Skyrim Mod:ChangeFlags

Change Flags

• ChangeFlags are part of the ChangeForm structure in a savefile.
• It's the uint32 that follows the changeFormId for every changeForm in a savefile.
• The changeFormId may influence the amount of data stored per ChangeFlag.
• ChangeFlags have different meanings per ChangeForm type.
• Sizes may also be different for combinations of ChangeFlags

All Change Flags (As of SkyrimSE 1.5.97)

Bit	Value	Constant Name	Pretty Name (In code)
All records
0	0x00000001	CHANGE_FORM_FLAGS	Flags
CLAS
1	0x00000002	CHANGE_CLASS_TAG_SKILLS	Tag Skills
FACT
1	0x00000002	CHANGE_FACTION_FLAGS	Faction Flags
2	0x00000004	CHANGE_FACTION_REACTIONS	Faction Reactions
31	0x80000000	CHANGE_FACTION_CRIME_COUNTS	Faction Crime Counts
ACTI
23	0x00800000	CHANGE_TALKING_ACTIVATOR_SPEAKER	Speaker
BOOK
5	0x00000020	CHANGE_BOOK_TEACHES	Teaches Skill
6	0x00000040	CHANGE_BOOK_READ	Read
DOOR
!	The instructions for this flag appear to be unreachable in SkyrimSE 1.5.97
17	0x00020000	CHANGE_DOOR_EXTRA_TELEPORT	Teleport Extra
INGR
31	0x80000000	CHANGE_INGREDIENT_USE	Ingredient Use
NPC_
1	0x00000002	CHANGE_ACTOR_BASE_DATA	Base Data
2	0x00000004	CHANGE_ACTOR_BASE_ATTRIBUTES	Attributes
3	0x00000008	CHANGE_ACTOR_BASE_AIDATA	AI Data
4	0x00000010	CHANGE_ACTOR_BASE_SPELLLIST	Spell List
5	0x00000020	CHANGE_ACTOR_BASE_FULLNAME	Full Name
6	0x00000040	CHANGE_ACTOR_BASE_FACTIONS	Factions
9	0x00000200	CHANGE_NPC_SKILLS	NPC Skills
10	0x00000400	CHANGE_NPC_CLASS	Class
11	0x00000800	CHANGE_NPC_FACE	Face
12	0x00001000	CHANGE_NPC_DEFAULT_OUTFIT	Default Outfit
13	0x00002000	CHANGE_NPC_SLEEP_OUTFIT	Sleep Outfit
24	0x01000000	CHANGE_NPC_GENDER	Gender
25	0x02000000	CHANGE_NPC_RACE	Race
LVLN, LVLI, LVSP
31	0x80000000	CHANGE_LEVELED_LIST_ADDED_OBJECT	Added Object
NOTE
31	0x80000000	CHANGE_NOTE_READ	Note Read
CELL
1	0x00000002	CHANGE_CELL_FLAGS	Flags
2	0x00000004	CHANGE_CELL_FULLNAME	Full name
3	0x00000008	CHANGE_CELL_OWNERSHIP	Ownership
28	0x10000000	CHANGE_CELL_EXTERIOR_SHORT	Exterior Short
29	0x20000000	CHANGE_CELL_EXTERIOR_CHAR	Exterior Char
30	0x40000000	CHANGE_CELL_DETACHTIME	Detach Time
31	0x80000000	CHANGE_CELL_SEENDATA	Seen Data
REFR, ACHR, PMIS, PARW, PGRE, PBEA, PFLA, PCON, PBAR, PHZD
1	0x00000002	CHANGE_REFR_MOVE	Moved
2	0x00000004	CHANGE_REFR_HAVOK_MOVE	Havok Moved
3	0x00000008	CHANGE_REFR_CELL_CHANGED	Cell Changed
4	0x00000010	CHANGE_REFR_SCALE	Scale
5	0x00000020	CHANGE_REFR_INVENTORY	Inventory
6	0x00000040	CHANGE_REFR_EXTRA_OWNERSHIP	Ownership Extra
7	0x00000080	CHANGE_REFR_BASEOBJECT	BaseObject
25	0x02000000	CHANGE_REFR_PROMOTED	Promoted
