Introduction
This documentation contains almost all the specifications of Warcraft III maps files (*.w3m and *.w3x). This was made without any help from Blizzard Entertainement and did not involve "reverse engineering" of the Warcraft III engine. The specification of each kind of file depend on its version. I did document here the current version used by Warcraft III Retail (initial version); make sure the file you're looking at or modifying are using the same version/format as describbed. I'm French so please, forgive my English! Finally, use this documentation at your own risks: I take no responsability if you corrupt your maps.
1) Things you need to know first to mod' a map!
1.1) Your environment
You'll need Warcraft III Retail installed let's say in
"C:\Program Files\Warcraft III\".
I'll talk about files of Warcraft 3 Retail (initial version) here,
that's why some files format can vary depending which version you're
using; you may have to figure out some differences in the file formats.
I'll also describe the new format of in the expansion The Frozen
Throne, if the file format got changed. If your Warcraft III
installation is clean, you should have these files (of course, there
are other files in there but I'll uses these for exemples):
in your "C:\Program Files\Warcraft III\":
�� - war3.mpq
and in your "C:\Program Files\Warcraft III\Maps\":
�� - (4)Lost Temple.w3m
�� (and many other w3m of course...)
If you have also installed the expansion The Frozen Throne, you'll have other archives that hold the new files. These are:
�� - war3x.mpq
�� - war3xlocal.mpq
and in your "C:\Program Files\Warcraft III\Maps\FrozenThrone\":
�� -(2)Circumvention.w3x
�� (as an example)
and in your "C:\Program Files\Warcraft III\Campaigns\":
�� -DemoCampaign.w3n
Also by installing updates a new archive will be added that holds the most up-to-date files from the patch, namely
�� -war3patch.mpq
"W3M" and "W3X" and also map files as well as "W3N" campaign files can be opened with any MPQ editor that supports Warcraft 3.
You'll need one. I suggest WinMPQ (ShadowFlare), you can get it here:
�� http://shadowflare.samods.org/dwnload.html
�� Read the documentation and installation notes.
You can also use Ladik's MPQ Editor which you can get here:
�� http://www.zezula.net/en/mpq/download.html
�� Place it in a folder and run it.
Another option would be PowerMPQ which is also available in Italian and German:
http://www.wc3campaigns.net/showthread.php?t=58908
�� This one also allows creating executable patches which requires MPQDraft in the same directory.
If you only see unknown files when opening maps or other archives you will also need up-to-date listfiles.
You can get the latest listfiles for Warcraft at http://www.wc3campaigns.net/tools/weu/stuff.html
All the above mentioned editors have a settings dialog where you can
specify external listfiles that will be looked up for fmissing
filenames. Simply add all your listfiles to this list and most unknown
files should be identified now.
If you want to "play" with the map files, you'll also need a hexadecimal editor.
My favorite one is HexWorkshop (http://www.bpsoft.com/).
A freeware alternative is XVI32 found at http://www.chmaas.handshake.de/ but it lacks quite a bunch of useful features.
1.2) Warcraft 3 Files
1.2.1) About� MPQ Files
MPQ are like "zip" or "rar" files as they contain a
directory structure with compressed files.
I'll not talk about the MPQ format here since Quantam did it already. If you want to know more about it I
suggest you go there:
http://www.zezula.net/
If you want to edit MPQ archives I suggest you get SFmpqapi for your favourite programming language. It's available at
http://shadowflare.samods.org/dwnload.html
for
several programming languages including Delphi, C++ and Visual Basic.
You can also download the source code of WinMPQ there to learn how to
use SFmpqapi.
1.2.2) Warcraft III�File Structure
When it's looking for a file, Warcraft III looks first in the "real"
directories (the one you see in Windows Explorer) if you set up a specific
registery key which is:
�� Path: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Blizzard Entertainment\Warcraft III\
�� Key name: "Allow Local Files"
�� Key type: dword
�� Key value: 1
If the registery key is not set or the file was not found in the "real"
directories, then it looks in your map (w3m file), then in the last
patch mpq (War3Patch.mpq) and finally in the main mpq (War3x.mpq or
War3xlocal.mpq if the expansion is installed) and lately in War3.mpq.
It means that you don't need to modify official MPQs (DON'T modify your War3.mpq!), you just need to
use the same directory/file structure in your "C:\Program Files\Warcraft III\".
Adding files in a map (.w3m
file) works with most of the files but not all. Remember that the
WorldEditor reads the local files from the real directories even if
"Allow Local Files" is not enabled in the registry.
It Works (for example) for:
�� Units\unitUI.slk
�� Units\AbilityData.slk
�� UI\MIDISounds.slk
�� Units\HumanUnitFunc.txt
�� Units\HumanUnitStrings.txt
�� Units\HumanAbilityFunc.txt
�� Units\HumanAbilityStrings.txt
�� Units\HumanUpgradeFunc.txt
�� Units\HumanUpgradeStrings.txt
But it doesn't work very well for:
�� Units\UnitMetaData.slk
�� Scripts\Blizzard.j
And it doesn't work at all for:
�� TerrainArt\CliffTypes.slk
�� Units\MiscData.txt
If you really need to change a file that has to be loaded outside or
before a map is loaded, I recommend you create a executable patch with
a embedded MPQ archive using MPQDraft, which you can download at the
above-mentioned link. This option is also used by the third party
editors such as UMSWE.
Example:
You
want to use more than the two default cliff types in a map. By editing
the w3e file or by using WE Unlimited or Zepir's Editor you can
technically add more cliff types to your map. The problem is that to
have them show up correctly in game it will require a modified
TerrainArt\CliffTypes.slk file. To make this work you will have to
create a new MPQ Archive and import the modified file with the path
TerrainArt\CliffTypes.slk. Also take care that a listfile entry is
added for this file. Then start MPQDraft and create a new executable
patch. Simply select the created archive as source and select Warcraft
III�as the target application to patch. That's it, the patch will be
created for you. Now if you start the created executable it will start
Warcraft and the modified file will be used instead of the original one.
Warning!
�� - In some cases, if you play with others, everybody will need to have the same
modified files or you'll get an error (like "netsync error").
�� - Some files have a "special" format and if you modify them, you could
"falsify" this format. In some cases it will work, in some others it won't. Be aware of that 'cause
War3 will try to find a "standard file" instead (the ones of the MPQs instead of yours and
you'll think it didn't try your stuff).
�� - Some files outside both War3.mpq and War3Patch.mpq will not be used by Warcraft
3. These are exceptions.
1.2.3) Map files (W3M/W3X Files)
To edit a map, you'll have to unpack the files of the "w3m" somewhere,
then modify them and finally put them back in a "w3m" file (usually a new one).
Since retail, W3M are a little bit different from simple MPQ files: they got a
header and a footer. I'll talk more about the W3M format in the "W3M Files Format" section and
the other files inside W3Ms in the following sections.
1.3) Warcraft 3 Data Format
Blizzard uses several ways to store data in its files. However they often use generic types.
-Integers
Intergers are stored using 4 bytes in "Little Endian" order. It means that the first byte read is the lowest byte.-Short Integers
They are just like the C++ "int" (signed) type. In some other documentation of this kind you may see them named "long".
Size: 4 bytes
Example: 1234 decimal = [00 00 04 D2]h will be stored in this order: [D2 04 00 00]h
Short Integers are stored using 2 bytes in "Little Endian" order.-Floats
They are close to the C++ signed short but their range is from -16384 to 16383. It means the 2 highest bit are free of use for a flag for example.
Size: 2 bytes
Floats are using the standard IEEE 32bit float format. They are stored using 4 bytes and the "Little Endian" order.-Chars and Array of Chars
They are just like the C++ "float" type.
Size: 4 bytes
Example: 7654.32 decimal, this number can't be stored using this format so the system will take the closest value that can be represented using binary digits. The closest one is: 7654.319824 decimal = [45 EF 32 8F]h and will be stored as [8F 32 EF 45]h
They are just stored like standard chars (1 char = 1 byte) and array of chars (no null terminating char needed).-Trigger Strings and Strings
Size (chars): 1 byte
Size (array of chars): usually 4 bytes
Strings are just arrays of chars terminated with a null char (C++ '\0'). However Blizzard sometimes use special control codes to change the displayed color for the string. These codes are like "|c00BBGGRR" where "BB", "GG" and "RR" are hexadecimal values (using 2 digits each) for the blue, the green and the red values. If a string starts with "TRIGSTR_" (case sensitive), it's considered as a trigger string. A trigger string is kept in memory as is ("TRIGSTR_***") and is only changed when Warcraft 3 needs to display it. Instead of just writing "TRIGSTR_000" on the user screen, War3 will look in its trigger string table created when the map was loaded and display the corresponding trigger string instead. Trigger strings only work for files inside a w3m (Jass, w3i, ...) except for the WTS which is used to define the trigger string table itself. If the number following "TRIGSTR_" is negative the trigger string will refer to a null (empty) string, if "TRIGSTR_" is followed by text, it'll be considered as trigger string #0 ( = "TRIGSTR_000").-Flags
"TRIGSTR_7", "TRIGSTR_07", "TRIGSTR_007" and "TRIGSTR_7abc" are all representing trigger string #7. "TRIGSTR_ab7", "TRIGSTR_abc" and "TRIGSTR_" refer to trigger string #0. "TRIGSTR_-7" is negative and will not refer to a trigger string; it'll be displayed as "". By convention, "TRIGSTR_" is followed by 3 digits and the null char that ends the string.
Example 1: your got the string "blah |c000080FFblah", War3 will display "blah blah" but the second "blah" will be orange (blue=00 + green=80 + red=FF ==> orange)
Example 2: you got "TRIGSTR_025" and trigger string 25 is defined (in the .wts file) as "blah|c000080FFblah", it'll display the same result as the previous example.
Size (string): vary. String length + 1 (null terminating char)
Size (trigger string): 12 bytes
For its strings Warcraft uses a unicode format called UTF-8. They do this because the files need to be localized into many different languages. This format uses one byte for the most common characters which is equal to the character's ASCII value. For example A = 65 or 0x41. For the more unusual characters it can take from 2 to 6 bytes per character. For example the German letter � would be represented by 195 and 164 or 0xC3A4. The higher the first byte is, the more bytes are required to represent the character. Simple modulo calculations are enough to convert UTF to common unicode (UCS) and back. To convert UTF to UCS use this pattern:
If FirstByte <= 191 return FirstByte
If 192 <= FirstByte <= 223 return (FirstByte - 192) * 64 + (SecondByte - 128)
If 224 <= FirstByte <= 239 return (FirstByte - 224) * 4096 + (SecondByte - 128) * 64 + (ThirdByte - 128)
If 240 <= FirstByte <= 247 return (FirstByte - 240) * 262144 + (SecondByte - 128) * 4096 + (ThirdByte - 128) * 64 + (FourthByte - 128)
If 248 <=�FirstByte <= 251 return (FirstByte - 248) * 16777216 + (SecondByte - 128) * 262144 + (ThridByte - 128) * 4096 + (FourthByte - 128) * 64 + (FifthByte - 128)
If 252 <= FirstByte return (FirstByte - 252) *<PHONE_NUMBER> + (SecondByte - 128) * 16777216 + (ThirdByte - 128) * 262144 + (FourthByte - 128) * 4096 + (FifthByte - 128) * 64 + (SixthByte - 128)To convert UCS back to UTF use this:
If ASCII <= 127 FirstByte = ASCII
If 128 <= ASCII <= 2047 FirstByte = 192 + (ASCII \ 64) SecondByte = 128 + (ASCII Mod 64)
If 2048 <= ASCII <= 65535 FirstByte = 224 + (ASCII \ 4096) SecondByte = 128 + ((ASCII \ 64) Mod 64) ThirdByte = 128 + (ASCII Mod 64)
If 65536 <= ASCII <= 2097151 FirstByte = 240 + (ASCII \ 262144) SecondByte = 128 + ((ASCII \ 4096) Mod 64) ThirdByte = 128 + ((ASCII \ 64) Mod 64) FourthByte = 128 + (ASCII Mod 64)
If 2097152 <= ASCII <= 67108863 FirstByte = 248 + (ASCII \ 16777216) SecondByte = 128 + ((ASCII \ 262144) Mod 64) ThirdByte = 128 + ((ASCII \ 4096) Mod 64) FourthByte = 128 + ((ASCII \ 64) Mod 64) FifthByte = 128 + (ASCII Mod 64)
If 67108864 <= ASCII <=<PHONE_NUMBER> FirstByte = 252 + (ASCII \<PHONE_NUMBER>) SecondByte = 128 + ((ASCII \ 16777216) Mod 64) ThirdByte = 128 + ((ASCII \ 262144) Mod 64) FourthByte = 128 + ((ASCII \ 4096) Mod 64) FifthByte = 128 + ((ASCII \ 64) Mod 64) SixthByte = 128 + (ASCII Mod 64))The conversion will only be needed if you want to display text in your application or write user input to files. For all other purposes you can internally treat the UTF-Strings just like ordinary strings.
