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| Thread: Adding effects to creatures | |
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eugen_cosmarul
Famous Hero
hey
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posted January 06, 2008 02:30 PM |
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Adding effects to creatures
1. Find the effect you want to add to the creature-in this case black smoke like the one on the vermin?s head.
The effect is located in data.pak\Effects\_(Effect)\Characters\Creatures\Inferno\AlternativeUpgrade\T1_Quasit\.
The files we need are ?attack01.(Particle).xdb?, ?attack01.xdb? and ?attack01.(ParticleInstance).xdb?.Copy these files somewere.
Open the ?attack01.(ParticleInstance).xdb? and instead of ?<GlueToNamedBone/>? write ?<GlueToNamedBone>L_Hand</GlueToNamedBone>? so that the effect sticks to the left hand.
Now Open the ?attack01.xdb? and delete the useless lines so that it will look like this:
Now make a mod that adds these files to the Effects\_(Effect)\Characters\Creatures\Orcs\T3c_OrcWarholder\
(make folders and subfolder with these names , copy the newly edited .xdb files (?attack01.xdb?, ?attack01.(Particle).xdb? and ?attack01.(ParticleInstance).xdb?) in T3c_OrcWarholder folder and then add the Effects folder to a .h5m archive and copy it to Heroes V\Maps).
The effects are ready now!
2. Adding the effect to the creature-in this case Orc Warholder.
Go to data.pak\Characters\Creatures\Orcs\T3_Orc\ and copy all the arena files (T3c_OrcWarholder-arena-attack00.xdb ; T3c_OrcWarholder-arena-death.xdb ; T3c_OrcWarholder-arena-happy.xdb ; T3c_OrcWarholder-arena-hit.xdb ; T3c_OrcWarholder-arena-idle00.xdb ; T3c_OrcWarholder-arena-move.xdb ; T3c_OrcWarholder_arena-stir00.(BasicSkelAnim).xdb).
Generally when you want to add an effect to a creature the arena files are the ones you need.
Most of these files have the effect line empty :
And ones have it filled with something,don?t change the existent effects of these,you will only need to create a new line under the existent one.
For those with empty lines,you will need to replace the ?<Effect/>? with ?<Effect href="/Effects/_(Effect)/Characters/Creatures/Orcs/T3c_OrcWarholder/attack01.xdb#xpointer(/Effect)"/>?
Generally you need to fill the empty lines with <Effect href="/where the effect is located and the name of the xdb.xdb#xpointer(/Effect)"/>
For those with the filled effect lines you need to create a new line under the existent line and write ? <Effect href="/Effects/_(Effect)/Characters/Creatures/Orcs/T3c_OrcWarholder/attack01.xdb#xpointer(/Effect)"/>?
You need to add this effect line to all the files copyed earlier (T3c_OrcWarholder-arena-attack00.xdb ; T3c_OrcWarholder-arena-death.xdb ; T3c_OrcWarholder-arena-happy.xdb ; T3c_OrcWarholder-arena-hit.xdb ; T3c_OrcWarholder-arena-idle00.xdb ; T3c_OrcWarholder-arena-move.xdb ; T3c_OrcWarholder_arena-stir00.(BasicSkelAnim).xdb).They will look like this:
Empty ones:
And filled ones:
Now make a mod that changes these .xdb files with the ones newly edited (Create folders like this Characters\Creatures\Orcs\T3_Orc and in T3_Orc folder add the .xdb files-T3c_OrcWarholder-arena-attack00.xdb ; T3c_OrcWarholder-arena-death.xdb ; T3c_OrcWarholder-arena-happy.xdb ; T3c_OrcWarholder-arena-hit.xdb ; T3c_OrcWarholder-arena-idle00.xdb ; T3c_OrcWarholder-arena-move.xdb ; T3c_OrcWarholder_arena-stir00.(BasicSkelAnim).xdb).
3. Center the effect-the effect is not centered on the warholder?s hand from the beginning,it just moves like the hand.
You can adjust the position of the effect using the Position lines situated in the attack01.(ParticleInstance).xdb file
Add values to the lines until you find the right position for the effect.
Edit: Changing the nature of the effect without creating a new mod.
To change the effect you need to edit the “attack01.(ParticleInstance).xdb”,better said you need to change the <Textures>lines.
Now it’s set to be a black smoke but let’s say you need flames like the ones on the Flame Lord’s hands.
Go to data.pak\Effects\_(Effect)\Characters\Creatures\Dwarves\Warlord\, open the “attack00.(ParticleInstance).xdb” file and go to the textures lines.
You need to copy the highlighted lines,that contain the fire and then paste them instead of the black smoke textures.
You can do that with any kind of effects,you must copy the textures lines of the ****.(ParticleInstance).xdb files of the creature’s effect and paste them into the “attack01.(ParticleInstance).xdb” file.
