108 lines
10 KiB
Markdown
108 lines
10 KiB
Markdown
# Findings and experiment log
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Moved here from NOTES.md during the 2026-10-08 cleanup (content unchanged; paths of the time are kept,
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see the mapping at the end). Format specs: `docs/formats/`. Decoder addresses: `decoder.md`.
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## Root cause of the original "silent audio / crash" problem
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- Wwise 2011.2.2 writes codebook IDs into the *aoTuV 6.03* codebook library; the game (Wwise 2011.1) only has
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the *standard* library (== ww2ogg `packed_codebooks.bin`). Same IDs -> different books -> garbage/silence.
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- 2011.2.2 also computes `dwDecodeAllocSize` for a different decoder -> the game's bump allocator overflows ->
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NULL write crash (the user's old code-cave patch doubled the pool to hide it).
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- Approach A (chosen and verified): encode with stock libvorbis, transcode to the 2011.1 layout with the game's
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codebook IDs, compute the hash (FNV-1) and decode-alloc size with the reversed formula. **No exe patch needed.**
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## In-game experiments (2026-10-07; harness then `scripts/harness.py`, now `ackit verify --ingame`)
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Target SFX:EDF036D6/393BC53A = intro/title music, plays ~5 s after launch without input.
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| # | injected | result |
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|---|----------|--------|
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| E0 | baseline (nothing) | PASS ncc 0.974 (detector hears original music) |
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| E1 | my encode of pink noise+sine, 6ch 32k q2 (maxpkt 1448, 41 KB/s) | setup parsed OK, no crash, but SILENT (ncc 0.117) |
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| E2 | original game WEM 0D5E8A4E (6ch 48k, other size) | PASS ncc 0.998 -> WAD+BKPK pack injection works in-game |
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| E3 | original game WEM 8D6D9BB9 (4ch 32k, setup d93b5944 = same as E1) | PASS ncc 0.933 -> rate/channel change accepted |
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| E4 | my encode of decoded 8D6D9BB9 audio (4ch 32k q2, maxpkt 630) | **PASS ncc 0.959** -> encoder output plays correctly |
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| E5 | my noise probe 4ch 32k q2 (maxpkt 720), 10 s | SILENT -> not channel count / packet size |
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| E6 | my encode of Joker speech 4ch 32k q2, 15 s | PASS ncc 0.998 |
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| E7 | E5 at -20 dB, 10 s | SILENT -> not amplitude |
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| E8 | E5 low-passed 3 kHz, 10 s | SILENT -> not spectrum |
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| E9 | same noise probe, **30 s** | **PASS ncc 0.995** -> failures were duration: this music slot does not play sources <= ~10 s (music-segment timing in HIRC), not a codec issue |
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| E10 | Joker speech 30 s, **mono 28 kHz q4, NEW setup** (hash 04681ac8 via FNV-1, alloc 18180 via formula) | **PASS ncc 1.000** -> computed hash/alloc accepted by the game |
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| E11 | boot smoke test: ITA entry 800BE4F0 grown 30 KB -> 231 KB (all later entries shifted) + SFX pack change | game boots and plays (PASS). Later found unsafe in principle (see 10.) and now refused |
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| E12 | `ackit replace SFX EDF036D6/393BC53A custom_sound.mp3` then harness --installed | PASS ncc 0.999 |
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| E13 | mods-folder state (ITA line Speech_TAPE_JOKER_1_4 in place + music) | PASS ncc 0.999 |
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| E14 | 2026-10-08, after the cleanup: `ackit verify --ingame` (Workspace.apply path, libsndfile encoder, 6ch 32k probe) | **PASS ncc 1.000, no crash, revert byte-identical (WAD + pack index)** |
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Conclusion: approach A works end-to-end in-game. Use >= 30 s probes for the intro-music slot.
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## Findings log
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1. WAD: see docs/formats/wad.md. Round trip byte-identical (ITA, INT, SFX). Entries in LOC/SFX WADs are raw RIFF WEMs
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(3 ITA entries contain 2 concatenated RIFFs).
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2. Codebooks: game table @ runtime 0x0158E748 = 599 ptrs (598 books) == ww2ogg standard packed_codebooks.bin byte-for-byte.
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Saved as ackit/data/game_codebooks.bin.
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3. User's mod.wem (2011.2.2): codebook ids 8-19, 97-107 — every one maps to a different book in std vs aoTuV lib -> wrong decode.
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Also 1024/1024 blocksizes, decode_alloc 16452.
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4. Original game WEMs: libvorbis (ffmpeg) at 24k mono q<=4.5 reproduces the game's 24k/9-10 setup byte-for-byte
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(same 35 codebook ids). Several other known setups also reproduced (see work/qsearch). 28k/44.1k not exactly
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reproduced (encoder version/tuning) -> handled by formulas instead.
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5. uHashCodebook = FNV-1 32 over stripped setup bytes (24/24). Codec setup cache keyed by this hash
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(VorbisGetOrCreateCodecSetup: bucket hash%31, compares full hash) -> distinct setups MUST have distinct hashes.
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6. dwDecodeAllocSize = 0x30 + parser pool allocations (Tremor-lowmem derived; ackit/allocsize.py) + 4*nbooks + 8. Exact 24/24.
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7. Field rules (docs/formats/wem.md): last_granule_extra = loop_end_extra = sum(packet samples) - total_frames;
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loop_start = 2+setup_len; loop_end = data_len - seek_size; avg_bps = (data_len-seek)*rate//frames;
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seek table = (dgranule,doffset) u16 pairs at first packet whose end-granule >= last+interval (8192 default).
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8. libvorbis q>=5 at 24k uses a codebook (dims=2, entries=100) absent from the game library -> encoder must pick q that fits.
