• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 06:55
CEST 12:55
KST 19:55
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
[ASL21] Ro24 Preview Pt2: News Flash8[ASL21] Ro24 Preview Pt1: New Chaos0Team Liquid Map Contest #22 - Presented by Monster Energy13ByuL: The Forgotten Master of ZvT30Behind the Blue - Team Liquid History Book20
Community News
Weekly Cups (March 23-29): herO takes triple6Aligulac acquired by REPLAYMAN.com/Stego Research6Weekly Cups (March 16-22): herO doubles, Cure surprises3Blizzard Classic Cup @ BlizzCon 2026 - $100k prize pool49Weekly Cups (March 9-15): herO, Clem, ByuN win4
StarCraft 2
General
Weekly Cups (March 23-29): herO takes triple Aligulac acquired by REPLAYMAN.com/Stego Research Team Liquid Map Contest #22 - Presented by Monster Energy What mix of new & old maps do you want in the next ladder pool? (SC2) herO wins SC2 All-Star Invitational
Tourneys
Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament RSL Season 4 announced for March-April StarCraft Evolution League (SC Evo Biweekly) WardiTV Mondays World University TeamLeague (500$+) | Signups Open
Strategy
Custom Maps
[M] (2) Frigid Storage Publishing has been re-enabled! [Feb 24th 2026]
External Content
Mutation # 519 Inner Power The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 518 Radiation Zone Mutation # 517 Distant Threat
Brood War
General
Pros React To: SoulKey vs Ample BW General Discussion Build Order Practice Maps [ASL21] Ro24 Preview Pt2: News Flash BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/
Tourneys
[ASL21] Ro24 Group F [ASL21] Ro24 Group E 🌍 Weekly Foreign Showmatches [ASL21] Ro24 Group B
Strategy
Fighting Spirit mining rates What's the deal with APM & what's its true value Simple Questions, Simple Answers
Other Games
General Games
Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Starcraft Tabletop Miniature Game Nintendo Switch Thread General RTS Discussion Thread Darkest Dungeon
Dota 2
The Story of Wings Gaming Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
G2 just beat GenG in First stand
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
Mafia Game Mode Feedback/Ideas TL Mafia Community Thread Five o'clock TL Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Canadian Politics Mega-thread Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine The Games Industry And ATVI European Politico-economics QA Mega-thread
Fan Clubs
The IdrA Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
[Manga] One Piece [Req][Books] Good Fantasy/SciFi books Movie Discussion!
Sports
2024 - 2026 Football Thread Formula 1 Discussion Cricket [SPORT] Tokyo Olympics 2021 Thread General nutrition recommendations
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
[G] How to Block Livestream Ads
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Funny Nicknames
LUCKY_NOOB
Money Laundering In Video Ga…
TrAiDoS
Iranian anarchists: organize…
XenOsky
FS++
Kraekkling
Shocked by a laser…
Spydermine0240
ASL S21 English Commentary…
namkraft
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 11512 users

1.18 replay format - compression

Forum Index > BW General
Post a Reply
1 2 3 Next All
LoneySoul7
Profile Joined April 2017
4 Posts
Last Edited: 2017-04-02 21:53:51
April 02 2017 21:50 GMT
#1
Hello,

I run a website that serves as a league for a small community of players (somewhere around 100 active players) for a custom map on StarCraft. A necessary component of the league is the ability to parse replays that are uploaded and provide game statistics. Only the replay header information is necessary.

From my 1.18 testing, it seems as though the replays are not backwards compatible with 1.16. In particular, the replay header, which previously used a variant of PKWARE's implode algorithm for compression, now uses something different. As a result, I am not able to parse 1.18 replays, and this would be fatal to the league, and possibly to our small community. A workaround has been prepared that entails manual watching of replays and filling in the necessary information, but this is not sustainable in the long run.

I have been trying to find out what compression algorithm this is, or how to decompress, with no luck. Is there anyone who has this information? Is it one of Blizzard's secrets or can this be public knowledge? If I contacted Blizzard directly, what are the chances that they would provide this information?

Thanks and regards,
LML
Profile Blog Joined March 2007
Germany1781 Posts
April 02 2017 22:56 GMT
#2
On April 03 2017 06:50 LoneySoul7 wrote:
If I contacted Blizzard directly, what are the chances that they would provide this information?


Try it and you will find out. I guess it doesn't hurt. It will give you a definite answer, and on top of that you can share it here with people who may run into the same issue.
LML
LoneySoul7
Profile Joined April 2017
4 Posts
April 03 2017 03:48 GMT
#3
What is the best/easiest way to contact Blizzard for something like this? Filing a customer support ticket doesn't seem quite appropriate for something like this. I've never done anything like this before, so pardon my ignorance.
Jealous
Profile Blog Joined December 2011
10308 Posts
April 03 2017 04:12 GMT
#4
Why not just stay with 1.16 if worst comes to worst? Seems like you already have a dedicated community from what I understand, nothing really has to change for you guys.

