Independent TAS Console Replay Research Group V. Grey Bigbass rasteri 16 April 2025 TASD File Format Specification Version 1 draft-tasd-v0001-00 Abstract The *TASD* file format is used for storing "Tool Assisted Speedrun" or "Tool Assisted Superplay" (TAS) input and configuration data for use with devices (known as "TAS replay devices") that replay inputs on physical video game hardware. The format is defined to be expandable for future needs. The format is also defined to be parsable by programs that do not understand portions of the format, whether that is due to incomplete support of the format specification or due to new features being added to later versions of the specification. This document defines the file format specification for *TASD* files. Table of Contents 1. Introduction 1.1. Contributions 1.2. Overview and Preliminaries 1.2.1. Notation and Vocabulary 1.3. Motivations 1.3.1. Problems With Existing Formats 2. Structure 3. Header 4. Packets 4.1. Assigned Packet Keys Without Descriptions 4.1.1. General Keys 4.1.2. NES Specific Keys 4.1.3. SNES Specific Keys 4.1.4. Genesis Specific Keys 4.1.5. Input Frame/Timing Keys 4.1.6. Extraneous Keys 4.2. Assigned Packet Keys With Descriptions 4.2.1. General Key Descriptions 4.2.2. NES Specific Key Descriptions 4.2.3. SNES Specific Key Descriptions 4.2.4. Genesis Specific Key Descriptions 4.2.5. Input Frame/Timing Key Descriptions 4.2.6. Extraneous Key Descriptions 4.3. Packet Payload Formats 4.3.1. General Key Payload Formats 4.3.1.1. CONSOLE_TYPE Packet 4.3.1.2. CONSOLE_REGION Packet 4.3.1.3. GAME_TITLE Packet 4.3.1.4. ROM_NAME Packet 4.3.1.5. ATTRIBUTION Packet 4.3.1.6. CATEGORY Packet 4.3.1.7. EMULATOR_NAME Packet 4.3.1.8. EMULATOR_VERSION Packet 4.3.1.9. EMULATOR_CORE Packet 4.3.1.10. TAS_LAST_MODIFIED Packet 4.3.1.11. DUMP_CREATED Packet 4.3.1.12. DUMP_LAST_MODIFIED Packet 4.3.1.13. TOTAL_FRAMES Packet 4.3.1.14. RERECORDS Packet 4.3.1.15. SOURCE_LINK Packet 4.3.1.16. BLANK_FRAMES Packet 4.3.1.17. VERIFIED Packet 4.3.1.18. MEMORY_INIT Packet 4.3.1.19. GAME_IDENTIFIER Packet 4.3.1.20. MOVIE_LICENSE Packet 4.3.1.21. MOVIE_FILE Packet 4.3.1.22. PORT_CONTROLLER Packet 4.3.1.23. PORT_OVERREAD Packet 4.3.2. NES Specific Key Payload Formats 4.3.2.1. NES_LATCH_FILTER Packet 4.3.2.2. NES_CLOCK_FILTER Packet 4.3.2.3. NES_GAME_GENIE_CODE Packet 4.3.3. SNES Specific Key Payload Formats 4.3.3.1. SNES_LATCH_FILTER Packet 4.3.3.2. SNES_CLOCK_FILTER Packet 4.3.3.3. SNES_GAME_GENIE_CODE Packet 4.3.3.4. SNES_LATCH_TRAIN Packet 4.3.4. Genesis Specific Key Payload Formats 4.3.4.1. GENESIS_GAME_GENIE_CODE Packet 4.3.5. Input Frame/Timing Key Payload Formats 4.3.5.1. INPUT_CHUNK Packet 4.3.5.2. INPUT_MOMENT Packet 4.3.5.3. TRANSITION Packet 4.3.5.4. LAG_FRAME_CHUNK Packet 4.3.5.5. MOVIE_TRANSITION 4.3.6. Extraneous Key Payload Formats 4.3.6.1. COMMENT Packet 4.3.6.2. EXPERIMENTAL Packet 4.3.6.3. UNSPECIFIED Packet 5. Controller Input Formats 5.1. NES/Famicom Controller Types 5.1.1. NES Standard Controller 5.1.2. NES Four Score 5.2. SNES Controller Types 5.2.1. SNES Standard Controller 5.2.2. SNES Super Multitap 5.2.3. SNES Mouse 5.3. N64 Controller Types 5.3.1. N64 Standard Controller 5.3.2. N64 Standard Controller with Rumble 5.3.3. N64 Standard Controller with Controller Pak 5.3.4. N64 Standard Controller with Transfer Pak 5.3.5. N64 Mouse 5.3.6. N64 Densha de Go 5.4. GameCube Controller Types 5.4.1. GameCube Standard Controller 5.5. Game Boy Controller Types 5.5.1. GB Standard Controller 5.6. Game Boy Color Controller Types 5.6.1. GBC Standard Controller 5.7. Game Boy Advance Controller Types 5.7.1. GBA Standard Controller 5.8. Genesis Controller Types 5.8.1. Genesis (Mega Drive) 3-Button 5.8.2. Genesis (Mega Drive) 6-Button 5.9. Atari 2600 Controller Types 5.9.1. A2600 Joystick 5.9.2. A2600 Keyboard Controller 6. References 6.1. Normative References Copyright Notice Authors' Addresses 1. Introduction The Tool Assisted Speedrun Dump (*TASD*) interchange format is a file format for storing data that enables "Tool Assisted Speedruns" or "Tool Assisted Superplays" to be played on physical video game hardware using TAS replay devices. Created to be hardware and software agnostic, the *TASD* interchange format uses a key-based, binary, packet format to break up pieces of information into easily- parsable and forward-compatible chunks. The format is extensible by simply defining additional keys or value types as necessary. When parsing the file, software can skip any packets whose key is unknown or unsupported. Packets of a given type can be used multiple times or completely omitted as needed. This reusability eliminates the need of a predefined delimiter to separate pieces of data. While files generated by emulator dump scripts should provide as much information as possible, they may be unable to provide everything. Since packets are optional, the file can be expanded later with any additional data as desired. No intermediary file format is necessary. 1.1. Contributions This document's source XML can be found at https://github.com/tasd- org/tasd-spec. All specification issues and additions should be addressed there. 1.2. Overview and Preliminaries The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in BCP 14 [RFC2119] [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all capitals, as shown here. 1.2.1. Notation and Vocabulary Data Types: (S) = String (A) = Binary Data (I) = Signed Integer (N) = Unsigned Integer (B) = Boolean ([]N) = List of Unsigned Integers Unless specified otherwise, all multi-octet integers are big-endian. We use the terms *byte* and *octet* interchangeably in this document. We use the terms *Tool Assisted Speedrun*, *Tool Assisted Superplay* and *TAS* interchangeably in this document. In subsections of (Section 4.2), the term "in direct form" is used. That term is defined to mean a packet in a *TASD* file directly (first order packet) rather than a packet inside a TRANSITION or MOVIE_TRANSITION packet (second order packet). String values MUST use UTF-8 encoding. As such, string values MAY contain any number of NUL characters and do not make use of "null termination". If an example of a string value is given, the example will be between quotation marks. The quotation marks are not included in the string. Not all content between quotations will be string value examples, so be aware of that when continuing through this document. Both unsigned and signed integers can have different bit widths. For instance, an 8-bit integer can be used in one part of the specification and a 64-bit integer can be used in another part of the specification. Variable-length integer encoding (also known as VarInt or VLQ) is not used in this format. Instead, arbitrarily sized integers, like those used in Section 4, are prefixed with a single octet that specifies the number of octets used to contain the integer value. In most cases, this is less space-efficient than VarInt encoding, but it is simpler to understand and to parse. Boolean values MUST be a single octet with the value of 0 for *FALSE* or 1 for *TRUE*. [N octets] A