KMP (File Format)

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A KMP File contains information about how the course is played, such as start positions and check points. A variant on the KMP format has been used in Mario Kart DS. This article describes the Mario Kart Wii KMP format. The Mario Kart 7 KMP format is described here.

File Header

This is the general layout for a KMP header:

File header of a KMP file
Offset Type Description
0x00 String File magic.
0x04 UInt32 Length of the file in bytes.
0x08 UInt16 N = Number of sections in the file.
0x0A UInt16 Header length.
0x0C UInt32 Unknown meaning, perhaps something like a revision number. The value of MK7 KMP files is 0x1C0C (le) = 3100.
0x10 UInt32[N] N section offsets. The type of each section can be detected by analysing the first 4 bytes of the section; it's always the section name. The offset is relative to the end of this header.
N * 0x04 + 0x10 End of this file header

Mario Kart Wii specific file header

This is specific file header for Mario Kart Wii tracks. It is a structure with 0x4C (=76) bytes. Some files like old_mario_gc_hayasi.szs have a different section layout.

File header of a typical MKW KMP file
Offset Type Description
0x00 String File magic. Always RKMD in ASCII.
0x04 UInt32 Length of the file in bytes.
0x08 UInt16 Number of sections in the file (15).
0x0A UInt16 The length of the header in bytes. This value is usually 0x4C.
0x0C UInt32 Unknown meaning, perhaps something like a revision number. The value for all KMP files in MKW is 0x9D8 (2520), with 2 exceptions: The value for draw_demo.txt is 0x910 (2320), and for loser_demo.txt it's 0x9CE (2510); both incl. "_d" variant.
0x10 UInt32 KTPT section offset (starting positions of racers).
0x14 UInt32 ENPT section offset (enemy route points).
0x18 UInt32 ENPH section offset (divide enemy points into groups).
0x1C UInt32 ITPT section offset (item route points).
0x20 UInt32 ITPH section offset (divide item points into groups).
0x24 UInt32 CKPT section offset (check points).
0x28 UInt32 CKPH section offset (divide checkpoints into groups).
0x2C UInt32 GOBJ section offset (global objects).
0x30 UInt32 POTI section offset (routes).
0x34 UInt32 AREA section offset (areas).
0x38 UInt32 CAME section offset (cameras).
0x3C UInt32 JGPT section offset (respawn positions).
0x40 UInt32 CNPT section offset (cannon target positions).
0x44 UInt32 MSPT section offset (end battle positions).
0x48 UInt32 STGI section offset (stage information).
0x4C End of this file header

All offsets are relative to the end of the header. The section order is irrelevant for the game, but all MKW tracks use this section order. You can swap those sections and the track will still work.

Sections

The file consists of a series of sections, each describing a different aspect of the course. Each section has a header and entries. The header structure is equal for all sections. The section order of this page reflects the order of the KMP files.

Section header for all KMP sections
Offset Type Description
0x00 UInt32 The section name in ASCII.
0x04 UInt16 Number of entries.
0x06 UInt16 Additional value. The POTI section stores the total number of points of all routes. The CAME section store different values (see CAME section for details). For all other sections the value is 0 (seems to be padding).
0x08 End of header & start of first entry

KTPT

The KTPT (kart point) section describes kart points; the starting positions of racers. Each entry is a 0x1C byte structure as follows.

Offset Type Description
0x00 Float[3] A 3D position vector of the start position.
0x0C Float[3] A 3D rotation vector of the start position.

The related start line of the minimap is not mirrored at mirror races. So it is recommended to use only multiple of ±90° (one of 0°, ±90°, ±180° or ±270°) for the Y-rotation. See »Start Line Bug« for details.

0x18 Int16 The player index. In courses with multiple start positions (such as battle courses), this determines which players start here. Otherwise set to 0xFFFF to set all players start positions to this point.
0x1A UInt16 Padding.

For races (not battle) and time trial always the first entry independent of the player index is used to define the positions of all 12 drivers. There are 2 flags in section STGI to place the drivers a little bit closer and to define the pool position (left or right). See »Start Position« for more details.

ENPT

The ENPT (enemy point) section describes enemy points; the routes of CPU racers. The CPU racers attempt to follow the path described by each group of points (as determined by ENPH). More than 0xFF (255) entries will force a console freeze while loading the track. Each entry is a 0x14 byte structure as follows:

Offset Type Description
0x00 Float[3] A 3D position vector of the enemy position.
0x0C Float This value controls, how much the enemies leave the direct point-to-point line to the left and right side.
0x10 UInt16 Point setting 1. ENPT Settings.
0x12 Byte Point setting 2. ENPT Settings.
0x13 Byte Point setting 3. ENPT Settings.

