PATH (File Format)

This file format needs more research The BSP tables at the end need research

The PATH format is used to store an area's Navigation Mesh in the Metroid Prime series. Like navigation meshes in many other game engines (Unreal Engine 2, Source, etc...), the PATH format represents an n-gon mesh partitioned into a BSP tree for rapid queries.

Please Note: PATH meshes use the local coordinate system of the MREA. One must multiply PATH coordinates as a column-vector with the matrix at offset 0x8 in the MREA to get world coordinates.

Format

Data Type	Description	Notes
long	Version	Always 0x4 in GM8E-0-00 and Trilogy release.
long	Vertex count
Vertex Entry	Vertex Table
long	Edge count
Edge Entry	Edge Table
long	Polygon count
Polygon Entry	Polygon Table
Unknown	BSP Tables

Vertex Entry

Offset	Length	Data Type	Description	Notes
0x0	12	float3	Vertex Position
0xC	12	float3	Vertex Normal

Edge Entry

Offset	Length	Data Type	Description	Notes
0x0	4	long	Polygon A index	References into Polygon Table
0x4	4	long	Polygon B index	References into Polygon Table
0x8	4	float	Edge Length
0xC	4	float	Unknown Value	Speculation: Cost of edge traversal (i.e. edge steepness). Characters may have a set threshold when selecting edges to traverse.

Polygon Entry

Offset	Length	Data Type	Description	Notes
0x0	4	long	Vertex Count	Specifies range of vertices
0x4	4	long	Vertex Start Index	References into Vertex Table
0x8	4	long	Edge Count	Specifies range of edges
0xC	4	long	Edge Start Index	References into Edge Table
0x10	2	short	Unknown meta-data	Range [1,7]
0x12	2	short	Unknown meta-data	Possible Values (1,2,4)
0x14	4	float	Polygon area
0x18	12	float3	Polygon normal
0x24	4	long	Self-index	References polygon's own index in table
0x28	12	float3	Polygon center position
0x34	12	float3	AABB-min
0x40	12	float3	AABB-max
0x4C	4	long	Self-index	A duplicate of the 0x24 value for some reason