Bfres

A bfres file collects a number of 3d-graphics related resources. This article details bfres version 10.0.0 and 10.2.0.

File Structure

Note this omits optional sections not currently found in at least one file. Such as the placement of user data in animations.

Section Order

• fres header
• fmdl header array
• fska header array
• fmaa header array
• fvbs header array
• fsha header array
• fscn header array
• memory pool info
• embed file array
• fmdl dictionary
• fska dictionary
• fmaa dictionary
• fvbs dictionary
• fsha dictionary
• fscn dictionary
• embed file dictionary
• fmdl data array:
  • fvtx header array
  • fmat header array
  • reflection header array
  • fshp header array
  • fskl header
  • fskl data:
    • bone header array
    • skin bone index table
    • inverse transform matrix array
    • mirror bone index table
    • bone dictionary
    • bone data array:
      • user data array
      • user data dictionary
      • user data
  • shape dictionary
  • material dictionary
  • fshp data array:
    • mesh array
    • skin bone index array
    • bounding box array
    • bounding sphere array
    • mesh data array:
      • sub mesh array
      • runtime index buffer memory
      • index buffer info
  • fvtx data array:
    • vertex attribute array
    • runtime vertex buffer memory array
    • vertex buffer info array
    • vertex buffer stride info array
    • runtime user vertex buffer pointer array
    • vertex attribute dictionary
  • fmat data array:
    • render info value string array
    • render info value s32 array
    • render info value float array
    • render info value count array
    • render info value offset array
    • runtime texture view pointer array
    • sampler info array
    • runtime sampler array
    • shader param value array
    • runtime shader param uniform buffer offset array
    • shader param convert flag array
    • user data array
    • runtime sampler descriptor slot array
    • runtime texture view descriptor slot array
    • texture name array
    • static shader variation header
    • static shader variation data:
      • vertex attribute name array
      • vertex attribute variation to reflection array (only if different)
      • vertex attribute reflection to variation array (only if different)
      • sampler name array
      • sampler variation to reflection array (only if different)
      • sampler reflection to variation array (only if different)
      • static shader bool array
      • static shader string array
      • static shader option variation to reflection index array (only if different)
      • static shader option reflection to variation index array (only if different)
    • user data
    • sampler dictionary
    • user data dictionary
  • reflection data array:
    • render info array
    • shader param array
    • shader param dictionary (deduplicated between reflections)
    • render info dictionary (deduplicated between reflections)
    • vertex attribute dictionary (deduplicated between reflections)
    • sampler dictionary (deduplicated between reflections)
    • static shader option dictionary (deduplicated between reflections)
• fska data array:
  • fast bind table
  • bone anim header array
  • bone anim data array:
    • default result
    • anim curve header array
    • anim curve frame and value data array
• fvba data array:
  • default result array
  • fast bind array
  • bone name array
  • anim curve header array
  • anim curve frame and value data array
• fmaa data array:
  • fast bind array
  • per material anim header array
  • runtime texture view descriptor slot array
  • runtime texture view pointer array
  • texture name array
  • per material anim data array:
    • shader param anim array
    • texture pattern anim array
    • constant array
    • anim curve header array
    • anim curve frame and value data array
• fsha data array:
  • fast bind table
  • vertex shape anim header array
  • vertex shape anim data array:
    • key shape anim array
    • anim curve header array
    • default result array
    • anim curve frame and value data array
• fscn data array:
  • fcam header array
  • flit header array
  • ffog header array
  • fcam dictionary
  • flit dictionary
  • ffog dictionary
  • fcam data array:
    • anim curve header array
    • default result
    • anim curve frame and value data array
  • flit data array:
    • anim curve header array
    • default result
    • anim curve frame and value data array
  • ffog data array:
    • anim curve header array
    • default result
    • anim curve frame and value data array
• string pool
• gpu region:
  • index buffer data
  • vertex buffer data
• runtime memory pool
• embed file region
• relocation table

Header (nn::g3d2::ResFile)

A bfres file header collects a number of optional resources that can be iterated through by array or looked up by name through dictionary. Resources include 3d model data, model animation data, scene animation data, and embedded files. A Bfres can contain a "GPU region", a block of memory meant to be made GPU visible, or reference an external GPU region.

