Wiimms SZS Tools

Wiimms SZS Tools
File:Wiimms-SZS-Tools.png
Author:	Wiimm
Operating Systems:	Linux (i386,x86_64), Mac (i386,x86_64), Windows (cygwin).
Software Type:	SZS, BMG, KCL, KMP, StaticR.rel and Image Manager
Compression Formats:	Yaz0, Yaz1, WBZ.
Archive Formats:	SZS, U8, WU8, RARC, BRRES, BREFF, BREFT.
File Formats:	BMG, BTI, KCL, KMP, MDL0, TPL, TEX0, PNG, OBJ, StaticR.rel, main.dol.
Current Version:	1.22a, 2013-09-14
Website:	szs.wiimm.de

Introduction

Wiimms SZS Tools is a set of different tools to manipulate SZS, U8, RARC, BRRES, BREFF and BREFT archives and BMG, BTI, KCL, KMP, MDL0, TPL, TEX0 and StaticR.rel files. All tools are command line tools and run without any interaction. The tools are available for Linux, Mac and Windows. The main goal is to run them in batch files and scripts to automate recurring jobs. At the moment there are 6 tools:

wszst : Wiimms SZS Tool (handles SZS, U8, RARC, BRRES, BREFF and BREFT archives)
wbmgt : Wiimms BMG Tool (convert and patch BMG files in binary and text format).
wimgt : Wiimms Image Tool (convert and patch image files of Mario Kart Wii).
wkclt : Wiimms KCL Tool (convert raw KCL files from/into obj format).
wkmpt : Wiimms KMP Tool (handles raw and text KMP files, read text files like a compiler).
wstrt : Wiimms StaticR Tool (handles StaticR.rel files of Mario Kart Wii).

One main goal is the fully automated track name replacement. The tools together can do this. Another goal is to extract all sub files recursivley and transforming they into user friendly file formats (like text of png files) and support recreation of the original source files.

There is also an little How To.

Main Features

The tools are command line tools. This means, that there is no GUI support. The main advantage is, that you can place commands into scripts (batch files) for fully automated execution → More about command line.
wszst is the main SZS tool. It has a fast Yaz0 compressor with the best compression rates.
The wszst command CHECK can help you to find bugs in your track.
The new wszst command SLOTS makes a track proposal for working and non working slots.
The KCL tool wkclt can create KCL files from scratch (they become as small as possible) by reading an OBJ file. It can also export an existing KCL to an OBJ file with colors to make a KCL visible.
The KMP tool wkmpt can decode and compile (yes, it's a real compiler with loops and other control structures) KMP files.
- While compiling, it can overide some parameters for debugging or optimization.
- The KMP compiler can use the KCL to find optimal vertical positions of objects and route points. This is good for visual debugging.
The wkmpt command COBJECT creates an OBJ file with KCL and and add route positions and other things.
The wszst command PATCH can transform whole tracks inkl. KCL, KMP, MODEL, MINIMAP and VRCORN. Transforming means any combinations of scaling, rotating and shifting with different factors for each axis.
The wszst command MINIMAP can center the minimap automatically. You can use this command with SZS, U8, BRRES and MDL0 files.
The image tool wimgt can convert images of all formats:
- It can convert the file formats TPL, TEX0, BTI, BREFT and PNG to any other.
- It can convert the Image Formats I4, I8, IA4, IA8, RGB565, RGB5A3, RGBA32, C4, C8, C14X2 and CMPR to any other.
- It supports the palette formats IA8, RGB565 and RGB5A3.
- It can automatically create mipmaps, or it can use user defined mipmaps and create only missed mipmaps automatically.
- It can patch image with other images.

History and Download

Wiimm started the development of his SZS Tools in March 2011. The first goal was to automate the insertions of the track names for Wiimms Mario Kart Fun distributions. Therefore 2 tools are needed: A SZS extractor and creator and a BMG manipulator. The 2 tools wszst and wbmgt were ready in April 2011. After this, Wiimm implemented an Image-Tool (wimgt), an StaticR.rel tool (wstrt), a KMP tool (wkmpt) and a KCL tool (wkclt). All tools are command line tools to support Scripts and fully automated manipulation.

