	Offset and length for each frame.

Frame Record

Offset	Length	Format	Description
0	4	uint32	Offset of the frame from the beginning of the file.
4	4	uint32	Length of the frame in bytes.

Frame

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
00h	4	uint16	??	The second uint16 is usually 6000h.
04h	4	uint32	width	Width in pixels of this frame.
08h	4	uint32	height	Height in pixels of this frame.
0Ch	8	uint32	??	Both almost always zero.
14h	4*height	uint32	rowOffsets	Table of 'height' 4-byte entries (offset table of some kind, probably for speed).
x	width*height*depth	??	Bitmap data.
x	?	?	Mipmaps.

The "depth" above means the bytes per pixel, which is 1 for "static/bitmaps8.flx" or 2 for "static/bitmaps16.flx". 16-bit pixels use this bitmask:

First bit	Last bit	Bits	Mask	Name	Description
0	4	5	31	red	Red component, with 0 as black and 31 as most intense.
5	9	5	31	green	Green component, with 0 as black and 31 as most intense.
10	14	5	31	blue	Blue component, with 0 as black and 31 as most intense.
15	15	1	1	alpha	If set, the pixel is opaque; otherwise it is transparent.

Sappear FLX record format

This is used for "static/sappear.flx". It defines the 3D meshes, aside from the terrain. Each record begins with this header:

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
00h	4	uint32	Submesh Count	Number of submeshes.
04h	4	uint32	LOD Count	Number of level-of-detail stages.
08h	12	vec3	Cylinder Base Centre	Centre of the Cylinder Base.
14h	4	float32	Cylinder Base Height	The height of the Cylinder
18h	4	float32	Cylinder Base Radius	The radius of the Cylinder.
1Ch	12	vec3	Sphere Center	Center of Sphere
28h	4	float32	Sphere Radius	Radius of the Sphere
2Ch	4	float32	??	??
30h	12	vec3	Minimum Bounds	Minimum bounds of a bounding box for the mesh.
3Ch	12	vec3	Maximum Bounds	Maximum bounds of a bounding box for the mesh.
48h	4	uint32	LOD Threshold 0	Thresholds 0
4Ch	4	uint32	LOD Threshold 1	Thresholds 1
50h	4	uint32	LOD Threshold 2	Thresholds 2
54h	4	uint32	LOD Threshold 3	Thresholds 3
58h	12	vec3	Center of Mass	Center of Mass
64h	4	float32	Mass or Volume?	??
68h	36	matrix	Inertia Matrix	Matrix for the inertia for the model
8Ch	4	float32	Inertia related?	Usually 1 or close to zero.
90h	4 × meshCount × lodCount	uint32	Submesh Map	Offsets from the start of the record for each submesh in (lod + mesh * lodCount) order.

Submesh format

At each submesh offset is a submesh header:

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
00h	4	uint32	Limb ID	The ID of this submesh
04h	4	uint32	Parent ID	The ID of the parent mesh
08h	4	uint32	Scale X	Scale of the submesh in the X direction
0Ch	4	uint32	Scale Y	Scale of the submesh in the Y direction
10h	4	uint32	Scale Z	Scale of the submesh in the Z direction
14h	12	vec3	Position	Position/Offset coordinates to parent mesh
18h	4	float32	Orientation W	Rotation Scalar
1Ch	4	float32	Orientation X	Rotation X
20h	4	float32	Orientation Y	Rotation Y
24h	4	float32	Orientation Z	Rotation Z

Following the header are the LOD levels.

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
00h	4	uint32	Mesh Size	The size of the submesh in bytes, excluding this value, or 0 if there is no such submesh at this LOD level.
04h	4	uint32	Flags	Appears to be a bitmask, with 4 and 8 being most common.
08h	4	uint32	Unused?
0Ch	12	vec3	Sphere Center	LOD level's sphere center
18h	4	float	Sphere Radius	LOD level's sphere radius
1Ch	12	vec3	Minimum Bounds	Minimum bounding box.
28h	12	vec3	Maximum Bounds	Maximum bounding box.
34h	4	uint32	ignorable
38h	4	uint32	ignorable
3Ch	4	uint32	Face Count	Number of faces in the submesh.
40h	4	uint32	Mount Face Count
44h	4	uint32	Vertex Count	Number of vertices in the submesh.
48h	4	uint32	Mount Vertex Count
4Ch	4	uint32	Max Face Count
50h	4	uint32	Material Count	Number of materials.
54h	4	uint32	Face Offset	Offset of the faces relative to the start of the detail level plus 4.
58h	4	uint32	Mount Face Offset
5Ch	4	uint32	Vertex Count	Offset of the vertices relative to the start of the detail level plus 4.
60h	4	uint32	Mount Vertex Count
64h	20	uint32	Material Offset	Offset of the materials relative to the start of the detail level plus 4.
68h	16	uint32	Sorted Faces Offset
78h	8	uint32	probably unused
Face Offset + 4	7Ch × Face Count	Face	Faces	The list of faces.
Vertex Offset + 4	0Ch × Vertex Count	vec3	Vertices	The list of vertices.
Material Offset + 4	18h × Material Count	Material	Materials	The list of materials.
Sorted Faces Offset + 4	× Faces Count

