The Incredible Machine Level Format

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The Incredible Machine Level Format
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Format typeMap/level
Map type
Layer count
Tile size (pixels)Not tile based, the game uses a 16x16 grid for walls and a few other puzzle parts
Viewport (pixels)576×368 (Levels in The Incredible Machine (TIM) and The Even More Incredible Machine (TEMIM))

640×400 (.GKC files in TIM and TEMIM) 552×400 (Levels in Sid & Al's Incredible Toons)

560×377 (Levels in The Incredible Machine 2 and 3)
Games

This page discusses the level format of The Incredible Machine, from the first DOS version (abbreviated as TIM 1) to TIM 3 (which is a 32-bit Windows game). It's also used by Sid & Al's Incredible Toons which uses the same game engine. Even if the format of some sections of the file vary significantly between the versions, the way how the parts are stored is highly similar. Level files have the extension .LEV.

The machines/puzzles saved from the "freeform machine" mode or the built-in level editor are also discussed here. The format of files saved from built-in editor may be identical to or slightly different from the levels, depending on the game version. Such files are saved by the game with extension .TIM.

The animated "title screen" (TITLE.GKC) and "credits screen" (CREDITS.GKC) files (inside the archive file) in TIM 1 and The Even More Incredible Machine (TEMIM) use a variant of the level file format, even if these are not playable levels.

Magic number

TIM-TIM 3 level and GKC files always start with a 4-byte magic number. The following table summarizes the magic numbers found in various versions of the game.

Magic number (hex) Usage in game versions
ED AC 00 01
  • Puzzles in TIM demo version.
ED AC 02 01
  • Puzzles in TIM.
  • Saved freeform machines in TIM.
  • GKC files in TIM.
  • CREDITS.GKC in TEMIM.
EE AC 05 01
  • New puzzles in TEMIM not found in TIM.
  • Saved freeform machines in TEMIM.
  • TITLE.GKC in TEMIM.
EE AC 06 01
  • Puzzles in Sid & Al's Incredible Toons.
EF AC 11 01

EF AC 12 01

  • A small number of puzzles in TIM 2 and 3.
EF AC 13 01
  • The large majority of puzzles in TIM 2 and 3.
  • Puzzles saved from the built-in editor of TIM 2.
EF AC 14 01
  • A small number of puzzles in TIM 3.
  • Puzzles saved from the built-in editor of TIM 3.

Structure of puzzle and GKC files

The level/puzzle/saved machine files consist of multiple sections. An overview of the file structure is provided below, separately for TIM / TEMIM and TIM 2 / TIM 3.

TIM and TEMIM

  • Magic number, see above
  • Puzzle title, null-terminated string. missing in .GKC files and "freeform machines" saved by the player.
  • Goal description, null-terminated string. Absent from .GKC files and "saved freeform machines" with magic number of ED AC 02 01. Present in TEMIM "saved freeform machines" (magic number EE AC 05 01). An empty string in .GKC files with magic number EE AC 05 01.
  • Puzzle information data structure, see below
  • List of part entry structures for parts that cannot move ("fixed", e.g. walls) and are not found initially to the parts bin.
  • List of part entry structures for parts that can move (e.g. balls), not in the parts bin.
  • An additional 16-bit, little endian integer value in puzzles with magic number of EE AC 05 01. The meaning of this value is unclear. 0 in puzzles from the game archive file. In saved freeform machines, 1 if there are parts placed into the parts bin, 0 otherwise.
  • List of part entry structures for parts initially placed into the parts bin.

TIM 2 and 3

  • Magic number, see above
  • Two additional "header" bytes in files with magic number EF AC 13 01 or EF AC 14 01. First byte is always 0, second is the background color from the 16-color palette.
  • Puzzle title, null-terminated string
  • Goal description, null-terminated string
  • Hints, see below
  • Puzzle information data structure, see below
  • List of part entry structures for parts that cannot move
  • List of part entry structures for parts that can move
  • Solution information, see below

Hints

Hints are supported only in TIM 2 and 3 puzzles. The first two bytes of the hint data contain the number of the hints in 16-bit little endian format. This is followed by 8 hint entries, some of them may be unused. A size of an unused entry is 7 bytes. One entry consists of three 16-bit integers and a null-terminated string containing the hint text. The three integer members are (all have a 16-bit little endian format):

  • position_x: The X position of the hand icon for the hint.
  • position_y: The Y position.
  • hint_icon_flip: The hand icon of a hint can be flipped and can have four different orientations. Possible values are 0-3.