Latest Change Log

szs v1.22a r4602 - 2013-09-14

 - The Windows installer will now force type REG_EXPAND_SZ for path variables.

 - New commmand: wbmgt MIX: Works like CAT, but combines all input files.

 - Exported BMG text files will now show all characters of the Unicode Basic
   Multilingual Plane (BMP; codes <=0xfffd) without escape sequences.

 - Tool wbmgt: Option --single-line supports now 2 levels and option --brief
   3 levels. See http://szs.wiimm.de/opt/wbmgt/single-line and
   http://szs.wiimm.de/opt/wbmgt/brief for details.

 - New option: wszst --patch-bmg: Patch BMG sub files directly. There is no
   more need to extract BMG files before patching.

 - New option for tools wszst and wbmgt: --msg=list: If set, the BMG messages
   are filtered by this list. Only enabled messages are exported to the ouput
   BMG file (binary or text).

 - If an archive (SZS,...) is found while reading a BMG file, the archive is
   searched for BMG sub files and found sub files together are used as BMG
   source.

 - wstrt can now detect main.dol files and its type (PAL, USA, JAP or KOR).

 - Option --kmp accepts now the keywords 1LAP, 2LPAS ... 9LAPS to modify the
   first byte of KMP/STGI (numer of laps). This first byte has only impact on
   patched main.dol files.


szs v1.21a r4578 - 2013-09-07

 - Improved built-in help system. Type e.g. "wszst help help" or visit
   http://szs.wiimm.de/cmd/wszst/help for details.

 - New keyword for option --kmp: FORCE: Ignore little repairable file structure
   issues on reading KMP files. Works like --force, but only for KMP files.

 - Bug fix: The check for the right position of all KMP sections failed.

 - Optimized handling for SZS sub files with 'out of range offsets'.

 - wszst: Option --auto-add can now be used together with the commands PATCH
   and NORMALIZE. EXPERIMENTAL!

 - Bug fix: Wrong calculation of parent directory index in U8 header fixed.
   This bug existed from the beginning of the SZS tools and it seems, that it
   had no impact for running a track or for other tools. However, the positive
   impact is, that the creation of the files Track.szs, Race.szs and the other
   language independent SZS files of MKWii directory './Scene/UI' works now.


Known bugs:

 - Minimaps with an additional bones layer above 'posLD' and 'posRU' (e.g.
   for scaling) are handled incorrect if adjusting the minimap.

Links

Tools Overview

wszst (Wiimms SZS Tool)

wszst is a command driven tool to manipulate archives:

Supported archive formats: SZS, U8, RARC, BRRES, BREFF and BREFT.
It can extract all subfiles of any archive.
While extracting some file formats can be decoded (converted to text or PNG files).
It can create all (but not RARC archives) while readind and scanning a directory structure. Decoded files are encoded autoamtically.

→ Tool wszst: Features, commands and options

wbmgt (Wiimms BMG Tool)

wbmgt is a command driven tool to manipulate BMG (message) files.
→ Tool wbmgt: Features, commands and options

wkclt (Wiimms KCL Tool)

wkclt is a command driven tool to convert KCL files into/from binary KCL from/into Wavefront OBJ files.
→ Tool wkclt: Features, commands and options
→ General parser syntax and semantics
→ KCL export and import guide

wkmpt (Wiimms KMP Tool)

wkmpt is a command driven tool to convert KMP files into/from binary from/into text files. A special compiler is used to allow variables, expressions, if..then..else, loops, macros and user defined functions while reading a KMP text file.
→ Tool wkmpt: Features, commands and options
→ General parser syntax and semantics
→ KMP text syntax and semantics
→ KMP parser functions
→ How to edit KMP files

wimgt (Wiimms Image Tool)

wimgt is a command driven tool to convert and aptch graphic images:

wimgt supports the file formats BREFT, BTI, TEX0, TPL and PNG as export and import type.
wimgt supports the internal image formats I4, I8, IA4, IA8, RGB565, RGB5A3, RGBA32, C4, C8, C14X2 and CMPR (and also different PNG formats).

→ Tool wimgt: Features, commands and options