Flags are boolean values (true or false, 1 or 0). They can be stored using 4 bytes. Each bit is a flag (4 bytes = 32 bit = 32 flags). Blizzard uses integers to store its flags.-Custom Types
Size: usually 4 bytes
Sometimes, an integer and one or several flags can share bytes. This is the case in the W3E file format: the water level and 2 flags are using the same group of 4 bytes. How? the 2 highest bit are used for the flags, the rest is reserved for the water level (the value range is just smaller). Sometimes a byte can contain two or more different data.-Structures:
Warcraft 3 also uses structured types of various size.�
2) W3M/W3X Files Format
A W3M or W3X file is a
Warcraft III Map file (AKA Warcraft III Scenario in the World Editor).
It's just a MPQ (using a "new" compression format) with a 512 bytes
header. Sometimes, for official W3M files, it uses a footer of 260
bytes for authentification purposes.
Here is the header format (fixed size = 512 bytes):
char[4]: file ID (should be "HM3W")
int: unknown
string: map name
int: map flags (these are exactly the same as the ones in the W3I file)
0x0001: 1=hide minimap in preview screens
0x0002: 1=modify ally priorities
0x0004: 1=melee map
0x0008: 1=playable map size was large and has never been reduced to medium
0x0010: 1=masked area are partially visible
0x0020: 1=fixed player setting for custom forces
0x0040: 1=use custom forces
0x0080: 1=use custom techtree
0x0100: 1=use custom abilities
0x0200: 1=use custom upgrades
0x0400: 1=map properties menu opened at least once since map creation
0x0800: 1=show water waves on cliff shores
0x1000: 1=show water waves on rolling shores
int: max number of players
followed by 00 bytes until the 512 bytes of the header are filled.
Here is the footer format (optional):
char[4]: footer sign ID (should be "NGIS" == 'sign' reversed)
byte[256]: 256 data bytes for authentification. I don't know how they are used
at the moment.
The MPQ part can contain the following files:
(listfile)
(signature)
(attributes)
war3map.w3e
war3map.w3i
war3map.wtg
war3map.wct
war3map.wts
war3map.j
war3map.shd
war3mapMap.blp
war3mapMap.b00
war3mapMap.tga
war3mapPreview.tga
war3map.mmp
war3mapPath.tga
war3map.wpm
war3map.doo
war3mapUnits.doo
war3map.w3r
war3map.w3c
war3map.w3s
war3map.w3u
war3map.w3t
war3map.w3a
war3map.w3b
war3map.w3d
war3map.w3q
war3mapMisc.txt
war3mapSkin.txt
war3mapExtra.txt
war3map.imp
war3mapImported\*.*
We'll see now what these files stand for.
3) "war3map.j" The JASS2
Script
This is the main map script file. It's a text file and you can open it with
notepad.
Sometimes it's renamed to Scripts\war3map.j by map protectors to keep you away from it.
The language used is called JASS2 and has been developed by Blizzard. It's a case sensitive language.
When you play a map, the jass script is loaded and executed.
When you select a map in when creating a game Warcraft III will first
look up the "config" function and execute its code to set up the player
slots.
Then, when the game has started, Warcraft III looks for the function called "main" and executes it.
The language uses several keywords as described here:
| Key word | Meaning |
| function | used to define a new fonction |
| takes | used to define the number of arguments for a fontction� |
| returns | sets the type of the value returned by a function |
| return | makes a function leaves and returns a value |
| endfunction | ends a function definition |
| call | used to call a function that returns nothing |
| globals | used to define the list of global variables |
| endglobals | ends the list of global variables definition |
| local | defines a local variable |
| set | assigns a value to a variable |
| if, elseif, else, then, endif | if (...) then ... elseif (...) then ... else ... endif Just an "if-then-else-endif" chain like in Basic. |
| loop, exitwhen, endloop | used to make loops in the script |
| constant | defines a constant |
| type | defines a new type/class |
| extends | says what the mother type is |
| native | defines a function header of an external built-in function implemented in Game.DLL |
| array | used to define array variables |
Only two "native types" exists: "nothing" and
"handle". All the other types are derived (keyword "extends")
from "handle". You can get the full list of types and native functions from the file called
"Scripts\Common.j" in your War3.mpq file. You can assign
several types of constant values to the handle type:� a generic null value
called "null", any interger, any float, any string or trigger
string, "true" and "false".
Here is the lis of operators recognized by the language:
| Operator | meaning |
| ( ) | parenthesis for priorities |
| + | addition (concatenation for strings) |
| - | substraction |
| * | multiplication |
| / | division |
| = | assignation |
| = =, <, <=, >, >=, != | comparison (equal, lighter, lighter or equal, greater, greater or equal, different) |
| not | invert a boolean value� |
| and | connects boolean values (both must be true to be true) |
| or | connects boolean values (one must be true to be true) |
| [] | parenthesis for arrays |
The language knows the following six primitive types:
| Type | meaning | example |
| boolean | can be true or false | local boolean B = true |
| integer | can hold whole numbers | local integer I =�0 |
| real | can hold floating point numbers | local real R =�0.25 |
| string | can hold strings, or null | local string S =�"hello world" |
| code | can hold pointers to functions, or null | local code C =�function main |
| handle | holds pointers to objects, or null | local handle H =�null |
These six types are the only native types, the others are declared in
"Scripts\Common.j" and are all derived objects from the handle type
such as units, items, destructables, timers, triggers and many more.
Handle is the only extendable type of the language. All native
functions usable in the map script are also defined in the file
"Scripts\Common.j", though you can also use functions from "Scripts\Blizzard.j",
which are used by the GUI triggers of the World Editor. The language is
also used for AI files in warcraft. In AI scripts you can use functions
from "Scripts\Common.j" and "Scripts\Common.ai".
Example of a function definition:
function myfunction takes nothing returns integerOne interesting fact is that all types have the same length of 4 bytes. This allows "type casting" by abusing hole in the syntax checker that only requires the last return statement of a function to conform the declared return type. Therefore we can use so called return bug exploiters such as the following to do amazing things:
�� local string str = "blah blah blah"
�� local integer i
�� // comments line
�� set i = 0
�� loop
����� set i = i + 1
����� if (i == 27) then
����� �� call DisplayTimedTextToPlayer(GetLocalPlayer(), 0, 0, 60, str)
����� endif
����� exitwhen i == 30
�� endloop
�� return i
endfunction�
function Int2Handle takes integer I returns handle
return I
return null
endfunction�
function Handle2Int takes handle H returns integer
� return H
� return 0
endfunction�
Whereas the 4 bytes of booleans, integers and reals hold the actual value of the variable, the other types are only pointers. Strings are pointers to an internal string array, where all strings are stored. Code, handles and all handle derived types are just pointers to functions and objects in memory. This means that we can store every variable in game cache by using the "StoreInteger" function. The game cache was originally inteded for handing over data from one map to another by saving it to a cache file. But nowadays the cache is mainly used as a hash function to write information directly into memory and read it out later. This also enables communication between the map script and ai files.
You can write integers in the following three different ways:
- ordinary: just like in any other language�(65)
- hex: in hexadecimal form with the 0x preset (0x3f)
- literal: as integer literal by putting the character with the equivalent ascii value in single quotes�('A')
Most
ids such as unit ids, item ids, destructable ids and some more are also
integer literals, for example 'Ahbz'. The characters within the single
quotes have the same limitations as characters in strings, except that
there is no escape character. The character "\" is the escape character
in strings which is used to place special characters:
-\n and \r: line break
-\": to use the " character in strings
-\\: to use the \ character in strings
Find more comprehensive documentation on JASS and a Syntax Checker at http://jass.sourceforge.net/doc/
4) "war3map.w3e" The
environment
This
is the tileset file. It contains all the data about the tilesets of the
map. Let's say the map is divided into squares called "tiles". Each
tile has 4 corners. In 3D, we define surfaces using points and in this
case tiles are defined by their corners.  So if you want a 256x256 map, you'll have 257x257
tilepoints. That's also why a tile texture is defined by each of its
four tilepoints. A tile can be half dirt, one quarter grass and one
quarter rock for example. The first tilepoint defined in the file
stands for the lower left corner of the map when looking from the top,
then it goes line by line (horizontal). Tilesets are the group of
textures used for the ground. Here is the file format:
Header:
char[4]: file ID = "W3E!"
int: w3e format version [0B 00 00 00]h = version 11
char: main tileset [TS]
| Tileset | Meaning |
| A | Ashenvale |
| B� | Barrens |
| C | Felwood |
| D | Dungeon |
| F� | Lordaeron Fall |
| G | Underground |
| L | Lordaeron Summer |
| N | Northrend |
| Q | Village Fall |
| V | Village |
| W | Lordaeron Winter |
| X | Dalaran |
| Y | Cityscape |
| Z | Sunken Ruins |
| I | Icecrown |
| J | Dalaran Ruins |
| O | Outland |
| K | Black Citadel |
int: custom tilesets flag (1 = using cutom, 0 = not using custom tilesets)
int: number a of ground tilesets used (Little Endian) (note: should not be
greater than 16 because of tilesets indexing in tilepoints definition)
char[4][a]: ground tilesets IDs (tilesets table)
�� Example: "Ldrt" stands for "Lordaeron Summer Dirt"
�� (refer to the files "TerrainArt\Terrain.slk" located in your
war3.mpq
for more details)
int: number b of cliff tilesets used (Little Endian) (note: should not be
greater than 16 because of tilesets indexing in tilepoints definition)
char[4][b]: cliff tilesets IDs (cliff tilesets table)
�� Example: "CLdi" stands for Lordaeron Cliff Dirt
�� (refer to the files "TerrainArt\CliffTypes.slk" located in your
war3.mpq for more details)
the cliff tile list is actually
ignored, the World Editor will simply add the cliff tiles for each tile
in the ground tile list, if a cliff version of this ground tile exists
int: width of the map + 1 = Mx
int: height of the map + 1 = My
�� Example: if your map is 160x128, Mx=A1h and My=81h
float: center offeset of the map X
float: center offeset of the map Y
�� These 2 offsets are used in the scripts files, doodads and more.
