BFLAN (File Format)

BFLAN (Binary caFe Layout ANimation) is a file format used on Wii U and the Nintendo Switch. It is used to animate 2D layout, which is stored in BFLYT files.

File Format

Header

The file starts with the following header:

Offset	Type	Description
0x00	Char[4]	File magic. Always FLAN in ASCII.
0x04	UInt16	Byte-order-mark. FE FF for big endian, FF FE for little endian.
0x06	UInt16	Size of this header in bytes.
0x08	UInt32	Version number.
0x0C	UInt32	Size of file in bytes.
0x10	UInt16	Number of sections stored in the file.
0x12	UInt16	Padding.

Pane Animation Tag

The pat1 (Pane Animaion Tag) section stores general information about the animation. It starts with the following structure:

Offset	Type	Description
0x00	Char[4]	Section magic. Always pat1 in ASCII.
0x04	UInt32	Size of this section in bytes.
0x08	UInt16	Tag order.
0x0A	UInt16	Number of groups.
0x0C	UInt32	Name offset, relative to the start of this section. Points to a null-terminated string.
0x10	UInt32	Group offset, relative to the start of this section. Points to an array of groups with the specified amount.
If version ≥ 8.0.0.0
0x14	UInt32	User data offset, relative to the start of this section.
0x18	Int16	Start frame of this animation.
0x1A	Int16	End frame of this animation.
0x1C	Byte	Flag. xxxx xxxA: A: Descending bind
0x1D	Byte[3]	Padding.
Else
0x14	Int16	Start frame of this animation.
0x16	Int16	End frame of this animation.
0x18	Byte	Flag.
0x19	Byte[3]	Padding.

Group

Each group entry has the following structure:

Offset	Type	Description
If version ≥ 5.0.0.0
0x00	Char[0x21]	Group name.
0x21	Byte	Unknown flag.
0x22	Byte[2]	Padding.
Else
0x00	Char[0x19]	Group name.
0x19	Byte	Unknown flag.
0x1A	Byte[2]	Padding.

User Data

See here. Note that user data is not treated as its own block, and is included in the size of this section.

Pane Animation Share

The pah1 (Pane Animaion sHare) section stores unknown data. The section has never been seen in any game files. It has the following structure:

Offset	Type	Description
0x00	Char[4]	Section magic. Always pah1 in ASCII.
0x04	UInt32	Size of this section in bytes.
0x08	UInt32	Share info offset, relative to the start of this structure.
0x0C	UInt16	Number of share infos.

Share Info

Each entry has the following structure:

Offset	Type	Description
0x00	Char[0x19]	Source pane name.
0x19	Char[0x19]	Target group name.
0x32	Byte[2]	Padding.

Pane Animation Info

The pai1 (Pane Animaion Info) section stores the actual animation data and its key frames. The section starts with the following structure:

Offset	Type	Description
0x00	Char[4]	Section magic. Always pai1 in ASCII.
0x04	UInt32	Size of this section in bytes.
0x08	UInt16	Number of frames in this animation.
0x0A	Byte	Loop flag. 0 = disabled, 1 = enabled.
0x0B	Byte	Padding.
0x0C	UInt16	Number of texture names (T).
0x0E	UInt16	Number of animation contents (C).
0x10	UInt32	Animation contents table offset, relative to the start of this structure. Points to UInt32[C] which are offsets to each animation contents. The offsets are also relative to the start of this structure.
0x14	UInt32[T]	Texture name offsets. Each offset points to a null-terminated string. The offsets are relative to the start of this field.

Animation Content

Each animation content has the following structure:

Offset	Type	Description
0x00	Char[0x1C]	Animation name.
0x1C	Byte	Number of animation infos (N).
0x1D	Byte	Animation type. ID Name 0x00 Pane 0x01 Material 0x02 User Data (added in version 8.0.0.0)
0x1E	Byte[2]	Padding.
0x20	UInt32[N]	Animation info offsets. Each offset is relative to the start of this structure.

Animation Info

Each animation info has the following structure:

Offset	Type	Description
0x00	String	Animation kind. See below.
0x04	Byte	Number of animation targets (N).
0x05	Byte[3]	Padding.
0x08	UInt32[N]	Animation target offsets. Each offset is relative to the start of this structure.

Animation Kinds

The following animations are supported:

Kind	Description
FLPA	caFe Layout PAne SRT animation
FLVI	caFe Layout VIsibility animation
FLVC	caFe Layout Vertex Color animation
FLMC	caFe Layout Material Color animation
FLTS	caFe Layout Texture SRT animation
FLTP	caFe Layout Texture Pattern animation
FLIM	caFe Layout Indirect SRT aniMation
FLAC	caFe Layout Alpha Compare animation
FLFS	caFe Layout Font Shadow animation
FLCT	caFe Layout per Character Transform animation
FLCC	caFe Layout per Character transform Curve animation
FLEU	caFe Layout Extended User data animation (added in version 8.0.0.0)

Animation Target

Each animation target has the following structure:

Offset	Type	Description
0x00	Byte	Index. Unknown meaning.
0x01	Byte	Animation target. This value depends on what animation kind the owning animation info stores. See targets.
0x02	Byte	Curve type. 0 = Constant, 1 = Step, 2 = Hermite
0x03	Byte	Padding.
0x04	UInt16	Number of key frames.
0x06	UInt16	Padding.
0x08	UInt32	Key frame offset, relative to the start of this structure.

