19 KiB
Breath of the Wild Decompilation Cheatsheet
Things to try when a function has major differences
The following actions should help when basic blocks are in the wrong order, or when there are weird issues that involve comparisons or conditionals:
- Invert conditionals.
- Introduce inline functions. Or manually inline code.
- Add or eliminate return statements.
- Duplicate or deduplicate code.
- Independent memory loads/stores can be reordered, so you might need to reorder statements or conditions in the source code. For example,
if (x || y)
might have to be written asif (y || x)
. - Turn if/else into ternaries and vice versa. This doesn't always make a difference, though.
- uintptr_t do not always produce the same code as pointers, even for simple operations such as comparisons.
- Loops:
- Index-based loops
- u32 / s32 can make a difference, in particular for loop unrolling.
<
vs!=
can affect codegen. If the trip count is known at compile-time, Clang will usually change<
into!=
, but you should still try<
first.- In some rare cases, Nintendo will use
!=
instead of<
.
- Iterator loops
- Since we are targeting C++17, the preferred way to iterate over a container is to use a range-based for loop (e.g.
for (auto x : array)
). - Sometimes, making the iterator appear explicitly is required to match the original code. Example:
for (auto it = array.begin(), end = array.end(); it != end; ++it)
- In some rare cases, the end iterator is not kept in a variable, and instead it's recalculated at the end of each iteration. Example:
for (auto it = array.begin(); it != array.end(); ++it)
- Sometimes it is possible to use
<algorithm>
functions (e.g. std::for_each, std::all_of, etc.) for simpler loops. - And in some very rare cases (when dealing with EventFlow for example) it is sometimes required to use
<algorithm>
to match.
- Since we are targeting C++17, the preferred way to iterate over a container is to use a range-based for loop (e.g.
- Index-based loops
Minor differences
-
Incorrect comparison flags (getting >= instead of > for example)
- Invert conditionals.
- For integers: make sure you are using the correct signedness.
- For example, HI means that you should be using an unsigned integer.
- For floating-point, keep in mind that
x > 5.0
and!(x <= 5.0)
are not equivalent because of NaN. This can reveal how an if/else statement is supposed to be written.
-
Swapped CSEL operands
- Invert conditionals. (For ternaries, also swap the ? and : operands, obviously.)
- In some rare cases,
ptr == nullptr
and!ptr
do not generate the same code.
-
Extraneous function prologue/epilogue: this can happen when returning references. Change the return type to a pointer.
sinit / static initializer / cxa_atexit
- If the second argument of a
_cxa_atexit
call is nullptr and the destructor is a nullsub, the object in question is likely a C-style array (not a std::array or a sead::SafeArray).
Inline functions
This section lists some inline functions that are often used throughout the codebase.
sead
sead is Nintendo's C++ standard library. It provides basic data structures such as strings and tree maps and many other essential components (e.g. threads, critical sections, file IO, etc.)
Strings
sead::SafeString
constructor
x.vptr = &sead::SafeString::vt;
x.cstr = "some string here";
⬇️
sead::SafeString x = "some string here";
Note that the SafeString constructor is also implicitly called whenever a string literal is converted into an sead::SafeString (because it was passed as an argument to a function that expects an sead::SafeString for example).
sead::FixedSafeString<N>
constructor
A sead::FixedSafeString<N>
is a fixed-length SafeString. It derives from sead::BufferedSafeString (which derives from sead::SafeString) and contains a char[N] buffer right after the length.
Note: the field assignments may be in a different order.
x._.cstr = (char*)&xxx; // some buffer right after `x`
x._.vptr = &`vtable for'sead::BufferedSafeStringBase<char>;
x.length = N; // where N is a number
sead::BufferedSafeStringBase<char>::assureTerminationImpl_(&x);
*x._.cstr = sead::SafeStringBase<char>::cNullChar;
x._.vptr = ...;
⬇️
sead::FixedSafeString<N> x;
sead::SafeString::cstr
sead::SafeString::cstr returns a const char*
, like std::string::c_str. You can expect it to be called whenever a SafeString needs to be passed to a function that takes a C-style string (const char*
).