26	0x04000000	CHANGE_REFR_EXTRA_ACTIVATING_CHILDREN	Activating Children
27	0x08000000	CHANGE_REFR_LEVELED_INVENTORY	Leveled Inventory
28	0x10000000	CHANGE_REFR_ANIMATION	Animation
29	0x20000000	CHANGE_REFR_EXTRA_ENCOUNTER_ZONE	Enc Zone Extra
30	0x40000000	CHANGE_REFR_EXTRA_CREATED_ONLY	Created Only Extra
31	0x80000000	CHANGE_REFR_EXTRA_GAME_ONLY	Game Only Extra
!	ACHR only
10	0x00000400	CHANGE_ACTOR_LIFESTATE	Life State
11	0x00000800	CHANGE_ACTOR_EXTRA_PACKAGE_DATA	Package Data Extra
12	0x00001000	CHANGE_ACTOR_EXTRA_MERCHANT_CONTAINER	Merchant Container
17	0x00020000	CHANGE_ACTOR_EXTRA_DISMEMBERED_LIMBS	Dismembered Limbs
18	0x00040000	CHANGE_ACTOR_LEVELED_ACTOR	Leveled Actor
19	0x00080000	CHANGE_ACTOR_DISPOSITION_MODIFIERS	Disp Modifiers
20	0x00100000	CHANGE_ACTOR_TEMP_MODIFIERS	Temp Modifiers
21	0x00200000	CHANGE_ACTOR_DAMAGE_MODIFIERS	Damage Modifiers
22	0x00400000	CHANGE_ACTOR_OVERRIDE_MODIFIERS	Override Modifiers
23	0x00800000	CHANGE_ACTOR_PERMANENT_MODIFIERS	Permanent Modifiers
!	All except ACHR
10	0x00000400	CHANGE_OBJECT_EXTRA_ITEM_DATA	Item Data Extra
11	0x00000800	CHANGE_OBJECT_EXTRA_AMMO	Ammo Extra
12	0x00001000	CHANGE_OBJECT_EXTRA_LOCK	Lock Extra
21	0x00200000	CHANGE_OBJECT_EMPTY	Empty
22	0x00400000	CHANGE_OBJECT_OPEN_DEFAULT_STATE	Open Default State
23	0x00800000	CHANGE_OBJECT_OPEN_STATE	Open Dtate
INFO
31	0x80000000	CHANGE_TOPIC_SAIDONCE	Said Once
QUST
1	0x00000002	CHANGE_QUEST_FLAGS	Quest Flags
2	0x00000004	CHANGE_QUEST_SCRIPT_DELAY	Quest Script Delay
26	0x04000000	CHANGE_QUEST_ALREADY_RUN	Quest Already Run
27	0x08000000	CHANGE_QUEST_INSTANCES	Quest Instance Data
28	0x10000000	CHANGE_QUEST_RUNDATA	Quest Runtime Data
29	0x20000000	CHANGE_QUEST_OBJECTIVES	Quest Objectives
30	0x40000000	CHANGE_QUEST_SCRIPT	Quest Script
31	0x80000000	CHANGE_QUEST_STAGES	Quest Stages
PACK
30	0x40000000	CHANGE_PACKAGE_WAITING	Waiting Flag
31	0x80000000	CHANGE_PACKAGE_NEVER_RUN	Never Run Flag
FLST
31	0x80000000	CHANGE_FORM_LIST_ADDED_FORM	Added Form
ECZN
1	0x00000002	CHANGE_ENCOUNTER_ZONE_FLAGS	Zone Flags
31	0x80000000	CHANGE_ENCOUNTER_ZONE_GAME_DATA	Game Data
LCTN
30	0x40000000	CHANGE_LOCATION_KEYWORDDATA	KeywordData
31	0x80000000	CHANGE_LOCATION_CLEARED	Cleared
SMQN
31	0x80000000	CHANGE_QUEST_NODE_TIME_RUN	Time Last Run
RELA
1	0x00000002	CHANGE_RELATIONSHIP_DATA	Relationship Data
SCEN
31	0x80000000	CHANGE_SCENE_ACTIVE	Active
All records not yet named
1	0x00000002	CHANGE_BASE_OBJECT_VALUE	Object Value
2	0x00000004	CHANGE_BASE_OBJECT_FULLNAME	Object Full Name

Initial type

• Certain changeforms first have an initial data type and data.

