Guide to the ETW map

[uanime5]

Looking through the grid_data I've noticed a few things.

1) A grid_cell can have multiple passable_parts with the same number but they always have different unknown2 values.

2) No matter how many boundaries a grid_cell has the flags 0, 1, 2, and 3 are only used once. This means that to add new buildings to the grid_cell we either need entries without flags or we need to change the number of flags in other entries.

3) I believe the passable_parts, unknown2, and the number of flags in a boundary are connected. So it you use the wrong entry for any of these the pathfinding won't work correctly.

Below is a grid_cell that demonstrates points 1 (red) and 2 (blue).

  <rec type="grid_cells">
   <bin6>1f 1f 1f ff ; 1f 1f 1f 1f</bin6>
   <ary type="boundaries">
    <boundaries passable_part="241 (of 255)" unknown2="6721 (01a41)" path_type="0 (passable area)" path_id="7 (guatemala)" vertex_index="25073"/><!-- 5671 (-630.0,111.711733818054); 5672 (-630.00750541687,111.713583946228); 5656 (-630.232727050781,111.119468688965); 5642 (-630.87744140625,110.829147338867); 5651 (-631.288432121277,110.984919548035); 5637 (-631.442891120911,110.762891769409); 5618 (-631.812754631042,110.281545639038); 5609 (-632.0,110.090270996094); 0; 2 -->
    <boundaries passable_part="128 (of 255)" unknown2="3360 (00d20)" path_type="6 (road)" path_id="7 (guatemala)" vertex_index="25084"/><!-- 5651 (-631.288432121277,110.984919548035); 5657 (-631.674032211304,111.131068229675); 5653 (-631.765851020813,110.999083518982); 5634 (-632.0,110.694357872009); 5609 (-632.0,110.090270996094); 5618 (-631.812754631042,110.281545639038); 5637 (-631.442891120911,110.762891769409) -->
    <boundaries passable_part="128 (of 255)" unknown2="2576 (00a10)" path_type="0 (passable area)" path_id="7 (guatemala)" vertex_index="25092"/><!-- 5657 (-631.674032211304,111.131068229675); 5658 (-631.719055175781,111.148132324219); 5675 (-632.0,111.772018432617); 5634 (-632.0,110.694357872009); 5653 (-631.765851020813,110.999083518982) -->
    <boundaries passable_part="133 (of 255)" unknown2="141184 (22780)" path_type="7 (slot)" path_id="7 (guatemala)" vertex_index="25098"/><!-- 5675 (-632.0,111.772018432617); 5658 (-631.719055175781,111.148132324219); 5657 (-631.674032211304,111.131068229675); 5651 (-631.288432121277,110.984919548035); 5642 (-630.87744140625,110.829147338867); 5656 (-630.232727050781,111.119468688965); 5672 (-630.00750541687,111.713583946228); 5673 (-630.0,111.733382225037); 5692 (-630.0,111.99375629425); 5706 (-630.016473770142,112.0); 5705 (-630.747518539429,112.0); 5704 (-631.102224349976,112.0); 5703 (-631.158422470093,112.0); 5702 (-631.93088722229,112.0); 5680 (-632.0,111.817686080933) -->
    <boundaries passable_part="134 (of 255)" unknown2="67600 (10810)" path_type="0 (passable area)" path_id="7 (guatemala)" vertex_index="25114"/><!-- 5702 (-631.93088722229,112.0); 1; 5680 (-632.0,111.817686080933) -->
    <boundaries passable_part="0 (of 255)" unknown2="0 (00000)" path_type="2 (transition area)" path_id="-1 (transition)" vertex_index="25118"/><!-- 3; 5706 (-630.016473770142,112.0); 5692 (-630.0,111.99375629425) -->
    <boundaries passable_part="0 (of 255)" unknown2="0 (00000)" path_type="2 (transition area)" path_id="-1 (transition)" vertex_index="25122"/><!-- 5673 (-630.0,111.733382225037); 5672 (-630.00750541687,111.713583946228); 5671 (-630.0,111.711733818054) -->
   </ary>
  </rec>