Face format

Each triangle is 7Ch (124) bytes long, and has this format:

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
00h	1Ch × 3	point	Points	Points in the face, described below.
54h	4	bits[32]	Flags	only first 12 bits appear to be used
58h	4	bits[32]	Flags2	unused?
60h	12 (0Ch)	vec3	Normal Vector
6Ch	4	float32	Vector W?
6Ch	4	uint32	Material	Sometimes a zero-based index into the bitmap16.flx/bitmapC.flx/bitmapsh.flx file (whichever is the active option) for the texture to use. In other cases this has a pattern but no strict correlation to the material. Use the material list instead to select textures.
70h	4	uint8[4]	color	Color of the face in RGBA order, each element being between 0 (black/transparent) and 255 (bright/opaque).
74h	4 × 2 (8)	uint8[8]	Collision Related	for collision system (index list [so only values from 0, 1, or 2] that contains the index of the vertex that is closest to each of the faces [order is: left,right,front,back,bottom,top]

Point format

This is the format for a point in a face, which is 1Ch (28) bytes long:

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
00h	4	uint32	Point	Point index.
04h	4	uint32	Point Offset	Offset to the point in bytes.
08h	12	vec3	Normal	Not always a unit vector.
14h	8	vec2	UV Coordinates	UV coordinates.

Material format

This is the format for a material that is applied to a set of triangles. Each is 18h (24) bytes long:

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
00h	2	uint16	Texture ID	Zero-based index of the texture to use from the bitmap16.flx/bitmapC.flx/bitmapsh.flx file (whichever is the active option).
02h	2	bits[16]	Flags
04h	2	uint16	Subtexture Count
06h	2	bits[16]	Flags2
08h	2	uint16	First Face ID	Zero-based index of the first face with this material.
0Ah	2	uint16	Face Count	The number of faces with this material.
0Ch	1	uint8	Default Alpha
0Dh	1	uint8	Modified Alpha
0Eh	1	uint8	Animation Start	Starting Frame for animation
0Fh	1	uint8	Animation End	Ending Frame for animation
10h	1	uint8	CurFrame
11h	1	uint8	Animation Speed	Speed of animation in frames per second
12h	1	uint8	Animation type
13h	1	uint8	Playback direction	0 - forward, 1 - backward
14h	4	uint32	Animation Timer related	Animation timer value

Animation FLX record format

This is used by the "static/anim.flx" file. It contains all the body part animations for the NPCs, and animations for the books.

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
00h	4	uint32	index	Same as the record index.
04h	8	uint32	??
08h	4	uint32	totalFrameCount	The maximum number of frames.
0Ch	8	uint32	??	Always [1Eh, 21H].
10h	4 + filename.length	cstringz	filename	The source filename.
14h + filename.length = 0	4	uint32	headerLength	The number of elements in the header.
04h	4 × headerLength	uint32	??	The start appears to be repeats of part ids.
04h + 4 × headerLength = 0	4	uint32	partCount	The number of parts in the animation.
04h	varies	part	parts	The list of parts.
04h + varies = 0	4	uint32	suffixCount	The number of suffixes.
04h	4 × 3 × suffixCount	uint32	suffixes	The list of suffixes, each of which is a uint32 triple. These may be segments of the animation.

Parts for the Animation FLX record format

This is the format of a part.

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
00h	4	uint32	id	A one-based identifier of the part. This corresponds to a limb ID from the mesh. Values above 255 appear to be unrelated parts from the LightWave file (such as the camera and light rigging).
04h	4 + name.length	cstringz	name	Length-prefixed name of the part.
08h + name.length = 0	4	uint32	frameCount	Number of frames.
04h	2Ch (44) × frameCount	frame	frames	List of frames.

