I'm thinking about trying to learn how to mod BZ2. The problem is, I have absolutely no experience with anything that you guys work with. I have no modeling programs (and have never modeled), I can't read any form of code that would be used in the game, and the only game I know how to mod is RA2, which is incredibly easy to do.
So where could I start before starting my series of extremely annoying and possibly repetitious questions?
The first thing I did when I learned to mod is to tweak existing weapons into something you like, its how I made my Railgun (base was the Blast), and my Pulse Laser (base was minigun).
In fact, its still how I make almost all of my weapons, I grab a base, like the Splinter, and turn it into something totally exotic, like a firebomb.
So how do I do this? Do I need any programs, or is there a file I can just mess with like RA2?
Get the pack explorer from www.bzscrap.com and open data.pak from your bzII install dir. Look up the weapons, which should be under the race names (ISDF, Fury (scion)). Export a file and tell your operating system to open it with a basic text editor (such as Notepad, Word Pad, or Kwrite).
Although, it would help you a lot if you also got my bz2 weapons odf. It should be included in the latest mod log.
Quote from: Angstromicus
Get the pack explorer from www.bzscrap.com and open data.pak from your bzII install dir.
I'm guessing the file is bz2extract.zip?
Quote from: CivBase on November 12, 2008, 10:43:01 PM
I'm guessing the file is bz2extract.zip?
Thats the command line version, good for extracting all the stuff from a pack at once.
If you want individual files, get the one titled Pak Explorer.
Quote from: AngstromicusAlthough, it would help you a lot if you also got my bz2 weapons odf. It should be included in the latest mod log.
Not a clue what this is or where to get it....
I decided to mess with the AT-Stab first, and it's not working very well.
At weapons>isdf>cannons>gatstab I get two more folders, assault and combat.
Within each of these folders is the folowing:
assault - atstab_a.odf gastab_a.odf rocket_a.odf
combat - atstab_c.odf gastab_c.odf rocket_c.odf xstabcar_c.odf xstabgnd_c.odf
Here's my guess:
Assault is for heavy vehicles (two shots at once) and combat is for light vehicles (one shot at a time)
atstab_a/c.odf - The actual weapon effectiveness
gatstab_a/c.odf - No clue
rocket_a/c.odf - What the shot looks and sounds like
xstabcar_c.odf - What happens when the shot hits a vehicle or building
xstabgnd_c.odf - What happens when the shot hits the terraign
So, how close was I?
ap{NAME} means American Powerup {Name}
Since BZ1 American is the generic for all races powerups in stock.
g{name}_C and g{name}_A are the actual weapons, one is attached to a crate and they are listed as alternates of each other.
{name} is often the ordinance.
These are subject to be different, in fact, it is very common, but these are the base naming conventions.
So what do, in this case, atstab, rocket, and the xstabcar/gnd do?
To be honest, I have no idea where the modlog is hosted (at least publicly) :- (.
Quote from: CivBase on November 12, 2008, 11:34:41 PM
So what do, in this case, atstab, rocket, and the xstabcar/gnd do?
atstab_<mode> is the ordnance, I dont know why rocket would be in there, but thats another ordnance. Xstabcar/gnd/bld are the ordnance explosion files, if you look in the ordnance ODF, you'll see 3 lines;
xplGround = ""
xplvehicle = ""
xplBuilding = ""
Basically self-explanitory on these entries.
So, now I have a ton of questions, mainly to do with the 5th 6th and 7th paragraphs of the astab_a file (one at a time :wink:).
ammoCost = 15 - 15 what? I'm guessing each vehicle has a cirtain number for their ammo cap, but how do I find this? The folder objects>ISDF>vehicles>ivtank has 15 files. Which one do I pick?
lifeSpan = 1.5 // 150m - I'm guessing the 150m means that it has no effect after 150 meters in the game, but what does the 1.5 mean?
damageValue(N) = 150 // none // 300
damageValue(L) = 137.5 // light // 275
damageValue(H) = 125 // heavy // 250 - What does the N, L, and H mean? none light and heavy must be armor grade, but what do the numbers mean?
