KMP (File Format)
- File formats
- KMP File Format & Sections
- AREA type
- Cameras
- ENPT Settings
- ITPT Settings
- Item Settings - Item Boxes
- Item Settings - Objects
- Lists
- Tutorials
- KMP Editing
- KMP Editing/Cameras
- Start Position
- Check Point
- Respawn Point
- Cannon
- Presence flags
- Enemy routes in battle arenas
- Testing a Track
- Visual Review with »wkmpt DRAW«
- Tools
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.
File Header
This is the general layout for a KMP header:
Offset | Size | Description |
---|---|---|
0x00 | 4 | File magic, always 'RKMD' in ASCII |
0x04 | 4 | Length of the file in bytes. |
0x08 | 2 | N= Number of sections in the file. |
0x0a | 2 | Base offset for all sections. Add this value to all section offsets to get a file offset. |
0x0c | 4 | Unknown meaning, perhaps something like a revision number. |
0x10 | N*4 | 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. Don't assume, that a section type is always at the same position. |
N*4 + 0x10 | End of this file header |
Mario Kart 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 an other section layout.
Offset | Size | Description |
---|---|---|
0x00 | 4 | File magic, always 'RKMD' in ASCII |
0x04 | 4 | Length of the file in bytes. |
0x08 | 2 | Number of sections in the file (15). |
0x0a | 2 | Base offset for all sections. Add this value to all section offsets to get a file offset. The value is usually 0x4c (76) and points to the end of this file header. |
0x0c | 4 | 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 | 4 | KTPT section offset (Starting positions of racers). |
0x14 | 4 | ENPT section offset (Enemy route points). |
0x18 | 4 | ENPH section offset (Divide enemy points into groups). |
0x1C | 4 | ITPT section offset (Item route points). |
0x20 | 4 | ITPH section offset (Divide item points into groups). |
0x24 | 4 | CKPT section offset (Check points). |
0x28 | 4 | CKPH section offset (Divide checkpoints into groups). |
0x2C | 4 | GOBJ section offset (Global objects). |
0x30 | 4 | POTI section offset (Routes). |
0x34 | 4 | AREA section offset (Camera and other areas). |
0x38 | 4 | CAME section offset (Cameras). |
0x3C | 4 | JGPT section offset (Respawn positions) |
0x40 | 4 | CNPT section offset (Cannon target positions). |
0x44 | 4 | MSPT section offset (End battle positions). |
0x48 | 4 | STGI section offset (Stage information). |
0x4c | End of this file header |
All MKWii tracks use this section order, but it is irrelevant for the game. 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:
Offset | Size | Description |
---|---|---|
0x00 | 4 | The section name in ASCII |
0x04 | 2 | Number of entries. |
0x06 | 2 | 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 always 0 (seems to be a 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 | vector | A 3D position vector of the start position. |
0x0C | vector | A 3D rotation vector of the start position. |
0x18 | short | 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 | short | 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). Each entry is a 0x14 byte structure as follows.
Offset | Type | Description |
---|---|---|
0x00 | vector | 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 | short | Point properties. ENPT Settings |
0x12 | short | Point properties. 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 -1. 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 -1. 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 | short | 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). Each entry is a 0x14 byte structure as follows.
Offset | Type | Description |
---|---|---|
0x00 | vector | 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 | short | Point properties. ITPT Settings |
0x12 | short | Point properties. 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 -1. 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 -1. 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 | short | 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). Each entry is a 0x14 byte structure as follows.
Offset | Type | Description |
---|---|---|
0x00 | vector | A 2D position vector (X and Z coordinate) of the left point of the check point line. |
0x08 | vector | 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 (>1000 units) 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 00): 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 01..FE): 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 FF): 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 -1. |
0x08 | byte[6] | Next group. The indicies of up to 6 next CKPH group entries to follow. Unneeded slots are set to value -1. |
0x0E | short | 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.
