Ultima Underworld  I: The Stygian Abyss
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Ultima Underworld I (The Stygian Abyss) / II (Labyrinth of Worlds) Formats Specification

This guide was obtained from Underworld Adventures CVS.

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               Ultima Underworld 1 and 2 Formats Specification

                            Underworld Adventures
                        http://uwadv.sourceforge.net/
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Document version:
   $Id: uw-formats.txt,v 1.68 2006/04/11 21:26:42 vividos Exp $


Table of Contents
-----------------

   1      Introduction

   2      Overview
   2.1    Remarks
   2.2    Document conventions
   2.3    Summary of game files
   2.3.1  Ultima Underworld 1 files
   2.3.2  Ultima Underworld 2 files

   3      Graphics and visuals
   3.1    Palettes
   3.2    Images
   3.3    Bitmaps
   3.4    Textures
   3.5    Fonts
   3.6    Critter animations
   3.7    Cutscene animations
   3.8    Weapon animations

   4      Level maps and object lists
   4.1    File format
   4.2    Level tilemap
   4.2    Master object list
   4.2.1  Enchantments
   4.2.2  Item Owner
   4.2.3  Mobile object extra info
   4.3    Free lists
   4.4    Texture mappings
   4.5    Animation infos
   4.6    Automap infos
   4.7    Terrain texture properties

   5      String resources
   5.1    String block contents

   6      Objects and items
   6.1    List of all objects and items
   6.2    Common object properties
   6.3    Object class properties
   6.4    Object combining

   7      Conversations
   7.1    Conversation file format
   7.2    Private global variables
   7.3    Memory layout
   7.4    Assembler language opcodes
   7.5    Text substitutions
   7.6    Intrinsic functions
   7.7    Imported variables
   7.8    Quest flags

   8      3d models
   8.1    List of all nodes

   9      Miscellaneous stuff
   9.1    Ultima Underworld 2 compression scheme
   9.2    Savegame format
   9.3    Unknown files
   9.4    Error codes

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1  Introduction

   This file tries to collect all file formats and data structures used in the
   game Ultima Underworld 1. It origined from the "uw-specs.txt" file that I
   found with "The System Shock Hack Project" (TSSHP). System Shock uses
   almost the same data structures for the game and Jim decided to support the
   underworldly games, too. With the start of the Underworld Adventures
   project I started to extend the file as I found new things. It started with
   a tiny 20kb text file.

   As I further progressed to find out things I realized that the Underworld
   games are not that simple done as I always thought. Many little things want
   to be specified, configured and set. The Underworld games were built very
   detailed, far more than other games at this time. The second game even
   added to that complexity (and some say, story, too).

   With this document I hope to present the interested reader a rather
   detailed overview over the file formats, and even more the inner workings
   of Ultima Underworld 1 and 2. Have as much fun reading it as I had fun to
   find out things and writing it!


1.1  Credits

   My thanks go out to Jim Cameron that started the original "uw-specs.txt"
   file and subsequently found out more unknown data structures and discussed
   about file formats with me. Many thanks, Jim!

   Additional information came from Alistair Brown (basic object format, via
   the Underworld II editor available at
   ), Ulf Wohlers (Objects and 3D
   models) and Fabian Pache (about map details and 3d models, uw2 related,
   http://uw2rev.sourceforge.net).

   Further infos about weapon animation and miscellaneous bits about uw were
   contributed by Telemachos from peroxide.dk.

   I also like to thank Telemachos who pointed me to the TSSHP's file formats
   file at the start of all of this.

   This file is probably:
   Copyright (c) 2000,2001,2002,2003 Jim Cameron
   Copyright (c) 2002,2003,2004 Michael Fink
   Copyright (c) 2004 Kasper Fauerby


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2  Overview

   This chapter gives a short overview over the game itself, as well as a
   detailed summary about all game files used in Ultima Underworld 1 and 2.


2.1  Remarks

   The game was released in the year 1992, just before Wolfenstein 3D came
   out.was released. So it was the first true first-person game on the PC.

   Ultima Underworld is a MS-DOS based game created in C with Turbo C++ 2.1
   and Optasm as the assembler used (as far as we know). 3d models were done
   with 3d studio max and converted and placed into the executable.

   Ultima Underworld is a trademark of Origin, Inc.


2.2  Document conventions

   This document follows some conventions, to keep a nice and well-to-read
   format. The document is indented by 3 spaces; text must be wrapped at
   line column 79 and tables can (but doesn't need to be) indented with 3
   spaces, too. No tab spaces should be used. Special parts of the formats
   specification that only refer to either Ultima Underworld 1 or 2 are marked
   with [uw1] or [uw2].

   All integer data values in the documentation are referred as Int8 for 8-bit
   values, Int16 and Int32 for 16-bit and 32-bit values. All values are
   unsigned unless noted otherwise. As the game was written and run on x86 PC
   machines, all variables are stored in little-endian format, where e.g. the
   lower byte of a 16-bit value is stored first, then the higher byte. All
   data structures found so far use this scheme.


2.3  Summary of game files

   This section lists all the files that are part of the Ultima Underworld
   game installations.


2.3.1  Ultima Underworld 1 files

   Here's a list of all files for Ultima Underworld 1:

   Files in the main folder:

   install.dat    infos which files are installed
   install.exe    installer created with EZ-INSTALL 3.13
   install.olb    ANSI text strings for the installer
   lha.doc        LHA manual for 2.13
   lha.exe        LHA 2.13 to unpack installer game files
   uw.exe         ultima underworld 1 executable
   uwsound.exe    sound settings program

   Files in the "data" folder:

   3dwin.gr       3d window graphics
   allpals.dat    auxiliary 4-bit palette indices
   animo.gr       small animations
   armor_f.gr     female paperdoll armor graphics
   armor_m.gr     male paperdoll armor graphics
   babglobs.dat   initial conversation globals
   blnkmap.byt    blank map bitmap, palette #1
   bodies.gr      paperdoll bodies
   buttons.gr     buttons, seems to be from some map editor
   chains.gr      rotating chains for the stats window
   chargen.byt    character generation bitmap, palette #3
   charhead.gr    character images, for conversations
   chrbtns.gr     character generation graphics, palette #3
   chrgen.dat
   cmb.dat        item combining rules
   cnv.ark        conversation scripts
   comobj.dat     common object properties
   compass.gr     compass graphics
   conv.byt       seems to be a conversation screenshot, palette #0
   converse.gr    conversation screen bitmaps
   cursors.gr     mouse cursor images
   doors.gr       door textures
   dragons.gr     scroll dragons animations
   eyes.gr        eyes from top screen
   f16.tr         floor/ceiling textures, size 16x16
   f32.tr         floor/ceiling textures, size 32x32
   flasks.gr      health and mana flask graphics
   font4x5p.sys   small font
   font5x6i.sys   italic font, used in character stats screen
   font5x6p.sys   normal font, used for scroll messages
   fontbig.sys    big font, for cutscenes
   fontbutn.sys   font for buttons (?)
   fontchar.sys   character generation font (?)
   genhead.gr     generic heads images
   grave.dat      grave IDs
   heads.gr       avatar character generation heads
   inv.gr         inventory graphics, scroll backgrounds (?)
   lev.ark        level maps, texture indices and object list
   lfti.gr        left menu buttons
   light.dat      palette mappings for 16 different light levels
   lights.dat
   main.byt       main game screen bitmap, palette #0
   mono.dat       palette mapping for grayscale colors
   objects.dat    object data specific to an object class
   objects.gr     object graphics, some never seen in inventory (460 objects!)
   opbtn.gr       opening screen buttons, create new game, etc.; palette #2
   opscr.byt      opening screen, palette #2
   optb.gr        some options buttons
   optbtns.gr     all options buttons from the left menu
   pals.dat       eight palettes (#0 to #7; #5 and #6 are the same)
   panels.gr      some invalid type, 0x0 and 1x1 resolution images
   player.dat     initial player character called "gronkey"
   power.gr       hit power indicator graphics
   pres1.byt      "origin presents" screen, palette #5
   pres2.byt      "a blue sky prod. game" screen, palette #5
   question.gr    a single question mark
   scrledge.gr    scroll paper edges
   shades.dat
   skills.dat     char. generation skills for all classes
   spells.gr      spells graphics
   strings.pak    all the game strings
   terrain.dat    terrain texture properties (see 4.7)
   tmflat.gr      wall switches and other decals
   tmobj.gr       more wall decals, 3d model textures
   uw.cfg         underworld configuration (audio, cut scenes)
   views.gr       the letters "mv", probably not used
   w16.tr         wall textures, size 16x16
   w64.tr         wall textures, size 64x64
   weapons.cm     weapon animation auxiliary palettes (see 3.8)
   weapons.dat    weapon animation x and y coordinates (see 3.8)
   weapons.gr     weapon hit animations, for left and right handedness
   win1.byt       winning screen with text, palette #7
   win2.byt       blank winning screen for character info, palette #7
   xfer.dat       color index translation tables (see 9.3)

   Files in the "sound" folder:

   XX.voc         all cutscene audio files
   uwXX.xmi       underworld extended midi music
   awXX.xmi       the same, for adlib music (?)
   sounds.dat     sound effect midi commands (?)
   uw.mt          MT32 sound effects data
   uw.ad          adlib stuff
   *.adv          device driver for midi/wave output:

   adlib.adv      Ad Lib Music Synthesizer Card
   mt32mpu.adv    Roland MT-32 or compatible
   pasdig.adv     Pro Audio Spectrum Digital Sound
   pasfm.adv      Pro Audio Spectrum FM Sound
   pcspkr.adv     IBM PC or compatible internal speaker
   sbdig.adv      Sound Blaster Digital Sound
   sbfm.adv       Sound Blaster FM Sound
   sbpdig.adv     Sound Blaster Pro Digital Sound
   sbpfm.adv      Sound Blaster Pro FM Sound
   tandy.adv      Tandy 3-voice internal sound

   Here's a list of song names for the .xmi files:

   uw01.xmi       Introduction
   uw02.xmi       Dark Abyss
   uw03.xmi       Descent
   uw04.xmi       Wanderer
   uw05.xmi       Battlefield
   uw06.xmi       Combat
   uw07.xmi       Injured
   uw10.xmi       Armed
   uw11.xmi       Victory
   uw12.xmi       Death
   uw13.xmi       Fleeing
   uw15.xmi       Maps & Legends

   Files in the "cuts" folder:

   * = not in "static" install

   cs???.n00   anim control files (?)

   cs000.n01   black screen
   cs000.n02 * garamon in swirling air
   cs000.n03   garamon talking
   cs000.n04 * garamon talking
   cs000.n05 * garamon talking
   cs000.n06 * garamon in swirling air
   cs000.n07   garamon appearing
   cs000.n10   intro w/ tyball stealing princess, troll and guards etc.
   cs000.n11   almric talking, on throne
   cs000.n12   almric talking, closeup
   cs000.n15   guard talking
   cs000.n16 * guard talking
   cs000.n17 * guard talking
   cs000.n20   mountain scene, avatar taken to the abyss
   cs000.n21 * mountain scene
   cs000.n22   abyss doors closed, from outside
   cs000.n23   doors closed, from inside, w/ avatar
   cs000.n24   guard talking, with purple background
   cs000.n25 * guard talking, with purple background

   cs001.n01   ship approaching, abyss collapsing
   cs001.n02   ship taking avatar on board
   cs001.n03   almric talking, on ship
   cs001.n04   almric talking, on ship
   cs001.n05 * almric talking, on ship, birds in background
   cs001.n06   arial talking
   cs001.n07   arial talking
   cs001.n10   abyss collapsing, ship sails away

   cs002.n01   dying tyball talking
   cs002.n02 * dying tyball talking
   cs002.n03 * dying tyball talking
   cs002.n04 * dying tyball, dying

   cs003.n01   arial talking
   cs003.n02 * arial talking

   cs011.n01   "ultima underworld the stygian abyss" splash screen anim
   cs012.n01   acknowledgements
   cs013.n01   goblet with letters "in"
   cs014.n01   goblet with letters "sa"
   cs015.n01   goblet with letters "hn"

   cs400.n01   "look" graphics for windows to abyss volcano core
   cs401.n01   grave stones

   cs402.n01   death skulls w/ silver sapling
   cs403.n01   death skulls animation
   cs403.n02   death skull end anim

   cs404.n01   anvil graphics
   cs410.n01   map piece showing some traps

   Files in the "crit" folder:

   assoc.anm     animation associations

   Files in a save game folder (e.g. "Save1"):

   lev.ark        modified level map
   bglobals.dat   conversation globals (initialized)
   desc           savegame name
   player.dat     character info

   Files that only appear in the uw_demo "data" folder:

   df??.tr        floor textures
   dmain.byt      main screen
   dplayer.???    encrypted player character info for self-running demo
   dscript.???    scripts for self-running demo sequences
   dterrain.dat   terrain texture properties for the demo
   dw??.tr        wall textures
   level13.anx    object animation overlay info
   level13.st     tilemap and master object list for first level
   level13.txm    level texture usage for first level
   newobj.dat
   presd.byt      "... presents a demo of ..." screen for the demo


2.3.2  Ultima Underworld 2 files

   Here is a list of all files from Ultima Underworld 2 that differ in content
   or are only available in the second game.