sequence of octets with a length of N [00 7F FF] A sequence of octets 00, 7F, and FF in that order. *0-indexed* When counting sequentially, start counting at 0. *1-indexed* When counting sequentially, start counting at 1. In packet diagrams, a single octet is represented with a box like this: +-----+ | Var | <-- Vertical bars MAY be missing +-----+ *Var* is a variable name. In packet diagrams, an arbitrary number of octets are represented with a box like this: +=====+ | Var | +=====+ *Var* is a variable name. In packet diagrams, boxes can be connected like these examples: +-----------+-----------+ | Var 1 (B) | Var 2 (I) | +-----------+-----------+ In this example, *Var 1* is a 1 octet long boolean value and *Var 2* is a 1 octet long signed integer. +-----+-----+===========+ | Var 1 (N) | Var 2 (S) | +-----+-----+===========+ In this example, *Var 1* is a 2 octet long unsigned integer and *Var 2* is an arbitrary octet length string. In packet diagrams, boxes MAY have relative offset values above them like in the following example: 0 1 2... +-----+-----+===========+ | Var 1 (N) | Var 2 (S) | +-----+-----+===========+ In this example, *Var 1* is a 2 octet long unsigned integer and *Var 2* is an arbitrary octet length string. Packet diagrams MAY be split into multiple lined sections like in the following example: 0 1 2 3 +-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ | Var 1 (N) | Var 2 (I) | Var 3 (B) | Var 4 (I) | ... +-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ 4 5 +-----------+===========+ | Var 5 (N) | Var 6 (S) | +-----------+===========+ In this example, the packet diagram contains enough variable boxes to require being split into 2 sections, in order to maintain consistent horizontal spacing in this document. The packet diagram is separated by an ellipsis (...) on the same text row as the variable names to signify that the packet diagram is continuing. 1.3. Motivations This file format's primary goal is to provide a comprehensive and replay device agnostic TAS input dump format that is usable for any console. Additional goals include: * No intermediary formats * Forward compatibility * High extensibility * Ability to easily generate using lua scripting in emulators Consideration is also given to how usable the format would be for the software that interacts with replay devices (examples: methods of ingestion/parsing, ease of ingestion/parsing in various languages). 1.3.1. Problems With Existing Formats Existing formats are either incomplete for some verification needs or don't exist at all for some consoles. For example, a format commonly used for NES console verifications (r08) only encodes 2 standard controllers worth of sequential data. The format doesn't indicate whether those inputs are per latch or per frame. It also doesn't contain *RESET* timing information, additional settings, or metadata. Non-standard controllers, such as the NES Zapper, aren't supported either. Until now, controller input formats were written in a way that was "good enough" for each use case, but rarely in a "standard" way. Often, any additional data had to be supplied separately as command- line arguments. While that process may work for a specific device, it's less than ideal when it comes time to redistribute the replay data so that others (especially those using different replay devices) can also successfully replay the same TAS. 2. Structure *TASD* files MUST begin with a header. The header MUST be followed by *0 or more* packets. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7... +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+=============+ | Header (A) | Packets (A) | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+=============+ Header (Binary Data) [7 octets] Packets (Binary Data) [? octets] *Header* 7 octet header as defined in Section 3. *Packets* List of 0 or more packets. Refer to Section 4 for packet definitions. 3. Header The *TASD* file header MUST be in the following format: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 +----+----+----+----+------+------+--------------+ | Magic Number (A) | Version (N) | G_KEYLEN (N) | +----+----+----+----+------+------+--------------+ Magic Number (Binary Data) [4 octets] Version (Unsigned Integer) [2 octets] G_KEYLEN (Unsigned Integer) [1 octet] *Magic Number* 4 octet value that MUST be [54 41 53 44] (ASCII value TASD). *Version* Version of the *TASD* file format. Version currently MUST be a value of 1, but SHOULD be incremented in future versions. *G_KEYLEN* Global length of *Key* values of packets. G_KEYLEN currently MUST be a value of 2. 4. Packets Each packet MUST be in the following format: +=========+----------+==========+=============+ | Key (A) | PEXP (N) | PLEN (N) | Payload (A) | +=========+----------+==========+=============+ Key (Binary Data) [G_KEYLEN octets] PEXP (Unsigned Integer) [1 octet] PLEN (Unsigned Integer) [PEXP octets] Payload (Binary Data) [PLEN octets] *Key* Packet type (Packet key). *PEXP* Length of *PLEN*. *PEXP* MUST be a value greater than 0. *PLEN* Length of *Payload*. *Payload* Payload/Content of the packet. *G_KEYLEN* Length of *Key* in each packet and is specified in the *TASD* file header. All packets are OPTIONAL. 4.1. Assigned Packet Keys Without Descriptions 4.1.1. General Keys [00 01] CONSOLE_TYPE [00 02] CONSOLE_REGION [00 03] GAME_TITLE [00 04] ROM_NAME [00 05] ATTRIBUTION [00 06] CATEGORY [00 07] EMULATOR_NAME [00 08] EMULATOR_VERSION [00 09] EMULATOR_CORE [00 0A] TAS_LAST_MODIFIED [00 0B] DUMP_CREATED [00 0C] DUMP_LAST_MODIFIED [00 0D] TOTAL_FRAMES [00 0E] RERECORDS [00 0F] SOURCE_LINK [00 10] BLANK_FRAMES [00 11] VERIFIED [00 12] MEMORY_INIT [00 13] GAME_IDENTIFIER [00 14] MOVIE_LICENSE [00 15] MOVIE_FILE [00 F0] PORT_CONTROLLER [00 F1] PORT_OVERREAD 4.1.2. NES Specific Keys [01 01] NES_LATCH_FILTER [01 02] NES_CLOCK_FILTER [01 04] NES_GAME_GENIE_CODE 4.1.3. SNES Specific Keys [02 01] SNES_LATCH_FILTER [02 02] SNES_CLOCK_FILTER [02 04] SNES_GAME_GENIE_CODE [02 05] SNES_LATCH_TRAIN 4.1.4. Genesis Specific Keys [08 04] GENESIS_GAME_GENIE_CODE 4.1.5. Input Frame/Timing Keys [FE 01] INPUT_CHUNK [FE 02] INPUT_MOMENT [FE 03] TRANSITION [FE 04] LAG_FRAME_CHUNK [FE 05] MOVIE_TRANSITION 4.1.6. Extraneous Keys [FF 01] COMMENT [FF FE] EXPERIMENTAL [FF FF] UNSPECIFIED 4.2. Assigned Packet Keys With Descriptions 4.2.1. General Key Descriptions [00 01] - CONSOLE_TYPE Specifies console used on emulator when dumping the TAS controller inputs. This packet type is OPTIONAL but SHOULD be included in a *TASD* file and a *TASD* file SHOULD NOT contain more than 1 of this packet type in direct form. Discussed in (Section 4.3.1.1). [00 02] - CONSOLE_REGION Specifies video region of console used for the TAS. This packet type is OPTIONAL and a *TASD* file MAY contain more than 1 of this packet type. Discussed in (Section 4.3.1.2). [00 03] - GAME_TITLE Specifies the name of the game the TAS is written for. This packet type is OPTIONAL and a *TASD* file MAY contain more than 1 of this packet type. Discussed in (Section 4.3.1.3). [00 04] - ROM_NAME Specifies