string.vptr->assureTermination(...);
const char* ptr = string.cstr;
// do stuff with string.cstr
// note that the variable may not exist in the pseudocode
⬇️
const char* ptr = string.cstr();
sead::SafeString::calcLength
x.vptr->assureTermination(&x);
v12 = x.cstr;
str_length = 0LL;
v14 = (signed __int64)(v12 + 1);
while ( v12[str_length] != sead::SafeStringBase<char>::cNullChar )
{
if ( *(unsigned __int8 *)(v14 + str_length) == (unsigned __int8)sead::SafeStringBase<char>::cNullChar )
{
LODWORD(str_length) = str_length + 1;
break;
}
if ( *(unsigned __int8 *)(v14 + str_length + 1) == (unsigned __int8)sead::SafeStringBase<char>::cNullChar )
{
LODWORD(str_length) = str_length + 2;
break;
}
v15 = str_length + 2;
str_length += 3LL;
if ( v15 >= 0x80000 )
{
LODWORD(str_length) = 0;
break;
}
}
⬇️
s32 str_length = x.calcLength();
Note that this function is commonly called from other sead::SafeString inline functions.
sead::BufferedSafeString::copy
dest_cstr = dest_safestring.cstr;
source_safestring.vptr->assureTermination(&source_safestring);
source_cstr = source_safestring.cstr;
if ( dest_cstr != source_cstr )
{
source_safestring.vptr->assureTermination(&source_safestring);
v6 = 0LL;
v7 = (signed __int64)(source_safestring.cstr + 1);
while ( source_safestring.cstr[v6] != sead::SafeStringBase<char>::cNullChar )
{
if ( *(unsigned __int8 *)(v7 + v6) == (unsigned __int8)sead::SafeStringBase<char>::cNullChar )
{
LODWORD(v6) = v6 + 1;
break;
}
if ( *(unsigned __int8 *)(v7 + v6 + 1) == (unsigned __int8)sead::SafeStringBase<char>::cNullChar )
{
LODWORD(v6) = v6 + 2;
break;
}
v8 = v6 + 2;
v6 += 3LL;
if ( v8 >= 0x80000 )
{
LODWORD(v6) = 0;
break;
}
}
if ( (signed int)v6 >= dest_safestring.length )
LODWORD(v6) = dest_safestring.length - 1;
v9 = (signed int)v6;
memcpy_0(dest_str, source_str, (signed int)v6);
dest_str[v9] = sead::SafeStringBase<char>::cNullChar;
}
⬇️
dest_safestring = source_safestring;
Note: the while loop comes from an inlined version of sead::SafeString::calcLength.
sead::SafeString::startsWith
if ( sead::SafeStringBase<char>::cNullChar != 'E' )
{
v11 = string->cstr;
v12 = "nemy";
v13 = 'E';
while ( (unsigned __int8)*v11 == v13 )
{
v14 = (unsigned __int8)*v12++;
v13 = v14;
++v11;
if ( v14 == (unsigned __int8)sead::SafeStringBase<char>::cNullChar )
goto LABEL;
}
foo();
}
LABEL:
bar();
⬇️
if (string.startsWith("Enemy"))
bar();
else
foo();
This weird optimization can lead to malformed strings in Hex-Rays's output for strings that contain Japanese or multibyte characters more generally.
sead::SafeString::isEqual / operator==
enemy->vptr->assureTermination(enemy);
enemy->vptr->assureTermination(enemy);
v15 = enemy->cstr;
if ( v15 == "Enemy_Assassin_Junior" )
{
LABEL_37:
foo();
}
else
{
v16 = 0LL;
do
{
v17 = (unsigned __int8)v15[v16];
if ( v17 != (unsigned __int8)aEnemyAssassinJ[v16] )
break;
if ( v17 == (unsigned __int8)sead::SafeStringBase<char>::cNullChar )
goto LABEL_37;
++v16;
}
while ( v16 < 0x80001 );
bar();
}
⬇️
// enemy is a sead::SafeString or a derived class
if (enemy == "Enemy_Assassin_Junior")
foo();
else
bar();
sead::SafeString::isEmpty
if ( *string.cstr == sead::SafeStringBase<char>::cNullChar )
⬇️
if (string.isEmpty())
ScopedLock
sead::CriticalSection::lock(foo);
bar();
sead::CriticalSection::unlock(foo);
⬇️
{
auto lock = sead::makeScopedLock(foo);
bar();
}
Buffer
An sead::Buffer is a non-owning view over a contiguous array of values: it is essentially a wrapper around a raw pointer and a size count.
