Originally posted by Nyxo:

The FLB files _do_ contain UI stuff, but by far there are more FLB files for visual effects, such as magic, weapon slashes, esper summons, etc.. Each FLB can contain more than one image, which is usually different frames of an animation. I can read the graphical data out of the FLB files just fine, but I haven't figured out all of the other data in the file yet -- it's crazy complex, and strikes me as complete overkill, considering what the files are actually in control of. I have a bad feeling that it's going to take a long time to fully understand the format. Your suspicion would be correct, that a custom editor of some sort would be required, just as the AKB files would require.

My thinking is that the FLB stuff is akin to the "resource" UI stuff in Windows program development, or the NIB files in Apple software, there's a bunch of different "types". Just casually looking through one with a hex editor suggests something like an animation timeline.

Further to the AKB files, these all are Ogg Vorbis 160K VBR files AFAIK, they are shorter than their OST versions but otherwise the same music:

NAME OF AKB = Name on OST/Common or Other Name

BGM_00.akb = Final Fantasy Title Screen/Menu/Prelude
s001.akb = Final Fantasy Title Scren/Prelude
s002.akb = Omen (Logo Display)
s002_loop.akb
s003.akb = Omen (War of the Magi Text roll)
s003_loop.akb
s004.akb = Omen (Magitek Sequence)
s004_loop.akb
s005.akb = Awakening
s006.akb = Terra's Theme (Overworld)
s007.akb = Shadows Theme
s008.akb = Strago's Theme
s009.akb = Gau's Theme
s010.akb = Edgar & Sabin's theme (Figaro Castle)
s011.akb = Coin of Fate
s012.akb = Cyan's Theme
s013.akb = Locke's Theme
s014.akb = Forever Rachel
s015.akb = Relm's Theme
s016.akb = Setzer's Theme
s017.akb = ... (Slow Music-box version of Edgar/Sabin's theme)
s018.akb = Celes Theme
s019.akb = Techno de Chocobo (Chocobo Theme)
s020.akb = The Decisive Battle (Boss Battle Music)
s021.akb = Johnny C. Bad
s022.akb = Kefka's Theme
s023.akb = The Mines of Narshe
s024.akb = Phantom Forest
s025.akb = The Veldt
s026.akb = Protect the Espers!
s027.akb = The Gestahl Empire
s028.akb = Troops March on
s029.akb = Under Martial Law
s031.akb = Metamorphosis
s032.akb = The Phantom Train
s033.akb = Esper World
s034.akb = Grand Finale (Opera)
s035.akb = Mt. Koltz
s036.akb = Battle (Normal Battle Theme)
s038.akb = Wedding Waltz (Opera)
s039.akb = Aria di Mezzo Carattere (Opera)
s040.akb = Serpent Trench
s041.akb = Slam Shuffle
s042.akb = Kids run through the City
s043.akb = What?
s045.akb = Gogo's Theme
s046.akb = The Returners (Returners Hideout)
s047.akb = Victory Fanfare
s048.akb = Umaro's Theme
s049.akb = Mog's Theme
s050.akb = The Unforgiven
s051.akb = The Fierce Battle ( Atma Weapon ) (Not on OST?)
s052.akb = From that Day On
s053.akb = The Airship Blackjack (Airship theme, World of Light)
s054.akb = Catastrophe
s055.akb = The Magic house
s056.akb = Sleep at the Inn
s061.akb = Spinich Rag
s062.akb = Rest in Peace (Game Over)
s065.akb = Overture (Opera start)
s066.akb = Overture (Opera Male singer)
s067.akb = Wedding Waltz (Opera Scene change)
s068.akb = Wedding Waltz (Loop)
s069.akb = Wedding Waltz (Male and Female singer)
s070.akb = Wedding Waltz (Second loop to the rafters)
s071.akb = Magitek Research Lab (Devils Lab)
s075.akb = Floating Continent
s076.akb = Searching for Friends (Airship theme, World of Darkness)
s077.akb = The Fanatics
s078.akb = Kefka's Tower
s079.akb = Dark World
s083.akb = Balance is Restored (1/2 10:59)
s084.akb = Balance is Restored (2/2 10:35)
s088.akb = Dancing Mad (4:27) Phase I
s089.akb = Dancing Mad (3:27) Phase II
s090.akb = Dancing Mad (3:02) Phase III
s091.akb = FF VI Overture (0:31)
s096.akb = Dancing Mad (5:13) Phase IV
s099.akb = Fanfare

All the other AKB files do not have Vorbis headers in them, so I'm assuming they might be a different audio format.

I'm pretty sure the .qm files are only for the launcher/config program. Open it in Notepad++ and you'll only see references to generic QT stuff like printers that clearly isn't part of the game.

The text strings are in the FF6.EXE file, so additional languages aren't likely to happen without patching it.

Originally posted by pluckylump:

Since all the animations seem to be loaded from the rom, would it be possible to load new sprites added to the sprite sheets instead of flipped sprites? I'm thinking specifically of the hand waving sprites and the look right sprites which basically necessitate that the sprite be more or less semetrical since they get flipped.

It's far more likely that the JP GBA ROM is used only as a database, therefor only stuff the overlay engine is aware of would be editable. The developers probably know where the position of everything is in the GBA ROM from Square-Enix, and thus just used that. The probably had to re-enter the strings from the string pointers in the ROM file regardless so they could use the font scaling of the mobile/pc hardware instead of bitmap fonts.

If you've played "Monkey Island" it's the same kind of idea. The original game's logic/maps/collision data is used, but the "new" version depends on data that was already there. It's likely that adding anything that the new engine isn't aware of would at best be ignored, and at worst mess up the indexes.

Originally posted by Nyxo:

On FLB files: I'm already working on that file format (and AKB, and PVR, etc..) so that I can add support for them in FFVI_Explore, however I don't want to discourage you from writing your own tools if you want to! :)

BTW. the AKB files are nearly straight ogg vorbis files (Most of them will play without question with MPC-HC, more will load in Audacity, but I suppose it's just how willing these programs are to overlook errors.)

The PVR files are likely PowerVR texture atlases, but I haven't a way to confirm that since tools usually only convert TO textures and never back.

The FLB files look like UI stuff to me (eg the combat menus) and I speculate that someone would need to make an editor for it.

Also, the text strings are in the FF6.EXE file.