damageValue(S) = 137.5 // standard // 275
damageValue(D) = 125 // deflection // 250
damageValue(A) = 150 // absorbtion // 300 - Same with the others. What does the S, D, and A mean? I'm guessing standard is without a shield, deflection is with the deflection shield up, and absorbtion is with the obsorbtion shield up. What do the numbers mean? And are these scion while the other three were ISDF?
startColor = "0 64 127 64"
finishColor = "200 200 255 0" - What color system is this going off? CMYK? I kinda thought a computer game would run on RGB....
textureBlend = "srcalpha invsrcalpha modulatealpha" - Should I even ask? They all end in alpha... that's got to mean something. Scr, Inv, and Modulate...... no clue.
RBGA is the color system.
Oh, I see.....
And I just realised that the letters NLHSDA match up with the words.
So, when I finish, how do I attach it as a mod? (preferably not over the actual rules)
For now I'll probably just be editing small things and seeing what changes.
So far, i've just extracted all of the files into a folder on My Docs.
Quote from: CivBase on November 13, 2008, 12:22:53 AM
ammoCost = 15 - 15 what? I'm guessing each vehicle has a cirtain number for their ammo cap, but how do I find this? The folder objects>ISDF>vehicles>ivtank has 15 files. Which one do I pick?
Ammocost is basically that, how many ammopoints a single shot takes, this multiplies for salvos.
Quote from: CivBase on November 13, 2008, 12:22:53 AM
lifeSpan = 1.5 // 150m - I'm guessing the 150m means that it has no effect after 150 meters in the game, but what does the 1.5 mean?
Lifespan is in seconds, the double slash ("//") is a comment, basically a note on how far the shot will go (shotspeed * lifespan). Comments are not read by BZ2.
Quote from: CivBase on November 13, 2008, 12:22:53 AM
damageValue(N) = 150 // none // 300
damageValue(L) = 137.5 // light // 275
damageValue(H) = 125 // heavy // 250 - What does the N, L, and H mean? none light and heavy must be armor grade, but what do the numbers mean?
damageValue(S) = 137.5 // standard // 275
damageValue(D) = 125 // deflection // 250
damageValue(A) = 150 // absorbtion // 300 - Same with the others. What does the S, D, and A mean? I'm guessing standard is without a shield, deflection is with the deflection shield up, and absorbtion is with the obsorbtion shield up. What do the numbers mean? And are these scion while the other three were ISDF?
N, L, H are the armor grades; S, D, A are the shield types (Stasis, Deflection, Absorption). The numbers are how many hitpoints it takes off of that armor type on the target. Tweaking this could make it so a giant shell would only kill assault vehicles and do very little damage to scouts, and other combos.
Quote from: CivBase on November 13, 2008, 12:22:53 AM
startColor = "0 64 127 64"
finishColor = "200 200 255 0" - What color system is this going off? CMYK? I kinda thought a computer game would run on RGB....
The color system works in RGBA, where the forth value is Alpha, or opacity. Maximum for each field is 255, unless you are working with lights, then the A field can go as high as you want it (the bigger the number, the bigger the flare).
Quote from: CivBase on November 13, 2008, 12:22:53 AM
textureBlend = "srcalpha invsrcalpha modulatealpha" - Should I even ask? They all end in alpha... that's got to mean something. Scr, Inv, and Modulate...... no clue.
This is how BZ2 will blend the texture data into the environment. The two most common are "srcalpha invsrcalpha modulatealpha," (good for alpha channeled TGAs with color, like smoke effects), and "one one modulate" (which is additive and good for flames, plasma, and the like). Other values are usable, but tricky to get right without consequence.
What do you know? Someone like me! I started out with map editing and now I'm moving on to model making. Still checking out different programs though.
Yeah, map making is probably the easiest part of modding because all it takes is some imagination (and not math brains with fast computers) :P
Quote from: CivBase on November 13, 2008, 02:51:48 AM
Oh, I see.....
And I just realised that the letters NLHSDA match up with the words.
So, when I finish, how do I attach it as a mod? (preferably not over the actual rules)
For now I'll probably just be editing small things and seeing what changes.