�� The orginal (0,0) coordinate is at the bottom left of the map (looking from the
top) and it's easier to work with (0,0) in the middle of the map so usually, these offsets are :
����� -1*(Mx-1)*128/2 and -1*(My-1)*128/2
�� where:
����� (Mx-1) and (My-1) are the width and the height of the map
����� 128 is supposed to be the size of tile on the map
����� /2 because we don't want the length but the middle.
����� -1* because we're "translating" the center of the map, not giving it's
new coordinates
Data:
Each tilepoint is defined by a block of 7 bytes.
The number of blocks is equal to Mx*My.
short: ground height
C000h: minimum height (-16384)
2000h: normal height (ground level 0)
3FFFh: maximum height (+16383)
short: water level + map edge boundary flag*(see notes)
4bit: flags*(see notes)
4bit: ground texture type (grass, dirt, rocks,...)
1byte: texture details (of the tile of which the tilepoint is the bottom left
corner) (rocks, holes, bones,...). It appears that only a part of this byte is
used for details. It needs more investigations
4bit: cliff texture type
4bit: layer height
*flags notes:
Flags values (shown as big endian):
�� 0x4000 --> boundary flag 1 (shadow generated by the world editor on the edge
of the map)
�� 0x0010 --> ramp flag (used to set a ramp between two layers)
�� 0x0020 --> blight flag (ground will look like Undead's ground)
�� 0x0040 --> water flag (enable water)
�� 0x0080 --> boundary flag 2 (used on "camera bounds" area. Usually
set by the World Editor "boundary" tool.)
Water level:
Water level is stored just like ground height. The highest bit (bit 15) is used
for the boundary flag 1.
Tilepoint data example:
51 21 00 62 56 84 13
51 21 --(little endian)--> 0x2151 --(hex-->dec)--> height = 8529
00 62 --(little endian)--> 0x6200
�� (extract boundary flag)--> (0x6200 & 0xC000) = 0x4000 boundary flag set
�� (extract water data)--> (0x6200 & 0x3FFF) = 0x2200
--(hex-->dec)--> water level = 8704
56 --> 5 sets both water flag and ramp flag, 6 means tilepoint is using
ground type #6 in the tilesets table
84 --> means tilepoint is using detail texture #132 (=0x084)
13 --> 1 means cliff type #1 (cliff tilesets table), 3 means tilepoint on
layer "3"
The tilepoint "final height" you see on the WE is given by:
(ground_height - 0x2000 + (layer - 2)*0x0200)/4
where "0x2000" is the "ground zero" level, 2 the "layer
zero" level and "0x0200" the layer height
�� = (0x2151 - 0x2000 + 1*0x0200)/4
�� = (8529 - 8192 + 512)/4
�� = 212,25
The tilepoint "water level" you see on the WE is given by:
(water_level - 0x2000)/4 - 89.6
where "0x2000" is the "ground zero" level, -89.6 is the
water zero level (given by the water.slk file height = -0,7 --> water_zero_level = -0,7*128):
�� = 8704/4 - 89,6
�� = 38,4
In this case, water flag is set and water level is below the ground level so we
will not see the water. This is just an example and I don't think you can find such a tilepoint
on a map. It was just here for demonstration purpose.
5) "war3map.shd" The Shadow
Map File
This file has no header, only raw data.
Size of the file = 16*map_width*map_height
1byte can have 2 values:
00h = no shadow
FFh = shadow
Each byte set the shadow status of 1/16 of a tileset.
It means that each tileset is divided in 16 parts (4*4).
6) "war3mapPath.tga" The
Image Path file and/or "war3map.wpm" The Path Map File
Only one of these two file is used for pathing. Old War3 beta versions
(<=1.21) use the "war3mapPath.tga".
Since beta 1.30, Warcraft 3 uses a new file format instead:
"war3map.wpm".
6.1) "war3mapPath.tga" The Image Path file
It's an standard 32bits RGB TGA file with no compression and a black alpha
channel. The TGA format is really important because if Warcraft III doesn't recognise the
file format, it'll
do weird things on the tilesets (like put blight everywhere)! Don't forget the
alpha channel! Each tile of the map is divided in 16 pixels (4*4 like in the shadow file), so
the TGA width is 4*map_width and its height is 4*map_height and each pixel on the TGA affects a
particular part of a tileset on the map. The color of a pixel sets the rules for that part.
The top left corner of the image is the upper left corner on the map.
Header format (18 bytes):
byte: ID Length = 0
byte: Color Map Type = 0
byte: Image Type = 2 (uncompressed RGB)
-- Color Map Specification (5 bytes) --
byte[2]: First Entry Index = 0
byte[2]: Color Map Length = 0
byte: Color Map Entry Size = 0
-- Image Spec (10 bytes) --
byte[2]: X origin = 0
byte[2]: Y origin = 0
byte[2]: image width (little endian)
byte[2]: image height (little endian)
byte: Pixel depth = 32 (=0x20)
byte: Image Descriptor = 0x28 (0x20=image starts from top left, 0x08=8bit for
alpha chanel)
Example (where "XX XX" is a width and "YY YY" a height):
00 00 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 XX XX YY YY 20 28
Data:
One pixel is defined by 4 bytes:
BB GG RR AA
Where:
BB is the blue value (0 or 255)
GG is the green value (0 or 255)
RR is the red value (0 or 255)
AA is the alpha chanel value (set to 0)
There are 4*4 pixels for 1 tileset.
The TGA width is map_width*4.
The TGA height is map_height*4.
Here is the color code:
| Color | Build state | Walk state | Fly state |
| White� | no build | no walk | no fly |
| Red� | build ok | no walk | fly ok |
| Yellow | build ok | no walk | no fly |
| Green� | build ok | walk ok | no fly |
| Cyan� | no build | walk ok | no fly |
| Blue� | no build | walk ok | fly ok |
| Magenta� | no build | no walk | fly ok |
| Black� | build ok | fly ok | walk ok |
To sum up, when red is set it means "no walk", when
green is set
"no fly" and when blue is set "no
build".
The alpha channel is used to set where blight is (black = normal, white =
blight).
6.2) "war3map.wpm" The Path Map File
Header:
char[4]: file ID = 'MP3W'
int: file version = 0
int: path map width (=map_width*4)
int: path map height (=map_height*4)
Data:
Each byte of the data part is a part of a tileset exactly like for the TGA.
Data size: (map_height*4)*(map_with*4) bytes
Flags table:
0x01: 0 (unused)
0x02: 1=no walk, 0=walk ok
0x04: 1=no fly, 0=fly ok
0x08: 1=no build, 0=build ok
0x10: 0 (unused)
0x20: 1=blight, 0=normal
0x40: 1=no water, 0=water
0x80: 1=unknown, 0=normal
Exmaple:
value: use:
00 bridge doodad
08 shallow water
0A deep water
40 normal ground
48 water ramp, unbuildable grounds, unbuildable parts of doodads
CA cliff edges, solid parts of doodads (no build and no walk)
CE edges of the map (boundaries)
7) "war3map.doo" The doodad
file for trees
The file contains the trees definitions and positions.
Here is the Format:
Header:
char[4]: file ID = "W3do"
int: file version = 7
int: subversion? (usually set to [09 00 00 00]h, rarely [07 00 00 00]h)
int: number of trees defined
Data:
Each tree is defined by a block of 42 bytes organized like this:
char[4]: Tree ID (can be found in the file
"Units\DestructableData.slk")
int: Variation (little endian)
float: Tree X coordinate on the map
float: Tree Y coordinate on the map
float: Tree Z coordinate on the map
float: Tree angle (radian angle value)(degree = radian*180/pi)
float: Tree X scale
float: Tree Y scale
float: Tree Z scale
byte: Tree flags*
byte: Tree life (integer stored in %, 100% is 0x64, 170% is 0xAA for example)
int: Tree ID number in the World Editor (little endian) (each tree has a
different one)
*flags:
0= invisible and non-solid tree
1= visible but non-solid tree
2= normal tree (visible and solid)
To sum up how it looks:
tt tt tt tt vv vv vv vv xx xx xx xx yy yy yy yy zz zz zz zz aa aa aa aa xs xs xs
xs ys ys ys ys zs
zs zs zs ff ll dd dd dd dd
where:
tt: type
vv: variation
xx: x coordinate
yy: y coordinate
zz: z coordinates
aa: rotation angle
xs: x scale
ys: y scale
zs: z scale
ff: flags
ll: life
dd: doodad number in the editor
Example (this is the second tree of Legend):
4C 54 6C 74 08 00 00 00 00 00 74 45 00 00 70 44 00 10 24 44 E5 CB 96 40 98 85 98
3F 98 85 98 3F 98 85 98 3F 02 64 8D 01 00 00
4C 54 6C 74 --> LTlt (tree type)
08 00 00 00 --> 00000008 = variation #8 (changes the shape of the tree)
00 00 74 45 --> X=3904.
00 00 70 44 --> Y=960.
00 10 24 44 --> Z=656.25
E5 CB 96 40 --> Angle (float value=4.7123895, angle=270�)
98 85 98 3F --> X_Scale=1.191577
98 85 98 3F --> Y_Scale=1.191577
98 85 98 3F --> Z_Scale=1.191577
02 --> tree is solid and selectable
64 --> life=100% of default tree life
8D 01 00 00 --> 0000018D=397, tree number 397
After the last tree definition, there we have the special doodads (which can't be edited once they are placed)
int: special doodad format version set to '0'
int: number "s" of "special" doodads ("special" like cliffs,...)
Then "s" times a special doodad structure (16 bytes each):
char[4]: doodad ID
int: Z? (0)
int: X? (w3e coordinates)
int: Y? (w3e coordinates)
�
NEW "Frozen Throne expansion pack beta" format:
Header:
char[4]: file ID = "W3do"
int: file version = 8
int: subversion? ([0B 00 00 00]h)
int: number of trees defined
Data
Each tree is defined by a block of (usually) 50 bytes but in this version the length can vary because of the random item sets. The data is organized like this:
char[4]: Tree ID (can be found in the file "Units\DestructableData.slk")
int: Variation (little endian)
float: Tree X coordinate on the map
float: Tree Y coordinate on the map
float: Tree Z coordinate on the map
float: Tree angle (radian angle value)(degree = radian*180/pi)
float: Tree X scale
float: Tree Y scale
float: Tree Z scale
byte: Tree flags*
byte: Tree life (integer stored in %, 100% is 0x64, 170% is 0xAA for example)
int: Random item table pointer
if -1 -> no item table
if >= 0 -> items from the item table with this number (defined in the w3i) are dropped on death
int: number "n" of item sets dropped on death (this can only be greater than 0 if the item table pointer was -1)
then there is n times a item set structure
int: Tree ID number in the World Editor (little endian) (each tree has a
different one)
*flags:
0= invisible and non-solid tree
1= visible but non-solid tree
2= normal tree (visible and solid)
To sum up how it looks:
tt tt tt tt vv vv vv vv xx xx xx xx yy yy yy yy zz zz zz zz aa aa aa aa xs xs xs
xs ys ys ys ys zs
zs zs zs ff ll bb bb bb bb cc cc cc cc dd dd dd dd
where:
tt: type
vv: variation
xx: x coordinate
yy: y coordinate
zz: z coordinates
aa: rotation angle
xs: x scale
ys: y scale
zs: z scale
ff: flags
ll: life
bb: unknown
cc: unknown
dd: doodad number in the editor
After the last tree definition, there we have the special doodads (which can't be edited once they are placed)
int: special doodad format version set to '0'
int: number "s" of "special" doodads ("special" like cliffs,...)