Constant Key Frame

Unknown.

Step Key Frame

A step key frame has the following structure:

Offset	Type	Description
0x00	Float	Key frame index.
0x04	UInt16	Value.
0x06	UInt16	Padding.

Hermite Key Frame

A step key frame has the following structure:

Offset	Type	Description
0x00	Float	Key frame index.
0x04	Float	Value.
0x08	Float	Slope, used to create a curve.

Targets

FLPA

ID	Description
0x00	Translate X
0x01	Translate Y
0x02	Translate Z
0x03	Rotate X
0x04	Rotate Y
0x05	Rotate Z
0x06	Scale X
0x07	Scale Y
0x08	Pane width
0x09	Pane height

FLVI

ID	Description
0x00	Visibility

FLVC

ID	Description
0x00	Left top red
0x01	Left top green
0x02	Left top blue
0x03	Left top alpha
0x04	Right top red
0x05	Right top green
0x06	Right top blue
0x07	Right top alpha
0x08	Left bottom red
0x09	Left bottom green
0x0A	Left bottom blue
0x0B	Left bottom alpha
0x0C	Right bottom red
0x0D	Right bottom green
0x0E	Right bottom blue
0x0F	Right bottom alpha
0x10	Pane alpha

FLMC

ID	Description
0x00	Buffer red
0x01	Buffer green
0x02	Buffer blue
0x03	Buffer alpha
0x04	Constant 0 red
0x05	Constant 0 green
0x06	Constant 0 blue
0x07	Constant 0 alpha
0x08	C0 red
0x09	C0 green
0x0A	C0 blue
0x0B	C0 alpha
0x0C	C1 red
0x0D	C1 green
0x0E	C1 blue
0x0F	C1 alpha
0x10	C2 red
0x11	C2 green
0x12	C2 blue
0x13	C2 alpha
0x14	C3 red
0x15	C3 green
0x16	C3 blue
0x17	C3 alpha
0x18	C4 red
0x19	C4 green
0x1A	C4 blue
0x1B	C4 alpha

FLTS

ID	Description
0x00	Translate U
0x01	Translate V
0x02	Rotate
0x03	Scale U
0x04	Scale V

FLTP

ID	Description
0x00	Image

FLIM

ID	Description
0x00	Rotate
0x01	Scale U
0x02	Scale V

FLAC

ID	Description
0x00	Alpha compare reference

FLFS

ID	Description
0x00	Black interpolate red
0x01	Black interpolate green
0x02	Black interpolate blue
0x03	White interpolate red
0x04	White interpolate green
0x05	White interpolate blue
0x06	White interpolate alpha

FLCT

ID	Description
0x00	Eval type offset

FLCC

ID	Description
0x00	Translate X
0x01	Translate Y
0x02	Translate Z
0x03	Rotate X
0x04	Rotate Y
0x05	Rotate Z
0x06	Left top red
0x07	Left top green
0x08	Left top blue
0x09	Left top alpha
0x0A	Left bottom red
0x0B	Left bottom green
0x0C	Left bottom blue
0x0D	Left bottom alpha

FLEU

ID	Description
0x00	User data

Version List

Version	Found in
2.2.0.0	New Super Mario Bros. U Super Mario 3D World
3.3.0.0	Mario Kart 8
5.0.0.0	Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
5.2.0.0	Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash Splatoon Super Mario Maker
8.0.0.0	1-2-Switch ARMS Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Nintendo Switch System BIOS (1.0.0 – 2.3.0) Splatoon 2 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo Switch)
8.2.0.0	Fire Emblem: Three Houses Nintendo Switch System BIOS (3.0.0 – 3.0.2) Super Mario Odyssey
8.3.0.0	Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (Nintendo Switch) Game Builder Garage Mario Party Superstars Mario Tennis Aces New Super Mario Bros U. Deluxe Nintendo Labo - Toy-Con 01: Variety Kit Nintendo Labo - Toy-Con 02: Robot Kit Nintendo Labo - Toy-Con 03: Vehicle Kit Nintendo Labo - Toy-Con 04: VR Kit Nintendo Switch System BIOS (4.0.1 – 4.1.0) Pikmin 3 Deluxe Super Mario Party Sushi Striker: The Way of Sushido (Nintendo Switch)
8.5.0.0	Nintendo Switch System BIOS (5.0.2 – 5.1.0)
8.6.0.0	Nintendo Switch System BIOS (6.0.0 – 6.2.0) Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee! Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! Tetris 99
9.0.0.0	Animal Crossing: New Horizons Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics Dr Kawashima's Brain Training for Nintendo Switch Everybody 1-2-Switch! F-ZERO 99 Kirby's Dream Buffet Kirby Fighters 2 Momotaro Dentetsu: Showa, Heisei, Reiwa mo Teiban! Nintendo Switch Online Playtest Program Nintendo Switch Sports Nintendo Switch System BIOS (7.0.0 – 9.1.0) Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition PAC-MAN 99 Pokémon Legends: Arceus Pokémon Scarlet Pokémon Shield Pokémon Sword Pokémon Violet Ring Fit Adventure Splatoon 3 Super Kirby Clash Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury Super Mario 3D All-Stars Super Mario Bros. Wonder Super Mario Maker 2 Super Mario Party Jamboree The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom The Legend Of Zelda: Link's Awakening The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom WarioWare: Get It Together! WarioWare: Move It!

Tools

The following tools can handle BFLAN files:

• (none)