Frames for the Animation FLX record format

This is the format of a frame within a part. The transformation replaces the transformation of the corresponding mesh when this frame is active.

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
00h	4	uint32	ms	The number of milliseconds from the start of the animation to display this frame for this part.
10h	4 × 4	float32	rotation	Rotation quaternion, this time given in the order W, X, Y, Z.
04h	Ch (12)	vec3	position	The relative transform for positioning the part.
20h	Ch (12)	vec3	scale	The scaling factor.

Item Files

Types Database File

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
00h	4	uint32	??	Either 0 or CDCDCDCDh, with no apparent reason.
04h	2	uint16	Usecode ID	Refers to an entry in the usecode list, which is within the game engine.
06h	2	uint16	Default Model ID	Refers to a model entry in the "static/sappear.flx". This model ID is used by default but the model ID used per instance in the nonfixed map file takes priority.
08h	2	bits	Type Flags	Each bit of this word is a separate type flag: Never Hidden(0x01), NPC Only Collision(0x02), Partial Collision(0x04), Non Camera Block (see Spaces FLX)(0x08), Portal Block (see Spaces FLX)(0x10), Unique Model (Final Art I'm guessing for the modelers)(0x20), ??(0x40), Not used, Vestigial(0x80), Mesh Collision(0x0100)
0Ah	1	uint8	Object Weight	Weight used for Physics gravity, FF are not player movable, FE appears to be the same
0Bh	1	uint8	Volume	Probably used for collision cylinder
0Ch	1	uint8	Book Number	Vestigial parameter, may not even be recognized by the engine.
0Dh	1	uint8	Hitpoints	Vestigial parameter, handled with NPC.flx or type's instance nonfixed property.
0Eh	2	uint16	??	Always 0.

Type name FLX record format

This is the record type used in "static/typename.flx". This includes the tooltip icon and text used with the inventory and examine features in the game. Each typename entry corresponds to an object type in "static/types.dat".

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
00h	4	uint32	??	Either 0, -1, or rarely a value above 255. Possibly script-related.
04h	2	uint16	Icon ID	Inventory Icon ID for an image in "static/bitmaps16.flx" or "static/bitmaps8.flx".
06h	-	charz	Tooltip Text	Tooltip for the type. Null-terminated text.

Book FLX record format

The format for records in "static/books-en.flx" is as follows. This format is more than likely also used for the other languages as well.

Offset	Length	Format	Description
0	4+	cstringz	Title string in the form "(id number): (book title)". This doesn't appear to be used.
x	4+	cstring	Book text body.

The body format depends upon whether this is a book or a store record. A book has significant newlines. A line beginning with ` changes the font, and can be:

• `p - Apparently the intent is for a new page, but it's always at the beginning of the book.
• `f1 - Blue font.
• `f2 - Red font.
• `f3 - Black italic font.
• `f5 - Gargish font.

`f4 is not used, but would probably be runic.

Stores have a line-oriented format. The first line is the name of the store. Subsequent lines may begin with "!", indicating that they are a comment. Otherwise they have the form '#(number) "(name)" $(price)', where (number) is the item number, (name) is the name to display (which is adjusted to fit the size of the GUI), and (price) is the price of the item.

Text and MiscText FLX record format

This is the format for records in "static/text.flx" and "static/misctext.flx". Each record is a UCS-2 string that is nul-terminated. It is possible, but unlikely, that it is in UTF-16.

NPC FLX record format

Each record is 143h/323 bytes in size.

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
000h	4	??	??	??
004h	32	charz[32]	Name	Name of the NPC.
024h	1	uint8	Gender	0: Male, 1: Female.
025h	15	??	??	??
034h	2	uint16	HealthCurrent	Current health.
036h	2	uint16	HealthMaximum	Maximum health.
038h	2	uint16	HealthMaximum2	Also maximum health.
03Ah	2	uint16	ManaCurrent	Current mana.
03Ch	2	uint16	ManaMaximum	Maximum mana.
03Eh	2	uint16	ManaMaximum2	Also maximum mana.
040h	24	??	??	??
058h	4	uint32	Region	Region index the NPC is in.
05Ch	4	uint32	PositionX	X coordinate of the NPC.
060h	4	uint32	PositionY	Y coordinate of the NPC.
064h	2	uint16	PositionZ	Z coordinate of the NPC (elevation).
068h	4	??	??	??
06Ch	1	uint8	ScaleX	X scale in percent.
06Dh	1	uint8	ScaleY	Y scale in percent.
06Eh	1	uint8	ScaleZ	Z scale in percent.
06Fh	212	??	??	??