• These are applied in order.

If change form type is CELL:

If flag CHANGE_CELL_DETACHTIME is not set, initialType = 0.

Else if flag CHANGE_CELL_EXTERIOR_CHAR is set, initialType = 1.

Else if flag CHANGE_CELL_EXTERIOR_SHORT is set initialType = 2.

Else if flag CHANGE_CELL_DETACHTIME is set initialType = 3.

Else initialType = 0.

If change form type is one of these (REFR, ACHR, PMIS, PGRE, PBEA, PFLA, PHZD, PBAR, PCON, PARW):

If change form is created one (FormId >= FF000000) intialType = 5.

Else if flag CHANGE_REFR_PROMOTED or CHANGE_REFR_CELL_CHANGED is set, initialType is 6.

Else if flag CHANGE_REFR_HAVOK_MOVE or CHANGE_REFR_MOVE is set, initialType = 4.

Else initialType = 0.

Initial type	Data Size	Data
0	0	none
1	8	uint16 unk uint8 Cell_X, Cell_Y uint32 unk2
2	10	uint16 unk sint16 unk1, unk2 uint32 unk3
3	4	uint32 unk
4	27	RefId Cell / world float pos[3], rot[3]
5	31	RefId Cell / world float pos[3], rot[3] uint8 unk RefId base object
6	34	RefId Cell / world float pos[3], rot[3] RefId starting cell / world? sint16 unk1, unk2

Change form flags

Name	Type	Description
flag	uint32
unknown	uint16

CELL change form flags

Bit	Value	Name	Description
0	0000 0001	CHANGE_FORM_FLAGS
1	0000 0002	CHANGE_CELL_FLAGS
2	0000 0004	CHANGE_CELL_FULLNAME
3	0000 0008	CHANGE_CELL_OWNERSHIP
28	1000 0000	CHANGE_CELL_EXTERIOR_SHORT
29	2000 0000	CHANGE_CELL_EXTERIOR_CHAR
30	4000 0000	CHANGE_CELL_DETACHTIME
31	8000 0000	CHANGE_CELL_SEENDATA

QUST change form

Bit	Value	Data Size	Name	Description
1	0000 0002	2	CHANGE_QUEST_FLAGS
26	0400 0000	1	CHANGE_QUEST_ALREADY_RUN
27	0800 0000		CHANGE_QUEST_INSTANCES
28	1000 0000		CHANGE_QUEST_RUNDATA
29	2000 0000		CHANGE_QUEST_OBJECTIVES
31	8000 0000		CHANGE_QUEST_STAGES

REFR change form

Data Elements

These are the elements I have so far seen in a REFR change form.

Field	Size	Contents	Notes
cellId	3	refId	Contains a reference to the cell where this object currently is
location	24	float x float y float z float rx float ry float rz	Contains the location and orientation of the object
unknown1	1	byte	Always (and only) present in created objects (formId starts with 0xff)
refIdx	3	refId	Only seen on objects with the CHANGE_REFR_PROMOTED flag set and always seems to contain the same refId as the cellId.
unkown2	4	int16 a int16 b	A tuple containing (moderately) positive or negative numbers
havokData	var	byte[1-3] size byte[size] data	The two lowest bits of the first byte indicate how many bytes are used to store the size. The other bits indicate the size (bit 3 of the first byte thus indicates a size of one byte, the lowest bit of byte 2 equals 64 bytes).
flags	6	byte[6] flags	Six bytes of flags
scale	4	float	New scale to appplied to the object (not 100% certain about the order of scale and baseId)
baseId	3	refId	A reference to a new base object for this object
gameOnly	var	byte[1-3?] itemCount per item: - byte itemType - [opt] byte itemRepeat - byte[var] itemData	itemCount should be shifted by two bits to get the count, the other bit probably indicate additional count bytes. The itemType influences what is next, in some cases another count that has to be shifted as well, in some cases a fixed number of bytes. If a count is present, it seems to indicate how many repeats of a certain fixed size are following.
inventory	var	byte[1-3?] itemCount per item: - refId item - uint32 count - complex	The refId and count are followed by some complex nested structure that's similar to the "gameOnly" field above. I.e. each item can have extra properties from the table below.
animation	var	complex