UPDATE: there is definitely a connection between passable_part and the flags 0-3. Below is a list of passable_parts and the flags they contain.

passable_part: 13; 3
passable_part: 45; 3
passable_part: 97; 2
passable_part: 101; 2
passable_part: 109; 2 3
passable_part: 134; 1
passable_part: 141; 3
passable_part: 143; 1 3
passable_part: 176; 0
passable_part: 180; 0
passable_part: 182; 0 1
passable_part: 183; 0 1
passable_part: 189; 0 3
passable_part: 191; 0 1 3
passable_part: 229; 2
passable_part: 231; 1 2
passable_part: 237; 2 3
passable_part: 239; 1 2 3
passable_part: 241; 0 2
passable_part: 245; 0 2
passable_part: 247; 0 1 2
passable_part: 253; 0 2 3
passable_part: 255; 0 1 2 3

For some reason these passable_parts are sometimes listed as 0, even though they have the flags for another passable_part. I'm not sure why this is.

Also roads never contain any flags.


UPDATE2: the unknown2 is determined by the number of boundaries in the grid_cell and the value of the passable_part. So the unknown2 for every boundary will be larger the more boundaries there are in a grid_cell. The unknown2 will also be larger in a grid_cells with higher passable_part values; so a grid_cell with 3 passable_parts of 189, 0, and 97 will have a smaller unknown2 than a grid_cell with 3 passable_parts of 189, 134, and 97.

[PietroMicca]

roads don't contain flags because are composed by closed line

no flags = closed line

uanime, have you check that list for all values? Time ago I have noticed something like that, but even though it could seem correct for the greatest part of cases, there's always an exception.

something more I have notice for hex value in the middle of uknown2

0 = this <boundaries> is not about slots or roads. A <boundaries> may be about slots and roads even though its path_type is not slot or road. In fact slots and roads are also boundaries for passable areas.

if passable_part is 255, hex value in the middle is 0 or 2

[uanime5]

I checked a lot and I don't think there are any exceptions, though the position of the 1 and 0 can vary; they can be at the beginning, end, or the middle.

I believe the 1 and 0 are flags that represent different ways that coordinates are linked.

• 1 means the coordinates are sequential but the boundary has changed. For example a passable_area would be (road coordinates) 1, (slot coordinates).
• 0 means the coordinates are not sequential but the boundary has changed. For example a passable_area would be (transitional_area coordinates) 0, (slot not connected to transitional_area coordinates).

Regarding the other flags, as 3 is always at the beginning of a list of coordinates and 2 is always at the end I believe this tells ETW where to start and where to finish.

Boundaries with a passable_part of 191 (flags 3; 1; 0) has a middle hex value of 0, 2, or 6.
Boundaries with a passable_part of 225 (flags 2) has a middle hex value of 0, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, a, or d.
Boundaries with a passable_part of 231 (flags 1; 2) has a middle hex value of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, a, c, or d.
Boundaries with a passable_part of 237 (flags 3; 2) has a middle hex value of 0, 1, 2, 4, 5, or a.
Boundaries with a passable_part of 239 (flags 3; 1; 2) has a middle hex value of 0, 1, 2, or 5.
Boundaries with a passable_part of 241 (flags 0; 2) has a middle hex value of 0, 2, 4, 6, a, or e.
Boundaries with a passable_part of 245 (flags 0; 2) has a middle hex value of 0, 2, 4, 6, a, or e.
Boundaries with a passable_part of 247 (flags 1; 0; 2) has a middle hex value of 0, 2, 6, or e.
Boundaries with a passable_part of 253 (flags 3; 0; 2) has a middle hex value of 0 or 2.

It seems that the more flags there are the fewer variations for the middle hex value.