Offset	Size	Type	Description
0x0	0x20	nn::util::BinaryFileHeader	Base header with magic of "FRES ".
0x20	0x8	const char * (NW)	File name
0x28	0x8	ResModel *	Model array
0x30	0x8	nn::util::ResDic *	Model dictionary
0x38	0x8	void*[4]
0x58	0x8	ResSkeletalAnim *	Skeletal animation array
0x60	0x8	nn::util::ResDic *	Skeletal animation dictionary
0x68	0x8	ResMaterialAnim *	Material animation array
0x70	0x8	nn::util::ResDic *	Material animation dictionary
0x78	0x8	ResBoneVisibilityAnim *	Bone visibility animation array
0x80	0x8	nn::util::ResDic *	Bone visibility animation dictionary
0x88	0x8	ResShapeAnim *	Shape animation array
0x90	0x8	nn::util::ResDic *	Shape animation dictionary
0x98	0x8	ResSceneAnim *	Scene animation array
0xa0	0x8	nn::util::ResDic *	Scene animation dictionary
0xa8	0x8	nn::gfx::TMemoryPool *	Runtime MemoryPool (set by g3d)
0xb0	0x8	nn::gfx::MemoryPoolInfo	Pre-initialized MemoryPool info pointing to GPU region
0xb8	0x8	nn::gfx::ResEmbedFile *	Embed file array
0xc0	0x8	nn::util::ResDic *	Embed file dictionary
0xc8	0x8	void *	User pointer in EPD software. (possibly a UI tree in nn::ui?)
0xd0	0x8	const char * (NW)
0xd8	0x4	u32
0xdc	0x2	u16	Model array count
0xde	0x2	u16
0xe0	0x2	u16
0xe2	0x2	u16	Skeletal animation array count
0xe4	0x2	u16	Material animation array count
0xe6	0x2	u16	Bone visibility animation count
0xe8	0x2	u16	Shape animation count
0xea	0x2	u16	Scene animation count
0xec	0x2	u16	Embed file count
0xee	0x2	u16

Model (nn::g3d2::ResModel)

A model represents a collection of 3d shape data, material data, and a skeleton.

Offset	Size	Type	Description
0x0	0x4	u32	Magic, always "FMDL"
0x4	0x4	u32
0x8	0x8	const char* (NW)	Model name
0x10	0x8	const char* (NW)
0x18	0x8	ResSkeleton*	Skeleton
0x20	0x8	ResVertex*	Vertex array
0x28	0x8	ResShape*	Shape array
0x30	0x8	nn::util::ResDic*	Shape dictionary
0x38	0x8	ResMaterial*	Material array
0x40	0x8	nn::util::ResDic*	Material dictionary
0x48	0x8	ResShaderReflection*	Shader reflection array
0x50	0x8	Gfx User Data*	User data array
0x58	0x8	nn::util::ResDic*	User data dictionary
0x60	0x8	void *	Runtime user pointer
0x68	0x2	u16	Vertex count
0x6a	0x2	u16	Shape count
0x6c	0x2	u16	Material count
0x6e	0x2	u16	Shader reflection count
0x70	0x2	u16	User data count
0x72	0x6

Vertex (nn::g3d2::ResVertex)

A ResVertex references a collection of vertex buffers in the GPU region. Reflection and settings are provided for the vertex buffers and attributes. Runtime object memory is provided to initialize graphics api objects for the vertex buffers.

Offset	Size	Type	Description
0x0	0x4	u32	Magic "FVTX"
0x4	0x4	u32
0x8	0x8	ResVertexAttribute*	Vertex atribute array
0x10	0x8	nn::util::ResDic*	Vertex attribute dictionary
0x18	0x8	void *	Runtime memory pool pointer
0x20	0x8	void *	Runtime vertex buffer array (0x48 bytes of zeroed memory per vertex buffer)
0x28	0x8	void **	Runtime user vertex buffer array
0x30	0x8	nn::gfx::BufferInfo*	Vertex buffer info array
0x38	0x8	ResVertexBufferStride*	Vertex buffer stride array
0x40	0x8	void *	Runtime user pointer
0x48	0x4	u32	Base offset of vertex data in GPU region, relative to start of GPU region
0x4c	0x1	u8	Vertex attribute count
0x4d	0x1	u8	Vertex buffer count
0x4e	0x2	u16	Index of this section in parent ResModel
0x50	0x4	u32	Vertex count
0x54	0x2	u16
0x56	0x2	u16	Alignment of vertex buffer data in GPU region

ResVertexAttribute

Offset	Size	Type	Description
0x0	0x8	const char* (NW)	Attribute name
0x8	0x4	u32, nn::gfx::AttributeFormat	Attribute format
0xc	0x2	u16	Buffer offset
0xe	0x1	u8	Buffer index
0xf	0x1	u8	Indicates whether this is a dynamic vertex attribute for shape blending

ResVertexBufferStride

Unused bytes might indicate nn::gfx::VertexBufferInfo.

