SAVW (File Format)

The SAVW format determines what data gets saved to the memory card. It's used to save information on non-hardcoded parts of the game.

Format

The format is basically just a series of arrays. The structure remains more or less the same across every game, just with arrays being added or removed. The main difference between formats is that starting in Metroid Prime 3, the engine stores references to saved variables through a combination of a 128-bit state ID and an instance ID instead of implicitly associating them via instance IDs alone. The state ID is mirrored in another file (usually on the object via a property).

Type	Count	Name	Notes	MP1	MP2	MP3	DKCR
u32	1	Magic	Always 0xC001D00D.	✔	✔	✔	✔
u32	1	Version	See below for a list of possible version numbers.	✔	✔	✔	✔
u32	1	Area Count	Number of areas contained in this world. Always 1 in DKCR.	✔	✔	✔	✔
u32	1	Cinematic Skip Count	Count of skippable cinematics.	✔	✔	✔	✔
Saved State Descriptor	Cinematic Skip Count	Cinematic Skip Array	Array describing all skippable cinematics in the world. Points to Cinematic Skip SpecialFunctions in MP1 and Cameras/CinematicCameras with cinematic skip enabled in MP2+.	✔	✔	✔	✔
u32	1	Memory Relay Count	Count of Memory Relay instances.	✔	✔	✔	✔
Saved State Descriptor	Memory Relay Count	Memory Relay Array	Array describing all Memory Relays in the world.	✔	✔	✔	✔
u32	1	Layer Toggle Count	Count of layers that can be toggled on/off from this world.	✔	✔	✖	✖
Layer Toggle	Layer Toggle Count	Layer Toggle Array	Array specifying every layer that can be toggled on/off from this world (any layer referenced by a ScriptLayerController). The layers specified can be in other worlds.	✔	✔	✖	✖
u32	1	Door Count	Count of DoorArea/Door instances.	✔	✔	✔	✖
Saved State Descriptor	Door Count	Door Array	Array describing all DoorArea/Door instances in the world.	✔	✔	✔	✖
u32	1	Scannable Object Count	Count of scannable objects in the next array.	✔	✔	✔	✖
Scannable Object	Scannable Object Count	Scannable Object Array	Array describing every scannable object in this world.	✔	✔	✔	✖
u32	1	System State Env Var Count	Count of system state env vars modified from this world.	✖	✔	✔	✔
Environment Variable	System State Env Var Count	System State Env Var Array	Array of env vars affecting the entire system.	✖	✔	✔	✔
u32	1	Game State Env Var Count	Count of game state env vars modified from this world.	✖	✔	✔	✔
Environment Variable	Game State Env Var Count	Game State Env Var Array	Array of env vars affecting only this save slot.	✖	✔	✔	✔
u32	1	Unmappable Object Count	Count of unmappable objects in the world.	✖	✔	✔	✖
Saved State Descriptor	Unmappable Object Count	Unmappable Object Array	Array describing every instance that can be removed from the map. Primarily Translator Door Location SpecialFunctions in MP2 and Pickups in MP3.	✖	✔	✔	✖
u32	1	Puzzle Piece Count	Count of Puzzle Piece Pickups in this world. (This value also controls the level puzzle piece count that displays on the HUD ingame.)	✖	✖	✖	✔
Saved State Descriptor	Puzzle Piece Count	Puzzle Piece Array	Array describing all Puzzle Piece Pickups.	✖	✖	✖	✔
End of file

Version

Each revision of the SAVW format has a unique version number, which corresponds to the following games:

Version	Game
0x3	Metroid Prime
0x5	Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
0x6	Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
0x8	Donkey Kong Country Returns

Saved State Descriptor

In Metroid Prime 1 and 2, saved state values were referenced only via the instance ID of the object that the state is for. In Prime 3 and DKCR, a 128-bit Saved State ID was introduced that handles references to save file data, and is stored in the file in conjunction with the instance IDs.

Type	Name	Notes	MP1	MP2	MP3	DKCR
Saved State ID	Saved State ID	ID of this saved state.	✖	✖	✔	✔
u32	Instance ID	Instance ID of the object that uses this saved state.	✔	✔	✔	✔
End of descriptor

Layer Toggle

Type	Name	Notes
u32	Area ID	Internal area ID (not the MREA ID).
u32	Layer Index	Index of the layer that can be toggled.
End of layer

Scannable Object

Type	Name	Notes
Asset ID	SCAN Asset ID	Asset ID of a SCAN file.
u32	Logbook Category	Enum describing which logbook category this scan is part of. Always 0 in MP2 and MP3. See below for possible values for MP1.
End of scan

Possible logbook category values (MP1 only):

ID	Category
0	Non-Logbook
1	Space Pirate Data
2	Chozo Lore
3	Creatures
4	Research

Environment Variable

Type	Name	Notes
string	Variable Name	Name of the environment variable as a zero-terminated string.
u32	Unknown	Always 0?
u32	Unknown	Always 1?
u32	Unknown	Always 0?
End of environment variable