Talk:MDL file format (FSX)

IMHO the description of the content of the MDLH section is not correct. "MDLX" is part of the RIFF header, the MDLH section seems always to contain 1 integer with the value of 123456 and 1 float with the value of 10; I assume that is a kind of file signature. osman

You are correct Winfried. I realised this after I had typed it, but I haven't had the time yet to update it. Will try to do that ASAP. Arno

I have updated the document now. I see the same parameter in the header section indeed, so it seems they are sort of constants. I have no idea what they mean (10.0 might refer to the version of FS????). Arno

I have looked to the VERB section of a rather large mdl file (one of the default aircrafts). There I see that the VERT and the TANS sections are repeated several times (always one TANS section following one VERT section). I wonder how this is reflected in the PART structures referring to the VERT sections, have you any idea ?) osman

I would check the first two parameters of the part section, I suspect on of them is refering to the vertex buffer used for that part. Which object are you looking at, then I'll take a look. Arno

I was looking to the Airbus_A321.mdl.

The CRAS section apparently is different from the one in FS2004 (although it is still an octree). It has first two unknown integer values, then there are 3 float values giving the lower left corner of the object, then 3 float values giving the length, height, and width, then another unknown int, and then the branches of the tree, which are now all integer values instead of bytes (apparently -1 replacing oxff and -2 replacing 0xfe).

The ANIB section has several subsections (RIFF, XANH, XANL). And after that we have a REFL section if any points have been attached to the object, with a REFP subsection for every attached point and a ATTO section for every point which has something attached to it describing the attached object. osman