   Files in the main folder:

   uinstall.exe   game installer (LZEXE 0.91 compressed)
   uw2.exe        Ultima Underworld 2 game

   Files in the "data" folder:

   byt.ark
   cnv.ark        compressed conversation archive
   dl.dat
   gempt.gr       red gem parts (?)
   ghed.gr
   lev.ark        compressed levelmap archive
   lighting.dat
   pals.dat       11 palettes
   scd.ark
   weap.cm        weapon animation auxiliary palettes (see 3.8)
   weap.dat       weapon animation x and y coordinates (see 3.8)

   Files in the "cuts" folder:
   cs???.n??      cutscene animations
   lback00x.byt   (?) (x = 0..8)

   Files in the "crit" folder:

   as.an          animation associations
   cr.an          animation segment list
   pg.mp          page file
   crXX.YY        critter animations, XX=animation(octal) YY=page

   Files in the "sound" folder:

   bsp??.voc      guardian speech
   dd??.adv       digital sound drivers
   dm??.adv       digital music drivers
   sample.opl
   sp??.voc       sound effects
   uw.opl
   uw??.voc       guardian laughter
   uwa??.xmi      adlib music files
   uwr??.xmi      roland music files

   Here's a list of song names for the .xmi files:

   uwa01.xmi      The Labyrinth of Worlds Theme
   uwa02.xmi      Enemy wounded
   uwa03.xmi      Combat
   uwa04.xmi      Dangerous Situation
   uwa05.xmi      Armed
   uwa06.xmi      Victory
   uwa07.xmi      Sewers
   uwa10.xmi      Talorus
   uwa11.xmi      Prison Tower / Goblin Prison Tower
   uwa12.xmi      Death
   uwa13.xmi      Killorn Keep
   uwa14.xmi      Ice Caverns / Blackrock Prison
   uwa15.xmi      Scintillus Academy / Ice Caves
   uwa16.xmi      Praecor Loth / Castle British
   uwa17.xmi      The Labyrinth of Worlds Theme (again)
   uwa30.xmi      Introduction
   uwa31.xmi      Guardian's Trap

   The second names come from some mp3 files available here:
   http://www.stygianabyss.com/uw/music/uw2.htm


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3  Graphics and visuals

   This chapter explains all visual formats used, e.g. wall/floor/ceiling
   textures, user interface images or animations.


3.1  Palettes

   Ultima Underworld uses several palettes for different purposes. There are
   palettes with 256 indices, as well as auxiliary meta-palettes that have
   16 or 32 entries that map indices to the 256-index palette. As the original
   games directly load the palettes into the VGA registers, effects as color
   flashes done with palette rotating are possible.


3.1.1  256 color palettes

   In the file "pals.dat" there are stored 8 different palettes. A palette
   has the following layout:

   0000  Int8  red   intensity, index 0, range [0..63]
   0001  Int8  green intensity, index 0, range [0..63]
   0002  Int8  blue  intensity, index 0, range [0..63]

   0003  Int8  red   intensity, index 1, range [0..63]
   0004  Int8  green intensity, index 1, range [0..63]
   ...
   02fe  Int8  green intensity, index 255, range [0..63]
   02ff  Int8  blue  intensity, index 255, range [0..63]

   In each palette there are stored color intensities for 256 colors. All 8
   palettes are stored sequentially in the file.

   Palette index 0 always means transparent color.


3.1.2  16 color auxiliary palette mappings

   In "allpals.dat" there are several auxiliary palettes, used for 4-bit
   images. All indices use palette #0.

   0000  Int8  index to first color
   0001  Int8  index to second color
   ...
   000f  Int8  index to 16th color

   There are 16 values that are indices for palette #0. They build a 16 color
   palette from selected colors of the palette #0.

   In the file "allpals.dat" there are stored 0x1f (=31) such palettes.

   The critter animations (explained in chapter 3.6) use 32 color auxiliary
   palette mappings. They are stored within the animation files.


3.1.3 Palette mappings

   Palette mappings for different light/darkness levels are stored in the
   file "light.dat". The file consists of 16 blocks of palette mappings. Each
   block contains 256 Int8 values which map colors to their palette indices in
   the game palette. The first block is the mapping for original colors, and
   the last one is for "almost black".

   The file "mono.dat" contains palette mappings that maps colors to grayscale
   values. It has the same format as the "light.dat" file and can be
   interchanged to get a gray underworld look. It is used for the spell
   "invisibility".


3.1.4  Palette rotation animations

   In several places of the game the palette is used to create animated
   effects, such as the lava and water textures. Here are the palette indices
   that have to be rotated to produce the animations:

   - Palette #0: in game graphics

    indices 16 through 23: lava fire effect
    indices 48 through 51: water effect

   - Palette #2: game start screen

    indices 64 through 127: "Ultima Underworld" logo warping effect


3.2  Images

   Graphics are stored in "*.gr" files and can be stored with 8-bit or 4-bit
   indices.

   0000  Int8   Graphic file format:
                01 .gr
                02 .tr
                03 .cr [uw2]
                04 .sr [uw2]
                05 .ar [uw2]
   0001  Int16  number of bitmaps
   0003  Int32  offset to bitmap #0
   0007  Int32  offset to bitmap #1
   ...

   Each bitmap has its own header:

   0000  Int8   bitmap type:
                04: 8-bit uncompressed
                08: 4-bit run-length
                0A: 4-bit uncompressed
   0001  Int8   width
   0002  Int8   height

   For the 4-bit formats, there follows another Int8 that selects the
   auxiliary palette to use (see 2.1).

   000n  Int16  size of data for the bitmap.
                in 4-bit formats, this is the number of 4-bit nibbles, not
                bytes.

   The file "panels.gr" contains bitmaps that don't have a bitmap header, but
   immediately starts with image data. The bitmaps are of type 04 and have
   a width of 83 and a height of 114 pixels.


3.2.1  Uncompressed bitmaps (04: 8-bit, 0A: 4-bit)

   All palette indices are stored sequentially, first one line, then the
   next, and so on. For the 4-bit format, first take the upper nibble, then
   the lower nibble.


3.2.2  Compressed bitmaps (type 08)

   All pixels are run-length encoded. when a new byte has to be retrieved,
   first take the high nibble, then the low nibble of that byte.

   Data consists of repeat and run records. Repeat records let the decoder
   repeat a single nibble a certain number of times. The run record takes
   a certain number of next nibbles to be as uncompressed. The two records
   alternate in the bitmap, starting with a repeat record.

   For every record, first there is a count to retrieve. Get a nibble; if
   it is not 0, it is a count. Otherwise, get two more nibbles, n1 and n2.
   The count is  c = (n1 << nibblesize) | n2. If the count is still zero,
   take another three nibbles, and calculate the count:

     c = (((n1 << nibblesize) | n2) << nibblesize) | n3;

   A count is at most 6 nibbles long.

   A run record consists of a count and then follows 'count' nibbles,
   that are the raw pixel data. A repeat record consists of a count and
   a single nibble, the nibble is then repeated 'count' times.

   As there is no point in repeating a nibble <3 times, there are some
   special meanings for count:
   1: skip this record, the next one is a run record again. may be used at
      the beginning of a file, when it should start with a run rather than
      a repeat.
   2: multiple repeats. get another count, and process 'count' times a
      repeat record.

   NOTE that there also exists a 5-bit compressed format which is exactly
   the same as the above except that the word length is 5 bits instead of 4.
   This is used for critter animation frames in the crit/ folder. The
   auxiliary palette contains 32 entries and is stored with the animation.


3.3  Bitmaps

   Bitmaps in Ultima Underworld 1 are stored in "*.byt" files. They just are
   320x200 bitmaps using different palettes. Here's a list of all bitmap
   files:

   blnkmap.byt    blank map bitmap, palette #1
   chargen.byt    character generation bitmap, palette #3
   conv.byt       seems to be a conversation screenshot, palette #0
   main.byt       main game screen bitmap, palette #0
   opscr.byt      opening screen, palette #2
   pres1.byt      "origin presents" screen, palette #5
   pres2.byt      "a blue sky prod. game" screen, palette #5
   win1.byt       winning screen with text, palette #7
   win2.byt       blank winning screen for character info, palette #7

   Ultima Underworld demo contains two separate bitmaps:
   dmain.byt      main demo screen bitmap, palette #0
   presd.byt      "origin and blue sky prod. present..." screen, palette #5

   Underworld 2 has no "*.byt" files. Instead there is one "byt.ark" that
   contains all images. Like every other "*.ark" file this starts with some
   tables followed by the data, in this case the images themselves. There are
   11 entries, of which only 9 are valid:

   entry   palette   usage
    0       1        Map framework - background, crystal, and the like
    1       0        Character generation
    2       0        Bartering
    3                -unused-
    4       0        HUD - the frame, bottles, scroll
    5       0        Underworld 2 Main menu - without menu entries
    6       5        Origin presents
    7       5        Looking Glass Technologies
    8       0        Congratulation screen
    9       0        like the above but without the text
   10                -unused-


3.4  Textures

   Textures are stored in "*.tr" files, where "fXX.tr" files are floor/ceiling
   textures, and "wXX.tr" are wall textures. XX describes the width and height
   resolution of the texture (textures are always square).

   0000  Int8   unknown, always seems to be 2
   0001  Int8   x and y resolution
   0002  Int16  number of textures in file
   0004  Int32  offset to texture #0
   0008  Int32  offset to texture #1
   ...

   The offset of each texture points to the actual texture palette indices,
   which are xyres^2 bytes long. Textures always use palette #0.

   Texture names are stored in string block 10, where wall textures start at
   position 0, and ceiling textures start at 510, going backwards. The string
   at position 511 is reserved for the ceiling.


3.5  Fonts

   Fonts are stored in "font*.sys" files, and can be non-proportional (chars
   can have different lengths). The header looks as this:

   0000  Int16   unknown, always 1 (might be size of character width field)
   0002  Int16   size of single character, in bytes (=charsize)
   0004  Int16   width of the blank (space) character, in pixels
   0006  Int16   font height in pixels
   0008  Int16   width of a character row in bytes
   000A  Int16   maximum width of a character in pixels (=maxwidth)

   Then follow all bitmaps for each character. The number of chars can be
   determined by (filelen-12) / (charsize+1). Bitmaps are stored as 1-bit
   patterns, starting at the most significant bit in the current byte. When
   a new line in character bitmap begins, remaining bits are unused and a new
   byte in the file is taken.

   After 'charsize' number of bytes, there is another Int8 that says the width
   for the current character in pixels.

   Note: at least the fonts "fontbig.sys" and "font5x6p.sys" contain overly
   large characters, and for these the remaining bits at a line are used. The
   maxwidth field should be corrected for loading.


3.6  Critter animations

   Critter animations are stored in the folder "crit". The file "assoc.anm"
   holds data for each of the 32 animations and for the 64 NPC types. The file
   starts with 8 bytes for the name of each animation. Shorter strings are
   padded with zeros. Empty strings denote animations not available (e.g. in
   the "uw_demo").

   Next comes a table of infos for each NPC. The table is 64 entries (0x0080)
   long:

   0000   Int8   anim
   0001   Int8   auxpal

   The "anim" field specifies which one of the 32 animations to take for a
   given NPC number (NPC object ID - 0x0040). A value of 0xff indicates that
   no animation is available.

