SAVW (File Format)

The SAVW format describes save data in the Metroid Prime series and Donkey Kong Country Returns. It allows any data used by the game's script data that needs to be preserved between play sessions to be saved and retrieved from the save file without the executable having to know anything about it. This is used for, for instance, saving whether a particular MemoryRelay has been activated, or whether a specific layer has been toggled on.

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).

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

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 GUID was introduced that handles references to save file data, and is stored in the file in conjunction with the instance IDs.

Scannable Object
Possible logbook category values (MP1 only):