If you have any information that you feel should be added to this document, please contact me or one of the fine people below.

Credits

ANIM.MUL, ANIM.IDX, ART.MUL, ARTIDX.MUL, PALETTE.MUL, TEXMAPS.MUL, TEXIDX.MUL, TILEDATA.MUL, GUMPIDX.MUL, GUMPART.MUL, HUES.MUL and File Formats coalation by Alazane

MAP0, RADARCOL, STAIDX0, STATICS0 and FAQ touch-up by Tim Walters

SKILLS.IDX, SKILLS.MUL by Sir Valgriz

SOUNDIDX, SOUND by Steve Dang

VERDATA by Cironian

Contents

1.0 Miscellaneous Information

1.1 Types

1.2 Colors

Ultima is completely 16 bit based--meaning that each pixel is UWORD value that can be broken down as follows:

Where U=Unused, R=Red, G=Green and B=Blue

So, to convert to 32 bit:

Color32 = ( (((Color16 >> 10) & 0x1F) * 0xFF / 0x1F) |
((((Color16 >> 5) & 0x1F) * 0xFF / 0x1F) << 8) |
((( Color16 & 0x1F) * 0xFF / 0x1F) << 16));

2.0 MUL Files

3.0 Definitions

3.1 ANIM.IDX

This file contains an index into ANIM.MUL. To load a specific group of frames from ANIM.MUL, simply seek BNum * 12, read in the index record and use Lookup to find the group within ANIM.MUL.

ANIM.IDX

Index Record (12 bytes)

DWORD Lookup - Is either undefined ($FFFFFFFF -1) or the file offset in ANIM.MUL
DWORD Size - Size of the art tile
DWORD Unknown - Unknown

3.2 ANIM.MUL

This file contains the raw animation data. It can be accessed using ANIM.IDX.

ANIM.IDX

AnimationGroup
WORD[256] Palette
DWORD FrameCount
DWORD[FrameCount] FrameOffset

Frame

Seek from the end of Palette plus FrameOffset[FrameNum] bytes to find the start of Frame
WORD ImageCenterX
WORD ImageCenterY
WORD Width
WORD Height
...Data Stream..

Data Stream

// Note: Set CenterY and CenterY to the vertical and horizontal position in
//       the bitmap at which you want the anim to be drawn.
		
PrevLineNum = $FF
Y = CenterY - ImageCenterY - Height
while not EOF
{
  Read UWORD RowHeader
  Read UWORD RowOfs
  
  if (RowHeader = 0x7FFF) or (RowOfs = 0x7FFF) then Exit
  
  RunLength = RowHeader and $FFF
  LineNum = RowHeader shr 12
  Unknown = RowOfs and $3F
  RowOfs = RowOfs sar 6
  X = CenterX + RowOfs
  if (PrevLineNum <> $FF) and (LineNum <> PrevLineNum) then Y++
  PrevLineNum = LineNum
  if Y >= 0 then
  {
    if Y >= MaxHeight then Exit;
  
    For I := 0 to RunLength-1 do 
    {
      Read(B, 1)
      Row[X+I,Y] = Palette[B]
    }
  }
  Seek(RunLength, FromCurrent)
}

3.2 ARTIDX.MUL

This file contains an index into ART.MUL. To load a specific tile number in ART.MUL, simply seek BNum * 12, read in the index tile data and use Lookup to find the tile within ART.MUL.

ARTIDX.MUL

Index Record (12 bytes)

DWORD Lookup - Is either undefined ($FFFFFFFF -1) or the file offset in ART.MUL
DWORD Size - Size of the art tile
DWORD Unknown - Unknown

3.4 ART.MUL

This file has no header and contains tiles that can only be read via ARTIDX.MUL. There are two types of tiles, which I will call Raw and Run tiles.

ART.MUL

DWORD Flag
..DATA..

if (Flag > $FFFF or Flag == 0)
... tile is Raw ...
else
... tile is Run ...
end if

Raw Tile

Raw tiles are always 44x44 pixels square. However, the data stored for a tile resembles a square block, rotated 45 degrees.  Therefore, the tile is loaded from the tip, down to the widest portion, then down to the bottom tip as opposed to a straight matrix.