Also I notice something odd with boundaries that have the same passable_parts and unknown2; they seem to be the same shape.


I've tried making new pathfinding for a corn resource in the Americas theatre but I can't get it to work correctly. Any idea what the problem could be? Here is the code.

  <rec type="grid_cells">
   <bin6>57 57 57 57 ; aa a9 62 a8</bin6>
   <ary type="boundaries">
    <boundaries passable_part="182 (of 255)" unknown2="68116 (10a14)" path_type="0 (passable area)" path_id="23 (cherokee_territory)" vertex_index="173318"/><!-- 1; 0; 16221 (-613.775247573852,242.0); 16238 (-613.76731300354,242.018256187439); 16254 (-613.476286888123,242.369248390198); 16267 (-613.223579406738,242.674026489258); 16284 (-613.09761428833,242.990606307983); 16306 (-612.611347198486,243.368979454041); 41686 (-612.577087402344,243.391661643982); 41689 (-613.213439941406,244.028050422668) -->
    <boundaries passable_part="33 (of 255)" unknown2="11522 (02d02)" path_type="6 (road)" path_id="23 (cherokee_territory)" vertex_index="173329"/><!-- 41687 (-611.869934082031,243.391661643982); 41686 (-612.577087402344,243.391661643982); 16306 (-612.611347198486,243.368979454041); 16284 (-613.09761428833,242.990606307983); 16267 (-613.223579406738,242.674026489258); 16254 (-613.476286888123,242.369248390198); 16238 (-613.76731300354,242.018256187439); 16221 (-613.775247573852,242.0); 16222 (-613.262837409973,242.0); 16241 (-613.168367385864,242.113935470581); 16258 (-612.875298500061,242.467391014099); 16273 (-612.766156196594,242.74169254303); 16287 (-612.365704536438,243.053291320801); 16302 (-612.0,243.337852478027) -->
    <boundaries passable_part="97 (of 255)" unknown2="4609 (01201)" path_type="0 (passable area)" path_id="23 (cherokee_territory)" vertex_index="173344"/><!-- 16302 (-612.0,243.337852478027); 16287 (-612.365704536438,243.053291320801); 16273 (-612.766156196594,242.74169254303); 16258 (-612.875298500061,242.467391014099); 16241 (-613.168367385864,242.113935470581); 16222 (-613.262837409973,242.0); 2 -->
    <boundaries passable_part="13 (of 255)" unknown2="148224 (24300)" path_type="7 (slot)" path_id="23 (cherokee_territory)" vertex_index="173352"/><!-- 3; 41687 (-611.869934082031,243.391661643982); 41686 (-612.577087402344,243.391661643982); 41689 (-613.213439941406,244.028050422668) -->
   </ary>
  </rec>
  <rec type="grid_cells">
   <bin6>57 57 57 57 ; 6c 57 57 57</bin6>
   <ary type="boundaries">
    <boundaries passable_part="253 (of 255)" unknown2="532033 (81e41)" path_type="0 (passable area)" path_id="23 (cherokee_territory)" vertex_index="173357"/><!-- 3; 16364 (-610.68711566925,244.0); 16332 (-610.947397232056,243.733949661255); 16307 (-611.947806358337,243.378465652466); 16302 (-612.0,243.337852478027); 0; 2 -->
    <boundaries passable_part="128 (of 255)" unknown2="1312 (00520)" path_type="6 (road)" path_id="23 (cherokee_territory)" vertex_index="173365"/><!-- 16302 (-612.0,243.337852478027); 16307 (-611.947806358337,243.378465652466); 16332 (-610.947397232056,243.733949661255); 16364 (-610.68711566925,244.0); 41690 (-611.233581542969,244.028050422668) -->
    <boundaries passable_part="134 (of 255)" unknown2="68480 (10b80)" path_type="7 (slot)" path_id="23 (cherokee_territory)" vertex_index="173371"/><!-- 41687 (-611.869934082031,243.391661643982); 41690 (-611.233581542969,244.028050422668); 1 -->
    <boundaries passable_part="4 (of 255)" unknown2="263424 (40500)" path_type="6 (road)" path_id="23 (cherokee_territory)" vertex_index="173375"/><!-- 41690 (-611.233581542969,244.028050422668); 41687 (-611.869934082031,243.391661643982) -->
   </ary>
  </rec>