Then "s" times a special doodad structure (16 bytes each):
char[4]: doodad ID
int: Z? (0)
int: X? (w3e coordinates)
int: Y? (w3e coordinates)
Item set format (thx PitzerMike)
int: number "n" of items in the item set
then we have n times then following two values (for each item set)
char[4]: item id (as in ItemData.slk)
this can also be a random item id (see bottom of war3mapUnits.doo definition)
int: percentual chance of choice
�
8) "war3mapUnits.doo" The unit and item file
The file contains the definitions and positions of all placed units and items of the map.
Here is the Format:
Header:
char[4]: file ID = "W3do"
int: file version = 7
int: subversion? (often set to [09 00 00 00]h)
int: number of units and items defined
Data:
Each unit/item is defined by a block of bytes (variable length) organized like this:
char[4]: type ID (iDNR = random item, uDNR = random unit) (thx PitzerMike)
int: variation
float: coordinate X
float: coordinate Y
float: coordinate Z
float: rotation angle
float: scale X
float: scale Y
float: scale Z
byte: flags*
int: player number (owner) (player1 = 0, 16=neutral passive)
byte: unknown (0)
byte: unknown (0)
int: hit points (-1 = use default)
int: mana points (-1 = use default, 0 = unit doesn't have mana)
int: number "s" of dropped item sets
then we have s times a dropped item sets structures (see below)
int: gold amount (default = 12500)
float: target acquisition (-1 = normal, -2 = camp)
int: hero level (set to1 for non hero units and items)
int: number "n" of items in the inventory
then there is n times a inventory item structure (see below)
int: number "n" of modified abilities for this unit
then there is n times a ability modification structure (see below)
int: random unit/item flag "r" (for uDNR units and iDNR items)
0 = Any neutral passive building/item, in this case we have
byte[3]: level of the random unit/item,-1 = any (this is actually interpreted as a 24-bit number)
byte: item class of the random item, 0 = any, 1 = permanent ... (this is 0 for units)
r is also 0 for non random units/items so we have these 4 bytes anyway (even if the id wasn't uDNR or iDNR)
1 = random unit from random group (defined in the w3i), in this case we have
int: unit group number (which group from the global table)
int: position number (which column of this group)
the column should of course have the item flag set (in the w3i) if this is a random item
2 = random unit from custom table, in this case we have
int: number "n" of different available units
then we have n times a random unit structure
int: custom color (-1 = none, 0 = red, 1=blue,...)
int: Waygate: active destination number (-1 = deactivated, else it's the creation number of the target rect as in war3map.w3r)
int: creation number
*flags: may be similar to the war3map.doo flags
Dropped item set format
int: number "d" of dropable items
"d" times dropable items structures:
char[4]: item ID ([00 00 00 00]h = none)
this can also be a random item id (see below)
int: % chance to be dropped
Inventory item format (thx PitzerMike)
int: inventory slot (this is the actual slot - 1, so 1 => 0)
char[4]: item id (as in ItemData.slk) 0x00000000 = none
this can also be a random item id (see below)
Ability modification format (thx PitzerMike)
char[4]: ability id (as in AbilityData.slk)
int: active for autocast abilities, 0 = no, 1 = active
int: level for hero abilities
Random unit format (thx PitzerMike)
char[4]: unit id (as in UnitUI.slk)
this can also be a random unit id (see below)
int: percentual chance of choice
Random item ids (thx PitzerMike)
random item ids are of the type char[4] where the 1st letter is "Y" and the 3rd letter is "I"
the 2nd letter narrows it down to items of a certain item types
"Y" = any type
"i" to "o" = item of this type, the letters are in order of the item types in the dropdown box ("i" = charged)
the 4th letter narrows it down to items of a certain level
"/" = any level (ASCII 47)
"0" ... = specific level (this is ASCII 48 + level, so level 10 will be ":" and level 15 will be "?" and so on)
Random unit ids (thx PitzerMike)
random unit ids are of the type char[4] where the 1st three letters are "YYU"
the 4th letter narrows it down to units of a certain level
"/" = any level (ASCII 47)
"0" ... = specific level (this is ASCII 48 + level, so level 10 will be ":" and level 15 will be "?" and so on)
NEW "Frozen Throne expansion pack beta" format (thx PitzerMike):
Header:
char[4]: file ID = "W3do"
int: file version = 8
int: subversion? (often set to [0B 00 00 00]h)
int: number of units and items defined
Data:
Each unit/item is defined by a block of bytes (variable length) organized like this:
char[4]: type ID (iDNR = random item, uDNR = random unit) (thx PitzerMike)
int: variation
float: coordinate X
float: coordinate Y
float: coordinate Z
float: rotation angle
float: scale X
float: scale Y
float: scale Z
byte: flags*
int: player number (owner) (player1 = 0, 16=neutral passive)
byte: unknown (0)
byte: unknown (0)
int: hit points (-1 = use default)
int: mana points (-1 = use default, 0 = unit doesn't have mana)
int: map item table pointer (for dropped items on death)
if -1 => no item table used
if >= 0 => the item table with this number will be dropped on death
int: number "s" of dropped item sets (can only be greater 0 if the item table pointer was -1)
then we have s times a dropped item sets structures (see below)
int: gold amount (default = 12500)
float: target acquisition (-1 = normal, -2 = camp)
int: hero level (set to1 for non hero units and items)
int: strength of the hero (0 = use default)
int: agility of the hero (0 = use default)
int: intelligence of the hero (0 = use default)
int: number "n" of items in the inventory
then there is n times a inventory item structure (see below)
int: number "n" of modified abilities for this unit
then there is n times a ability modification structure (see below)
int: random unit/item flag "r" (for uDNR units and iDNR items)
0 = Any neutral passive building/item, in this case we have
byte[3]: level of the random unit/item,-1 = any (this is actually interpreted as a 24-bit number)
byte: item class of the random item, 0 = any, 1 = permanent ... (this is 0 for units)
r is also 0 for non random units/items so we have these 4 bytes anyway (even if the id wasn't uDNR or iDNR)
1 = random unit from random group (defined in the w3i), in this case we have
int: unit group number (which group from the global table)
int: position number (which column of this group)
the column should of course have the item flag set (in the w3i) if this is a random item
2 = random unit from custom table, in this case we have
int: number "n" of different available units
then we have n times a random unit structure
int: custom color (-1 = none, 0 = red, 1=blue,...)
int: Waygate: active destination number (-1 = deactivated, else it's the creation number of the target rect as in war3map.w3r)
int: creation number
*flags: may be similar to the war3map.doo flags
Dropped item set format
int: number "d" of dropable items
"d" times dropable items structures:
char[4]: item ID ([00 00 00 00]h = none)
this can also be a random item id (see below)
int: % chance to be dropped
Inventory item format (thx PitzerMike)
int: inventory slot (this is the actual slot - 1, so 1 => 0)
char[4]: item id (as in ItemData.slk) 0x00000000 = none
this can also be a random item id (see below)
Ability modification format (thx PitzerMike)
char[4]: ability id (as in AbilityData.slk)
int: active for autocast abilities, 0 = no, 1 = active
int: level for hero abilities
Random unit format (thx PitzerMike)
char[4]: unit id (as in UnitUI.slk)
this can also be a random unit id (see below)
int: percentual chance of choice
Random item ids (thx PitzerMike)
random item ids are of the type char[4] where the 1st letter is "Y" and the 3rd letter is "I"
the 2nd letter narrows it down to items of a certain item types
"Y" = any type
"i" to "o" = item of this type, the letters are in order of the item types in the dropdown box ("i" = charged)
the 4th letter narrows it down to items of a certain level
"/" = any level (ASCII 47)
"0" ... = specific level (this is ASCII 48 + level, so level 10 will be ":" and level 15 will be "?" and so on)
Random unit ids (thx PitzerMike)
random unit ids are of the type char[4] where the 1st three letters are "YYU"
the 4th letter narrows it down to units of a certain level
"/" = any level (ASCII 47)
"0" ... = specific level (this is ASCII 48 + level, so level 10 will be ":" and level 15 will be "?" and so on)
9) "war3map.w3i" The info
file
It contains some of the info displayed when you start a game.
Format:
int: file format version = 18
int: number of saves (map version)
int: editor version (little endian)
String: map name
String: map author
String: map description
String: players recommended
float[8]: "Camera Bounds" as defined in the JASS file
int[4]: camera bounds complements* (see note 1) (ints A, B, C and D)
int: map playable area width E* (see note 1)
int: map playable area height F* (see note 1)
�� *note 1:
�� map width = A + E + B
�� map height = C + F + D
int: flags
�� 0x0001: 1=hide minimap in preview screens
�� 0x0002: 1=modify ally priorities
�� 0x0004: 1=melee map
�� 0x0008: 1=playable map size was large and has never been reduced to medium (?)
�� 0x0010: 1=masked area are partially visible
�� 0x0020: 1=fixed player setting for custom forces
�� 0x0040: 1=use custom forces
�� 0x0080: 1=use custom techtree
�� 0x0100: 1=use custom abilities
�� 0x0200: 1=use custom upgrades
�� 0x0400: 1=map properties menu opened at least once since map creation (?)
�� 0x0800: 1=show water waves on cliff shores
�� 0x1000: 1=show water waves on rolling shores
char: map main ground type
Example: 'A'= Ashenvale, 'X' = City Dalaran
int: Campaign background number (-1 = none)
String: Map loading screen text
String: Map loading screen title
String: Map loading screen subtitle
int: Map loading screen number (-1 = none)
String: Prologue screen text
String: Prologue screen title
String: Prologue screen subtitle
int: max number "MAXPL" of players
array of structures: then, there is MAXPL times a player data like described below.
int: max number "MAXFC" of forces
array of structures: then, there is MAXFC times a force data like described below.
int: number "UCOUNT" of upgrade availability changes
array of structures: then, there is UCOUNT times a upgrade availability change like described below.
