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StarCraft II

This is an alternate game target for StarCraft II data experiments. It exists mainly to keep the engine honest across more than one Blizzard RTS asset family and to exercise the M3 renderer path behind the same selected-game module boundary.

The code here owns a small game module and the StarCraft II M3 renderer hooks.

Status

Prototype asset-rendering target.

opensc2 builds, links, and provides a clean place for M3 work. It is not a playable StarCraft II implementation, and it does not yet have a StarCraft II UI or gameplay layer. The current value is technical: model format coverage, renderer integration, and a second RTS-shaped game module.

Working

  • Separate opensc2 executable and game/renderer libraries.
  • Selected-game module integration for StarCraft II via the shared engine build.
  • M3 model loader entry point for StarCraft II model data.
  • M3 material, reference table, sequence, keyframe interpolation, and shader scaffolding.
  • Basic skeletal/skinned model render path through the compound renderer.
  • Minimal game module that can initialize, load map collision through the shared map interface, and provide required game exports.
  • Build integration through make opensc2.

Partial

  • M3 support is actively shaped around the renderer path and is not full StarCraft II asset parity.
  • The game module is intentionally minimal and mostly acts as a host for map/model experiments.
  • UI currently falls back to the default build shape; there is no StarCraft II-specific UI library.
  • Map/world behavior is placeholder-level compared with the Warcraft III target.

Not There Yet

  • Playable StarCraft II gameplay.
  • StarCraft II data table, trigger, ability, race, or campaign systems.
  • Full SC2 map format support.
  • Complete M3 material, animation, particle, attachment, and lighting fidelity.
  • StarCraft II menus, HUD, editor-like behavior, or multiplayer flow.

Build And Run

Build:

make opensc2

Run with the Makefile's sample StarCraft II data path and first Terran campaign map:

make run-sc2

Or run directly through map resolution:

build/bin/opensc2 -data data/StarCraft2 +map TRaynor01

Notes

This target expects locally supplied StarCraft II data for real asset experiments. Original assets, names, and game data belong to Blizzard Entertainment. The directory is here so the engine can grow beyond one asset format without pretending the SC2 game is already built.

Documentation

Public reverse-engineering and modding references for how StarCraft II maps are stored, opened, and rendered. Not Blizzard documentation and not a complete implementation spec — a map for loader and renderer work.

Documents

  • Map Storage And Loading — container format, component folders, dependency/XML loading behavior, and cache/download context.
  • Embedded Map Files — full binary specs for all known files inside .SC2Map archives.
  • Map, Model, And Unit Data — practical path from placed objects through catalog XML to M3 models.
  • Terrain And World Rendering — cliff normal welding, authoritative texture batches, and texture lifetime rules.
  • Parser Notes — practical loading order and implementation guidance.
  • HUD Layout Pipeline — .SC2Layout → sc2BaseFrame_t → uiFrame_t → svc_layout pipeline; UI texture resolution via Assets.txt.
  • Galaxy Scripting — VM lifecycle, trigger wrappers, lookup indexes, isolated regressions, and remaining campaign gaps.
  • UI Layout Format — .SC2Layout XML syntax, DescIndex manifest, layout directory structure, frame class hierarchy, Galaxy Script overview, and community resources.
  • References — all public sources, tools, and GitHub repos used.
  • Sounds

File Format Details

  • MapInfo — complete MapInfo binary struct with all fields and player slot layout.
  • PlacedObjects — complete <PlacedObjects> XML schema.
  • Actors And Models — actor system, CActorUnit key fields, CModel catalog fields.
  • M3 Model Format — M3 binary model format: reference table, geometry, skeleton, animations, materials.
  • Assets.txt (UI Texture Catalog) — GameData/Assets.txt skin format (UI/Key=path), archive priority, and how hud.c loads it.

Short Version

.SC2Map, .SC2Mod, .SC2Archive, and .s2ma files are MPQ archives. A map contains metadata, terrain/pathing binary layers, placed-object XML, minimap/loading assets, localized strings, trigger/Galaxy code, and map-local game-data XML.

Implementation Status

Area Status
MPQ loading done
MapInfo done
Objects (units, doodads) done
t3Terrain.xml (cliff sets, cells, textures) done
t3HeightMap done
t3SyncHeightMap (fine height detail) done
t3SyncCliffLevel done
t3CellFlags done
t3TextureMasks done
Terrain rendering (ground + cliff walls) done
Cliff config canonicalization done
t3SyncPathingInfo (pathing) not started
t3Water not started
t3FluffDoodad not started
Catalog-driven unit → model resolution not started (currently uses path guessing)
.m3a animation supplements not started
Team-color texture swapping not started