Pollen Metadata
Pollen Metadata is a format used to store metadata for Spore assets (creations).
The following is included in Pollen Metadata:
- Name
- The asset’s name.
- Author
- The username and user ID of the author.
- Asset ID
- All Spore assets have a 12-digit ID, uniquely identifying them on the server. Read more…
- Description
- Asset’s description, as set in the editor.
- Tags
- Asset’s tags, as set in the editor.
- Consequence traits
- The “traits” assigned to a creature at the end of the first four stages, and at the start of the Space stage.
- Timestamp
- The time the asset was saved, in seconds since AD 1.
- Type
- The type of asset.
- Parent Asset ID
- If the asset was edited, the ID of the “parent” asset is stored, to track lineage.
- Other IDs
- Group ID and Instance ID uniquely identify the asset within your own game’s files.
- Machine ID, believed to identify you or your computer. Purpose unknown.
Note that parts and paints are not stored in this data. That data is stored in the Spore Model format.
Use in Spore PNGs
This metadata is included inside Spore PNG data, as a header, prefixing the Spore Model XML.
The metadata has the following format:
| Length | Type | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | String | Always “spore”. Simply identifies the data as being from Spore. | |
| 4 | Int | Metadata version | 5 for Creature Creator. 6 for full game (adds support for Parent assets). No other versions have been seen. |
| 8 | Hex | Type ID* | Type of asset. |
| 8 | Hex | Group ID* | ID of asset’s folder inside editorSaves.package. Corresponds to asset type. |
| 8 | Hex | Instance ID | ID of asset inside editorSaves.package. |
| 8 | Hex | Machine ID | Constant for user/machine? Purpose unknown. |
| 16 | Hex | Asset ID | Uniquely identifies this asset on the server. May be null (-1) if offline. |
| 16 | Hex | Parent ID | Indicates the “parent” asset’s ID, if this creation was edited. Used for lineage. Only present if version is 6. |
| 16 | Hex | Timestamp | Time when asset was saved. Seconds since AD 1. |
| 2 | Hex | Length of author’s username. | |
| * | String | Username | Author’s username. May be computer username if offline. |
| 16 | Hex | User ID | Uniquely identifies user on the server. May be null (-1) if offline. |
| 2 | Hex | Length of asset’s name. | |
| * | String | Name | Asset’s name, as set in editor. |
| 3 | Hex | Length of description. | |
| * | String | Description | As set in editor. NOT updated if the description is changed on Spore.com. |
| 2 | Hex | Length of tags. | |
| * | String | Tags | As set in editor. NOT updated if the tags are changed on Spore.com. |
| 2 | Hex | Number of consequence traits (stages completed). Will be 0 for non-creatures. | |
| *8 | Hex | Consequence Traits* | An 8-length hex ID for each consequence trait this creature has. Only present for creatures. |
*These 8-length hex values are hashes. Use SporeModder FX’s Utilities tab to convert hashes into names.
Most other hex values should be converted to decimal values. Windows Calculator (Programmer mode) or SporeModder FX (Utilities tab) can do this.