int: number "TCOUNT" of tech availability changes (units, items, abilities)
array of structures: then, there is TCOUNT times a tech availability change like described below
int: number "UTCOUNT" of random unit tables
array of structures: then, there is UTCOUNT times a unit table like described below
Players data format:
int: internal player number
int: player type
�� 1=Human, 2=Computer, 3=Neutral, 4=Rescuable
int: player race
�� 1=Human, 2=Orc, 3=Undead, 4=Night Elf
int: 00000001 = fixed start position
String: Player name
float: Starting coordinate X
float: Starting coordinate Y
int: ally low priorities flags (bit "x"=1 --> set for player
"x")
int: ally high priorities flags (bit "x"=1 --> set for player
"x")
Forces data format: (thx Soar)
int: Foces Flags
0x00000001: allied (force 1)
0x00000002: allied victory
0x00000004: share vision
0x00000010: share unit control
0x00000020: share advanced unit control
int: player masks (bit "x"=1 --> player "x" is in this force)
String: Force name
Upgrade availability change format (thx PitzerMike)
int: Player Flags (bit "x"=1 if this change applies for player "x")
char[4]: upgrade id (as in UpgradeData.slk)
int: Level of the upgrade for which the availability is changed (this is actually the level - 1, so 1 => 0)
int Availability (0 = unavailable, 1 = available, 2 = researched)
Tech availability change format (thx PitzerMike)
int: Player Flags (bit "x"=1 if this change applies for player "x")
char[4]: tech id (this can be an item, unit or ability)
there's no need for an availability value, if a tech-id is in this list, it means that it's not available
Random unit table format (thx PitzerMike)
int: Number "n" of random groups
then follows n times the following data (for each group)
int: Group number
string: Group name
int: Number "m" of positions
positions are the table columns where you can enter the unit/item ids, all units in the same line have the same chance, but belong to different "sets" of the random group, called positions here
int[m]: for each positon is specified if it's a unit table (=0), a building table (=1) or an item table (=2)
int: Number "i" of units/items, this is the number of lines in the table, each position can have that many or fewer entries
now there's "i" times the following structure (for each line)
int: Chance of the unit/item (percentage)
char[m * 4]: for each position are the unit/item id's for this line specified
this can also be random unit/item ids (see bottom of war3mapUnits.doo definition)
a unit/item id of 0x00000000 indicates that no unit/item is created
NEW Frozen Throne expansion pack format:
int: file format version = 25
int: number of saves (map version)
int: editor version (little endian)
String: map name
String: map author
String: map description
String: players recommended
float[8]: "Camera Bounds" as defined in the JASS file
int[4]: camera bounds complements* (see note 1) (ints A, B, C and D)
int: map playable area width E* (see note 1)
int: map playable area height F* (see note 1)
�� *note 1:
�� map width = A + E + B
�� map height = C + F + D
int: flags
�� 0x0001: 1=hide minimap in preview screens
�� 0x0002: 1=modify ally priorities
�� 0x0004: 1=melee map
�� 0x0008: 1=playable map size was large and has never been reduced to medium (?)
�� 0x0010: 1=masked area are partially visible
�� 0x0020: 1=fixed player setting for custom forces
�� 0x0040: 1=use custom forces
�� 0x0080: 1=use custom techtree
�� 0x0100: 1=use custom abilities
�� 0x0200: 1=use custom upgrades
�� 0x0400: 1=map properties menu opened at least once since map creation (?)
�� 0x0800: 1=show water waves on cliff shores
�� 0x1000: 1=show water waves on rolling shores
�� 0x2000: 1=unknown
�� 0x4000: 1=unknown
�� 0x8000: 1=unknown
char: map main ground type
�� Example: 'A'= Ashenvale, 'X' = City Dalaran
int: Loading screen background number which is its index in the preset list (-1 = none or custom imported file)
String: path of custom loading screen model (empty string if none or preset)
String: Map loading screen text
String: Map loading screen title
String: Map loading screen subtitle
int: used game data set (index in the preset list, 0 = standard)
String: Prologue screen path (usually empty)
String: Prologue screen text (usually empty)
String: Prologue screen title (usually empty)
String: Prologue screen subtitle (usually empty)
int: uses terrain fog (0 = not used, greater 0 = index of terrain fog style dropdown box)
float: fog start z height
float: fog end z height
float: fog density
byte: fog red value
byte: fog green value
byte: fog blue value
byte: fog alpha value
int: global weather id (0 = none, else it's set to the 4-letter-id of the desired weather found in TerrainArt\Weather.slk)
String: custom sound environment (set to the desired sound lable)
char: tileset id of the used custom light environment
byte: custom water tinting red value
byte: custom water tinting green value
byte: custom water tinting blue value
byte: custom water tinting alpha value
int: max number "MAXPL" of players
array of structures: then, there is MAXPL times a player data like described below.
int: max number "MAXFC" of forces
array of structures: then, there is MAXFC times a force data like described below.
int: number "UCOUNT" of upgrade availability changes
array of structures: then, there is UCOUNT times a upgrade availability change like described below.
int: number "TCOUNT" of tech availability changes (units, items, abilities)
array of structures: then, there is TCOUNT times a tech availability change like described below
int: number "UTCOUNT" of random unit tables
array of structures: then, there is UTCOUNT times a unit table like described below
int: number "ITCOUNT" of random item tables
array of structures: then, there is ITCOUNT times a item table like described below
Players data format:
int: internal player number
int: player type
�� 1=Human, 2=Computer, 3=Neutral, 4=Rescuable
int: player race
�� 1=Human, 2=Orc, 3=Undead, 4=Night Elf
int: 00000001 = fixed start position
String: Player name
float: Starting coordinate X
float: Starting coordinate Y
int: ally low priorities flags (bit "x"=1 --> set for player
"x")
int: ally high priorities flags (bit "x"=1 --> set for player
"x")
Forces data format: (thx Soar)
int: Foces Flags
0x00000001: allied (force 1)
0x00000002: allied victory
0x00000004: share vision
0x00000010: share unit control
0x00000020: share advanced unit control
int: player masks (bit "x"=1 --> player "x" is in this force)
String: Force name
Upgrade availability change format (thx PitzerMike)
int: Player Flags (bit "x"=1 if this change applies for player "x")
char[4]: upgrade id (as in UpgradeData.slk)
int: Level of the upgrade for which the availability is changed (this is actually the level - 1, so 1 => 0)
int Availability (0 = unavailable, 1 = available, 2 = researched)
Tech availability change format (thx PitzerMike)
int: Player Flags (bit "x"=1 if this change applies for player "x")
char[4]: tech id (this can be an item, unit or ability)
there's no need for an availability value, if a tech-id is in this list, it means that it's not available
Random unit table format (thx PitzerMike)
int: Number "n" of random groups
then we have n times the following data (for each group)
int: Group number
string: Group name
int: Number "m" of positions
positions are the table columns where you can enter the unit/item ids, all units in the same line have the same chance, but belong to different "sets" of the random group, called positions here
int[m]: for each positon is specified if it's a unit table (=0), a building table (=1) or an item table (=2)
int: Number "i" of units/items, this is the number of lines in the table, each position can have that many or fewer entries
now there's "i" times the following structure (for each line)
int: Chance of the unit/item (percentage)
char[m * 4]: for each position are the unit/item id's for this line specified
this can also be a random unit/item ids (see bottom of war3mapUnits.doo definition)
a unit/item id of 0x00000000 indicates that no unit/item is created
Random item table format (thx PitzerMike)
int: Number "n" of random item tables
then we have n times the following data (for each item table)
int: Table number
string: Table name
int: Number "m" of item sets on the current item table
then we have m times the following data (for each item set)
int: Number "i" of items on the current item set
then we have i times the following two values (for each item)
int: Percentual chance
char[4]: Item id (as in ItemData.slk)
this can also be a random item id (see bottom of war3mapUnits.doo definition)
�
10) "war3map.wts" The trigger
string data file
Open it with notepad and you'll figure out how it works. Each trigger
string is defined by a number (trigger ID) and a value for this
number. When Warcraft meets a "TRIGSTR_***" (where "***" is supposed
to be a number), it will look in the trigger string table to find the
corresponding string and replace the trigger string by that
value. The value for a specific trigger ID is set only once by the
first definition
encountered for this ID: if you have two times the trigger string 0
defined, only the first one will count.
The number following "STRING " must be positive: any negative number
will be ignored. If text follows "STRING ", it'll be considered as
number 0.
String definition:
It always start with "STRING " followed by the trigger string ID number
which is supposed to be different for each trigger string. Then "{" indicates the begining of the string value
followed by a string which can contain several lines and "}" that indicates the end of the trigger string definition.
Example:
in the .WTS file you have:
STRING 0
{
Blah blah blah...
}
Then either in the .J, in the .W3I or in one of the object editor
files, Warcraft finds a TRIGSTR_000, it'll look in the table for
trigger string number 0 and it'll find that the value to use is "Blah blah blah" instead of "TRIGSTR_000".
If there are more than 999 strings another the reference simply becomes one character longer.
11) "war3mapMap.blp" the
minimap image (with the help of BlacKDicK)
The BLP file contain the JPEG header and the JPEG raw data separated.
BLP stands for "Blip" file which I guess is a "BLIzzard
Picture".
There are two types of BLPs:
- JPG-BLPs:�use JPG compression
- Paletted BLPs: use palettes and 1 or 2 bytes per pixel depending
The general format of JPG-BLPs:
Header:
char[4]: file ID ("BLP1")
int: 0 for JPG-BLP, 1 for Paletted
int: 0x00000008 = has alpha, 0x00000000 = no alpha
int: image width
int: image height
int: flag for alpha channel and team colors (usually 3, 4 or 5), 3 and 4 means color and alpha information for paletted files,
5 means only color information, if >=5 on 'unit' textures, it won't show the team color.
int: always 0x00000001, if 0x00000000 the model that uses this texture will be
messy.
int[16]: mipmap offset (offset from the begining of the file)
int[16]: mipmap size (size of mipmaps)
If it's a JPG-BLP we go on with:
int: jpg header size (header size) "h" (usually 0x00000270)
byte[h]: header
followed by 0 bytes until the begining of the jpeg data, we can safely
erase these 0 bytes if we fix the mipmap offset specified above
byte[16, mipmap size]: starting from each of the 16 mipmap offset addresses we read 'mipmap size' bytes raw jpeg data till the end of the file, having the header and the mipmap data we can process the picture like ordinary JPG files
If it's a paletted BLP we go here:
byte[4, 255]: the BGRA palette defining 256 colors by their BGRA values, each 1 byte
byte[width x height]: the ColorIndex of each pixel from top left to bottom right, ColorIndex refers to the above defined color palette
byte[width x height]: the AlphaIndex of each pixel on a standard greyscale palette for the alpha channel, where 0 is fully transparent and 255 is opaque,
if the picturetype flag is set to 5, the image doesn't have an alpha channel, so this section will be omitted
More detailed blp specs by Magos: http://magos.thejefffiles.com/War3ModelEditor/
12) "war3map.mmp" The menu
minimap
Header:
int: unknown (usually 0, maybe the file format)
int: number of datasets
Data:
The size of a dataset is 16 bytes.
int: icon type
�� Icons Types:
����� 00: gold mine
����� 01: house
����� 02: player start (cross)
int: X coordinate of the icon on the map
int: Y coordinate of the icon on the map
�� Map Coordinates:
����� top left: 10h, 10h
����� center: 80h, 80h
����� bottom right: F0h, F0h
byte[4]: player icon color
�� Player Colors (BB GG RR AA = blue, green, red, alpha channel):
����� 03 03 FF FF : red
����� FF 42 00 FF : blue
����� B9 E6 1C FF : cyan
����� 81 00 54 FF : purple
����� 00 FC FF FF : yellow
����� 0E 8A FE FF : orange
����� 00 C0 20 FF : green
����� B0 5B E5 FF : pink
����� 97 96 95 FF : light gray
����� F1 BF 7E FF : light blue
����� 46 62 10 FF : aqua
����� 04 2A 49 FF : brow
����� FF FF FF FF : none
13) "war3map.w3u" The custom
units file
Most of the W3U File specifications is from BlacKDicK.
W3U files have a initial long and then comes two tables. Both look the same.
First table is original units table (Original Blizzard Units).
Second table is user-created units table (Units created by the map designer).
Header:
int: W3U Version = 1
x bytes: Original Units table*
y bytes: User-created units table*
Data:
*Table definition:
int: number n of units on this table.
If 0 on original table, then skip default unit table. This is the number of
following units. Even if we don't have any changes on original table, this value must be there.
n times a unit definition structure*.
