Maps are stored in a binary file format called MBM (MadBomber Map). It consists of a header describing the map and a payload containing the tiles.

Header

The header has a total size of 7 bytes. The first 4 bytes will always describe the mbm Version, no matter which version the file is in.

Header Byte Position Description Example Content
0x00 - 0x02 Header start block. Always set to mbm. 0x4d424d
0x03 File Format Version. This document describes mbm1. 0x01
0x04 Map Size X Byte 0x10
0x05 Map Size Y Byte 0x10
0x06 Spawn Count 0x02
0x07, 0x08 Powerup Count, 16-bit 0x001f
0x09 Teleporter Count 0x02
0x0a, 0x0b Time Bomb Count, 16-bit 0x0001
0x0c, 0x0d Key Count, 16-bit 0x0001
0x0e Author Name Length 0x0f
0x0f Game Type Link Length 0x0d
0x10, 0x11 MapScript Trigger Count, 16-bit 0x000a
0x12, 0x13 MapScript Global Command Count, 16-bit 0x000d
0x14, 0x15 MapScript User Variable Count, 16-bit 0x0003
0x16, 0x17 Enemy Count, 16-bit 0x0005

Example Header 

4d 42 4d 01 10 10 02 00 1f 02 00 01 00 01 0f 0d 00 0a 0d 00 03

Payload

Spawn Block

The Spawn Block has 2 bytes for each spawn point. The high byte containing the X coordinate, and the low byte containing the Y coordinate. The order these are saved in correspond to the spawn point for Player 1, then Player 2, and so on.

Example Spawn Block 

0d 0d 04 04

This example Spawn Block describes spawn points for 2 players. The first player will spawn in the top right corner, 1 tile away from the map border. The second player will spawn on the tile south to the first player.

Tile Block

The Tile Block consists of a single byte for each Tile. This byte corresponds to the type of tile. The first X bytes of the payload correspond to the first row of tiles, the second X bytes of the payload correspond to the second row of tiles, and so on. The Tile Block size will be variable depending on the Map Size. See  for a list of IDs.

Powerup Block

The Powerup Block consists of 4 bytes for each Powerup. The bytes are structured as follows:

Byte Content
0x00, 0x01 Powerup type, see Powerups for exact IDs. 0x0000 represents a random powerup.
0x02 X Position
0x03 Y Position

Teleporter Block

The Teleporter Block consists of 4 bytes for each Teleporter. This Block stores Teleporter positions and their links. The bytes are structured as follows:

Byte Content
0x00 The ID of the target teleporter.
0x01 X Position
0x02 Y Position

Time Bomb Block

The Time Bomb Block consists of 4 bytes for each time Bomb. The stored values are the timer and the position in the following structure:

Byte Content
0x00, 0x01 16-bit Timer Value
0x02 X Position
0x03 Y Position

Key Block

The Time Bomb Block consists of 4 bytes for each Key (Powerup or Lock). Contains KeyID and position in the following structure:

Byte Content
0x00, KeyID
0x01 X Position
0x02 Y Position

Map Author

Just before the Game Type Link, the name of the map author will also be stored in plain text. This is simply for the purpose of knowing who made a specific map.

At the very end of the file can be the name of a gametype if one is linked. This will simply be plain text. Used for associating a game type with a map.

MapScript Block

The MapScript Block consists of three Parts, the Trigger Section, the Command Section and the Variable Section.

Trigger Section

A Trigger Section item begins with a single byte describing the Trigger Type. This determines how the following bytes will be structured.

ID Trigger Type Data Structure                
0x00 TimeTrigger Name Length
byte		 Name
string		 Trigger Time
float		 Command Count
ushort		 Commands
Command Subsection		        
0x01 MapTrigger Name Length
byte		 Name
string		 Condition
MapTriggerCondition		 TileX
byte		 TileY
byte		 AreaX
byte		 AreaY
byte		 Command Count
ushort		 Commands
Command Subsection
0x02 LoopTrigger Name Length
byte		 Name
string		 Trigger Time
float		 Loop Delay
float		 Command Count
ushort		 Commands
Command Subsection		      

Command Section

This section will appear multiple times. Every trigger will have a Command Subsection. Another Command Section will appear right after the Trigger Section, defining the Global Commands.

A Command Section begins with a single byte describing the Command Type. This determines how the following bytes will be structured.

