Dungeon Keeper Map Files Format Reference v1.1

Created by fans

Contents

Contents

1.0 Introduction to map files

1.1 Overview of map files

1.2 RNC compression

2.0 Map layout files

2.1 Tiles and subtiles

2.2 Slab .SLB files

2.3 Ownership .OWN files

3.0 Object lists files

3.1 Thing .TNG files

3.2 Action point .APT files

3.3 Static light .LGT files

4.0 Level graphics files

4.1 Making a world using cubes

4.2 Level style .INF files

4.3 Column .CLM files

4.4 Column position data .DAT files

4.5 Wibble .WIB files

4.6 Water/Lava Block .WLB files

5.0 Script files

5.1 Level script .TXT files

5.2 Script backup .OLD files

5.3 Adikted script .ADI files

6.0 Misellanous/unused files

6.1 Effects .EFF files

6.2 Description word .DOC files

6.3 Tile flags .FLG files

6.4 Room origin .ORI files

6.5 Version .VSN files

6.6 .TMN files

7.0 Credits

8.0 Changes log

9.0 References

1.0 Introduction to map files

Levels in Dungeon Keeper are written in multiple files. Storing a map in more than one file makes it easier to modify the map, but also may lead to problems when copying it, renaming or sharing with other people. Knowlegde of what specific files do, and how they look from inside is not crucial for mapmaker. Mapmaker only needs to know file format of the level script (.TXT file), which is explained in Dungeon Keeper Script Commands Reference.

1.1 Overview of map files

Levels are stored in .\Levels\ directory on Dungeon Keeper CD. If you want to modify them and use the modified ones, you will have to copy all the levels to your Dungeon Keeper directory. See Mapmakers Installation Instructions for details.

Level 1 (the first level), consists of the following files:

map00001.apt
map00001.clm
map00001.dat
map00001.doc
map00001.eff
map00001.flg
map00001.inf
map00001.lgt
map00001.old
map00001.ori
map00001.own
map00001.slb
map00001.tmn
map00001.tng
map00001.txt
map00001.vsn
map00001.wib
map00001.wlb

Not all of these files are required to play the map. The crucial files are listed above. If you want to save disk space, or publish the map in Internet, you only require those files:

map00001.apt
map00001.clm
map00001.dat
map00001.inf
map00001.lgt
map00001.own
map00001.slb
map00001.tng
map00001.txt
map00001.wib
map00001.wlb

Rest of the files is not used by the game. Note that if you're using ADiKtEd to modify the map files, there may be another file in the list:

map00001.adi

This file isn't used by the game, only by ADiKtEd. If you're uploading level for end users, and the uploaded version won't be edited anymore, then you may skip this file.

1.2 RNC compression

Several of the Dungeon Keeper files are compressed with Rob Northern Compression (RNC). You can tell if a file is compressed, as the first three bytes will be 'R' 'N' 'C'. The fourth byte is a 1 (as distinct from '1').

There's a compressor/decompressor available to download in many places, for example on Syndicate Series Unofficial Fan Site. Source code in C is available too. There is also version of the decompression with graphical interface in DKTools package.

2.0 Map layout files

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2.1 Tiles and subtiles

Each map is divided into 85x85 playing tiles, as seen on the map. Each tile is sub-divided into 3x3 subtiles - look at the game carefully, examining tiles, and trying to break them into subtiles, and you'll see what I mean. I'll use the terminology above extensively, be sure you understand what I mean.

2.2 Slab .SLB files

• Size: 2*85*85=14450
• Required?: Yes.
• Compressed?: Sometimes (22/58).
• Description: Determines type of "room" each tile is.
• Format: 85 lines of 85 tiles, each having a two byte entry. Each entry only uses the first byte, the second byte being 0.
• Notes: None.

The .SLB file is basically main file of every map. It contains information about map layout - says which subtile is places on which position. The file consist of a two-byte entry for every map tile.

Using .SLB file, the .CLM and .DAT files can be autogenerated.

Slab values used in Dungeon Keeper are:

2.3 Ownership .OWN files

• Size: (85*3+1)*(85*3+1)=65536
• Required?: Yes.
• Compressed?: All but the first map.
• Description: Determine ownership of tiles.
• Notes: I can't see why this is in subtile format when only one byte (or 3 bits, in fact) is needed per tile.