WORD Pixels, in the series:
2, 4, 6, 8, 10 ... 40, 42, 44, 44, 42, 40 ... 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 (See 1.2 Colors for pixel info)

The resulting top 9 lines look like this:

Run Tile

UWORD Width
UWORD Height

Read : UWORD Width
if (Width = 0 || Width >= 1024) return
Read : UWORD Height
if (Height = 0 || Height >= 1024) return
Read : LStart = A table of Height number of UWORD values
DStart = Stream position
X = 0;
Y = 0;
Seek : DStart + LStart[Y] * 2
while (Y < Height)
{
  Read : UWORD XOffs
  Read : UWORD Run
  if (XOffs + Run >= 2048) 
    return
  else if (XOffs + Run <> 0)
  {
    X += XOffs;
    Load Run number of pixels at X (See 1.2 Colors for pixel info)
    X += Run;
  }
  else
  {
    X = 0;
    Y++;
    Seek : DStart + LStart[Y] * 2
  }
}

3.5 GUMPART.MUL

Loading a Gump

Gumps are stored in runs of pixels (badly inefficient, but is better than no compression). An array of pairs of Value & Word are loaded for a particular row (shown below) and these can then be easily shoved into a bitmap. For example, if the final bitmap was going to display one black pixel, then three white pixels, the stream would contain 0000 0001 FFFF 0003. It is imperative that GUMPIDX.MUL be loaded since it contains Width, Height and Size which are needed to decode the Gump.

DataStart := CurrentPosition

DWORD RowLookup[GumpIdx.Height]

for Y = 0 to GumpIdx.Height-1 
{
  cf Y < Height-1 then
    RunBlockCount := RowLookup[Y+1]-RowLookup[Y]
  else
    RunBlockCount := GumpIdx.Size div 4 - RowLookup[Y];
 
  Seek : DataStart + RowLookup[Y] * 4
  (WORD Value, WORD Run)[RunBlockCount]
}

3.6 GUMPIDX

This file contains an index into GUMPART.MUL.

GUMPIDX.MUL

Index Record (12 bytes)

DWORD Lookup - Is either undefined ($FFFFFFFF -1) or the file offset in GUMPART.MUL
DWORD Size - Size of the block
UWORD Height - Height (in pixels) of the block
UWORD Width - Width (in pixels) of the block

3.7 HUES.MUL

Just read in HueGroups until you hit the end of the file. Note that large chunks of this file consist of garbage--OSI admits to this (something about a bug in their old code).

If you want to look at the hues, check out this.

Hues are applied to an image in one of two ways. Either all gray pixels are mapped to the specified color range (resulting in a part of an image changed to that color) or all pixels are first mapped to grayscale and then the specified color range is mapped over the entire image.

HueEntry

WORD ColorTable[32];
WORD TableStart;
WORD TableEnd;
CHAR Name[20];

HueGroup

DWORD Header;
HueEntry Entries[8];

3.8 MAP0.MUL

This file holds all the base-level terrain, and doesn't look too pretty without the static data.

The map is stored as a 768x512 matrix of blocks. A block is basically a 8x8 matrix of cells. Each individual cell contains data about the tile for that cell, and the cell's altitude.  Therefore, the entire map is 6144x4096 individual cells in size.

Blocks are loaded top-to-bottom then left-to-right. Cells are loaded from blocks left-to-right then top-to-bottom.

The formula used to locate an individual CELL in the file is a little complex, since you have to work out what block it is in...

If you refer to the map in blocks, then there's 512 blocks down, by 768 blocks across.

XBlock = Int(XPos/8)
YBlock = Int(YPos/8)
Block Number = (XBlock * 512) + YBlock

MAP0 (37,748,736 bytes)

393,216 [Block]s sequentially, Block = 196 bytes
DWORD header, unknown content
64 Cells

Cell (3 bytes)

UWORD cell graphic (which can be looked up in RADARCOL).
BYTE Altitude (-128..127 units above/below sea level).

3.9 MULTI.IDX

This file contains an index into MULTI.MUL

MULTI.IDX

Index Record (12 bytes)

DWORD Lookup - Is either undefined ($FFFFFFFF -1) or the file offset in MULTI.MUL
DWORD Size - Size of the multi block
DWORD Unknown - Unknown

3.10 MULTI.MUL

MULTI.MUL

The Size should be loaded from MULTI.IDX and as many Multi Blocks should be read as fit into this size.

