First post, by notindeed
Sorry if this is the wrong forum, i didn't really know which one was appropriate for this.
This game has a display that shows you an ordnance survey map of where you are in the rally stage while you are driving it, like this:
I had a look in the game data and i am guessing that the picture information is perhaps stored in the "maps" folder.
It has some weird .SQ file extension
Then there is the "levels" folder which i assume contains the actual 3d meshes for the level stages themselves.
Interestingly, they are also .SQ files, with another file with them.
I am guessing that both of these files interact with one another and that the map files contain more data than just the image, as there needs to be some kind of image / coordinate system so that the ordnance survey map can be scrolled and aligned with your position as you travel through the level.
Looking at the two files in a hex editor, the map files seem to be SQSM and the level (3d mesh) files seem to be SQSL.
I don't know how to extract the image data from the SQSM file - at least i assume it is in that file.
I don't think the map (SQSM) and localdat files are compressed - they have a reasonable amount of padded blank space of just 0s but the CDAT00C (SQSL) files seem like they probably are.
I am guessing the information required is in the map files though.
The game generally uses .PCX image files for most textures and things if that helps. I would assume that the maps are in this format. It does also use pngs in some cases but those are more for menu splash screens.
I have attached 2 samples of the shortest (and therefore smallest) map files.
I have also included screens of the stage overview, so you can get a lower resolution preview of the maps.
Another reason why i think that the images are in the map SQ files and not the level ones is that level 33 doubles back on itself, which would make the image file of the map smaller, but the overall level file would be longer than others as the stage distance is longer so requires more 3d data in comparison to other files with a shorter stage length that do not double back (which would save image space).
The only thing i can find online is this: http://www.racedepartment.com/threads/sq-file … hip-2000.11174/
However, they only seem interested in the actual level meshes, and plus there is not really any information so that doesn't help.
In regards to that someone said:
Sorry for such a massive bump, hope it's allowed since it's relevant. The SQ files are most likely for "Sequence". These files are compiled versions of SQSL (Sequence Source Level [afaik]). SQSL files can be found in SRCLEVELS in the demo versions, which suggests they've been edited for the demos.
but firstly, that's about the other kind of file and also it doesn't really tell me anything as searching for what he mentioned pulls up nothing. I don't really get what he's talking about, it seems a bit handwavey.
So, does anyone have any ideas? 😀
Sorry to ask, just that i have no idea or experience trying to extract things from binary content, let alone unknown filetypes 😳
Hopefully it's not as difficult as it may seem at first! 😁