ENPH

The ENPH (enemy path) section describes enemy points grouping; how the routes of cpu racers link together. Each entry is a 0x10 byte structure as follows (same structure as ITPH and CKPH):

Offset Type Description
0x00 Byte Point start. The index of the first ENPT entry in this group.
0x01 Byte Point length. The number of ENPT entries in this group.
0x02 Byte[6] Previous group. The indicies of up to 6 the previous ENPH groups entries may have followed. Unneeded slots are set to value 0xFF. Theses values are used if a driver drives back or is respawned at an position before falling down.
0x08 Byte[6] Next group. The indicies of up to 6 next ENPH group entries to follow. Unneeded slots are set to value 0xFF. Each driver uses one route randomly, but a short cut item can be set as condition (see ENPT Settings). To increase the probability of one route, enter the section index more than once.
0x0E UInt16 Padding.

ITPT

The ITPT (item point) section describes item points; the routes of items such as red shells. The items attempt to follow the path described by each group of points (as determined by ITPH). More than 0xFF (255) entries will force a console freeze while loading the track. Each entry is a 0x14 byte structure as follows:

Offset Type Description
0x00 Float[3] A 3D position vector of the item position.
0x0C Float Bullet Bill can be controlled a little bit by left and right. And this value defines the range. Factor 1 allows about 10 units left and right movement.
0x10 UInt16 Point properties 1. ITPT Settings.
0x12 UInt16 Point properties 2. ITPT Settings.

ITPH

The ITPH (item path) section describes item point grouping; how the routes of items link together. Each entry is a 0x10 byte structure as follows (same structure as ENPH and CKPH):

Offset Type Description
0x00 Byte Point start. The index of the first ITPT entry in this group.
0x01 Byte Point length. The number of ITPT entries in this group.
0x02 Byte[6] Previous group. The indicies of up to 6 the previous ITPH groups entries may have followed. Unneeded slots are set to value 0xFF. Theses values are used if a driver drives back or is respawned at an position before falling down.
0x08 Byte[6] Next group. The indicies of up to 6 next ITPH group entries to follow. Unneeded slots are set to value 0xFF. The first link is the standard route. The other links are only used, if a driver enters the route or if a red shell has already selected a driver.
0x0E UInt16 Padding.

CKPT

The CKPT (checkpoint) section describes check points; the routes players must follow to count laps. The racers must follow the path described by each group of points (as determined by CKPH). More than 0xFF (255) entries are possible, if the last group begins at index ≤254. But it is not recommended, because Lakitu appears. Each entry is a 0x14 byte structure as follows:

Offset Type Description
0x00 Float[2] A 2D position vector (X and Z coordinate) of the left point of the check point line.
0x08 Float[2] A 2D position vector (X and Z coordinate) of the right point of the check point line.
0x10 Byte Respawn position. This is a zero based index link into the JGPT section to respawn players at once they have entered this checkpoint. For the lap count trigger and for the key check points it is important, that the respawn point is before the check point.
0x11 Byte Checkpoint type (see notes below).
0x12 Byte Previous check point in this group's sequence; 0xFF for the first point of the group.
0x13 Byte Next check point in this group's sequence; 0xFF for the last point of the group.

The check point area is a quadrilateral created by the 2 points of the current check point and the 2 points of the next check point. For end of groups, all by CKPH linked points are used to create multiple check point areas. A check point is triggered, if a player enters (one of) this quadrilateral.

Checkpoints are separated in 3 type classes:

  • Lap count trigger (type 0x00): When passed in right direction it increases the lap count, if you pass in reverse direction it decreases the lap count. All players start in lap 0 and after passing the line in lap 1. The shown lap number is the maximal reached one and never smaller than 1. If 2 or more lap counters exist, the track has an online positioning bug: Each player is counted as position 1 after crossing any lap counter with the effect of bad items.
  • Key checkpoint (types 0x01 – 0xFE): If you cross 01 you need to follow all in order before lap count trigger works. Used to prevent ultra shortcuts. These kind of check points is also relevant for respawning if falling down far away from other check points. A good idea is to place a key check point directly before and another behind the lap count trigger.
  • Normal checkpoint (type 0xFF): Used for setting respawns and checking in which position you are. It may effects more.

⇒ For more details, see article »Check Point«, that explains the quadrilateral model.

