Building Subfile

This page pertains to the format of the Building Subfile within the Savegame files. This file has Type ID A9BD882D. It can be viewed using the SC4 Savegame Explorer, but not edited. This particular subfile was decoded by RippleJet

Structure

DWORD	Size
DWORD	CRC
DWORD	Memory
WORD	Major Version?  (only seen 0x0002)
WORD	Minor Version?  (only seen 0x0004)
WORD	Zot Word  (always 0x0000 for buildings)
BYTE	Unknown  (only seen 0x00)
BYTE	Appearance Flag  (**
DWORD	0x278128A0  (always the same)
BYTE	Min Tract X Coordinate
BYTE	Min Tract Z Coordinate
BYTE	Max Tract X Coordinate
BYTE	Max Tract Z Coordinate
WORD	X Tract Size? (power of 2)  (only seen 0x0002)
WORD	Z Tract Size? (power of 2)  (only seen 0x0002)
DWORD	Count of Properties  (can be several of them)
    SGPROP    	SaveGame Properties, repeated Count times  (*
BYTE	Unknown  (I think I've only seen 0x01)
DWORD	Group ID  (from the Prop Exemplar)
DWORD	Type ID  (from the Prop Exemplar)
DWORD	Instance ID  (from the Prop Exemplar)
DWORD	Instance ID  (the value given when the building appeared)
FLOAT32	Min X Coordinate
FLOAT32	Min Y Coordinate
FLOAT32	Min Z Coordinate
FLOAT32	Max X Coordinate
FLOAT32	Max Y Coordinate
FLOAT32	Max Z Coordinate
BYTE	Orientation
FLOAT32	Scaffolding Height (***


*)
Structure of SGPROP (SaveGame Properties):

DWORD     	Property Name Value
DWORD	Property Name Value  (doubled for some unknown reason)
DWORD	0x00000000
BYTE	Data Type, 01=UInt8, 02=UInt16, 03=UInt32, 07=SInt32, 08=SInt64, 09=Float32, 0B=Boolean, 0C=String
BYTE	KeyType, 0x00 = 0 reps, 0x80 = more than 0 reps
WORD	0x0000
DWORD	Rep Count  (this one appears only if KeyType = 0x80)
    DATA	Property Value (repeated Rep Count times, type according to Data Type)


**)
Apperance Flag (offset 0x0013)

    0x01 (00000001b) - Building that appears in the game (if this is off, the building has been deleted)
    0x02 (00000010b) - ? (unused)
    0x04 (00000100b) - ? (always on)
    0x08 (00001000b) - Flora (not used for buildings)
    0x40 (01000000b) - Burnt (probably not used for buildings, as if they burn, they become replaced by a burnt prop)



***)
Scaffolding Height
Depending on the height of the finished building, it is divided into a number of (let's call it F) fractions.
During construction, if the building is growable (or LotConfigPropertyDoConstruction = True),
the scaffolding will jump up in steps equal to 1/F of the final height.

The height of the current scaffolding is given in this field.
Checking several buildings under construction of different heights, I've e.g. found the following values:

1/2,  1/3,  2/3,  3/5,  4/5,  2/7,  4/7,  4/9,  8/17,  7/20

Once the scaffolding enters the height of the final building, this field will get a value of 1.00
A finished building always has a value of 1.00 in this field.