  <rec type="grid_cells">
   <bin6>57 ff 57 57 ; 6e 57 57 57</bin6>
   <ary type="boundaries">
    <boundaries passable_part="189 (of 255)" unknown2="139841 (22241)" path_type="0 (passable area)" path_id="23 (cherokee_territory)" vertex_index="173378"/><!-- 3; 16550 (-612.396326065063,246.0); 16440 (-614.0,244.924202919006); 0; 41689 (-613.213439941406,244.028050422668); 41691 (-613.213439941406,244.735152244568); 41696 (-612.577087402344,245.371550559998); 41697 (-611.869934082031,245.371550559998) -->
    <boundaries passable_part="0 (of 255)" unknown2="0 (00000)" path_type="2 (transition area)" path_id="-1 (transition)" vertex_index="173387"/><!-- 16550 (-612.396326065063,246.0); 1; 16440 (-614.0,244.924202919006) -->
    <boundaries passable_part="97 (of 255)" unknown2="4360 (01108)" path_type="7 (slot)" path_id="23 (cherokee_territory)" vertex_index="173391"/><!-- 41697 (-611.869934082031,245.371550559998); 41696 (-612.577087402344,245.371550559998); 41691 (-613.213439941406,244.735152244568); 41689 (-613.213439941406,244.028050422668); 2 -->
   </ary>
  </rec>
  <rec type="grid_cells">
   <bin6>57 57 57 57 ; 57 57 57 57</bin6>
   <ary type="boundaries">
    <boundaries passable_part="176 (of 255)" unknown2="1572 (00624)" path_type="7 (slot)" path_id="23 (cherokee_territory)" vertex_index="173397"/><!-- 41690 (-611.233581542969,244.028050422668); 41692 (-611.233581542969,244.735152244568); 41697 (-611.869934082031,245.371550559998); 0 -->
    <boundaries passable_part="134 (of 255)" unknown2="66832 (10510)" path_type="0 (passable area)" path_id="23 (cherokee_territory)" vertex_index="173402"/><!-- 41697 (-611.869934082031,245.371550559998); 41692 (-611.233581542969,244.735152244568); 41690 (-611.233581542969,244.028050422668); 1; 16382 (-611.168571472168,244.079860687256); 16404 (-610.806714057922,244.449738502502); 16427 (-610.487402915955,244.776114463806); 16462 (-610.595821380615,245.209319114685); 16515 (-610.281079292297,245.748164176941); 16551 (-610.133975982666,246.0) -->
    <boundaries passable_part="45 (of 255)" unknown2="142088 (22b08)" path_type="6 (road)" path_id="23 (cherokee_territory)" vertex_index="173413"/><!-- 3; 16551 (-610.133975982666,246.0); 16515 (-610.281079292297,245.748164176941); 16462 (-610.595821380615,245.209319114685); 16427 (-610.487402915955,244.776114463806); 16404 (-610.806714057922,244.449738502502); 16382 (-611.168571472168,244.079860687256); 41690 (-611.233581542969,244.028050422668); 16364 (-610.68711566925,244.0); 16386 (-610.517504692078,244.173369407654); 16420 (-610.045068740845,244.656257629395); 16458 (-610.168217658997,245.148315429687); 16487 (-610.0,245.436307907104) -->
    <boundaries passable_part="97 (of 255)" unknown2="5121 (01401)" path_type="0 (passable area)" path_id="23 (cherokee_territory)" vertex_index="173427"/><!-- 16487 (-610.0,245.436307907104); 16458 (-610.168217658997,245.148315429687); 16420 (-610.045068740845,244.656257629395); 16386 (-610.517504692078,244.173369407654); 16364 (-610.68711566925,244.0); 2 -->
   </ary>
  </rec>

[the emerald ingot]

If there is anything I can do to help, I'd be more than willing to dedicate what free time I have to helping you guys. ^_^ Just let me know.