In TIM 2, there are 3 (?) puzzles with magic number EF AC 11 01. Neither of these files contain hints. However, the size of the empty hints section is 42 bytes in them instead of the expected 58.

Puzzle information data structure

In TIM and TEMIM

In TIM and TEMIM, there are two different puzzle header information data structures, one is used by the puzzles, and the another is found in saved "freeform" machines and the GKC files.

The information structure format in TIM / TEMIM puzzles: 

 UINT16LE bonus_1;
 UINT16LE bonus_2;
 INT16LE pressure;
 INT16LE gravity;
 INT16LE unknown_8;
 INT16LE unknown_10;
 UINT16LE music;
 UINT16LE num_parts_fixed;
 UINT16LE num_parts_moving;
 UINT16LE num_parts_in_partsbin;

The information structure format in saved "freeform" machines and GKC files: 

 INT16LE pressure;
 INT16LE gravity;
 UINT16LE music;
 UINT16LE num_parts_fixed;
 UINT16LE num_parts_moving;
 UINT16LE num_parts_in_partsbin;
  • bonus_1: The value of "Bonus 1" immediately after the puzzle is loaded (its value is constantly decreasing while the player is solving the puzzle).
  • bonus_2: The value of "Bonus 2" for the puzzle.
  • pressure: The pressure set for the puzzle, the default value is 67.
  • gravity: Gravity set for the puzzle, the default value is 272.
  • unknown_8, unknown_10: The value of these two members is always -8. Perhaps the top left corner of the screen in the coordinate system used for puzzle parts, which is also (-8, -8).
  • music: ID of music track played. Valid values are 1001-1016 for TIM and 1001-1021 for TEMIM.
  • num_parts_fixed: Number of parts in the puzzles that cannot move (e.g. walls), not in the "parts bin".
  • num_parts_moving: Number of parts in the puzzles that move (e.g. balls), not in the "parts bin".
  • num_parts_in_partsbin: The number of parts that are placed into the parts bin. (The player needs to position them in order to solve the puzzle.)

In TIM 2 and 3

The information structure format in TIM 2 and 3: 

 INT16LE pressure;
 INT16LE gravity;
 UINT16LE unknown_4;
 UINT16LE unknown_6;
 UINT16LE music;
 UINT16LE num_parts_fixed;
 UINT16LE num_parts_moving;
 UINT16LE unknown_14;
  • pressure: The pressure set for the puzzle, the default value is 67.
  • gravity: Gravity set for the puzzle, the default value is 272.
  • music: ID of music track played. Valid values are 1000-1023.
  • unknown_4, unknown_6: Meaning is unknown, always 0.
  • num_parts_fixed: Number of parts in the puzzles that cannot move, regardless of whether they are placed initially into the parts bin or not.
  • num_parts_moving: Number of parts in the puzzles that can move.
  • unknown_14: Value is always 0. Likely this member corresponds to num_parts_in_partsbin in TIM / TEMIM puzzle header. Unlike TIM / TEMIM, parts placed into the parts bin are not a separate section in TIM 2 / 3, therefore, its value is always zero.