Offset | Type | Description |
---|---|---|
0x00 | short | Object ID to identify the Object. See »Object« or »KMP Object Query«. |
0x02 | short | Padding. |
0x04 | vector | A 3D position vector of the object. |
0x10 | vector | A 3D rotation vector of the object's rotation in degree. |
0x1C | vector | A 3D scale vector of the object's scale. Value 1.0 is the neutral scale. |
0x28 | short | Route used by the object. This is index link into the POTI section. The value 0xff (-1) means "no route". |
0x2A | short[8] | Up to 8 object specific settings. See »Object«. |
0x3A | short | Object presence flags. See »Object«. |
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 itembox has its origin about 50 units below the lowest visible point. The positioning of objects is done in this order:
- First a object is scaled around the origin. The x-value is for width scaling, y for the height and z for the length (same directions as the map). For some animated objects like the itembox, the scale factors are ignored.
- Then the object is rotated. The rotation is done in three steps. For some animated objects the rotation values are ignored.
- First the x-value (degree) is used to rotate the object around the x-axis of the origin. Take the right hand, let the thump show to the right (into the direction of the positive values), then the fingers show the rotation direction.
- The the y-value is used for a rotation around the y-axis of the origin.
- The the z-value is used for a rotation around the z-axis of the origin.
- 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 point of the route.
POTI
The POTI section describes routes; these are routes for many things including cameras and objects.
Each entry is a 0x4 byte structure as follows, which is followed by 0x10 byte structures.
Offset | Size | Description |
---|---|---|
0x00 | 2 | Number of points in the route. |
0x02 | 1 | Route setting #1, 0 or 1 in Nintendos tracks.
|
0x03 | 1 | Route setting #2, 0 or 1 in Nintendos tracks.
|
Each point in each entry is as follows.
Offset | Type | Description |
---|---|---|
0x00 | vector | A 3D position vector of the route position. |
0x0C | short | Route point settings. If used for speed or time, the value is based of 1/60 sec. |
0x0E | short | Additional settings, depend on the object. Values found in Nintendos 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. Each entry is a 0x30 byte structure as follows.
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 value 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.
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 | vector | A 3D position vector of the respawn position. |
0x0C | vector | A 3D rotation vector to define the direction for the players. |
0x18 | short | 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 | short | 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 | vector | 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 | vector | 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 | short | 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 | short | 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 | vector | A 3D position vector of this point. |
0x0C | vector | A 3D angle vector of this point. |
0x18 | short | The ID of this entry. For all Nintendo tracks the value is set to the index. The usage is unknown. |
0x1A | short | 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 | 0: Lakitu is invisible if driving backwards; 1–3: It is visible. Always 0x03 in Nintendos tracks. Controls lap count in some CT distributions. |
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 Nintendos tracks. |
0x04 | u32 | Maybe a color definition. 0xe6e6e6 or 0xffffff in Nintendos tracks. |
0x08 | u16 | Unknown. 0x3200 or 0x4b00 in Nintendos tracks. |
0x0a | u16 | Unknown. Always 0 in Nintendos 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.
- Some people think that the byte at offset 0x00 controls the lap count (is always 0x03 in Nintendos tracks and the XML suggest it). While this is not true in the context of the vanilla game, some distributions such as the upcoming version of CTGP-R and the CTT pack have a code that allows the lap count to be modified using this setting, as the setting does not appear to have any other uses for settings 01 and higher. For competitions the lap count is set in the RKC file.
- See »Start Position« for more details about the pole position and the narrow mode.
Tools
The following tools can handle KMP files:
- Modern Tools (in alphabetical order)
- KMP Cloud, by Vulcanus2
- KMP Modifier, by kHacker35000vr
- Wiimms SZS Tools, by Wiimm
- Old Tools
- SZS Modifier, by Chadderz
- CTools Pack, by Chadderz (announced)
SZS Modifier, CTools Pack, 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 and variables instead of integers. → How to edit KMP files