PNG Examples
Creature example
spore00062b978c4640626200182183d70190b84d00000074a91fa01900000074a91fa0130000000ed18afdbf09DOGC_Kyle0000007476707e6505Kylon036From Planet Kylia. Part of the Spore Multiplayer Game.1aset:dogckylon, multiplayer0217e5ef84cfb01b93
| Name | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| “spore” | “spore” | |
| Metadata version | 0006 | This asset is from the full game. |
| Type ID | 2b978c46 |
This is a creature. Its model has a .crt file extension. |
| Group ID | 40626200 |
This asset is in the creature_editorModel~ folder in editorSaves.package. |
| Instance ID | 182183d7 |
This asset has an ID of 182183d7 inside the creature_editorModel~ folder. |
| Machine ID | 0190b84d |
Purpose unknown. |
| Asset ID | 00000074a91fa019 |
Converts to 501,053,628,441. Can be used to find this creation on the server: http://www.spore.com/sporepedia#qry=sast-501053628441 |
| Parent ID | 00000074a91fa013 |
Converts to 501,053,628,435. Can be used to find parent creation on the server: http://www.spore.com/sporepedia#qry=sast-501053628435 |
| Timestamp | 0000000ed18afdbf |
Converts to 63,645,089,215. This can be converted to a date and time: Tuesday, October 31, 2017 11:26:55 PM |
| Username Length | 09 |
Converts to 9. The author’s username is 9 characters long. |
| Username | DOGC_Kyle |
This creation was made by DOGC_Kyle. |
| User ID | 0000007476707e65 |
Identifies DOGC_Kyle on the server. Rarely used. |
| Name Length | 05 |
Converts to 5. The creation’s name is 5 characters long. |
| Name | Kylon |
The creation’s name is Kylon. |
| Description Length | 036 |
Converts to 54. The description is 54 characters long. |
| Description | The creation has the following description: “From Planet Kylia. Part of the Spore Multiplayer Game.” | |
| Tags Length | 1a |
Converts to 26. The tags are 26 characters long. |
| Tags | The creation has the following tags: “set:dogckylon, multiplayer” | |
| Traits Length | 02 |
This creature has completed two stages, and therefore has acquired two consequence traits. |
| Traits | 17e5ef84 & cfb01b93 |
These are IDs of the two consequence traits this creature has: crg_attack (Predator) and clg_meat (Carnivore). |
Use in Package Files
A similar format is used inside of various Spore package files (DBPFs/database packed files), including Spore_Content.package (Maxis creations) and editorSaves.package (creations made locally).
The metadata for an asset is in its own file, with an extension of .pollen_metadata. .pmet is also believed to be a valid extension. A hex editor is needed to view and edit the data.
The metadata has the following format for player assets:
| Length | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Version? | Unknown. Could be a version, could be a length. If lower than 7 or greater than 13, game discards file. Maxis uses 10, player creations use 13. |
| 8 | Asset ID | Uniquely identifies this asset on the server. May be null (-1) if offline. |
| 4 | Type ID* | Type of asset. |
| 4 | Group ID* | ID of asset’s folder inside editorSaves.package. Corresponds to asset type. |
| 4 | Instance ID | ID of asset inside editorSaves.package. |
| 4 | Parent Type ID* | Type of parent asset. |
| 4 | Parent Group ID* | ID of parent asset’s folder inside editorSaves.package. Corresponds to asset type. |
| 4 | Parent Instance ID | ID of parent asset inside editorSaves.package. |
| 8 | Parent ID | Indicates the “parent” asset’s ID, if this creation was edited. Used for lineage. |
| 8 | Original Parent ID | Indicates the oldest, original “parent” asset’s ID, if this creation was edited. Used for lineage. |
| 8 | Time Created | Time when asset was created. Seconds since AD 1. |
| 8 | Time Downloaded | Time when asset was downloaded. Seconds since AD 1. |
| 4 | Localization | When 0000 (player creations), author/name/description are specified here. When FFFF (Maxis creations), localization values are specified instead. See below. |
| 8 | User ID | Uniquely identifies user on the server. May be null (-1) if offline. |
| 4 | Length of author’s username. | |
| * | Username | Author’s username. May be computer username if offline. |
| 4 | Length of asset’s name. | |
| * | Name | Asset’s name, as set in editor. |
| 4 | Length of description. | |
| * | Description | As set in editor. NOT updated if the description is changed on Spore.com. |
| 4 | Number of next data? | |
| *4 | Length of next data? | |
| ** | Data | Author’s username, various Spore.com atom feed IDs. Purpose unknown, possibly used for sorting the Sporepedia. |
| 4 | Localization | When 0000 (player creations), tags are specified here. When FFFF (Maxis creations), localization values are specified instead. See below. |
| 4 | Number of tags. | |
| *4 | Length of tag. | |
| ** | Tag | As set in editor. NOT updated if the tags are changed on Spore.com. |
| 4 | Shareable? | Indicates whether the asset can be shared. Will be 0000 for player creations (in editorSaves.package), and FFFF for all other creations. Needs more testing to confirm. |
| 4 | Number of consequence traits (stages completed). Will be 0 for non-creatures. | |
| *4 | Consequence Traits* | A hex ID for each consequence trait this creature has. Only present for creatures. |
For Maxis creations included with the game (Assembled Content) in Spore_Content.package, the fields for User ID, Username, Name, and Description, are replaced with three fields.