ID Command Type Data Structure                          
0x00 ReplaceTile Name Length
byte		 Name
string		 Tile X Length
byte		 Tile X
string		 Tile Y Length
byte		 Tile Y
string		 Tile ID Length
byte		 Tile ID
string		            
0x01 SpawnPowerup Name Length
byte		 Name
string		 Tile X Length
byte		 Tile X
string		 Tile Y Length
byte		 Tile Y
string		 Powerup ID Length
byte		 Powerup ID
string		            
0x02 SpawnBomb Name Length
byte		 Name
string		 Tile X Length
byte		 Tile X
string		 Tile Y Length
byte		 Tile Y
string		 Powerup ID Length
byte		 Powerup ID
string		 Radius Length
byte		 Radius
string		 Burn Time Length
byte		 Burn Time
string		 Timer Length
byte		 Timer
string
0x03 SpawnTimeBomb Name Length
byte		 Name
string		 Tile X Length
byte		 Tile X
string		 Tile Y Length
byte		 Tile Y
string		 Timer Length
byte		 Timer
string		            
0x04 SpawnTimeDoor Name Length
byte		 Name
string		 Tile X Length
byte		 Tile X
string		 Tile Y Length
byte		 Tile Y
string		 Timer Length
byte		 Timer
string		            
0x05 SpawnLockedDoor Name Length
byte		 Name
string		 Tile X Length
byte		 Tile X
string		 Tile Y Length
byte		 Tile Y
string		 Key ID Length
byte		 Key ID
string		            
0x06 SpawnKey Name Length
byte		 Name
string		 Tile X Length
byte		 Tile X
string		 Tile Y Length
byte		 Tile Y
string		 Key ID Length
byte		 Key ID
string		            
0x07 Blast Name Length
byte		 Name
string		 Tile X Length
byte		 Tile X
string		 Tile Y Length
byte		 Tile Y
string		 BlastType ID Length
byte		 BlastType ID
string		 Radius Length
byte		 Radius
string		 Burn Time Length
byte		 Burn Time
string		    
0x08 PlayerMessage Name Length
byte		 Name
string		 Text Length
ushort		 Text
string		 Player ID Length
byte		 Player ID
string		 Duration Length
byte		 Duration
string		            
0x09 TileMessage Name Length
byte		 Name
string		 Text Length
ushort		 Text
string		 Tile X Length
byte		 Tile X
string		 Tile Y Length
byte		 Tile Y
string		 Duration Length
byte		 Duration
string		        
0x0a TickerMessage Name Length
byte		 Name
string		 Text Length
ushort		 Text
string		                    
0x0b RemoveBomb Name Length
byte		 Name
string		 Tile X Length
byte		 Tile X
string		 Tile Y Length
byte		 Tile Y
string		                
0x0c RemovePowerup Name Length
byte		 Name
string		 Tile X Length
byte		 Tile X
string		 Tile Y Length
byte		 Tile Y
string		                
0x0e Delay Name Length
byte		 Name
string		 Timer Length
byte		 Timer
string		                    
0x0f IfCondition Name Length
byte		 Name
string		 Operation
byte		 Value 1 Length
byte		 Value 1
string		 Value 2 Length
byte		 Value 2
string		 Link Count
ushort		 Command Link IDs
ushort(s)		          
0x10 LoopCommand Name Length
byte		 Name
string		 Loop Start Length
byte		 Loop Start
string		 Loop End Length
byte		 Loop End
string		 Loop Increment Length
byte		 Loop Increment
string		 Link Count
ushort		 Command Link IDs
ushort(s)		        
0x11 SetVariable Name Length
byte		 Name
string		 Variable Name Length
byte		 Variable Name
string		 Value Length
byte		 Value
string		                
0x12 SetLocalVariable Name Length
byte		 Name
string		 Variable Name Length
byte		 Variable Name
string		 Value Length
byte		 Value
string		                
0x13 TeleportPlayer Name Length
byte		 Name
string		 Player ID Length
byte		 Player ID
string		 Tile X Length
byte		 Tile X
string		 Tile Y Length
byte		 Tile Y
string		            
0x14 HitPlayer Name Length
byte		 Name
string		 Player ID Length
byte		 Player ID
string		                    
0x15 KillPlayer Name Length
byte		 Name
string		 Player ID Length
byte		 Player ID
string		                    
0x17 LinkCommand Name Length
byte		 Name
string		 Link Count
ushort		 Command Link IDs
ushort(s)		                    
0x18 StopRunner Name Length
byte		 Name
string		                        
0x19 StopTrigger Name Length
byte		 Name
string		                        
0x1a DisableTrigger Name Length
byte		 Name
string		                        
0x1b SetTemporaryVariable Name Length
byte		 Name
string		 Variable Name Length
byte		 Variable Name
string		 Value Length
byte		 Value
string		                

Variable Section

This section defines Variables for the User Space. The data of an entry is structured as follows.

Data Structure        
Name Length
byte		 Name
string		 Start Value
float		 Underflow Value
float		 Overflow Value
float

Enemy Block

The Teleporter Block consists of 4 bytes for each Enemy. Stores Enemy Types and their positions. The bytes are structured as follows:

Byte Content
0x00 Enemy Type, see Enemies
0x01 X Position
0x02 Y Position