cryengine-inspect

name	cryengine-inspect
description	Inspect raw CryEngine file data (bones, nodes, materials, geometry, skinning) using the CgfConverterTestingConsole. Use when debugging conversion issues, verifying chunk data, or comparing source data against renderer output.
allowed-tools	Bash, Read, Edit, Write

CryEngine Data Inspection

Use the CgfConverterTestingConsole project to inspect parsed CryEngine data. This console is Claude's tool — modify it freely for any inspection need.

Quick Reference

# All commands follow this pattern:
dotnet run --project CgfConverterTestingConsole -- "<file>" [--objectdir "<dir>"] <command>

# Available commands:
--dump-bones             # Bone hierarchy, transforms, bind pose matrices
--dump-nodes             # Node tree with transforms and mesh references
--dump-materials         # Material tree with textures and shader params
--dump-geometry [idx]    # Geometry info (no idx = list meshes, with idx = details)
--dump-chunks            # Chunk table summary for all models
--dump-skinning [count]  # Skinning weights (default: first 10 vertices)
--custom                 # Custom inspection code (edit RunCustom() in Program.cs)

Examples

# Dump bone hierarchy for adder mech
dotnet run --project CgfConverterTestingConsole -- "d:\depot\mwo\Objects\mechs\adder\body\adder.chr" --objectdir "d:\depot\mwo" --dump-bones

# List all mesh nodes in a CGA file
dotnet run --project CgfConverterTestingConsole -- "d:\depot\mwo\Objects\mechs\adder\body\adr_left_leg_calf.cga" --dump-geometry

# Dump skinning weights for first 20 vertices
dotnet run --project CgfConverterTestingConsole -- "d:\depot\mwo\Objects\mechs\adder\body\adder.chr" --dump-skinning 20

# Dump chunk table
dotnet run --project CgfConverterTestingConsole -- "some_file.cgf" --dump-chunks

Filtering Console Noise

CryEngine logs chunk reading to stdout. Filter it out:

# Pipe through grep to hide reading lines
dotnet run --project CgfConverterTestingConsole -- "<file>" --dump-bones 2>&1 | grep -v "^\["

# Or redirect output to a file for large dumps
dotnet run --project CgfConverterTestingConsole -- "<file>" --dump-bones > /tmp/bones.txt 2>&1

Custom Inspection (Deep Dives)

For one-off investigation, edit RunCustom() in CgfConverterTestingConsole/Program.cs:

Step 1: Edit Program.cs

Modify the RunCustom() method at the bottom of Program.cs. The cryData parameter gives full access to:

static void RunCustom(CryEngine cryData)
{
    // Access bone data
    var bones = cryData.SkinningInfo?.CompiledBones;
    
    // Access node hierarchy  
    var nodes = cryData.Nodes;
    var root = cryData.RootNode;
    
    // Access materials
    var materials = cryData.Materials;
    
    // Access specific chunks from models
    var chunkMap = cryData.Models[0].ChunkMap;
    
    // Access geometry through nodes
    foreach (var node in cryData.Nodes ?? [])
    {
        if (node.MeshData?.GeometryInfo is { } geo)
        {
            // geo.Vertices, geo.Indices, geo.Normals, geo.UVs, geo.BoneMappings
        }
    }
}

Step 2: Build and run

dotnet build CgfConverterTestingConsole
dotnet run --project CgfConverterTestingConsole -- "<file>" --custom

Step 3: Restore when done

After the custom inspection, restore RunCustom() to its default placeholder state so it's clean for next use.

Key Data Traversal Paths

CryEngine
├── .SkinningInfo.CompiledBones[]    → bone hierarchy, transforms, bind poses
│   ├── .BoneName, .ControllerID
│   ├── .WorldTransformMatrix        → Matrix3x4 (pos in M14, M24, M34)
│   ├── .LocalTransformMatrix        → Matrix3x4
│   ├── .BindPoseMatrix              → Matrix4x4 (WorldToBone, inverse bind)
│   ├── .ParentBone                  → CompiledBone? (field)
│   └── .ChildIDs                    → List<int> (controller IDs)
├── .Nodes[]                         → node hierarchy
│   ├── .Name, .Transform (Matrix4x4)
│   ├── .ParentNode, .Children[]
│   ├── .MeshData?.GeometryInfo      → vertices, indices, normals, UVs
│   └── .Materials                   → resolved material
├── .Materials                       → Dictionary<string, Material>
│   └── .SubMaterials[], .Textures[], .Shader
├── .Models[]                        → raw parsed files
│   ├── .ChunkMap                    → all chunks by ID
│   ├── .NodeMap                     → ChunkNode chunks only
│   └── .chunkHeaders               → chunk table with ToString()
└── .Bones                           → shortcut to ChunkCompiledBones

Important Notes

• CryEngine matrix convention: Translation is in column 4 (M14, M24, M34), NOT row 4
• BoneToWorld vs WorldToBone: WorldTransformMatrix is B2W (bone space → world). BindPoseMatrix is W2B (world → bone, the inverse bind matrix for skinning)
• --objectdir is important: Without it, materials won't resolve and you'll get defaults
• The console project is at CgfConverterTestingConsole/Program.cs — it's a top-level statements file
• Build errors in Program.cs won't affect the main CgfConverter build