CKPH

The CKPH (checkpoint path) section describes check point grouping; how the routes of check points link together. Each entry is a 0x10 byte structure as follows (same structure as ENPH and ITPH):

Offset Type Description
0x00 Byte Point start. The index of the first CKPT entry in this group.
0x01 Byte Point length. The number of CKPT entries in this group.
0x02 Byte[6] Previous group. The indicies of up to 6 the previous CKPH groups entries may have followed. Unneeded slots are set to value 0xFF.
0x08 Byte[6] Next group. The indicies of up to 6 next CKPH group entries to follow. Unneeded slots are set to value 0xFF.
0x0E UInt16 Padding.

GOBJ

The GOBJ (game object) section describes objects; things on the course such as item boxes, pipes and also control objects such as sound triggers. Each entry is a 0x3C byte structure as follows:

3 axes of the coordinate system
Offset Type Description
0x00 UInt16 Object ID to identify the Object. See »Object« or »KMP Object Query«.
0x02 UInt16 Padding.
0x04 Float[3] A 3D position vector of the object.
0x10 Float[3] A 3D rotation vector of the object's rotation in degree.
0x1C Float[3] A 3D scale vector of the object's scale. Value 1.0 is the neutral scale.
0x28 UInt16 Route used by the object. This is index link into the POTI section. The value 0xFFFF means "no route".
0x2A UInt16[8] Up to 8 object specific settings. See »Object«.
0x3A UInt16 Presence flags.
0x3C End of object & start of next object

Each object has a origin. The origin is a well defined point. If it is placed directly on the ground, the position of the object is perfect. For example the item box has its origin about 50 units below the lowest visible point. The positioning of objects is done in this order:

  1. First a object is scaled around the origin. See the picture on the right for the axes. For some animated objects like the item box, the scale factors are ignored.
  2. Then the object is rotated. The rotation is done in three steps. For some animated objects the rotation values are ignored.
    1. Right-handed rotation around the X-axis using the X-coordinate of the 3D vector.
    2. Right-handed rotation around the Y-axis using the Y-coordinate of the 3D vector.
    3. Right-handed rotation around the Z-axis using the Z-coordinate of the 3D vector.
  3. As last operation the object is shifted to the position (the origin is set to the position coordinates). For some Objects with a route, the start position is the first (or indexed) point of the route.

POTI

The POTI (point information) section describes routes; these are routes for many things including cameras and objects.

Each entry is a 0x04 byte structure as follows, which is followed by 0x10 byte structures:

Route Header
Offset Type Description
0x00 UInt16 Number of points in the route.
0x02 Byte Route setting 1, 0 or 1 in Nintendo's tracks.
  • 0: Object or camera goes directly from point to point with a hard direction change.
  • 1: Enables a smooth motion.
0x03 Byte Route setting 2, 0 or 1 in Nintendo's tracks.
  • 0: Use route cyclic (go to first point after leaving last point).
  • 1: Use route forward, then backward, then forward and so on.

Each point in each entry is as follows:

Route Points
Offset Type Description
0x00 Float[3] A 3D position vector of the route position.
0x0C UInt16 Route point settings. If used for speed or time, the value is based of 1/60s.
0x0E UInt16 Additional settings, depend on the object. Values found in Nintendo's tracks: 0 (~94%), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 12.

AREA

The AREA section describes areas; used to determine which camera to use for example. The size is 5000 for both the positive and negative sides of the X and the Z axes, and 10000 for only the positive side of the Y axis. Each entry is a 0x30 byte structure as follows:

AREA entry data structure (0x30 bytes)
Offset Type Description
0x00 Byte Area shape. 0 = box, 1 = cylinder.
0x01 Byte Area type. Values 0–A.
0x02 Byte Index of CAME if type = 0x00, 0xFF else.
0x03 Byte Priority value. A higher number means a higher priority to choose which area activates if multiple areas are intersected.
0x04 Float[3] A 3D position vector of the area.
0x10 Float[3] A 3D rotation vector of the area's rotation.
0x1C Float[3] A 3D scale vector of the area's scale.
0x28 UInt16 AREA setting 1. Used by AREA type 2, 3, 6, 8 and 9.
0x2A UInt16 AREA setting 2. Used by AREA type 6 and 3.
0x2C Byte Route ID used by AREA type 3.
0x2D Byte Enemy point ID. This value is used by AREA type 4.
0x2E UInt16 Padding? Always 0 in Nintendo tracks.

