Vfx

Source: docs/executable/effects.md
SHA-256: 6f6fa036…e8904903

Contents

Summary · The files · Vfx IDs · indices.bin · EffectMaterialData.bin · Loading · Replacing a vfx · Functions · Leads

How the game picks, loads and plays a vfx (a visual effect, the game's effect/ files): which file a vfx ID opens, the two small files beside them (indices.bin and EffectMaterialData.bin), and what a modder has to keep when replacing one. The files themselves are EFX0011 in an MLZ0 wrapper, played by the vfx player of the game's Libra library. The work it serves is R7, media. "Effect" alone means an effect_data row; the game's folder effect/ and its EffectManager.cpp keep their names.


Based on	The unpacked executable, SHA-256 `7b0230a11498f40396c9048345e7cfe0ef442cb7ca8faffc6f197920d2669599`; every file under `effect/` (2,085 `.efz`, `effect/global/common/indices.bin`, `effect/EffectMaterialData.bin`); `FileTable.bin` (filetable.md); the decoded effect_data rows (`data/game/battle/battle_data_release.dat/16.effect_data.jsonl`).
Checked	2026-10-11
Method	Static analysis with Ghidra 12.1.4: the decompiled code in `local/exe/decomp/` and the indexes `exe.calls` and `exe.strings` (The indexes); `xxd` of the executable. Single-file C# programs (session scratchpad, `effect/scan.cs`): a walk of `FileTable.bin` listing every file of group 200, and scans of every vfx file. DuckDB over the decoded `effect_data` rows. Facts from the code alone are at most likely. No in-game tests.

Summary

Every effect/ file is in group 200 of the file table, and the game opens it by file ID, never by name.
A vfx ID picks a file: IDs 0x000–0x260 play a set of the shared c_all.efz, found through indices.bin; the higher IDs each open their own file, most of them in the player's language folder (Vfx IDs).
A caller also passes a variant number: which set (variant) of the vfx to play.
A replaced vfx has to be a valid MLZ0 and EFX0011 file with its exact size in FileTable.bin; it doesn't have to be byte-identical (Replacing a vfx).

The files

confirmed: group 200 has 10,135 file IDs (0–10,134), every effect/ path is in it and in no other group, and 2,087 of its files are in Data/ (the other 8,048 file records have size 0). Source: C# walk of FileTable.bin.

File ID	File	What it is
0	`effect/EffectMaterialData.bin`	Vfx material settings (EffectMaterialData.bin).
1	`effect/global/common/indices.bin`	Vfx ID → set in `c_all.efz` (indices.bin).
2	`effect/global/common/c_all.efz`	The shared vfx: 655 sets.
3–67	`effect/global/magic/m0000.efz`–`m0064.efz`	Spell vfx; `m0000`–`m0050` (IDs 3–53) are on disk.
68–75	`effect/<lang>/results/r0001.efz`	The battle results screen, one per language.
76–1,107	`effect/<lang>/event/e0000.efz`–`e0128.efz`	Event vfx; 21 per language on disk (`e0000`–`e0018`, `e0100`, `e0101`).
1,108–1,659	`effect/<lang>/chr_make/cm*.efz`	Character creation; 68 per language on disk.
1,660–1,795	`effect/<lang>/title/t0000.efz`–`t0016.efz`	Title; `t0001` and `t0002` on disk.
1,796–10,123	`effect/<lang>/victory/v0000.efz`–`v1040.efz`	The `victory/` vfx; 161 per language on disk (162 in `ja-jp`).
10,124–10,134	`effect/global/chr_make_god/gcm0000.efz`–`gcm0010.efz`	Character creation (the gods); 8 on disk.

confirmed: the language folders interleave: a localized vfx's file ID is a base + 8 × its number + the language, with the languages in this order: 0 ja-jp, 1 en-us, 2 fr-fr, 3 de-de, 4 es-es, 5 zh-cn, 6 zh-tw, 7 ko-kr. Source: C# walk of FileTable.bin (e.g. results/r0001.efz is file 68 for ja-jp to 75 for ko-kr).
likely: the language added is the game's language setting (0x14026CA60, the value at 0x140CDE968), the same one the text loader uses (txte.md). Source: 0x140311a40.

Vfx IDs

The game turns a vfx ID into a file ID with 0x140311a40 (likely, static analysis). lang is the language, 0–7.