Offset	Size	Type	Description
0x0	0x4	u32	Stride
0x4	0x4	u32	Divisor
0x8	0x4	u32
0xc	0x4	u32

Shape (nn::g3d2::ResShape)

A shape represents 3d mesh data. Either via a set of level-of-detail meshes into the vertex buffers of a ResVertex, or alternatively in v10.2.0 onwards, a set of meshlet buffers.

Offset	Size	Type	Description
0x0	0x4	u32	Magic "FSHP"
0x4	0x4	u32	Flags
0x8	0x8	const char* (NW)	Shape name
0x10	0x8	ResVertex*	Referenced vertex
0x18	0x8	ResMesh* or ResMeshlet*	Level-of-detail mesh array, or if flags bit 4 is set, a ResMeshlet
0x20	0x8	u16*	Skinning bone index array
0x28	0x8	ResKeyShape*	Key shape array
0x30	0x8	nn::util::ResDic*	Key shape dictionary
0x38	0x8	ResBounding*	Bounding box array
0x40	0x8	ResBoundingSphere*	Bounding sphere array
0x48	0x8	void *	Runtime user pointer
0x50	0x2	u16	Index of this section in parent ResModel
0x52	0x2	u16	Material index
0x54	0x2	u16	Base bone index
0x56	0x2	u16	Vertex index
0x58	0x2	u16	Skin bone index count
0x5a	0x1	u8	Vertex skin weight count
0x5b	0x1	u8	Mesh count
0x5c	0x1	u8	Key shape count
0x5d	0x1	u8	Target attribute count
0x5e	0x2	u16

ResMesh

Offset	Size	Type	Description
0x0	0x8	ResSubMeshRange*	Array of sub mesh ranges
0x8	0x8	void *	Runtime memory pool pointer
0x10	0x8	void *	Runtime index buffer memory (0x48 bytes of zeroed memory)
0x18	0x8	nn::gfx::BufferInfo*	Index buffer info
0x20	0x4	u32	Offset of index buffer in GPU region relative to start of GPU region
0x24	0x4	u32, nn::gfx::PrimitiveTopology	Primitive topology to use for drawing commands
0x28	0x4	u32, nn::gfx::IndexFormat	Index format to use in drawing commands
0x2c	0x4	u32	Index count
0x30	0x4	u32	Base vertex
0x34	0x2	u16	Sub mesh count
0x36	0x2	u16

ResSubMeshRange

Offset	Size	Type	Description
0x0	0x4	u32	Offset of sub mesh relative to start of index buffer
0x4	0x4	u32	Index count of sub mesh

ResKeyShape

Offset	Size	Type	Description
0x0	0x12	u8[18]	Relative key shape attribute location array
0x12	0x2	u8[2]

ResBounding

Offset	Size	Type	Description
0x0	0xc	Float3	Position
0xc	0xc	Float3	Extent

ResBoundingSphere

Offset	Size	Type	Description
0x0	0xc	Float3	Position
0xc	0x4	float	Radius

ResMeshlet

Currently only observed unused in Nintendo Switch Online: Playtest Program.

Offset	Size	Type	Description
0x0	0x8	...
0x8	0x8	void *	Runtime meshlet buffer array (0x48 bytes of zeroed memory per meshlet buffer)
0x10	0x8	nn::gfx::BufferInfo*	Meshlet buffer info array
0x18	0x8	s64 *	Meshlet buffer memory offset array, each entry relative to start of GPU region
0x20	0x24	...
0x44	0x1	u8	Meshlet buffer count
0x45	0x3	...

Shader Reflection

A ResShaderReflection provides reflection for resolving material parameter data for a shader inside a bfsha shader archive.

Offset	Size	Type	Description
0x0	0x8	const char* (NW)	Shader archive name
0x8	0x8	const char* (NW)	Shader name
0x10	0x8	ResRenderInfo*	Render info array
0x18	0x8	nn::util::ResDic*	Render info dictionary
0x20	0x8	ResShaderParam*	Material shader parameter array
0x28	0x8	nn::util::ResDic*	Material shader parameter dictionary
0x30	0x8	nn::util::ResDic*	Vertex attribute dictionary
0x38	0x8	nn::util::ResDic*	Sampler dictionary
0x40	0x8	nn::util::ResDic*	Static shader option dictionary
0x48	0x2	u16	Render info count
0x4a	0x2	u16	Shader parameter count
0x4c	0x2	u16	Shader parameter data size
0x4e	0xa	u8[10]

ResRenderInfo

Render info provides reflection for CPU-side rendering parameters.