The list can be found in the XML file /Race/Course/koopa_course.szs/course.0. Use it only for hints how it can work: 

	menu      AREAtype  7
	item      Camera  0
	item      ObjClip  1
	item      EfControl  2
	item      FogControl  3
	item      PullControl  4
	item      EnemyFall  5
	item      2DmapArea  6

CAME

The CAME section describes cameras; used to determine cameras for starting routes, time trial pans, etc. The u8 at offset 0x06 in the section header is the index of the first camera to use in the opening pan around the track. The u8 value at offset 0x7 in the section header is the first camera used in the videos on the track selection menu of the track. This value is ignored, as the videos have already been generated and stored.
Each entry is a 0x48 byte structure as follows:

CAME entry data structure (0x48 bytes)
Offset Type Description Box name in
SZS Modifier 		Names in
Wiimms Tools 		Column name in
KMP Modifier 		Box name in
KMP Cloud
0x00 Byte Camera type. Settings
(box 1, first 2 digits) 		type Type Type
0x01 Byte Next camera entry index. Value 0xFF means: no next camera. Settings
(box 1, second 2 digits) 		next Next Next
0x02 Byte Camshake. Exact meanings unknown (always 0). Settings
(box 1, third 2 digits) 		unknown Shake Shake
0x03 Byte Route used by the camera. This is index link into the POTI section. The value 0xFF means "no route". Settings
(box 1, last 2 digits) 		route Route Route
0x04 UInt16 Velocity of the camera point in units per 100/60 sec (=distance/1.67 sec). Settings
(box 2, first 4 digits) 		v(came) V(Cam) Pointspeed
0x06 UInt16 Velocity of zooming in units per 100/60 sec (=units/1.67 sec) (tested with camera type 5). Settings
(box 2, last 4 digits) 		v(zoom) V(Zoom) Zoomspeed
0x08 UInt16 Velocity of the view point in distance per 100/60 sec (=distance/1.67 sec) (tested with camera type 5). Settings
(box 3, first 4 digits) 		v(v.pt) V(View) Viewspeed
0x0A Byte Start flag. Exact meanings unknown. Settings
(box 3, third 2 digits) 		unknown Flag
(First 2 digits) 		Start
0x0B Byte Movie flag. Exact meanings unknown. Settings
(box 3, last 2 digits) 		unknown Flag
(Second 2 digits) 		Movie
0x0C Float[3] A 3D position vector of the camera. X, Y and Z position (x,y,z) X, Y and Z PositionX, PositionY and PositionZ
0x18 Float[3] A rotation 3D vector. Almost always 0,0,0. X2, Y2 and Z2 rotation (x,y,z) Roll, Yaw and Pitch RotationX, RotationY and RotationZ
0x24 Float Zoom start: The angle of view (field of view). Angles >180 create curious effects. X3 zoom beg Zoom Zoomstart
0x28 Float Zoom end. The camera changes the zoom to this value. Offset 0x06 (Velocity) controls the speed of zooming. Y3 zoom end Zoom2 Zoomend.
0x2C Float[3] Start vector of the view point (camera type 5) or the relative camera position (camera type 3). Z3, X4 and Y4 view point beg (x,y,z) View(x), View(y) and View(z) ViewStartX, ViewStartY and ViewStartZ
0x38 Float[3] (Destination) vector of the view point. Z4, X5 and Y5 view point end (x,y,z) View2(x), View2(y) and View2(z) ViewEndX, ViewEndY and ViewEndZ
0x44 Float The time how long this Camera is active. (in units of 1/60 seconds). Z5 sec*60 Time Time

The list can be found in the XML file /Race/Course/koopa_course.szs/course.0. Use it only for hints how it can work: 

	menu      CAMType  9
	item      Goal  0
	item      FixSearch  1
	item      PathSearch  2
	item      KartFollow  3
	item      KartPathFollow  4
	item      OP_FixMoveAt  5
	item      OP_PathMoveAt  6
	item      MiniGame  7
	item      MissionSuccess  8

JGPT

The JGPT section describes Jugem points; the respawn positions. The index is relevant for the link of the CKPT section. Each entry is a 0x1C byte structure as follows:

Offset Type Description
0x00 Float[3] A 3D position vector of the respawn position.
0x0C Float[3] A 3D rotation vector to define the direction for the players.
0x18 UInt16 The ID of this respawn position. For all Nintendo tracks the value is set to the index. The usage is unknown and links of the CKPT section points to the index and are not related to this id (tested by Wiimm).
0x1A Int16 Range.