Puzzle part data

With the exception of TIM demo version (see below), the size of a part entry for the majority of puzzle parts is 48 bytes. However, there are exceptions, which are discussed in separate sub-sections. The format of the "default" part entry: 

 UINT16LE part_type_num;
 UINT16LE flags_1;
 UINT16LE flags_2;
 UINT16LE flags_3;
 UINT16LE appearance;
 UINT16LE unknown_10;
 UINT16LE width_1;
 UINT16LE height_1;
 UINT16LE width_2;
 UINT16LE height_2;
 INT16LE pos_x;
 INT16LE pos_y;
 UINT16LE behavior;
 UINT16LE unknown_26;
 BYTE belt_connect_pos_x;
 BYTE belt_connect_pos_y;
 UINT16LE belt_line_distance;
 UINT16LE unknown_32;
 BYTE rope_1_connect_pos_x;
 BYTE rope_1_connect_pos_y;
 UINT16LE unknown_36;
 BYTE rope_2_connect_pos_x;
 BYTE rope_2_connect_pos_y;
 INT16LE connected_1;
 INT16LE connected_2;
 INT16LE outlet_plugged_1;
 INT16LE outlet_plugged_2;
  • part_type_num: A number associated with the type of the part (e.g. 0 - bowling ball). Required for identifying parts with an entry size different from the default. See The Incredible Machine Level Format/Part Numbers
  • flags_1: A combination of flag bits.
    • TIM / TEMIM uses the following flag bits:
      • 0x20: Unknown meaning, used for a few "moving" parts (bucket, candle)
      • 0x40: Set if the part is a wall.
      • 0x200: Part can be flipped vertically
      • 0x400: Part can be flipped horizontally.
      • 0x800: Part is placed initially into the parts bin (see num_parts_in_partsbin in part information data structure)
      • 0x1000: "Moving" part, not placed into the pars bin initially (! further testing needed)
      • 0x2000: Part cannot move, in fixed position, not placed into the pars bin initially (! further testing needed)
      • 0x4000: Part cannot move, in fixed position (see num_parts_fixed)
      • 0x8000: Set when 0x800 is not set (! further testing needed)
    • In TIM 2 / 3, the bits have a known meaning:
      • 0x40: Meaning unclear, used for "moving" parts only, but not always set, even for a single type of part.
      • 0x200: Part can be flipped vertically
      • 0x400: Part can be flipped horizontally.
      • 0x1000: "Moving" part, affected by gravity.
      • 0x2000, 0x4000: Used in combination for parts that do not move and are not affected by gravity.
  • flags_2: Another word containing flag bits. The meaning of most flags is the same in all game versions.
    • 0x1: A belt can be connected to the part.
    • 0x2: A belt is connected to the part.
    • 0x4: A rope can be connected to the part.
    • 0x8: A second rope can be connected to the part (teeter-totter)
    • 0x10: The part sprite is drawn horizontally flipped.
    • 0x20: The part sprite is drawn vertically flipped. Note on flip flags: Flipping a part in the game does not necessarily mean that one of the flip flags will be changed. For several parts, especially in TIM 2 / 3, flipping will affect the value of the appearance member.
    • 0x40: Probably unused
    • 0x80: Part can be stretched in at least one direction: inclines, conveyor belt, walls.
    • 0x100: Parts that can be stretched both horizontally and vertically, the walls.
  • flags_3: Some flags are only present in TIM 2 / 3. This member of the part data structure is missing in the demo version of TIM.
    • 0x1: The part can be plugged into an electric outlet.
    • 0x2: The part is an electric outlet.
    • 0x4: The part can burn (e.g. candle) or has a fuse that can be lit (e.g. dynamite, cannon). Usually in combination with flag 0x8.
    • 0x8: Meaning of this flag is unclear. Used for several part types, but changing it has no apparent consequence (?)
    • Flags present only in TIM 2 / 3:
      • 0x40: Part is "locked", i.e not placed into the part bin.
      • 0x80: Sizable scenery part (?)
      • 0x100: ! unknown meaning
      • 0x400: A "program" icon is shown for the part (?)
      • 0x1000: Scenery part
      • 0x2000: Wall part (?)
      • 0x8000: A "Puzzle solution" icon is shown for the part (?)