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Gnoll_Mage
Responsible
Supreme Hero
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posted January 07, 2008 09:07 PM |
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What does <GlueToBone> do?
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eugen_cosmarul
Famous Hero
hey
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posted January 07, 2008 09:18 PM |
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I haven't tested yet but I will try it tomorrow and post here
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Nelgirith
Promising
Supreme Hero
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posted January 07, 2008 09:48 PM |
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Quote:
What does <GlueToBone> do?
It enables to fix an effect to a specific bone of a creature skeleton. We've managed to view the skeletons of several creatures and each bone has a name, so I supppose that if you name the bone the starting effect will be based upon that bone and will move with that bone.
Set <GlueToBone>1</GlueToBone>
and <GlueToNamedBone>name of bone</GlueToNamedBone>
A while ago, I gave the Paokai lightning effects (using the same pattern as the Foul Wyvern) :
Later, we found out how to view a creature's skeleton :
So on a paper, that's what the skeleton looks like :
Then I've tried fixing the effect on the bone name L_Wing_a1 through <GlueToNamedBone> and here's the result :
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Daystar
Honorable
Legendary Hero
Back from the Dead
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posted January 07, 2008 10:07 PM |
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How do you view the skeletons?
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Nelgirith
Promising
Supreme Hero
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posted January 07, 2008 10:19 PM |
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Quote:
How do you view the skeletons?
Download and install Granny Viewer
Take a creature's -skel.xdb file and get the uid value.
Example : The Paokai - \Characters\Creatures\Orcs\T6_Orc\T6c_Paokai-skel.xdb
The skeleton's uid is : <uid>6E05769D-A711-40B7-AEBF-94B877943236</uid>, so 6E05769D-A711-40B7-AEBF-94B877943236
Now go to the root of your data.pak, in the bin\Skeletons directory and look for bin\Skeletons\6E05769D-A711-40B7-AEBF-94B877943236 and extract it.
Now 2 solutions :
- either you can open Grannyviewer and drag that file inside to open it
- or you have to rename the file to 6E05769D-A711-40B7-AEBF-94B877943236.gr2 (or whatever.gr2) and open it
You won't see anything, that's normal !
Click on "Back to Main Menu" in Granny viewer (upper-left corner), then "Skeletons" and click on the options :
- Joints
- Bone Connectors
- Bone Names
And voila, there you go ^^
As the name says it, Granny Viewer is only a viewer and you can't edit anything, but it can help you for placing effects exactly on a specific place.
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Daystar
Honorable
Legendary Hero
Back from the Dead
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posted January 07, 2008 10:25 PM |
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Gnoll_Mage
Responsible
Supreme Hero
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posted January 08, 2008 12:16 AM |
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So the GlueToBone tag doesn't say anything really then? The important bit is the bone name.
Can I glue model instances within effects to a bone, rather than particle instances?
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VokialBG
Honorable
Legendary Hero
First in line
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posted January 08, 2008 02:10 PM |
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Edited by VokialBG at 14:15, 08 Jan 2008.
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Nice guide, will be great if you add it in the the Wiki
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radar
Responsible
Legendary Hero
Castle/Haven player
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posted January 08, 2008 03:01 PM |
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Edited by radar at 10:12, 04 May 2008.
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Quote:
Are you sure there can be 2 effect tags in one file?
I havent tried it, ever.
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bigjocker
Responsible
Supreme Hero
Forgotten but not Forsaken
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posted January 08, 2008 03:23 PM |
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It can. But the last one won't work. I've faced it while making Efreet.
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HoMM3Lite
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Nelgirith
Promising
Supreme Hero
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posted January 10, 2008 11:57 PM |
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I've read carefully the "tutorial" and I can say that it will only work for small effects, like the one in your example.
Try taking a more complicated effect like the body flames of a fire elemental or a phoenix. If you simply paste and links the files as you do, you'll end up with your creature and a "ghost" of the fire elemental or of the phoenix around it.
The problem is that there are many effects that have a kind of "skeleton" which is the same as the one of the creature they're supposed to affect.
It's not the flames that are following the phenix's wings. You can consider that there are 2 phenixes the real one and a fire effect one which are stacked and moving together.
I've been trying to give the Pao-ka the same lightning effect as the Thunderbird and it doesn't work. The only thing you can do is using the poison effect of the Foul Wyvern, apply it to the Pao-ka and then change the cloud texture to lightnings or electric discharges and then play with the timers.
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DoomLord66
Tavern Dweller
Epic Dude
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posted March 31, 2011 12:43 AM |
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Why did you put it all into a .h5m file?
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Signature...
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VokialBG
Honorable
Legendary Hero
First in line
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posted March 31, 2011 08:40 AM |
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Find out here.
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