So far, i've just extracted all of the files into a folder on My Docs.
I'm no more expert than you on this, CivBase, in fact in terms of the pak explorer I'm probably lower, but I'd assume that to make it work in game you would import it into the correct spot using pak explorer.
EDIT: I tried this myself, but it didn't work. So I repeat CivBase's question; how do I attach it as a mod?
DO NOT EDIT PACK FILES YOU DID NOT MAKE YOURSELF!
Use the addon folder to override stock files, you can add new folders in precedence over addon via bzone.cfg.
or use a shortcut to Bz2edit, with a custom CFG set in the command line, and a new .pak file.
as NK1 said. DONT EDIT ORIGINAL PAK FILES
NEVER do that. Let's all make that point heard now, shall we? :lol:
Right. This is the important section of bzone.cfg:
// Setup base data
ConfigureStream("base")
{
// Look in "addon" first
AddDirRecurse("@rootdir\addon");
// Add detail specific data
AddStream("texturesize");
// Look in "data" next
AddPack("@rootdir\data.pak");
AddPack("@rootdir\bumps.pak");
AddDirRecurse("@rootdir\data");
Addon is looked in first, so you put anything you want to override something in there. I'd file it, too, if I were you, so you don't confuse yourself.
The .pak files are looked in last. If you have a .pak file containing new content, that I sure hope you compiled yourself rather than editing a stock one, you can make it visible to the engine by adding the line:
AddPack("@rootdir\YOUR_PAK_NAME_HERE.pak");
to the data section of the .cfg.
You can also use MM5 to launch your mod separately with its .pak file - handy if you want to run a test. Just add the following:
RenameEX["bzone.cfg","YOUR_CFG.cfg","bzone.bkp]
And make your .cfg file refer to your .pak file
AddDirRecurse and AddPack can be placed in any order, so a pack file can be put at the top to be able to override even addon, though this is often not done.
in short, all entries will override entries below it
My internet was dead yesterday, so I'm gunna make up for lost time.
Quote from: Feared_1 on November 13, 2008, 09:35:50 PM
Yeah, map making is probably the easiest part of modding because all it takes is some imagination (and not math brains with fast computers) :P
The map editor is pretty easy.... I'm just not very creative.
Quote from: Nielk1 on November 14, 2008, 02:09:56 PM
DO NOT EDIT PACK FILES YOU DID NOT MAKE YOURSELF!
Use the addon folder to override stock files, you can add new folders in precedence over addon via bzone.cfg.
Are you kiddding? I'd never mess with the stuff that I'm currently running the game on. Ummm.... I just copied all the files into a second folder before messing with them. I know where the addon folder is... but how do I override the files? Just name them the same thing?
Quote from: TheJamsh on November 14, 2008, 02:22:10 PM
or use a shortcut to Bz2edit, with a custom CFG set in the command line, and a new .pak file.
as NK1 said. DONT EDIT ORIGINAL PAK FILES
Yah.... what?
Quote from: AHadley on November 14, 2008, 05:19:06 PM
NEVER do that. Let's all make that point heard now, shall we? :lol:
Right. This is the important section of bzone.cfg:
// Setup base data
ConfigureStream("base")
{
// Look in "addon" first
AddDirRecurse("@rootdir\addon");
// Add detail specific data
AddStream("texturesize");
// Look in "data" next
AddPack("@rootdir\data.pak");
AddPack("@rootdir\bumps.pak");
AddDirRecurse("@rootdir\data");
Addon is looked in first, so you put anything you want to override something in there. I'd file it, too, if I were you, so you don't confuse yourself.
The .pak files are looked in last. If you have a .pak file containing new content, that I sure hope you compiled yourself rather than editing a stock one, you can make it visible to the engine by adding the line:
AddPack("@rootdir\YOUR_PAK_NAME_HERE.pak");
to the data section of the .cfg.
