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GLM Format (Watch Dogs / Disrupt Engine)

Overview​

GLM is the text-based source format for 3D models in the Disrupt engine (Watch Dogs 1/2/Legion). It is the input that the Disrupt editor compiles into XBG (compiled binary mesh). GLM is NOT binary — it's a tab-separated, CRLF-terminated text format.

72,758 GLM files found in the leak (leak/ubisoft/data/).

Relationship to XBG​

GLM (text source) → Disrupt Editor → XBG (compiled binary) → Game

GLM files exist in the leak's source data directories. The compiled XBG files are in data_win64/ archives. There is no 1:1 correspondence in the leak (GLM sources are separate from cooked XBG outputs).

Format Structure​

Tab-separated key-value pairs, CRLF line endings. Uses {/} for nested blocks.

Top-Level Keys​

VERSION\t11.00000000
TYPE\t"GEOM"
OBJECT_NAME\t"DoorDouble_Commercial_01"
DYNAMIC_POSITION_COMPRESSION_RANGE\t1
POSITION\t0.00000000\t0.00000000\t0.00000000
ROTATION\t0.00000000\t0.00000000\t0.00000000\t0.00000000
  • VERSION: Format version (9.0000000 to 11.0000000 observed)
  • TYPE: Always "GEOM" for geometry objects
  • POSITION: 3D vector (x, y, z) — object origin
  • ROTATION: Quaternion (x, y, z, w)

MATERIAL_REFERENCE_LIST​

MATERIAL_REFERENCE_LIST\t{
\tNB_MATERIAL\t1
\tMATERIAL\t{
\t\tSHADER\t"WD2Generic"
\t\tSHADERREFID\t"graphics_materials\pfernandez-M-2013021536191681.material.xml"
\t\tSLOTNAME\t"Door_Commercial_01"
\t}
}
  • SHADER: Shader name (e.g., "WD2Generic", "character_skin", "character_hair")
  • SHADERREFID: Path to material XML definition
  • SLOTNAME: Material slot name for mesh assignment

SKELETON_LIST​

SKELETON_LIST\t{
\tNB_SKELETONS\t1
\tSKELETON\t{
\t\tNB_BONE\t423
\t\tBONE\t{
\t\t\tNAME\t"Pelvis"
\t\t\tPARENT\t"Root"
\t\t\tPOSITION\t0.00001983\t0.00000000\t0.99202001
\t\t\tROTATION\t0.00688343\t-0.99995166\t-0.00702117\t1.57088232
\t\t\tSCALE\t1.00000000\t1.00000000\t1.00000000
\t\t}
\t}
}
  • NB_BONE: Bone count (0 for rigid props like doors)
  • BONE: Name, parent bone name, local position (3D), local rotation (quaternion), scale (3D)
  • Root bone: Parent is empty string or omitted

REFLEX_SYSTEM (XML embedded)​

REFLEX_SYSTEM\t{
\t@@@@ BEGIN_EMBEDDED_BLOB "rfxblob_RFX_Legs"
<Reflex Version="2.07" Contents="System">
 <System Name="RFX_Legs">
 <Constraint Type="SingleBalljoint" Name="..." ParentOfSocketBone="..." SocketBone="..." TargetBone="...">
 ...
 </Constraint>
 </System>
</Reflex>
\t@@@@ END_EMBEDDED_BLOB
}
  • Physics constraint system (ragdoll, secondary motion)
  • Embedded XML blob with ball joints, pose hulls, constraints
  • Only present in character/skinned models (not rigid props)

PROCEDURAL_NODES_LIST​

Procedural animation nodes (IK, look-at, etc.). Character-specific.

SECONDARY_MOTION_OBJECT​

Secondary motion/physics data (cloth, hair, accessories). Character-specific.

