Map file
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The Map file format files are certain Level Files located in a mission's level folder. These control all the major properties of a the level. All of these can either be opened using a Hex-Editing Program or more preferably using the RRU Level Editor or the Map Tool. In the base game files they are often paired with .BLX files (which are possible leftovers from the Rock Raiders Beta, which are not necessary to run the map).
There are nine different types of map files for the LEGO Rock Raiders:
Block Pointers Map
The block pointers map, found as tuto.MAP in LEGO Rock Raiders. is the .MAP file that designates the locations of tutorial blocks.
Tutorial blocks are markers or flags that the game uses in cooperation with the .NPL file of the mission that uses a block pointers map. Depending on the objective scripting, the flags can determine where the camera will move at a certain time, and will check whether a cavern has been exposed or if a Rock Raider or unit has traveled across a certain block. In some cases, it also tells a monster where to travel, and can trigger a scripting function if they stop at a certain flag.
Coding
Like the Emrg.map file, Tutorial Blocks are all given different numbers in sequence.
00 00
- Not a Tutorial Block
01 00 and higher
- Tutorial Block
CryOre map
The CryOre map, usually found as cror.map, is the map file type that designates the locations and amounts of Energy Crystals and Ore in a level (hence the name Crystals and Ore). Note that this only applies to materials found in walls defined in the terrain map; materials found lying around in open caverns are defined in the Object List, and Ore dug up out of rubble is defined in the PTL file.
CryOre map files use only the following values:
00 00
- None01 00
,03 00
- One Energy Crystal02 00
,04 00
- One Ore05 00
,07 00
- Three Energy Crystals06 00
,08 00
- Three Ore09 00
,0B 00
- Five Energy Crystals0A 00
,0C 00
,10 00
- Five Ore0D 00
,13 00
- Eleven Energy Crystals0E 00
,14 00
- Eleven Ore11 00
,17 00
- Twenty-Five Energy Crystals12 00
,18 00
- Twenty-Five Ore19 00
and higher - Crashes the game when exposed
Emerge map
The Emerge map, usually found as emrg.map, is the map file type that designates the locations of emerging monsters.
There are two things defined in the emerge map: trigger points and emerge points. All the trigger points of an identical number are tied to the emerge points of the number one above the trigger point's. When a Rock Raider walks over a trigger point, a monster will emerge from the emerge point tied to that trigger. The emerge point must be on a wall defined in the terrain map or no monster can be triggered; if all the walls located on an emerge points of the same number are mined or destroyed, the trigger point will cease to function. Emerge points can be on any wall except for Solid Rock.
Coding
Like the block pointers map, every emerge block is given a different number, in sequential order. Unlike the block pointers map, however, the numbers go up in increments of six instead of one, so that, for example, 02 00
and its trigger 01 00
are the first emerge in the map, but 08 00
and its trigger 07 00
will be the second, instead of 04 00
and 03 00
.
00 00
- No Emerging on this block
01 00 and higher in increments of 6
- Trigger on this block
02 00 and higher in increments of 6
- Emerging on this block
Erode Map
- Main article: Erosion
The Erode map, usually found as erod.map, is the map file that designates the locations of eroding lava and erosion paths. Like the surface map, the Erode map is coded so that higher numbers represent more dangerous erosion.
Erode map files use only the following values:
00 00
- No erosion01 00
,03 00
,05 00
,07 00
,09 00
- Blocks that only erode on a space adjacent to lava, with09 00
eroding the fastest and01 00
eroding the slowest02 00
,04 00
,06 00
,08 00
,0A 00
- Blocks that begin eroding at the start of the mission, regardless of whether they are next to lava or not, with0A 00
eroding the fastest and02 00
eroding the slowest
Odd numbers 0B 00
and higher have no effect. Even numbers 0C 00
and higher cause the erosion to progress backwards into the unused first stage, which it remains at until repaired.
Fallin Map
The fallin map, usually found as fall.map is the .MAP file that designates the locations of cave-ins.
Coding
Like the Erod.map file and High.map file, the higher the number, the more dangerous or unstable the cave-in.
00 00
- No cave-ins
01 00, 02 00, 03 00, 04 00, 05 00, 06 00, 07 00, 08 00
- cave-ins, 01 00
being least dangerous, 08 00
being most dangerous.
Path Map
The path map, found as path.MAP in LEGO Rock Raiders, is the .MAP file that designates the locations of Power Paths and exposed rubble.
Coding
There are several known numbers used in this file:
00 00
- No Power Paths or rubble
01 00
- Rubble
02 00
- Power Path
Predug Map
The predug map, usually found as dugg.MAP in LEGO Rock Raiders's files, is the .MAP file that designates the locations of hidden or exposed caverns (as well as Slimy Slug holes).
00 00
- No cavern (wall)
01 00
- Exposed cavern
02 00
- Hidden cavern
03 00
- Exposed Slimy Slug hole
04 00
- Hidden Slimy Slug hole
Surface map
The Surface map, usually found as high.map (and therefore often called the height map), is the .MAP file which designates the height of the terrain at various locations in a mission.
Coding
Like the erode map, the higher the number, the higher the incremented value - in this case, the higher a specific block is. For reference, the height from floor to ceiling in the unmodified game, with a rough depth of 40 and a ceiling height of 40, is 6 height units.
00 00
, 01 00
, 02 00
, 03 00
, 04 00
, 05 00
, 06 00
, 07 00
, 08 00
, 09 00
, 0A 00
- Height, 00 00
is lowest, 0A 00
is highest.
The file can also be edited directly with a hex editor for more extreme heights. The Map Tool allows a height of up to 40 00
, which can cause parts of low ground to disappear as they end up out of draw distance.
Terrain map
The Terrain map, usually found as surf.map (not to be confused with the Surface map, which controls floor height), is the map file type that designates the locations of various walls, as well as ground, water, and lava. The PlayStation version of the game also uses Terrain maps, found as terrain.map, though seams are not used in-game.
Terrain map files use only the following values:
00 00
- Some form of ground01 00
- Solid Rock02 00
- Hard Rock03 00
- Loose Rock04 00
- Dirt05 00
- Dirt, was most likely once Soil06 00
- Basic lava07 00
- unconfirmed08 00
- Ore Seam09 00
- Water0A 00
- Energy Crystal Seam0B 00
- Recharge Seam0C 00
- unconfirmed0D 00
- unconfirmed0E 00
- unconfirmed0F 00
- unconfirmed10 00
- unconfirmed11 00
- unconfirmed
The code can continue up to 11 00
without the game crashing, though the results are very odd.
It is suspected that 05 00
may have originaly been soil.
01 00
- Ground02 00
- Dirt03 00
-04 00
-05 00
- Solid Rock06 00
- Lava07 00
- Water
Other
There are also map files used for the Playstation Game:
- The Terrain.map (was undocumented on the old wiki)
Map files are encoded in Hexadecimal Code. Every different kind of square in the level is designated a specific number in a specific map file.