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Heroes Community > Heroes 5 - Modders Workshop > Thread: [NCF Based] Testing your creature visual easily
Thread: [NCF Based] Testing your creature visual easily
TSoD
TSoD


Promising
Famous Hero
NCF Blacksmith
posted November 29, 2008 05:08 PM bonus applied by VokialBG on 29 Nov 2008.
Edited by TSoD at 11:59, 03 Jan 2009.

[NCF Based] Testing your creature visual easily

Hi ! As you noticed it, we can use the editor for much more things that we thought. It is able to open resources of the games and modify them, even your NCF Creature...
The begin is a bit harder than the rest, but after it is very useful

First of all, Do this. It will "hack" your editor.

Quote:
Go to the following folder: C:\Program Files\Ubisoft\Heroes of Might and Magic V - Tribes of the East\profiles

Open the editor_a2.cfg file with Notepad and change the line setvar map_editor_mode = 1 to setvar map_editor_mode = 9 (or any number except 1 or 0).

Open the Map Editor - the interface will have changed a little.  You can now access hidden features.  Without opening a map, go to Resource -> View Tables and tick the CharacterView box.  

Now click OK and go to View -> Game Database -> New Window.  Then select the new window from View -> Game Database.

In the drop-down bar above the window you just activated, choose CharacterView.  Navigate through the folders, double-click any character file and you can view them in the main window with ease.

Thanks to Cepheus for this method

In this version, you can easily use the Resources and Objects menus.
Run the new editor. Go to View then check all I checked : It will allow you to see the toolbars.


Then, you will see this toolbar (I reorganize a bit, but we have the same buttons)
Active the button I have selectionned in red.



Now you are able to see all the resource of the game in the editor ! Creatures, towns interiors, doodads, effects, ALL.

But for your NCF, it is not done yet. As you can see, no NCF character files are presented in the tree that appears.



You want to see your creature visual with its effects and new textures, but can't ! The solution is there : the data folder.

In this example, we are going to change the visual of the poor peasant by the one of our creature, the Grunt. To change the visual, no need to change the .(CreatureVisual).xdb file ! Only changing the .(Character).xdb file is enough.
The path to the .(Charcter).xdb file of the peasant is :

Characters\Creatures\Haven\Peasant.(Character).xdb

Go to Heroes of Might and Magic V - Tribes of the East\data folder. Reproduce the path of the peasant character file, in creating in tha data folder a Characters folder, then in it a Creatures folder, then in it a Haven folder, then copy your character file (here, for the example, it is "Grunt.(Character).xdb") in the last folder yu created (then in
Heroes of Might and Magic V - Tribes of the East\data\Characters\Creatures\Haven\).
Rename the copied file by "Peasant.(Character).xdb". You have then this :



And in this "Peasant.(Character).xdb" file, we have this :
Quote:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Character>
<Model href="Grunt.(Model).xdb#xpointer(/Model)"/>
<ArenaAnimSet href="Anim/Grunt-arena.(AnimSet).xdb#xpointer(/AnimSet)"/>
<AdvMapAnimSet/>
<ColourModels/>
</Character>



As we can see, the "Peasant.(Character).xdb" points to file that do not exist. Indeed, it points to model and anim files that normaly are in the same root folder. We must then copy them immediately to the place "Peasant.(Character).xdb" wait them. In our case there are also subfolder ! We must place ALL the files the model and the anim require, even the effects and so on. We have then this in our folder :



Now, go to the Hacked editor. You don't need to reboot it.
Go to Resource>Open Resource. A new window appears. At the top-left corner, there is a combo-box : select the type "Character".
Then search after the Peasant character, then double click on it.



And what appears ? Nothing !
Before you become angry, click on the 3D wiew. Miracle! The grunt appeared !
But there is a problem : it does not move :'( And the effects aren't there :'(
There is a way to show them... Watch to the right, and you will noticed that there is a panel that plays animations.



Just select the animation you want to see, then push the button I coach in red. Next, click in the 3D view. The effects linked to the "idle00" animation appear, we can hear the sound of the animation, and see the model moving.
Now, you have just to modify the textures in data\Characters\Creatures\Haven\, save it then reload the editor to see changes. Much faster than each time reboot the game itself ...

We can also go further with the editor. It is very powerful.
Let's admit we want to add a green smoke of death on the grunt. No need to edit xdb files with the x, y z position, rotation and scale : the editor make it for us !
We want to set this effect only for the idle animation. We know that to add an effect to a model, we must pass by the animation file. Then, watch how we can get to it in GUI :



Left click on the browse button.

This appears :


=> Left click on the browse button (in green).



In red : the only thing that is important to us.
Sound : we can there select the sound that will be played with the animation.
In blue : the path to the file that contains all the effects attached to the grunt.
=> Left click on the browse button (in green).