the name of the specific ROM file used for the TAS. This packet type is OPTIONAL and a *TASD* file MAY contain more than 1 of this packet type. Discussed in (Section 4.3.1.4). [00 05] - ATTRIBUTION Specifies the name of someone involved in the TAS or the creation or management of the *TASD* file in order to provide proper attribution for work done. This packet type is OPTIONAL and a *TASD* file MAY contain more than 1 of this packet type. Discussed in (Section 4.3.1.5). [00 06] - CATEGORY Specifies the run category of the TAS. This packet type is OPTIONAL and a *TASD* file SHOULD NOT contain more than 1 of this packet type in direct form. Discussed in (Section 4.3.1.6). [00 07] - EMULATOR_NAME Specifies the emulator used while dumping TAS controller inputs. This packet type is OPTIONAL and a *TASD* file SHOULD NOT contain more than 1 of this packet type in direct form. Discussed in (Section 4.3.1.7). [00 08] - EMULATOR_VERSION Specifies the version of the emulator used while dump the TAS controller inputs. This packet type is OPTIONAL and a *TASD* file SHOULD NOT contain more than 1 of this packet type in direct form. Discussed in (Section 4.3.1.8). [00 09] - EMULATOR_CORE Specifies the core of the emulator used while dumping the TAS controller inputs. This packet type is OPTIONAL and a *TASD* file SHOULD NOT contain more than 1 of this packet type in direct form. Discussed in (Section 4.3.1.9). [00 0A] - TAS_LAST_MODIFIED Specifies when the TAS was last modified. Frequently used to specify the date and time when the TAS was published. This packet type is OPTIONAL and a *TASD* file SHOULD NOT contain more than 1 of this packet type in direct form. Discussed in (Section 4.3.1.10). [00 0B] - DUMP_CREATED Specifies when the *TASD* file was first created. This packet is OPTIONAL but SHOULD be included in a *TASD* file and a *TASD* file SHOULD NOT contain more than 1 of this packet type. Discussed in (Section 4.3.1.11). [00 0C] - DUMP_LAST_MODIFIED Specifies when the *TASD* file was last modified. This packet is OPTIONAL but SHOULD be included in a *TASD* file and a *TASD* file SHOULD NOT contain more than 1 of this packet type. Discussed in (Section 4.3.1.12). [00 0D] - TOTAL_FRAMES Specifies the total number of frames in the TAS. This packet type is OPTIONAL and a *TASD* file SHOULD NOT contain more than 1 of this packet type in direct form. Discussed in (Section 4.3.1.13). [00 0E] - RERECORDS Specifies the total number of rerecords of the TAS. This packet type is OPTIONAL and a *TASD* file SHOULD NOT contain more than 1 of this packet type in direct form. Discussed in (Section 4.3.1.14). [00 0F] - SOURCE_LINK Specifies the source link for the TAS. This packet type is OPTIONAL and a *TASD* file SHOULD NOT contain more than 1 of this packet type. Discussed in (Section 4.3.1.15). [00 10] - BLANK_FRAMES Specifies the number of blank controller inputs or frames to prepend to the inputs of the TAS when played on hardware. This packet type is OPTIONAL and a *TASD* file SHOULD NOT contain more than 1 of this packet type in direct form. Discussed in (Section 4.3.1.16). [00 11] - VERIFIED Specifies whether the TAS is verified to run on hardware, also known as "console verified", using the *TASD* file. This packet type is OPTIONAL and a *TASD* file SHOULD NOT contain more than 1 of this packet type in direct form. Discussed in (Section 4.3.1.17). [00 12] - MEMORY_INIT Specifies initial memory values used for the TAS. This packet type is OPTIONAL and a *TASD* file MAY contain more than 1 of this packet type. Discussed in (Section 4.3.1.18). [00 13] - GAME_IDENTIFIER Specifies an identifier for the game the TAS is written for. This can be checksums, hashes, or other identifying data. This packet type is OPTIONAL and a *TASD* file MAY contain more than 1 of this packet type. Discussed in (Section 4.3.1.19). [00 14] - MOVIE_LICENSE Specifies a copyright license for the TAS. This packet type is OPTIONAL and a *TASD* file MAY contain more than 1 of this packet type. Discussed in (Section 4.3.1.20). [00 15] - MOVIE_FILE Specifies the TAS movie data. This packet type is OPTIONAL and a *TASD* file SHOULD NOT contain more than 1 of this packet type. Discussed in (Section 4.3.1.21). [00 F0] - PORT_CONTROLLER Specifies the controller type in specific console controller ports for the TAS when played on hardware. This packet type is OPTIONAL and a *TASD* file SHOULD NOT contain more than 1 of this packet type in direct form. Discussed in (Section 4.3.1.22). [00 F1] - PORT_OVERREAD Specifies whether a high or low signal SHOULD be sent through a specified controller port of the console if the console requests more input data from the replay device through that controller port than expected. This packet type is OPTIONAL. Discussed in (Section 4.3.1.23). 4.2.2. NES Specific Key Descriptions [01 01] - NES_LATCH_FILTER Specifies a latch filter time in microseconds for how long how long to wait after a latch signal until new latch signals SHOULD be accepted by the replay device. This packet type is OPTIONAL and a *TASD* file SHOULD NOT contain more than 1 of this packet type in direct form. Discussed in (Section 4.3.2.1). [01 02] - NES_CLOCK_FILTER Specifies a clock filter time in tenths of a microsecond (0.1 microseconds or 100 nanoseconds) for how long to wait after a clock pulse until new clock pulses SHOULD be accepted by the replay device. This packet type is OPTIONAL and a *TASD* file SHOULD NOT contain more than 1 of this packet type in direct form. Discussed in (Section 4.3.2.2). [01 04] - NES_GAME_GENIE_CODE Specifies a Game Genie code for the TAS. This packet type is OPTIONAL and a *TASD* file MAY contain more than 1 of this packet type. Discussed in (Section 4.3.2.3). 4.2.3. SNES Specific Key Descriptions [02 01] - SNES_LATCH_FILTER Specifies a latch filter time in microseconds for how long how long to wait after a latch signal until new latch signals SHOULD be accepted by the replay device. This packet type is OPTIONAL and a *TASD* file SHOULD NOT contain more than 1 of this packet type in direct form. Discussed in (Section 4.3.3.1). [02 02] - SNES_CLOCK_FILTER Specifies a clock filter time in tenths of a microsecond (0.1 microseconds or 100 nanoseconds) for how long to wait after a clock pulse until new clock pulses SHOULD be accepted by the replay device. This packet type is OPTIONAL and a *TASD* file SHOULD NOT contain more than 1 of this packet type in direct form. Discussed in (Section 4.3.3.2). [02 04] - SNES_GAME_GENIE_CODE Specifies a Game Genie code for the TAS. This packet type is OPTIONAL and a *TASD* file MAY contain more than 1 of this packet type. Discussed in (Section 4.3.3.3). [02 05] - SNES_LATCH_TRAIN Specifies Latch Trains for TAS. This packet type is OPTIONAL and a *TASD* file MAY contain more than 1 of this packet type. Discussed in (Section 4.3.3.4). 4.2.4. Genesis Specific Key Descriptions [08 04] - GENESIS_GAME_GENIE_CODE Specifies a Game Genie code for the TAS. This packet type is OPTIONAL and a *TASD* file MAY contain more than 1 of this packet type. Discussed in (Section 4.3.4.1). 