Runtime Binary File Overview
Conceptual Diagram
Description
The types and organization of the binary data used by the G2D Library are described on this page. The data shown in the conceptual diagram is stored in ROM as a binary file. When it is required, the user reads it to the main memory and sets it up in the G2D Library.
Character Data (.ncgr and .ncbr files)
Character data stores the image information that will be stored in VRAM. This data is created by the binary converter from the NITRO-CHARACTER binary .ncg file.
There are two runtime binary formats, .ncgr and .ncbr. When using character data for rendering with the 2D Graphics Engine, it needs to be output in the character format (.ncgr) where the pixels are aligned every 8 x 8 pixels. When using character data for rendering with the 3D Graphics Engine, it needs to be output in the bitmap format (.ncbr) where the pixels are aligned along the same pixel lines as the original image pixels.
Character data using OBJs has two types of mapping format, 1D mapping and 2D mapping. The manner in which characters are aligned varies depending on the mapping format.
Note: Be aware that an .nce file is required in order for the converter to obtain information about the mapping format.
Character data using BGs has only 2D mapping and does not require an .nce file. However, the converter has no way of determining if the character data uses OBJs or BGs, so you need to specify the -bg option before conversion.
During .nsc file conversion the -bg option is specified automatically.
Color Palette Data (.nclr files)
Color palette data stores the color palette information read into the graphics engine. It is created from the .ncl file of the NITRO-CHARACTER binary file by the binary converter.
Animation Data (.nanr and .nmar files)
Animation data is the data storing the cell animation or multicell animation. It is created from the animation sequence data of the NITRO-CHARACTER binary file's .nce file or .nmc file. It is output as a binary file with the extension .nanr or .nmar.
Animation data has multiple types of formats based on the types of parameters which change during the animation.
Currently there are three types supported: cell (multicell) number only, cell (multicell) number + SRT (scale, rotation, translation) value, and cell (multicell) number + T (translation).
Cell Data (.ncer files)
Cell data stores the cell data list. It is created from the cell list in the .nce file of the NITRO-CHARACTER binary file by the binary converter. It is output as a binary file with the extension .ncer. The information required during VRAM transfer animation is also stored in this file (if the -vta option is specified during conversion).
Multicell Data (.nmcr files)
Multicell data stores the multicell data list. It is created from the multicell list in the .nmc file of the NITRO-CHARACTER binary file by the binary converter. It is output as a binary file with the extension .nmcr.
Entity Data (.nenr files)
Entity data is data that stores multiple animation sequence numbers. It breaks up large amounts of animation data into groups for easier management. Entity data is converted from Entity definition text information by BuildNENR.exe, and is output as a binary file with the extension .nenr or .nmar.
Screen Data (.nscr files)
Screen data stores the screen information used in BG display. It is created from the .nsc file of the NITRO-CHARACTER binary file by the binary converter.
See Also
None.
Revision History
2004/12/06 Initial version.
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