# Asset Resolution — foundational RE (graphics + audio)

**The problem.** The bytecode loads assets by a small numeric **resource id** (`set-texture 0x23`,
`play-voice N`, …). To render/play the *real* asset — driven by the bytecode, not hardcoded — the
engine must resolve `resId → asset file`. This is **foundational** (nearly all visuals + all audio
depend on it) and **not machine-verifiable** (no pixel/audio oracle), which makes it the largest,
highest-risk area of the port. This doc is the steering state; it feeds the A2b render/audio slices.

## What's already landed

- **Graphics ops wired** (A2b-background, engine-driven): `create-texture 0x1f8` `(slot,w,h)`,
  `set-texture 0x1f9` `(resId,slot)`, `draw-texture 0x1fb` `(slot,x,y,w,h)` promoted from VM stubs to
  typed `IHost` methods; `CaptureHost` no-ops them (A1 trace-diff/A2a selftest stay green). The VM
  now *drives* graphics; only resolution + backend rendering remain.
- **Audio ops WIRED (2026-07-06):** `play-bgm 0xbf` / `play-voice 0xc4` → `IHost.PlayBgm/PlayVoice` →
  same resolver → OGG via Godot `AudioStreamPlayer`. See step 4 below.
- **Tools:** `tools/convert_agf.py` (AGF→BMP for *stills* via `AGF2BMP2AGF.exe`); `tools/frida/`
  (runtime capture harness — see its README); Frida core installed (17.15.3).

## Findings (2026-07-06)

- **SC0000 background = a slot-0 full-screen slideshow.** The intro loads ~30 distinct full-screen
  images into slot 0 in order (`set-texture 0x23→0`, `0x25→0`, `0x27→0`, …), each drawn 800×600.
  Res `0x23` is the first. (There is also a persistent full-screen **slot 3** set *cross-context*,
  not in SC0000 — inherited from the parent/system scene.)
- **The opening mixes movies + stills.** `AGF2BMP2AGF` reports `OP.AGF`/`MVB*.AGF` as
  "unsupported type (possibly MPEG)" → DATA5 `MVB*` (210) and `OP`/`ED` are **movies**, not stills.
  The opening's visible background did **not** match any `EV001*` still (confirmed by eye), so res
  `0x23`'s file is not obvious from the name space alone — resolution is required.
- **Asset name spaces:** DATA2 = `EV*`/`EVM*` stills (985). DATA5 = `MVB*`/`OP`/`ED` movies (210).
  DATA3 = `.OGG` audio (`BGM*`, `ANA*` voice).
- **The resolution chain is opaque statically.** `CGINIT` (`build/data/CGINIT.json`) is a
  925-column *numeric* record table (row-major, sparse) — **not** an id→filename map.
  **`SYS4INI.BIN` (magic `S4IC422`) is the authoritative asset index** the game + `BinExtractALF`
  use (name ↔ archive ↔ offset ↔ size). Filenames aren't plain ASCII because the whole directory
  is **LZSS-compressed** (not encrypted). **DONE (2026-07-06):** `tools/parse_sys4ini.py` parses it
  → `build/asset-index.json` (13206 entries). See step 1 below.
- **Frida file-I/O is noisy.** `ReadFile` hooks on `DATA2.ALF` capture reads during the opening, but
  the offsets/spans don't line up with extracted AGF sizes → the game likely **memory-maps** the
  archives (so `ReadFile` offsets are OS paging, not clean per-asset loads) and/or uses async reads.
  The robust hook is the game's **internal load-by-id function**, not file I/O.