4.2.5. Input Frame/Timing Key Descriptions [FE 01] - INPUT_CHUNK Specifies a chunk of input data for the TAS when played on hardware. All data from INPUT_CHUNK packets for each controller port are concatenated together in order of appearance in the *TASD* file. This packet type is OPTIONAL and a *TASD* file MAY contain more than 1 of this packet type. Discussed in (Section 4.3.5.1). [FE 02] - INPUT_MOMENT Specifies a single instance of input data that is sent from the replay device to the console with specific timing. This packet type is OPTIONAL and a *TASD* file MAY contain more than 1 of this packet type. Discussed in (Section 4.3.5.2). [FE 03] - TRANSITION Specifies when a transition or change occurs during a TAS replay (example: console reset or changing of controller types). This packet type is OPTIONAL and a *TASD* file MAY contain more than 1 of this packet type. Discussed in (Section 4.3.5.3). [FE 04] - LAG_FRAME_CHUNK Specifies a chunk of lag frames in a TAS based on the original TAS movie. This packet type is OPTIONAL and a *TASD* file MAY contain more than 1 of this packet type. Discussed in (Section 4.3.5.4). [FE 05] - MOVIE_TRANSITION Specifies when a transition or change occurs in the original TAS movie (example: console reset or changing of controller types). This packet type is OPTIONAL and a *TASD* file MAY contain more than 1 of this packet type. Discussed in (Section 4.3.5.5). 4.2.6. Extraneous Key Descriptions [FF 01] - COMMENT Comment data. This packet type is OPTIONAL and a *TASD* file MAY contain more than 1 of this packet type. Discussed in (Section 4.3.6.1). [FF FE] - EXPERIMENTAL TASD file is using draft/experimental packets. This packet type is OPTIONAL and a *TASD* file SHOULD NOT contain more than 1 of this packet type. Discussed in (Section 4.3.6.2). [FF FF] - UNSPECIFIED Unspecified packet data. Can contain any arbitrary data. This packet type is OPTIONAL and a *TASD* file MAY contain more than 1 of this packet type. Discussed in (Section 4.3.6.3). 4.3. Packet Payload Formats 4.3.1. General Key Payload Formats 4.3.1.1. CONSOLE_TYPE Packet CONSOLE_TYPE packets MUST be in the following format: 0 1... +-------------+==========+ | Console (A) | Name (S) | +-------------+==========+ Console (Binary Data): [1 octet] [01] - NES [02] - SNES [03] - N64 [04] - GC [05] - GB [06] - GBC [07] - GBA [08] - Genesis [09] - A2600 [FF] - Custom Name (String) [PLEN - 1 octets] *Console* Game console the TAS movie is for. There are pre-specified console types, but a *TASD* file MAY use [FF] to specify a console that is not in the pre-specified console types. *Name* Name of the console the TAS movie is for. SHOULD be empty if *Console* is not set to [FF]. *PLEN* Length of the packet payload. 4.3.1.2. CONSOLE_REGION Packet CONSOLE_REGION packets MUST be in the following format: 0 +------------------+ | Video Signal (A) | +------------------+ Video Signal (Binary Data): [1 octet] [01] - NTSC [02] - PAL [FF] - Other/Unknown *Video Signal* Specifies the video signal of the game console being emulated while dumping the TAS movie's controller inputs. 4.3.1.3. GAME_TITLE Packet GAME_TITLE packets MUST be in the following format: 0... +===========+ | Title (S) | +===========+ Title (String) [PLEN octets] *Title* Game title the TAS movie is for (example: "Super Mario Bros. 3"). *PLEN* Length of the packet payload. 4.3.1.4. ROM_NAME Packet ROM_NAME packets MUST be in the following format: 0... +==========+ | Name (S) | +==========+ Name (String) [PLEN octets] *Name* File name of the ROM used for the TAS movie (example: "Super Mario Bros. 3 (J) [!].nes"). *PLEN* Length of the packet payload. 4.3.1.5. ATTRIBUTION Packet ATTRIBUTION packets MUST be in the following format: 0 1... +----------+==========+ | Type (A) | Name (S) | +----------+==========+ Type (Binary Data) [1 octet] [01] - Author [02] - Verifier [03] - TASD File Creator [04] - TASD File Editor [FF] - Other Name (String) [PLEN - 1 octets] *Type* Function of the person who is being attributed. *Author* is meant for a TAS movie author. *Verifier* is meant for a person who console verified the TAS movie(s) contained in the *TASD* file. *TASD File Creator* is meant for the person who initially created the *TASD* file, such as when dumping inputs from a TAS movie. *TASD File Editor* is meant for a person who edited the *TASD* file. *Name* Name of the individual getting the attribution (example: "OnehundredthCoin"). *PLEN* Length of the packet payload. 4.3.1.6. CATEGORY Packet CATEGORY packets MUST be in the following format: 0... +==============+ | Category (S) | +==============+ Category (String) [PLEN octets] *Category* Name of the TAS movie run category (example: "any%", "100%", "No Warps"). *PLEN* Length of the packet payload. 4.3.1.7. EMULATOR_NAME Packet EMULATOR_NAME packets MUST be in the following format: 0... +==========+ | Name (S) | +==========+ Name (String) [PLEN octets] *Name* Name of the emulator used to play the TAS movie while dumping controller inputs (example: "FCEUX", "Bizhawk"). The emulator's version or core name SHOULD NOT be included. *PLEN* Length of the packet payload. 4.3.1.8. EMULATOR_VERSION Packet EMULATOR_VERSION packets MUST be in the following format: 0... +=============+ | Version (S) | +=============+ Version (String) [PLEN octets] *Version* Version of the emulator used to play the TAS movie while dumping controller inputs (example: "2.7.0"). *PLEN* Length of the packet payload. 4.3.1.9. EMULATOR_CORE Packet EMULATOR_CORE packets MUST be in the following format: 0... +==========+ | Core (S) | +==========+ Core (String) [PLEN octets] *Core* Core of the emulator used to play the TAS movie while dumping controller inputs (example: "NESHawk", "Gambatte"). *PLEN* Length of the packet payload 4.3.1.10. TAS_LAST_MODIFIED Packet TAS_LAST_MODIFIED packets MUST be in the following format: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+ | Unix Timestamp (I) | +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+ Unix Timestamp (Signed Integer) [8 octets] *Unix Timestamp* 64-bit Unix timestamp (seconds since Unix Epoch) of when the TAS movie was last modified. 4.3.1.11. DUMP_CREATED Packet DUMP_CREATED packets MUST be in the following format: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+ | Unix Timestamp (I) | +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+ Unix Timestamp (Signed Integer) [8 octets] *Unix Timestamp* 64-bit Unix timestamp (seconds since Unix Epoch) of when the *TASD* file was created. 4.3.1.12. DUMP_LAST_MODIFIED Packet DUMP_LAST_MODIFIED packets MUST be in the following format: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+ | Unix Timestamp (I) | +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+ Unix Timestamp (Signed Integer) [8 octets] *Unix Timestamp* 64-bit Unix timestamp (seconds since Unix Epoch) of when the *TASD* file was last modified. 4.3.1.13. TOTAL_FRAMES Packet TOTAL_FRAMES packets MUST be in the following format: 0 1 2 3 +---+---+---+---+ | Frames (N) | +---+---+---+---+ Frames (Unsigned Integer) [4 octets] *Frames* Total number of frames of the TAS movie. 