  • appearance: An identifier for the sprite that is shown for a part before the machine is started. (Once the machine is started, the state of the part can change and so can the sprite shown.) The meaning is different between TIM and TIM 2. In TIM, the sprite of some parts consists of only one image, in this case, this is often the number of the sub-image in the image resource file. (! For other parts, this is probably an internal identifier for the sprite (?)). In TIM 2 and 3, the meaning of the appearance is an index in the A section of the .ANM file for the part, or if this is absent, an index in the B section. "Programming" a part in TIM 2 and 3 often results in the change of this field.
  • unknown_10: Probably unused, usually 0.
  • width_1, height_1: The width and height of the selectable area of the part (! more reverse engineering work needed)
  • width_2, height_2: At least in TIM 2, witdh_2 is used for calculating the position of part sprite when the part is flipped because of the horizontal flip bit is set in flags_2.
  • pos_x, pos_y: The position of the part, usually the top left corner of the bounding rectangle.
  • behavior: In TIM 2 and 3, a programmed behavior of the part. (However, for many parts, "programming" modifies the appearance member.) For example the number of shots of the phazer gun or character shown by the message computer. Meaning is different for rope parts, see below. Unused in TIM and TEMIM (except for ropes).
  • unknown_26: Probably unused, usually 0. Note that belt parts have a value of 1 in this position.
  • belt_connect_pos_x, belt_connect_pos_y: The coordinates of the point where a rope is connected to the part, relative to pos_x and pos_y. Always positive or 0, because pos_x and pos_y are the coordinates of the top left corner where the sprite starts. Note that the formulas required for calculating the exact position of the belt are slightly different between TIM and TIM 2. Parts for which connection of a belt is allowed have a distinct circular area in their sprite, corresponding to the location where the belt is connected. In TIM / TEMIM, belt_connect_pos_x and belt_connect_pos_y is approximately the top left corner of its bounding rectangle, while in TIM 2 /3 it is close to the center of the circle.
  • unknown_36: Probably unused, usually 0.
  • belt_line_distance: The belts in the game appear as two, usually not perfectly parallel black (TIM / TEMIM) or gray (TIM 2 / 3) lines. This parameter determines the distance between the two segments, More precisely, it is either approximately the diameter of the circular area mentioned at belt_connect_pos_x and belt_connect_pos_y (TIM / TEMIM) or its radius (TIM 2 / 3).
  • unknown_32: Probably unused, usually 0.
  • rope_1_connect_pos_x, rope_1_connect_pos_y: The coordinates of the point where a rope is connected to the part, relative to pos_x and pos_y. Similarly to belt_connect_pos_x/y, always positive or 0.
  • rope_2_connect_pos_x, rope_2_connect_pos_y: The same as rope_1_connect_pos_x, rope_1_connect_pos_y, bit for another connected rope part.
  • connected_1, connected_2: The index of one or two parts in the puzzle that are connected to this part with a rope. If the rope runs through pulleys, this is the part index of the first pulley. If no rope is connected or this is not possible for the part, the value of both structure members are -1. (Of course, if one rope is connected, the value of one structure member (usually connected_rope_1) is the index of the rope part and the other is -1) )In TIM 2 and 3, the "remote bomb" part actually corresponds to two entries in the puzzle file. The connected_rope_2 field contains the index of the another "element" of the bomb, in both entries.
  • outlet_plugged_1, outlet_plugged_2: These structure members are only meaningful for electric outlet parts. Electric outlets always have 2 "sockets" for parts requiring electricity. It contains the index/indices of the part/parts plugged into the electric outlet, or -1 if the "socket" is free. If the part does not support this, both values are -1.

