Reverse Engineering & File Formats

Lessons in this group, roughly in build order:

• reverse-engineering-mindset-ethics — The disciplined practice of recovering just enough structure from a closed binary to re-create its…
• inspecting-binaries-hex-editors-strings — Static, non-executing inspection of an unknown file’s raw bytes to recover its magic number, structure,…
• disassembly-basics-ida-ghidra — Turning the original game’s machine code back into readable assembly (and, with a decompiler, pseudo-C) to…
• identifying-proprietary-file-formats — Classifying an unknown extension by its magic number, internal structure, and container relationships so…
• pid-image-format-claw-sprites — Lithtech’s palettised, optionally run-length-encoded single-frame sprite format — every Claw, enemy, and…
• wwd-level-format — The “World” file — Monolith’s binary level definition holding the tile-plane layout, per-tile collision…
• rez-archive-resource-packs — Lithtech’s LTRES container — a single CLAW.REZ file that bundles every level, sprite, sound, and palette…
• xmi-audio-format-extraction — Decoding Miles Sound System’s .XMI extended-MIDI music and the standard .WAV sound effects that Captain…
• writing-format-parsers-in-c — Turning a documented byte layout into safe, endian-correct C++ that decodes REZ, WWD, and PID from…