It would be nice if Blizzard did release that info, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
"The right to vote is only the oar of the slaveship, I wanna be free." -- бум бум сучка!
xboi209
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United States1173 Posts
April 03 2017 04:41 GMT
#5
They're not just going to release that information
http://www.reddit.com/r/broodwar/
writer22816
Profile Blog Joined September 2008
United States5775 Posts
April 03 2017 07:14 GMT
#6
On April 03 2017 07:56 LML wrote:
Show nested quote +
On April 03 2017 06:50 LoneySoul7 wrote:
If I contacted Blizzard directly, what are the chances that they would provide this information?


Try it and you will find out. I guess it doesn't hurt. It will give you a definite answer, and on top of that you can share it here with people who may run into the same issue.


this but i wouldnt hold my breath
8/4/12 never forget, never forgive.
Dakota_Fanning *
Profile Joined January 2008
Hungary2364 Posts
Last Edited: 2017-04-03 08:29:04
April 03 2017 08:28 GMT
#7
Please send me 1.18 replays, and I take a look.
+ Show Spoiler [My email is] +
[image loading]
https://repmastered.icza.net
mo0n_sniper
Profile Joined March 2017
Romania6 Posts
April 03 2017 08:48 GMT
#8
You can post in the starcraft forum. Some devs read the forum and post there.
https://us.battle.net/forums/en/starcraft/
Entaro Adun
Dakota_Fanning *
Profile Joined January 2008
Hungary2364 Posts
April 03 2017 10:33 GMT
#9
Can anyone send me 1.18 replays?
+ Show Spoiler [My email is] +
[image loading]
https://repmastered.icza.net
LoneySoul7
Profile Joined April 2017
4 Posts
Last Edited: 2017-04-03 19:48:52
April 03 2017 19:48 GMT
#10
@Dakota_Fanning, I've sent you replays by email.

@mo0n_sniper, I cannot seem to be able to make threads on that forum. There is a dialog saying "BattleTag Required", even though I already made one, and I clearly see it on my account settings... tried clearing cookies, restarting browser; nothing worked
Stilwell
Profile Joined April 2017
1 Post
Last Edited: 2017-04-04 08:31:11
April 04 2017 06:54 GMT
#11
Loney,

The devs read TL as well. Posting it here might get a reply, and they'll help you troubleshoot posting on their forums as well.

Cheers
Dakota_Fanning *
Profile Joined January 2008
Hungary2364 Posts
Last Edited: 2017-04-04 19:18:05
April 04 2017 17:25 GMT
#12
On April 04 2017 04:48 LoneySoul7 wrote:
@Dakota_Fanning, I've sent you replays by email.

@mo0n_sniper, I cannot seem to be able to make threads on that forum. There is a dialog saying "BattleTag Required", even though I already made one, and I clearly see it on my account settings... tried clearing cookies, restarting browser; nothing worked

Thanks for the reps. I have analyzed them and I have good news for you.

It turns out Blizzard made 1.18 replays somewhat easier to "read". As mentioned, pre-1.18 replays used a modified PKWARE implode compression algorithm, and since 1.18, the compressed data blocks start with the 78 9C bytes, which are zlib magic headers:

78 9C - Default compression


I've tested it and they are indeed standard zlib compressed blocks.

Not sure if you're working on your own replay parsing lib, but I'm preparing something for SC-BW 1.18 and SC:R as well (it sort of became my habit... ).
https://repmastered.icza.net
cysin
Profile Joined February 2006
China4 Posts
April 06 2017 14:01 GMT
#13
@Dakota_Fanning Any further findings? Looks like 1.18 replays consists of zlib compressed blocks. Would you please share the replay format if you have dumped it?
jca2 *
Profile Joined March 2006
France52 Posts
April 15 2017 23:33 GMT
#14
Hi there,

digged up my old bwchart source code and added the zlib stuff for 1.18. Here is a little alpha version of it, if anyone is interested.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/og3vbnwvueihypp/bwchart200b.exe?dl=0

I don't have the latest source code of bwchart, the one that was modified after I made it open source, so this version will miss all the updates that have been done since. If someone can point me out where the most recent source code is, I could add the zlib stuff in that version too.

Happy Easter!