The file has one byte corresponding to every subtile on the map. It also defines the border subtiles, which are invisible. Border subtiles are: one at start and one at end of every column/row, so they are indexed 0 and 255.

Here is the list of proper values as C defines:

#define PLAYER0                0x00
#define PLAYER1                0x01
#define PLAYER2                0x02
#define PLAYER3                0x03
#define PLAYER_GOOD            0x04
#define PLAYER_UNSET           0x05

Note: All nine subtiles of every tile should be owned by the same player.

3.0 Object lists files

These files consists of number of entries followed by the list of entries. Every entry in such file has identical length.

For objects which are placed on map, entries contain coordinates where the object is. Those coordinates are always stored in same form:

• For 2D coordinates: 4 unsigned bytes: sx tx sy ty
  The object is placed on a subtile (tx,ty) and its position within subtile is (sx,sy). These are horizontal and vertical positions, counting from 0. The values can be also interpreted as two 16-bit values (words). In that case, every word stores global position in the map coordinate system.
• For 3D coordinates: 6 unsigned bytes: sx tx sy ty sz tz
  The object is placed on a cube (tx,ty,tz) and its position within cube is (sx,sy,sz). The values can be also interpreted as three 16-bit values (words). It's same as with 2D coordinates, only there's Z coord which is height. So, tz is the number of cubes above ground level (note there is usually one cube above ground level, forming a floor). There are up to eight cubes in total per subtile. The sz gives the height within the cube.

3.1 Thing .TNG files

• Size: 2+(21*number of entries)
• Required?: Yes.
• Compressed?: Sometimes (18/58).
• Description: List of "things" in the dungeon.
• Format:
• 2 bytes: Number of 21 byte entries
• Each entry:
• 0-5: Location
• 6: Thing type
• 7: Thing subtype (eg creature race, trap type)
• 8: Owner
• 9-20: Type specific data

Notes: A table of known values is below.

Most of objects in Dungeon Keeper are things. These are all objects which generate graphics effects with bitmap (2D) images.

Things can have various "types". Each thing type has different features. Here is a list of known types as C defines:

#define THING_TYPE_NONE        0x00
#define THING_TYPE_ITEM        0x01
#define THING_TYPE_CREATURE    0x05
#define THING_TYPE_ROOMEFFECT  0x07
#define THING_TYPE_TRAP        0x08
#define THING_TYPE_DOOR        0x09

For every thing type, the meaning of some data is different:

• Type 1=Item/decoration
• 11-12: Sensitive tile; usually y*85+x (y and x being the tile co-ordinates, not subtile). Value -1 (0xffff) means none.
• Type 5=Creature
• 14: Level-1 (eg 0 for a level 1 creature, 9 for level 10)
• Type 7=Room effect
• Type 8=Trap
• Type 9=Door
• 13: Orientation. 0=door in N/S passage, 1=door in E/W passage
• 14: Locks. 0=unlocked, 1=locked (note the spinning key above the door needs to be added as a .tng entry).

Item/decoration subtype values (numbers are decimal):

Creature subtype values (numbers are hexadecimal):

Room effect subtype values

Trap values

Door subtype values

3.2 Action point .APT files

• Size: 4+8*(number of entries)
• Required?: Yes.
• Compressed?: Never.
• Description: Gives location of action points for reference in script (.txt) files.
• Format:
  • 4 bytes: Number of 8 byte entries.
  • Each entry:
    • 4 bytes: XY Location
    • 2 bytes: Range
    • 2 bytes: Action point number (points are usually in order, but they don't have to be.
• Notes: None.

This file defines action points. After the four-byte header, there comes a list of 8-byte action points.

3.3 Static light .LGT files

• Size:4+(20*number of entries)
• Required?: Yes.
• Compressed?: Not usually (2/58).
• Description: Provides extra lighting.
• Format:
  • 4 bytes: Number of 20 byte entries.
  • Each entry:
    • 2 bytes: Range
    • 1 byte: Light intensivity
    • 7 bytes: unknown
    • 6 bytes: XYZ Location
    • 2 bytes: unknown.
    • 2 bytes: always -1 (0xffff).

