This post is outdated and is only kept around for archival purposes. Information contained within should be considered as imcomplete or incorrect. For future reference, use my new post on the subject.
Introduction
Hey everyone. It’s been a while. To be exact, it has been over 4 months. In that time, I’ve rewritten my program several times, but that’s something I’ll get into later. In this post, I’ll discuss where I’ve been, and how to read from a figure using the Skylanders portal, and I’ll start dissecting the figure data.
Where I’ve been
When I originally started this series, I wrote my program in C using Raygui. Soon after my last post, I realized that this approach wouldn’t work. I realized that I would benefit heavily from classes and a UI framework where I didn’t have to draw each frame through code. So, I switched to C++ and Qt6. This worked for a while. Designing windows became easier and I could now use classes. Sadly, that is where the benefits end. Qt6 virtually forces you to use their IDE and it’s just not up to the standards of Visual Studio 2022. It made debugging extremely hard. So, I made my final switch for now. I switched to my favorite programming language, C#. And that is where I am now. I have dropped the GUI for now in favor of a console-based solution. This way, I can focus on results before useability.
A new command has appeared
Rest assured, rewriting my code wasn’t the only thing that I have done. I’ve also researched a new command. It’s finally time to read from figures.
Let me introduce to you, the Query command:
[{Q | 0x51}, (0x10 - 0x20), (0x00 - 0x3F)]
As always, the first byte is the command character. In this case, ‘Q’. The second byte is the index of the figure on the portal, starting at 0x10. The portal does accept an index of 0x00, but the response will always have the index at 0x10, so I would recommend just starting from 0x10.
The final byte is the Block. A single figure contains an NFC chip that can store exactly 1KB of data, split into 64 Blocks of 16 bytes.
With this knowledge, we can also deduce the response. The response is the same as the command, with an extra 16 bytes of data appended to it. This is the data contained in that Block.
Dumping a skylander
For this article, I have dumped 2 Skylanders. A series 2 Cynder and a Head Rush.
Cynder:
Block 0x00: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x01: 0x20 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x33 0x24 0x46 0x49 0x8A 0x15 0x00 0x00 0x01 0x18 0xD6 0xB1 0x00
Block 0x02: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x03: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x0F 0x0F 0x0F 0x69 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x04: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x05: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x06: 0x05 0x91 0xA5 0xCB 0x73 0xD8 0xA8 0xD0 0x68 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x07: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x7F 0x0F 0x08 0x69 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x08: 0xC9 0x48 0xEC 0xD7 0xE0 0xC5 0xB2 0xF4 0xD3 0xB0 0xDE 0x82 0xB9 0x26 0x65 0x1B 0x00
Block 0x09: 0x62 0xE1 0xED 0x8D 0xAF 0x2B 0x87 0x3D 0xF9 0xA6 0x14 0x15 0xF0 0x2D 0x88 0xF4 0x00
Block 0x0A: 0x9F 0xED 0xF9 0x0C 0xE1 0x94 0x6A 0x46 0xF6 0x04 0x85 0xA4 0x34 0xE1 0x2C 0x16 0x00
Block 0x0B: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x7F 0x0F 0x08 0x69 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x0C: 0x1F 0xE5 0xBE 0x5B 0x4F 0x60 0x5C 0xA0 0x19 0x23 0x78 0x0D 0x68 0xB7 0xD6 0x6C 0x00
Block 0x0D: 0xFD 0xD6 0x96 0xDF 0x30 0x2D 0x35 0x7F 0xEA 0x84 0x6F 0xFF 0xEF 0xB4 0x49 0xB8 0x00
Block 0x0E: 0xC3 0xE5 0x23 0xB0 0x86 0xFE 0x64 0x2E 0xD3 0xB2 0x66 0xEA 0x63 0xC3 0x6D 0xCF 0x00
Block 0x0F: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x7F 0x0F 0x08 0x69 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x10: 0x7D 0x19 0xE5 0x63 0xCE 0xFB 0xB6 0x93 0x57 0x94 0x86 0x52 0x00 0xE3 0xA3 0x3E 0x00