sead::Buffer::allocBufferAssert
In this example, 0x108 is the size of each item.
v9 = 0x108LL * (signed int)num_tables;
v10 = is_mul_ok((signed int)num_tables, 0x108uLL) == 0;
v11 = __CFADD__(v9, 8LL);
v12 = v9 + 8;
if ( v11 )
v13 = 1;
else
v13 = 0;
if ( (unsigned int)v10 | v13 )
size = 1LL;
else
size = v12;
v15 = (char *)operator new[](size, &heap->_, 8u, &std::nothrow);
if ( v15 )
{
*(_QWORD *)v15 = (signed int)num_tables;
v16 = (BdropTable *)((char*)v15 + 8);
// loop over each item and call a constructor
// note: the constructor may be inlined
// at the end:
buffer->size = num_tables;
buffer->data = v16;
}
⬇️
buffer->allocBufferAssert(num_tables, heap);
Another code pattern with a multiplication that looks different:
v13 = operator new[](0x28LL * (unsigned int)count + 8, &heap->_, 8u, &std::nothrow);
if ( v13 )
{
*v13 = count;
v14 = (signed __int64)(v13 + 1);
// loop over each item and call a constructor
// note: the constructor may be inlined
// at the end:
*buffer = count;
*((_QWORD *)buffer + 1) = v14;
}
⬇️
buffer->allocBufferAssert(count, heap);
If each item is a trivially constructible type (e.g. the buffer stores ints or pointers) then there will be no loop that calls a constructor and the compiler will not store the size of the array in the first 8 bytes of the allocation.
sead::Buffer::operator[]
With automatic bounds checks.
if ( buffer->size <= i )
item = buffer->data;
else
item = buffer->data[i];
⬇️
item = buffer[i];
RTTI (Runtime Type Info)
sead::DynamicCast
some_ptr = ...;
x = __ldar(...); // usually a guard variable, but the variable is not always named
another_ptr = some_ptr;
if ( (x & 1) == 0 && _cxa_guard_acquire_0(...)) // the same guard variable
{
... = &...;
_cxa_guard_release_0(...); // the same guard variable
}
if ( another_ptr && another_ptr->checkDerivedRuntimeTypeInfo(another_ptr, ...) )
{
// code that uses another_ptr
}
⬇️
if (auto* another_ptr = sead::DynamicCast<T>(some_ptr))
...
T is a derived type that should be related to the type of the original pointer.
agl
agl is one of Nintendo's in-house graphics libraries.
Parameter utilities
In Breath of the Wild, its parameter utilities are heavily used for the game's configuration files.
agl::utl::Parameter::init
name.vptr = &sead::SafeString::vt;
name.cstr = "Item";
label.vptr = &sead::SafeString::vt;
label.cstr = "表示距離";
meta.vptr = &sead::SafeString::vt;
meta.cstr = (char *)&nullbyte;
agl::utl::ParameterBase::initializeListNode(
&foo._,
&name,
&label,
&meta,
bar);
foo.value = default_value;
⬇️
foo.init(default_value, "Item", "表示距離", bar);
agl::utl::IParameterObj::applyResParameterObj
agl::utl::IParameterObj::applyResParameterObj_(foo, 0, bar, 0LL, 0.0, 0LL);
⬇️
foo.applyResParameterObj(bar);
agl::utl::ResParameterArchive::getRootList
agl::utl::ResParameterArchive::ResParameterArchive(&archive, data);
root.ptr = (agl::utl::ResParameterListData *)((char *)&archive.ptr[1] + (unsigned int)archive.ptr->rootOffsetAfterHeader);
⬇️
agl::utl::ResParameterArchive archive{data};
auto root = archive.getRootList();
Getting ResParameterObj or ResParameterList
key.vptr = &sead::SafeString::vt;
key.cstr = "InvalidWeathers";
key_hash = agl::utl::ParameterBase::calcHash(&key);
idx = agl::utl::ResParameterList::searchObjIndex(&foo, key_hash);
if ( idx == 0xFFFFFFFF )
{
obj = 0LL;
}
else
{
obj = (__int64)v30.ptr + 8 * idx + 4 * (unsigned __int16)v30.ptr->objOffsetNum;
if ( obj )
{
bar();
}
}
⬇️
const auto obj = agl::utl::getResParameterObj(foo, "InvalidWeathers");
if (obj.ptr())
bar();
Havok
operator delete overload
void foo(void* this) {
if ( this )
{
TlsValue = nn::os::GetTlsValue(hkMemoryRouter::s_memoryRouter);
(*(void (__fastcall **)(_QWORD, __int64, __int64))(**(_QWORD **)(TlsValue + 0x58) + 0x18LL))(
*(_QWORD *)(TlsValue + 0x58),
this,
0x40LL);
}
}
or after setting pointer types correctly:
void foo(void* this)
{
if ( this )
{
router = (hkMemoryRouter *)nn::os::GetTlsValue(hkMemoryRouter::s_memoryRouter);
router->m_heap->blockFree(router->m_heap, (void *)this, 0x40);
}
}
This is just a standard Havok class deleting/D0 destructor. You can get it with the HK_DECLARE_CLASS_ALLOCATOR macro.