Multi Block (12 bytes)

WORD BlockNum
WORD X
WORD Y
WORD Alt
UDWORD Flags

Once 16384+BlockNum has been looked up in ART, the block can be drawn using the following positioning:

DrawX = LeftMostX + (MultiBlock.X - MultiBlock.Y) * 22 - (Block.Width shr 1)
DrawY = TopMostY + (MultiBlock.X + MultiBlock.Y) * 22 - Block.Height - MultiBlock.Alt * 4

3.11 PALETTE.MUL

Contains an 8 bit palette. Use Unknown.

PALETTE.MUL (768 bytes)

256 [Palette Entries]

Palette Entries (3 bytes)

UBYTE Red
UBYTE Green
UBYTE Blue

3.12 RADARCOL.MUL

Use to lookup colors for tile numbers from MAP0 and STAIDX0/STATICS0.

RADARCOL.MUL (131,072 bytes)

65536 sequential UWORD color values (see 1.2 Colors for color info)

3.13 SKILLS.IDX

Contains index entries into the SKILLS.MUL file.

SKILLS.IDX

DWORD is the Start position for this sound
DWORD is the Length of the entire associated data segment
DWORD Unknown

3.14 SKILLS.MUL

Contains skill names.

BYTE is 1 if there is a button next to the name, 0 if there is not
CHAR Name[] is the name of the skill

3.15 SOUND.MUL

Contains sampled sounds from the game. All sounds are 16 bit mono sampled at 22050khz.

SOUND.MUL

CHAR[16] Original filename
DWORD Unknown
DWORD Unknown
DWORD Unknown
DWORD Unknown
DATA

3.16 SOUNDIDX.MUL

Contains index entries into the SOUND.MUL file.

SOUNDIDX.MUL

DWORD is the Start position for this sound
DWORD is the Length of the entire associated data segment
UWORD index
UWORD reserved

3.17 STAIDX0.MUL

Contains index to entries into the STATICS0.MUL file. Special thanks to Mental4 from ultima.scorched.com for the hint to cracking this one The 12 byte blocks in this file match up one to one with the blocks in the map file, hence the file size of 768 * 512 * 12 = 4,718,592 bytes.  Pretty simple, easiest to read this at the same time as MAP0.MUL, if there's static objects, read them per block, doing height comparisons to see which ones to draw for radar type view.

STAIDX0.MUL (4,718,592 bytes)

393,216 [Index Block]s sequentially

Index Record (12 bytes)

DWORD is the Start position (0xFFFFFFFF if no static objects exist for this block)
DWORD is the Length of the data segment
DWORD is of unknown use

3.18 STATICS0.MUL

Notes: This is where all the fun stuff is, as a side-note, I tried playing with NO static objects for the purpose of item-recovery (stuff lost behind walls), the Britain area is duplicated server-side (could explain the extra lag there), same with Moonglow area, places like Buccaneer's Den, Trinsic and other towns worked fine... no walls, no bridges, no shallow water (note, server still stops you from walking through walls, even if you can't see them).

STATICS0.MUL

Static Data (7 bytes)

UWORD for the Color/Object ID (add 16384 to offset it for RADARCOL.MUL)
UBYTE X Offset in block (0..7)
UBYTE Y Offset in block (0..7)
BYTE Altitude (-128..127 units above/below sea level, like MAP0)
UWORD Unknown

3.19 TILEDATA.MUL

Contains data about tiles in ART.MUL.

