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Trackmania / Maniaplanet — GBX, Pak & Model Formats

Source: XeNTaX forum knowledge extraction (2013–2023). Covers GBX file format, NadeoPak archives, model/audio extraction.

1. GBX File Format​

GBX is the proprietary format used by Nadeo games (Trackmania, Maniaplanet).

Format Characteristics​

  • Binary format; text variants exist in older games (e.g., TM Nations ESWC game config)
  • Content is serialized objects with an additional header describing the main object type
  • File magic: ASCII string GBX (3 bytes) at offset 0
  • Extension sometimes lowercase (.gbx)

Double-Extension Naming​

ExtensionContents
.Map.GbxMap file
.Replay.GbxReplay
.Pack.GbxTitle / content pack (the Pak format)

2. Pak Archives (NadeoPak)​

TrackMania Turbo (Maniaplanet4, 2016) uses Nadeo's proprietary Pak format; header identifies it as NadeoPak r18 container.

Protection / Encryption​

  • As of 2016: no working extractors for Maniaplanet Paks — archives are protected by a key, apparently Blowfish encryption
  • Maniaplanet forum tool (v1.57) expected to support r18 Paks, but only reads headers and shows no data
  • PAK specification documented on community wiki (en.tm-wiki.org/wiki/PAK), but no working extractor found

3. Extracting 3D Level Parts​

Whole-Level Ripping​

  • dxripper extracts a Trackmania 2 level as one single mesh, but cannot produce individual level parts with correct file names

GBX → OBJ Conversion​

  • After unpacking, level parts appear as .gbx files; converting to OBJ was requested repeatedly
  • Via Noesis script or Blender script

4. Noesis GBX Plugin / Script (t=24378, 2021–2023)​

Origin​

Noesis plugin for .gbx from VG Resource forums (vg-resource.com/thread-37380.html), written by Tuliopilloto, tested only against a single sample file.

Known Limitations​

LimitationDetail
ASCII GBX unsupportedPlugin fails on ASCII-variant .gbx files
Decompressed GBX partial supportCannot read some/most cars after GBX decompression; errors like uv size
Single sub-mesh onlyShakotay2's patched script loads one sub mesh; fails on MainbodyHigh.Solid.Decompressed.Gbx
Clumped mesh problemAll vertices appear at same location — vertices need transformation with bone transformation info
Mesh countMesh-amount problem fixed by user, but remaining issues persisted

Mesh Layout Hints (from shakotay2's patched script)​

header: "GBX" magic (3 bytes)
seek +0x89 (relative) -> NumMeshes (uint32)
per mesh:
 pattern search \x0E\x60\x00\x09\x38\x00\x00 -> mesh block
 MaterialName: 8 bytes ASCII
 VCount: uint32
 UVs: VCount * 8 bytes (float2, stride 8)
 Vertex buffer: FVF size 40 bytes per vertex (position float3 + ...)
 FCount: uint32
 Indices: FCount * 2 bytes (uint16, triangles)

Note: Fails on MainbodyHigh.Solid.Decompressed.Gbx; no working sample accompanied the script, limiting further debugging.

Textures​

Some samples extracted from mappacks contain no embedded textures — textures stored separately, "like Table Top Racing stores it in .amodel".

5. Audio Ripping (TrackMania Turbo)​

TrackMania Turbo's car sounds packed inside proprietary Pak format (not ZIP); unpacking blocked by Blowfish protection as of 2016.

6. Tools Reference​

ToolPurposeNotes
dxripperRips whole level as single meshNo per-part filenames
Noesis + Tuliopilloto's .gbx pluginGBX model import → OBJFrom vg-resource.com thread-37380; ASCII GBX unsupported; partial decompressed-GBX support
Maniaplanet forum tool (v1.57)Pak extractionReads headers only; no data shown on r18
en.tm-wiki.org/wiki/PAKPAK spec documentationWiki spec only; no working extractor found

Key Facts​

  • GBX magic: GBX (3 bytes at offset 0)
  • Pak format: NadeoPak r18, Blowfish encrypted
  • No working Pak extractor as of 2023
  • GBX mesh structure: ~40 bytes/vertex (FVF), uint16 indices, 8-byte material name
  • Textures: Stored separately (not in GBX)
  • Audio: Inside encrypted Pak