node-pkware

nodejs implementation of StormLib compression/decompression algorithm

it was the de-facto compression for games from around Y2K, like Arx Fatalis

installation / update existing version

npm i -g node-pkware

recommended node version: 8.5+

tested in node version 12.7.0

command line interface

implode <filename> --output=<filename> --ascii|--binary --level=1|2|3 - compresses file. if --output is omitted, then output will be placed next to input and names as <filename>.compressed. optionally you can specify an offset from which the compressed data starts with the --offset <byte>, which is useful for mixed files, such as the fts files of Arx Fatalis

explode <filename> --output=<filename> - decompresses file. if --output is omitted, then output will be placed next to input and names as <filename>.decompressed. optionally you can specify an offset from which the compressed data starts with the --offset <byte>, which is useful for mixed files, such as the fts files of Arx Fatalis

examples

explode test/files/fast.fts --output=C:/fast.fts.decompressed --offset=1816

explode test/files/fast.fts --output=C:/fast.fts.decompressed --offset=0x718

implode test/files/fast.fts.unpacked --output=C:/fast.fts --binary --level=3 --offset=1816

piping also works

cat c:/arx/level8.llf | explode > c:/arx/level8.llf.unpacked

explode c:/arx/level8.llf > c:/arx/level8.llf.unpacked

cat c:/arx/level8.llf | explode --output=c:/arx/level8.llf.unpacked

cat e:/piping/level8.llf.unpacked | implode --binary --level=3 > e:/piping/level8.llf.comp2

implode e:/piping/level8.llf.unpacked --binary --level=3 > e:/piping/level8.llf.comp

cat e:/piping/level8.llf.unpacked | implode --binary --level=3 --output="e:/piping/level8.llf.comp2"

sources:

• https://github.com/ladislav-zezula/StormLib/tree/master/src/pklib
• https://github.com/ShieldBattery/implode-decoder

helpful links:

• https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2094666/pointers-in-c-when-to-use-the-ampersand-and-the-asterisk
• https://stackoverflow.com/a/49394095/1806628