TILEDATA.MUL

512 Blocks of [Land Tile Groups]
X Blocks of [Static Tile Groups]

Land Tile Groups (836 bytes)

DWORD Unknown
32 Blocks of [Land Tile Data]

Land Tile Data (26 bytes)

DWORD Flags (see below)
UWORD Texture ID (If 0, the land tile has not texture)
CHAR[20] Tile Name

Static Tile Groups (1188 bytes)

DWORD Unknown
32 Blocks of [Static Tile Data]

Static Tile Data (37 bytes)

DWORD Flags (see below)
BYTE Weight (weight of the item, 255 means not movable)
BYTE Quality (If Wearable, this is a Layer. If Light Source, this is Light ID)
UWORD Unknown
BYTE Unknown1
BYTE Quantity (if Weapon, this is Weapon Class. If Armor, Armor Class)
UWORD Anim ID (The Body ID the animatation. Add 50,000 and 60,000 respectivefully to get the two gump indicies assocaited with this tile)
BYTE Unknown2
BYTE Hue (perhaps colored light?)
UWORD Unknown3
BYTE Height (If Conatainer, this is how much the container can hold)
CHAR[20] Tile Name

Flags

0x00000001 Background
0x00000002 Weapon
0x00000004 Transparent
0x00000008 Translucent
0x00000010 Wall
0x00000020 Damaging
0x00000040 Impassable
0x00000080 Wet
0x00000100 Unknown
0x00000200 Surface
0x00000400 Bridge
0x00000800 Generic/Stackable
0x00001000 Window
0x00002000 No Shoot
0x00004000 Prefix A
0x00008000 Prefix An
0x00010000 Internal (things like hair, beards, etc)
0x00020000 Foliage
0x00040000 Partial Hue
0x00080000 Unknown 1
0x00100000 Map
0x00200000 Container
0x00400000 Wearable
0x00800000 LightSource
0x01000000 Animated
0x02000000 No Diagonal
0x04000000 Unknown 2
0x08000000 Armor
0x10000000 Roof
0x20000000 Door
0x40000000 StairBack
0x80000000 StairRight

3.20 TEXIDX.MUL

TEXIDX.MUL

Index Record (12 bytes)

DWORD is the Start position
DWORD is the Length of the data segment
DWORD is of unknown use

3.21 TEXMAPS.MUL

The texture maps in general were about an afternoon hack. Since the index is the same as all the other indices and the data is quite straightforward, it was almost an afterthought to include it.

TEXMAPS.MUL

Raw 16-bit data, sized as follows:
If Length = 0x2000 then data = 64*64
If Length = 0x8000 then data = 128*128

3.22 VERDATA.MUL

VERDATA.MUL contains patch entries that override already existing entries in the above data files. The use of VERDATA.MUL was a recent addition to InsideUO, thanks almost completely to Cironian for dropping the format for it on me out of the blue.

VERDATA.MUL

First DWORD: Number of entries in index

Index entry:
DWORD: File ID (see index below)
DWORD: Block (Item number, Gump number or whatever; like in the file)
DWORD: Position (Where to find this block in verdata.mul)
DWORD: Size (Size in Byte)
DWORD: Various (depends on the file format)

File IDs: (* means used in current verdata)
00 - map0.mul
01 - staidx0.mul
02 - statics0.mul
03 - artidx.mul
04 - art.mul*
05 - anim.idx
06 - anim.mul
07 - soundidx.mul
08 - sound.mul
09 - texidx.mul
0A - texmaps.mul
0B - gumpidx.mul
0C - gumpart.mul* - Various is WORD Height + WORD Width
0D - multi.idx
0E - multi.mul*
0F - skills.idx
10 - skills.mul
1E - tiledata.mul*
1F - animdata.mul*

The block of data that is located and read in from VERDATA.MUL is of exactly the same format as the data in the source file.

3.23 DIFF files

Stadifl#.mul,Stadifi#.mul,Stadif#.mul,Mapdifl#.mul, and Mapdif#.mul contains patch entries that override already existing entries in the above data files. The use of diff files is activiated by a packet sent to the client from the server. The 3D client, starting with LBR , no longer uses Verdata.mul. It is uknown how other data patches are done. .

Stadifl#.mul, Mapdifl#.mul

Until end of file, DWORDs:Block Number

Stadifi#.mul

The format of this file maps exactly to the format of StaIDX#.mul. Each entry corresponds to the blockid in the Stadifl#.mul. The offset and length of the entires are the offset into Stadif#.mul

Mapdif#.mul

The format of this file maps exactly to Map#.mul. Each entry corresponds to the block id in Mapdifl#.mul.

Stadifi#.mul

The format of this file maps exactly to Statics#.mul. This file is indexed by Stadifi#.mul

Last reviewed by Alazane 03/23/2002