CMDL (Tropical Freeze)

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Revision as of 16:39, 14 November 2016 by >Aruki
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See CMDL (File Format) for the other revisions of this format.

Tropical Freeze features a new model format (necessitated by the hardware jump from Wii to Wii U) that bears little-to-no resemblance to the CMDL format of past games. There are three extensions used for models:

  • CMDL: Generic models
  • SMDL: Skinned models (ie. animated characters)
  • WMDL: World models (ie. level geometry)

All three share the same basic format, with SMDL and WMDL each containing an extra data chunk at the start of the file.


This file format needs more research
There's a lot of unknown data.


Format

After the RFRM Header, the first section of the file is SKHD in SMDL, and WDHD in WMDL. Following those extra sections, all three formats start with a header.

Skinned Model Header

Offset Type Count Name Notes
0x0 Chunk Descriptor 1 SKHD Chunk Descriptor Data type is SKHD
0x18 u32 1 Unknown
0x1C End of Skinned Model Header

World Model Header

Type Count Name Notes
u8 1 Unknown
Render Octree 1 Render Octree
u32 1 Unknown AABox Count
AABox Unknown AABox Count Unknown AABox Array
u32 1 Unknown Float Count
float Unknown Float Count Unknown Float Array

Render Octree

This seems to be an updated version of the AROT format seen in previous Retro games.

Offset Type Count Name Notes
0x0 FourCC 1 Magic Always AROT (Area Octree)
0x4 u32 1 Unknown Always 1. Version number?
0x8 u32 1 Unknown
0xC u32 1 Unknown
0x10 u32 1 Unknown
0x14 AABox 1 Octree Bounding Box Bounds of the entire octree; matches the bounding box from the main model header.
0x2C u32 1 Unknown Count A
0x30 u32 Unknown Count A Unknown Array A
u32 1 Unknown Count B
u8 Unknown Count B Unknown Array B
u32 1 Unknown AABox Count
AABox Unknown AABox Count Unknown AABox Array

Model Header

Offset Type Count Name Notes
0x0 Chunk Descriptor 1 HEAD Chunk Descriptor Chunk ID is HEAD
0x18 u32 1 Unknown
0x1C u32 1 Unknown
0x20 u32 1 Unknown
0x24 u32 1 Unknown
0x28 u32 1 Unknown
0x2C AABox 1 Model Bounding Box
0x44 u32 1 Model Data Source Count
0x48 Model Data Source Model Data Source Count Model Data Source Array

Model Data Source

Offset Type Name Notes
0x0 u32 Model Data Source Type Controls the type of data present in this data source. Valid values are 0, 1, 2, or 3.
0x4 Model Data Source Data Structure and size varies depending on Model Data Source Type. See below.
Type 0: UV Animation
To do:
Needs research. The loader function doesn't reveal much because the game just loads all the data into a couple big buffers.
Type 1: Wind
Type Count Name Notes
u32 1 Wind Set Count Count of Wind Set elements in the next array.
Wind Set Wind Set Count Wind Set Array
u32 1 Unknown Count
u8 Unknown Count Unknown Data
Wind Set
Offset Type Name Notes
0x0 Vector3f Unknown
0xC Vector3f Unknown
0x18 float Unknown
0x1C End of Wind Set
Type 2: Caustic
Type Count Name Notes
u32 1 Unknown Count
u32 Unknown Count Unknown Array
Type 3: Fur
Type Count Name Notes
u32 1 Unknown Count A
float Unknown Count A Unknown Array A
u32 1 Unknown Count B
float Unknown Count B Unknown Array B
u32 1 Unknown Count C
float Unknown Count C Unknown Array C

Material Data

The MTRL section has a 32-bit material count, then lays out its materials one after the other. Materials are composed of basically a MTRL asset ID which contains the shader the material is rendered with, then per-instance material parameters (textures, scalar/color parameters, etc).

Type Count Name Notes
string 1 Material Name Zero-terminated string
Asset ID (MTRL) 1 Material Shader Asset ID Points to the MTRL file containing the shader for this material.
FourCC 1 Material Type Can be PHNG (Phong), LAMB (Lambert), SURF (Surface), FURM (Fur), or REFL (Reflect). REFL may be unused.
u32 1 Material Flags Bitfield used to toggle various settings on the material. None of the flags are known.
u32 1 Parameter Count Count of parameters in this material definition.
Material Parameter Parameter Count Parameter Array

Material Parameter

Each parameter has a fourCC parameter ID as well as a parameter type enum. There are five possible parameter types that each have a different layout in the file.

Offset Type Count Name Notes
0x0 FourCC 1 Parameter ID
0x4 u32 1 Parameter Type Determines what type of data this parameter contains. Can be either 0, 1, 2, 4, or 5. (Note: 3 is an invalid value, not an unused type.)
0x8 Parameter Data Structure and size varies depending on Parameter Type. See below.