   The "auxpal" value describes which auxiliary palette to use. There are
   several critters that share the same animations but use different palettes,
   e.g. the bat and the vampire bat uses the same anim value, but different
   auxiliary palettes.

   [uw2] The critter associations are stored in the file "as.an"; it doesn't
   contain the critter names, only the 64 entries for "anim" and "auxpal" are
   stored.

   Animation for each critter is stored in a file named "CrXXpage.nYY", where
      XX = animation number (=anim), YY = page number
      XX and YY are octal numbers

   There may be more than one page for each animation file.
   The file starts with a header:

   pos     length          desc.
   0000    Int8            anim slot base
   0001    Int8            number of anim slots (=nslot)
   0002    nslot*Int8      list of segment indices

   After this, a list of segment follows which contains up to 8 frame indices
   for every segment.

   nslot+2 Int8            number of anim segments (=nsegs)
           8*nsegs         anim frame indices

   Then the auxiliary palettes follow:

           Int8            number of aux palettes (=npals)
           npals*32        allaux palette indices in blocks of 32

   Next is a list of all frames and their offsets into the file:

           Int8            number of frame offsets (=noffsets)
           Int8            compression type? (always 06)
           noffsets*Int16  absolute offsets to frame headers

   Each animation is stored in a segment which can contain a number of
   frames (stored in the "animation frame indices"). Each list is padded with
   0xFF entries.

   frame header

   0000    Int8       width
   0001    Int8       height
   0002    Int8       hotspot x
   0003    Int8       hotspot y
   0004    Int8       compression type; (06: 5-bit word size)
   0005    Int16      data length in number of words
   0007               start of rle-encoded image data (see 2.3)

   The hotspot coordinates are to "pin" the image at a specific position. The
   hotspot coordinates in the image should always be on the same place when
   rendered. The compression type can be 06, which is 5-bit run-length
   encoding, or 08, which is 4-bit run-length encoding (see 2.3. for more).

   The slot lists group together segments of animations for various actions.
   Here's a list of slots and their actions:

      slot   action
       00    combat idle
       01    attack, bash (?)
       02    attack, slash (?)
       03    attack, thrust
       05    second weapon attack
       07    walking / running towards player
       0c    death
       0d    ??

       20    idle, facing away from player (180 degrees)
       21    idle, 135 deg.
       22    idle, angle 90 deg.
       23    idle, angle 45 deg.
       24    idle, facing towards player, 0 deg.
       25    idle, angle -45 deg.
       26    idle, angle -90 deg.
       27    idle, angle -135 deg.

   Segment indices at 80-87 are the same as above, except that these are the
   walking animations. For the animations used in the Ethereal Void (level 9)
   the slot list is somewhat different.

   Here is a list of animation files and their contents:

      file   assoc name   auxpals   used in
      cr00 * "gngob32"    4         green goblin
      cr01   "skela"      1         skeleton
      cr02   "lizman"     3         green, red and gray lizardman
      cr03 * "bat"        3         cave bat, vampire bat
      cr04   "wiza"       5         yellow male mage
      cr05 * "spider"     3         giant, wolf, dread spider
      cr06   "gazer"      1         gazer
      cr07   "troll"      3         troll, fereal troll, great troll
      cr10   "femwiz"     4         female mage
      cr11 * "slug"       2         flesh slug, acid slug
      cr12   "fire"       2         fire elemental
      cr13   "ghoul"      3         ghoul, dark ghoul
      cr14   "demon"      1         Slasher of the Veils
      cr15 * "ghost"      4         ghost, dire ghost
      cr16 * "graygob"    2         gray goblin
      cr17   "reaper"     1         reaper
      cr20 * "rat"        2         giant rat
      cr21   "femfite"    3         female fighter
      cr22 * "imp"        2         imp, mongbat
      cr23   "golem"      3         earth, stone and metal golem
      cr24 * "hedless"    1         headless
      cr25   "wizb"       3         blue female mage
      cr26 * "rotgrub"    2         green rotworm, bloodworm
      cr27   "wisp"       1         wisp
      cr30   "batskull"   2         bat, teeth, vortex, hound (level 9)
      cr31 * "Lurk"       2         lurker, deep lurker
      cr32 * "fight32"    4         male fighter, outcast, adventurer
      cr33   "dwarf32"    3         mountainman
      cr34   "shadow"     2         shadow beast
      cr35   "tybal"      1         tyball
      cr36   "eye"        1         eye, skull (level 9)
      cr37   "litening"   1         lightning, fish (level 9)

   The animations marked with * are available in the uw_demo, too.


3.7  Cutscene animations

   Cutscene animations are stored in folder "cuts". Text strings for cutscenes
   can be found in string blocks 0c00 through 0c21. Chapter 2.2.1 lists all
   animations available in Ultima Underworld 1.

   The cutscene files are done with Amiga's DeluxePaint Animator (file
   extension *.anm). The complete description can be found in the zip file
   "anmformt.zip" in the "misc" folder. Here's a short overview for usage in
   Ultima Underworld 1:

   The files, "large page files", consist of a header, followed by one or
   more large pages, where each page can store one or more animation frames.
   A large page is always 64k big, except for the last page (which is
   truncated at the end of usable data).

   The file starts with a "large page file header":

      0000   Int32   file ID, always contains "LPF "
      ...
      0006   Int16   number of large pages in the file
      0008   Int32   number of records in the file
      ...
      0010   Int32   content type, always contains "ANIM"
      0014   Int16   width in pixels
      0016   Int16   height in pixels

   The whole header is 128 bytes long. After the header color cycling info
   follows (which also is 128 bytes long), which is not used in uw1. Then
   comes the color palette:

      0000   Int8    intensity for blue, ranges from 0..255
      0001   Int8    intensity for green
      0002   Int8    intensity for red
      0003   Int8    padding byte
      ...            repeated for all 256 color indices

   After the palette an array with 256 "large page descriptors" follow:

      0000   Int16   number of first record in the large page
      0002   Int16   number of records in the large page
      0004   Int16   total number of bytes, excluding header

   Unused descriptors contain no information. After the array, the large pages
   start. A "large page" has the following layout:

      0000   lpdesc  large page descriptor
      0006   Int16   empty
      0008   Int16   length of first record
      000A   Int16   length of second record
      ...

   The large page descriptor is repeated for the current large page. A record
   contains a frame (which may depend on the previous frame). The start can be
   calculated by summing up the length of the previous records. A "record" has
   the following structure:

      0000   Int8    unknown
      0001   Int8    flag
      0002   Int16   extra offset, when flag != 0
      0004           start of compressed data

   The extra offset must be even (when odd, add an extra 1).

   The compression scheme is a variation of run-length encoding, with some
   extras. There are "dump", "run" and "skip" records. "dump" records just
   copy the next bytes to the output buffer. "run" records get the next byte
   and repeat them according to the count. A "skip" record skips pixels in the
   output buffer (it is assumed that the previous decoded image is still in
   the buffer).

   First, read a signed Int8. If it is positive, dump that many bytes.
   If it is 0, the next two Int8's are the count and the pixel byte for a
   "run" record. For negative values, remove the sign bit. If the resulting
   byte is != 0, skip that many bytes in the output, else a "long" operation
   is started.

   For the long operation, retrieve the next two Int8's, treating as a little
   endian signed Int16. If the value is 0, the decoding ends. If the value
   is > 0, skip that many bytes in the output. For values < 0, remove the sign
   bit. If the resulting value is >= 0x4000, we have a "run" record with
   count = value & 0x3fff and the next Int8 as the pixel index. If the value
   is <= 0x4000, we have a long "dump" record.

   Here is some meta-C code to describe the decoding:

      while(true)
      {
         Int8 cnt = get_next_src8();

         if (cnt>0) dump_pixels(cnt);
         if (cnt==0) run_pixels(get_next_src8(),get_next_src8());
         if (cnt<0)
         {
            cnt &= 0x7f;
            if (cnt!=0) skip_pixels(cnt);
            else
            {
               // we have a "long" operation
               Int8 cnt2 = get_next_src16();
               if (cnt2>0)
                  skip_pixels(cnt2);
               else
               if (cnt2==0)
                  break;
               else
               {
                  cnt2 &= 0x7fff;

                  if (cnt2>=0x4000)
                     run_pixels(cnt2-0x4000,get_next_src());
                  else
                     dump_pixels(cnt2);
               }
            }
         }
      }

3.9  Weapon animations

   Attack animations:
   ------------------
   The file weapons.gr contains animation frames for attacks with the various
   weapon types.

   The file contains 224 image frames, split into 112 for right-handed attacks
   and 112 for left handed.

   For each weapon, including the fist, 3 animations are stored: slash, stab
   and hack - even if identical. After these three animations one "ready"
   frame is stored.

   Each animation has 4 "power-up" frames and 5 "attack frames", some of which
   can be black (a small 2x2 image)
   Therefore, each weapon type has 3*9+1 = 28 frames, 4 attack types gives 112
   images.

   TODO: mace seems not to fit this exactly!!!

   Weapons.dat:
   ------------
   This file stores 8-bit coordinates for the frames of the various attack
   animations. For each attack type first 28 x-coordinates are stored, then
   28 y-coordinates. There are 8 such sets of coordinates:

   right hand sword
   right hand axe
   right hand mace
   right hand fist
   left  hand sword
   left  hand axe
   left  hand mace
   left  hand fist

   Coordinates pin-point the upper-left corner of the attack frame and are
   relative to the lower left corner of the 3d-view area.

   Weapons.cm:
   -----------
   This file stores two aux 16-color pallettes for the attack animation
   frames. These are needed to tint the weapon attack frames according to the
   skin color of the selected character. I haven't checked, but probably one
   of these match the "standard" aux pallette used for the .gr files...


 +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+


4  Level maps and object lists

   Level map information is stored in the file "lev.ark". A default map is
   in the "data" folder and is loaded after character creation. During
   gameplay, the map is stored in the folder "Save0".


4.1  File format

   The file is a container for several differently-sized blocks that contain
   different infos of the level maps. Some blocks may be unused, e.g. automap
   blocks.

   The file header looks like this:

   0000   Int16   number of blocks in file
   0002   Int32   file offset to block 0
   0006   Int32   file offset to block 1
   ...            etc.

   File offsets are absolute offsets into the file. When an offset is 0, the
   block is not available.

   Ultima Underworld 1 has 135 (0x0087) entries (9 levels x 15 blocks). The
   block layout is as following:

   <9 blocks level tilemap/master object list>
   <9 blocks object animation overlay info>
   <9 blocks texture mapping>
   <9 blocks automap infos>
   <9 blocks map notes>

   The remaining 9 x 10 blocks are unused.

   The Ultima Underworld Demo uses three separate files to store the map.
   Here's a list of the files and what blocks they contain:

   level13.st    level tilemap/master object list block
   level13.txm   texture mapping
   level13.anx   object animation overlay info

   Ultima Underworld 2 has 320 (0x0140) entries (80 levels x 4 blocks). These
   can be split into 4 sets of 80 entries each:

       0.. 79  level maps
      80..159  texture mappings
     160..239  automap infos
     240..319  map notes

   [uw2] Data blocks for Ultima Underworld 2 are compressed using the uw2
   compression scheme described in chapter 9.1.

   The "level tilemap/master object list" for each level contains infos about
   the level architecture (tilemap) and the objects which live in it:

   offset  size   description
   0000    4000   tilemap (64 x 64 x 4 bytes)
   4000    1b00   mobile object information (objects 0000-00ff, 256 x 27 bytes)
   5b00    1800   static object information (objects 0100-03ff, 768 x 8 bytes)
   7300    01fc   free list for mobile objects (objects 0002-00ff, 254 x 2 bytes)
   74fc    0600   free list for static objects (objects 0100-03ff, 768 x 2 bytes)
   7afc    0104   unknown (260 bytes)
   7c00    0002
   7c02    0002   no. entries in mobile free list minus 1
   7c04    0002   no. entries in static free list minus 1
   7c06    0002   0x7775 ('uw')


4.2  Level tilemap

   Each underworld level consists of a 64x64 tile map (just like on a chess
   board). A tile can be of different types and can have various floor
   heights. The ceiling height is fixed. A tile can have an index
   into the master object list that is the start of an object chain with
   objects in this tile.