After adding a particle instance (yes, smoke is a particle instance ), you must create the file. If you don't and choice the original, you won't be able to modify position and so on without do the same on the effect of the Zombi...
After having created  the file, browse it. Look the original effect.



What I coach in red is the things you must change in your created ParticleInstance (in green, this one).
For the textures, add 4 times a texture, using the same way you used to add a ParticleInstance to the effect file.
You can copy past then the "Textures" bone from the original to MyZombiSmoke. Idem the fields Particle, EndCycle and CycleCount.
Push the OK buttons to come to the 3D view.
And you noticed that there are no change. No effect of green smoke ! Holy Sh*t !
No matter : Reload the map. First of all, SAVE THE CHANGES WHEN ASKED. Then run an animation... The effect appeared ! Great !


If you want to set your smoke above the head, you must change the Z position of MyZombiSmoke.
To go on this particle instance, redo the same way that before (AnimSet>Idle00>Effect>ParticleInstance "MyZombiSmoke")


You have all the knowledges now to configure the visual of your creature. It is always the same, once you have understood the tip, it is very easy.

Now, to use the visual you created for the grunt, rename the Peasant.(Character).xdb in Grunt.(Character).xdb. Place next ALL the files present in "Heroes of Might and Magic V - Tribes of the East\data\Characters\Creatures\Haven\" in your archive, at the right place.
And it is done.


I hope you understand a bit I use this method, and it is much easier to set effects and visuals.
____________
NCFBank,
the complete and homogen NCF
library.

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Warmonger
Warmonger


Promising
Legendary Hero
fallen artist
posted November 29, 2008 08:31 PM
Edited by Warmonger at 20:34, 29 Nov 2008.

Hacked NCF editor with guide definitely deserves QP

Maybe someday I'll be able to create my own NCFs

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VokialBG
VokialBG


Honorable
Legendary Hero
First in line
posted November 29, 2008 09:03 PM

Pretty nice. With your fixes the editor is like mini laboratoiy for NCF creatures.

Hope, you'll continue your editor-studies
____________

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TSoD
TSoD


Promising
Famous Hero
NCF Blacksmith
posted November 29, 2008 09:21 PM

Finished... I'm exhausted !!
Hope you enjoy
It is exactly a mini NCf laboratory now, the editor, like you said.

sleep now...
____________
NCFBank,
the complete and homogen NCF
library.

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SimonaK
SimonaK


Promising
Supreme Hero
posted November 30, 2008 04:46 AM
Edited by SimonaK at 04:46, 30 Nov 2008.

Great!

A new life for a died editor.

Moreover I think that helps creation of high-quality creatures
...which perfectly work in the game

Now I know H5 without NCF is not H5 anymore of all





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TSoD
TSoD


Promising
Famous Hero
NCF Blacksmith
posted November 30, 2008 12:10 PM

Creating an .tga icon for your creature in the editor
With the new Hacked editor, it is very simple to create an icon of the creature. Nival used this method to make icon in the editor.

Follow the picture. In order, follow the figures (step 1, step 2, step 3...) and the colors : Red in first, green in second.





Now go to Heroes of Might and Magic V - Tribes of the East>Complete>Icon>Generated>MapObjects>_(AdvMapObjectLink)>Monsters>Academy
And dubble click on the file Arch_Magi-icon.tga...



Its size = 256*256. All you need is make the right alpha channel then resize to 128*128... and you can use this icon for your creature
____________
NCFBank,
the complete and homogen NCF
library.

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Rainbird
Rainbird

Tavern Dweller
posted January 02, 2009 07:30 PM

Quote:

First of all, download [url=http://www.speedyshare.com/155910215.html]this version[/url] of the editor. In this version, you can easily use the Resources and Objects menus.



Can you reupload your editor again? That would be great cause the download link seems to be broken...

Thanks!

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TSoD
TSoD


Promising
Famous Hero
NCF Blacksmith
posted January 03, 2009 12:00 PM

I've just updated my post ; Use the method Cepheus give to you to hack yourself the editor It is very easy, you'll see.

Quote:
Go to the following folder: C:\Program Files\Ubisoft\Heroes of Might and Magic V - Tribes of the East\profiles

Open the editor_a2.cfg file with Notepad and change the line setvar map_editor_mode = 1 to setvar map_editor_mode = 9 (or any number except 1 or 0).

Open the Map Editor - the interface will have changed a little.  You can now access hidden features.  Without opening a map, go to Resource -> View Tables and tick the CharacterView box.  

Now click OK and go to View -> Game Database -> New Window.  Then select the new window from View -> Game Database.

In the drop-down bar above the window you just activated, choose CharacterView.  Navigate through the folders, double-click any character file and you can view them in the main window with ease.

____________
NCFBank,
the complete and homogen NCF
library.

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Rainbird
Rainbird

Tavern Dweller
posted January 03, 2009 12:36 PM

Thank's for your help!

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