| Length | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Localization file* | The ID of the localization file in Text.package. |
| 4 | Author ID | Hash inside localization file. 1 for Maxis, 2 for Jessica, 3 for Micheal. |
| 4 | Name ID | Hash inside localization file. Used to retrieve asset name. |
| 4 | Description ID | Hash inside localization file. Used to retrieve asset name. Only present for adventures. |
The fields for Tags are replaced with two fields:
| Length | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Localization file* | The ID of the localization file in Text.package. |
| 4 | Tags ID | Hash inside localization file. Used to retrieve tags. |
*These hex values are hashes. Use SporeModder FX’s Utilities tab to convert hashes into names.
Most other hex values should be converted to decimal values. Windows Calculator (Programmer mode) or SporeModder FX (Utilities tab) can do this.
Compared to the format used in PNGs, the data is in a different order, and the Machine ID is not present. Tags are split up (not a single string). Also, there is extra data for locating the parent asset in editorSaves.package, and also an asset ID for the oldest parent asset. Localization values can be specified, for names/descriptions/authors and/or tags.
Package File Examples
Creature example
00 00 00 0D 00 00 00 74 A9 1F A0 19 2B 97 8C 46 40 62 62 00 18 21 83 D7 2B 97 8C 46 40 62 62 00 18 21 83 B5 00 00 00 74 A9 1F A0 13 00 00 00 74 A9 1F 20 28 00 00 00 0E D1 8A FD BF 00 00 00 0E D1 8A FD BF 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 74 76 70 7E 65 00 00 00 09 44 00 4F 00 47 00 43 00 5F 00 4B 00 79 00 6C 00 65 00 00 00 00 05 4B 00 79 00 6C 00 6F 00 6E 00 00 00 00 36 46 00 72 00 6F 00 6D 00 20 00 50 00 6C 00 61 00 6E 00 65 00 74 00 20 00 4B 00 79 00 6C 00 69 00 61 00 2E 00 20 00 50 00 61 00 72 00 74 00 20 00 6F 00 66 00 20 00 74 00 68 00 65 00 20 00 53 00 70 00 6F 00 72 00 65 00 20 00 4D 00 75 00 6C 00 74 00 69 00 70 00 6C 00 61 00 79 00 65 00 72 00 20 00 47 00 61 00 6D 00 65 00 2E 00 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 09 44 4F 47 43 5F 4B 79 6C 65 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 00 00 00 0D 73 00 65 00 74 00 3A 00 64 00 6F 00 67 00 63 00 6B 00 79 00 6C 00 6F 00 6E 00 00 00 00 0B 6D 00 75 00 6C 00 74 00 69 00 70 00 6C 00 61 00 79 00 65 00 72 00 FF FF FF FF 00 00 00 02 17 E5 EF 84 CF B0 1B 93
| Name | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Asset ID Length | 00 00 00 0D |
Converts to 13. |
| Asset ID | 00 00 00 74 A9 1F A0 19 |
Converts to 501,053,628,441. Can be used to find this creation on the server: http://www.spore.com/sporepedia#qry=sast-501053628441 |
| Type ID | 2B 97 8C 46 |
This is a creature. Its model has a .crt file extension. |
| Group ID | 40 62 62 00 |
This asset is in the creature_editorModel~ folder in editorSaves.package. |
| Instance ID | 18 21 83 D7 |
This asset has an ID of 182183d7 inside the creature_editorModel~ folder. |
| Parent Type ID | 2B 97 8C 46 |
The parent asset is a creature. |
| Parent Group ID | 40 62 62 00 |
The parent asset is in the creature_editorModel~ folder in editorSaves.package. |