APM? Never heard of it...
andiCR
Profile Blog Joined March 2008
Costa Rica2273 Posts
April 19 2017 23:10 GMT
#15
I was looking for this, thanks jca!
Nightmare1795 wrote: I played a guy in bronze who said he was Japanese. That was the only game I ever dropped a nuke, which was purely coincidental.
andiCR
Profile Blog Joined March 2008
Costa Rica2273 Posts
April 19 2017 23:10 GMT
#16
jca, could you just host your version of the code on github and let the community branch/fill in the blanks?
Nightmare1795 wrote: I played a guy in bronze who said he was Japanese. That was the only game I ever dropped a nuke, which was purely coincidental.
cysin
Profile Joined February 2006
China4 Posts
April 20 2017 00:30 GMT
#17
@jca2, could you please open source your code? Thanks
Jealous
Profile Blog Joined December 2011
10308 Posts
April 23 2017 00:10 GMT
#18
Keeps telling me that some perfectly functional replays are corrupt ): Perhaps because they are from PTR, but 1.18 plays them just fine.
"The right to vote is only the oar of the slaveship, I wanna be free." -- бум бум сучка!
Milzo
Profile Joined March 2004
France656 Posts
April 23 2017 17:15 GMT
#19
jca still going strong after all these years! Merci beaucoup
rich-
Profile Joined February 2008
United States144 Posts
April 23 2017 17:51 GMT
#20
Nice job guys.I wonder if blizzard will patch the compatibility and allow viewing of old replays in sc:r.

Dakota are you back playing bgh yet? we should get a bgh tournament going to kick off sc:r.
The games I've played on east were pretty low, but channel )v( was back.
1 2 3 Next All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Afreeca Starleague
10:00
Ro24 Group F
BeSt vs Leta
Queen vs Jaedong
Afreeca ASL 8767
StarCastTV_EN289
LiquipediaDiscussion
Replay Cast
09:00
KungFu Cup 2026 Week 2
CranKy Ducklings107
LiquipediaDiscussion
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
RotterdaM 136
ProTech122
SortOf 114
Lowko98
Rex 16
StarCraft: Brood War
Calm 10805
Bisu 4659
Flash 2768
EffOrt 635
Soma 373
Stork 354
Mini 309
actioN 303
Hyuk 265
Zeus 244
[ Show more ]
PianO 237
Hyun 175
Soulkey 146
Dewaltoss 126
Sharp 120
Rush 114
ggaemo 104
Mind 97
Last 83
hero 77
JYJ 70
Killer 61
ToSsGirL 53
Shine 47
scan(afreeca) 39
sSak 37
Snow 28
Shinee 27
JulyZerg 27
Barracks 24
yabsab 17
Sacsri 16
Hm[arnc] 16
Terrorterran 14
soO 13
Noble 12
GoRush 9
ajuk12(nOOB) 8
Movie 6
Dota 2
XaKoH 599
canceldota203
League of Legends
Reynor47
Counter-Strike
olofmeister2020
shoxiejesuss898
byalli464
zeus401
x6flipin170
edward65
Other Games
singsing1348
crisheroes205
Sick198
B2W.Neo54
Organizations
Other Games
gamesdonequick529
StarCraft: Brood War
UltimateBattle 227
StarCraft 2
WardiTV27
StarCraft: Brood War
lovetv 11
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 14 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• CranKy Ducklings SOOP2
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• iopq 2
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
League of Legends
• Jankos1519
Other Games
• WagamamaTV169
Upcoming Events
Kung Fu Cup
5m
RotterdaM136
Replay Cast
13h 5m
The PondCast
23h 5m
OSC
1d 13h
RSL Revival
1d 23h
TriGGeR vs Cure
ByuN vs Rogue
Replay Cast
2 days
RSL Revival
2 days
Maru vs MaxPax
BSL
3 days
RSL Revival
3 days
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
4 days
[ Show More ]
BSL
4 days
Replay Cast
5 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
5 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

CSL Season 20: Qualifier 1
WardiTV Winter 2026
NationLESS Cup

Ongoing

BSL Season 22
CSL Elite League 2026
ASL Season 21
CSL Season 20: Qualifier 2
RSL Revival: Season 4
Nations Cup 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 1
BLAST Open Spring 2026
ESL Pro League S23 Finals
ESL Pro League S23 Stage 1&2
PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026
IEM Kraków 2026
BLAST Bounty Winter 2026
BLAST Bounty Winter Qual

Upcoming

Escore Tournament S2: W1
CSL 2026 SPRING (S20)
Acropolis #4
IPSL Spring 2026
BSL 22 Non-Korean Championship
CSLAN 4
Kung Fu Cup 2026 Grand Finals
HSC XXIX
uThermal 2v2 2026 Main Event
StarCraft2 Community Team League 2026 Spring
IEM Cologne Major 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 2
CS Asia Championships 2026
IEM Atlanta 2026
Asian Champions League 2026
PGL Astana 2026
BLAST Rivals Spring 2026
CCT Season 3 Global Finals
IEM Rio 2026
PGL Bucharest 2026
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.