Belts

Belt parts (part 8) (except in the demo version of TIM, see below) use a 52-byte entry, with the following format: 

 UINT16LE part_type_num;  /* 8 for belts */
 UINT16LE flags_1;
 UINT16LE flags_2;
 UINT16LE flags_3;
 UINT16LE appearance;
 UINT16LE unknown_10;
 UINT16LE width_1;
 UINT16LE height_1;
 UINT16LE width_2;
 UINT16LE height_2;
 INT16LE pos_x;
 INT16LE pos_y;
 UINT16LE behavior;
 UINT16LE unknown_26;
 UINT16LE unknown_28;
 UINT16LE unknown_30;
 INT16LE belt_connected_part_1;
 INT16LE belt_connected_part_2;
 UINT16LE unknown_36;
 UINT16LE unknown_38;
 UINT16LE unknown_40;
 UINT16LE unknown_42;
 INT16LE connected_1;
 INT16LE connected_2;
 INT16LE outlet_plugged_1;
 INT16LE outlet_plugged_2;
  • flags (see meaning of the individual flags at the "default" part data structure):
    • TIM / TEMIM: flags_1 = 0xe000 (or 0x4800 if in parts bin), flags_2 = 0, flags_3 = 0
    • TIM 2 / 3: flags_1 = 0x6000, flags_2 = 0, flags_3 = 0x40 (or 0 if in parts bin)
  • appearance: Always 0, belts have no true sprite (represented by two lines).
  • unknown_10: Not used, always 0.
  • width_1, height_1, width_2, height_2: Not used for belts, always 0.
  • pos_x, pos_y In TIM / TEMIM, either 0 or -1. In TIM 2, -1 or -100 (0xff9c). Meaning of these numbers is unclear, and the usage of the two different values do not correlate with the flags.
  • behavior: Not used, always 0.
  • unknown_26: Always 1, perhaps indicates that the part is a belt.
  • unknown_28, unknown_30: Not used, always 0.
  • belt_connected_part_1, belt_connected_part_2: Index of the two parts in the puzzle connected by this belt. In TIM and TEMIM, both are -1 if the belt is placed into the parts bin.
  • unknown_36, unknown_38, unknown_40, unknown_42: Not used, always 0.
  • connected_1, connected_2, outlet_plugged_1, outlet_plugged_2: Not used, always -1.

Ropes

Rope parts (part 10) (except in the demo version of TIM, see below) use a 54-byte entry. TIM 2 and 3 also have a "steel cable" part (part 76) which also behaves as a rope and the size of the part entry is also identical. The rope part entry has the following format: 

 UINT16LE part_type_num;  /* 10 for rope, 76 for steel cable */
 UINT16LE flags_1;
 UINT16LE flags_2;
 UINT16LE flags_3;
 UINT16LE appearance;
 UINT16LE unknown_10;
 UINT16LE width_1;
 UINT16LE height_1;
 UINT16LE width_2;
 UINT16LE height_2;
 INT16LE pos_x;
 INT16LE pos_y;
 UINT16LE rope_segment_length;
 UINT16LE unknown_26;
 UINT16LE unknown_28;
 UINT16LE unknown_30;
 UINT16LE unknown_32;
 UINT16LE unknown_36;
 INT16LE rope_connected_part_1;
 INT16LE rope_connected_part_2;
 BYTE part_1_connect_field_usage;
 BYTE part_2_connect_field_usage;
 UINT16LE unknown_44;
 UINT16LE unknown_46;
 INT16LE connected_1;
 INT16LE connected_2;
 INT16LE outlet_plugged_1;
 INT16LE outlet_plugged_2;
  • flags: Same flags used as in the belt part structure.
  • appearance: Always 0, ropes have no true sprite (represented by one or more line segments).
  • unknown_10: Not used, always 0.
  • width_1, height_1, width_2, height_2: Not used for ropes, always 0.
  • pos_x, pos_y: Similarly to belts, possible values are 0 and -1 in TIM / TEMIM; and -1 and -100 in TIM 2 / 3.
  • rope_segment_length: The length of the rope (Euclidean distance between the two ends) if the rope does not run through pulleys. Otherwise, the length of the rope segment between the part at one end (rope_connected_part_1 (?)) and the first pulley (! additional testing needed).
  • unknown_26, unknown_28, unknown_30: Not used, always 0.
  • unknown_32: Always 1, same value is used for pulleys.
  • unknown_36: Not used, always 0.
  • rope_connected_part_1, rope_connected_part_2: Index of the two parts in the puzzle connected by this rope (never the pulleys). In TIM and TEMIM, both are -1 if the rope is placed into the parts bin.
  • part_1_connect_field_usage, part_2_connect_field_usage: Whether connected_1 or connected_2 is used in the two connected parts for this rope. 0 if connected_1, 1 if connected_2. (! additional testing needed)
  • unknown_44, unknown_46: Not used, always 0.
  • connected_1, connected_2, outlet_plugged_1, outlet_plugged_2: Not used, always -1.