You can also use MM5 to launch your mod separately with its .pak file - handy if you want to run a test. Just add the following:
RenameEX["bzone.cfg","YOUR_CFG.cfg","bzone.bkp]
And make your .cfg file refer to your .pak file
So I add AddPack("@rootdir\YOUR_PAK_NAME_HERE.pak"); where? And what's an MM5? And where do I add RenameEX["bzone.cfg","YOUR_CFG.cfg","bzone.bkp]? :?
Quote from: Nielk1 on November 14, 2008, 05:55:51 PM
AddDirRecurse and AddPack can be placed in any order, so a pack file can be put at the top to be able to override even addon, though this is often not done.
Yah.... what?
Quote from: TheJamsh on November 14, 2008, 11:14:49 PM
in short, all entries will override entries below it
Now
this makes sence. Just one thing, how do I make sure it's on top and overrides the correct file?
Quote from: CivBase on November 15, 2008, 12:00:52 AM
Are you kiddding? I'd never mess with the stuff that I'm currently running the game on. Ummm.... I just copied all the files into a second folder before messing with them. I know where the addon folder is... but how do I override the files? Just name them the same thing?
To override the files in the data.pak or patch13.pak, all you need to do is have the files that are to be used in the addon folder and named the same as their original counterparts. For example: if you wanted to use a new mesh for the Sabre, all you would have to do is build an XSI named "ivtank.xsi" and place it in the addon folder.
QuoteYah.... what?
What he means is: "Don't edit the original pak files (i.e.: data.pak, patch13.pak, etc.). Doing so can damage the game and cause you to have bad assets in multiplayer, even if you're not using your mod.
QuoteSo I add AddPack("@rootdir\YOUR_PAK_NAME_HERE.pak"); where? And what's an MM5? And where do I add RenameEX["bzone.cfg","YOUR_CFG.cfg","bzone.bkp]? :?
If you made a mod using a pak file instead of a folder, then you would add the line in bzone.cfg, above the commented out "Look in 'addon' first" line, but in-line with it. I.e.:
Line 1
Line 2 is not in-line with Line 1.
Line 3 is in-line with Line 1.MM5 is an acronym for the utility Mod Manager 5, which was written by CmptrWz. It allows for the running of different mods without having to make custom executables or making multiple shortcuts.
As for the RenameEX command, I believe that's for MM5, which you will likely not be using at this point.
QuoteYah.... what?
You can use the add directory/pak lines to override what goes into addon. I.e.:
// Setup base data
ConfigureStream("base")
{
Placing "AddDirRecurse" here would allow you to use a mod-only folder that would override even the addon folder. If you had that
"ivtank.xsi" in addon, but you wanted still a different one, you could put the new "ivtank.xsi" in here and that file would override
both the original and the one in the addon folder.
// Look in "addon" first
AddDirRecurse("@rootdir\addon");
Placing "AddDirRecurse" here would allow you to make a folder that would override the pak files, but not the addon folder.
// Add detail specific data
AddStream("texturesize");
// Look in "data" next
AddPack("@rootdir\data.pak");
AddPack("@rootdir\bumps.pak");
AddDirRecurse("@rootdir\data");Know that you can replace "AddDirRecurse" with "AddPack" if you were using pak files instead of discrete folders.
QuoteNow this makes sence. Just one thing, how do I make sure it's on top and overrides the correct file?
See my previous example. Note that it will not override a specific file. If the new file exists, it will override the original. Otherwise, the engine will use the original. It's all graphic: a line above another will have higher priority.
If any of this didn't make sense, let me know so I can clarify.
VSMIT.
So that's how I override files. What if I make a completely new one? How do I make sure the files are in the right place? Or does it matter so long as I have them and they connect to eachther withing the files?
If you just have a new one, you can just put it in addon and it will work, as long as it's done right.
VSMIT.
So, can you make a negative attack? Like a healing weapon?
yep. and that can be used for many tricks.
Sweet!
Quote from: VSMIT on November 15, 2008, 03:35:26 AM
If you just have a new one, you can just put it in addon and it will work, as long as it's done right.
VSMIT.
I made a new weapon and put it in the addon folder, but it didn't work. What have I done wrong?
(P.S. Civbase, sorry for using your topic to ask some of my own questions)
Sure, I don't care. This would be the thread for it, after all.