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9. Equal blocksizes (9/9, 10/10): packets keep the standard Vorbis packet-type bit; unequal: "modified" packets.
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10. (2026-10-07, session 2) LOC/SFX entries are groups of variations (ITA 10816 WEMs in 2464 entries). The first
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splitter only saw the first WEM, so the first injector would have DROPPED variations (fixed). Inner offsets and
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sizes come from BKPK tables inside compressed .upk packages (entry IDs found next to 'BKPK' in BmGame.upk,
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OW.upk, ...), so replacements are in place and <= the original WEM size; only SFX stream packs (index in a loose
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.bnk) may change size. The user's earlier quickbms reimport mod followed the same rule.
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11. Front-end sounds heard at startup mostly come from banks embedded in .upk packages; the intro music is the only
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deterministic WAD stream (pack EDF036D6 media 393BC53A, 6ch 48 kHz, 171 s).
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12. (2026-10-08) libsndfile 1.2.2's bundled libvorbis gives exactly the same compatibility table and the same game
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setups as ffmpeg's libvorbis (q0..10 at 12/24/28/32/44.1/48 kHz, 1/2/6 ch), so ffmpeg is not needed. libsndfile
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cannot do q<0 (fit-to-size stops at q0, then lowers the rate).
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13. (2026-10-08) libsndfile's Vorbis writer crashes with a C stack overflow on a single very large write
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(30 s x 6 ch); `encoder.vorbis_ogg` writes in 4096-frame blocks.
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14. libvorbis 6-channel at 44.1/48 kHz uses dedicated 5.1 codebooks (libvorbis 1.3) the game does not have;
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6 channels work at <= 32 kHz (uncoupled, like Wwise). The encoder falls back to 32 kHz automatically.
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15. Channel order for > 2 channels: the bitstream order equals the array order given to libsndfile; whether the game
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expects WAVEFORMATEX order (FL FR FC LFE BL BR) is unverified (identical-channel probes were used).
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16. (2026-10-09) The WADs hold only streamed audio. About 15,800 more sounds (footsteps, foley, combat, weapons,
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UI, grunts) are in-memory WEMs inside soundbanks: 65 loose `SFX\*.bnk` (1,117) and 3,340 banks embedded in
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the `.upk` packages (15,641; many banks copied into several packages). None are in the catalog; the WAD
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side is complete. Inventory, layout and editing consequences: `docs/formats/banks.md`.
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17. (2026-10-09) Speech lines have **per-language media IDs**: every package carries one BKPK table per language
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for the same WAD entry. 396 lines (78-80 per language) have a prefetch head (first N bytes) in banks; each
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head equals the start of exactly one language's WEM.
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18. (2026-10-09) In-game test of in-memory sounds (`ackit verify --ingame --banks`): 77 probes written into the
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78 sounds stored in the Frontend*/Startup packages (54 files: patched LZO packages + loose banks). The game
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starts and runs, all 68 probe byte patterns are found in its memory (it loaded the patched packages), revert
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byte-identical: PASS. Not shown: a probe being *heard*. Only 7 Vorbis streams start on the title screen
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(setups 4f708975, 6ded1c65, 92f94a3f, d93b5944, d4b2e824: shared by hundreds of sounds, music included) and
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none is a probe. Tried: Enter/arrow keys posted to the game window (`debugger.post_key`, WM_KEYDOWN) to reach
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the main menu: no UI sound followed (the game probably reads input another way; global SendInput is not
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used on purpose); a breakpoint on the setup parser entry: no extra events. Hypotheses: no in-memory sound
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plays without input; the decode path is the same as for WAD sounds (same WEM rules, 300/300 in-memory WEMs
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rebuild byte-identically), so playback is expected to work like E4/E10.
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19. (2026-10-09) In-game text test (`ackit verify --ingame --texts`, ITA): 12 menu texts of FRONTEND/GFxUI
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prefixed with markers and 12 subtitles patched in place (21 files). All 12 markers are found as UTF-16 in the
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game's memory after ~45 s (the localization files are read at startup), no crash, revert byte-identical:
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PASS. Subtitles are not loaded on the title screen (no dialogue object in Frontend*/Startup/BmGame).
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20. (2026-10-10) **Variation positions differ between languages.** A WAD entry stores its WEMs in media-ID order
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and each language has its own media IDs, so for 7,010 of 9,366 lines (75 %) the same game line is at a
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different position in the ITA and INT entries (e.g. Speech_CH_ZERO_CH0_fight_intro_01 = ITA :0, INT :2).
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Position names (NAME_i, wemscan) therefore mean different lines per language. Speech sounds are now named
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after their speech event (same in every language); the curated ITA lists are mapped through it. Independent
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check: the speaker field of the dialogue objects agrees with the mapped labels for 955 / 955 lines.
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21. (2026-10-10) In-memory speech banks are localized (language list + one bank per language in one AkBank
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export, checked on 215 banks against the WAD languages of their streamed lines); 41 more subtitles are
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RSubtitle objects linked through RSubtitleLookup (key = FNV-1 of the line name without `Speech_`). Subtitle
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coverage by category is uneven in the game itself: efforts 0 %, combat barks 11 %, cinematics 10 % (cutscene
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lines are mostly not reached by speech events and have no dialogue object), story/predator/open world ~90 %+.
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## Old path -> new path
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`scripts/harness.py` -> `ackit verify --ingame` (ackit/verify/ingame.py); `scripts/validate_builder.py` ->
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`ackit/verify/selfcheck.py` + tests/test_realgame.py; `ackit/gamefiles.py` -> `ackit/game.py` + `ackit/originals.py`;
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`ackit/simple.py` -> `ackit/workspace.py`; `work/*.py` experiment scripts -> git tag `pre-cleanup`.
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