Block 0x11: 0x05 0xD7 0x72 0xBF 0x5A 0x8C 0x84 0x09 0x6A 0x51 0xF1 0x84 0x7C 0x0E 0x14 0xB9 0x00
Block 0x12: 0x5D 0xEF 0x1A 0x96 0x59 0x1A 0xBA 0x84 0x32 0xB7 0xF1 0x9E 0x28 0x1C 0x02 0xDE 0x00
Block 0x13: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x7F 0x0F 0x08 0x69 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x14: 0x83 0x19 0xCE 0xD1 0x7C 0xD9 0xB0 0x5F 0xB8 0x89 0xDB 0xDA 0x5B 0x5A 0x94 0x23 0x00
Block 0x15: 0xEF 0xFE 0x8D 0x1B 0x2F 0x43 0x98 0x99 0x6C 0xDC 0xE5 0x9C 0xA5 0xC3 0xFB 0x9E 0x00
Block 0x16: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x17: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x7F 0x0F 0x08 0x69 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x18: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x19: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x1A: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x1B: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x7F 0x0F 0x08 0x69 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x1C: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x1D: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x1E: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x1F: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x7F 0x0F 0x08 0x69 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x20: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x21: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x22: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x23: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x7F 0x0F 0x08 0x69 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x24: 0x1C 0x2D 0xA9 0x35 0xEB 0xA4 0x66 0xC1 0x6F 0x86 0xA7 0xA0 0x7D 0x08 0xA7 0x69 0x00
Block 0x25: 0x6F 0x9C 0x1A 0x8C 0xD3 0x55 0x46 0x36 0x55 0x54 0x91 0xB4 0x71 0x41 0x34 0x06 0x00
Block 0x26: 0x7D 0x85 0xDD 0x99 0x57 0x5E 0x6D 0x48 0x28 0x96 0x6C 0xF1 0x09 0xC0 0x44 0x9C 0x00
Block 0x27: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x7F 0x0F 0x08 0x69 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x28: 0xB6 0x33 0x5C 0xD1 0x98 0x73 0x6E 0xD0 0x44 0x59 0xC5 0x2B 0x24 0x2D 0xED 0xC4 0x00
Block 0x29: 0xD8 0xCC 0xC2 0x78 0x44 0x4E 0xC0 0xD5 0xD7 0x3D 0xCB 0xAE 0xEB 0x79 0x54 0x38 0x00
Block 0x2A: 0x43 0xDF 0x11 0xFB 0x60 0x67 0xEB 0x56 0x42 0xF1 0x18 0xD7 0x66 0x09 0x53 0xCE 0x00
Block 0x2B: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x7F 0x0F 0x08 0x69 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x2C: 0x26 0x33 0x11 0x63 0x69 0x50 0xDF 0xD9 0x73 0xC4 0xF0 0xA8 0x76 0x67 0x10 0x5B 0x00
Block 0x2D: 0xB3 0x1C 0x5F 0x26 0x25 0xEC 0xDE 0xEC 0xDE 0xBF 0x85 0x2C 0x08 0x82 0xC5 0x33 0x00
Block 0x2E: 0x27 0xB8 0x89 0x26 0xD6 0x6B 0x7E 0x73 0x1C 0x48 0x47 0xE2 0x14 0x26 0x1C 0xDF 0x00
Block 0x2F: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x7F 0x0F 0x08 0x69 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x30: 0x9F 0x25 0xC5 0x4D 0xC3 0x9A 0xA5 0x59 0xF5 0x62 0x7F 0xF4 0xD6 0x7C 0x34 0xB3 0x00
Block 0x31: 0x82 0xC8 0x83 0x80 0x45 0x06 0x52 0xAE 0x17 0x48 0xF6 0xBE 0x7C 0xC2 0x5B 0x04 0x00
Block 0x32: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x33: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x7F 0x0F 0x08 0x69 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x34: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x35: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x36: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x37: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x7F 0x0F 0x08 0x69 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x38: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x39: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x3A: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x3B: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x7F 0x0F 0x08 0x69 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x3C: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x3D: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x3E: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x3F: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x7F 0x0F 0x08 0x69 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Head Rush:
Block 0x00: 0x8F 0x7C 0xDA 0xC9 0xE0 0x81 0x01 0x0F 0xC4 0x41 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x13 0x00
Block 0x01: 0xC7 0x01 0x00 0x00 0xCA 0xFD 0x5F 0x57 0x4C 0xB8 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x30 0x6B 0xD3 0x00
Block 0x02: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x03: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x0F 0x0F 0x0F 0x69 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x04: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x05: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x06: 0x05 0x60 0xCF 0x62 0x7D 0x6C 0x2A 0x77 0xA4 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x07: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x7F 0x0F 0x08 0x69 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x08: 0x4D 0x3E 0xD8 0x76 0x2E 0xB1 0xC8 0x28 0xEA 0xB8 0xF4 0x34 0x1C 0x77 0xA9 0x03 0x00
Block 0x09: 0x78 0x1B 0x03 0xE7 0x33 0xA8 0x65 0xC7 0xCA 0xB7 0x03 0x8A 0xEB 0x5A 0x2C 0x41 0x00
Block 0x0A: 0x53 0x52 0xE3 0x5C 0x9E 0x2E 0x8F 0x03 0xE7 0xB9 0x4D 0xE3 0x27 0xAB 0x07 0x71 0x00
Block 0x0B: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x7F 0x0F 0x08 0x69 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x0C: 0x2E 0x9A 0x93 0x01 0x4F 0xEF 0x6C 0x94 0xCA 0x31 0x18 0x72 0xD0 0x40 0x35 0x16 0x00
Block 0x0D: 0x03 0xBC 0xAF 0xF1 0x9C 0x66 0x51 0x22 0x7B 0xF7 0x90 0x9F 0x52 0x71 0xC0 0x82 0x00
Block 0x0E: 0x8B 0xB2 0xEB 0x40 0xAC 0x07 0xD9 0xDB 0x23 0x51 0xC5 0xE9 0x14 0xA6 0xC8 0x09 0x00
Block 0x0F: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x7F 0x0F 0x08 0x69 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x10: 0x1A 0xB7 0xCB 0x26 0xC1 0x33 0x4C 0x95 0x67 0xA3 0x07 0xFD 0xE4 0x85 0x88 0x2B 0x00
Block 0x11: 0x70 0x96 0x7A 0x9C 0x6A 0x29 0xCC 0x00 0x33 0x44 0x0A 0x60 0xB0 0x12 0x37 0xDE 0x00
Block 0x12: 0x82 0x18 0x77 0x15 0x4E 0xBA 0x11 0x9D 0x1B 0x33 0xAE 0x04 0x42 0x6E 0x4B 0x2A 0x00
Block 0x13: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x7F 0x0F 0x08 0x69 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x14: 0x9F 0x30 0x70 0x4C 0x94 0x68 0x49 0xBC 0xF0 0x76 0xA2 0xC8 0x01 0x05 0x58 0xEC 0x00
Block 0x15: 0x24 0x95 0x74 0x04 0xF7 0x40 0x15 0xDF 0xAE 0x88 0xAE 0xC5 0x19 0x68 0x98 0x35 0x00
Block 0x16: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x17: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x7F 0x0F 0x08 0x69 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x18: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x19: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x1A: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x1B: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x7F 0x0F 0x08 0x69 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x1C: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x1D: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x1E: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x1F: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x7F 0x0F 0x08 0x69 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x20: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x21: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x22: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x23: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x7F 0x0F 0x08 0x69 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x24: 0x09 0xA6 0xE4 0xCD 0x6B 0x36 0x80 0x45 0xDA 0x75 0xCD 0x61 0x47 0xC0 0xA4 0x2B 0x00
Block 0x25: 0xDB 0x68 0x18 0x55 0xF0 0x8A 0x59 0xD1 0x07 0x28 0x35 0x06 0xD2 0xCD 0xE7 0xF5 0x00
Block 0x26: 0xD6 0xD8 0x9A 0x8F 0x68 0x26 0xF3 0xE2 0xFC 0xD4 0xB3 0xDB 0x4A 0x44 0x0B 0x09 0x00