Offset	Size	Type	Description
0x0	0x8	const char* (NW)	Render info name
0x8	0x1	u8	Render info data type
0x9	0x7	u8[7]

Render info data type

Name	Value	Description
Int	0	Value is a 32-bit integer
Float	1	Value is a 32-bit float
String	2	Value is an NW string pointer

ResShaderParam

ResShaderParam's compose a user generated structure layout for a material uniform buffer. Shader parameters can be animated through material animations.

Offset	Size	Type	Description
0x0	0x8	u32(*)(void*,const void*,ResShaderParam*, void*)	Runtime conversion function for data types requiring runtime conversion of a CPU representation to a GPU representation
0x8	0x8	const char* (NW)	Shader parameter name
0x10	0x2	u16	Shader parameter offset
0x12	0x1	u8	Shader parameter data type
0x13	0x5	u8[5]

Shader parameter data type

Name	Value	Description
Bool	0
Bool2	1
Bool3	2
Bool4	3
Int	4
Int2	5
Int3	6
Int4	7
UInt	8
UInt2	9
UInt3	10
UInt4	11
Float	12
Float2	13
Float3	14
Float4	15
Matrix2x2	17
Matrix2x3	18
Matrix2x4	19
Matrix3x2	20
Matrix3x3	21
Matrix3x4	22
Matrix4x2	23
Matrix4x3	24
Matrix4x4	25
Srt2d	26
Srt3d	27
SrtTexture	28

Material (nn::g3d2::ResMaterial)

Offset	Size	Type	Description
0x0	0x4	u32	Magic "FMAT"
0x4	0x4	u32	Flags (bit 0 = is visible)
0x8	0x8	const char* (NW)	Material name
0x10	0x8	ResStaticShaderVariation*	Static shader variation
0x18	0x8	void**	Runtime texture view pointer array
0x20	0x8	const char** (NW)	Texture name array
0x28	0x8	void*	Runtime sampler array (0x78 bytes of zeroed memory per sampler)
0x30	0x8	nn::gfx::SamplerInfo*	Sampler info array
0x38	0x8	nn::util::ResDic*	Sampler dictionary
0x40	0x8	void*	Render info value array
0x48	0x8	u16*	Render info value count array
0x50	0x8	u16*	Render info value offset array
0x58	0x8	void*	Shader parameter value array
0x60	0x8	s32*	Runtime shader parameter material uniform buffer offset array
0x68	0x8	u64
0x70	0x8	Gfx user data*	User data array
0x78	0x8	nn::util::ResDic*	User data dictionary
0x80	0x8	u32 *	Shader parameter runtime convert bit array
0x88	0x8	void*	Runtime user pointer
0x90	0x8	u64*	Runtime sampler descriptor slot array
0x98	0x8	u64*	Runtime texture view descriptor slot array
0xa0	0x2	u16	Index of this section in parent ResModel
0xa2	0x1	u8	Sampler count
0xa3	0x1	u8	Texture count
0xa4	0x2	u16	Is force calculate material
0xa6	0x2	u16	User data count
0xa8	0x2	u16	Render info value size
0xaa	0x2	u16	Runtime material uniform buffer size
0xac	0x4	u32

ResStaticShaderVariation

A material references a ResStaticShaderVariation which selects the material's static shader variation out of the shader referenced by a ResShaderReflection.

Offset	Size	Type	Description
0x0	0x8	ResShaderReflection*	Shader reflection
0x8	0x8	const char** (NW)	Vertex attribute name array, of those used in this specific static shader variation
0x10	0x8	u8*	Vertex attribute index array
0x18	0x8	const char** (NW)	Sampler name array, of those used in this specific static shader variation
0x20	0x8	u8*	Sampler index array
0x28	0x8	u32*	Static shader option choice packed bool array
0x30	0x8	const char** (NW)	Static shader option choice string array
0x38	0x8	u16*	Static shader option index array
0x40	0x4	u32
0x44	0x1	u8	Vertex attribute count
0x45	0x1	u8	Sampler count
0x46	0x2	u16	Static shader option bool count
0x48	0x2	u16	Total static shader option count
0x4a	0x6	u8[6]