The LGT file defines lights which, unlike torches, cannot be destroyed. It should be put in centre of large rooms and on lava.

4.0 Level graphics files

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4.1 Making a world using cubes

Graphic on every subtile can be called column. Every column consists of textured cubes, put one on another. Typically, the tall columns (like rock, gems, earth...) are built using 5 cubes and a base block (which is the lowest cube).

4.2 Level style .INF files

• Size: 1
• Required?: Yes.
• Compressed?: Never.
• Description: Specifies the landscape style, or in other words, texture file number (making the dungeon icy, for instance).
• Format: Always 1 byte, which is a 0 for all but the following maps:
  • 01 for maps 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 104
  • 02 for maps 9, 10
  • 03 for maps 19, 20
• Notes: There are more textures available in Deeper Dungeons.

The single byte defines texture number. Short description of available textures:

4.3 Column .CLM files

• Size: 49160
• Required?: Yes.
• Compressed?: Sometimes (22/58).
• Description:Along with the .dat file, this determines the graphics for the level. Each entry gives the data for a subtile.
• Format:
• 8 bytes: Number of 24 byte entries (always 2048).
• Each entry:
• 24 bytes:
• 0-1: Use - Counter of the column uses for non-permanent columns; For permanent colums, this value has an offset.
• 2: Byte with bitfields:
• Bit 0: Permanent - if set, the column is never overwritten
• Bits 1-3: Lintel (unknown)
• Bits 4-7: Height - in subtiles; proper values are 0..7
• 3-4: Solidmask - appears to be a bitmask for which of the cubes are non-zero, with the lowest cube being represented by the least significant bit.
• 5-6: Baseblock - determines the very lowest level (below the lowest cube). I think the block numbers here are different to the ones used by the cubes, but I'm not sure yet. This entry is mostly useful for water, lava, and hatcheries.
• 7: Orientation (always 0)
• 8-23: Cubes - there are 8 cubes, each having a 2 byte entry. The first cube usually forms the floor, etc, up to the ceiling.
• Notes: .dat entries are pointers into this file.

Cube values:

In the original levels (and Unded ones, IIRC), only used subtiles have non-zero .clm entries. Adikted generates a standard .clm file, as this is much easier and has very few drawbacks as far as I can see. The table below gives (most of!) the values I know about. I haven't been particularly rigorous generating this table, but I'll add to it when I find some time. I've taken this entirely from my own source code (which in turn took most values from observations of original DK levels). Some cubes are used in several places; I've usually only put one use below. In the future, I hope to be able to show a picture of what each cube looks like (only one face is used, it's just rotated).

4.4 Column position data .DAT files

• Size: 2*(85*3+1)*(85*3+1)=131072
• Required?: Yes.
• Compressed?: Always.
• Description: Determines the graphics at the start of the game. When new areas are dug out or rooms are changed, computer automatically generates different graphics for these areas, but otherwise everything is in this file.
• Format: Subtile map format, with 2 bytes per entry.
• Notes: None.

The file has two bytes corresponding to every subtile on the map. It also defines the border subtiles, which are invisible. Border subtiles are: one at start and one at end of every column/row, so they are indexed 0 and 255.

If you treat the value for a subtile as a signed integer, and take the absolute value (or rather, just reverse the sign - I've never seen a positive one), you get the entry number in the .clm file.

How visibility is calculated:
At the start of the game, a square is visible to a player if either it is owned by them or it is possible to reach that square from the dungeon heart without going through walls.

4.5 Wibble .WIB files

• Size: 65536
• Required?: Yes.
• Compressed?: Always.
• Description: Determines which subtiles are animated.
• Format: Subtile map with single byte entries. Each byte is 00, 01, or 02:
  • 00: Display the subtile without any change
  • 01: Skew the subtile slightly (default)
  • 02: Animate the subtile
• Notes: Don't think individual subtiles can be animated... putting one animated subtile in a load of non-animated ones makes no difference.

The file has one byte corresponding to every subtile on the map. It also defines the border subtiles, which are invisible. Border subtiles are: one at start and one at end of every column/row, so they are indexed 0 and 255.

4.6 Water/Lava Block .WLB files

• Size: 85*85=7225
• Required?: No.
• Compressed?: Unknown.
• Description: Determines type of liquid each tile is.
• Format: 85 lines of 85 tiles, each having one byte entry.
• Notes: None.

