Looking for an accurate esm, esp file structure reference

[MattMS]

Hello fellow coders,

I'm trying to read data from *.esm/*.esp files from Fallout 3 but I can't find an accurate reference for them.

The following pages seem to be what I want, but they don't match the files that I have:

 

- http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Tes4Mod:Mod_File_Format

- http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Tes5Mod:Mod_File_Format

For example, in the first group (TES4), there are 2 extra bytes and I can't decode the version float value correctly.

My installed version is from the Fallout Anthology pack, which partly downloaded from Steam.

Any links to better references or people I can seek help from would be much appreciated.

Many thanks,
Matt

[CarlCorey]

I used the docs at this Wikia article when I wrote a save file utility for personal use but that was the FOS file format page and the author has a disclaimer on the ESM format page about possible inaccuracy.

[MattMS]

Thanks @CarlCorey

 

I had checked out that wiki before but it currently doesn't have much detail on esm/esp files.

 

I've been using the TESsnip tool that came in the Fallout Mod Manager to get some idea of the data.

I've also just come across the FO3Edit app that looks like it could be more useful.

 

Eventually I'm aiming to put some notes together that I can chuck up on GitHub in case anyone else is interested.

[MattMS]

For future reference, it turns out the previously linked documentation is accurate but I did not read it correctly.

 

I've started a file parsing project, that also aims to document the file structure.

For anyone interested: https://github.com/MattMS/Fallout_3_data_reader

[sinanonline]

I am doing the same thing in Python. It seems to work with Skyrim.esm, Wyrmstooth.esp and a couple of others. Let me know if you are interested in collaborating.

 

https://github.com/sinanonline/SPyrim

 

Also see this:

https://github.com/TES5Edit/TES5Edit

Edited September 14, 2016 by sinanonline

[RoyBatterian]

https://github.com/TES5Edit/fopdoc

 

All ya need.