Flags

This table lists which fields will be present for which flags. It is incomplete at the moment.

changeFormId = 0x00......
Bit	Value	Name	cellId	location	unknown1	refIdX	unknown2	havokData	flags	scale	baseId	gameOnly	inventory
0	0000 0001	CHANGE_FORM_FLAGS							x
1	0000 0002	CHANGE_REFR_MOVE	x	x
2	0000 0004	CHANGE_REFR_HAVOK_MOVE	x	x				x
3	0000 0008	CHANGE_REFR_CELL_CHANGED	x	x		x	x
4	0000 0010	CHANGE_REFR_SCALE
5	0000 0020	CHANGE_REFR_INVENTORY											x
6	0000 0040	CHANGE_REFR_EXTRA_OWNERSHIP
7	0000 0080	CHANGE_REFR_BASEOBJECT									x
10	0000 0400	CHANGE_OBJECT_EXTRA_ITEM_DATA										x
12	0000 1000	CHANGE_OBJECT_EXTRA_LOCK										x
21	0020 0000	CHANGE_OBJECT_EMPTY	no extra data, just a flag
23	0080 0000	CHANGE_OBJECT_OPEN_STATE	no extra data, just a flag
25	0200 0000	CHANGE_REFR_PROMOTED	x	x		x	x					x
26	0400 0000	CHANGE_REFR_EXTRA_ACTIVATING_CHILDREN
27	0800 0000	CHANGE_REFR_LEVELED_INVENTORY											x
28	1000 0000	CHANGE_REFR_ANIMATION
29	2000 0000	CHANGE_REFR_EXTRA_ENCOUNTER_ZONE										x
31	8000 0000	CHANGE_REFR_EXTRA_GAME_ONLY										x
changeFormId = 0xff......
Bit	Value	Name	cellId	location	unknown1	refIdX	unknown2	havokData	flags	scale	baseId	gameOnly	inventory
0	0000 0001	CHANGE_FORM_FLAGS	x	x	x	x			x
1	0000 0002	CHANGE_REFR_MOVE	x	x	x	x
3	0000 0008	CHANGE_REFR_CELL_CHANGED	x	x	x	x
4	0000 0010	CHANGE_REFR_SCALE								x
10	0000 0400	CHANGE_OBJECT_EXTRA_ITEM_DATA	x	x	x	x						x
25	0200 0000	CHANGE_REFR_PROMOTED	x	x	x	x						x
31	8000 0000	CHANGE_REFR_EXTRA_GAME_ONLY	x	x	x	x						x

The 0xff000000 type changeFormIds have at least 31 bytes of data in structure called 'Base', containing at least a RefId and the location/rotation fields. In this case the additional data added by the other flags may be different, for example CHANGE_REFR_MOVE and CHANGE_REFR_CELL_CHANGED will not add any data, while CHANGE_REFR_PROMOTED will only add 6 bytes instead of 40. The CHANGE_REFR_MOVE flag appears to be set on every changeForm of this type.

extraData

The extra data starts with the number of items contained in the field. Bit 0 and 1 of the first byte probably indicate how many bytes are used to store the size: 00 = just this byte, 01 = 1 extra byte, 10 = ?, 11 = ?. The count is obtained by reading the bytes and shifting them two bits to the right. 0x04 thus becomes 1, 0x08 becomes 2, ...

The next bytes tell something about the data that follows.