   The first 0x4000 bytes of each "level tilemap/master object list" contain
   the tilemap info bytes. For each tile there are two Int16 that describe a
   tile's properties. The map's origin is at the lower left tile, going to the
   right, each line in turn.

   The two Int16 values can be split into bits:

   0000 tile properties / flags:

      bits     len  description
       0- 3    4    tile type (0-9, see below)
       4- 7    4    floor height
       8       1    unknown (?? special light feature ??) always 0 in uw1
       9       1    0, never used in uw1
      10-13    4    floor texture index (into texture mapping)
      14       1    when set, no magic is allowed to cast/to be casted upon
      15       1    door bit (when 1, a door is present)

   0002 tile properties 2 / object list link

      bits     len  description
       0- 5    6    wall texture index (into texture mapping)
       6-15    10   first object in tile (index into master object list)

   about word 0000, bit 8:
      For UW2 Bit 8 is set pretty often, and if set the light level changes.
      Ironically 1 sometimes means daylight (in Lord British Castle Lv 1) but
      sometimes 0 means daylight (LBC Lv 5). But the areas are exactly right.

   Underworld tile types are:
    00      Solid (wall tile)
    01      Open (square tile of empty space)
    02      Diagonal, open SE
    03      Diagonal, open SW
    04      Diagonal, open NE
    05      Diagonal, open NW
    06      Sloping up to the north
    07      Sloping up to the south
    08      Sloping up to the east
    09      Sloping up to the west


4.2  Master object list

   The master object list is stored after the tilemap data. There are 1024
   (0x0400) list positions. The first 256 are reserved for "mobile objects"
   that have extra NPC info. The rest of the list is used for "static
   objects". The list entries are allocated from the end to the beginning of
   the lists. Item positions that are free are stored in the "free lists",
   described in chapter 4.3.

   Entry 0 is never allocated and is used to test against item links of value
   0. Entry 1 is partly used to store the player's informations, e.g.
   direction or in-tile x/y positions.

   Each object entry has a "general object info" block consisting of 4 Int16
   words. The 256 "mobile objects" are followed by 19 bytes "mobile object
   extra info", resulting in entries of 27 bytes length. The remaining 768
   entries only have 8 bytes each. The "mobile object extra info" is described
   in chapter 4.2.3.

   The "general object info" block looks as following:

        bits  size  field      description

   0000 objid / flags
        0- 8   9   "item_id"   Object ID (see below)
        9-12   4   "flags"     Flags
          12   1   "enchant"   Enchantment flag (enchantable objects only)
          13   1   "doordir"   Direction flag (doors)
          14   1   "invis"     Invisible flag (don't draw this object)
          15   1   "is_quant"  Quantity flag (link field is quantity/special)

   0002 position
        0- 6   7   "zpos"      Object Z position (0-127)
        7- 9   3   "heading"   Heading (*45 deg)
       10-12   3   "ypos"      Object Y position (0-7)
       13-15   3   "xpos"      Object X position (0-7)

   0004 quality / chain
        0- 5   6   "quality"   Quality
        6-15   10  "next"      Index of next object in chain

   0006 link / special
        0- 5   6   "owner"     Owner / special
        6-15   10  (*)         Quantity / special link / special property

   All field names listed are used later to refer to these fields in the
   object's information words.

   Object IDs can be split up for classification purposes. Read more in
   chapter 6 about it.

   Objects in a tile are stored as a linked list, where the "Index of next
   object in chain" points to the next object in list, or contains 0 for the
   end of the linked list. The first object in the list is determined by the
   tile's object index value (see above, at "Tile map").

   (*) The "Quantity" field in word 0006 can have several meanings. If the
   "is_quant" field is 0 (unset), it contains the index of an associated
   object. The exact meaning varies, but is generally a "has-a" type
   relationship (contents, trap to set off, spell). The field name "sp_link"
   is used in this document if that type of field is meant.

   If the "is_quant" flag is set, the field is a quantity or a special
   property. If the value is < 512 or 0x0200 it gives the number of stacked
   items present. Identical objects may be stacked up to 256 objects at a
   time. The field name "quantity" is used for this.

   If the value is > 512, the value minus 512 is a special property; the
   object type defines the further meaning of this value (see chapter 6.1 for
   all special objects in Ultima Underworld). The field name "property" is
   used for this type of value.

   Note that the term "object" and "item" are used concurrently in the
   document and always mean the same thing.


4.2.1  Enchantments

   If the enchantment flag is set and the object is enchantable, then the
   link field (less 512) determines the enchantment. Enchantment names are
   stored in strings chunk 5. The way in which the link value maps onto
   spells in this chunk depends on the object type.

   Most objects seem to use spells 256-320 (add 256) if the enchantment
   number is in the range 0-63, otherwise they add 144 to use spells 208 and
   up. Healing fountains, however, don't use a correction at all.

   Weapons and armour have a more complex mapping. Most enchanted weapons and
   pieces of armour have an enhancement for Accuracy, Damage, Protection or
   Toughness, which are spells 448-479 in the main spell list. These map to
   special property values 192-207. Yes, there are only 16 values for 32
   spells; enchanted armour adds another 16 to the spell index to bring it
   into the armour enchantment range. However, these items may also carry
   generic enchantments, in which case the special properties map to spells
   0-255 (and armour doesn't apply a special correction).

   Wands don't hold their enchantments directly in the quantity field, since
   they also need to store the number of charges remaining. Instead, they
   link to a spell object which holds the enchantment; it seems here that
   the "quality" field of the spell object determines the number of charges.
   Other objects may also carry spells in this way.


4.2.2  Item Owner

   Some items have a "... belongs to " description. The common
   object properties (see chapter 6.2) determine if an object can have an
   owner. The string printed is stored in the "owner" field and is an index
   into string block 1; the string printed for the critter type is
   "owner" - 1 + 370. When the field is 0, the object doesn't belong to anyone.


4.2.3  Mobile object extra info

   The values stored in the NPC info area (19 bytes) contain infos for
   critters unique to each object.

   offsets     type     bits   meaning

   0008   0000   Int8   0-7    npc_hp
   0009   0001
   000a   0002   Int8   7
   000b   0003   Int16  0-3    npc_goal
                        4-11   npc_gtarg
   000d   0005   Int16  0-3    npc_level
                        4-11   
                        8      
                        13     npc_talkedto
                        14-15  npc_attitude
   000f   0007   Int16  6- 12  npc height?
   0011   0009
   0012   000a
   0013   000b   Int8   7      single bit, unknown
   0014   000c
   0015   000d
   0016   000e   Int16  0-3    unknown
                        4-9    npc_yhome
                        10-15  npc_xhome
   0018   0010   Int8   0-4:   npc_heading?
                        5-7:   
   0019   0011   Int8   0-6:   npc_hunger (?)
   001a   0012   Int8          npc_whoami

   The values are used for combat, AI and conversations.


4.3  Free lists

   The free lists generally contain infos about the master object list usage
   and are used for object slot allocation/deallocation.

   Free list, mobile objects
   -------------------------
   This consists of an Int16 for each mobile object (critter) slot which is
   not in use, giving the slot position in the master object list. Note that
   there are only 254 entries in this table because object 0 is always the
   null object (and hence is never allocated) and object 1 is always the
   avatar (and can never be free - that's probably a metaphor for life, or
   something). Of course, only the first (no. free mobile objects) entries
   are valid.

   Free list, static objects
   -------------------------
   This consists of an Int16 for each static object which is not in use, as
   above. This table is 768 entries long (room for all possible static objects).


4.4  Texture mappings

   The texture mapping table are used to map tile texture indices to the
   actual texture used, since wall and floor textures are only encoded with
   6 and 4 bits. The block of size 0x007a always look like this:

   0000  48 x Int16   wall texture number (from w64.tr)
   0060  10 x Int16   floor texture number (from f32.tr)
   0074  6 x Int8     door texture number (from doors.gr)
   007a

   The last value from the floor texture number array is used as ceiling
   texture.

   "Look" descriptions come from block 000a, where wall textures use strings 0
   to 255 and floor textures are described by strings 256 to 510, in reverse
   order. Ceiling always uses string 511.

   In uw2 the texture mapping is 134 (0x0086) bytes long and contains 64
   Int16 entries that are indices into t64.tr. The first 16 entries are shared
   by the floor and wall indices. Entries above 16 are wall-only textures.
   Ceiling seems to be textured by entry 0x20. The last 6 bytes is the door
   texture mapping, see above.

   "Look" descriptions are almost the same as in uw1, but as textures can be
   shared between walls and floors, there are two descriptions for every entry
   in t64.tr. Floor descriptions start at string 255 without reversing order.


4.5  Animation infos

   This block contains entries with length of 6 bytes with infos about
   objects with animation overlay images from "animo.gr".
   It always is 0x0180 bytes long which leads to 64 entries.

   0000   Int16   link1
   0002   Int16   unk2
   0004   Int8    tile x coordinate
   0005   Int8    tile y coordinate

   link1's most significant 10 bits contain a link into the master object
   list, to the object that should get an animation overlay.


4.6  Automap infos

   Each block contains the "visited" bytes for each level. Each byte
   describes a tile on the main map. The block size always is 0x1000.

    rest not decoded yet


4.7  Terrain texture properties

   The file "terrain.dat" in the data directory contains information on the
   terrain types represented by the various wall and floor textures. There is
   a 16-bit word per texture, up to a maximum of 256 walls and 256 floors.
   Floor data therefore starts at file offset 0x200. Terrain types are:

    0000    Normal (solid) wall or floor
    0002    Ankh mural (shrines)
    0003    Stairs up
    0004    Stairs down
    0005    Pipe
    0006    Grating
    0007    Drain
    0008    Chained-up princess
    0009    Window
    000a    Tapestry
    000b    Textured door (used for the lock to the Key of Infinity)
    0010    Water (not waterfall)
    0020    Lava (not lavafall)
    0040    Waterfall      - UW2
    00C0    Ice wall       - UW2
    00D8
    00E8    Ice walls (crumbling?)
    0080    Lavafall       - UW2
    00F8    Ice            - UW2


 +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+


5  String resources

   Game strings are stored in the file "strings.pak", and uses a Huffman
   compression scheme to store its strings. The first 2 bytes of the file give
   the number of nodes in the tree. Then follow the nodes themselves, 4 bytes
   each:

   0000   Int8   char symbol
   0001   Int8   parent node
   0002   Int8   left child
   0003   Int8   right child

   The last node stored in the file is the head of the tree. Following the
   nodes is a 16-bit word giving the number of string blocks in the
   file. Then follows the block directory, 6 bytes per block as follows:

   0000   Int16   block number
   0002   Int32   offset in file of start of block

   Each block contains a variable number of strings. The block header is:

   0000   Int16   no. of strings
   0002   Int16   relative offset from end of block header to first string
   0004   Int16   relative offset to second string
   ...

   Strings are compressed using the Huffman tree in the usual way. Bits are
   extracted big-endian i.e. rotated out of the top of each byte in turn.
   Starting with the root node (last node), if a 1 bit is encountered the right
   branch is taken, otherwise take the left. Repeat until a leaf (node with -1
   for its children) is reached, at which point output the symbol for that node.
   For the next bit we start again from the root. End of string is marked with a
   `|' character. The remaining bits in the last byte are unused.


5.1  String block contents

   block   description
   0001    general UI strings
   0002    character creation strings, mantras (?)
   0003    wall text/scroll/book/book title strings (*)
   0004    object descriptions (*)
   0005    object "look" descriptions, object quality states
   0006    spell names
   0007    conversation partner names, starting at string 17 for conv 1
   0008    text on walls, signs
   0009    text trap messages
   000a    wall/floor description text
   0018    debugging strings (not used ingame)
   0c00    intro cutscene text
   0c01    ending cutscene text
   0c02    tyball cutscene text
   0c03    arial cuscene text (?)
   0c18    dream cutscene 1 text "arrived"
   0c19    dream cutscene 2 text "talismans"
   0c1a-0c21  garamon cutscene texts
   0e01-0f3a  conversation strings

   Block 0003 contains text/scroll etc. strings. The exact string to use for
   books, scrolls or other text object is in the quantity field. It is
   calculated as quantity - 0x0200. For each level, 32 string slots are available.