Quote from: Darkplanet01 on November 16, 2008, 03:11:03 AM
I made a new weapon and put it in the addon folder, but it didn't work. What have I done wrong?
What are the filenames? Also, did you put the files in the addon folder while BZ2 was active?
Quote from: Steeveeo on November 16, 2008, 04:22:51 AM
What are the filenames? Also, did you put the files in the addon folder while BZ2 was active?
Lemme see... I made a new stabber weapon named the machine stabber, and I exported the at-stab using pak-explorer. Then I fiddled around with a few things in the files (like tweaking shot delay etc.) and renamed them, before putting them in addon. Here are the file names (after I renamed them).
Folder: gmstab
Containing: Assault (folder), Combat (folder), apmstab, apmstab.odf, ordin_a (obviously without the commas and words in brackets)
Files in assault: gmstab_a, mstab_a, rocket_a
Files in combat: gmstab_c, mstab_c, rocket_c, xstabcar_c, xstabgnd_c
One other good thing to know would be exactly how it didn't work. If you tried placing it in the editor, you need to place the apmstab (if you didn't know that already). If your changes didn't work, then I'm not sure how to help you without knowing what the odf files are.
VSMIT.
Quote from: VSMIT on November 16, 2008, 08:25:21 AM
One other good thing to know would be exactly how it didn't work. If you tried placing it in the editor, you need to place the apmstab (if you didn't know that already). If your changes didn't work, then I'm not sure how to help you without knowing what the odf files are.
VSMIT.
Well, I didn't try placing it in editor, and besides I may be pretty stupid when it comes to BZII, but I would still realise it would be apmstab. I'm not
that stupid. I tried seeing if it was in the armoury, and, when it wasn't, checked if I could add it to a unit in the factory.
You would have to specifically add it to the armory or to the race's weapons list for the factory for it to show up there.
Quote from: Nielk1 on November 17, 2008, 07:22:51 AM
You would have to specifically add it to the armory or to the race's weapons list for the factory for it to show up there.
So
now I get told. How do I do that?
Take a look for buildlist under the armoury's ODF. It should look like this...
[ArmoryGroup1]
buildLabel = "Guns"
buildItem1 = "apmini"
buildItem2 = "aplase"
buildItem3 = "appumm"
buildItem4 = "apchain"
[ArmoryGroup2]
buildLabel = "Cannons"
buildItem1 = "apstab"
buildItem2 = "appstb"
buildItem3 = "apsstb"
buildItem4 = "applas"
buildItem5 = "apblst"
buildItem6 = "apmagg"
[ArmoryGroup3]
buildLabel = "Rockets"
buildItem1 = "aptagg"
buildItem2 = "apfafm"
buildItem3 = "apshdw"
[ArmoryGroup4]
buildLabel = "Mortars"
buildItem1 = "apmort"
buildItem2 = "apmdmg"
buildItem3 = "apspln"
[ArmoryGroup5]
buildLabel = "Mines"
buildItem1 = "apflar"
buildItem2 = "apmcur"
buildItem3 = "apmits"
buildItem4 = "approx"
[ArmoryGroup6]
buildLabel = "Specials"
buildItem1 = "apredf"
buildItem2 = "apphan"
buildItem3 = "apsite"
//buildItem4 = "apffld"
[ArmoryGroup7]
buildLabel = "Pilot"
buildItem1 = "apbazo"
buildItem2 = "apsnip"
buildItem3 = "apgren"
buildItem4 = "apjetp"
You'd put your weapon in like this:
[ArmoryGroup2]
buildLabel = "Cannons"
buildItem1 = "apstab"
buildItem2 = "appstb"
buildItem3 = "apsstb"
buildItem4 = "applas"
buildItem5 = "apblst"
buildItem6 = "apmagg"
buildItem7="apmstab"
Of course, you move it up and down the list as you want, but be aware that a lot of commanders build stuff without looking at the menu (say, I know the combination for a gun tower is Constructor, 3, 6, so I'd press that every time I want a Gun Tower. I know that a Greenheart Wall Tall Dual Assault tower is Utility Constructor, 3, 4, 4. It I want plasma, I go 3, 2, 4. If you were to put your machine stabber further up the list, plasma might become 3, 4, 5, which would confuse me and cause me to make either the machine stabber or super stabber instead, which isn't as good.