[PietroMicca]

If there is anything I can do to help, I'd be more than willing to dedicate what free time I have to helping you guys. ^_^ Just let me know.

Have you ever convert an esf file using taw's tools? This the first step. Then read any from the first post in this topic.

[PietroMicca]

passable_part: 0; 00x00
passable_part: 1; 0xx00
passable_part: 4; x0x00
passable_part: 5; xxx00
passable_part: 13; xxx00
passable_part: 32; 00x0x
passable_part: 33; 0xx0x
passable_part: 36; x0x0x
passable_part: 37; xxx0x
passable_part: 45; xxx0x
passable_part: 97; 0xx0x
passable_part: 101; xxx0x
passable_part: 109; xxx0x 
passable_part: 128; 00xx0
passable_part: 129; 0xxx0
passable_part: 132; x0xx0
passable_part: 133; xxxx0
passable_part: 134; x0xx0
passable_part: 135; xxxx0
passable_part: 141; xxxx0
passable_part: 143; xxxx0
passable_part: 160; 00xxx
passable_part: 161; 0xxxx
passable_part: 164; x0xxx
passable_part: 165; xxxxx
passable_part: 165; x0xxx
passable_part: 166; x0xxx
passable_part: 167; 1xxxx
passable_part: 173; xxxxx
passable_part: 175; 1xxxx
passable_part: 176; 00xxx
passable_part: 177; 0xxxx
passable_part: 180; x0xxx
passable_part: 181; xxxxx
passable_part: 182; x0xxx
passable_part: 183; 1xxxx
passable_part: 189; xxxxx
passable_part: 191; xxxxx
passable_part: 225; 0xxxx
passable_part: 229; x1xxx
passable_part: 231; xxxxx
passable_part: 237; xxxxx
passable_part: 239; xxxxx
passable_part: 241; 0xxxx
passable_part: 245; xxxxx
passable_part: 247; xxxxx
passable_part: 253; xxxxx
passable_part: 255; xxxxx

in this list for each passable_part there's the unknown2 pattern. x means not fixed value. But in many cases we can see that 0 is a repeated value. For instance, passable_part: 134; x0xx0. This means that the 2nd and 5th digit are always 0 for passable_part=134. If each hex digit is a feature of boundaries, this could entail that 2nd and 5th feature are not activated for boundaries with passable_part=134.

[the emerald ingot]

got some interesting news; I completely wiped etw off my computer (including all files and savegames) and did a fresh install. I decided not to run it yet. Instead, I took the regions.esf file, converted it to xml, and opened it up; it was completely blank.

To clarify, the file I opened was in data/campaign_maps/global map. If that was the wrong one, or if I'm just being an idiot, please let me know.

[taw]

got some interesting news; I completely wiped etw off my computer (including all files and savegames) and did a fresh install. I decided not to run it yet. Instead, I took the regions.esf file, converted it to xml, and opened it up; it was completely blank.

To clarify, the file I opened was in data/campaign_maps/global map. If that was the wrong one, or if I'm just being an idiot, please let me know.

How did you convert it, and what was the error message?

[the emerald ingot]

ok, nvm, I figured it out. using your tool, in the commmand prompt, I typed (blah blah blah directory) >jruby esf2xml <regions.esf >regions.xml. What I should have typed was (directory info)>jruby esf2xml regions.esf regions.xml. When I did that, it worked. Sorry, that was a total noob trying to figure out stuff he's never done before.

so, now that I've got the file unpacked and editable, what can I do to help?

