Animations · bei.pm
The file formats described on this page are based on the technical analysis of intellectual property by Dynamix, Inc. and Sierra Entertainment.
The intellectual property is now part of the Activision Publishing, Inc. / Activision Blizzard, Inc. estate and is currently owned by Microsoft Corp..
The information has been gathered through Reverse Engineering and Data Analysis for the purposes of archiving and interoperability with historical data.
No proprietary or confidential specifications were used.
The game is currently available for purchase as a download at gog.com.
Now we come to the pinnacle of the disciplines within the Outpost 2 data formats:
The animations.
The animation lists begin with a global header, primarily serving data verification. Following this are the specific animation definitions, which are divided into three levels:
-
Animation
An animation is the highest instance; it represents the animation of a unit, a building, or a 'particle animation' (meteor impact, weather, explosion) in a specific starting condition. -
Frame
A frame is a single image within an animation. An animation can contain one or more frames. -
Subframe
A subframe is the information indicating that a specific bitmap should be drawn at a particular position of a frame under certain criteria. A frame can contain one or more subframes.
Next, we will directly follow with the individual animation definitions.
| Addr | x0 | x1 | x2 | x3 | x4 | x5 | x6 | x7 | x8 | x9 | xA | xB | xC | xD | xE | xF | char | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0x0000 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| Offset | Data type | Designation | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0x0000 | uint(32) | Number of animations | How many animation data records are available |
| 0x0004 | uint(32) | Number of frames | How many frames should be present in total |
| 0x0008 | uint(32) | Number of subframes | How many subframes should there be in total? |
| 0x000c | uint(32) | Number of optional entries | How many "optional entries" are available. |
Animation
| Addr | x0 | x1 | x2 | x3 | x4 | x5 | x6 | x7 | x8 | x9 | xA | xB | xC | xD | xE | xF | char | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0x0000 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 0x0010 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 0x0020 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| Offset | Data type | Designation | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0x0000 | uint(32) | Unknown 1 | Unknown Information |
| 0x0004 | uint(32) | Bounding Box: Left | Specifies the left start (in pixels) of the Bounding Box. |
| 0x0008 | uint(32) | Bounding Box: Top | Specifies the upper start (in pixels) of the Bounding Box. |
| 0x000c | uint(32) | Bounding Box: Width | Specifies the width (in pixels) of the Bounding Box. |
| 0x0010 | uint(32) | Bounding Box: Height | Specifies the height (in pixels) of the Bounding Box. |
| 0x0014 | uint(32) | Offset: X | Specifies the horizontal midpoint of the animation |
| 0x0018 | uint(32) | Offset: Y | Specifies the vertical midpoint of the animation |
| 0x001c | uint(32) | Unknown 2 | Unknown information |
| 0x0020 | uint(32) | Number of frames | Indicates how many animation frames are included in this animation |
| 0x0024 | uint(32) | Number of Windows | Indicates how many windows are to be used when drawing |
The data from the top layer, the animation, primarily consists of administrative data - the Bounding box refers to the coordinates of the marker around the vehicle/building when it is selected and also indicates which area should be clickable.
The offset primarily determines the "zero point"; the point that needs to be added to or subtracted from the in-game coordinates. One could also say mathematically: the offset here refers to the origin of the coordinates.
The windows consist, just like the offset, of 4 uint(32) values per window, which specify an area that is considered usable for individual subframes. Drawing is not permitted outside the windows, unless it is specifically designated for the bitmap.
Frame
| Addr | x0 | x1 | x2 | x3 | x4 | x5 | x6 | x7 | x8 | x9 | xA | xB | xC | xD | xE | xF | char | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0x0000 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| Offset | Data type | Designation | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0x0000 | uint(8) | Subframe count and toggle for Optional 1, 2 | This value contains:
|
| 0x0001 | uint(8) | Unknown 1 and toggle for Optional 3, 4 | This value contains:
|
| 0x0002 | uint(8) | Optional 1 | Unknown |
| 0x0003 | uint(8) | Optional 2 | Unknown |
| 0x0004 | uint(8) | Optional 3 | Unknown |
| 0x0005 | uint(8) | Optional 4 | Unknown |
Subframe
| Addr | x0 | x1 | x2 | x3 | x4 | x5 | x6 | x7 | x8 | x9 | xA | xB | xC | xD | xE | xF | char | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0x0000 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| Offset | Data type | Designation | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0x0000 | uint(16) | Bitmap ID | Indicates which bitmap should be used for this subframe |
| 0x0002 | uint(8) | Unknown 1 | It is unknown - however, I strongly suspect that this concerns a render priority (Z-layer). |
| 0x0003 | uint(8) | Subframe ID | Indicates which subframe we are in |
| 0x0004 | sint(16) | Offset - Horizontal | Indicates where within the frame the subframe should be placed, or by how many pixels the bitmap should be shifted horizontally. |
| 0x0006 | sint(16) | Offset - Vertical | Specifies where within the frame the subframe should be placed, or by how many pixels the bitmap should be vertically shifted. |
With this, we can now compose individual frames as well as complete animations accordingly, demonstrated here with a more complex animation, the animation with index 500.
Animation 500
Animation 500 shows how a Plymouth transporter, loaded with ordinary ore, is unloaded. This is one of the few animations that utilise the windowing functionality.
And so the complete animation can be assembled.
Unfortunately, there is still an issue with the upper loading hatch, as the corresponding bit in the graphic type information is not set.
Here are a few more beautifully animated sprites from the game:
Rendering of Animation 500 illustrated
Animation 500 fully assembled
Plymouth Building Factory
Eden Spaceport
Eden Medical Centre
SCAT
Plymouth Spaceport
Easter egg:
Santa Claus
Easter egg:
Dan's Dog