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stage\UnitGroup_S<NN>.tbl is now fully readable. A squadron record is Count
member tuples -- (unit model, message set, n, identity/nameplate) -- followed by
five named fields: Count, SideID, AIID, FormationID, DisableInterval. The
property entries carry their own field names inline, so the tag hash never has
to be inverted.
Two independent self-checks validate it corpus-wide, 1160/1160 each across all
28 stage tables on the disc:
- the length identity len(fields) == Count * 4 + 5, which is what pins the
member-tuple width at 4 and the named-field count at 5;
- agreement with the file's own Enumerate_Squadrons roster, which maps record
key to squadron id independently of the per-record string offset.
Adds tools/re-capture/unitgroup.py (pure static, runs no emulator) with a
--all --check self-check mode, and commits the Stage 02 dump as evidence.
Corrections to the container layout written yesterday, all three wrong:
- the 20-byte "(tag, 0, 0, count, size) section header" does not exist. It
was the file's last 16-byte record followed by a plain npool word. The
corrected layout is uniform across all 28 files; the old one failed on 9.
- squadron ids do not use a separate string base. Every offset in the file is
relative to the one string pool. The earlier "109 of 111" score was an
artefact of the uniform 7-byte id stride and had silently shifted every
name by three entries, which is why 17 TC*-named squadrons came out as
SideID=ADAN. The roster record refuted it outright.
- the roster is not always the last record; 9 stages put it elsewhere, so it
is found by its missing Count.
Refuted and kept: the 4-byte record key is not the squadron id's name hash
(0 of 112).
Not settled: what the key encodes, the member tuple's third field n, and where
the arrival interval values live. DisableInterval is only a per-squadron flag
(Yes for 31 of 1160); the durations, triggers and arrival positions are not in
this file. Formation_*.tbl and EnumSquadron_Test.tbl are next.
123 lines
5.7 KiB
Markdown
123 lines
5.7 KiB
Markdown
# `stage\UnitGroup_S<NN>.tbl` — the per-stage squadron roster
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Status: ✅ container format and field semantics, validated across all 28 stage
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tables present on the disc; 🟡 one member field; ❔ the record key and the
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arrival-interval *values*.
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Reached from the per-stage definition record's `EnumerateSquadron` field — see
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[stage-definition-table.md](stage-definition-table.md). Tool:
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`tools/re-capture/unitgroup.py` (pure static; runs no emulator).
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```
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python3 tools/re-capture/unitgroup.py S02 # full roster
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python3 tools/re-capture/unitgroup.py --all --check # self-check every stage
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```
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A committed dump of Stage 02 is at [`../data/unitgroup-s02.txt`](../data/unitgroup-s02.txt).
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## ✅ Container
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```
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0x00 "IDXD"
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0x04 u32 nrec
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0x08 nrec x 16 record: (key, squadron_off, field_lo, field_hi)
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u32 npool
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npool x 12 property entry: (tag, name_off | 0xffffffff, value_off)
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u32 strsize -- and STR + strsize == filesize, exactly
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strsize string pool; [0] = "Enumerate_Squadrons", [0x14] = ""
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```
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**Every offset in the file is relative to `STR`**, the string-pool base. A
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record's fields are pool entries `[field_lo, field_hi)`. An entry with
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`name_off == 0xffffffff` is *positional*; otherwise the entry carries its own
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field name inline, so the table is self-describing and the tag hash never has to
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be inverted.
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Exactly one record per file is not a squadron: it is the **`Enumerate_Squadrons`
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roster**, whose entries map `key -> squadron id` for every other record. It is
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usually the last record but not always — in S05, S06, S07, S08, S09, S11, S13,
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S28 and S29 it sits elsewhere, so find it by its missing `Count`, not by
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position.