Vfx ID	File ID	File
`0x000`–`0x260` (0–608)	2	`c_all.efz`, set `indices[id]` + variant (indices.bin).
`0x261`–`0x2A1` (609–673)	ID − `0x25E` (3–67)	`global/magic/m<ID − 0x261>.efz`. Higher IDs up to `0x313` follow the same rule and land on the language folders' files.
`0x314` (788)	68 + lang	`<lang>/results/r0001.efz`.
`0x315`–`0x38D` (789–909)	76 + 8 × (ID − `0x315`) + lang	`<lang>/event/e<ID − 0x315>.efz`, `e0000`–`e0120`.
`0x38F`–`0x3D2` (911–978)	1,108 + 8 × (ID − `0x38F`) + lang	`<lang>/chr_make/`: the (ID − `0x38F`)th file, in file-ID order (`cm0000_0000`, `cm0000_1000`, `cm0001_0001`, …).
`0x3D4`–`0x3DD` (980–989)	ID + `0x23B8` (10,124–10,133)	`global/chr_make_god/gcm<ID − 0x3D4>.efz`, the same for every language.
`0x3DF`–`0x3E2` (991–994)	1,660 + 8 × (ID − `0x3DF`) + lang	`<lang>/title/t<ID − 0x3DF>.efz`, `t0000`–`t0003`.
`0x3E4` and up (996–)	1,796 + 8 × (ID − `0x3E4`) + lang	`<lang>/victory/v<ID − 0x3E4>.efz`.
`0x38E`, `0x3D3`, `0x3DE`, `0x3E3`	ID − `0x25E`	Fall through to the magic rule, landing on one language's event files; probably never used.

Who passes vfx IDs (likely, static analysis):

Battle actions: an effect_data row's u16 at 0x84 is the vfx ID and its byte at 0x86 the variant (vfx_id, vfx_variant), or the pair at 0xAE/0xB0. Source: 0x140336140, 0x14044bc10, Taco::Application::VfxJob::vfunction5 (0x14044bda0). confirmed: the rows use IDs 0–148 (in c_all.efz, variants up to 25) and 610–659 (m0001–m0050, variants up to 13). Source: DuckDB over 16.effect_data.jsonl, both pairs.
Event scripts: native 240 plays a vfx ID as given, 242 plays ID + 0x261 (m<n>.efz) and 244 plays ID + 0x315 (<lang>/event/e<n>.efz); 241, 243 and 245 add a variant (natives).
Others: the battle results (ClearStageSequence::vfunction6, 0x140371580, ID 0x314), character creation (0x1404afcc0), and battle jobs such as PickupBuffCardSignalJob (0x1403b2070) call the same function, 0x1403124d0.

indices.bin

effect/global/common/indices.bin, 2,452 bytes, not wrapped: a table, effect_indices, with one row per vfx ID 0–608 giving the set of c_all.efz it starts at (first_set). The game reads it whole at startup (0x140311b20, group 200 file 1) and plays set first_set[id] + variant (0x1403124d0). Its layout, values and the sets no ID points at are on the table's page.

EffectMaterialData.bin

effect/EffectMaterialData.bin, 480 bytes, an unwrapped xlce table of 4 rows of 0x74 bytes, effect_material_data. The game reads it whole at startup (0x140311b20, group 200 file 0) and sets 28 engine values from row 0. Its layout and how the game reads it are on the table's page.

Loading

Every fact here is static analysis, so at most likely.

likely: at startup the effect manager (0x140311b20) sets the vfx group to 200 (0x140C9DB38), reads files 0 and 1 as they are, and reads file 2, c_all.efz, unwrapped as MLZ0 (unwrap kind 2, containers.md), waiting for it. Its loader 0x1404141f0 parses it once (EFX0011); it stays loaded.
likely: any other vfx is loaded when asked for (0x140414bc0): the game queues a request with the file ID and the variant, and a per-frame update (0x140414fe0) reads one file at a time, unwrapped as MLZ0 into a buffer of the wrapper's size (0x140414930, 0x140415190), then parses it in place. Up to 16 loaded vfx are tracked at once (handles index 16 slots).
likely: when the file isn't in Data/, the game loads file 3, global/magic/m0000.efz, instead; a file whose table size is 0 loads nothing. Source: 0x140414bc0 (path from 0x1402af530, existence check through 0x1402af780, then file ID 3), 0x140414930 (size must be above 0).
likely: a variant of a loaded file plays set variant + 1, and nothing plays when the file has fewer sets. A variant of a c_all.efz vfx plays set first_set[id] + variant, unchecked. Source: 0x140414d40 (compares variant + 1 with the file's set count), 0x1403124d0, 0x1404134c0.
likely: a vfx's handle says which kind it is: 0x1xxxxxxx a loaded file, 0x2xxxxxxx a c_all.efz set. Source: 0x140311b00, 0x140312540, 0x1404134c0.

Replacing a vfx

What a mod has to do to replace a vfx file, from the facts above and in EFX0011:

Keep the path and file ID. The game opens the file by its ID in group 200; a new name is never looked up. A localized vfx exists once per language: replacing it for every language means replacing all eight files.
Wrap it as MLZ0 with the exact unpacked size at byte 4. Any valid LZ4 block works; LZ4's default compressor reproduces the originals byte for byte (Rebuilding).
Set its size in FileTable.bin to the file's exact size: the game reads exactly that many bytes and takes all but the first 8 as the LZ4 block (filetable.md).
Keep it a valid EFX0011: the 8-byte magic, chunks that fill the file exactly with sizes in multiples of 16, and set IDs 1, 2, 3, … (EFX0011).
Keep enough sets for every variant the game asks for: variant n plays set n + 1 (the most an effect_data row asks of a magic file is variant 13).
Keep the texture names game code looks up, such as __dummy__card_normal and card_normal in the character-creation vfx (R: texture).
To change a shared battle vfx, edit c_all.efz's sets; to point a vfx ID at another set, change its first_set in indices.bin (not wrapped; its size doesn't change). IDs pointing at set 105 look unused.