Pulleys

The format of the 56-byte puzzle part entry for the pulley (part 7): 

 UINT16LE part_type_num;  /* 7 for pulley */
 UINT16LE flags_1;
 UINT16LE flags_2;
 UINT16LE flags_3;
 UINT16LE appearance;
 UINT16LE unknown_10;
 UINT16LE width_1;
 UINT16LE height_1;
 UINT16LE width_2;
 UINT16LE height_2;
 INT16LE pos_x;
 INT16LE pos_y;
 UINT16LE behavior;
 UINT16LE unknown_26;
 UINT16LE unknown_28;
 UINT16LE unknown_30;
 UINT16LE unknown_32;
 BYTE pulley_rope_1_connect_pos_x;
 BYTE pulley_rope_1_connect_pos_y;
 INT16LE unknown_36;
 INT16LE unknown_38;
 UINT16LE unknown_40;
 UINT16LE unknown_42;
 BYTE pulley_rope_2_connect_pos_x;
 BYTE pulley_rope_2_connect_pos_y;
 INT16LE pulley_connected_1;
 INT16LE pulley_connected_2;
 INT16LE unknown_50;
 INT16LE unknown_52;
 INT16LE rope_index;
  • flags (see meaning of the individual flags at the "default" part data structure):
    • TIM / TEMIM: flags_1 = 0xe000 (or 0x4800 if in parts bin), flags_2 = 0x4, flags_3 = 0x8 (0x0 ! in some cases)
    • TIM 2 / 3: flags_1 = 0x6000, flags_2 = 0x4, flags_3 = 0x48 (or 0x8 if in parts bin)
  • appearance: Pulleys can have four different sprites depending on the orientation. Possible values are 0-3.
  • unknown_10: Not used, always 0.
  • width_1, height_1, width_2, height_2: The size of the pulley sprite. In TIM 2 / 3, also depends on the orientation.
  • pos_x, pos_y: The position of the pulley, top left coordinates of the bounding rectangle.
  • behavior, unknown_26, unknown_28, unknown_30: Not used, always 0.
  • unknown_32: Always 1, same value is used for ropes.
  • pulley_rope_1_connect_pos_x, pulley_rope_1_connect_pos_y: The coordinates of the point where one rope segment is connected to the pulley, relative to pos_x and pos_y. Depends on the orientation of the pulley, like appearance.
  • unknown_36, unknown_38: Not used, always -1.
  • unknown_40, unknown_42: Not used, always 0.
  • pulley_rope_2_connect_pos_x, pulley_rope_2_connect_pos_y: The coordinates of the point where the other rope segment is connected to the pulley, relative to pos_x and pos_y.
  • pulley_connected_1, pulley_connected_2: Either the index of part at one of the two ends of the rope, or the index of next or previous pulley the rope is running through.
  • unknown_50, unknown_52: Not used, always -1.
  • rope_index: In TIM 2 / 3, the index of the rope part. Not used (-1) in TIM and TEMIM.

Programmable ball (TIM 2 / 3)

The programmable ball part is present in TIM 2 and 3, and its part type number is 87. The size of the entry is 60 bytes in total. The first 48 bytes is the same as the default part data structure, which is followed by another, 12-byte structure specific to this part. The format of the programmable ball data is: 

 UINT16LE density;
 UINT16LE elasticity;
 UINT16LE friction;
 INT16LE gravity_buoyancy;
 UINT16LE mass;
 UINT16LE appearance_2;
  • density: The density of the ball, affects the buoyant force acting on the ball.
  • elasticity: The elasticity of the ball.
  • friction: The friction.
  • gravity_buoyancy: A calculated parameter, using the density and the mass of the ball, as well as the gravity and the pressure set for the puzzle. If its value is negative, the ball will rise due to the buoyant force rather than fall.
  • mass: The mass of the ball.
  • appearance_2: Has the same value as the appearance field. The ball can have 7 different colors/patterns.