An incomplete list of possible data in the extraData field:

fieldType	hasRepeatCount	bytesToFollow	comment
0x1c		3
0x21		3	Seen when Extra Item Data flag set, could be owner
0x24		2
0x25		4	Appears to be a float
0x28		4
0x2a		13	Seen when Lock Extra flag is set. Bytes 0 is the lock level (like XLOC in REFR), byte 1 is unknown, bytes 2-4 are the KEYM RefId to open the lock, bytes 5-12 always zero?
0x2c		1
0x2e		5
0x2f		4
0x31		29
0x32		4
0x38		3
0x48		3
0x49		5
0x55		4
0x58		7
0x5d		4
0x70		3	This is present when the Extra Encounter Zone flag is set. Probably a refId to the zone then
0x78	x	8
0x85		3
0x88	x	7	A QUST RefId, followed by a uint32 equal to one of the ALST fields in that QUST. It probably means this reference is assigned to that alias in that quest.
0x8c	x	3	Present on promoted objects, usually with one item that looks like a refId: 0x40028A
0x8e		3	A OTFT RefId, probably indicating that this inventory item is part of that outfit.
0x92		3
0x95		7
0x98		14(may vary)	ExtraData_AttachedArrows3D - Appears to always be 14 bytes long, but the first 2 bytes are always 0c 00. If read as a UInt16, this would be 12, which is also the number of bytes that follow. It's unknown what type of data is contained in the remaining bytes, as the only values seen so far are 00 and 02.
0x99		10+var	When this is in an inventory object and the last 4 bytes are 0xfffffffe, a string follows (2 bytes for the length, then the characters). This is used to store user modified names during enchanting
0x9b		5
0x9f		6
0xa0		4
0xa1		88

The fields with a repeat should be interpreted like this: after the fieldType there is a count (again bit 0 and 1 of the first count byte indicate how many extra bytes are used for the count). After the count, count * bytesToFollow will follow. So 0x8c 0x08 .... indicates that 2 (0x08 shifted by 2) records of type 0x8c follow, which are 3 bytes per record, so 6 bytes in total. Frequently 0x88 0x00 is observed, meaning 0 * 7 bytes follow. As another example, 0x88 0x81 0x01 means count is (81>>2 + 1<<6) = 96, so 96 * 7 bytes follow.

NPC_ change form

Bit	Value	Name	Data Size	Data
0	0000 0001	CHANGE_FORM_FLAGS	6	Change form flags
1	0000 0002	CHANGE_ACTOR_BASE_DATA	24	See ACBS field of NPC_ record
6	0000 0040	CHANGE_ACTOR_BASE_FACTIONS	var	vsval count struct {refID factionID; uint8 rank} [count]
4	0000 0010	CHANGE_ACTOR_BASE_SPELLLIST	var	vsval spellCount refID spells[spellCount] vsval leveledspellCount refID leveledspells[leveledspellCount] vsval shoutCount refID shouts[shoutCount]
3	0000 0008	CHANGE_ACTOR_BASE_AIDATA	20	See AIDT field of NPC_ record
5	0000 0020	CHANGE_ACTOR_BASE_FULLNAME	var	wstring name
9	0000 0200	CHANGE_NPC_SKILLS	52	See DNAM field of NPC_ record
10	0000 0400	CHANGE_NPC_CLASS	3	refID class
25	0200 0000	CHANGE_NPC_RACE	6	refID race refID race2 (?)
11	0000 0800	CHANGE_NPC_FACE	var	?
24	0100 0000	CHANGE_NPC_GENDER	1	uint8 gender (0 – male, 1 - female)
12	0000 1000	CHANGE_NPC_DEFAULT_OUTFIT	3	refID defOutfit
12	0000 1000	CHANGE_NPC_SLEEP_OUTFIT	3	refID sleepOutfit

The order of data in changeForm is the same as in the table

Skills/Health, etc are stored in ACHR records (as floats) associated with the NPC (for the player this is formid 0x00000014, refid=0x40 0x00 0x14 and is zlib compressed)

• if any of the data is stored in the NPC_ record it seems to be ignored by the game.