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Magic: The Gathering — MTG 1997, Duels of the Planeswalkers, MTG Arena

Source: XeNTaX forum knowledge extraction (2007–2023). Covers MicroProse MTG (1997), DotP 2009–2014 (.cat archives), MTG Arena (Unity AssetBundles).

1. Games & Engines​

GameYearEngine / PlatformArchive Format
Magic: The Gathering (MicroProse / Shandalar)1997Custom (DOS/Win95).cat
Duels of the Planeswalkers (DotP 2009/2012/2013/2014)2009+Custom (Xbox 360/PS3/PC).cat
Magic: The Gathering Arena2017+Unity (C#).bundle / Unity AssetBundles

2. Classic MTG / Duels of the Planeswalkers — .cat Archives​

Archive Format (.cat)​

  • Games: MicroProse MTG (1997), DotP 2009–2014
  • Structure: Simple container, no compression (or custom)
  • File naming: Internal names end with .tif (TIFF) but headerless
  • Magic/Header: Files start with 0001 0000 9C00 0000 (version=1, offset=0x9C=156)
  • Filename: Null-terminated string at offset 8, ends with .tif

Extracted File Format (Card Art)​

  • Format: Headerless TIFF (missing TIFF/IFF header)
  • Common header bytes:
0001 0000 9C00 0000 4602 0000 D301 0000 2001 0000 E800 0000 0900 0000 0100 0000 0000 0000
  • 0001 = version
  • 9C00 = 156 = header size
  • 4602 = 582 = width?
  • D301 = 467 = height?
  • 2001 = 288 = ?
  • E800 = 232 = ?
  • 0900 = 9 = bits per sample?
  • 0100 = 1 = samples per pixel?
  • Data marker: 0080 precedes pixel data
  • Compression: Unknown (possibly custom or uncompressed)

Tools & Extraction​

ToolNotes
GameExtractorExtracts .cat — output files unusable
MultiEx-CommanderExtracts .cat — same issue
HexWorkshopManual analysis — can see .tif names in hex
Custom fixerAdd TIFF header (II* or MM*) → viewable in TIFF viewers

Header Reconstruction (Silver / Matsy, 2007)​

  • Confirmed headerless TIFF
  • Fix: Prepend standard TIFF header:
  • Little-endian: 49 49 2A 00 (II*) + IFD offset
  • Big-endian: 4D 4D 00 2A (MM*) + IFD offset
  • IFD: Must describe width, height, compression, photometric, etc. from header bytes

Archives Mentioned​

  • medart.cat — medium card art
  • smallart.cat — small card art
  • Extracted files named 00001.tif, 0508c.tif, etc.

3. Magic: The Gathering Arena (Unity)​

Engine​

  • Engine: Unity (2017+)
  • Platform: Windows, macOS, mobile
  • Archive: Unity AssetBundles (.bundle, .assets, .resS)

Audio Format​

  • Likely: Wwise (.bnk, .pck) or FMOD — standard Unity middleware
  • Tools:
  • AssetStudio — extract AudioClips from AssetBundles
  • Wwise CLI / bnkextr — decode .bnk/.pck
  • vgmstream — playback

General Unity Modding Tools​

ToolPurpose
AssetStudiogithub.com/Perfare/AssetStudio — extract models, textures, audio, scripts
UABEUnity Assets Bundle Extractor — edit/replace assets
Il2CppDumperDump C# metadata (if IL2CPP)
UnityPyPython library for AssetBundle parsing

4. Key Repositories & Tools​

ToolGamePurpose
GameExtractor / MultiExMTG 1997, DotPExtract .cat archives
HexWorkshop / 010 EditorMTG 1997, DotPManual header reconstruction
AssetStudioMTG ArenaExtract Unity AssetBundles
UABEMTG ArenaEdit/replace Unity assets
Wwise / FMOD toolsMTG ArenaAudio extraction
Il2CppDumperMTG ArenaCode analysis

5. Gaps / Unresolved​

Classic MTG / DotP​

  • TIFF header reconstruction: No automated tool — manual per file
  • Compression: Unknown if pixel data compressed (LZW? custom?)
  • Palette/color space: Not documented (RGB? CMYK? indexed?)
  • Multiple images per file: 0001 suggests single; 0508c suggests multiple?
  • Card data: Card stats, text, mechanics — not in .cat (separate format?)

MTG Arena​

  • AssetBundle encryption: None reported (standard Unity)
  • Audio middleware: Confirmed Wwise? FMOD? Both?
  • Card art/models: High-res extraction via AssetStudio — works
  • Game logic: C# (IL2CPP on mobile) — dumpable

6. Cross-References​

  • TIFF format: Standard — libtiff, ImageMagick
  • Unity AssetBundles: Generic — Unity modding docs
  • Wwise/FMOD: Standard middleware — audio RE docs
  • QuickBMS: May have .cat script — check aluigi.org
  • 010 Editor templates: Reusable for headerless TIFF
  1. Write TIFF header fixer (Python): Read .cat extract → parse header bytes → prepend valid TIFF header → save
  2. Test AssetStudio on MTG Arena — should extract card art, models, audio directly
  3. Check QuickBMS for .cat script — may automate extraction
  4. Document .cat structure fully — build QuickBMS script if missing