The game has a dialog for setting the four physical properties (mass, elasticity, density, friction, in this order). However, the number stored in the data structure is not the same as the numbers shown on the program dialog. For example, if following settings are used for the ball: mass = 8, elasticity = 3, density = 7, friction = 3; and the default values are used for gravity/pressure, the puzzle file will contain the following values: density = 3000, elasticity = 128, friction = 16, gravity_buoyancy = 269, mass = 201. (Note: There is an inconsistency in the game here, the programmable ball part uses density = 2832 and mass = 200 by default, which does not correspond exactly to any value that can be set in the dialog.)

TIM demo version

In the demo version of the (original) TIM (available at several DOS shareware game websites), the flags_3, outlet_plugged_1 and outlet_plugged_2 fields are missing. Instead, the 42-byte part data (46 for belts, 48 for ropes, 50 for pulleys) is followed by an another, variable length data structure of unknown significance consisting of 16-bit little endian integers. It is always at least 2 bytes long, and the first two bytes contain the number of additional 16-bit words after this size word. The reverse engineering of this structure is complicated by the fact that it is only present in a demo version containing only 8 puzzles.

Puzzle solution information

Puzzle solution information is only present in TIM 2 and TIM 3 puzzles. Its size is always 132 bytes and can contain 8 different conditions that must be satisfied so that the game will recognize the puzzle as solved. The first two bytes contains the number of such conditions actually set, in a 16-bit little endian format. This is followed by 8 entries, 16 bytes each, containing the required information for solution checking by the game. The format of each entry is: 

 INT16LE part_index;
 UINT16LE part_state_1;
 UINT16LE part_state_2;
 UINT16LE part_count;
 INT16LE position_rect_x;
 INT16LE position_rect_y;
 INT16LE position_rect_width;
 INT16LE position_rect_height;
  • part_index: The index of the part in the puzzle file involved in the solution. -1 (0xFF 0xFF) for unused entries.
  • part_state_1: An ID for a "physical state" of a part (for example a balloon was popped or a candle was lit). In many puzzles, one specific part must be in a specified "physical state" in order to complete the level. This is the same ID for a "part state" as the first_frame_id member found in the C section of the part's ANM file.
  • part_state_2: Another ID for a "physical state", the exact meaning is unclear.
  • part_count: The value of the "Part count" option set in the "program solution" dialog of the game.
  • position_rect_x, position_rect_y: The top left corner of the "position rectangle". If such a solution specified puzzle part must be located within this rectangle in order to solve the puzzle.
  • position_rect_width, position_rect_height: Width and height of the "position rectangle", see above.

For the last four members ("position rectangle"), there are "fixed" combinations of values with special meaning:

  • -1, -1, -1, -1: "Off screen", the part must leave the area visible on the game screen.
  • -500, -2000, 1640, 2000: "Off top", the part must leave the visible area at the top.
  • -500, 400, 1640, 3000: "Off bottom"
  • 0, 0, 0, 0: No such solution programmed, either this is "part state" solution or an unused entry (part_index = -1).

The last 2 bytes of the section contain the value of the "Delay" option set in the "program solution" dialog of the game, in 16-bit little endian format.

Note on puzzle solution information in TIM and TEMIM: TIM / TEMIM puzzles do not contain such data. This can also be demonstrated by extracting e.g. L1.LEV from the archive file and rename the file to change the number. After starting the game, the level with the same number as the renamed file will be replaced with level 1. When playing the modified level, the game will not be able to check whether the puzzle is solved. Depending on its number, the level can become unwinnable or winnable by just clicking on the start machine button. Sometimes the game freezes.

Tools

The following tools are able to work with files in this format.

Name PlatformView? Create new? Modify? Access hidden data? Edit metadata? Notes
The Incredible Machine level/image resource viewer (VOGONS) Windows, LinuxYesNoNoN/AN/A

Credits

This file format was reverse engineered by knt47. If you find this information helpful in a project you're working on, please give credit where credit is due. (A link back to this wiki would be nice too!)

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