Type 0: Texture Token Data

Offset Type Count Name Notes
0x0 Asset ID (TXTR) 1 Texture ID Texture asset ID.
0x10 Texture Usage Info 1 Texture Usage Info Note: Not present if the TXTR asset ID is invalid.
End of Texture Token Data

Type 1: Color Data

Offset Type Count Name Notes
0x0 Color4f 1 Color Value
0x10 End of Color Data

Type 2: Scalar Data

Offset Type Count Name Notes
0x0 float 1 Scalar Value
0x4 End of Scalar Data

Type 4: Layered Texture Data

Offset Type Count Name Notes
0x0 u32 1 Unknown
0x4 Color4f 1 Unknown Color
0x14 Color4f 1 Unknown Color
0x24 Color4f 1 Unknown Color
0x34 u8 1 Unknown
0x35 Texture Token Data 1 Unknown Texture Token Data
Texture Token Data 1 Unknown Texture Token Data
Texture Token Data 1 Unknown Texture Token Data
End of Layered Texture Data

Type 5: Int4 Data

Offset Type Count Name Notes
0x0 u32 4 Int4 Value
0x10 End of Int4 Data

Texture Usage Info

Offset Type Count Name Notes
0x0 u32 1 Unknown
0x4 u32 1 Unknown
0x8 u32 1 Unknown
0xC u32 1 Unknown
0x10 u32 1 Unknown
0x14 End of Texture Usage Info

Meshes

The MESH section does what the name suggests: it defines submeshes. The MESH section header is as follows:

Offset Size Description
0x0 24 MESH Chunk Descriptor
0x18 4 Submesh count
0x1C End of MESH header

Each submesh definition is structured as follows:

Offset Size Description
0x0 4 Unknown; always 3?
0x4 2 Material ID
0x6 1 Vertex buffer ID
0x7 1 Index buffer ID
0x8 4 Start index
0xC 4 Index count
0x10 4 Unknown
0x14 1 Unknown; usually seems to be either 0 or 1, possibly a bool value
0x15 End of submesh definition

Vertex Buffers

The VBUF section defines vertex buffers; each buffer can have different vertex types, with different strides and attributes.

Header

Offset Size Description
0x0 24 VBUF Chunk Descriptor
0x18 4 Vertex buffer count
0x1C End of VBUF header

Vertex Buffer

Offset Size Description
0x0 4 Vertex count
0x4 4 Attrib count (AC)
0x8 0x14 × AC Vertex attributes
End of vertex buffer

Vertex Attribute

Offset Size Description
0x0 4 Unknown
0x4 4 Offset
0x8 4 Stride
0xC 4 Unknown
0x10 4 Unknown (likely attrib type/format)
0x14 End of attribute

Index Buffers

Just like how the VBUF section defines vertex buffers, the IBUF section defines index buffers. Each index buffer only has one value associated with it, so it's fairly simple, and you generally will only see one or two index buffers per file.

Header

Offset Size Description
0x0 24 IBUF Chunk Descriptor
0x18 4 Index buffer count
0x1C End of IBUF header

Index Buffer

Offset Size Description
0x0 4 Format (1 means unsigned short; 2 means unsigned long)
0x4 End of index buffer

GPU Data

The GPU section contains raw buffer data that's fed to the GPU. It's essentially just a giant blob with all the vertex and index buffers laid out next to each other. The tricky part is, all the buffer data is LZSS-compressed, and the metadata needed to decompress it is stored in the pak rather than in the files themselves; not only that, but that metadata is also the only way to distinguish the different buffers from each other.

As such, this section can't be read correctly if the model file is unpacked and completely left as-is; it needs to be either read directly from the pak, or the metadata needs to be added to the file in some way. A good unpacker should append the metadata to the end of the file; a pre-decompressed file needs the buffer sizes or offsets inserted into the file data somewhere.

PAK Metadata

The pak metadata for the model formats contains mainly information related to the size and layout of the GPU section, and the metadata required to locate and decompress specific buffers within it.

Offset Size Description
0x0 4 Unknown; always 4?
0x4 4 GPU section offset
0x8 4 GPU chunk count (CC)
0xC 8 × CC GPU chunk definitions
- 4 Compressed vertex buffer count (VC)
- 0x10 × VC Vertex buffer definitions
- 4 Compressed index buffer count (IC)
- 0x10 × IC Index buffer definitions
End of pak metadata

GPU Chunk

For large models, the GPU section might be split up into multiple chunks, rather than read as one data buffer; all offsets into the GPU section will be relative to the start of the chosen chunk.

Offset Size Description
0x0 4 Size
0x4 4 Offset
0x8 End of GPU chunk definition

Compressed Buffer

The format for compressed buffer definitions is the same regardless of buffer type (vertex/index).

Offset Size Description
0x0 4 GPU chunk index
0x4 4 Start offset (relative to the start of the chosen GPU chunk)
0x8 4 Compressed size
0xC 4 Decompressed size
0x10 End of compressed buffer definition