   Block 0004 contains the object descriptions. The article (e.g. 'a' or
   'an') is separated with an underscore '_'. When a '&' is in the string,
   it separates the plural of the object's name. The complete text string is
   "you see 
[named ]. can be one of "mellow" or "upset". In the uw_demo, the 0cXX blocks and many of the conversation string blocks aren't available. +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ 6 Objects and items This chapter contains information about the objects in Ultima Underworld. Objects (or items) are grouped by type. Here's a short overview of all object groups: 0000-001f Weapons and missiles 0020-003f Armour and clothing 0040-007f Monsters 0080-008f Containers 0090-0097 Light sources 0098-009f Wands 00a0-00af Treasure 00b0-00bf Comestibles 00c0-00df Scenery and junk 00e0-00ff Runes and bits of the Key of Infinity 0100-010f Keys, lockpick, lock 0110-011f Quest items 0120-012f Inventory items, misc stuff 0130-013f Books and scrolls 0140-014f Doors 0150-015f Furniture 0160-016f Pillar, some decals, force field, special tmap obj 0170-017f Switches 0180-019f Traps 01a0-01bf Triggers 01c0-01cf Explosions/splats, fountain, silver tree, moving things A description string for each object is stored in game strings block 0004 Object IDs are in the range 0x0000 to 0x01ff. The bits can be split up for classification purposes of different objects: bits 0..3 object number in subclass 4..5 object subclass 6..8 object class The object class groups together 0x0040 (64) items each. Here's a list of some classes: class item_id description 1 0040 npc's 6 0180 traps/triggers subclass 0/1: traps subclass 2: triggers 7 01c0 sprites, animated objects 6.1 List of all objects and items This chapter lists and describes all objects that are available in Ultima Underworld. Descriptions for obvious items are omitted. 000f a_fist this is not really an item, but is used for fist combat 002f a_pair of dragon skin boots player doesn't get hurt when walking on lava 0040..0x007e NPC's "sp_link" points to the inventory start 007f an_adventurer the player as object; isn't used ingame 008f a_rune bag looking at the bag shows the rune bag panel; available runes are stored in the savegame 0098 a_wand (and other wands) "sp_link" points to a_spell object 00c6 a_pile of bones the "owner" field determines from whom the bones are; strings are taken from block 4; a value of 63 means "an adventurer" 0100 a_key (and up to 010e) the key ID that is needed to unlock a door with an associated lock object is stored in the "owner" field. 010f a_lock the lock object is associated with a door or portcullis and determines the lock state and the lock ID. bit 9 of the flags indicates if the lock is locked (1) or unlocked (0). the lower 6 bits of the "link/special" field determines the lock ID. when unlocking a door with a key, the lock ID must match the key ID on the key. 0110 a_picture of Tom 0114 a_book the book explodes when the user tries to look at it; player takes damage. 0120 a_spell spell object used by wands, spell traps, magical items; the "quality" field 013b a_map the map is shown when looked at the map in inventory. The string at block 1, string 151 is printed, too. 0140 a_door (and up to 014f) if bit 1 of the "owner" field is set, the door is spiked. if the "sp_link" field points to a_lock object, the door is locked. 0146 is a portcullis and 0147 is a secret door. doors from 0148 to 014f are the open versions of the closed doors. the textures for the doors come from the 6 bytes at the end of the texture mapping info from lev.ark. 0160 a_pillar 3d object. texture is determined by the lower 2 bits of the "flags" field (?) 0161 a_lever a clock-like lever with 8 positions; texture is determined by the "flags" field (lower 3 bits) + 4, from "tmobj.gr". 0162 a_switch almost the same as 0161, but starting with image 12 of "tmobj.gr". not used in uw1 0164 a_bridge bridge 3d object. texture to use comes from "flags" field. when the value is < 2, the bridge texture is taken from "tmobj.gr", index 30 + flags. for this bridge, string block 0001, string 171 is printed as "look" description. when the "flags" value is > 2, flags-1 is used as index into the floor texture mapping, effectively using a floor texture. bridges could be use to alter the fixed ceiling height. 0165 a_gravestone 3d grave stone object (obj 0x13). text for gravestone is stored in strings block 0008, indexed by "quantity" - 0x200. the index also serves as offset into the file "grave.dat" which gives a unique grave id. It is used for large gravestone images that are stored in "cuts/cs401.n01", one frame each, indexed by the grave id. texture of the gravestone is image "flags" + 28 from "tmobj.gr". the text printed when looking at it is determined by the "flags" field. gravestone/tombstone description text is from strings block 0008, string 352 + flags. 0166 some_writing wall decal; text is determined through "quantity" field, game strings block 0008. the texture used is determined from "tmobj.gr", image "flags" + 20 (?). the plaque description printed when looking at it is determined by the "flags" field. text printed is from strings block 8, 368 + flags 0167 a_bed [uw2] The "owner" field determines the colour of the sheets and pillow. The sheets are colour (4*owner+5), the pillow colour (4*owner). 016e special tmap obj (tmap_c) wall decal; texture used is determined from the "owner" field and is an index into the texture mapping wall table. 016f special tmap obj (tmap_s) same as 016e, with the difference that the wall is recognized in collision detection, effectively providing thin walls that could be removed by deleting the object. 017x a_button, etc. buttons, switches, pull chains and levers, textured with images from "tmflat.gr". special link usually points to a trigger. 01c9 a_fountain 01ca a_silver tree [uw1] animated objects; "owner" field determines current animation overlay 01cf a_moving door object that is used during opening a door 6.1.2 Traps and Triggers Traps are set off by triggers, which are triggered by the player coming near them. Traps can also be set off by switches or buttons, etc. All triggers contain tilemap coords in "quality" and "owner" field called trigger "target" coordinates. All triggers also have the "special link" set that points to the trap(s) to set off. If a trap also has the "special link" field set, then another trap is set off, allowing trap chaining. 0180 a_damage trap player vitality is decreased; number of hit points are in "quality" field; if the "owner" field is != 0, the hit points are added instead. the trap is only set of when a random value [0..10] is >= 7. 0181 a_teleport trap teleports the player to another level and tile; destination level is given by "zpos" (0 means current level), tile x/y coordinates are given in "quality" and "owner" fields. 0182 a_arrow trap 0183 a_do trap [uw1] a multi-purpose trap. the "quality"-field determines action to perform: action description 02 03 05 18 bullfrog puzzle related; (special property is a link) if not in level 5 (where the puzzle is), the trap just prints "There is a pained whining sound.". "owner" defines some subcode: 00/01: lowers/raises tiles 02: increases x coord (?) (0..7) 03: increases y coord (?) (0..7) 04: resets bullfrog puzzle; prints "reset activated" 28 (special property is a link) 2a starts conversation (uw1 starts a hard-wired conv., slot 0x19, the speaking "Door" 32 39 (not used in uw1) 3c..3e (not used in uw1) 3f ends game, shows end sequence 0183 a_hack trap [uw2] 0184 a_pit trap [uw1] not implemented in uw1, but used on 3rd level, as target for a use trigger that is associated with a check variable trap (map bug?) this is probably a bottomless pit that drops the player through to the next level. 0184 a_special effects trap [uw2] this trap does 'visual' effects like earthquakes, or blurry vision. 0185 a_change terrain trap the trap changes one or more tiles, according to the encoded info. the trigger's target coordinates describe the starting tile. TODO 0186 a_spelltrap fields "quality" and "quantity" determine spell type. 0187 a_create object trap creates a new object using the object referenced by the "quantity" field as a template. the object is created only when a random number between 0 and 3f is greater than the "quality" field value. 0188 a_door trap opens or shuts a door when set off. the trigger "target" coords determine the tile with the door to open/close. if the door has an "a_lock" object associated, it is deleted. if there is no lock, a new lock is created, using the template lock linked to by the "sp_link" field. as the door points to a lock, there can't be another trigger associated with it. the "quality" value decides if a door trap only opens, closes or toggles doors. 1: try open 2: try close 3: toggle door state 0189 a_ward trap not used in uw1 018a a_tell trap [uw1] not used in uw1, implemented the same way as a ward trap 018a a_skill trap [uw2] 018b a_delete object trap deletes an object when set off. "owner" and "quality" of the trap determines tile the object is to be found, "sp_link" points to the object. 018c an_inventory trap the trap searches for an item in the inventory; when it is found, the sp_link'ed trigger is set off. the item_id is given by ("quality" << 5) | "owner". additionally, the zpos value must be != 0 to enable the trap. 018d a_set variable trap sets a game variable; fields "quality", "owner" and "ypos" are combined to form a "value" that is used as variable index later: field bits in value ypos 0..2 owner 3..7 (bit 5 of "owner" seems not to be used) quality 8..13 the "zpos" field determines which variable to set. if zpos is 0, a bit-field is modified and the index value indicates which bit to modify. the "heading" field determines the operation to perform: heading operation bit-field operation 0 add set bit 1 sub clear bit 2 set set bit 3 and set bit 4 or set bit 5 xor flip bit 6 shl set bit values are modified and kept in range 0..63 (0x3f). largest variable index in uw1 is 0x33, the only bit modified in uw1 is bit 7 of the bit field 018e a_check variable trap the "value" from the set variable trap (018d) is also used here. the trap checks a range of variables, starting from "zpos" and of length "heading". if "xpos" is not 0, the variable values in range are added; if it is 0, the lower 3 bits of every variable value are shifted into the resulting value. here's some meta-C code to show how the check works: bool check_variable_trap(zpos,heading,value) { Int16 cmp = 0; for(Int16 i=zpos; i ", with the exception of group D which is for armour items which are grammatically plural even if there is only one of the object, e.g. "leather leggings". 6.3 Object class properties Object properties specific to a range of objects are stored in the file "objects.dat". The file contains several tables. Here is an overview: pos size desc entries bytes per entry 0000 Int16 unknown, always 0x010f 0002 0x80 melee weapons table 16 8 bytes 0082 0x30 ranged weapons table 16 3 bytes 00b2 0x80 armour and wearables table 32 4 bytes 0132 0x0c00 critters table 64 48 bytes 0d32 0x30 containers table 16 3 bytes 0d62 0x20 light source table 16 2 bytes 0d82 0x20 unknown, maybe jewelry info table 0da2 0x40 animation object table 16 4 bytes 0de2 end * Melee weapons table (0x0000-0x000f) 0000 Int8 damage modifier for Slash attack 0001 Int8 damage modifier for Bash attack 0002 Int8 damage modifier for Stab attack 0003 3 unknown 0006 Int8 skill type (3: sword, 4: axe, 5: mace, 6: unarmed) 0007 Int8 durability * Ranged weapons table (0x0010-0x001f) 0000 Int16 unknown bits 9-15: ammunition needed (+0x10) 0002 Int8 durability * Armour and wearables table (0x0020-0x003f) 0000 Int8 protection 0001 Int8 durability 0002 Int8 unknown 0003 Int8 category: 00: shield 01: body armour 03: leggings 04: gloves 05: boots 08: hat 09: ring * Critters table (0x0040-0x007f) 0000 Int8 unknown 0005 Int8 npc_power * Containers table (0x0080-0x008f) 0000 Int8 capacity in 0.1 stones 0001 Int8 objects accepted; 0: runes, 1: arrows, 2: scrolls, 3: edibles, 0xFF: any 0002 Int8 number of slots available?; 2: , -1: any * Light source table (0x0090-0x009f) 0000 Int8 light brightness (max. is 4; 0 means unlit) 0001 Int8 duration (00: doesn't go out, e.g. taper of sacrifice) * Jewelry info table (?) * Animation object table (0x01c0-0x01cf) 0000 Int8 unknown (0x00, 0x21 or 0x84) 0001 Int8 unknown (always 0x00) 0002 Int8 start frame (from animo.gr) 0003 Int8 number of frames 6.4 Object combining In the Ultima Underworlds, when you `apply' certain objects to one another in your inventory a new object is created. For example, pole + strong thread = fishing pole. The mechanism for this is very simple and is controlled by the file "cmb.dat" in the data/ directory. This file contains a table of 3 16-bit words for each allowable combination: `source1', `source2', `newobject' in that order. 