U8 Archive

Arc File is the file format used for this game's packed filesystem. It's derived from Nintendo's archive format, commonly known as U8 Archive. These files are located in the xenon, ps3 and win32 directories on the game disc in a subdirectory called archives.

Filesystem

The internal filesystem follows an organisational pattern where the directories starting from root are platform identifiers for the file formats contained within them.

Identifier	Endianness	Purpose
common	N/A	Used for files where endianness is non-applicable (e.g. files that are read manually in a specific byte order irrespective of the current platform).
xenon	Big	Used for files that are read directly into memory and mapped to structures where big-endian byte order is expected for the Xbox 360 platform.
ps3	Big	Same as above, but for the PlayStation 3 platform.
win32	Little	Used for files that are read directly into memory and mapped to structures where little-endian byte order is expected for the x86 Windows platform. These files would be read manually for endian swapping on big-endian platforms.

Specification

TBD

List of Arc Files

Name	Description
cache.arc	Core render scripts, event playbook, and optical camouflage noise texture
download.arc	DLC episode mission and SET data
enemy_data.arc	Boss textures and objects
enemy.arc	Regular enemy textures and objects
event_data.arc	Event-specific textures and objects
event.arc	Event-specific sounds, particles, and scripts
game.arc	Actor properties, light and camera parameters
human.arc	NPC textures, objects, and scripts
object.arc	Interactive object textures, objects, and scripts
particle_data.arc	Particle textures and objects
particle.arc	Particle definitions
player_*.arc	Player-specific textures, objects, and animations
player.arc	Player scripting and packages
radarmap.arc	Mini-map objects, colour textures, and icons
scripts.arc	Most Lua scripting, SETs and paths
shader_lt.arc	Multiplayer shaders
shader.arc	Singleplayer shaders
sound.arc	Common sound banks
sprite.arc	UI textures, layouts, and animations
stage_*.arc	Stage-specific textures and objects
stage.arc	Reflection areas and stage collision
system.arc
text.arc	Font textures, maps, and string tables