Water and Lava Block files are used to mark where on the map the water and lava is located. Normally, liquid blocks are defined in SLB file. But if you will put a bridge over the water or lava, the information about what it really was is stored here.

5.0 Script files

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5.1 Level script .TXT files

• Size: Varies.
• Required?: Yes.
• Compressed?: Never.
• Description: Level script which determines victory conditions, enemy keepers actions, training mode, etc.
• Format: Text file.
• Notes: Description of the language can be found in Script Commands Reference.

This is a pretty simple scripting language. There are no loops or jumps, and condition testing is very basic. There are only three statement forms - conditions, commands, and condition terminators. Conditions are naturally nested, but that's about as complicated as it gets.

Each line contains a single instruction. Whitespace in the form of spaces and tabs is ignored. Comments begin with REM. All unconditional commands (ie ones outside any condition statements) are executed at the beginning of the game, then ignored. All conditions are checked at regular intervals.

5.2 Script backup .OLD files

This file contains just a previous version of the level script (.TXT file). The .OLD files are created by some text editors as a backup.

5.3 Adikted script .ADI files

This is a text file which contains ADiKtEd script for levels which were edited using ADiKtEd. The script stores commands which are specific to ADiKtEd and cannot be used by the game or any other editor. Using this file, ADiKtEd can support some special functions, which were originally not supported by the game, such as Graffiti or Custom Columns.

6.0 Misellanous/unused files

Here you can find description of files which are unused because of various reasons.

6.1 Effects .EFF files

• Size: 4804
• Required?: No. Present for 21/58 levels.
• Compressed?: Never.
• Description: Unknown effects.
• Format: Always the same - first 5 bytes are C8 00 00 00 04, rest are zeros.
• Notes: None.

These were planned to be one of Object lists files. Unfortunately, they were never finished. The game never even tries to load the .EFF files. They are completely unused.

6.2 Description word .DOC files

These files are Microsoft Word documents, which were made as a text description of the map. Using a commercial program to write map descriptions wasn't very good idea, so the descriptions were abandoned.

Descriptions of the original maps in DOC files are inaccurate, incomplete and sometimes they are only templates without any information.

If you wish to create description of your map, you should use text files (ie. call it .NFO), HTML documents (.HTM), or Rich Text Format (.RTF). Using Ms Word format is not recommended.

6.3 Tile flags .FLG files

• Size: 131072
• Required?: Probably - doesn't exist for map 80.
• Compressed?: Always
• Description: Unknown.
• Format: Subtile map with 2 byte entries. High byte of each entry is 0.
• Notes: No idea what it does yet. On first map, seems to be very similar to the slab file (when you've changed the format and key) but the path to the North/North West of the dungeon heart is in the wrong place. All rooms seem to have a distinguishing byte or so in the bottom right corner. Could this be an old slab format?

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6.4 Room origin .ORI files

• Size: 65536
• Required?: Probably not.
• Compressed?: Always.
• Description: Unknown.
• Format: Always just zeros.
• Notes: Obsolete file?

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6.5 Version .VSN files

• Size: 1
• Required?: No.
• Compressed?: Never.
• Description: Versioning system.
• Format: Single byte, 01 in every case.
• Notes: None.

These files were supposed to create versioning system. The file contains one byte, which is always 01 in original maps.

The game engine isn't loading these files, neither any of the level editors.

6.6 .TMN files

• Size: 1
• Required?: No.
• Compressed?: Never.
• Description: The function of these files is not known.
• Format: Always 1 byte, which is a 0.
• Notes: none.

These files, similar to INF, consists on only one byte. But it is not certain if they always have size of 1 - maybe the first byte defines number of entries.

7.0 Credits

Documentation creator: Tomasz Lis

Used information provided by: Jon Skeet

8.0 Changes log

Version 1.1

• Added more content; still much to do
• Fixed .WLB explanation
• Added position format explanation in object list files

Version 1.0

• First reference, by Tomasz Lis
• Used materials from Jon Skeet's webpage

9.0 References

1. Dungeon Keeper Mapmaker's Documentation
2. Dungeon Keeper Script Commands Reference