fs25-i3d-structure

name: fs25-i3d-structure description: Use when working with I3D files, understanding the I3D scene graph, node types, materials, shapes, user attributes, collision flags, or transform hierarchy.

FS25 I3D File Structure

Overview

I3D is GIANTS Engine's XML-based scene format. Understanding its structure is essential for all FS25 modding.

When to Use

• Reading or editing .i3d files
• Understanding the scene graph hierarchy
• Configuring materials, shapes, or collision masks
• Debugging node references and paths

I3D Coordinate System

I3D uses Y-up, right-handed coordinates:

• X = right
• Y = up
• Z = forward

Rotations are in degrees, stored as rx ry rz.

File Structure

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?>
<i3D name="myObject" version="1.6">
    <Asset /> <!-- metadata -->

    <Files>
        <File fileId="1" filename="textures/diffuse.dds" />
        <File fileId="2" filename="textures/normal.dds" />
    </Files>

    <Materials>
        <Material name="myMat" materialId="1">
            <Texture fileId="1" />
            <Normalmap fileId="2" />
        </Material>
    </Materials>

    <Shapes>
        <Shape shapeId="1" name="mesh" ... />
    </Shapes>

    <Scene>
        <TransformGroup name="root" nodeId="1">
            <Shape name="visual" nodeId="2" shapeId="1" materialIds="1" />
            <TransformGroup name="collisions" nodeId="3" />
        </TransformGroup>
    </Scene>
</i3D>

Node Types

Common Attributes

All nodes share:

<TransformGroup name="myNode" nodeId="42"
                translation="1.0 2.0 3.0"
                rotation="0 90 0"
                scale="1 1 1"
                visibility="true"
                clipDistance="300"
                objectMask="0xFFFF" />

Node Path Indexing

Nodes are referenced by path from root:

• 0> — first root child
• 0>0|1 — root child 0, then child index 0, then child index 1
• 0>2|0|3 — root child 0 (skip 2), child 0, child 3

The > separates root index, | separates child indices.

Materials

<Material name="vehicleMat" materialId="1"
          diffuseColor="1 1 1 1" specularColor="1 1 1"
          customShaderId="2" customShaderVariation="colorMask">
    <Texture fileId="1" />            <!-- diffuse/albedo -->
    <Normalmap fileId="2" />          <!-- normal map -->
    <Glossmap fileId="3" />           <!-- specular/gloss -->
    <CustomParameter name="colorMat0" value="0.5 0.1 0.1 1" />
</Material>

Shapes

Shapes reference external .i3d.shapes binary files containing vertex/index data:

<Shape shapeId="1" name="bodyShape"
       castsShadows="true" receiveShadows="true"
       nonRenderable="false" decalLayer="0" />

User Attributes

Custom key-value data on nodes, read by Lua scripts:

<TransformGroup name="fillVolume" nodeId="50">
    <UserAttribute>
        <Attribute name="fillType" type="string" value="wheat" />
        <Attribute name="capacity" type="float" value="50000" />
    </UserAttribute>
</TransformGroup>

Collision Flags

Collision filtering uses bitmasks:

<Shape collisionMask="0x3" ... />  <!-- collides with STATIC_WORLD + DYNAMIC_OBJECT -->

XSD Schema

The I3D format has a full XML Schema definition (in the game's shared/xml/schema/ directory):

This is the authoritative reference for every valid I3D element and attribute. When unsure about attribute names, types, or valid values, read the XSD.

Quick Reference