Difference between revisions of "MREA (File Format)"

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(I'm gutting this page since it was agreed MREA should be split into separate articles by game, which means this page should be a disambiguation page.)
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The '''.MREA file format''' is used to define areas in Metroid Prime and Donkey Kong Country Returns. MREA files are broken up into many sections, and each section serves a specific purpose. However for the sake of brevity this article will only cover each revision of the MREA header.
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The '''MREA format''' is a massive format used to define areas in the Metroid Prime trilogy and Donkey Kong Country Returns. MREA files are broken up into many sections, and each section serves a different purpose. Since the format changes so much between games, each game's MREA format has its own article.
  
{{researchmoderate
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* [[MREA (Metroid Prime)]]
|reason=Still a few sections we know nothing about.
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* [[MREA (Metroid Prime 2)]]
}}
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* [[MREA (Metroid Prime 3)]]
__TOC__
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* [[MREA (Donkey Kong Country Returns)]]
 
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=Universal Header=
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This header is shared between Metroid Prime and Donkey Kong Country, and is fairly straight forward.
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{| class="wikitable"
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!Offset
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!Size
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!Description
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|-
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|0x0
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|4
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|'''Magic Number''' 0xDEADBEEF
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|-
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|0x4
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|4
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|'''File Version''' See below
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|-
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|0x8
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|48
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|'''Transformation Matrix''' The position of the area in world-space
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|-
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|0x38
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|4
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|'''Mesh Count'''
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|-
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|0x3C
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|4
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|'''SCLY Count''' ''Note: Not present in Metroid Prime 1''
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|-
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|0x40
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|4
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|'''Section Count'''
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|}
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{|class="wikitable"
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!Version
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!Game
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|-
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|15
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|'''Metroid Prime 1'''
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|-
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|25
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|'''Metroid Prime 2'''
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|-
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|30
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|'''Metroid Prime 3'''
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|-
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|32
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|'''Donkey Kong Country Returns'''
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|}
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=Metroid Prime 3 & Donkey Kong Header=
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Metroid Prime 3 and Donkey Kong Country Returns share the same header, also Metroid Prime 2 contains the Compressed Block Count present in this header as well.
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{| class="wikitable"
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!Offset
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!Size
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!Description
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|-
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|0x0
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|4
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|'''Compressed Block Count''' ''Note: Present in Metroid Prime 2''
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|-
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|0x4
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|4
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|'''Section Number Count''' ''Note: see below''
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|}
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=Section Numbers=
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===Metroid Prime 1 and 2===
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In metroid Prime 1 and 2 Immediately following the header each section in an MREA is given it's own number, the following is the order in which they appear:
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{|class="wikitable"
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!Description
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|-
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|'''Materials'''
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|-
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|'''SCLY'''
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|-
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|'''SCGN''' ''Note: Not present in Metroid Prime 1''
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|-
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|'''Collision'''
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|-
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|{{unknown|Unknown}}
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|-
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|'''Lights'''
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|-
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|'''VISI'''
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|-
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|'''PATH'''
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|-
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|'''AROT'''
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|-
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|'''PTLA''' ''Note: Not present in Metroid Prime 1''
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|-
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|'''EGMC''' ''Note: Not present in Metroid Prime 1''
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|}
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===Metroid Prime 3 and Donkey Kong Country Returns===
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Metroid Prime 3 and Donkey Kong Country Returns does it differently, and it is also preceded by the compressed blocks, each section is designated in the following:
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<code>let N=Section Number Count</code>
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{| class="wikitable"
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!Type
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!Description
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|-
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|FourCC
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|Section type
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|-
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|Long
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|Section Number
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|}
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Repeat <code>N</code> times, one for each section, and the sections sections are associated with the following FourCC values:
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{|class="wikitable"
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!FourCC
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!Description
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|-
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|AABB
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|Axis Aligned Bounding Boxes
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|-
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|APTL
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|{{unknown|Unknown}}
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|-
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|COLI
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|Collision
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|-
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|DEPS
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|Dependencies
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|-
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|EGMC
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|{{unknown|Unknown}}
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|-
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|GPUD
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|Submesh data, e.g, vertices, normals, etc.
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|-
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|LITE
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|Lights
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|-
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|LLTE
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|{{unknown|Unknown}}
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|-
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|PFL2
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|Path file
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|-
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|PVS!
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|Area vis octree, used for culling unseen geometry
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|-
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|ROCT
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|{{unknown|Unknown}}
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|-
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|RSOS
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|Revolution Shared Objects
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|-
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|SOBJ
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|SCLY Layer data, there can be multiple copies, but only the first is indicated.
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|-
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|SGEN
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|{{unknown|Unknown}}
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|-
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|WOBJ
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|Mesh Header, always 0 and there are usually two.
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|}
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[[Category:File Formats]]
 
[[Category:File Formats]]

Revision as of 09:38, 28 January 2015

The MREA format is a massive format used to define areas in the Metroid Prime trilogy and Donkey Kong Country Returns. MREA files are broken up into many sections, and each section serves a different purpose. Since the format changes so much between games, each game's MREA format has its own article.