Objects

XML file listing all entities placed on the map by the editor.

Source: https://sc2mapster.wiki.gg/wiki/File_Formats/Maps/Objects

Purpose

Contains placed Unit, Doodad, Point, and Camera records. This is the primary source for entity positions, rotations, player assignments, and unit type IDs. Unit types are catalog keys — they must be resolved through UnitData.xml → ActorData.xml → ModelData.xml to reach an .m3 file path.

Root Element

<PlacedObjects version="26">
    ...
</PlacedObjects>

Two known casings observed (beta vs release maps): - version (lowercase) — normal release maps - Version (uppercase) — beta phase 2 maps

<Unit>

Places a unit (including resources, start locations, and anything from the unit catalog).

<Unit
    id="?"
    variation="?"
    position="x,y,z"
    rotation="?"
    scale="x,y,z"
    section="?"
    unitType="CatalogID"
    player="0"
    resources="0">
    <AIFlag  index="IsUsable" value="1"/>
    <AIRebuild index="?" value="1"/>
    <Flag    index="?" value="?"/>
</Unit>

Attribute	Type	Notes
id	string	Unique object ID within the file
variation	int	Model variation index
position	vec3	World position x,y,z; z is height above terrain
rotation	float	Yaw angle in radians (or degrees — verify per map)
scale	vec3	Per-axis scale
section	int	Editor section grouping; ignored at runtime
unitType	string	Catalog ID — key into UnitData.xml; not an .m3 path
player	int	0-based player index
resources	int	Starting resources for resource units

Child elements: - <AIFlag index="..." value="..."> — AI flag; e.g. index="IsUsable" value="1" - <AIRebuild index="..." value="..."> — Whether unit is rebuildable after death - <Flag index="..." value="..."> — Generic unit flag

<Doodad>

Places a decorative doodad (prop, terrain feature, destructible).

<Doodad
    id="?"
    variation="?"
    position="x,y,z"
    rotation="?"
    scale="x,y,z"
    section="?"
    type="CatalogID"
    tintColor="r,g,b,a">
    <Flag index="?" value="?"/>
</Doodad>

Attribute	Type	Notes
id	string	Unique object ID
variation	int	Model variation index
position	vec3	World position
rotation	float	Yaw angle
scale	vec3	Per-axis scale
section	int	Editor section grouping
type	string	Catalog ID for the doodad type
tintColor	vec4	RGBA tint, 0–255 per channel

<Point>

A named map point, optionally carrying a model, sound, and pathing radii.

<Point
    id="?"
    variation="?"
    position="x,y,z"
    rotation="?"
    scale="x,y,z"
    section="?"
    type="?"
    name="StartLocation"
    color="?"
    model="Assets\..."
    animProps="?"
    sound="?"
    attachID="?"
    objectID="?"
    objectType="?"
    PathingSoftRadius="?"
    PathingHardRadius="?"/>

Attribute	Notes
type	Point type string (e.g. StartLocation)
name	Human-readable point name
model	Optional direct .m3 path — one of the few places where a model path appears directly
animProps	Animation properties string
sound	Sound asset path
PathingSoftRadius	Soft pathing exclusion radius
PathingHardRadius	Hard pathing exclusion radius

<Camera>

A named camera placement with target and optional camera-value overrides.

<Camera
    id="?"
    variation="?"
    position="x,y,z"
    rotation="?"
    scale="x,y,z"
    section="?"
    name="?"
    color="?"
    target="x,y,z">
    <CameraValue index="Distance" value="34"/>
    <CameraValue index="Pitch"    value="56"/>
    <Flag index="?" value="?"/>
</Camera>

Attribute	Notes
name	Camera name referenced in triggers
target	Look-at position x,y,z

<CameraValue> children carry named camera parameters:

index	Meaning
Distance	Distance from target
Pitch	Vertical angle in degrees
Yaw	Horizontal angle in degrees
FOV	Field of view in degrees
NearClip	Near clip plane distance
FarClip	Far clip plane distance
HeightOffset	Camera height offset from terrain

These correspond to the camera_* fields in sc2Map_t (parsed in sc2_map.c).

Unit-To-Model Resolution

unitType in <Unit> is a catalog ID, not a model path. The resolution chain is:

unitType (CatalogID)
  → CUnit entry in UnitData.xml
      → actor reference (CActorUnit)
          → Model field
              → CModel entry in ModelData.xml
                  → Art: Model (.m3 path)
                  → Optional/Required .m3a animation files

Do not guess Assets\Units\<Race>\<ID>\<ID>.m3 except as a last-resort fallback for tiny test fixtures. The actual path may differ from the unit ID due to shared models, variations, and campaign-specific actors.

Parser Notes

• Parse position as three comma-separated floats. Accept both "x,y,z" and separate x/y/z attributes for compatibility with different map versions.
• Resources, start locations, and mineral patches are all <Unit> elements — distinguish them after catalog resolution, not by position or special-casing unitType strings.
• <Doodad> elements without models are common; do not require a model path to be present.
• The section attribute is editor metadata only; ignore it at runtime.
• The engine currently parses Objects in sc2_map.c and stores results in sc2Map_t.objects[] as sc2MapObject_t records.