Msbt: Difference between revisions

<code>MSBT</code> is a binary file format belonging to LibMessageStudio (LMS). These files store the game's text and can contain "tags" that define how said text is displayed/interacted with.</onlyinclude>

 

== File Layout ==

<code>MSBT</code> files are composed of a file header followed by blocks (each with their own block header). All sections/blocks must be aligned to 0x10 (16) bytes. In BotW, the file layout is as follows:

* Labels Block

* Attributes Block

* Text Block

 

== File Header ==

| char[8]

| u16

| Padding {{check}}

| 1

| u8

| Encoding (0 = UTF8, 1 = UTF16, 2 = UTF32 - games generally only support one specific encoding) {{check}}

| u16

| Block Count {{check}}

|

| Padding {{check}}

| u32

|

| Padding {{check}}

== Block Header ==

This header is shared across all block types. The block data follows directly after the header and is aligned to 0x10 (16) bytes. The block size does not include the size of the header.

| u32

| Block Signature

| u32

| Block Size

== Labels Block ==

The labels block contains the label names for file's text. Its signature is <code>LBL1</code>.

 

The section begins with a four-byte header specifying the number of label groups.

| u32

| Label Group Count

 

Following the header is a table of label groups. Each entry in the table is eight bytes. The first four bytes specify the number of labels in the group and the second four specify the offset of the first label relative to the start of the section. The number of label groups in many games appears to be the smallest prime number larger than half the number of labels (with a max of 101 groups and a minimum of 2). In BotW, this may not always be the case.

| u32

| Label Count

| u32

| Offset

=== Labels ===

Following the label groups is the array of labels. Each label consists of a u8 string length followed by a null-terminated string. At the end of the label is a u32 index specifying the index of the message that corresponds to the label in the text block.

| u8

| String Length

| Label String

| u32

| Message Text Index

== Attributes Block ==

The attributes block stores additional, optional attributes that can be associated with messages. Its signature is <code>ATR1</code>. The interpretation of attribute data is completely up to the game's discretion and attributes in BotW are not fully understood at this time. The attribute seem to indicate which actor should be attributed with the dialog (A good example is in <code>100enemy.msbt</code> where <code>NPC_GodVoice</code> is referenced).

Each attribute corresponds to the message of the same index in the text block {{check}}.

The block begins with an eight-byte header that specifies the number of attributes and the size of a single attribute.

| u32

| Attribute Count

| u32

| Attribute Size

Following the brief header is an array of the attribute data. In many cases, this data is actually a string offset relative to the start of the section (as is the case in BotW).

| u32

| Attribute String Offset

=== Attribute Strings ===

Should the attribute data be a string offset, then the data is followed by an array of null-terminated strings encoded using the encoding specified in the file header. In BotW, this is means UTF16-LE on Switch and UTF16-BE on Wii U.

| char_type[]

| String

== Text Block ==

The text block contains the text for messages. Its signature is <code>TXT2</code>.

The section begins with a small four-byte header specifying the number of messages in the section.

| u32

| Message Count

Following the brief header is an array of u32 offsets to the text strings. Each offset is relative to the beginning of the section.

| u32

| String Offset

=== Message Strings ===

The strings are stored as an array of strings encoded using the encoding specified in the header. In BotW, this is means UTF16-LE on Switch and UTF16-BE on Wii U. Each string is read from its specified offset until the next string offset. The last string uses the section size specified in the block header to determine its end position.

| char_type[]

| String

== Tags ==

Message strings can contain tags that alter how the message is displayed or processed. These tags are processed by <code>nn::ui2d::TagProcessorBase</code> which in Nintendo EPD games is extended by<code>eui::TagProcessor</code> which can then be further extended by the game to handle game-specific tags. The interpretation of tags is completely game-dependent.

Tags are embedded directly inside of the text and begin with a brief tag header.

|0x00

|2

|u16

|Signature (<code>00 0e</code> or <code>00 0f</code>)

|0x08

|?

|?

|Extra data (size is dependent on Extra Data Size, type is dependent on Group and Type)

At byte <code>0x68</code> is the tag header followed with tag group 1 and tag type 6. 0xa is the size of the extra data with the extra data being <code>[00 02 00 03 00 04 00 05 02 03]</code>.

|Ruby (extra data is a u16 display span followed by the ruby text)

The available colors in BotW are listed in [[#Font Color]]. These colors are generally either hardcoded in the game's executable or defined in a separate MSBP file if present. If defined in a MSBP file, the color type instead acts as an index into the colors in the MSBP file.

===== Font =====

|Delay (extra data is a u32 frame count)

| 1

| Text Speed?

|No Text Scroll?

|Auto Advance (extra data is a u32 frame count)

|-

|0x04

|1

|Byte

|0x05

|1

|Byte

 

 

 

===== Choices Based on Flags =====

 

|Type of the variable. Seems to use the same variable types as the Variable tag.{{check}} All flags are of the same type.

|u16 number of bytes in string, UTF-16 representation of the string (letters equal to number of bytes / 2)

|u16 number of bytes in string, UTF-16 representation of the string (letters equal to number of bytes / 2)

|u16 number of bytes in string, UTF-16 representation of the string (letters equal to number of bytes / 2)

!Unofficial Name

!Data Type

!Description

|FlagIndexThree

|2

|Unsigned short

|u16 that seems to correspond to some kind of index. There is always one number each of 0-4, for each flag {{check}}

|FlagThree

|?

|u16 number of bytes in string, UTF-16 representation of the string (letters equal to number of bytes / 2)

|FlagIndexFour

|2

|Unsigned short

|FlagFour

|?

|u16 number of bytes in string, UTF-16 representation of the string (letters equal to number of bytes / 2)

|FlagValueOne

|2

|Unsigned short

|FlagValueTwo

|2

|Unsigned short

|FlagValueThree

|2

|Unsigned short

|FlagValueFour

|2

|Unsigned short

|UnknownArray

|?

|byte[]

==== App Tags ====

In BotW, the AppTag type is repurposed as a way to display the current value of a data flag. The Extra Data is the name of the data flag.

!Variable Type

|2

|5

|

|2

|6

|

|2

|7

|String64 (defined in <code>string64_data_%d.bgdata</code>)

|Integer (defined in <code>s32_data_%d.bgdata</code>)

|Integer (defined in <code>s32_data_%d.bgdata</code>)

|Integer (defined in <code>s32_data_%d.bgdata</code>)

|Integer (defined in <code>s32_data_%d.bgdata</code>)