4.3.1.14. RERECORDS Packet RERECORDS packets MUST be in the following format: 0 1 2 3 +---+---+---+---+ | Rerecords (N) | +---+---+---+---+ Rerecords (Unsigned Integer) [4 octets] *Rerecords* Total number of rerecords of the TAS movie. 4.3.1.15. SOURCE_LINK Packet SOURCE_LINK packets MUST be in the following format: 0... +==========+ | Link (S) | +==========+ Link (String) [PLEN octets] *Link* URL that points to the TAS movie file (example: "https://tasvideos.org/4567M"). *PLEN* Length of the packet payload. 4.3.1.16. BLANK_FRAMES Packet BLANK_FRAMES packets MUST be in the following format: 0 1 +------+------+ | Frames (I) | +------+------+ Frames (Signed Integer) [2 octets] *Frames* Number of blank frames (of input where no buttons are being pressed) needed at the beginning of a TAS replay. If *Frames* is a negative value, the value of *Frames* indicates the number of frames that should be skipped from the TAS input data. A negative value is not applicable if there is no way to determine how much input data should be skipped (e.g. NES with INPUT_CHUNKs where each input represents a single latch). 4.3.1.17. VERIFIED Packet VERIFIED packets MUST be in the following format: 0 +--------------+ | Verified (B) | +--------------+ Verified (Boolean) [1 octet] *Verified* Boolean value that is *TRUE* if the *TASD* file has been successfully console verified and *FALSE* if it has not been verified. 4.3.1.18. MEMORY_INIT Packet MEMORY_INIT packets MUST be in the following format: 0 1 2 3 +---------------+------+------+--------------+ | Data Type (A) | Device (A) | Required (B) | ... +---------------+------+------+--------------+ 4 5... 5+NLEN... +----------+==========+==========+ | NLEN (N) | Name (S) | Data (A) | +----------+==========+==========+ Data Type (Binary Data): [1 octet] [01] - No Initialization Required [02] - All [00] [03] - All [FF] [04] - [00 00 00 00 FF FF FF FF] Repeating [05] - Random [FF] - Custom Device (Binary Data): [2 octets] [01 01] - NES CPU RAM [01 02] - NES Cartridge Save Data [02 01] - SNES CPU RAM [02 02] - SNES Cartridge Save Data [05 01] - GB CPU RAM [05 02] - GB Cartridge Save Data [06 01] - GBC CPU RAM [06 02] - GBC Cartridge Save Data [07 01] - GBA CPU RAM [07 02] - GBA Cartridge Save Data [08 01] - Genesis CPU RAM [08 02] - Genesis Cartridge Save Data [09 01] - A2600 CPU RAM [09 02] - A2600 Cartridge Save Data [FF FF] - Custom/Other Device Required (Boolean) [1 octet] NLEN (Unsigned Integer) [1 octet] Name (String) [NLEN octets] Data (Binary Data) [PLEN - NLEN - 5 octets] *Data Type* Content type of initial memory. If *Type* is not [FF], *Data* SHOULD be empty (0 octet length binary data). *Device* Device/Location that is to have memory initialized. *Required* Boolean value that is *TRUE* if this memory initialization data is known to be required and *FALSE* if the memory initialization data is not known to be required. *NLEN* Length of *Name* *Name* Label for the memory initialization data (example: "CPU RAM", "SAVE RAM"). If *Device* is [FF FF], *Name* SHOULD NOT be empty (0 octet length string). *Data* Raw memory initialization data. If *Data Type* is not [FF], *Data* SHOULD be empty (0 octet length binary data). *PLEN* Length of the packet payload. 4.3.1.19. GAME_IDENTIFIER Packet GAME_IDENTIFIER packets MUST be in the following format: 0 1 2 3... +----------+--------------+----------+==========+ | Type (A) | Encoding (A) | NLEN (N) | Name (S) | ... +----------+--------------+----------+==========+ 3+NLEN... +================+ | Identifier (A) | +================+ Type (Binary Data): [1 octet] [01] - MD5 Hash [02] - SHA1 Hash [03] - SHA224 Hash [04] - SHA256 Hash [05] - SHA384 Hash [06] - SHA512 Hash [07] - SHA512/224 Hash [08] - SHA512/256 Hash [09] - SHA3-224 Hash [0A] - SHA3-256 Hash [0B] - SHA3-384 Hash [0C] - SHA3-512 Hash [0D] - SHAKE-128 Hash [0E] - SHAKE-256 Hash [FF] - Other Encoding (Binary Data): [1 octet] [01] - Raw Binary [02] - Base 16 (Case Insensitive) [03] - Base 32 (Case Insensitive) [04] - Base 64 NLEN (Unsigned Integer) [1 octet] Name (String) [NLEN octets] Identifier (Binary Data) [PLEN - NLEN - 3 octets] *Type* Hash, checksum, or identifier algorithm used to create the *Identifier*. *Encoding* Describes the data encoding of *Identifier*. Raw binary indicates no encoding is used. Base16/32/64 all use the standard RFC 4648 encodings, without extensions. Base 16 and Base 32 are case- insensitive. *NLEN* Length of *Name* *Name* Name of the hash, checksum, or identifier algorithm used to create the *Identifier*. If *Type* is not [FF], *Name* SHOULD be empty (0 octet length binary data). *Identifier* Game hash, checksum, or identifier data. *PLEN* Length of the packet payload 4.3.1.20. MOVIE_LICENSE Packet MOVIE_LICENSE packets MUST be in the following format: 0 +=============+ | License (S) | +=============+ License (String) [PLEN octet] *License* License information for the TAS movie (example: "Creative Commons Attribution 2.0"). *PLEN* Length of the packet payload. 4.3.1.21. MOVIE_FILE Packet MOVIE_FILE packets MUST be in the following format: 0 1... 1+NLEN... +----------+==========+=============+ | NLEN (N) | Name (S) | Data (A) | +----------+==========+=============+ NLEN (Unsigned Integer) [1 octet] Name (String) [NLEN octets] Data (Binary Data) [PLEN - NLEN - 1 octets] *NLEN* Length of *Name*. *Name* Name of the TAS movie. Using the TAS movie's file name is RECOMMENDED (example: "mranderson-thematrix.bk2"). *Data* TAS movie file data/content. *PLEN* Length of the packet payload. 4.3.1.22. PORT_CONTROLLER Packet PORT_CONTROLLER packets MUST be in the following format: 0 1 2 +----------+-----+-----+ | Port (N) | Type (A) | +----------+-----+-----+ Port (Unsigned Integer) [1 octet] Type (Binary Data): [2 octets] [01 01] - NES Standard Controller [01 02] - NES Four Score [01 03] - (RESERVED) NES Zapper [01 04] - (RESERVED) NES Power Pad [01 05] - (RESERVED) Famicom Family BASIC Keyboard [02 01] - SNES Standard Controller [02 02] - SNES Super Multitap [02 03] - SNES Mouse [02 04] - (RESERVED) SNES Superscope [03 01] - N64 Standard Controller [03 02] - N64 Standard Controller with Rumble Pak [03 03] - N64 Standard Controller with Controller Pak [03 04] - N64 Standard Controller with Transfer Pak [03 05] - N64 Mouse [03 06] - (RESERVED) N64 Voice Recognition Unit (VRU) [03 07] - (RESERVED) N64 RandNet Keyboard [03 08] - N64 Densha de Go [04 01] - GC Standard Controller [04 02] - (RESERVED) GC Keyboard [05 01] - GB Gamepad [06 01] - GBC Gamepad [07 01] - GBA Gamepad [08 01] - Genesis (Mega Drive) 3-Button [08 02] - Genesis (Mega Drive) 6-Button [09 01] - A2600 Joystick [09 02] - (RESERVED) A2600 Paddle [09 03] - A2600 Keyboard Controller [FF FF] - Other/Unspecified *Port* Controller port number (*Port* number MUST be *1-indexed*). *Type* Specifies the controller type connected to the *Port*. *(RESERVED)* specifies that the controller type is not described in this document, but the byte values are reserved for a later version of the *TASD* file format protocol. Input formats for specific controller types are described in (Section 5). 