This is what the ODF would look like if you did that:
[ArmoryGroup2]
buildLabel = "Cannons"
buildItem1 = "apstab"
buildItem2 = "appstb"
buildItem3 = "apmstab" <== There it is
buildItem4 = "apsstb" <== You need to change the buildItem number further down so you don't reference to two things being built by one key, that would cause an AV.
buildItem5 = "applas"
buildItem6 = "apblst"
buildItem7 = "apmagg"
In the armory odf. Use the pak explorer to extract ibarmo.odf or fbarmo.odf (I think those are the names, going from memory here) and open one in Notepad or some such simple text editor. There should be an area that is marked clearly as the build slots. Don't remember what the ODF lines are, and I can't find the small tut I did on them a while back. It's pretty self-explanatory, though.
Edit: Dangit, AHadley!
VSMIT.
Quote from: VSMIT on November 17, 2008, 05:34:04 PM
In the armory odf. Use the pak explorer to extract ibarmo.odf or fbarmo.odf (I think those are the names, going from memory here) and open one in Notepad or some such simple text editor. There should be an area that is marked clearly as the build slots. Don't remember what the ODF lines are, and I can't find the small tut I did on them a while back. It's pretty self-explanatory, though.
Edit: Dangit, AHadley!
VSMIT.
:P
You did mention the stuff I missed out, though.
Becoming steadily more helpful... I've just helped DarkPlanet with an uninstall issue... with regediting! =]
I wrote that half at home and half at school, so I didn't have access to the actual ODFs when I finished it. Otherwise I would have also had the ODF lines that you posted. Thanks, though.
I saw that you helped with uninstalling. I didn't know that would work. But then I never had to try it, but I'll store that away for the next time something gets corrupted and won't uninstall.
VSMIT.
None of my BZ2s are 'installed' hence there are no registry entries for me. I stopped installed and have a 'mother bz2 dir' that I spawn all others from. Like making bread.
Quote from: Nielk1 on November 17, 2008, 07:45:31 PM
Like making bread.
An unusual analogy there, my friend... never heard that one before.
Quote from: VSMIT on November 17, 2008, 06:44:52 PM
I didn't know that would work. But then I never had to try it, but I'll store that away for the next time something gets corrupted and won't uninstall.
I found that out when I deleted my copy of TRO - which I later lost, unfortunately - I googled for how to remove an add/remove programs entry, came up with that, memorised it, used it whenever I needed it... passed it on. We all learn something new every day, remember =p
Quote from: AHadley on November 17, 2008, 08:57:57 PM
An unusual analogy there, my friend... never heard that one before.
To make sourdough bread, you have to start with a lump of it, called "mother dough." Otherwise it won't work right.
VSMIT.
Somebody spends too much time working in a bakery methinks....
Saw the making of sour dough on discovery channel.
There's a walk-through bakery tour that I took one time. Sourdough bread bakery. Which is why I know.
VSMIT.
Quote from: Nielk1 on November 18, 2008, 02:26:17 AM
Saw the making of sour dough on discovery channel.
Ditto. From that show it seems that most 'real' sourdough (from walk-in places, not bags) have been using the same mother-dough for almost 100 years... Quite interesting.
(http://www.overminddl1.com/image_scripts/image_sig.php?type=ODL1signitures&image/sig.gif)
Generated by OvermindDL1's Signature Auto-Add Script (http://overminddl1.com) that OvermindDL1 did manually since Greasemonkey does not work in Firefox 3.1 yet...
Quote from: VSMIT on November 18, 2008, 12:00:24 AM
To make sourdough bread, you have to start with a lump of it, called "mother dough." Otherwise it won't work right.
I knew that, I just hadn't heard the analogy before.
Quote from: OvermindDL1 on November 18, 2008, 03:38:28 AM
From that show it seems that most 'real' sourdough (from walk-in places, not bags) have been using the same mother-dough for almost 100 years... Quite interesting.
