Dialog.txt

TLK file format

 FileExtension :
                       TLK (Talk Table)
 Content :
                       Description of TLK V.1
 History :
                       File done by IEFFHP
 Update :
                       Manveru 06.09.2001 


Description

Each Infinity Engine game has at least one TLK file with it. Only one of these files will be used at a time. These files
contain several strings (with some associated information) which are looked up by a 32-bit identifier called a "Strref"
(String Reference). If the designer wishes to replace all the dialog (for instance, to translate to another language), it is a
very simple matter of replacing just one file, (sound files not included). Anyway, this is a very straightforward file format.
To find a particular string, use the Strref as a 0-based index into the table of entries.

According to the BioWare developers this kind of file was named there as "Talk Table"

TLK file versions

     V1: Baldur's Gate, Planescape: Torment, Icewind Dale 

TLK V1

Overall structure

     Header 
     Entries 
     Strings section 

TLK V1 Header

     Offset
                     Size (data type)
                                                                Description
 0x0000
               4 (char array)
                                       Signature ('TLK ')
 0x0004
               4 (char array)
                                       Version ('V1 ')
 0x0008
               2 (word)
                                       unknown (always 0?)
 0x000a
               4 (dword)
                                       Number of Strref entries in this file.
 0x000e
               4 (dword)
                                       Offset to string data


TLK V1 Entries

This section is hardcoded to start at byte 18 from the beginning of the file. The string offsets are relative to the strings
section.

  Offset
         Size (data type)
                                       Description
 0x0000
        2 (word)
                          00 - No message data 
                          01 - Text exists
                          02 - Sound exists
                          03 - Standard message 
                          07 - Message with tags (for instance
                          <CHARNAME>) 
 0x0002
        8 (resref)
                     resource name of the associated sound, if any
 0x000a
        4 (dword)
                     Volume variance.
 0x000e
        4 (dword)
                     Pitch variance.
 0x0012
        4 (dword)
                     offset of this string relative to the strings section
 0x0016
        4 (dword)
                     length of this string


TLK V1 Strings

This section is entirely composed of ASCIIZ strings. All the indexing for these strings is done in the strref entries section.


text: 0A = (crlf)
change all 0d0a to 0a (remove 0d)