[PietroMicca]

ok, nvm, I figured it out. using your tool, in the commmand prompt, I typed (blah blah blah directory) >jruby esf2xml <regions.esf >regions.xml. What I should have typed was (directory info)>jruby esf2xml regions.esf regions.xml. When I did that, it worked. Sorry, that was a total noob trying to figure out stuff he's never done before.

so, now that I've got the file unpacked and editable, what can I do to help?

first of all convert all types of esf

you have just converted regions.esf

take a look inside that folder

What can you understand about what you read?

Understand our language, our research, our discoveries

You have to understand how each esf file is linked to the others. Read also the first post of this topic.

Before helping us you get to understand where we are. It will take time. I know this may seem daunting, but this is the only way.

[the emerald ingot]

I've read through this thread in its entirety. I'm not gonna be so arrogant as to say I completely understand everything you guys are talking about, but I think I get the gist of it, and I can always refer to the first post (which is why I've bookmarked this thread). I've got a few ideas I'd like to try, but I don't know where to start, so I thought I'd ask you guys where you want me to start so that I contribute to the research rather than just do my own thing.

I've also unpacked both regions.esf and pathfinding.esf. I can unpack the others as needed.

[PietroMicca]

I've read through this thread in its entirety. I'm not gonna be so arrogant as to say I completely understand everything you guys are talking about, but I think I get the gist of it, and I can always refer to the first post (which is why I've bookmarked this thread). I've got a few ideas I'd like to try, but I don't know where to start, so I thought I'd ask you guys where you want me to start so that I contribute to the research rather than just do my own thing.

I've also unpacked both regions.esf and pathfinding.esf. I can unpack the others as needed.

now the our field of research is unknown2 in pathfinding

[the emerald ingot]

OK guys, I added paths in comments:

<rec type="grid_cells">
<bin6>1f 1f 1f 1f ; 01 01 01 1f</bin6>
<ary type="boundaries">
<boundaries unknown1="0 (00)" unknown2="0 (00000)" path_type="2 (transition area)" path_id="-1 (transition)" vertex_index="19"/><!-- 7 (-566.0,0.0501108169555664); 8 (-568.0,0.0501327514648438); 0; 2 -->
<boundaries unknown1="143 (8f)" unknown2="69648 (11010)" path_type="0 (passable area)" path_id="0 (new_grenada)" vertex_index="24"/><!-- 3; 1; 8 (-568.0,0.0501327514648438); 7 (-566.0,0.0501108169555664) -->
</ary>
</rec>

We need to plot every single hexdigit of unknown2.

If there's too much overlap, we can plot multiple times (map of every path with first hexdigit=0, with first hexdigit=1 etc. for 16*5 maps).

Then we can plot unknown1 as well.

Any volunteers to do the plotting? I don't understand 0,1,2,3 flags.

Drawing script ready.

jruby scripts/draw_boundaries tmp/pathfinding_etw_esf_dir/grid_data-0004.xml out

It creates files like out/hex_xxx0x.svg (everything that has 0 as 4th hexdigit) and out/hex_xxxZx.svg (all hex_xxx*x.svg drawn together and colorcoded). Hopefully I didn't reverse the order of digits or anything like it.
There are 16 arbitrary colors for each hexdigit value.

I just ignored 0/1/2/3 coords while drawing, and treated the rest as path in order.

If you want to research it, edit this line and set proper coordinates for high resolution view:
set_view(-1280.0, -640.0, 1280.0, 640.0, 2560)

At full world resolution it's hard to see much.

Some of these color-coded maps look very sensible, that is they don't look random at all.
*Z* svgs have too much stuff on them to be able to see much at this zoom level.

By the way how sure are you of path_type? (that is lowest digit?) I could make it draw it as well in the same format.
For S2TW at least I'm not certain at all it is right.

Ok, so, I ran that script and got all of the SVG files. Then, I opened ALL of the SVG files this tool mapped out in GIMP as seperate layers, and saved it as an XCF (the standard file that gimp saves your work as). It's almost 27 MB. I've compressed it and attached it to this post.