Scripting Files

Highway Database record format

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
00h	4	uint32	Number of Highway Points	Number of Highway Points in file
04h	4	uint32	Number of Highway Segments	Number of Highway Segments in file

Following the header are a bunch of highway points, which define the location of cross objects (patheggs in the U7 vernacular). Each Highway point has the following format.

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
00h	4	uint32	Trigger ID	Trigger ID for a highway pathegg.
04h	4	uint32	X coordinate	Absolute X coordinate of the map for the corresponding highway pathegg.
08h	4	uint32	Y coordinate	Absolute Y coordinate of the map for the corresponding highway pathegg.

Following the highway points is a unint32 containing the total number of bytes for the highway segments. After that are the highway segments, which have the following format.

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
00h	2	uint16	Start Trigger ID	Trigger ID for the first highway pathegg.
02h	2	uint16	Last Trigger ID	Trigger ID for the last highway pathegg.
04h	2	uint16	Path Length	Number of highway points in segment.
06h	2	uint16	Route Distance	Total distance to travel for route.
08h	2	uint16	Nulls	part of distance or unused bytes

Following each highway segment is a sequence of uint16's that define the exact route of highway point trigger IDs.

Sound Files

Sound FLX record format

This is used for "sounds/sfx.flx", "sounds/music.flx", "sounds/speech.flx", maybe others.

The format of the type 1 encoding was determined by Josef Drexler.

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
00h	4	uint32	id	Identification number.
04h	20h	asciiz	description	Description.
24h	4	?		probably more description?
28h	4	uint32	length	Sample data length in bytes.
2Ch	4	uint32	frequency	Frequency in hertz.
30h	4	uint32		Bits per sample?
34h	4	uint32		Channel count?
38h	4	uint32	encoding	Encoding method; see below.
3Ch	length	x	data	Sample data, in the encoding method.

These are the encoding methods:

Value	Meaning
0	PCM (ie. no compression/encoding)
1	ADPCM
2	EA MicroTalk - used by speech

Miscellaneous Files

Savegame files

This is used with the "savegame/u9game%d.sav" files, as well as "static/u9game0.sav". These contain packed savegame data. This is the basic format:

Header

The Header contains the Start.dat file, the title of the savegame, possibly some current camera data, and a low-res screenshot for the savegame.

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
00h	6	char	magic	Always "U9:008".
06h	4	uint32	Savegame Number	Null Field to record the savegame number for the Start.dat file used by the engine to determine, which savegame was last loaded.
0Ah	4	uint32	description.length	Length of Savegame title
0Eh	description.length	cstringz	Savegame Title	The title input into the save game dialog.
0Eh + description.length	25h	??	??	Could be data for the camera's position and properties
33h + description.length	4	uint32	Map Number	Map number for player's location for that savegame
37h + description.length	23h	??	??	More data for the camera's position and properties

Game Picture

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
00h	4	uint32	width	Width of the picture in pixels. This is always 256.
04h	4	uint32	height	Height of the picture in pixels. This is always 128.
08h	4 × 2	uint32	??
10h	4 × height	uint32	rowOffsets	Appears to be offsets to the rows. This is constant, but the base seems unclear.
10h + 4 × height	width × height	uint8	pixels	Picture data in [x + y * width] order, in 8-bit indexed mode, using "static/ankh.pal" for colors.

Processes Database

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
00h	4	uint32	size	Size in bytes of the processes data.
04h	size	??	??	Process data. The First part contain variables. Second part starts at 58h/88 is the NPC.flx data.

Diary Text

Offset	Length	Format	Name	Description
00h	4	uint32	diary.length	Length of the current Diary in bytes.
04h	diary.length	cstringz	All Diary Entries	Each entry in the diary except the last one ends with the byte sequence [0Ah 09h 09h 09h BCh BDh BEh 0Ah], which translates to the formating: ENTER + TAB + TAB + TAB + <Unknown> + ENTER

Nonfixed Files

The remainder of the file are current state for all encountered nonfixed.# files as of that save.

External Links

• U9Tools - a collection of tools that allow the user to extract and modify the contents of various Ultima IX data files.
• U9Decode - Joseph Drexler's utility that allows the user to extract Ultima IX's music.
• Paeron - Paeron's documentation, supplementing information from Tumbleweed.

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