ObjDesc is the graphics format used in Pokémon Ranger. The game supports a lot of ObjDesc types, however, all of them have the same base format as they only differ in usage / context. The graphics consist of sequenced animation frames, sprite frames and their respective cells, raw tile data and color palettes.
A flatbuffer may contain more than one ObjDesc block that are loaded for different contexts. Usually, all blocks refer to the same raw tile and palette data.
Each ObjDesc entry starts with this 0x10 bytes structure:
| Offset | Type | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0x00 | int | offAnimInfo | Offset to AnimationInfo |
| 0x04 | int | offFrameInfo | Offset to FrameInfo |
| 0x08 | int | offTileInfo | Offset to TileInfo |
| 0x0C | int | offPaletteInfo | Offset to PaletteInfo |
The AnimationInfo block is 0x8 bytes. It contains the offset to the very first Animation offset and the number of Animation entries.
| Offset | Type | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0x00 | int | offAnims | Offset to list of Animation |
| 0x04 | int | numAnims | Number of Animation entries |
It is worth noting that the game interprets a number of 0 Animation entries as 1.
An Animation is a sequence of animation frames. It is a linked list of offsets to single AnimationFrame entries. An offset of 0x0 denotes the end of an animation. Therefore, each animation has a variable size, but the minimum size is 0x4 bytes.
An AnimationFrame is a sequence of "micro instructions" that control how to display a frame on the screen. Usually, a micro instruction is 0x4 bytes and has the same structure. Thus, a single AnimationFrame has a variable size, though the minimum is 0x2 to 0x4 bytes. The structure of these entries looks like this:
| Offset | Type | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0x00 | byte | type | Instruction identifier |
| 0x01 | bool | useParam | Uses parameter? |
| 0x02 | short | param | Parameter (read if useParam is true) |
The following instruction types can be found in the game.
| ID | Description | Parameter | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0x01 | Frame duration[*] | Duration in time frames | After duration is over, the game goes to the next AnimationFrame in line. If the end of the list is reached, it loops back to the first AnimationFrame. |
| 0x02 | Load frame | Frame index | Draws the Frame specified by its index onto the screen. |
| 0x03 | Unknown | Unknown | |
| 0x04 | Unknown | Unknown | |
| 0x05 | Unknown | Unknown | |
| 0x06 | Unknown | Unknown | |
| 0x10 | Unknown | Unknown | |
| 0x20 | Cancel animation[*] | n/a | Cancels the Animation without looping to the beginning. |
| 0x50 | Unkown[*] | n/a |
[*] Marks the end of a micro instruction list.
The FrameInfo block is 0x8 bytes. It contains the offset to the very first Frame and an unknown value that still needs to be figured out.
| Offset | Type | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0x00 | int | offFirstFrame | Offset to first Frame |
| 0x04 | int | unkFrameInfo | Unknown |
A frame is a fully-composed sprite consisting of one or more smaller frame cells. Each Frame is 0x8 bytes. This can be easily implemented as an array or list.
| Offset | Type | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0x00 | int | offFrameCells | Offset to first FrameCell |
| 0x04 | int | numFrameCells | Number of FrameCell entries |
A frame cell contains information how to load a tile from the tile block, which colors/palette to use and how to draw it onto the screen. Each FrameCell is 0xC bytes.
| Offset | Type | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0x00 | short | tileIndex | Tile index |
| 0x02 | byte | dimWidth | Tile width* |
| 0x03 | byte | dimHeight | Tile height* |
| 0x04 | short | offPalette | Palette offset |
| 0x06 | byte | flip | Flip bits (bit 0 = horizontally, bit 1 = vertically) |
| 0x07 | byte | unk7 | Unknown (always 0?) |
| 0x08 | short | offX | X offset on screen |
| 0x0A | short | offY | Y offset on screen |
[*] Allowed values are 0 to 3. The values are interpreted as:
The TileInfo block is 0x8 bytes. It contains the offset to the very first Tile and the size of the raw tile block.
| Offset | Type | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0x00 | int | offTiles | Offset to first Tile |
| 0x04 | int | rawTilesSize | Size of raw tile data |
A tile holds information on where raw tile data is found in the tiles block. The information includes the offset to the raw tile data and the bitmap size in bytes. The actual dimensions of the tile are not specified here. Each entry is 0x8 bytes.
| Offset | Type | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0x00 | int | offTile | Offset to raw tile data |
| 0x04 | short | bitmapSize | Bitmap size in bytes |
| 0x06 | short | offTileCopy | Copy of raw tile offset |
The PaletteInfo block is 0x8 bytes. It contains the offset to palette data and an unknown value that still needs to be figured out.
| Offset | Type | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0x00 | int | offPalettes | Offset to palette data |
| 0x04 | int | unkPaletteInfo | Unknown (always 0x200?) |
The palette data contains at least one palette and each palette contains 16 colors. The first color is always interpreted transparent. Colors are stored in BGR555 format (uint16). The following pseudo code shows how to retrieve the red, green and blue components of a BGR555 color:
b = (bgr555 & 0x7C00) >>> 7; g = (bgr555 & 0x03E0) >>> 2; r = (bgr555 & 0x001F) << 3;
Note: ">>>" is unsigned right shift in Java.
The list should contain offsets to the following fields:
The following types can be found in the game:
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| abilityObjDesc | |
| ability_bodyObjDesc | |
| ability_neckObjDesc | |
| ability_sebireObjDesc | |
| ability_standObjDesc | |
| ability_stand_bodyObjDesc | |
| ability_stand_neckObjDesc | |
| ability_stand_sebireObjDesc | |
| ability_stand_tailObjDesc | |
| ability_tailObjDesc | |
| action2ObjDesc | |
| action3ObjDesc | |
| actionObjDesc | |
| attack1ObjDesc | |
| attack1_standObjDesc | |
| attack2ObjDesc | |
| boroObjDesc | |
| breakObjDesc | |
| catchObjDesc | |
| cut1ObjDesc | |
| cut2ObjDesc | |
| damageObjDesc | |
| dislikeObjDesc | Annoyed Steelix |
| dododamageObjDesc | |
| dodoriostandObjDesc | |
| dodoriowalkObjDesc | |
| dodostandObjDesc | |
| dodowalkObjDesc | |
| fallObjDesc | |
| flyObjDesc | Flying states |
| fly_standObjDesc | |
| hoverObjDesc | |
| ladderObjDesc | |
| ladder_downObjDesc | |
| ladder_upObjDesc | |
| landingObjDesc | |
| laplacestandObjDesc | |
| laplacewalkObjDesc | |
| pose2ObjDesc | |
| poseObjDesc | |
| pose_koObjDesc | |
| pukaObjDesc | |
| rideObjDesc | |
| runObjDesc | |
| shakeObjDesc | |
| sleepObjDesc | Sleeping Steelix |
| stand2ObjDesc | |
| standObjDesc | Idle states |
| stand_abilityObjDesc | |
| stand_attack1ObjDesc | |
| stand_bodyObjDesc | |
| stand_flyObjDesc | |
| stand_neckObjDesc | |
| stand_sebireObjDesc | |
| stand_tailObjDesc | |
| stand_walkObjDesc | |
| walkObjDesc | Walking states |
| walk_standObjDesc |