I hope that this file will help you guys figure out what the different unknown2 hex variables do. I played around with it, and I've found a few interesting things; xxxxx5 are the transition zones for the land bridges, such as between denmark and sweeden, or spain and morocco, and what xxxxx4 draws is right between what is shown on xxxxx5.
xxxxx1 is a perfect outline of the coasts, except the land bridges that xxxxx5 shows up as a solid path on xxxxx1, so maybe it has to do with where troops can walk? Except, of course, there's no barrier in the Sahara or east of Russia...
xxxxx3 perfectly matches rivers.
xxxxx2 matches the outlines for unpassable reagions (such as the barrier in the sahara, around the alps, and east of russia) as well as a thick border matching the coastline. So, maybe this is where troops can't march.

anything with 0 in it or with x in it appear to be a mishmash of more or less everything, so it's impossible for me to discern.

pretty much all of the hex maps with something in the xxXxx (where the capitol x is) seems to correspond to the locations of cities, town, ports, and roads. so this might help us create new cities ect.

then again, xxxxx7 is a perfect match for all places with slots, such as cities, towns, and ports, but no roads...

Let me know if there's anything else I can do!

[the emerald ingot]

I'd edit my previous post, but I haven't posted enough for the button to show up. I just wanted to clarify that I have, so far, only done the hex map for the European theater. If you guys would like, I can run the script on all the other theaters and compile all of those SVG's into a similar format that I did here for Europe.

[PietroMicca]

the emerald ingot take a look at post #1358. You made the discovery of hot water. We know that since more than a month ago. If you read correctly pathfinding, you will find an attribute called path_type. What we need is an explanation for the other hex digits.

[PietroMicca]

There's something that we miss. It's like we are looking data from a completely wrong point fo view. Until we arrived to path_type, all seemed logical and correct. Now we have studied data changing our approach in many ways, but all seems so messy, complicated and illogical.

[uanime5]

There doesn't seem to be any connection between the unknown2 and the number of coordinates in a boundary, the flags present, or slot type. It may be helpful to try to figure out what information it could be providing ETW. In M2TW the map files related to height, ground type, climate, and rivers so it may be something similar.

PietroMicca do you think the unknown2 is made up of 3 numbers or 5 numbers? For example would 81501 be 81, 5, 01 (3 numbers); or 8, 1, 5, 0, 1 (5 numbers).

[PietroMicca]

There doesn't seem to be any connection between the unknown2 and the number of coordinates in a boundary, the flags present, or slot type. It may be helpful to try to figure out what information it could be providing ETW. In M2TW the map files related to height, ground type, climate, and rivers so it may be something similar.

PietroMicca do you think the unknown2 is made up of 3 numbers or 5 numbers? For example would 81501 be 81, 5, 01 (3 numbers); or 8, 1, 5, 0, 1 (5 numbers).

5 numbers more probably. I think so because there isn't a complete scale of value for the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th digit. The range of values is 0-c (or 0-12). This excludes the presence of sequential numbers as for vertex_index and path_id. Hex digit in the middle contains a complete scale of values (from 0 to f) instead. This makes possible a connection between 2nd and 3rd digit (and maybe 1st).

In other words, following your example, it is possible 8, 15, 0, 1 or 815, 0, 1. But I believe to be very improbable 81, 5, 01. Anyway I could be wrong.

In the end there could be many other kinds of information in pathfinding.

height? There's already an height_map
ground type and climate? regions.esf already contains this information
rivers? there's already path_type indicating where rivers are

All these things could be repeated, but we don't know if all, partially or none.

[taw]

Correlation matrices say it's 5 integers most likely (post somewhere deep back in this thread).

[PietroMicca]

we should find 5 features in common between boundaries and boundaries_empty, because I remember you that unknown2 has the same meaning for both tags.