*Unit definition structure:
char[4]: original unit ID (get the IDs from "Units\UnitData.slk" of
war3.mpq)
char[4]: new unit ID. If it is on original table, this is 0, since it isn't
used.
int: number m of modifications for this unit
m times a modification structure*
*Modification structure:
char[4] modification ID code (get the IDs from
"Units\UnitMetaData.slk" of war3.mpq)
int: variable type* t (0=int, 1=real, 2=unreal, 3=String,...)
t type: value (length depends on the type t specified
before)
int: end of unit definition (usually 0)
*Variable types:
0=int
1=real
2=unreal
3=string
4=bool
5=char
6=unitList
7=itemList
8=regenType
9=attackType
10=weaponType
11=targetType
12=moveType
13=defenseType
14=pathingTexture
15=upgradeList
16=stringList
17=abilityList
18=heroAbilityList
19=missileArt
20=attributeType
21=attackBits
NEW Frozen Throne expansion pack
format of "war3map.w3u / w3t / w3b / w3d / w3a / w3h / w3q" The object
data files (thanks PitzerMike):
These are the files that store the changes you make in the object editor.
They all have one format in common. They have an initial int and then there are 2 tables
Both look the same. The first table is the original table (Standard Objects by Blizzard).
The second table contains the user created objects (Custom units / items / abilities …)
Header:
int: File Version = (usually 1)
x bytes: Original objects table*
y bytes: Custom objects table*
Data:
*Table definition:
int: number n of objects on this table, if 0 on the original table,
then skip the default object table. This is the number of following
units. Even if we don't have any changes on original table, this value
must be there.
n times a object definition structure*.
*Object definition structure:
char[4]: original object ID (see table at the bottom where you can get the object IDs*)
char[4]: new object ID. (if it is on original table, this is 0, since it isn't used)
int: number m of modifications for this object
m times a modification structure*
*Modification structure:
char[4] modification ID (see the table at the bottom where you can get the mod IDs*)
int: variable type* t
[int: level/variation (this integer is only used by some object files depending on the object type, for example the units file doesn’t use this additional integer, but the ability file does, see the table at the bottom to see which object files use this int*) in the ability and upgrade file this is the level of the ability/upgrade, in the doodads file this is the variation, set to 0 if the object doesn't have more than one level/variation]
[int: data pointer (again this int is only used by those object files that also use the level/variation int, see table*) in reality this is only used in the ability file for values that are originally stored in one of the Data columns in AbilityData.slk, this int tells the game to which of those columns the value resolves (0 = A, 1 = B, 2 = C, 3 = D, 4 = F, 5 = G, 6 = H), for example if the change applies to the column DataA3 the level int will be set to 3 and the data pointer to 0]
int, float or string: value of the modification depending on the variable type specified by t
int: end of modification structure (this is either 0, or equal to the
original object ID or equal to the new object ID of the current object,
when reading files you can use this to check if the format is correct,
when writing a file you should use the new object ID of the current
object here)
*Variable types:
| Value | Variable Type | Value Format |
| 0 | Integer | int |
| 1 | Real | float (single precision) |
| 2 | Unreal (0 <= val <= 1) | float (single Precision) |
| 3 | String | string (null terminated) |
*Object data files:
This table shows where to get the object IDs and the modification IDs and if the files use the 2 additional level and data pointer integers.
| Extension | Object Type | Object IDs | Mod IDs | Uses Optional Ints |
| w3u | Units | Units\UnitData.slk | Units\UnitMetaData.slk | No |
| w3t | Items | Units\ItemData.slk | Units\UnitMetaData.slk (those where useItem = 1) |
No |
| w3b | Destructables | Units\DestructableData.slk | Units\DestructableMetaData.slk | No |
| w3d | Doodads | Doodads\Doodads.slk | Doodads\DoodadMetaData.slk | Yes |
| w3a | Abilities | Units\AbilityData.slk | Units\AbilityMetaData.slk | Yes |
| w3h | Buffs | Units\AbilityBuffData.slk | Units\AbilityBuffMetaData.slk | No |
| w3q | Upgrades | Units\UpgradeData.slk | Units\UpgradeMetaData.slk | Yes |
Note: These files can also be found in campaign archives with the exactly same format but named war3campaign.w3u / w3t / w3b / w3d / w3a / w3h / w3q
NEW Frozen Throne expansion pack format of "*w3o" object editor files (thanks PitzerMike):
The w3o is a collection of all above mentioned object editor files compiled in one single file. You get such a file if you export all object data in the object editor. It can be selected in the world editor as external data source in the map properties dialog, therefore it has to be in the same folder as the map that should use the file.
Format:
int: file version (currently 1)
int: contains unit data file (1 = yes, 0 = no)
if yes, then here follows a complete w3u file (see w3u specifications above)
int: contains item data file (1 = yes, 0 = no)
if yes, then here follows a complete w3t file (see w3t specifications above)
int: contains destructable data file (1 = yes, 0 = no)
if yes, then here follows a complete w3b file (see w3b specifications above)
int: contains doodad data file (1 = yes, 0 = no)
if yes, then here follows a complete w3d file (see w3d specifications above)
int: contains ability data file (1 = yes, 0 = no)
if yes, then here follows a complete w3a file (see w3a specifications above)
int: contains buff data file (1 = yes, 0 = no)
if yes, then here follows a complete w3h file (see w3h specifications above)
int: contains upgrade data file (1 = yes, 0 = no)
if yes, then here follows a complete w3q file (see w3q specifications above)
14) "war3map.wtg" The
triggers names file
Header:
char[4]: file ID (WTG!)
int: wtg file format version = 4
int: number "a" of triggers categories
"a" times a category definition structure*
int: number "b" ???
int: number "c" of variables
"c" times a variable definition structure**
int: number "d" of triggers
"d" times a trigger definition structure***
*Category Definition Structure:
int: category index
String: category name
**Variable Definition Structure:
String: variable name
String: variable type
int: number "e" ???
int: array status: 0=not an array, 1=array
int: initialisation status: 0=not initialized, 1=initialized
String: initial value (string)
***Triggers Definiton Structure:
String: trigger name
String: trigger description
int: enable state: 0=disabled, 1=enabled
int: custom text trigger state: 0=not a custom text trigger, 1=custom text
trigger (use data in the WCT)
int: initial state: 0=initially on, 1=not initially on
int: ???
int: index of the category the trigger belongs to
int: number "i" of event-condition-action (ECA) function
"i" times an ECA function definition structure*(4) (if it's a custom
text trigger i should be 0 so we don't have
this section)
*(4)ECA function definition structure
int: function type: 0=event, 1=condition, 2=action
String: function name
int: enable state: 0=function disabled, 1=function enabled
"x" times a parameter structure*(5). x depends of the function and is
hardcoded.
*(5)Parameters Structure:
int: 0=preset, 1=variable, 2=function
String: parameter value
int: ???
int: ???
NEW Frozen Throne expansion pack format (thanks Ziutek):
Header:
char[4]: file ID (WTG!)
int: wtg file format version = 7
int: number "a" of triggers categories
"a" times a category definition structure*
int: number "b" ???
int: number "c" of variables
"c" times a variable definition structure**
int: number "d" of triggers
"d" times a trigger definition structure***
*Category Definition Structure:
int: category index
String: category name
int: Category type: 0=normal, 1=comment
**Variable Definition Structure:
String: variable name
String: variable type
int: number "e" ???
int: array status: 0=not an array, 1=array
int: array size
int: initialisation status: 0=not initialized, 1=initialized
String: initial value (string)
***Triggers Definiton Structure:
String: trigger name
String: trigger description
int: trigger type: 0=normal, 1=comment
int: enable state: 0=disabled, 1=enabled
int: custom text trigger state: 0=not a custom text trigger, 1=custom text
trigger (use data in the WCT)
int: initial state: 0=initially on, 1=not initially on
int: run on map initialization: 0=no, 1=yes
int: index of the category the trigger belongs to
int: number "i" of event-condition-action (ECA) function
"i" times an ECA function definition structure*(4) (if it's a custom text
trigger it should be 0 so we don't have this section)
*(4)ECA function definition structure
int: function type: 0=event, 1=condition, 2=action
String: function name
int: enable state: 0=function disabled, 1=function enabled
"x" times a parameter structure*(5). x depends of the function and is hardcoded.
int: ???
int: number "i" of event-condition-action (ECA) function
"i" times an ECA function definition structure*(4)(if this trigger doesn't have
multiple actions it should be set to 0 so we don't have this section)
*(5)Parameters Structure:
int: type which can be 0=preset, 1=variable, 2=function, 3=string
String: parameter value
int: begin function (if it is function it should be set to 1 otherwise to 0)
���� if begin function is set to 1:
���� int: type: 3
���� String: the same as parameter value
���� int: begin function: 1
���� "x" times a parameters structure*(5). x depends on the
function and is hardcoded.
int: end function (always set to 0)
15) "war3map.w3c" The camera
file
Header:
int: file version = 0
int: number "n" of camera definition structures
Camera definition structure:
float: Target X
float: Target Y
float: Z Offset
float: Rotation (angle in degree)
float: Angle Of Attack (AoA) (angle in degree)
float: Distance
float: Roll
float: Field of View (FoV) (angle in degree)
float: Far Clipping (FarZ)
float: ??? (usually set to 100)
String: Cinematic name
16) "war3map.w3r" The
triggers regions file
Header:
int: version = 5
int: number "n" of region definition structures*
Data:
"n" times a region definition structure
*Region Definition Structures:
float: left (jass coordinates)
float: right (jass coordinates)
float: bottom (jass coordinates)
float: top (jass coordinates)
String: region name
int: Region index number (creation number)
char[4]: weather effect ID (ex.: "RLlr" for "Rain Lordaeron Light
Rain")
If all the chars are set to 0, then weather effect is disabled.
String: ambient sound (a sound ID name defined in the w3s file like
"gg_snd_HumanGlueScreenLoop1")
bytes[3]: region color (used by the World Editor) (BB GG RR)
byte: end of the structure
17) "war3map.w3s" The sounds
definition file
Header:
int: file format version = 1
int: number "n" of sounds defined
Data:
"n" times a sound definition structure*
*Sound definition structure:
String: sound ID name (like "gg_snd_HumanGlueScreenLoop1")
String: sound file (like "Sound\Ambient\HumanGlueScreenLoop1.wav")
String: EAX effects (like "DefaultEAXON")
�� DefaultEAXON=Default
�� CombatSoundsEAX=combat
�� KotoDrumsEAX=drums
�� SpellsEAX=spells
�� MissilesEAX=missiles
�� HeroAcksEAX=hero speech
�� DoodadsEAX=doodads
int: sound flags
�� 0x00000001=looping
�� 0x00000002=3D sound
�� 0x00000004=stop when out of range
�� 0x00000008=music
�� 0x00000010=
int: fade in rate
int: fade out rate
int: volume (-1=use default value)
float: pitch
float: ???
int: ??? (-1 or 8)
int: channel:
�� 0=General
�� 1=Unit Selection
�� 2=Unit Acknowledgement
�� 3=Unit Movement
�� 4=Unit Ready
�� 5=Combat
�� 6=Error
�� 7=Music
�� 8=User Interface
�� 9=Looping Movement
�� 10=Looping Ambient
�� 11=Animations
�� 12=Constructions
�� 13=Birth
�� 14=Fire
float: min. distance
float: max. distance
float: distance cutoff
float: ???
float: ???
int: ??? (-1 or 127)
float: ???
float: ???
float: ???