Ah, that explains the green bits! :lol:
Topic derail power... ACTIVATE!
*bang* Ow, my head!
Quote from: OvermindDL1 on November 18, 2008, 03:38:28 AM
Ditto. From that show it seems that most 'real' sourdough (from walk-in places, not bags) have been using the same mother-dough for almost 100 years... Quite interesting.
(http://www.overminddl1.com/image_scripts/image_sig.php?type=ODL1signitures&image/sig.gif)
Generated by OvermindDL1's Signature Auto-Add Script (http://overminddl1.com) that OvermindDL1 did manually since Greasemonkey does not work in Firefox 3.1 yet...
Hmm... a help topic in a BZII forum has just become all about bread....
That just proves the unique kind of insanity of all bz2ers.
I'll second that!
Okay, so the text modding seems almost self explanitory at this point... what about modeling? What if I want to create a brand new unit or edit one? How can I do that?
Do you have access to any 3D modeling programs? Those are (obviously) essential to building new units, unless you have a mind brilliant enough to build something in Notepad.
VSMIT.
You mean like blender or something? No, and I'm not that smart or paitent (sp) enough to use notepad. Where can I get one?
Imagine trying to build a full unit in notepad from raw numbers. That would be QUAZY!!!
I've made a cube in 3DS Max out of hand-made vertexes (36 if i recall correctly) All moved along the grid by hand. Thats as close as i get to THAT insanity.
Why the hell??
Why? Practice to master how to replace faces and add verteces without messing up the model entirely.
Right.... soo, where can I get a decent modeling program?
EDIT: so I have blender... though I couldn't instal the python thing (is that a problem?)... so now what?
Quote from: CivBase on November 22, 2008, 03:20:09 AM
Right.... soo, where can I get a decent modeling program?
EDIT: so I have blender... though I couldn't instal the python thing (is that a problem?)... so now what?
I wouldn't recommend using blender if you aren't already experienced with 3D modelling. It is a
very complex program. My suggestion is gmax. I've just begun modelling myself and although gmax is pretty complex, it's far easier than blender.
Quote from: VSMIT on November 17, 2008, 05:34:04 PM
In the armory odf. Use the pak explorer to extract ibarmo.odf or fbarmo.odf (I think those are the names, going from memory here) and open one in Notepad or some such simple text editor. There should be an area that is marked clearly as the build slots. Don't remember what the ODF lines are, and I can't find the small tut I did on them a while back. It's pretty self-explanatory, though.
Edit: Dangit, AHadley!
VSMIT.
So do I import the ODF using pak explorer after that?
Don't put things into PAK files you didn't make yourself!
Quote from: Darkplanet01 on November 22, 2008, 09:23:12 PM
So do I import the ODF using pak explorer after that?
If you want to use PAK files for your mod, make a new PAK and place the files in that. As N1 has said repeatedly, don't edit the stock PAK files.
VSMIT.
Put it in Addon and it will overwrite equivalents in most pak files.
Quote from: AHadley on November 23, 2008, 11:18:02 AM
Put it in Addon and it will overwrite equivalents in most pak files.
This didn't work. I tried exporting the ODF, editing it and placing it in addon, but I still couldn't get the weapon in-game.
Did you only edit one ODF? I've never had this issue, but then I had the whole weapon folder in addon to edit. Try that (not the whole weapons tree, just the folder) and see if it works.
VSMIT.
If it is in addon, BZ2 is using it. Now does it have the name to overwrite an existing weapon, or is it a new one? A new one must be placed into the game world somehow, via editor or pre-attached to units.
Quote from: Nielk1 on November 24, 2008, 09:57:18 PM
If it is in addon, BZ2 is using it. Now does it have the name to overwrite an existing weapon, or is it a new one? A new one must be placed into the game world somehow, via editor or pre-attached to units.
It's a new weapon, not a replacement. I got a replacement to work sometime before, though now I've forgotten how I did it...
Either attach it to a unit, or to the armoury, or place it in-world with the editor.