hkVector4f
hkVector4f::setCross (cross product)
Reminder: the cross product is antisymmetric.
v9 = vextq_s8((int8x16_t)lhs, (int8x16_t)lhs, 4uLL);
v10 = vextq_s8((int8x16_t)rhs, (int8x16_t)rhs, 4uLL);
v9.n128_u64[1] = vrev64_s32((int32x2_t)vextq_s8(v9, v9, 8uLL).n128_u64[0]).n64_u64[0];
v10.n128_u64[1] = vrev64_s32((int32x2_t)vextq_s8(v10, v10, 8uLL).n128_u64[0]).n64_u64[0];
cross = vsubq_f32(vmulq_f32(lhs, (float32x4_t)v10), vmulq_f32(rhs, (float32x4_t)v9));
result = (float32x4_t)vextq_s8(vextq_s8((int8x16_t)cross, (int8x16_t)cross, 0xCuLL), (int8x16_t)cross, 8uLL);
⬇️
hkVector4f result;
result.setCross(lhs, rhs);
hkVector4f::dot<3> (dot product)
dot = (int8x16_t)vmulq_f32(lhs, rhs);
dot.n128_u64[0] = vpadd_f32((float32x2_t)dot.n128_u64[0], (float32x2_t)vextq_s8(dot, dot, 8uLL).n128_u32[0]).n64_u64[0];
dot.n128_f32[0] = vpadd_f32((float32x2_t)dot.n128_u64[0], (float32x2_t)dot.n128_u64[0]).n64_f32[0];
⬇️
hkSimdReal dot = lhs.dot<3>(rhs);
hkVector4f::lengthSquared<3>
This is a special case of hkVector4f::dot<3>.
len = vmulq_f32(vec, vec);
len.n128_u64[0] = vpadd_f32((float32x2_t)len.n128_u64[0], (float32x2_t)vextq_s8(len, len, 8uLL).n128_u32[0]).n64_u64[0];
len.n128_u64[0] = vpadd_f32((float32x2_t)len.n128_u64[0], (float32x2_t)len.n128_u64[0]).n64_u64[0];
⬇️
hkSimdReal len = vec.lengthSquared<3>();
hkVector4f::lengthInverse<3>
This is hkVector4f::lengthSquared<3> followed by a square root inverse calculation.
// start of lengthSquared
len = vmulq_f32(vec, vec);
len.n128_u64[0] = vpadd_f32((float32x2_t)len.n128_u64[0], (float32x2_t)vextq_s8(len, len, 8uLL).n128_u32[0]).n64_u64[0];
len.n128_u64[0] = vpadd_f32((float32x2_t)len.n128_u64[0], (float32x2_t)len.n128_u64[0]).n64_u64[0];
// end of lengthSquared
// start of hkSimdFloat32::sqrtInverse
v10.n128_u64[0] = vrsqrte_f32((float32x2_t)len.n128_u64[0]).n64_u64[0];
v10.n128_u64[0] = vmul_f32(
(float32x2_t)v10.n128_u64[0],
vrsqrts_f32(
(float32x2_t)norm.n128_u64[0],
vmul_f32((float32x2_t)v10.n128_u64[0], (float32x2_t)v10.n128_u64[0]))).n64_u64[0];
inverse.n128_u64[0] = vbic_s8(
vmul_f32(
vrsqrts_f32(
(float32x2_t)norm.n128_u64[0],
vmul_f32((float32x2_t)v10.n128_u64[0], (float32x2_t)v10.n128_u64[0])),
(float32x2_t)v10.n128_u64[0]),
vclez_f32((float32x2_t)norm.n128_u64[0])).n64_u64[0];
inverse.n128_u64[1] = inverse.n128_u64[0];
// end of hkSimdFloat32::sqrtInverse
⬇️
hkSimdReal inverse = vec.lengthInverse<3>();
hkVector4f::normalize<3>
This is lengthInverse<3> followed by a multiplication.