4.3.1.23. PORT_OVERREAD Packet PORT_OVERREAD packets MUST be in the following format: 0 1 +----------+----------+ | Port (N) | High (B) | +----------+----------+ Port (N) [1 octet] High (Boolean) [1 octet] *Port* Controller port number (*Port* number MUST be *1-indexed*). *High* Boolean value that is *TRUE* if overread bits are set to high and *FALSE* if overread bits are set to low. 4.3.2. NES Specific Key Payload Formats 4.3.2.1. NES_LATCH_FILTER Packet NES_LATCH_FILTER packets MUST be in the following format: 0 1 +-----+-----+ | Time (N) | +-----+-----+ Time (Unsigned Integer) [2 octets] *Time* Latch filter length of time in microseconds. 4.3.2.2. NES_CLOCK_FILTER Packet NES_CLOCK_FILTER packets MUST be in the following format: 0 +----------+ | Time (N) | +----------+ Time (Unsigned Integer) [1 octet] *Time* Clock filter length of time in tenths of a microsecond (units of 0.1 microseconds or 100 nanoseconds). 4.3.2.3. NES_GAME_GENIE_CODE Packet NES_GAME_GENIE_CODE packets MUST be in the following format: 0... +==========+ | Code (S) | +==========+ Code (String) [PLEN octets] *Code* Game Genie code (example: "AATOZA"). *PLEN* Length of the packet payload. 4.3.3. SNES Specific Key Payload Formats 4.3.3.1. SNES_LATCH_FILTER Packet SNES_LATCH_FILTER packets MUST be in the following format: 0 1 +-----+-----+ | Time (N) | +-----+-----+ Time (Unsigned Integer) [2 octets] *Time* Latch filter length of time in microseconds. 4.3.3.2. SNES_CLOCK_FILTER Packet SNES_CLOCK_FILTER packets MUST be in the following format: 0 +----------+ | Time (N) | +----------+ Time (Unsigned Integer) [1 octet] *Time* Clock filter length of time in tenths of a microsecond (units of 0.1 microseconds or 100 nanoseconds). 4.3.3.3. SNES_GAME_GENIE_CODE Packet SNES_GAME_GENIE_CODE packets MUST be in the following format: 0... +==========+ | Code (S) | +==========+ Code (String) [PLEN octets] *Code* Game Genie code (example: "DDB4-6F07"). *PLEN* Length of the packet payload. 4.3.3.4. SNES_LATCH_TRAIN Packet SNES_LATCH_TRAIN packets MUST be in the following format: 0... +====================+ | Latch Trains ([]N) | +====================+ Latch Trains (List of Unsigned Integers) [PLEN octets] *Latch Trains* List of 64-bit unsigned integers in which each integer is the length of one Latch Train. MUST be a multiple of 8 octets in size *PLEN* Length of the packet payload. A single SNES_LATCH_TRAIN packet MAY contain up to every Latch Train of a SNES TAS movie console replay and MAY contain fewer than every Latch Train of a SNES TAS movie console replay. There MAY be more than 1 SNES_LATCH_TRAIN packet. 4.3.4. Genesis Specific Key Payload Formats 4.3.4.1. GENESIS_GAME_GENIE_CODE Packet GENESIS_GAME_GENIE_CODE packets MUST be in the following format: 0... +==========+ | Code (S) | +==========+ Code (String) [PLEN octets] *Code* Game Genie code (example: "ATBT-AA32"). *PLEN* Length of the packet payload. 4.3.5. Input Frame/Timing Key Payload Formats 4.3.5.1. INPUT_CHUNK Packet INPUT_CHUNK packets MUST be in the following format: 0 1... +----------+============+ | Port (N) | Inputs (A) | +----------+============+ Port (Unsigned Integer) [1 octet] Inputs (Binary Data) [PLEN - 1 octets] *Port* Controller port number (*Port* number MUST be *1-indexed*). *Inputs* Controller input data for controller on *Port*. Input formats for each controller type is described in Section 5. *PLEN* Length of the packet payload. All INPUT_CHUNK packets with corresponding Port values in the *TASD* file MUST be in chronological order, where earlier inputs in the TAS movie console replay are earlier in the *TASD* file and later inputs in the TAS movie console replay are later in the *TASD* file. If there are more than one INPUT_CHUNK packets for a specific Port, the input data MUST be interpreted as if all their contents were concatenated into a single INPUT_CHUNK packet. As such, a single INPUT_CHUNK packet MAY contain up to every input of a TAS movie console replay and MAY contain fewer than every input of a TAS movie console replay. The input data contained in *Inputs* is divided up based on the PORT_CONTROLLER type corresponding to the *Port* number. Refer to Section 5 for each available type and the number of bytes used for each instance of controller input. The PORT_CONTROLLER type MAY be changed using TRANSITION packets, which MAY change the interpretation of the input data until either the end of the replay or until the next PORT_CONTROLLER transition. Each instance of controller input *SHOULD* remain held until the input has been used according to the current replay configuration. By default, this means each instance of controller input corresponds to a single input "latch" or polling sequence by the console. However, some packet types *MAY* alter how inputs are used during replay. For example, the NES has the NES_LATCH_FILTER packet available. When NES_LATCH_FILTER is active, each instance of controller input *MUST* remain held until the end of the filter period. 4.3.5.2. INPUT_MOMENT Packet INPUT_MOMENT packets MUST be in the following format: 0 1 2 +----------+----------+----------------+ | Port (N) | Hold (B) | Index Type (A) | ... +----------+----------+----------------+ 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11... +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+============+ | Index (N) | Inputs (B) | +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+============+ Port (Unsigned Integer) [1 octet] Hold (Boolean) [1 octet] Index Type (Binary Data): [1 octet] [01] - Frame [02] - Cycle Count [03] - Milliseconds [04] - Microseconds [05] - Nanoseconds Index (Unsigned Integer) [8 octets] Inputs (Binary Data) [PLEN - 11 octets] *Port* Controller port number (*Port* number MUST be *1-indexed*). *Hold* If *TRUE*, the *Input* data MUST continue to be held after the controller state has been read. Otherwise if *FALSE*, the *Input* data is held only until the data has been used once. *Index Type* Specifies timing methodology of a specific moment when *Input* data MUST be applied. *Index* Time value in units based on *Index Type*. *Input* A single instance of controller input data for the controller on the specified *Port*. Input formats for each controller type is described in Section 5. *PLEN* Length of the packet payload. Each INPUT_MOMENT packet contains a single instance of controller input data for a specific moment during a TAS replay. The input data's format depends on the PORT_CONTROLLER type corresponding to the *Port* number. Refer to Section 5 for each available type. The PORT_CONTROLLER type MAY be changed using TRANSITION packets, which MAY change the interpretation of the input data. If *Hold* is *TRUE*, the controller MUST continually hold the input state until the next INPUT_MOMENT for the same *Port* number. If *Hold* is *FALSE*, the controller MUST hold only until the console reads the input state, or until the next INPUT_MOMENT for the same *Port* number. If an INPUT_MOMENT overlaps with input data from one or more INPUT_CHUNKs, the INPUT_MOMENT's *Input* data MUST be used instead of the data contained in the INPUT_CHUNKs. INPUT_CHUNK data MUST still be incremented as it normally would. *Hold* MUST still behave as specified. 