| Parent Instance ID | 18 21 83 B5 |
The parent asset has an ID of 182183d7 inside the creature_editorModel~ folder. |
| Parent ID | 00 00 00 74 A9 1F A0 13 |
Converts to 501,053,628,435. Can be used to find parent creation on the server: http://www.spore.com/sporepedia#qry=sast-501053628435 |
| Original Parent ID | 00 00 00 74 A9 1F 20 28 |
Converts to 501,053,595,688. Can be used to find parent creation on the server: http://www.spore.com/sporepedia#qry=sast-501053595688 |
| Time Created | 00 00 00 0E D1 8A FD BF |
Converts to 63,645,089,215. This can be converted to a date and time: Tuesday, October 31, 2017 11:26:55 PM |
| Time Downloaded | 00 00 00 0E D1 8A fD BF |
This creation was made locally, so the time is exactly the same. |
| Localization | 00 00 00 00 |
This creation’s author and name are not localized, but rather specified here. |
| User ID | 00 00 00 74 76 70 7E 65 |
Identifies DOGC_Kyle on the server. Rarely used. |
| Username Length | 00 00 00 09 |
Converts to 9. The author’s username is 9 characters long. |
| Username | 44 00 4F 00 47 00 43 00 5F 00 4B 00 79 00 6C 00 65 00 |
This creation was made by DOGC_Kyle. |
| Name Length | 00 00 00 05 |
Converts to 5. The creation’s name is 5 characters long. |
| Name | 4B 00 79 00 6C 00 6F 00 6E 00 |
The creation’s name is Kylon. |
| Description Length | 00 00 00 36 |
Converts to 54. The description is 54 characters long. |
| Description | 46 00 72 00 6F 00 6D 00 20 00 50 00 6C 00 61 00 6E 00 65 00 74 00 20 00 4B 00 79 00 6C 00 69 00 61 00 2E 00 20 00 50 00 61 00 72 00 74 00 20 00 6F 00 66 00 20 00 74 00 68 00 65 00 20 00 53 00 70 00 6F 00 72 00 65 00 20 00 4D 00 75 00 6C 00 74 00 69 00 70 00 6C 00 61 00 79 00 65 00 72 00 20 00 47 00 61 00 6D 00 65 00 2E 00 |
The creation has the following description: “From Planet Kylia. Part of the Spore Multiplayer Game.” |
| Data Count | 00 00 00 01 |
Converts to 1. There is one data field. |
| Data Length | 00 00 00 09 |
Converts to 9. The following data is 9 characters long. |
| Data | 44 4F 47 43 5F 4B 79 6C 65 |
This is the author’s username (DOGC_Kyle). Possibly used for search? |
| Localization | 00 00 00 00 |
This creation’s tags are not localized, but rather specified here. |
| Tags Count | 00 00 00 02 |
Converts to 2. There are two tags. |
| Tag Length | 00 00 00 0D |
Converts to 13. The first tag is 13 characters long. |
| Tag | 73 00 65 00 74 00 3A 00 64 00 6F 00 67 00 63 00 6B 00 79 00 6C 00 6F 00 6E 00 |
The first tag is: “set:dogckylon” |
| Tag Length | 00 00 00 0DB |
Converts to 11. The second tag is 11 characters long. |
| Tag | 6D 00 75 00 6C 00 74 00 69 00 70 00 6C 00 61 00 79 00 65 00 72 00 |
The second tag is: “multiplayer” |
| Shareable | FF FF FF FF |
This creation can be shared. Because it has an Asset ID, it is considered to already be shared, and will have a green checkmark. |
| Traits Length | 00 00 00 02 |
This creature has completed two stages, and therefore has acquired two consequence traits. |
| Traits | 17 E5 EF 84 & CF B0 1B 93 |
These are IDs of the two consequence traits this creature has: crg_attack (Creature, Predator) and clg_meat (Cell, Carnivore). |