// start of lengthSquared
len = vmulq_f32(vec, vec);
len.n128_u64[0] = vpadd_f32((float32x2_t)len.n128_u64[0], (float32x2_t)vextq_s8(len, len, 8uLL).n128_u32[0]).n64_u64[0];
len.n128_u64[0] = vpadd_f32((float32x2_t)len.n128_u64[0], (float32x2_t)len.n128_u64[0]).n64_u64[0];
// end of lengthSquared
// start of hkSimdFloat32::sqrtInverse
v10.n128_u64[0] = vrsqrte_f32((float32x2_t)len.n128_u64[0]).n64_u64[0];
v10.n128_u64[0] = vmul_f32(
(float32x2_t)v10.n128_u64[0],
vrsqrts_f32(
(float32x2_t)norm.n128_u64[0],
vmul_f32((float32x2_t)v10.n128_u64[0], (float32x2_t)v10.n128_u64[0]))).n64_u64[0];
inverse.n128_u64[0] = vbic_s8(
vmul_f32(
vrsqrts_f32(
(float32x2_t)norm.n128_u64[0],
vmul_f32((float32x2_t)v10.n128_u64[0], (float32x2_t)v10.n128_u64[0])),
(float32x2_t)v10.n128_u64[0]),
vclez_f32((float32x2_t)norm.n128_u64[0])).n64_u64[0];
inverse.n128_u64[1] = inverse.n128_u64[0];
// end of hkSimdFloat32::sqrtInverse
vec = vmulq_f32(inverse, vec);
⬇️
vec.normalize<3>();
C++ features
Classes
Constructors
If you see a function that modifies the vtable pointer and/or calls a lot of other constructors, chances are that you are dealing with a constructor.
In C++, most of the code in constructor functions tends to be automatically generated by the compiler. For example, the following function:
void __fastcall ksys::res::Handle::Handle(ksys::res::Handle *this)
{
this->mFlags = 1;
this->mStatus = 0;
this->mUnit = 0LL;
this->vtable = &ksys::res::Handle::vt;
ksys::util::ManagedTaskHandle::ManagedTaskHandle(&this->mTaskHandle);
this->field_40 = 0LL;
this->field_48 = 0LL;
}
is automatically generated based on the class definition:
// irrelevant details were simplified or removed
struct Handle {
u8 mFlags = 1;
Status mStatus = Status::_0;
ResourceUnit* mUnit = nullptr;
util::ManagedTaskHandle mTaskHandle;
sead::ListNode mListNode;
};
Note that the sead::ListNode constructor was inlined here, and that constructor was also automatically generated by the compiler:
class ListNode
{
public:
// ...
ListNode* mPrev = nullptr;
ListNode* mNext = nullptr;
};
Member functions and member variables
C++ member functions are called as if they had the this
pointer as the first argument.
sead::CriticalSection::lock(some_variable);
ksys::res::ResourceUnit::attachHandle(unit, handle);
⬇️
some_variable->lock();
unit->attachHandle(handle);
Member variables are accessed using the this
pointer. In C++, explicitly writing this
is usually unnecessary:
if ( this->mNumCaches <= idx )
cache = this->mCaches;
else
cache = &this->mCaches[idx];
⬇️
if (mNumCaches <= idx)
cache = mCaches;
else
cache = &mCaches[idx];
Custom operator new
sead defines several custom allocation functions. You should #include <basis/seadNew.h>
to ensure they are used for heap allocations.
void* ptr = ::operator new(SOME_SIZE_HERE, heap, 8u);
SomeClass::SomeClass(ptr); //< constructor call
⬇️
auto* ptr = new (heap) SomeClass;
Sometimes, a non-throwing overload of operator new
is used:
void* ptr = ::operator new(SOME_SIZE_HERE, heap, 8u, &std::nothrow);
SomeClass::SomeClass(ptr); //< constructor call
⬇️
auto* ptr = new (heap, std::nothrow) SomeClass;
This also applies for new[]
.