FF8/String Encoding

String Encoding

FF8 strings are converted to byte arrays.Char Table Some of which aligns to the grid of text in the texture if you -32 from the value. Some values are 1 byte = 2 characters, most are 1 byte = 1 character. There are also special bytes that use up 1-3 bytes.

Special Bytes

These bytes are points where things are inserted or a change in formatting. Some just say to ignore this string unless the player unlocked something.

Starting Byte	Size	Name	Description
0x00	1	NULL	End of string
0x02	1	\n	Inserts new line Some areas ignore this character.
0x03	2	Name	When see 0x03??, in a string, it's usually a characters name.
0x05	2	Icon	0x05?? used to draw a symbol from icons.tex, like controller buttons. On PC it draws the letter of keyboard keys assigned to the controls.
0x06	2	Color	0x06?? used to show a change in formatting like color
0x0A	2	Special_Value	0x0A?? can be a string or number value. Depending on which string you are reading it can be a different value.
0x0B	2 or 3	Cursor_Locations	Might be number of possible return values that determine whether this is 3 or 2 bytes. Like YES or NO questions will only be 2 bytes but screens with a list of multiple selections will will use 3 bytes.
0x0C	2	SpellID	Used to place a name of a spell.