GEOMETRY_LIST​

GEOMETRY_LIST\t{
\tNB_GEOMETRY\t2
\tLOD_DISTANCES\t{
\t\tLOD\t0\t40.00000000
\t\tLOD\t1\t250.00000000
\t\tLOD\t2\t0.00000000
\t\tLOD\t3\t0.00000000
\t\tLOD\t4\t0.00000000
\t\tLOD\t5\t0.00000000
\t}
\tQUALITY_SPLIT\t{
\t\tGENERATEHIGHRES_NG\t1
\t\tGENERATEMEDIUMRES_NG\t1
\t\tGENERATEHIGHRES_CG\t1
\t\tGENERATEMEDIUMRES_CG\t1
\t}
\tTRIMESH\t{
\t\tMESH_NAME\t"DoorDouble_Commercial_01_LOD0"
\t\tMESH_STATE_INDEX\t-1
\t\tNUM_TVERTEX_CHANNEL\t1
\t\tNUM_CVERTEX_CHANNEL\t1
\t\tVERTEX_LIST\t{
\t\t\tNB_VERTEX\t150
\t\t\tVERTEX\t0\t1.30170655\t0.03000019\t0.00000000
\t\t}
\t\t...
\t}
}

TRIMESH Components​

  • MESH_NAME: Mesh identifier (e.g., "DoorDouble_Commercial_01_LOD0")
  • NUM_TVERTEX_CHANNEL: Number of texture coordinate channels (UV sets)
  • NUM_CVERTEX_CHANNEL: Number of vertex color channels
  • VERTEX_LIST: Position data (index, x, y, z)
  • TV_LIST: Texture coordinates (index, u, v) per channel
  • VC_LIST: Vertex colors (index, r, g, b, a) per channel
  • FACE_LIST: Triangle indices (vertex, UV, vertex color per corner)
  • NORMAL_LIST: Normal vectors (index, nx, ny, nz)
  • TANGENT_LIST: Tangent vectors
  • BINORMAL_LIST: Binormal vectors

Face Format​

FACE\t0\t0\t1\t3\t0\t1\t2\t0\t3\t1\t-1\t-1\t-1\t-1\t-1\t-1\t-1\t-1\t-1\t1\t0
CFACE\t0\t0\t-1\t-1\t-1
  • FACE: face_index, v0, v1, v2, uv0_0, uv0_1, uv0_2, uv1_0, uv1_1, uv1_2, ... (vertex indices, UV indices per channel, material ID)
  • CFACE: face_index, color_channel_index, c0, c1, c2 (vertex color indices)

Character Models​

Character GLMs (e.g., char01.glm) are significantly larger (~1.18M lines) and contain:

  • Full skeleton (423 bones for humanoids)
  • REFLEX_SYSTEM (ragdoll constraints)
  • PROCEDURAL_NODES_LIST (IK, procedural animation)
  • SECONDARY_MOTION_OBJECT (cloth, hair physics)
  • Multiple TRIMESH blocks (body parts, clothing)

Usage for Modding​

Import Path (GLM → Blender)​

  1. Parse GLM text format (Python)
  2. Extract vertices, faces, UVs, normals, bones, materials
  3. Create Blender mesh + armature + materials

Export Path (Blender → GLM → XBG)​

  1. Export from Blender to GLM text format
  2. Use Disrupt editor to compile GLM → XBG
  3. OR use our XBG exporter directly (bypasses GLM)

Alternative: Direct XBG Export​

Our blender-io-disrupt addon exports XBG directly from Blender, bypassing GLM entirely. GLM import is useful for:

  • Importing beta/source models not yet compiled to XBG
  • Editing existing GLM sources in the leak
  • Understanding model structure (GLM is human-readable)

Files​

  • Leak source: leak/ubisoft/data/graphics/ (72,758 GLM files)
  • Character models: leak/ubisoft/data/graphics/Characters/char/char01/char01.glm
  • Prop models: leak/ubisoft/data/graphics/buildings/door/DoorDouble_Commercial_01.glm