Note:
Floats value can be set or left unset (default value will be used)
When a float is not set, the value [4F800000]h = 4.2949673e+009 is used.
18) "war3map.wct" The custom
text trigger file
(with the help of BlackDick)
int: file version (0)
int: number "n" of triggers
"n" times a custom text trigger structure*
Note: Custom text trigger structures are defined using the same order as
triggers they belong to in the WTG.
Each trigger must have its custom text part, even if it has not been converted
to a custom text trigger; in this case, the custom text size is set to 0 (only 4 bytes for the size int).
*Custom Text Trigger Structure:
int: size "s" of the text (including the null terminating char)
String: custom text trigger string (contains "s chars including the null
terminating char)
NEW Frozen Throne expansion pack format (thanks Ziutek):
int: file version: 1
String: custom script code comment
1 time a custom text trigger structure*
int: number "n" of triggers
"n" times a custom text trigger structure*
Note: Custom text trigger structures are defined using the same order as
triggers they belong to in the WTG.
Each trigger must have its custom text part, even if it has not been converted
to a custom text trigger; in this case, the custom text size is set to 0 (only 4
bytes for the size int).
*Custom Text Trigger Structure:
int: size "s" of the text (including the null terminating char)
String: custom text trigger string (contains "s chars including the null terminating char)
�
19) "war3map.imp" The
imported file list
Header:
int: file format version
int: number "n" of imported files
Data:
1byte: tells if the path is complete or needs "war3mapImported\" (5 or 8=
standard path, 10 or 13: custom path) (thx PitzerMike)
String["n"]: the path inside the w3m of each imported file (like
"war3mapImported\mysound.wav")
Note: Any file added in the W3M and added in the .imp will NOT be removed by the World Editor each time you save your map.
This file can also be found in Warcraft campaign files with the name
war3campaign.imp with the only difference that the standard path for
imported files is "war3campaignImported\".
20) "war3map.wai" The Artificial Intelligence file
File for the Frozen Throne expansion pack only (thanks to Ziutek)
int: wai file format version: 2
string: AI name
int: race: 0=Custom, 1=Human, 2=Orc, 3=Undead, 4=Night Elf
int: options
Unless otherwise noted all of the options are contained in HiWord of options
integer.
Check for the presence of options by using a mask with following values:
SetPlayerName: 0x2000
Melee: 0x0001
DefendUsers: 0x8000
RandomPaths: 0x4000
TargetHeroes: 0x0002
RepairStructures: 0x0004
HeroesFlee: 0x0008
UnitsFlee: 0x0010
GroupsFlee: 0x0020
HaveNoMercy: 0x0040
IgnoreInjured: 0x0080
RemoveInjuries: 0x1000
TakeItems: 0x0100
BuyItems: 0x0001 LoWord
SlowHarvesting: 0x0200
AllowHomeChanges: 0x0400
SmartAltillery: 0x0800
int: number of following workers and buildings. If there are less than 4 workers
and buildings specified, WorldEdit will choose default values. Should be: 4.
char[4]: gold worker
char[4]: wood worker
char[4]: base building
char[4]: mine building (If none, use the same identifer as base building)
int: number "a" of conditions
int: ???: 7
"a" times a conditions definition structure*
char[4]: First Hero Used (if none set these values to null otherwise set it to
Unit ID)
char[4]: Second Hero Used (if none set these values to null otherwise set it to
Unit ID)
char[4]: Third Hero Used (if none set these values to null otherwise set it to
Unit ID)
int: Training Order % Chance(1.FirstHero,2.SecondHero,3.ThirdHero)
int: Training Order % Chance(1.FirstHero,2.ThirdHero,3.SecondHero)
int: Training Order % Chance(1.SecondHero,2.FirstHero,3.ThirdHero)
int: Training Order % Chance(1.SecondHero,2.ThirdHero,3.FirstHero)
int: Training Order % Chance(1.ThirdHero,2.FirstHero,3.SecondHero)
int: Training Order % Chance(1.ThirdHero,2.SecondHero,3.FirstHero)
Skill Selection Order:
char[4*10]: Ten Skill IDs for First Hero(as first hero)
char[4*10]: Ten Skill IDs for First Hero(as second hero)
char[4*10]: Ten Skill IDs for First Hero(as third hero)
char[4*10]: Ten Skill IDs for Second Hero(as first hero)
char[4*10]: Ten Skill IDs for Second Hero(as second hero)
char[4*10]: Ten Skill IDs for Second Hero(as third hero)
char[4*10]: Ten Skill IDs for Third Hero(as first hero)
char[4*10]: Ten Skill IDs for Third Hero(as second hero)
char[4*10]: Ten Skill IDs for Third Hero(as third hero)
int: number "c" of Build Priorities
"c" times build priorities structure***
int: number "d" of Harvest Priorities
"d" times harvest priorities structure *(4)
int: number "e" of Target Priorities
"e" times target priorities structure *(5)
int: repeats waves
int: minimum forces: attack group index(for First Hero Only set this value to
char[4]:HAIA)
int: initial delay
int: number "f" of Attack Groups
"f" times attack groups structure *(6)
int: number "g" of Attack Waves
"g" times attack waves structure *(8)
int: ???: 1
int: game options
Unless otherwise noted all of the options are contained in HiWord of options
integer.
Check for the presence of options by using a mask with following values:
Disable Fog Of War: 0x0001
Disable Victory/Defeat Conditions: 0x0002
int: regular game speed
string: path to map file
int: number "h" of Players (0-2)
"h" times players structure *(9)
int: ???
*Condition Definition Structure:
int: condition index
String: condition name
int: number "b": 0=none(empty condition), 1=condition
if number "b" = 1
String: operator function name
int: begin function: 1
"x" times a Parameters Structure**. x depends on the function and is hardcoded.
int: end function: 0
**Parameters Structure:
int: type: 0=preset, 1=operator function, 2=function, 3=string
String: parameter value (if it is function and this value is empty, begin
function means '(' and end function means ')' )
int: begin function (if it is function or operator function it should be set to
1 otherwise to 0)
if it is function and parameter value is not empty:
int: type: 3
String: the same as parameter value
int: begin function: 1
"x" times a Parameters Structure**. x depends on the function and is hardcoded.
int: end function: 0
if it is operator function:
int: begin function: 1
"x" times a Parameters Structure**. x depends on the function and is hardcoded.
int: end function
int: end function: 0
***Build Priorities Structure:
int: priorities type: 0
int: type: 0=unit, 1=upgrade, 2=expansion town
char[4]: Unit/Upgrade ID(if it is expansion town this value should be set to:
XEIA)
int: town: 0=main, 1-9=Expansion #1-9, 0xFFFFFFFD-0xFFFFFFF5=current mine #1-9,
0xFFFFFFFF=any
int: condition index(if none set this value to 0xFFFFFFFF, if custom set this
value to 0xFFFFFFFE)
1 time condition definition structure*(without condition index!)
*(4)Harvest Priorities Structure:
int: priorities type: 1
int: harvest type: 0=gold, 1=lumber
int: town: 0=main, 1-9=Expansion #1-9, 0xFFFFFFFD-0xFFFFFFF5=current mine #1-9,
0xFFFFFFFF=any
int: workers: 0-90=fixed value #0-90, 0xFFFFFFFF=all, 0xFFFFFFFE=all not
attacking
int: condition index(if none, set this value to 0xFFFFFFFF, if custom, set this
value to 0xFFFFFFFE)
1 time condition definition structure*(without condition index!)
*(5)Target Priorities Structure
int: priorities type: 2
int: target: 0=common alliance target, 1=new expansion location, 2=enemy major
assault,
3=enemy expansion, 4=enemy any town, 5=creep camp, 6=purchase goblin zeppelin
int: creep min strength(if target is other than 5 set this value to 0xFFFFFFFF)
����
if target = 5
����
int: creep max strength
����
int: allow flyers: 0=no, 1=yes
int: condition index(if none, set this value to 0xFFFFFFFF, if custom, set this
value to 0xFFFFFFFE)
1 time condition definition structure*(without condition index!)
*(6)Attack Groups Structure
int: attack group index
string: attack group name
int: number "g" of Current Group
"g" times current group structure *(7)
*(7)Current Group Structure
char[4]: Unit ID (FirstHero: 1HIA, SecondHero: 2HIA, ThirdHero: 3HIA)
int: quantity value: 0-90=quantity #0-90, 0xFFFFFFFF=All
int: maximum quantity: 0-90=quantity #0-90, 0xFFFFFFFF=All(if quantity value is
0xFFFFFFFF, maximum quantity means all except #0-90)
int: condition index(if none, set this value to 0xFFFFFFFF, if custom, set this
value to 0xFFFFFFFE)
1 time condition definition structure*(without condition index!)
*(8)Attack Waves Structure
int: attack group index
int: delay
*(9)Players Structure
int: player index
int: team number
int: race: 1=human, 2=orc, 8=undead, 4=night elf, 20=random
int: color: 0=red, 1=blue, 2=teal, 3=purple, 4=yellow, 5=orange, 6=green, 7=pink,
8=gray,
9=light blue, 10=dark green, 11=brown
int: handicap (0-100)
int: ai: 0=standard, 1=user, 4=custom, 12=current
int: ai difficulty: 0=easy, 1=normal, 2=insane
string: path to custom ai script
21) "war3mapMisc.txt, war3mapSkin.txt, war3mapExtra.txt" The Global Settings
File for the Frozen Throne expansion pack only (thanks to PitzerMike)
These
files hold information about global map settings stored in the format
of ini files. These are plain textfiles where sections are initialized
by [sectionname] and within each section values are set by a statement
like valuename=value.
The war3mapMisc file contains all the data of the gameplay constants screen..
The war3mapSkin file contains all the changes made in the game interface screen.
The war3mapExtra file contains the changes of the last tab in the map
properties screen, where external data sources and custom skys are
referenced.
22) W3N File Format (thanks to PitzerMike)
A
W3N file is a Warcraft III Campaign file. It has the same 512 byte
header as map files and also has a 260 byte footer for authentification
purposes. See the W3M specification for details on the header and
footer. These campaign files are only available in the Forzen Throne
expansion pack.
The MPQ part can contain the following files:
(listfile)
(signature)
(attributes)
war3campaign.w3u
war3campaign.w3t
war3campaign.w3a
war3campaign.w3b
war3campaign.w3d
war3campaign.w3q
war3campaign.w3f
war3campaign.imp
war3campaignImported\*.*
We'll see now what the war3campaign.w3f file stands for. The other
files have already been discussed in the W3M specification.