## The RE plan (ordered)

1. **Parse `SYS4INI` (S4IC422) → an asset index** `{name, archive, offset, size}`. **✅ DONE
   (2026-07-06).** `tools/parse_sys4ini.py` → `build/asset-index.json`: 5 archives (DATA1–5),
   13206 real entries (2 `@` placeholders skipped). **Format:** `uint32 packed_size @0x134`, then an
   LZSS stream at `0x138` running to EOF (GARbro-style: 0x1000 zero-filled ring buffer, init pos
   0xFEE, control bits LSB→MSB, 1=literal / 0=two-byte backref `off=(hi&0xf0)<<4|lo`, `len=3+(hi&0xf)`).
   Decompresses to `uint32 arc_count`, `arc_count × char[256]` archive names, `uint32 file_count`,
   then `file_count ×` 80-byte records `{char name[64]; u32 arc_id, file_number, offset, size}`.
   **Validated:** decompressed length (1058783) equals the stored size dword at `0x12c`; per-archive
   counts match the `extracted/` ground truth exactly (DATA2=985, DATA3=39, DATA4=9733, DATA5=210);
   all 13206 `offset+size` fit inside their real `.ALF`; 837 name-matched files → 0 size mismatches.
   `files[]` preserves directory order (feeds step 2's order-correlation). Re-run:
   `py -3.11 -X utf8 tools/parse_sys4ini.py --check`. (Ref: asmodean's `exs4alf` / GARbro Eushully `ArcALF.cs`.)
2. **Resolve `resId → asset file`.** **✅ SOLVED (2026-07-06) — fully static & general; NO runtime capture.**

   **The rule:** SYS4INI's file list is organized into **SECTIONS, one per scene** — each is a
   `SCxxxx.BIN` script entry followed by that scene's **asset MANIFEST**: every asset it references,
   across *all* archives and types (EV/BG/CS/AE graphics **and** OGG/WAV audio), interleaved in usage
   order. `file_number` is the **0-based index within the section**. So:

   > **`resId → files[ section_base(scene) + resId ]`**, where `section_base` = the start of the SYS4INI
   > section containing the scene's `SCxxxx.BIN`.

   Manifest rule holds for `set-texture(resId)` and `play-voice(id)`. **⚠ `play-bgm` is the EXCEPTION —
   it does NOT use the manifest; it uses direct literal names `BGM{id:03d}.OGG` (see step 4, by-ear
   corrected 2026-07-06).** **Tool:** `tools/resolve_asset.py --build` → `build/asset-sections.json`
   (359 sections, 136 scenes); `resolve_asset.py <SCENE> [resId]` resolves. **Validated:** `file_number ==
   position − section_base` for 12848/13206 files (97%); SC0000 resolves 17/17 across archives vs the Frida
   capture (`0x25→EV052CA`, `0x36→BG030A` background, `0x6c→EM* effect`); 586/595 distinct captured loads
   (all sections) satisfy `files[base+fn]==name`. This is the derivable rule that generalizes to any
   AGE game with the same container — **the "scope" was just which SYS4INI section the scene lives in.**
   (The old `play-bgm 5→BGM006` validation point was a mis-attribution — the real game plays BGM005.)

