So I finally solved this. Took a lot of digging around and trial and error. In case anyone else would like to do this, here is how I made it work:
First, a couple things to note:
1) I started this project using alternate meshes and textures downloaded from dragonagenexus.com.
2) These files only provided the .msh, .dds, and .mao files. They did not provide the .mmh and .phy files.
3) The steps to follow are to create an alternate human race/appearance (non-replacing) given that you have downloaded some .msh and .dds files and the .mmh and .phy files were not included. The same steps can be applied to the other playable races.
First, create a folder in Documents\\\\\\\\BioWare\\\\\\\\Dragon Age\\\\\\\\packages\\\\\\\\core\\\\\\\\override. You can name this folder what ever you want. Place the downloaded files in this folder. These should include the following (note that ‘hf’ indicates the files are for human females; for human males the file names would start with ‘hm’, or for dwarf males ‘dm’, dwarf females ‘df’, etc. more one this later):
hf_arm_nud_0.msh
hf_boo_nud_0.msh
hf_glv_nud_0.msh
hf_arm_nuda.mao
hf_100_d.dds
hf_100_n.dds
hf_100_s.dds
hf_100_t.dds
Now that we have the downloaded files where we want them, the next thing to do is to extract the associated .mmh and .phy files. This is done by opening modelhierarchies.erf in the toolset, selecting the files needed, and extracting them to the folder we created. After this step, the following files should be added to the new folder:
hf_arm_nuda_0.mmh
hf_boo_nuda_0.mmh
hf_glv_nuda_0.mmh
hf_arm_nuda_0.phy
hf_boo_nuda_0.phy
hf_glv_nuda_0.phy
We will need to rename these files, but first we needed to create a new race, so we need to add an entry in the Race_base.xls. To do this, copy the existing entry for Human to a new row and change the following four fields:
ID: change from 3 to 9000 (or an unused ID)
Label: change from ‘Human’ to ‘Human1’ (or whatever you want to call it)
Abbreviation: change from HU to XU (you could use any letter in place of X as long as it’s not already used for another race)
Appearance: change from 15 to 5000 (the ID of a newly added row in the APR_base.xls file, which I will explain next).
Next we need to add a row to APR_base.xls to create the alternate appearance. Again, copy the existing row for Human to a new row and change three fields:
ID: from 15 to 5000 (an unused ID)
Label: from ‘Human’ to ‘Human1’
ModelRace: from ‘H’ to ‘X’
RulesRace: from 3 to 9000.
Next generate the GDA files and place them in the same override folder that your new folder is in. Now rename all the files in your folder by replacing the ‘hf’ prefix with ‘xf’.
The next part is to open each of the .msh files that have been downloaded and each of the .mmh and .phy files that were extracted by dragging them into the toolset. For each of the files, right click and select expand all. Search through all the values and replace all instances of ‘hf’ with ‘xf’ (this step is a pain, and if anyone knows of an easy way to search and replace these values in the toolset please let me know). Make sure you get them all. I missed a some the first few times and the appearance wouldn’t work until I figured out I had missed some of the ‘hf’ occurrences). Once you are sure you replaced them all, save and close the file.
One last step, and that is to edit the .mao file. (First a note: the .mao files I downloaded each reference multiple distinct .dds files whereas those in the core game refer to a single dds file.) You can open the .mao file with notepad, and again replace all occurrences of ‘hf’ with ‘xf’. Save and close the file.
At this point the new alternate race/appearance is ready to use. Create a new creature in the toolset and in the appearance dropdown there should be a new entry called Human1 (or whatever you used). Select that to use your new appearance. Note the Race dropdown also has a new entry called Human1, but you don’t have to use it if you just want alternate appearances for NPCs in the game.
You’ll notice the alternate appearance has no head. For some reason I have yet to figure out, you can only use custom morphs with the alternate appearance. So you can either use an existing morph or create your own.
One last thing, and this is only if you wish to equip your character with clothing/armor/robes/etc. If you equip your new creature with an item, let’s say Commoner Clothing, you’ll find your creature’s body disappears. This is because the .mmh, .phy, and .msh files still refer to the ‘hf’ version. So for any item you wish to equip, you’ll need to extract them to your folder, rename with the appropriate prefix (in this case ‘hf’ to ‘xf’, and open them in the toolset and again replace all occurrences of ‘hf’ with ‘xf’). For the Commoner Clothing example here, the files are:
hf_cth_com_0.msh
hf_cth_coma_0.mmh
hf_cth_coma_0.phy
One nice thing is there is no need to edit a .mao file or 2DA files for this.
Modifié par Spookius Mortem, 06 juin 2010 - 11:13 .
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