23) war3campaign.w3f (The info file for campaigns) (thanks to PitzerMike)
int: file format version (currently 1)
int: campaign version (how many times it has been saved)
int: saved with editor version
String: campaign name
String: campaign difficulty
String: author name
String: campaign description
int: variable difficulty levels flag + expansion flag
0=Fixed Diffculty, Only w3m maps
1=Variable Difficulty, Only w3m maps
2=Fixed Difficulty, Contains w3x maps
3=Variable Difficulty, Contains w3x maps
int: campaign background screen index (-1 = none or custom path)
String: path of custom background screen (empty if none or preset)
String: path of minimap picture (empty = none)
int: ambient sound index (-1 = imported file, 0 = none, greater 0 = preset index)
String: path of custom imported ambient sound mp3
int: uses terrain fog (0 = not used, greater 0 = index of terrain fog style dropdown box)
float: fog start z height
float: fog end z height
float: fog density
byte: fog red value
byte: fog green value
byte: fog blue value
byte: fog alpha value
int: cursor and ui race index (0 = human)
int: number "n" of maps in the campaign
"n" times a map title structure*
int: number "m" of maps in the flow chart (usually equal to "n")
"m" times a map order structure*
*Map Title Structure:
int: is map visible in the campaign screen from the beginning (1 = visible, 0 = invisible)
String: chapter title
String: map title
String: path of the map in the campaign archive
**Map Order Structure:
String: unknown (always empty, might also be a single character)
String: path of the map in the campaign archive
24) SLK files (table format for different purposes) (thanks to PitzerMike)
SLK files can technically be opened by Microsoft Excel, though if you don't own Excel or a SLK editor, or want to open SLK files with your application, you might be interested in the format, so here it is. SLK files are text files and read line by line. The first two letters of each line can be used to decide what to do with it.
Format:
Line["ID"]: the first line you will have to read is the one starting with ID, this id is usually set to ID;PWXL;N;E
Line["B;"]: this line defines the number of columns and lines of the table
Example:�B;Y837;X61;D0 0 836 60
This file has 837 lines and 61 columns, the rest of the line is always set to ;D0 0 Y-1 X-1 so these are probably the internal index bounds
From now on we will only look at lines that start with "C;" and are followed by "Y" or "X".
Line["C;Y"]: specifies the value for the cell with the specified line
and column if the fourth token starts with a "K", otherwise we ignore
it, anyway the current line is set to the y value, so the following
lines that might be missing the y value refer to this line
Example: C;Y1;X1;K"unitBalanceID"
Sets the cell in line 1 and column 1 to "unitBalanceID"
Line["C;X"}: specifies the value for the cell with the specified column
and the line previously specified as current line (in a "C;Y"
statement) if the fourth token starts with a "K", otherwise we ignore it
Example: C;X45;K1.8
Assigns 1.8 to the cell in current line and column 45
The x value might also be omitted, so that the x value of the previous line is used.
All other lines can be ignored, they contain comments and format information. After a "K" there may either be a whole or floating point number or a string within quotes. Empty cells don't have any entries. This should be enough information to successfully parse all of Blizzard's SLK files and files edited
with Excel or its Open Office equivalent. If you want to read up on the advanced tokens, get the official specs at http://www.wotsit.org/download.asp?f=sylk
25) BLP files (image format)
Besides TGA files, Warcraft III uses mainly the BLP format for images. The format supports JPG-compression and paletted images. See the "war3mapMap.blp" description for details on the BLP format. The TGA format is wide-spread and known by most graphic tools, anyway the TGA specs can be found at http://www.wotsit.org/download.asp?f=tga
26) MDX and MDL files (model format)
The Warcraft III models are stored in MDX format.
To convert an MDX file into readable MDL format and vice versa you can use Yobgul's file converter, which is available at http://www.wc3sear.ch/files/downloads.php?ID=3&l=6
If Yobgul's does't work for you there's an alternative programmed by Guessed available at http://www.wc3campaigns.net/tools/weu/MDXReader1.00b.zip
There are several spec files on both formats available:
http://kmkdesign.8m.com/downloads/ - Original specifications by KMK
http://www.wc3campaigns.net/tools/specs/NubMdxFormat.txt - More recent version by Nub
http://magos.thejefffiles.com/War3ModelEditor/ - Latest specifications by Magos
27) Packed Files - W3V, W3Z, W3G (gamecache, savegame, replay files) (thanks to PitzerMike)
These files are packed using zlib compression. They have a common compressed format.
But after unpacking the files, each type has its own file format. The packed format is as follows:
*Packed File Header
char[28] signature: always "Warcraft III recorded game\0x1A\0"
uint header size: 0x40 for versions up to 1.06, 0x44 for later versions
uint compressed file size: including header
uint header version: 0x00 up to version 1.06, 0x01 for later versions
uint compressed size: size of the original decompressed file
uint "n": nr of compressed data blocks in the file
if (header version == 0) {
ushort unknown: always 0
ushort version number: the part behind the decimal point
} else {
char[4] version identifier: "WAR3" for classic, "W3XP" for expansion
uint version number: the part behind the decimal point
}
ushort build number: that is a unique id for each Warcraft III build
ushort flags: 0x0000 for single player, 0x8000 for multiplayer
uint length: in milli seconds for replays, 0x00000000 otherwise
uint checksum: CRC32 of the whole header until now, with this int set to 0
now there are "n" compressed blocks
*Compressed Data Block
ushort "m": compressed size of the block
ushort original size: size of the original uncomprssed input data,
must be multiple of 2048, rest is filled with 0x00 bytes
uint hash: checksum over the block header and the block data,
the formula how this is computed won't be released to the public,
however reasonable requests might be answered
Now there are "m" bytes zlib compressed data, which can be decompressed/compressed with a zlib library.
Depending on the zlib implementation you might have to compute the zlib header by yourself. That would be:
byte[2] zlib header: can be skipped when reading, set to 0x78 and 0x01 when writing
byte[m - 2] deflate stream, use deflate stream implementation to decompress/compress
After uncompressing all blocks and appending them to each other, you have the original uncompressed file.
Depending on the type of file, the replay, gamecache or savegame file specifications will now apply.
28) Campaigns.w3v (gamecache file) (thanks to PitzerMike)
This file is found once for each profile in the save directory of Warcraft III and contains stores variables and units
carried from one map to another in campaigns. Campaigns.w3v files are also embedded in savegame files where they
represent the in-memory state of the gamecaches at the time when the savegame was made. Here's the format:
*Campaigns.w3v header:
int: reserved for version (currently nr of gamecaches)
int: nr "n" of gamecaches
"n" gamecache structures
*Gamecache structure:
string: gamecache name
int: reserved (currently nr of categories)
int: nr "m" of categories
"m" category structures
*Category structure:
string: category name
int[5]: reserved for additional variable types
int: nr "i" integers
"i" integer structures
int: nr "r" reals
"r" real structures
int: nr "b" booleans
"b" boolean structures
int: nr "u" units
"u" unit structures
int: nr "s" strings
"s" string structures
*Integer/Real/Boolean structure:
string: label name
byte[4]: four bytes for the value
*String structure:
string: label name
string: value
*Unit structure:
string: lable name
int: unit id
int: nr "j" inventory slots
"j" inventory slot structures
int: experience
int: level
int: unused skill points
int[9]: unknown
int: nr "k" hero skills
"k" hero skill structures
int[2]: unknown
float: unknown
int[4]: unknown
short: unknown
*Inventory slot structure (everything 0 if slot is empty):
int: item id
int: nr charges
int: unknown
*Hero skill structure (everything 0 if not learned yet):
int: ability id
int: current level
29) W3Z files (savegames)
There's not much to say about savegame files. Noone ever tried to track the format of Warcraft III savegames down
because theyi are huge and the format is pretty complicated. The only information available here can be used to extract
embedded gamecache data.
To find the embedded gamecache data you simply have to search for the string token Campaigns.w3v in the savegame.
After this token you will find a full Campaigns.w3v file as described in the above section. I never tried to reinject
edited gamecaches into a savegame, but I'm pretty sure there's a hash or checksum that would prevent it from working.
30) W3G files (replays) (thanks to Blue, Nagger and Kliegs)
The replay format has been tracked down by people at ShadowFlare's realm. You can find very good and
detailed documentation on the format at http://w3g.deepnode.de/
31) The others files
war3mapImported\*.*
= files imported by the world editor or by the user using the import
manager (these should be listed in the imp file, otherwise they will be
deleted when the map is saved), you can now use any path you like and
are not limited to war3mapImported\ any more, this way you can override
files in the Warcraft mpq archives by placing files with the same name
in your map
(signature), (listfile) and (attributes) are rather extensions to the MPQ format than actual map files but they can also be found in map archives
(signature) = signature of the w3m file, used only by Blizzard (has been replaced by a stronger signature appended at the end of map archives)
(listfile) = list of files stored in the w3m file, used by MPQ
editors to resolve the names of the files stored in the archive, this
is needed because stored files are one-way-hashed
(attributes) = attributes of files in the w3m file, it is
checked when a map is loaded in the World Editor, if you have modified
a file of a map and didn't update the (attributes) file properly it
will say that the map is corrupted, the easy way to prevent this is
deleting the file from the archive, the harder way is updating it, the
format of the file is as follows:
int: unknown1: set to 0x64000000
int: unknown2: set to 0x03000000
"n" times a CRC32, "n" is the number of used slots (=files) in the MPQ archive
So for each file we have the CRC32 (cycling redundancy check) value
here, wich is a sort of checksum, you can find functions that calculate
the CRC32 of a file on the web
"n" times a Filetime, "n" is the number of used slots (=files) in the MPQ archive
The Filetime specifies for each file when it was added to the archive.
It consists of two ints (low and high date/time). These two integers
include information about the year, month, day, hour, minute and second
when each file has been added, these 2 values represent a WinAPI file
time structure and can be converted to the WinAPI system time type by
using the SystemTimeToFileTime and FileTimeToSystemTime functions in
kernel32.dllint:
int: low date time
The
order of the CRC32 and Filetimes is the same as the order of the files
in the archive. Logically this means that the information of the last
CRC32 and Filetime is the information about the (attributes) file,
because it has to be added to the archive after all other files. This
also means that the CRC32 of the last file is always 0, because you
cannot calculate the CRC32 of a file that will be changed later, which
would make the CRC invalid again.
Format Specification Backups:
Here are local copies of all the external format specifications that I have linked to in this file. Please always check out
the external sites first, because there might be more up-to-date information. But just in case any of the link ever gets broken,
here are local copies.
QuantamMPQFormat.txt
KMKMdxFormat.txt
MagosMdxFormat.txt
NubMdxFormat.txt
MagosBlpFormat.txt
W3GFormat.txt
W3GActions.txt
SLKFormat.txt
TGAFormat.txt
Credits:
Thanks
to Justin Olbrantz (Quantam) for Inside MoPaQ, Andrey Lelikov for LMPQ
API and ShadowFlare, they created the tools to allow me to get "inside"
w3m (mpq) files.
Special thanks to BlackDick, DJBnJack, PitzerMike, StonedStoopid, Ziutek and a few
others who helped me to find some stuff and work on this documentation.
Thanks to WC3Campaign Staff and War3Pub Staff who hosted my stuff and let me meet interesting people.
Thanks to Blizzard Entertainment for making Warcraft III
-=Z�pir oo


Time by the Hour |
Look at the clock. A clock tells time. It has the numbers 1 to 12.
A clock has two hands: the hour hand and the minute hand.
The short hand is the hour hand. It points to the hour on the clock.
The long hand is the minute hand. It points to the minute on the clock.
Look at the example below. When the hour hand is pointing at 6 and the long hand is pointing at 12, the time is 6 o’clock.
| The time can be written as 6:00. |
Read the time on each clock with your teacher.
|
2:00 two o’clock |
5:00 five o’clock |
|
12:00 twelve o’clock |
9:00 nine o’clock |
| 1. |
3:00
9:00
|
| 2. |
1:00
8:00
|
| 3. |
3:00
10:00
|
| 4. |
5:00
10:00
|
| 5. |
1:00
4:00
|
| 6. |
1:00
9:00
|
| 1. |
| 2. |
| 3. |
| 4. |
| 5. |
| 6. |
| 7. |
| 8. |
| 9. |