Okay, the Machine Stabber is now working in-game, but I've encountered a new problem. When I morph, instead of turning into the assault machine stabber, I get the assault at-stabber, and when I morph back I get combat at-stabber. In other words, as soon as I morph, it turns into the at-stabber.
Remove this from your machine atstab ODF file: altName = "gatstab_a"
Quote from: bigbadbogie on November 28, 2008, 10:01:09 PM
Remove this from your machine atstab ODF file: altName = "gatstab_a"
Heh, I figured out how to fix it right after I wrote that post. But I replaced the gatstab_a with gmstab instead of deleting the line altogether.
I'm having another problem, this one with either crossing weapons into different races, or into different categories (cannons to guns etc), I'm not sure which, because both times I have crossed between categories I've also crossed between races. Anyway, the weapon is there in-game, but it has no name, and when I try to pick up the crate the game closes down on me.
There's one of those in StarFleet. I think it means there's an error in the name. Maybe you used the wrong letter for its class? I don't know...
yep. means a file is missing, or one of the files has a 'bad' ODF line or two.
only way to sort that is to bug-search all files. youve probably still referenced the wrong weapon name in the ap****.odf file.
oh and check that the little "s are there to
You'd be surprised how many people have done that.
I was wondering... how do I change the colour of the weapon? I've tried editting the numerous RGB Alpha settings in the ODFs, but it hasn't worked. In case you're wondering, the particular weapon I've editted is the blast cannon.
There's probably a .PIC or .TGA somewhere that defines it. Have a mooch in data.pak (or patch13.pak) and addon, see what that throws up.
Quote from: Darkplanet01 on December 03, 2008, 07:26:42 AM
I was wondering... how do I change the colour of the weapon? I've tried editting the numerous RGB Alpha settings in the ODFs, but it hasn't worked. In case you're wondering, the particular weapon I've editted is the blast cannon.
If you have edited values, but nothing changes, do the following:
1. Check if BZ2 is already running, sometimes an edit to a file (especially adding new files to the directory) needs to have BZ2 restart for the changes to take effect.
2. If BZ2 is not up after your edits are done, check to see if your ODFs are referencing each other properly. For example, if I were to make a weapon file gBlast_c_mod, but the file still had 'ordName = "blast_c"', instead of blast_c_mod, no changes would take effect to the beam if I were to modify blast_c_mod.odf.
In short, restart bz2 and check your referrences. If it still doesnt work, you did something else wrong, and you will need to post the contents of each (within
tags preferably) ODF file along with their name (just in case) onto these forums.
Quote from: Steeveeo on December 03, 2008, 09:15:07 AM
If you have edited values, but nothing changes, do the following:
1. Check if BZ2 is already running, sometimes an edit to a file (especially adding new files to the directory) needs to have BZ2 restart for the changes to take effect.
2. If BZ2 is not up after your edits are done, check to see if your ODFs are referencing each other properly. For example, if I were to make a weapon file gBlast_c_mod, but the file still had 'ordName = "blast_c"', instead of blast_c_mod, no changes would take effect to the beam if I were to modify blast_c_mod.odf.
In short, restart bz2 and check your referrences. If it still doesnt work, you did something else wrong, and you will need to post the contents of each (within tags preferably) ODF file along with their name (just in case) onto these forums.
Neither of those worked. I'll get around to posting the contents soon. For now, I want to know how I can attach the weapon to the factory/forge, so I can build my units with the weapon pre-attached.
For factory panels, find the fweapon and iweapon.odf files, then add your weapons there.
If you want the weapons attached to the unit as default, place it into the unit's ODF.
you didnt edit the weapon straight in the .pak file did you? that doesnt work, you have to export it, odify the exported file, then overrite and import the previously exported file
Quote from: TheJamsh on December 19, 2008, 11:48:19 PM
you didnt edit the weapon straight in the .pak file did you? that doesnt work, you have to export it, odify the exported file, then overrite and import the previously exported file
No, I didn't. I never do that. I just export the file, modify it and chuck it in addon.
PS. I know I said I'd get around to posting the contents soon, and now several weeks later I still haven't done it, but I kept forgetting.