Read »Respawn Point« for more information and for hints about placing the respawn points.

CNPT

The CNPT section describes cannon points; the cannon target positions. Each entry is a 0x1C byte structure as follows:

Offset Type Description
0x00 Float[3] A 3D destination of the cannon. This point defines a destination tangent or border of a ball around the cannon, which is the landing zone. (Think: 2D circle with the cannon in the middle).
0x0C Float[3] A 3D angle vector of the direction to release players from the cannon in. The second value (Y-rotation from cannon start point) is the most important value, because it declares the shooting direction. The players flight in the entered direction until they reach the defined tangent.

If the X value is >0.0 and ≤100.0, it is possible, that a driver turns right or left if landing. See this video as example.

0x18 UInt16 The ID of this cannon position. For all Nintendo tracks the value is set to the index. This value seems do be irrelevant. For the KCL flag the zero based index is important.
0x1A Int16 Shoot effect: 0xFFFF is straight, 0x0001 is curved, 0x0002 is curved AND slow, 0x0003 is slow.
How to calculate the Y-rotation
  • First find out the cannon point and call it P1. It is the middle of the cannon area in the KCL.
  • Now find out the destination point and call it P2.
  • The horizontal direction is now calculated by: atan2( P2.x - P1.x, P2.z - P1.z ). Don't forget, that many calculators use radiant instead of degree. If so, multiply the result by 180/π (~57.29578).
  • If atan2() is not available, atan( (P2.x-P1.x) / (P2.z-P1.z) ) can be used, but the sign of the result must be determined by yourself.
  • If using Wiimms KMP compiler, just enter hDir(P1,P2) in the place of the y value.

See »Creating a Cannon« for more details.

MSPT

The MSPT section describes MSPT; After battles and competitions have ended the players are placed on this point(s). Each entry is a 0x1C byte structure as follows:

Offset Type Description
0x00 Float[3] A 3D position vector of this point.
0x0C Float[3] A 3D angle vector of this point.
0x18 UInt16 The ID of this entry. For all Nintendo tracks the value is set to the index. The usage is unknown.
0x1A UInt16 Unknown.

STGI

The STGI section describes stage information; information about the course. Each entry is a 0x0C byte structure as follows:

Offset Type Description
0x00 Byte Despite the weird names for this setting in the course.0 file (0: "(null)", 1: "Test", 2: "MINI_GAME", 3: "Grandprix") which seem to be the types for Mario Kart DS, this setting was intended to be the lap count. All the original tracks have this value set to 3, and all the competitions with a modified lap count have the actual lap count in there.
However, the game does not load it, even for competitions the lap count is loaded from the RKC file instead.

There is a cheat code which fixes the behaviour and makes the game use this value as lap count in normal races.

0x01 Byte 0: Pole position is left.
1: Pole position is right.
0x02 Byte 0: Normal distance.
1: Driver are closer together (in driving direction, narrow mode).
0x03 Byte Unknown. 0 or 1 in Nintendo tracks.
0x04 Byte[4] FLARE_COLOR, as defined in course.0. 0x00E6E6E6 or 0x00FFFFFF in Nintendo tracks. This is the lighting color given by the lensFX object in ARGB format.
0x08 Byte Unknown. 50 or 75 in Nintendo tracks.
0x09 Byte Unknown. Always 0 in Nintendo tracks.
0x0A Byte[2] Unknown. Always 0 in Nintendo tracks.

This value is also used as speed modifier in some Custom Track Distributions. Therefore the 2 most significant bytes of the floating point speed factor are stored in this member.

Notes
  • The initial interpretation of this section is based on definitions in the XML file /Race/Course/koopa_course.szs/course.0. Some people made tests and change the parameters without detecting any impact except the 2 documented bytes → Resume: It seems that this section is a mostly unused relict of early development.
  • See »Start Position« for more details about the pole position and the narrow mode.

Tools

The following tools can handle KMP files:

Modern Tools
Old Tools


SZS Modifier, KMP Modifier and KMP Cloud allow a GUI supported interactive modification of most parameters.

Wiimms SZS Tools converts a KMP file into a text representation including a small documentation. This text file can be edited with any editor or external tool. After modification the text file must be encoded into the binary representation. This encoding is done by a parser and compiler. While encoding, some parameters are calculated/corrected automatically. This whole decoding/encoding process covers all KMP parameters and allow the usage of names, variables and numerical expressions instead of simple numbers. → How to edit KMP files

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