3 zeros mark the end of the table. The low 9 bits of each word is the object ID. If an object of type source1 is applied to an object of type source2 (or vice versa) an object of type newobject is created. The top bit of each of the source words indicates whether that object is destroyed in the process: if it is a 1, the object is destroyed. (It is always the case that at least one of the source objects is destroyed: you can't create something from nothing, at least not this way). +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ 7 Conversations Conversations in Ultima Underworld are controlled using an assembler-like opcode-language that seemed to originate from Forth sourcecode. There are 256 conversation "slots" available that can contain code (but doesn't need to). The field "npc_whoami" of the "Mobile object extra info" (see 4.2.3) decides which slot to take. If it is 0, a generic NPC-conversation is used instead. To persist conversation info, there are several places to store variables. * Quest Flags store infos needed by more than one NPC; they probably can be modified by the game, e.g. when something happens (killing Tyball). Think of them as global variables. * Private Globals store infos saved after exiting conversations. Sizes of this area are determined by the file "babglobals.dat". * Local Variables store infos during conversation. They are lost when conversation ends. * NPC infos are stored along with the NPC's data in the Master Object List and contain infos like npc_gtarg or npc_goal. See chapter 7.x for more. * Game globals are variables that are global to the game, e.g. game time, current dungeon level or player properties The conversation code can call "intrinsic" functions to use functionality built into the game, e.g. for bartering or player inventory access. 7.1 Conversation file format Conversations are stored in the file "cnv.ark". Note that in Ultima Underworld 2 .ark files are compressed. See Chapter 9.1 for details. The File header looks like this: 0000 Int16 number of conversation slots in file 0002 Int32 offset to conversation slot #0 0006 Int32 offset to conversation slot #1 ... If an offset is 0, the conversation slot is empty and no conversation is available. The name of the conversation partner is stored in string block 0007, string number = (conversation slot number - 0x0e00 + 16). The conversation header looks like this: 0000 Int16 unknown, always seems to be 0x0828, or 28 08 0002 Int16 unknown, always 0x0000 0004 Int16 code size in number of instructions (16-bit words) 0006 Int16 unknown, always 0x0000 0008 Int16 unknown, always 0x0000 000A Int16 game strings block to use for conversation strings 000C Int16 number of memory slots reserved for variables (*) 000E Int16 number of imported globals (functions + variables) 0010 start of imported functions list (*) This number includes all variables not belonging to stack, e.g. unnamed globals, imported globals and private conversation globals. An import record describes imported functions and game global variables used by the conversation: 0000 Int16 length of function name 0002 n*char name of function n+02 Int16 ID (imported func.) / memory address (variable) n+04 Int16 unknown, always seems to be 1 n+06 Int16 import type (0x010F=variable, 0x0111=imported func.) n+08 Int16 return type (0x0000=void, 0x0129=int, 0x012B=string) After this table the code section follows. 7.2 Private global variables Each conversation has a set of private global variables that are saved across conversations. The initial size of the area is stored in the file "babglobals.dat". When a game is saved, the globals are stored in the file "bglobals.dat". The layout of both files is as follows: 0000 Int16 number of conversation slot 0002 Int16 size of private global data for that conv.(=n) 0004 n*Int16 all globals for that slot (omitted in "babglobals.dat") ... repeat until file end On conversation start the game globals listed in the import table is copied to the memory address in the private globals. At end of conversation they are copied back to the game globals. 7.3 Memory layout Conversation memory is set up at start like this: 0000 local (unnamed) variables (may be empty, size nglobals) 000n game globals (copied on start) (usually 0x001f long) 0020 private conversation globals (of size nprivglobals) 0020+n stack begin (ascends up) There may be unnamed globals that start at memory location 0. The game globals then start at a higher address (the exact positions of the game globals are noted in the "import records list". For the memory, a full range of 16-bit memory (64k) should be available, which gives plenty of stack memory. 7.4 Assembler language opcodes The conversation code is an assembler-like language with a set of opcodes. It runs on a 16-bit virtual machine with a stack and a result register for imported functions. The language set is described here: Opcode no. immediate operands | Name | no. stack operands | | | | No. values saved to stack | | | | | Action | | | | | | 00 NOP 0 0 0 do nothing. 01 OPADD 0 2 1 push s[0] + s[1] 02 OPMUL 0 2 1 push s[0] * s[1] 03 OPSUB 0 2 1 push s[1] - s[0] 04 OPDIV 0 2 1 push s[1] / s[0] 05 OPMOD 0 2 1 push s[1] % s[0] 06 OPOR 0 2 1 logical OR of top two values. 07 OPAND 0 2 1 logical AND of top two values. 08 OPNOT 0 1 1 logical NOT of top value. 09 TSTGT 0 2 1 greater-than, nonzero if s[1] > s[0]. 0A TSTGE 0 2 1 greater-than-or-equal. 0B TSTLT 0 2 1 less-than. 0C TSTLE 0 2 1 less-than-or-equal. 0D TSTEQ 0 2 1 equality. Nonzero if s[1] == s[0]. 0E TSTNE 0 2 1 non-equal. 0F JMP 1 0 0 jump absolute. address is measured in words from the start of the code. 10 BEQ 1 1 0 branch on equal. Pop a value, branch relative if zero. 11 BNE 1 1 0 branch on Not Equal. As BEQ but branch if the value popped is non-zero. 12 BRA 1 0 0 branch. Always branch relative to the offset address. 13 CALL 1 0 1 call subroutine. Push the next instruction address and jump to the absolute address (in words) given. 14 CALLI 1 0 0 call imported subroutine. Argument is the function ID. 15 RET 0 1 0 return from subroutine. Pop the return address off the stack and jump to it. 16 PUSHI 1 0 1 push immediate value onto the stack. 17 PUSHI_EFF 1 0 1 push effective address onto the stack. The value pushed is the current frame pointer address plus the immediate operand. This allows local variables and function parameters. 18 POP 0 1 0 pop a value from the stack (and throw it away). 19 SWAP 0 2 2 swap the top two stack values. 1A PUSHBP 0 0 1 push the current frame pointer onto the stack. 1B POPBP 0 1 0 pop the frame pointer from the stack 1C SPTOBP 0 0 0 new frame. Set the frame pointer to the stack pointer. 1D BPTOSP 0 0 0 exit frame. Set the stack pointer to the frame pointer. 1E ADDSP 0 1 * pop a value, add to the stack pointer. Used to reserve stack space for variables. 1F FETCHM 0 1 1 pop address, push the value of the variable pointed to. 20 STO 0 2 0 store s[0] in the variable pointed to by s[1]. 21 OFFSET 0 2 1 array offset. Add s[1] - 1 to the effective address in s[0], push this as a new effective address. 22 START 0 0 0 start program. 23 SAVE_REG 0 1 0 pop a value from the stack and store it in the result register. 24 PUSH_REG 0 0 1 push the value of the result register on the stack. 25 STRCMP ? ? ? string compare. 26 EXIT_OP 0 0 0 end program (?) 27 SAY_OP 0 1 0 NPC says something. Print a conversation string (from the stack). 28 RESPOND_OP ? ? ? respond (?) 29 OPNEG 0 1 1 negate. s[0] -> -s[0]. (*) ADDSP, of course, doesn't actually push anything onto the stack, but its effect on the stack pointer is of pushing as many values as its operand specifies. (?) I haven't yet encountered these in the wild, so don't know exactly what they do. 7.5 Text substitutions In text strings printed by SAY_OP or a imported function (like "babl_menu") there may be strings like @SS1 or @GS8 that are substituted with other text. The format of the "format string" is like this: @XY[] X: source of variable to substitute, one of these: GSP G: game global variable S: stack variable P: pointer variable Y: type of variable, one of these: SI S: value is a string number into current string block I: value is an integer value : decimal value : format: C: use array index For pointer variables, the num value determines the location of the pointer relative to the stack. It usually refers to variables passed to a function (since they were pushed onto the stack). For stack variables, the num value determines which stack value is taken from the current local variables. The value to take is basep + For global variables, the value describes the globals position in memory, at the front where the imported game globals and private globals are stored. Example: @SS2 means: print string with string number found at basep + 2 @PI-3 means: print int value pointed to by pointer at basep - 3 @GS8 means: print string from global var #8 7.6 Intrinsic functions Each imported function has an ID (the argument of the CALLI opcode), and the "import table" (see above) usually imports all available functions, even unused ones. All imported functions have at least one argument, and the first one is the number of arguments additionally passed (some times this rule seems to be violated, e.g. function "babl_menu", see (*) below). First argument is always pushed last on stack. All values are passed by reference (as pointer to the actual value or array). Here is a quick overview of all builtin functions ("args" is the number of arguments without the mandatory first one): type args function name int 1 (*) babl_menu int 2 (*) babl_fmenu void 1 print int 0 babl_ask int 2 compare int 1 random string ? plural int 2 contains string ? append string ? copy int ? find int 1 length int ? val void ? say void ? respond int 1 get_quest void 2 set_quest string 2 sex int 2 show_inv int 2 give_to_npc int 2 give_ptr_npc int 1 take_from_npc int 1 take_id_from_npc int 4 identify_inv int * do_offer int 2 do_demand int 1 do_inv_create int 1 do_inv_delete int 1 check_inv_quality int 2 set_inv_quality int 1 count_inv void 0 setup_to_barter void ? end_barter void 0 do_judgement void 0 do_decline void ? pause void 2 set_likes_dislikes int 3 gronk_door void 1/3 set_race_attitude void 3 place_object void 1 take_from_npc_inv void ? add_to_npc_inv void 0 remove_talker void 2 set_attitude int 2 x_skills int 2 x_traps void ? x_obj_pos void 9 x_obj_stuff int 2 find_inv int 1 find_barter int 4 find_barter_total Here is a detailed description of every builtin function. arg0 is always the first argument (the last value pushed on the stack) and specifies the number of arguments passed. id=0000 name="babl_menu" ret_type=int parameters: arg1: array of string id's; ends with id = 0 description: shows a menu of further questions the user can select; string id's are stored in list in arg1 return value: number of selected response (one-based index of arg1 list) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=0001 name="babl_fmenu" ret_type=int parameters: arg1: array of string id's; ends with id = 0 arg2: array with on/off flag values (1==on) description: shows a menu with questions from list in arg1; the list in arg2 indicates if the question is available (0 means not available). return value: number of selected response string (from the arg1 list) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=0002 name="print" ret_type=void parameters: arg1: string id description: prints a string that is not spoken by anyone (e.g. scene description). ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=0003 name="babl_ask" ret_type=int parameters: none description: lets the user type in a string; the string typed in is stored in a newly allocated string slot. The string is not stored after conversation ended. return value: string id of allocated string ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=0004 name="compare" ret_type=int parameters: arg1: string id arg2: string id description: compares strings for equality, case independent return value: returns 1 when strings are equal, 0 when not ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=0005 name="random" ret_type=int parameters: arg1: highest random value description: generates a random number in the range of [1..arg1] return value: the generated random number ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=0006 name="plural" ret_type=string parameters: unknown description: (not used in uw1) return value: unknown ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=0007 name="contains" ret_type=int parameters: arg1: pointer to first string id arg2: pointer to second string id description: checks if the first string contains the second string, case-independent. return value: returns 1 when the string was found, 0 when not ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=0008 name="append" ret_type=string parameters: unknown description: (not used in uw1) return value: unknown ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=0009 name="copy" ret_type=string parameters: unknown description: (not used in uw1) return value: unknown ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=000a name="find" ret_type=int parameters: unknown description: (not used in uw1) return value: unknown ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=000b name="length" ret_type=int parameters: arg1: string id description: calculates length of string return value: length of string ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=000c name="val" ret_type=int parameters: unknown description: (not used in uw1) return value: unknown ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=000d name="say" ret_type=void parameters: unknown description: (not used in uw1) return value: unknown ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=000e name="respond" ret_type=void parameters: unknown description: (not used in uw1) return value: unknown ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=000f name="get_quest" ret_type=int parameters: arg1: quest flag number description: returns a quest flag value return value: quest flag value ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=0010 name="set_quest" ret_type=void parameters: arg1: new flag value arg2: quest flag number description: sets a quest flag value return value: none ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=0011 name="sex" ret_type=string parameters: arg1: pointer to first string id arg2: pointer to second string id description: decides on the gender of the avatar which string id to return. for a male