4.3.5.3. TRANSITION Packet TRANSITION packets MUST be in the following format: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +----------+----------------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+ | Port (N) | Index Type (A) | Index (N) | ... +----------+----------------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+ 10 11... +----------+============+ | Type (A) | Packet (A) | +----------+============+ Port (Unsigned Integer) [1 octet] Index Type (Binary Data): [1 octet] [01] - Frame [02] - Cycle Count [03] - Milliseconds [04] - Microseconds [05] - Nanoseconds [06] - INPUT_CHUNK Byte Index Index (Unsigned Integer) [8 octets] Type (Binary Data): [1 octet] [01] - Soft Reset [02] - Power Reset [03] - Restart TASD File [FF] - Packet Derived Inner Packet (Binary Data) [PLEN - 11 octets] *Port* Controller port number (*Port* number MUST be *1-indexed*). *Input Type* Determines specific timing type for start of transition. *Index* Time or offset value to start transition. If *Index Type* is [06], *Index* MUST be interpreted as the *byte offset* (*0-indexed*) into the concatenated input data from all *INPUT_CHUNK* packets for the controller port specified by *Port*. If *Index Type* is [06], the byte offset MUST also point to the first byte of an instance of controller input data (according to the PORT_CONTROLLER format at that moment in the TAS replay.) *Type* Type of transition. If *Type* is [FF], the transition action will be interpreting a *TASD* packet. *Inner Packet* If *Type* is [FF], *Inner Packet* SHOULD be a *TASD* packet. *Inner Packet* MUST NOT be a *INPUT_CHUNK*, *INPUT_MOMENT*, *TRANSITION*, *LAG_FRAME_CHUNK*, or *MOVIE_TRANSITION* packet. *PLEN* Length of the packet payload (Not *Inner Packet* length). 4.3.5.4. LAG_FRAME_CHUNK Packet LAG_FRAME_CHUNK packets MUST be in the following format: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 +----+----+----+----+--+--+--+--+ | Movie Frame (N) | Count (N) | +----+----+----+----+--+--+--+--+ Movie Frame (Unsigned Integer) [4 octets] Count (Unsigned Integer) [4 octets] *Movie Frame* Frame number of the TAS movie where Lag Frames start (*Movie Frame* MUST be *0-indexed*). *Count* Number of Lag Frames in a row starting from *Movie Frame*. Emulators typically consider a "lag frame" to be any frame in which the emulator believes the game does not poll/read controller inputs. 4.3.5.5. MOVIE_TRANSITION MOVIE_TRANSITION packets MUST be in the following format: 0 1 2 3 4 5... +----+----+----+----+----------+==================+ | Movie Frame (N) | Type (A) | Inner Packet (A) | +----+----+----+----+----------+==================+ Movie Frame (Unsigned Integer) [4 octets] Type (Binary Data): [1 octet] [01] - Soft Reset [02] - Power Reset [03] - Restart TASD File [FF] - Packet Derived Inner Packet (Binary Data) [PLEN - 5 octets] *Movie Frame* Frame number of the TAS movie (*Movie Frame* MUST be *0-indexed*). *Type* Type of transition. If *Type* is [FF], the transition action will be interpreting a *TASD* packet. *Inner Packet* If *Type* is [FF], *Inner Packet* SHOULD be a *TASD* packet. *Inner Packet* MUST NOT be a *INPUT_CHUNK*, *INPUT_MOMENT*, *TRANSITION*, *LAG_FRAME_CHUNK*, or *MOVIE_TRANSITION* packet. *PLEN* Length of the packet payload (Not *Inner Packet* length). 4.3.6. Extraneous Key Payload Formats 4.3.6.1. COMMENT Packet COMMENT packets MUST be in the following format: 0 +=============+ | Comment (S) | +=============+ Comment (String) [PLEN octet] *Comment* Comment text. *PLEN* Length of the packet payload. 4.3.6.2. EXPERIMENTAL Packet EXPERIMENTAL packets MUST be in the following format: 0 +------------------+ | Experimental (B) | +------------------+ Experimental (Boolean) [1 octet] *Experimental* Boolean data that is *TRUE* if the TASD file is using draft/ experimental features and *FALSE* if the TASD file is only using stable features. *PLEN* Length of the packet payload. 4.3.6.3. UNSPECIFIED Packet UNSPECIFIED packets MUST be in the following format: 0... +======================+ | Unspecified Data (A) | +======================+ Unspecified Data (Binary Data) [PLEN octets] *Unspecified Data* Arbitrary data. Can be used for any data. Because this is unspecified data, there is no guarantee any software used to control a TAS replay device will support data in this packet type. *PLEN* Length of the packet payload. 5. Controller Input Formats A forward slash (*/*) is used to signify *active low*. As an example, if a bit is labeled as */A*, the bit MUST be 0 if the A button is pressed and MUST be 1 if the A button is not pressed. Multi-octet controller inputs are in little-endian order Bit order for octets in controller inputs are high-order (MSB) (Most significant bit to least significant bit), so bit 7 MUST be the left- most bit of the octet and bit 0 MUST be the right-most bit of the octet. 5.1. NES/Famicom Controller Types 5.1.1. NES Standard Controller Single Input Length: 1 Octet *Octet 0* Bit 7: /A Bit 6: /B Bit 5: /Select Bit 4: /Start Bit 3: /Up Bit 2: /Down Bit 1: /Left Bit 0: /Right 5.1.2. NES Four Score Single Input Length: 3 Octets *Octet 0* Bit 7: Controller N-1 /A Bit 6: Controller N-1 /B Bit 5: Controller N-1 /Select Bit 4: Controller N-1 /Start Bit 3: Controller N-1 /Up Bit 2: Controller N-1 /Down Bit 1: Controller N-1 /Left Bit 0: Controller N-1 /Right *Octet 1* Bit 7: Controller N-2 /A Bit 6: Controller N-2 /B Bit 5: Controller N-2 /Select Bit 4: Controller N-2 /Start Bit 3: Controller N-2 /Up Bit 2: Controller N-2 /Down Bit 1: Controller N-2 /Left Bit 0: Controller N-2 /Right *Octet 2* Bit 7: 1 Bit 6: 1 Bit 5: 0 if Controller Port is 2, otherwise 1 Bit 4: 0 if Controller Port is 1, otherwise 1 Bit 3: 1 Bit 2: 1 Bit 1: 1 Bit 0: 1 *Controller N* is the controller port number. The NES Four Score allows players 1 and 3 to input buttons on controller port 1 and players 2 and 4 to input buttons on controller port 2. *Controller N-1* on controller port 1 is *Player 1*, *Controller N-2* on controller port 1 is *Player 3*, *Controller N-1* on controller port 2 is *Player 2*, and *Controller N-2* on controller port 2 is *Player 4*. 