Block 0x27: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x7F 0x0F 0x08 0x69 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x28: 0x01 0x07 0xB7 0x40 0x1E 0x11 0xCC 0x42 0x4B 0x81 0x09 0x99 0xC2 0xEB 0x26 0x6A 0x00
Block 0x29: 0x3E 0x51 0xCD 0x91 0x33 0x9E 0x5A 0x36 0x30 0x2F 0x07 0x38 0x3D 0x60 0x30 0x7C 0x00
Block 0x2A: 0x7E 0xDE 0xEE 0x4F 0x2B 0x48 0x66 0x52 0xCD 0x9E 0x32 0x90 0xAC 0xF9 0x77 0xFC 0x00
Block 0x2B: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x7F 0x0F 0x08 0x69 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x2C: 0xA4 0xE6 0xEE 0x93 0xB6 0x69 0x99 0x9B 0x9E 0x9E 0x87 0xD0 0x6A 0xAD 0xE7 0xC0 0x00
Block 0x2D: 0x03 0x0F 0xAA 0x6C 0x44 0x1F 0x14 0x57 0x5A 0xFC 0x4A 0xC1 0x08 0xC9 0x0F 0x19 0x00
Block 0x2E: 0xB9 0xC1 0x98 0xC5 0x31 0x56 0x01 0xA2 0xF3 0x98 0x28 0xEF 0xF7 0x8F 0x38 0xF3 0x00
Block 0x2F: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x7F 0x0F 0x08 0x69 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x30: 0xA1 0xB6 0xEE 0x9D 0x06 0xD6 0x12 0x8D 0x79 0xAD 0x9B 0xDC 0xE4 0xD6 0x90 0x46 0x00
Block 0x31: 0x3F 0x57 0x37 0x04 0x1D 0xEB 0x20 0x4D 0x83 0x6B 0xF5 0x37 0x77 0xB2 0x7A 0x16 0x00
Block 0x32: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x33: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x7F 0x0F 0x08 0x69 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x34: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x35: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x36: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x37: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x7F 0x0F 0x08 0x69 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x38: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x39: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x3A: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x3B: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x7F 0x0F 0x08 0x69 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x3C: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x3D: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x3E: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
Block 0x3F: 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x7F 0x0F 0x08 0x69 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
The first thing I wondered was how the game recognizes which character you put on the portal. So, I made a backup of my Skylanders Trap Team disc and I looked at its file system in dolphin. Happily, the data partition contains a handy folder called characters with files in the format “NUMBER_NAME.*“. For example, the file for Cynder is “032_cynder.*“. My assumption was that the number was some kind of ID stored on the character. Sure enough, there it was in block 0x01: 0x20. The hexadecimal representation of 32. To verify my findings, I started looking for the Head Rush files. After some looking, I found it, “455_Earth_Rampage.*“. As you might notice from the number, it’s higher than the 255 limit of a byte. So, let’s look at the bytes around the initial ID byte. For Head Rush, the first two bytes of sector 0x01 are 0xC7 and 0x01. These two added together won’t form 455, but if we assume that they are in little endian, they form 0x01C7 in big endian. And sure enough, we have our 455.
In short, the figure ID is stored in sector 0x01 as the first two bytes. The format for these bytes is little endian.
As I mentioned, my figure was a Series 2 Cynder. However, there were no other Cynder files to be found. This means figures likely store a separate variant ID or something like this. This is something that I’ll have to look into.
Conclusion
For now, that will be it for this article. As I’m getting closer and closer to dissecting the portal and the figures, it gets more and more interesting. I’m really looking forward to diving deeper into these figures. As always, the code can be found on GitHub.