avatar, the second handle is taken, otherwise the first handle is taken return value: selected string id ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=0012 name="show_inv" ret_type=int parameters: arg1: list with inventory item positions arg2: list with object id's shown in player's barter area description: the function copies the item positions and object id's of all visible items in the barter area to the array in arg1 and arg2 (which needs at most 4 array values each) return value: returns number of items stored in the arrays ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=0013 name="give_to_npc" ret_type=int parameters: arg1: list of item inventory positions to give to npc arg2: number of items in list in arg1 description: transfers a number of items from the player inventory to the npc's inventory return value: returns 0 if there were no items to give, and 1 if there were some items ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=0014 name="give_ptr_npc" ret_type=int parameters: arg1: quantity (?), or -1 for ignore arg2: inventory object list pos description: copies item from player inventory to npc inventory return value: none ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=0015 name="take_from_npc" ret_type=int parameters: arg1: item id (can also be an item category value, > 1000) description: transfers an item from npc inventory to player inventory, based on an item id. when the value is > 1000, all items of a category are copied. category item start = (arg1-1000)*16 return value: 1: ok, 2: player has no space left ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=0016 name="take_id_from_npc" ret_type=int parameters: arg1: inventory object list pos (from take_from_npc_inv) description: transfers item to player, per id (?) return value: 1: ok, 2: player has no space left ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=0017 name="identify_inv" ret_type=int parameters: arg1: arg2: arg3: arg4: inventory item position description: unknown TODO return value: unknown ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=0018 name="do_offer" ret_type=int parameters: arg1 ... arg5: unknown [arg6, arg7]: unknown description: checks if the deal is acceptable for the npc, based on the selected items in both bartering areas. the values in arg1 to arg5 are probably values of the items that are acceptable for the npc. the function is sometimes called with 7 args, but arg6 and arg7 are always set to -1. return value: 1 if the deal is acceptable, 0 if not ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=0019 name="do_demand" ret_type=int parameters: arg1: string id with text to print if NPC is not willing to give the item arg2: string id with text if NPC gives the player the item description: decides if the player can "persuade" the NPC to give away the items in barter area, e.g. using karma. return value: returns 1 when player persuaded the NPC, 0 else ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=001a name="do_inv_create" ret_type=int parameters: arg1: item id description: creates item in npc inventory return value: inventory object list position ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=001b name="do_inv_delete" ret_type=int parameters: arg1: item id description: deletes item from npc inventory return value: none ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=001c name="check_inv_quality" ret_type=int parameters: arg1: inventory item position description: returns "quality" field of npc? inventory item return value: "quality" field ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=001d name="set_inv_quality" ret_type=int parameters: arg1: quality value arg2: inventory object list position description: sets quality for an item in inventory return value: none ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=001e name="count_inv" ret_type=int parameters: unknown description: counts number of items in inventory return value: item number ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=001f name="setup_to_barter" ret_type=void parameters: none description: starts bartering; shows npc items in npc bartering area ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=0020 name="end_barter" ret_type=void parameters: unknown description: (not used in uw1), ends bartering, probably removing npc bartering items ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=0021 name="do_judgement" ret_type=void parameters: none description: judges current trade (using the "appraise" skill) and prints result ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=0022 name="do_decline" ret_type=void parameters: none description: declines trade offer (?) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=0023 name="pause" ret_type=void parameters: unknown description: (not used in uw1) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=0024 name="set_likes_dislikes" ret_type=void parameters: arg1: pointer to list of things the npc likes to trade arg2: pointer to list of things the npc dislikes to trade description: sets list of items that a npc likes or dislikes to trade; the list is terminated with a -1 (0xffff) entry ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=0025 name="gronk_door" ret_type=int parameters: arg1: x tile coordinate with door to open arg2: y tile coordinate arg3: close/open flag (0 means open) description: opens/closes door or portcullis return value: unknown ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=0026 name="set_race_attitude" ret_type=void parameters: unknown description: sets attitude for a whole race (?) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=0027 name="place_object" ret_type=void parameters: arg1: x tile pos arg2: y tile pos arg3: inventory item slot number (from do_inv_create) description: places a generated object in underworld used in Judy's conversation, #23 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=0028 name="take_from_npc_inv" ret_type=void parameters: arg1: unknown, always 1 in uw1 description: moves object from npc to player inventory, by npc inventory index (only used in conv. #16, Ishtass) return value: inventory object list position (used in take_id_from_npc) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=0029 name="add_to_npc_inv" ret_type=void parameters: unknown description: (not used in uw1) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=002a name="remove_talker" ret_type=void parameters: none description: removes npc the player is talking to (?) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=002b name="set_attitude" ret_type=void parameters: unknown description: unknown ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=002c name="x_skills" ret_type=int parameters: unknown description: unknown return value: unknown ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=002d name="x_traps" ret_type=int parameters: unknown description: unknown return value: unknown ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=002e name="x_obj_pos" ret_type=void parameters: unknown description: (not used in uw1) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=002f name="x_obj_stuff" ret_type=void parameters: arg1: not used in uw1 arg2: not used in uw1 arg3: 0, (upper bit of quality field?) arg4: quantity/special field, 115 arg5: not used in uw1 arg6: not used in uw1 arg7: quality? arg8: identified flag? arg9: position in inventory object list description: sets object properties for object in inventory object list. if a property shouldn't be set, -1 is passed for the property value. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=0030 name="find_inv" ret_type=int parameters: arg1: 0: npc inventory; 1: player inventory arg2: item id description: searches item in npc or player inventory return value: position in master object list, or 0 if not found ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=0031 name="find_barter" ret_type=int parameters: arg1: item id to find description: searches for item in barter area return value: returns pos in inventory object list, or 0 if not found ------------------------------------------------------------------------- id=0032 name="find_barter_total" ret_type=int parameters: s[0]: ??? s[1]: pointer to number of found items s[2]: pointer to s[3]: pointer to s[4]: pointer to item ID to find description: searches for item in barter area return value: 1 when found (?) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.7 Imported variables All imported variables have type int (except for "npc_name" and "play_name", which are strings). Here's a list of all imported game variables: variable name description play_hunger play_health play_arms play_power play_hp play_mana play_level new_player_exp (not used in uw1) play_name player name play_poison (not used in uw1) play_drawn is 1 when player has drawn his weapon (?) play_sex (not used in uw1) npc_xhome x coord of home tile npc_yhome y coord of home tile npc_whoami npc conversation slot number npc_hunger npc_health npc_hp npc_arms (not used in uw1) npc_power npc_goal goal that NPC has; 5:kill player 6:? 9:? npc_attitude attitude; 0:hostile, 1:upset, 2:mellow, 3:friendly npc_gtarg goal target; 1:player npc_talkedto is 1 when player already talked to npc npc_level npc_name (not used in uw1) dungeon_level (not used in uw1) riddlecounter (not used in uw1) game_time game_days game_mins 7.8 Quest flags There are quest flags that are kept during gameplay to implement interaction between NPC's. Flags can be get/set using get_quest() and set_quest() or during gameplay, triggered by actions. Here's a list of flags and their meanings (when no values for the flag are specified, 1 means yes or true, and 0 means no or false): flag description 0 Dr. Owl's assistant Murgo freed 1 talked to Hagbard 2 met Dr. Owl? 3 permission to speak to king Ketchaval 4 Goldthirst's quest to kill the gazer (1: gazer killed) 5 Garamon, find talismans and throw into lava 6 friend of Lizardman folk 7 ?? (conv #24, Murgo) 8 book from Bronus for Morlock 9 "find Gurstang" quest 10 where to find Zak, for Delanrey 11 Rodrick killed 32 status of "Knight of the Crux" quest 0: no knight 1: seek out Dorna Ironfist 2: started quest to search the "writ of Lorne" 3: found writ 4: door to armoury opened flags 0..31 are stored in a 32-bit integer bit field, flags 32..35 are stored as Int8 values. See chapter 9.2. where the values are stored in the savegame. +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ 8 3d models These are stored within the executable (bad! bad!). From Doug Church, on the 3d models: We'd take a 3ds model, convert it to an internal ASCII format, and then run a "model builder" which would generate an inlined BSP tree for it. This would be expressed in a byte code, or, really, as a set of simple ASM like codes. Things like "Vtx 56.7, 435, 35.3" or "Color 153" or "Norm 0.6, 0.8, 0.0, front04" or whatever. Then, we used the Macro Assembler (well, Optasm, really) to generate a bunch of "db" statements out of all this, and give it a label, and put it in the data segment. 3D models were then drawn by calling a little "model interpreter" in the game, which was given the address of this data block, which it then interpreted. i.e. when it got to the byte for "Norm", it would fetch the normal, dot it verse the eye vector, and jump or not based on the sign. There is a table of 2-byte model offsets, with room for 64 models. Positions of the table differ, as there are several builds of the uw.exe, ultimau1.exe or uw2.exe. game table start first bytes table base offset uw1 0x0004e910 b6 4a 06 40 0x0004e99e uw1 0x0004ccd0 b6 4a 06 40 0x0004cd5e same models, different place uw1 0x0004e370 b6 4a 06 40 0x0004e3fe ditto (reported Gerd Bitzer) demo 0x0004ec70 b6 4a 06 40 0x0004ecfe uw_demo uw2 0x00054cf0 d4 64 aa 59 0x00054d8a uw2 0x000550e0 d4 64 aa 59 0x0005517a another UW2 build Models are: index item_id description 00 - 01 014x door frame 02 0164 bridge 03 0150 bench 04 015f Lotus Turbo Esprit (no, really!) 05 0156 small boulder 06 0155? medium boulder 07 0154? large boulder 08 0151 arrow 09 0159 beam 0A 0160 pillar 0B 0157 shrine 0C 0D 0163 painting [uw2] 0E 0F 10 0161 texture map (8-way lever) 11 0162 texture map (8-way switch) 12 0166 texture map (writing) 13 0165 gravestone 14 016e? texture map 15 - 16 016f? ?texture map 17 015a moongate 18 0158 table 19 015d chest 1A 015e nightstand 1B 015b barrel 1C 015c chair 1D 0167 bed [uw2] 1E 0168 blackrock gem [uw2] 1F 0169 shelf [uw2] Node list --------- Actual model data is stored as a list with various "nodes" that do different things. There also is a vertex array that is filled at start of the model, and then faces are defined, using points from the vertex list. The list is parsed every frame and tests are done if some faces have to be rendered or not (depending if the player sees the polygon or not). There are some data types that are used in the model node data. These are: Int16 a simple 16 bit unsigned integer Fixed fixed point number with 8 bits before the fraction point (8.8) VertNo vertex number; lowest 3 bits are ignored TexCo texture coordinate; contains a 16 bit fractional texture coord. All data types use 16 bit values. Every model has a header that looks like this: 0000 Int32 unknown 0004 Fixed extents X value 0006 Fixed extents Y value 0008 Fixed extents Z value 000a node entries follow In general, node entries look as following: 0000 Int16 node id 0002 n custom node data (may be omitted) 8.1 List of all nodes Here's an overview of all node types used: node id description 0000 end node 0006 define sort node, arbitrary heading 000C define sort node, ZY plane 000E define sort node, XY plane 0010 define sort node, XZ plane 0014 ??? colour definition 002E ??? 