Animation Format

VCMI allows overriding HoMM3 .def files with .json replacement. Compared to .def this format allows:

• Overriding individual frames from json file (e.g. icons)
• Modern graphics formats (targa, png - all formats supported by VCMI image loader)
• Does not requires any special tools - all you need is text editor and images.

Note that right now this replacement is not supported fully: there are still some areas that can't use it. Most notable areas are:

• Adventure map
• Battles

Format description

{
    // Base path of all images in animation. Optional.
    // Can be used to avoid using long path to images 
    "basepath" : "path/to/images/directory/",

    // List of sequiences / groups in animation
    // This will replace original group with specified list of files
    // even if original animation is longer
    "sequences" :
    [
        {
            // Index of group, zero-based
            "group" : 1,

            // List of files in this group
            "frames" :
            [
                "frame1.png",
                "frame2.png"
                    ...
            ]
        },
        ...
    ],

    // Allow overriding individual frames in file
    "images" :
    [
        {
            // Group of this image. Optional, default = 0
            "group" : 0,

            // Imdex of the image in group
            "frame" : 0,

            // Filename for this frame
            "file" : "filename.png"
        }.
        ...
    ]

}

Proposed format extensions

Void format

• vcmi client [Todo]
• map editor [Done]

Json header may be omitted. In such case a single frame will be loaded from same resource ID. Resource id should have no extension, image must be in SPRITES/ virtual directory.

Texture atlas format

TODO

• arbitrary texture coordinates
• margins
• grid-like layout

Texture atlas format

{
    // Base path of all images in animation. Optional.
    // Can be used to avoid using long path to images 
    // If a path is a filename is is treated as single texture atlas
    "basepath" : "path/to/images/atlas/bitmap.png",

    // List of sequences / groups in animation
    "sequences" :
    [
        {
            // Index of group, zero-based
            "group" : 1,

            // List of files in this group
            "frames" :
            [
                {"x":0, "y":0, "w": 64, "h": 64},
                {"x":64, "y":0, "w": 64, "h": 64}
                    ...
            ]
        },
        ...
    ]
}

Texture atlas grid format

{
    // filename is is treated as single texture atlas
    "basepath" : "path/to/images/atlas/bitmap.png",
    
    //optional, atlas is a grid with same size images
    //located right to left, top to bottom
    //[columns, rows]
    //default [1,1]
    "gridCols":3,
    "gridRows":3,

    // List of sequences / groups in animation
    // sequence index -> images count in sequence
    "sequences" :
    [
        1,3,5
    ]
}

Modding related articles

Main articles
Modding changelog	Modding guidelines	How to create a town mod	Mod Handler

Formats
	Mod file Format
Town Format	Creature Format	Hero Classes Format
Artifact Format	Animation Format	Hero Format
Bonus Format	Object Format	Spell Format

Work-in-progress formats
Building bonuses		Map format
	Bonus Type Format	Random map template

Outdated pages
	Mod system proposal