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## ✅ A squadron record
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Five named fields, always present and always these five:
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| field | values |
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|---|---|
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| `Count` | 1 (×1082), 2 (×50), 3 (×8), 4 (×20) |
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| `SideID` | `ADAN` (745), `TCAF` (294), `Neutral` (121) |
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| `AIID` | 31 distinct, e.g. `AI_ADAN_CraftSquadron_Veteran`, `AI_TCAF_BirdFlight`, `AI_ADAN_Fleet`, `AI_Structure`, `AI_TraceRoute` |
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| `FormationID` | e.g. `Formation_4_Bird`, `Formation_ADAN_Turret07_30`, `Formation_1_only` |
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| `DisableInterval` | `No` (1129), **`Yes` (31)** |
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…preceded by `Count` **member tuples** of four positional entries:
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```
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(unit model, message set, n, identity)
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```
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* unit model — 122 distinct, and they are our XBG7 mesh names:
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`UN_f001_TCAF_DeltaSaber_T_Player`, `UN_e010_ADAN_Attacker_S`,
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`UN_e007_ADAN_Turret`, `UN_bf001_TCAF_SchlosBase`.
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* message set — the squadron's radio chatter, e.g. `MessageSet_Ellen`,
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`MessageSet_ADAN_plA`.
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* `n` — 🟡 **unidentified**; integer 1…30, dominated by 1 (735) and 9 (197).
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It is *not* the `_NN` suffix of `FormationID` (`Formation_ADAN_Turret07_30`
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pairs with `n = 9`). Plausibly a spawn or wing size, untested.
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* identity — 63 distinct: named pilots (`ELLEN`, `SANDRA`, `RAYMOND`, `YOJI`),
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ship nameplates (`NP_Charon`, `NP_Amalthea`, `NP_Olympus`), carrier tags
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(`Carrier_ADAN01`), cargo tags (`CARGO_1`), or empty.
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Worked example — Stage 02, squadron `TCN004`, the player's own flight:
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```
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TCN004 TCAF Count=2 DisableInterval=No Formation_2_Rhino1 AI_TCAF_RhinoFlight
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unit=UN_f001_TCAF_DeltaSaber_T_Player msg=MessageSet_Katana n=1 id=Character_Player_Test
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unit=UN_f001_TCAF_DeltaSaber_T msg=MessageSet_Ellen n=1 id=ELLEN
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```
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## ✅ Two independent self-checks, both corpus-wide
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1. **`len(fields) == Count * 4 + 5`** — holds for **1160 of 1160** squadrons
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across all 28 stage tables. This is what pins the member-tuple width at 4 and
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the named-field count at 5; it was not assumed.
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2. **Roster agreement** — the `Enumerate_Squadrons` record's `key -> id` mapping
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agrees with the name each record resolves independently through its own
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`squadron_off`, for **1160 of 1160**.
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S17 has no `stage\UnitGroup_S17.tbl` in `GP_MAIN_GAME_E.pak`, matching the
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missing S17 stage record.
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## ❌ Refuted along the way
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* **The record key is not the squadron id's name hash.**
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`name_hash("TCN001") = 0xd639f1a4`, but the keys run
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`0x659aff47, 0x659b0046, 0x669b0047, …` — 0 of 112 match. What the key encodes
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is still ❔. Its byte structure (`b0` ramping, `b2` taking small signed values)
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looks like a packed tuple, untested.
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* **Squadron ids do not use a separate string base.** An earlier reading here
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put them at `STR + 0x15` and scored "109 of 111", which looked like a near-fit
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but was an artefact of the uniform 7-byte id stride — it silently shifted
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every name by three entries (record 0 read as `ADN104` instead of `ADN101`,
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and 17 `TC*`-named squadrons came out with `SideID = ADAN`). The roster record
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refuted it outright, and with the correct base — plain `STR` — agreement is
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111/111. The lesson is that a 98 %-looking score on a self-consistent stride
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is not evidence; the roster was an independent oracle and should have been
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consulted first.
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* **The 20-byte "section header"** described in an earlier draft of
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[stage-definition-table.md](stage-definition-table.md) does not exist. What
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looked like `(tag, 0, 0, count, size)` was the file's last 16-byte record
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followed by the `npool` word. The corrected layout above is uniform across all
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28 files, which the earlier reading was not — it failed on 9 of them.
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## What is still open
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* The meaning of the 4-byte record key.
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* The member tuple's third field `n`.
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* **The interval values.** `DisableInterval` is a per-squadron *flag* and 31
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squadrons set it, but the interval durations, spawn triggers and arrival
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positions are not in this file. The next places to look are
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`Formation_*.tbl` (the formation geometry and possibly its timing) and
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`EnumSquadron_Test.tbl`, both named by the stage record.
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