0040 ??? seems to do nothing but introduce a face definition 0044 ??? this one too 0058 define face plane, arbitrary heading 005E define face plane Z/Y 0060 define face plane X/Y 0062 define face plane X/Z 0064 define face plane X 0066 define face plane Z 0068 define face plane Y 0078 define model center 007A define initial vertex 007E define face vertices 0082 define initial vertices 0086 define vertex offset X 0088 define vertex offset Z 008A define vertex offset Y 008C define vertex variable height 0090 define vertex offset X,Z 0092 define vertex offset X,Y 0094 define vertex offset Y,Z 00A0 ??? shorthand face definition 00A8 define texture-mapped face 00B4 define face vertices with u,v information 00BC define face shade (6 bytes) 00BE ??? seems to define 2 shades 00CE ??? yet another texture-mapped face 00D2 ??? shorthand face definition 00D4 define dark vertex face (?) 00D6 define gouraud shading Here's a detailed description of all nodes, sorted after functionality: Misc. nodes ----------- 0000 end node just ends current list; also ends sort node sublists 0078 define model center 0000 Int16 node id 0002 VertNo vertex list index to use as origin (?) 0004 Fixed origin X coordinate 0006 Fixed origin Y coordinate 0008 Fixed origin Z coordinate 000a Int16 ??? because of the limited resolution available for specifying object positions, the origin for model coordinates will typically need to be offset from the center of the collision volume. This parameter gives that center, in model coords. Vertex nodes ------------ Vertex node entries just set up the vertex list that is later used to take points and draw faces (such as triangles, polygons, etc.) 007A define initial vertex 0002 Fixed vertex X coordinate 0004 Fixed vertex Y coordinate 0006 Fixed vertex Z coordinate 0008 VertNo vertex list index to store new vertex 0082 define initial vertices 0002 Int16 number of vertices (=nvert) 0004 Int16 first vertex no.? 0006 Fixed vertex X coordinate for first vertex 0008 Fixed vertex Y coordinate 000a Fixed vertex Z coordinate 000c Fixed vertex X coordinate for second vertex 000e and so on, for nvert vertices 0086 define vertex offset X 0002 VertNo reference vertex to modify 0004 Fixed offset to add to X coordinate 0006 VertNo new list index to store vertex 0088 define vertex offset Z same as 0086, but for the Z coordinate 008A define vertex offset Y same as 0086, but for the Y coordinate 0090 define vertex offset X,Z 0002 Fixed offset to add to X coordinate 0004 Fixed offset to add to X coordinate 0006 VertNo reference vertex to modify 0008 VertNo new list index to store vertex 0092 define vertex offset X,Y same as 0090, but for the X and Y coordinate 0094 define vertex offset Y,Z same as 0090, but for the X and Y coordinate 008C define vertex variable height this is used for pillars and doorframes where the model must reach up to the ceiling, wherever it be. 0002 VertNo reference vertex to modify 0004 Int16 ??? 0006 VertNo new list index to store vertex Face plane checks ----------------- Face plane checks exist to check if a following face has to be drawn or not. Usually a face normal vector is defined to verify. A length value is given to know how many bytes to omit in the node list. 0058 define face plane, arbitrary heading (backface cull) 0002 Int16 number of bytes to skip when not visible 0004 Fixed normal vector X coordinate 0006 Fixed distance "model origin -> face" X value 0008 Fixed normal vector Y coordinate 000a Fixed distance "model origin -> face" Y value 000c Fixed normal vector Z coordinate 000e Fixed distance "model origin -> face" Z value after this node usually face info nodes follow 0064 define face plane X Y and Z coordinates of normal vector is 0 (YZ plane normal) 0002 Int16 number of bytes to skip when not visible 0004 Fixed normal vector X coordinate 0006 Fixed distance "model origin -> face" X value after this node usually face info nodes follow 0066 define face plane Z same as 0064, but with Z coordinate (XY plane normal) 0068 define face plane Y same as 0064, but with Y coordinate (XZ plane normal) 005E define face plane Z/Y X coordinate of normal vector is 0 0002 Int16 number of bytes to skip 0004 Fixed normal vector Z coordinate 0006 Fixed distance Z value 0008 Fixed normal vector Y coordinate 000a Fixed distance Y value 0060 define face plane X/Y same as 005E, but with X and Y coordinates/values (in this order) 0062 define face plane X/Z same as 005E, but with X and Z coordinates/values Face info nodes --------------- They just define a face (polygon) from some points of the vertex list. 007E define face vertices 0002 Int16 number of vertices (=nvert) 0004 VertNo vertex list index for first point 0006 VertNo vertex list index for second point 0008 and so on 00A8 define texture-mapped face vertex u and v coordinates are stored as 0.16 fractional values. just divide by 65535.0 to get coordinates in the range [0; 1] 0002 Int16 texture number (?) 0004 Int16 number of vertices (=nvert) 0006 VertNo vertex list index for first point 0008 TexCo first vertex u coordinate 000a TexCo first vertex v coordinate 000c VertNo vertex list index for second point 000e TexCo second vertex u coordinate 0010 and so on 00B4 define face vertices with u,v information same structure as 00A8, but without the "texture number" field. Sort nodes ---------- Sort nodes are there to sort faces of a whole node list and the renderer can determine if the list has to be rendered at all. 0006 define sort node, arbitrary heading 0002 Fixed normal vector X coordinate 0004 Fixed distance X coordinate 0006 Fixed normal vector Y coordinate 0008 Fixed distance Y coordinate 000a Fixed normal vector Z coordinate 000c Fixed distance Z coordinate 000e Int16 left node offset (starting at 0010) 0010 Int16 right node offset (starting at 0012) 000C define sort node, ZY plane the X coordinate values are assumed to be 0 0002 Fixed normal vector Z coordinate 0004 Fixed distance Z coordinate 0006 Fixed normal vector Y coordinate 0008 Fixed distance Y coordinate 000a Int16 left node offset (starting at 000c) 000c Int16 right node offset (starting at 000e) 000E define sort node, XY plane same as 000C, but with X and Y coordinates (in this order) 0010 define sort node, XZ plane same as 000C, but with X and Z coordinates (in this order) Unknown nodes ------------- 0014 ??? colour definition 0002 VertNo vertex number 0004 Int8 c1 ??? 0005 Int8 c2 ??? 0006 VertNo vertex number 002E ??? 0002 Int16 ??? 0040 ??? seems to do nothing but introduce a face definition 0044 ??? this one too no further node data 00BC define face shade 0002 Int16 colour (address of colour variable) 0004 Int16 shade (dark value) 00BE ??? seems to define 2 shades ?? refers to 2 model variables 0002 Int16 var 1 0004 Int16 var 2 00CE define texture-mapped face same data as 00B4 00A0 shorthand texture-mapped face definition seems to be a quick way to define a face with 4 vertices and automatic texture coordinates; vertex list indices 0002 VertNo ??? 0004 Int8 vertex list index 0 0005 Int8 vertex list index 1 0006 Int8 vertex list index 2 0007 Int8 vertex list index 3 00D2 define texture mapped face (shorthand) same as 00A0 00D4 define vertex shading values 0002 Int16 number of vertices (=nvert) 0004 Int16 base colour for Gouraud shading (colour variable address) 0006 VertNo vertex list index for first point 0008 Int8 dark value for first point ??? 0009 VertNo vertex list index for second point 000b Int8 dark value for second point ??? and so on; if nvert is odd, read another empty byte to have 16 bit word align 00D6 introduce Gouraud shaded face no other info; may switch on gouraud shading +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ 9 Miscellaneous stuff This section describes all miscellaneous data structures and things that didn't fit elsewhere. 9.1 Ultima Underworld 2 compression scheme [uw2] The second game uses a new compression scheme to crunch data in .ark files together. The file header has a slightly different format than in uw1's files: 0000 Int16 number of blocks in file (=nblocks) 0004 Int32 unknown (always 0) Now follow 4 tables, each one is "nblocks" long and consists of Int32's. Table 1: offset table absolute file offset to block an offset of 0 means the entry is not (yet) used Table 2: flags for the datachunk Bit 0: block should be compressed (always set in uw2) Bit 1: actually is compressed Bit 2: the chunk has extra space allocated in case the compression isn't as effective next time. The "available space" value is valid for such chunks. Table 3: data size this gives the actual space occupied by the chunks on disk, either compressed or uncompressed data size, according to the flags. Table 4: available space This is valid for chunks with extra space (bit 2 in table 2 set). It gives the total space available for the chunk in the archive file. A compressed block always starts with an Int32 value that is to be ignored. If a block is actually compressed, it can be divided into subblocks. Each compressed subblock starts with an Int8 number; the bits from LSB to MSB describe if the following byte is just transferred to the target buffer (bit set) or if we have a copy record (bit cleared). After 8 bytes or copy record, the next subblock begins with an Int8 again. The copy record starts with two Int8's: 0000 Int8 0..7: position, bits 0..7 0001 Int8 0..3: copy count 4..7: position, bits 8..11 The copy count is 4 bits long and an offset of 3 is added to it. The position has 12 bits (accessing the last 4k bytes) and an offset of 18 is added. The sign bit is bit 11 and should be treated appropriate. As the position field refers to a position in the current 4k segment, pointers have to be adjusted, too. Then "copy count" bytes are copied from the relative "position" to the current one. 9.2 Savegame format Savegames are stored in folders called "SaveN", where N is the number of the save game. Ultima Underworld only allows 4 save game slots. The folder "Save0" is used to store the files "lev.ark" and "bglobals.dat" during gameplay. The file "player.dat" contains the main character data. The first 220 bytes are encrypted with a rather simple xor algorithm. The first byte in the file is the starting xor value. The next byte is xor'ed with xorvalue + 3, and for each next byte the xorvalue is incremented by 3. A simple implementation in C is here (it is assumed that xorvalue already contains the first byte): // descramble data unsigned char incrnum = 3; for(int i=0; i<220; i++) { if (i==80) incrnum = 3; data[i] ^= (xorvalue+incrnum); incrnum += 3; } After decryption, the file contains the following: 0000 14*char character name ... 001E Int8 Strength 001F Int8 Dexterity 0020 Int8 Intelligence 0021 Int8 Attack 0022 Int8 Defense 0023 Int8 Unarmed 0024 Int8 Sword 0025 Int8 Axe 0026 Int8 Mace 0027 Int8 Missile 0028 Int8 Mana 0029 Int8 Lore 002A Int8 Casting 002B Int8 Traps 002C Int8 Search 002D Int8 Track 002E Int8 Sneak 002F Int8 Repair 0030 Int8 Charm 0031 Int8 Picklock 0032 Int8 Acrobat 0033 Int8 Appraise 0034 Int8 Swimming ... 0036 Int8 max. vitality 0037 Int8 current mana, (play_mana) 0038 Int8 max. mana 0039 Int8 hunger, play_hunger ... 003D Int8 character level (play_level) ... 0044 3*8bits rune flags (*) ... 004C Int16 weight in 0.1 stones 004E Int32 experience in 0.1 points ... 0054 Int16 x-position in level 0056 Int16 y-position 0058 Int16 z-position 005A Int16 heading 005C Int16 dungeon level ... 005F Int8 bits 2..5: play_poison ... 00CE Int32 game time ... 00DC Int8 current vitality (*) The rune field is a bitfield, where an 1 indicates an available rune. Bits are seen from most to least significant. The 'A' rune is stored in bit 7 of the first field. how items are stored 9.3 Unknown files This section lists files with unknown meaning. skills.dat ---------- The file contains infos about the skills in character creation for every class. First 0x20 bytes are unknown. There are 5 entries for each of the 8 character classes. The first Int8 byte contains the length of one entry. Then follows as many Int8 bytes as the length tells. The bytes describe the skill the user can select. If the length is 1, the only skill given is auto-set, showing no selection. shades.dat ---------- Contains 12 entries, 8 byte long each. When renamed to shadez.dat (or deleted) uw runs in bright colors all the time without using candles and such. sounds.dat ---------- The file "sounds.dat" in the "sound" folder contains sound effect data. The file starts with an Int8 value that is the number of data entries in the file. Then 5 Int8 bytes for each entry in the file follow. It is supposed that the data may be midi commands to play back sfx. xfer.dat ---------- The Underworld games use the (colour-index) translation tables in data/xfer.dat for the transparencies (each transparency index has a table). [The numbers here are an attempt to back-convert from the translation table to RGBA values using a hairy little program of my own devising. They look "about right", so I'm inclined to leave them.] (description from TSSHP CVS) 9.4 Error codes Ultima Underworld has some error codes printed out when the game unexpectedly quits. The format is Nxxx where N is an uppercase letter from B to F and xxx is a decimal number. Error codes: B: out of low memory (1000h) C: out of EMS mem (2000h) D: could not read (3000h) E: could not write (4000h) F: resource/internal problem Here's a list of all possible error codes and their occurance B001 couldn't alloc memory for "data/strings.pak" D002 couldn't read "data/strings.pak" D007 couldn't read "data/babglobs.dat" E001 couldn't write "save0/bglobals.dat" +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ end of file

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