DALib

DALib is a C# class library for Dark Ages and related games, targeting .NET 9 and .NET 10. It reads, renders, and writes the game's data formats.

Install

dotnet add package DALib --prerelease

What it does

Archives & maps

• .dat archives (read/write)
• .map map files

Graphics & assets

• Image formats: SPF, EPF, MPF, HPF, EFA
• Palettes and palette tables (.pal, .tbl): lookups, cycling, and the per-family palette conventions the client uses
• Ground tiles (isometric tile banks), HEA light maps, control/layout files, FNT fonts, and effect / tile-animation tables
• Rendering to SKImage / PNG via SkiaSharp

Networking

DALib also provides a DOOMVAS packet library DALib.Networking which includes typed packets, wire framing, and the wire "cryptography" (CRC, dialog obfuscation, per-connection state.

dotnet add package DALib.Networking

It has no dependency on DALib.

Companion tool

Foscail is a command-line tool built on DALib that unpacks .dat archives and converts assets to PNG / APNG / GIF:

dotnet tool install --global Foscail --prerelease

Notes

• Rendering on Linux requires SkiSharp native assets: add SkiaSharp.NativeAssets.Linux.NoDependencies to your application (base SkiaSharp ships only Windows/macOS natives).

License

MIT. See LICENSE and CONTRIBUTORS.md.