GH6/GH5/BH .NOTE File Format

**raynebc** · Joined: 16 Jun 2008 Posts: 992

I did find that eventually there eventually appeared to be individual lyric entries in the PAK file, but I didn't recognize the format they're in. For example:

**codemann8** · Joined: 10 Apr 2007 Posts: 1048 Location: Oshkosh, WI

**raynebc** · Joined: 16 Jun 2008 Posts: 992

Doing a search for the first instance of the timestamp (0x0000D8A4) that occurs after the "hotelcalifornia_lyrics" header, I run into 40 byte entries for what appears to be each of the vocal notes. Here's the first one:

**codemann8** · Joined: 10 Apr 2007 Posts: 1048 Location: Oshkosh, WI

**raynebc** · Joined: 16 Jun 2008 Posts: 992

I'm glad you're willing to guide the blind, but I still can't find what 0xD8C7024A is supposed to be a checksum for. It's not the checksum for the text on, On, \L=on, "\L=on" or even the entire line of text e1b093e2 "\L=on". That checksum is also not given anywhere else within the PAK file so it must be generated against text instead of being stored as a checksum someplace.

**skylerinman** · Joined: 03 Oct 2007 Posts: 329 Location: Gainesville, FL

**codemann8** · Joined: 10 Apr 2007 Posts: 1048 Location: Oshkosh, WI

**codemann8** · Joined: 10 Apr 2007 Posts: 1048 Location: Oshkosh, WI

**raynebc** · Joined: 16 Jun 2008 Posts: 992

That makes me feel silly, I was looking for the entry for "on" and not "On". Is there a file header for the QS file that I should be looking for, or something like a magic number like with the QB files? Thank you again for all of your help!

**codemann8** · Joined: 10 Apr 2007 Posts: 1048 Location: Oshkosh, WI

**raynebc** · Joined: 16 Jun 2008 Posts: 992

I didn't want to take it for granted that it doesn't have a header of some kind. Headers for text files are less common, but they're not unheard of (even FoF's song.ini files have a header of "[song]"). I'll probably have to do something a bit more specific than searching for instances of 0x0D0A though, that hex string occurs twice in the Hotel California file before the QS data is reached, and even then it occurs after the first lyric entry. I think I could rely on searching for the first occurrence of 0x20225C4C ( "\L) though, and then rewind to the first of the preceding alphanumerical characters.

From there, I'll probably just build a list of strings and their hash values. This will account for entries being used more than once, just in case the files happen to do that. At least I've got a plan for moving ahead with this, I thank you again for your guidance!

**codemann8** · Joined: 10 Apr 2007 Posts: 1048 Location: Oshkosh, WI

I'm curious, what language are you coding in to read these files?

And splitting by 0x0D0A would most definitely be legit, I see in this specific example there are a couple of null entries at the end, but handling that case is super easy...there's only one 0x0D0A between each record in every case
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**raynebc** · Joined: 16 Jun 2008 Posts: 992

I mean to say that the PAK file as a whole has 0x0D0A instances before the embedded QS file is reached. I'm programming in old fashioned C, buffering the entire PAK file into memory and then parsing it from there instead of extracting the individual files (QB, QS, etc). It's not an extremely elegant solution, but the PAK file is otherwise pretty self contained and has just about everything I need to decode the contents (song name, instrument notes, vocals, etc).

**codemann8** · Joined: 10 Apr 2007 Posts: 1048 Location: Oshkosh, WI

**raynebc** · Joined: 16 Jun 2008 Posts: 992

It's not that bad, I just search for the QB magic number and use the offset of the QB file header, just as you mention. I don't really want to go to all the effort of parsing everything formally, I just hunt and peck for what I'm interested in (ie. instrument tracks, star power sections, etc).