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StormLib Roadmap

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StormLib roadmap — DBC & map extractors

Status tracking: MPQ extractor milestones are summarized on the Core Roadmap. Update that page when milestones close.

Implementation plan for game data extractors in firelands-next, aligned with MPQ-based Cataclysm clients (not CASC). Wire and file formats target build 15595.

Deliverables

DeliverableMeaning for 4.3.4
DBC extractorOpen client MPQs, apply patch order, extract DBFilesClient\*.dbc (and .db2)
Map extractor (phase 1)Raw world assets: *.wdt, *.adt, *.wdl under World\maps\
Map extractor (phase 2)Server .map / vmap / mmap — see VMap pipeline

StormLib covers MPQ only (open, find, read). Parsing DBC/ADT internals is our code.

Library versions

StormLib

  • Source: ladislav-zezula/StormLib
  • Policy: Pin a release tag in CMake (FetchContent). Do not track master.
  • Cataclysm retail MPQs use MPQ format v3/v4; StormLib 9.x required.
  • Pinned in root CMakeLists.txt: 9.26

Zlib / BZip2

StormLib needs both for Blizzard-compressed blocks. Project uses system ZLIB; BZip2 linked per StormLib CMake.

Toolchain

  • C++20, CMake ≥ 3.10
  • Extractors are standalone executables — do not link StormLib into auth / world unless there is a deliberate runtime MPQ need

Functional reference (4.3.4)

  • Patch order: base → expansion → patch-* → locale archives; last archive wins for a path
  • Paths: Blizzard \ separators in listings; normalize in code
  • Key roots:
    • DBC: DBFilesClient\*.dbc
    • Maps: World\maps\<Map>\<Map>.wdt, World\maps\<Map>\<Map>_<x>_<y>.adt

Technical design

Shared MPQ module

Thin C++ wrapper: open archive, masked find, read to memory or stream to disk; path normalization.

DBC extractor

  • Input: Data directory or explicit MPQ list
  • Output: mirror under DBFilesClient/ (configurable)
  • Optional: --only Spell.dbc,...

Map extractor (phase 1)

Extract WDT/ADT/WDL per map into maps/<Map>/....

Map extractor (phase 2)

Server .map + vmap/mmap pipeline — separate milestone; see VMap pipeline.

Repository integration

  • CMake: tools/extractors/ with FetchContent for StormLib (STORM_BUILD_TESTS=OFF)
  • Binaries: firelands-dbc-extractor, firelands-map-extractor, firelands-extractors (TUI)
  • Tests under tests/unit/vmap/ and extractor smoke tests

Risks

RiskMitigation
Wrong patch orderPrint open order with --list-mpqs; unit-test chain
Missing locale MPQDocument required archives for full DBC
StormLib API driftPin tag; upgrade in dedicated PR