Gothic 2 .ZEN File Coordinate Flipper

This tool flips coordinates in Gothic 2 .zen world files to help with map mirroring modifications.

Features

• Flips trafoOSToWSPos (position vectors) across selected axes
• Flips position and direction (waypoint data)
• Flips bbox3DWS (bounding boxes) to maintain correct bounds
• Flips trafoOSToWSRot (rotation matrices) when using -rotation flag
• Supports X, Y, Z axis flipping individually or in combination
• Preserves original file formatting and encoding (UTF-8, Windows-1252, ASCII)
• Dry run mode to test file encoding without transformations

Building

Requires .NET 6.0 or later.

dotnet build -c Release

The executables will be in bin/Release/net6.0/

Verified Transformation

This tool has been verified against manual transformations. Here's a real example:

Original object:

bbox3DWS: 15557.8027 1032.73633 -27.5603027 16030.5684 1442.10681 465.1138
trafoOSToWSRot: 86972e3f00000000173a3b3f000000000000803f00000000173a3bbf0000000086972e3f
trafoOSToWSPos: 15794.1846 1215.23633 218.777618

After X-axis flip with -x -rotation:

bbox3DWS: -16030.5684 1032.73633 -27.5603027 -15557.8027 1442.10681 465.1138
trafoOSToWSRot: [negated first column of rotation matrix]
trafoOSToWSPos: -15794.1846 1215.23633 218.777618

The tool matches the manual transformation process exactly.

Usage

ZenFlipper <input.zen> <output.zen> [options]

Options

• -x - Flip X axis only (default if no option specified)
• -y - Flip Y axis only
• -z - Flip Z axis only
• -xy - Flip X and Y axes
• -xz - Flip X and Z axes
• -yz - Flip Y and Z axes
• -xyz - Flip all three axes

Examples

Flip along X axis (for mirroring left-right):

ZenFlipper NEWWORLD.ZEN NEWWORLD_FLIPPED.ZEN -x

Flip along Z axis:

ZenFlipper NEWWORLD.ZEN NEWWORLD_FLIPPED.ZEN -z

Flip along both X and Z axes:

ZenFlipper NEWWORLD.ZEN NEWWORLD_FLIPPED.ZEN -xz

What Gets Modified

The tool handles three types of coordinate data in .zen files:

1. Object Position Vectors (trafoOSToWSPos)

Used for regular game objects (items, sounds, NPCs, etc.)

Original:

trafoOSToWSPos=vec3:-1135.65906 -420.442902 5063.6123

After X-axis flip:

trafoOSToWSPos=vec3:1135.65906 -420.442902 5063.6123

2. Waypoint Positions (position)

Used for navigation waypoints (where NPCs walk, spawn points, etc.)

Original:

position=vec3:-153.670609 -125.461304 -1740.34607

After X-axis flip:

position=vec3:153.670609 -125.461304 -1740.34607

3. Waypoint Directions (direction)

Direction vectors that NPCs face at waypoints

Original:

direction=vec3:-0.615661502 0 0.788010716

After X-axis flip:

direction=vec3:0.615661502 0 0.788010716

4. Bounding Boxes (bbox3DWS)

Original:

bbox3DWS=rawFloat:-1735.65906 -1020.44287 4463.6123 -535.659058 179.557098 5663.6123

After X-axis flip (min/max values are swapped and negated):

bbox3DWS=rawFloat:535.659058 -1020.44287 4463.6123 1735.65906 179.557098 5663.6123

Gothic 2 Coordinate System

In Gothic 2's coordinate system:

• X axis: Left-Right (typically flipped for mirroring)
• Y axis: Up-Down (vertical)
• Z axis: Forward-Backward (depth)

Since you mentioned flipping the 3D world via X axis, use the -x option.

Troubleshooting Crashes

If Gothic 2 crashes when loading your flipped .zen file, try these steps:

Step 0: DRY RUN TEST (DO THIS FIRST!)

Before trying any transformations, test if file encoding/format is the issue:

# Build the dry run tool
cd ZenDryRun
dotnet build -c Release

# Test: Read and write the ORIGINAL file without changes
ZenDryRun ORIGINAL.ZEN TEST_OUTPUT.ZEN

This will:

• Detect the file encoding (UTF-8, Windows-1252, ASCII, etc.)
• Analyze line endings (CRLF vs LF)
• Write the file back unchanged
• Compare byte-for-byte to verify no corruption

Then test in Gothic 2:

1. If TEST_OUTPUT.ZEN loads fine → File format is OK, transformation is the issue
2. If TEST_OUTPUT.ZEN crashes → Original file may be corrupted OR encoding issue

If files are byte-identical but game still crashes: Your transformation logic needs adjustment (continue to Step 1 below)

If files differ: Encoding conversion occurred. The tool will suggest encoding options to try.

Step 1: Run the Diagnostic Tool

First, analyze your flipped .zen file to identify issues:

ZenDiagnostic NEWWORLD_FLIPPED.ZEN

This will show you:

• Invalid bounding boxes (where min > max)
• Coordinate ranges and distributions
• Suggested axis to flip

Step 2: Common Issues and Solutions

Error: "UNHANDLED EXCEPTION" or crash on load

This usually means:

1. Wrong axis flipped - Try -z instead of -x, or vice versa
2. Rotation matrices need flipping - Add -rotation flag
3. Bounding boxes are invalid - The diagnostic tool will detect this

Objects appear but in wrong locations

• Your mesh flip and coordinate flip are using different axes
• Make sure both use the same axis (e.g., both X or both Z)

World loads but looks corrupted

• Try adding the -rotation flag to flip rotation matrices too

Step 3: Systematic Testing

Test different combinations in this order:

# Test 1: X-axis only
ZenFlipper original.zen test1.zen -x

# Test 2: Z-axis only  
ZenFlipper original.zen test2.zen -z

# Test 3: X-axis with rotation
ZenFlipper original.zen test3.zen -x -rotation

# Test 4: Z-axis with rotation
ZenFlipper original.zen test4.zen -z -rotation

Load each test file in Gothic 2 to see which works.

Step 4: Use Preview Mode

Before applying changes, preview what will happen:

ZenFlipper input.zen -preview -x

This shows the first 5 transformations without modifying the file.

Updated Usage Examples

Preview changes before applying:

ZenFlipper NEWWORLD.ZEN -preview -x

Apply X-axis flip:

ZenFlipper NEWWORLD.ZEN NEWWORLD_FLIPPED.ZEN -x

Apply with rotation matrices:

ZenFlipper NEWWORLD.ZEN NEWWORLD_FLIPPED.ZEN -x -rotation

Verbose output to see changes:

ZenFlipper NEWWORLD.ZEN NEWWORLD_FLIPPED.ZEN -x -verbose

Testing

Always test with a small portion of your world first:

1. Make a backup of your original .zen file
2. Run the tool with your desired axis
3. Load the world in Gothic 2 to verify correct placement
4. If objects appear in wrong positions, try a different axis combination

Troubleshooting

Objects appear on the wrong side:

• Try -x if you used -z, or vice versa

Objects are upside down:

• Try adding or removing -y from your axis combination

Objects are in completely wrong positions:

• Verify you flipped the 3D meshes using the same axis
• Check that both the mesh flip and coordinate flip use matching axes