   *How we got here (condensed):* first confirmed `resId == file_number` via Frida load-order correlation
   for SC0000's opening, but `file_number` is not globally unique so a per-scene "scope" was needed. A long
   hunt for the selector (thought it was native scene state; even tried reading `G[0x62424]` live — the
   VM global memory is structured/packed, see `docs/global-memory-re.md`) missed the real structure until a
   **full multi-archive capture** (user domain tip: DATA1 holds BG/CS/CB/CA/CP graphics by name prefix, not
   just DATA2 EV CGs) revealed `file_number == SYS4INI position` inside per-scene sections. Superseded tools:
   `tools/correlate_scope.py`, `vm0.py --settex` (VM set-texture trace; still useful, but vm0 diverges on
   branchy non-opening scenes — use the C# VM to trace those). Runtime note for future work: the game is
   **packed** (main VM logic in a per-run heap `r-x` region) and streams archives through a heap block-cache
   via `ReadFile` (not mmap); the stable AGF decoder is `AGE.EXE+0x74f1f`.
3. **Wire the backend.** **✅ FIRST-PASS RENDER LANDED (2026-07-06).** `Age.Engine/Sys4/ResourceMap.cs`
   (Resolve + BMP path) + `GodotAdvHost` texture ops → `TextureRect` compositing behind the dialogue;
   `IHost.DrawTexture` extended with dst x/y; 800×600 window; `convert_agf.py --scene` pre-converts a
   scene's manifest AGFs → BMP. The full-screen **event-CG layer renders end-to-end** from the executed
   bytecode. **Limitations (next chunk = graphics geometry/blend):** sprites + `BG*` (routed through the
   CG-load subroutine) have garbage geometry because native graphics ops are stubbed (`0x208`
   get-texture-size + the sprite position/animation chain); fades (`AE*`) draw opaque (no alpha); slot
   model approximates the game's immediate-mode blit-onto-slot-0 canvas. See `docs/phase-a-slice-plan.md`
   (A2b section) for the full write-up + the graphics-subsystem plan.
4. **Audio.** **✅ WIRED (2026-07-06) — no Frida needed.** Same rule as textures:
   `play-bgm(id)`/`play-voice(id)` → `files[section_base(scene)+id]` → OGG. `IHost.PlayBgm/PlayVoice` +
   VM dispatch (`play-bgm` 0xbf / `play-voice` 0xc4, both argc 1); `ResourceMap.AudioPath` → loose
   `extracted/DATA{n}/{name}.OGG`; `GodotAdvHost` → `Main`'s two `AudioStreamPlayer` nodes
   (`AudioStreamOggVorbis.LoadFromBuffer`; BGM loops, voice interrupt-on-new). Non-Godot hosts no-op it
   → `--selftest`/8-8 byte-identical. SC0000 fires 18 BGM + 198 voice. **By-ear VALIDATED
   (2026-07-06):** voices play on their lines (`play-voice` med→HIGH). **BUT the two audio ops use DIFFERENT
   addressing — the earlier "unified graphics+audio manifest" claim was WRONG for BGM:**
   - **Voice** (`play-voice`) → per-scene manifest, `files[base+id]`, **offset 0** (same as textures). Proven:
     the manifest interleaves graphics/voice (`files[35]=EV049AA`, `[36]=MAN999`, `[37]=EV052CA`, `[38]=SYL0001`),
     so `id-1` would land voices on `.AGF` (silent) — they play, so offset is exactly 0.
   - **BGM** (`play-bgm`) → **DIRECT LITERAL NAME**, `id → BGM{id:03d}.OGG` (DATA3), NOT the manifest.
     Confirmed by ear (`play-bgm 5→BGM005`, `8→BGM008`; the manifest gave BGM006/009 = off-by-one) and proven
     by `play-bgm 0x23→BGM035.OGG` — a real standalone track (BGM set skips 030-034) the manifest mis-resolved
     to a graphics entry. Implemented as `ResourceMap.BgmPathById(id)`; `GodotAdvHost.PlayBgm` uses it.
     The prior "Frida-confirmed play-bgm 5→BGM006" record was a mis-attribution.

   Lily silent = correct (form-gated on `G[0xa57/0xa58/0xa59]`, unseeded). `play-sound-effect` (0xb4, argc 2)
   left stubbed — arg roles unconfirmed. See `docs/phase-a-slice-plan.md` (A2b-Audio). Diagnostic: `Age.Cli
   audio <SCENE>`.
5. **Movies** (`OP`/`MVB`, MPEG) — a separate video-playback path; deferred.

## Validation reality (why this is the big haul)

Unlike the VM/dialogue work (byte-exact trace oracle), graphics + audio have **no machine oracle**.
Validation is: **Frida ground truth** (what the real game loads/plays for a scene) as the correctness
anchor, plus **human eyeball/ear**. Treat every mapping as provisional until Frida-confirmed; the
`resId→file` map is *data we curate against ground truth*, and the engine stays honest by only ever
rendering what the executed bytecode + the map produce (never a hardcoded image).

## Status

A2b-background: **steps 1–3 landed.** Step 1 = `build/asset-index.json`. Step 2 = **`resId →
files[section_base(scene) + resId]`** via SYS4INI per-scene sections (`tools/resolve_asset.py` +
`build/asset-sections.json`) — no runtime capture, all archives/types + audio. Step 3 = **first-pass
render** (ResourceMap + GodotAdvHost texture ops → TextureRect compositing): the full-screen event-CG
layer renders end-to-end from the bytecode. Remaining (next chunk): the **graphics geometry/blend
subsystem** — native geometry ops (`0x208` + sprite position/animation) so sprites/`BG*` position, plus
alpha/blend for fades + chromakey. See `docs/phase-a-slice-plan.md` (A2b). Audio (step 4): **`play-voice`
uses the manifest** (`files[base+id]`); **`play-bgm` uses direct names** (`BGM{id:03d}.OGG`) — NOT unified.