None of this has been tested in the game yet.

Functions

Address	Name	What it does
`0x14026ca60`	`Language_Get`	Returns the game's language, 0–7.
`0x140311a40`	`Vfx_IdToFileId`	Vfx ID → file ID in group 200; 2 means `c_all.efz`.
`0x140311b00`	`Vfx_GetState`	A vfx's state, by handle kind.
`0x140311b20`	`EffectManager_Init`	Loads files 0, 1 and 2 of group 200 and fills the vfx player's callback table.
`0x1403124a0`	`Vfx_FileExists`	Whether a vfx ID's file is in the file table (0 for `c_all.efz` IDs).
`0x1403124d0`	`Vfx_Load`	Vfx ID and variant → handle: a `c_all.efz` set, or a file load request.
`0x140312540`	`Vfx_Start`	Starts a loaded vfx, by handle kind.
`0x140313820`	`Vfx_StartChild`	Vfx player callback: starts a `c_all.efz` set by number from a parent vfx.
`0x140410f80`	`VfxParam_Set`	Sets one of the 28 engine values from `EffectMaterialData.bin`.
`0x140412220`	`VfxFile_FindTexture`	Finds a texture of a loaded vfx by name.
`0x1404134c0`	`VfxCommon_New`	New handle for a `c_all.efz` set.
`0x1404135a0`	`VfxCommon_Start`	Starts a `c_all.efz` set.
`0x1404141f0`	`VfxCommon_Parse`	Parses `c_all.efz` once it's read.
`0x140414240`	`VfxCommon_GetState`	State of a `c_all.efz` vfx.
`0x140414930`	`VfxFile_StartRead`	Opens a vfx file and queues its `MLZ0` read, one at a time.
`0x140414aa0`	`VfxFile_GetState`	State of a loaded-file vfx (16 slots).
`0x140414bc0`	`VfxFile_Request`	Queues a file load; falls back to file 3 when the file is missing.
`0x140414d40`	`VfxFile_Start`	Starts set variant + 1 of a loaded file.
`0x140414fe0`	`VfxFile_Update`	Per frame: starts queued reads, parses files that have arrived, frees finished ones.
`0x140415190`	`VfxFile_AllocBuffer`	Allocates the unpack buffer for a vfx file.
`0x1404a2c60`	`Libra_AllocBuffer`	Allocates through the Libra allocator (`Libra\TsMalloc.cpp`).
`0x1404a49b0`	`Efx_GetSet`	Finds or makes a set by ID (up to 1,024).
`0x1404a4a70`	`Efx_ReadSet`	Reads a `0x600` chunk in place.
`0x1404a4d10`	`Efx_ReadChunk610`	Reads a `0x610` chunk in place.
`0x1404a4920`	`Efx_ReadChunk620`	Reads a `0x620` chunk in place.
`0x1404a51f0`	`Efx_ReadChunk700`	Reads a `0x700` chunk in place.
`0x1404a7250`	`Efx_ReadChunk800`	Reads a `0x800` chunk in place.
`0x1404a75b0`	`Efx_ReadChunkA00`	Reads a `0xA00` chunk in place.
`0x1404a84f0`	`Efx_ReadResource`	Reads a `0xB00` chunk by kind (`P`, `Q`, `R`, `S`, `T`, `W`).
`0x1404a8760`	`Efx_FindTextureByName`	Finds an `R` resource by name.
`0x1404a87e0`	`Efx_RegisterSoundBank`	Registers a `W` resource's `sabf` bank (64 entries).
`0x1404ab1b0`	`Efx_CopyChunks`	Copies chunks 16 bytes at a time (not used for `effect/` files).
`0x1404ab220`	`Efx_ReadChunk`	Picks a chunk's reader by type.
`0x1404ab460`	`Efx_Load`	Checks the `EFX0011` magic and reads every chunk.
`0x14050d500`	`Efx_ReadSoundBank`	Reads a `W` resource.
`0x14050dfe0`	`Efx_RunCommand`	Runs one command of a `0x1000` chunk (21 opcodes); no shipped file has one.

Leads

What happens when a c_all.efz vfx asks for a set past the last one (655), or a missing file's fallback m0000.efz has too few sets for the variant.
What the 28 EffectMaterialData.bin values control (the engine values at the pointers at 0x140C9DC00), and whether rows 1–3 are read anywhere.
How many file load requests can wait at once (the free list at 0x140F30DC0), and how many c_all.efz instances can play at once (0x140F307F8).
What the vfx player's other callbacks do (the table filled by 0x140311b20 at 0x140C9DB50–0x140C9DBF8).
bl::efx, the engine's own effect system (overview), reads none of the effect/ files that way; what it plays is open.
Confirm in the game (R14) that a re-compressed vfx with a different LZ4 block, and a modified vfx with a new size in FileTable.bin, play.