5.2. SNES Controller Types 5.2.1. SNES Standard Controller Single Input Length: 2 Octets *Octet 0* Bit 7: /B Bit 6: /Y Bit 5: /Select Bit 4: /Start Bit 3: /Up Bit 2: /Down Bit 1: /Left Bit 0: /Right *Octet 1* Bit 7: /A Bit 6: /X Bit 5: /L Bit 4: /R Bit 3: 1 Bit 2: 1 Bit 1: 1 Bit 0: 1 5.2.2. SNES Super Multitap Single Input Length: 5 Octets *Octet 0* : Bit 7: 1 Bit 6: 1 Bit 5: 1 Bit 4: 1 Bit 3: 1 Bit 2: 1 Bit 1: 1 Bit 0: I/O Pin State - *1* if Multitap ports *1 and 2* are being polled, *0* if ports *3 and 4* are. *Octet 1* Bit 7: Controller N-1 or N-3 /B Bit 6: Controller N-1 or N-3 /Y Bit 5: Controller N-1 or N-3 /Select Bit 4: Controller N-1 or N-3 /Start Bit 3: Controller N-1 or N-3 /Up Bit 2: Controller N-1 or N-3 /Down Bit 1: Controller N-1 or N-3 /Left Bit 0: Controller N-1 or N-3 /Right *Octet 2* Bit 7: Controller N-1 or N-3 /A Bit 6: Controller N-1 or N-3 /X Bit 5: Controller N-1 or N-3 /L Bit 4: Controller N-1 or N-3 /R Bit 3: 1 Bit 2: 1 Bit 1: 1 Bit 0: 1 *Octet 3* Bit 7: Controller N-2 or N-4 /B Bit 6: Controller N-2 or N-4 /Y Bit 5: Controller N-2 or N-4 /Select Bit 4: Controller N-2 or N-4 /Start Bit 3: Controller N-2 or N-4 /Up Bit 2: Controller N-2 or N-4 /Down Bit 1: Controller N-2 or N-4 /Left Bit 0: Controller N-2 or N-4 /Right *Octet 4* Bit 7: Controller N-2 or N-4 /A Bit 6: Controller N-2 or N-4 /X Bit 5: Controller N-2 or N-4 /L Bit 4: Controller N-2 or N-4 /R Bit 3: 1 Bit 2: 1 Bit 1: 1 Bit 0: 1 *Controller N* is the controller port number on the console that the Multitap is connected to. *Controller N-1...N-4* are the controller ports *1...4* on the Multitap. Two Multitap ports are polled simultaneously by the game - either *1 and 2*, or *3 and 4*. The I/O Pin state in octet 0 MUST be *1* for multitap ports *1 and 2*, or *0* for ports *3 and 4*. 5.2.3. SNES Mouse Single Input Length: 4 Octets *Octet 0* Bit 7: 1 Bit 6: 1 Bit 5: 1 Bit 4: 1 Bit 3: 1 Bit 2: 1 Bit 1: 1 Bit 0: 1 *Octet 1* Bit 7: /Right button Bit 6: /Left button Bit 5: Current sensitivity (0: high sensitivity; 1: low or medium sensitivity) Bit 4: Current sensitivity (0: medium sensitivity; 1: low or high sensitivity) Bit 3: 1 Bit 2: 1 Bit 1: 1 Bit 0: 0 *Octet 2* Bits 7-1: /Vertical displacement since last read Bit 0: Direction (0: up; 1: down) *Octet 3* Bits 7-1: /Horizontal displacement since last read Bit 0: Direction (0: up; 1: down) 5.3. N64 Controller Types 5.3.1. N64 Standard Controller Single Input Length: 4 Octets *Octet 0* Bit 7: A Bit 6: B Bit 5: Z Bit 4: Start Bit 3: D-Pad Up Bit 2: D-Pad Down Bit 1: D-Pad Left Bit 0: D-Pad Right *Octet 1* Bit 7: RST (special controller reset bit) Bit 6: 0 Bit 5: Left Trigger Bit 4: Right Trigger Bit 3: C-Up Bit 2: C-Down Bit 1: C-Left Bit 0: C-Right *Octet 2* Bits 7-0: Analog Stick X-Axis (signed 8-bit number) *Octet 3* Bits 7-0: Analog Stick Y-Axis (signed 8-bit number) 5.3.2. N64 Standard Controller with Rumble Single Input Length: 4 Octets *Octet 0* Bit 7: A Bit 6: B Bit 5: Z Bit 4: Start Bit 3: D-Pad Up Bit 2: D-Pad Down Bit 1: D-Pad Left Bit 0: D-Pad Right *Octet 1* Bit 7: RST (special controller reset bit) Bit 6: 0 Bit 5: Left Trigger Bit 4: Right Trigger Bit 3: C-Up Bit 2: C-Down Bit 1: C-Left Bit 0: C-Right *Octet 2* Bits 7-0: Analog Stick X-Axis (signed 8-bit number) *Octet 3* Bits 7-0: Analog Stick Y-Axis (signed 8-bit number) 5.3.3. N64 Standard Controller with Controller Pak Single Input Length: 4 Octets *Octet 0* Bit 7: A Bit 6: B Bit 5: Z Bit 4: Start Bit 3: D-Pad Up Bit 2: D-Pad Down Bit 1: D-Pad Left Bit 0: D-Pad Right *Octet 1* Bit 7: RST (special controller reset bit) Bit 6: 0 Bit 5: Left Trigger Bit 4: Right Trigger Bit 3: C-Up Bit 2: C-Down Bit 1: C-Left Bit 0: C-Right *Octet 2* Bits 7-0: Analog Stick X-Axis (signed 8-bit number) *Octet 3* Bits 7-0: Analog Stick Y-Axis (signed 8-bit number) 5.3.4. N64 Standard Controller with Transfer Pak Single Input Length: 4 Octets *Octet 0* Bit 7: A Bit 6: B Bit 5: Z Bit 4: Start Bit 3: D-Pad Up Bit 2: D-Pad Down Bit 1: D-Pad Left Bit 0: D-Pad Right *Octet 1* Bit 7: RST (special controller reset bit) Bit 6: 0 Bit 5: Left Trigger Bit 4: Right Trigger Bit 3: C-Up Bit 2: C-Down Bit 1: C-Left Bit 0: C-Right *Octet 2* Bits 7-0: Analog Stick X-Axis (signed 8-bit number) *Octet 3* Bits 7-0: Analog Stick Y-Axis (signed 8-bit number) 5.3.5. N64 Mouse Single Input Length: 4 Octets *Octet 0* Bit 7: A Bit 6: B Bit 5: 0 Bit 4: 0 Bit 3: 0 Bit 2: 0 Bit 1: 0 Bit 0: 0 *Octet 1* Bit 7: 0 Bit 6: 0 Bit 5: 0 Bit 4: 0 Bit 3: 0 Bit 2: 0 Bit 1: 0 Bit 0: 0 *Octet 2* Bits 7-0: Relative X-Axis position (signed 8-bit number) *Octet 3* Bits 7-0: Relative Y-Axis position (signed 8-bit number) 5.3.6. N64 Densha de Go Single Input Length: 4 Octets *Octet 0* Bit 7: A Bit 6: B Bit 5: Accelerator Bit 4: Start Bit 3: Accelerator Bit 2: 0 Bit 1: 0 Bit 0: Accelerator *Octet 1* Bit 7: 0 Bit 6: 0 Bit 5: C Bit 4: Select Bits 3-0: Brake *Octet 2* Bit 7: 0 Bit 6: 0 Bit 5: 0 Bit 4: 0 Bit 3: 0 Bit 2: 0 Bit 1: 0 Bit 0: 0 *Octet 3* Bit 7: 0 Bit 6: 0 Bit 5: 0 Bit 4: 0 Bit 3: 0 Bit 2: 0 Bit 1: 0 Bit 0: 0 5.4. GameCube Controller Types 5.4.1. GameCube Standard Controller Single Input Length: 8 Octets *Octet 0* Bit 7: 0 Bit 6: 0 Bit 5: 0 Bit 4: Start Bit 3: Y Bit 2: X Bit 1: B Bit 0: A *Octet 1* Bit 7: 1 Bit 6: L Bit 5: R Bit 4: Z Bit 3: D-Pad Up Bit 2: D-Pad Down Bit 1: D-Pad Right Bit 0: D-Pad Left *Octet 2* Bits 7-0: Analog Stick X-Axis (signed 8-bit number) *Octet 3* Bits 7-0: Analog Stick Y-Axis (signed 8-bit number) *Octet 4* Bits 7-0: C-Stick X-Axis (signed 8-bit number) *Octet 5* Bits 7-0: C-Stick Y-Axis (signed 8-bit number) *Octet 6* Bits 7-0: L Analog Value (unsigned 8-bit number) *Octet 7* Bits 7-0: R Analog Value (unsigned 8-bit number) 5.5. Game Boy Controller Types 5.5.1. GB Standard Controller Single Input Length: 1 Octet *Octet 0* Bit 7: /Down Bit 6: /Up Bit 5: /Left Bit 4: /Right Bit 3: /Start Bit 2: /Select Bit 1: /B Bit 0: /A 5.6. Game Boy Color Controller Types 5.6.1. GBC Standard Controller Single Input Length: 1 Octet *Octet 0* Bit 7: /Down Bit 6: /Up Bit 5: /Left Bit 4: /Right Bit 3: /Start Bit 2: /Select Bit 1: /B Bit 0: /A 5.7. Game Boy Advance Controller Types 5.7.1. GBA Standard Controller Single Input Length: 2 Octets *Octet 0* Bit 7: 1 Bit 6: 1 Bit 5: 1 Bit 4: 1 Bit 3: 1 Bit 2: 1 Bit 1: /L Bit 0: /R *Octet 1* Bit 7: /Down Bit 6: /Up Bit 5: /Left Bit 4: /Right Bit 3: /Start Bit 2: /Select Bit 1: /B Bit 0: /A 5.8. Genesis Controller Types 5.8.1. Genesis (Mega Drive) 3-Button Single Input Length: 1 Octet *Octet 0* Bit 7: /C Bit 6: /B Bit 5: /Right Bit 4: /Left Bit 3: /Down Bit 2: /Up Bit 1: /Start Bit 0: /A 5.8.2. Genesis (Mega Drive) 6-Button Single Input Length: 2 Octets *Octet 0* Bit 7: /C Bit 6: /B Bit 5: /Right Bit 4: /Left Bit 3: /Down Bit 2: /Up Bit 1: /Start Bit 0: /A *Octet 1* Bit 7: /Mode Bit 6: /X Bit 5: /Y Bit 4: /Z Bit 3: 1 Bit 2: 1 Bit 1: 1 Bit 0: 1 5.9. Atari 2600 Controller Types 5.9.1. A2600 Joystick Single Input Length: 1 Octet *Octet 0* Bit 7: /Up Bit 6: /Down Bit 5: /Left Bit 4: /Right Bit 3: 1 Bit 2: /Button Bit 1: 1 Bit 0: 1 5.9.2. A2600 Keyboard Controller Single Input Length: 1 Octet *Octet 0* Bit 7: /Row1 (key 1, 2, or 3 pressed) Bit 6: /Row2 (key 4, 5, or 6 pressed) Bit 5: /Row3 (key 7, 8, or 9 pressed) Bit 4: /Row4 (key *, 0, or # pressed) Bit 3: /Column1 (key 1, 4, 7, or * pressed) Bit 2: /Column3 (key 3, 6, 9, or # pressed) Bit 1: /Column2 (key 2, 5, 8, or 0 pressed) Bit 0: 1 6. References 6.1. Normative References [RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997, . [RFC8174] Leiba, B., "Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC 2119 Key Words", BCP 14, RFC 8174, DOI 10.17487/RFC8174, May 2017, . Copyright Notice Copyright (c) 2021-2025, Vi Grey, Bigbass, and rasteri All rights reserved. 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