106 réponses à ce sujet

[OriginOfWaves]

I have no idea where to put this thread so it might as well go here, unless moderators know a better place for it.

 

So i just downloaded the game and what's the first thing i do? Play it you say. No you silly goose. Dig into the files and check the file structure. And i noticed some promising things.

 

What we seam to be dealing with here is a file structure similar to Skyrim.

 

So in Dragon Age Inqusition\Data\ we have the .cas files, those are the big files, containing what most of us modders will be interested in (meshes, textures, audio, vfx etc.). Think of them as Skyrim's .bsa files.

 

Further in Dragon Age Inqusition\Data\Win32\ there are .toc and .sb files. These are small files and seam to serve the purpose of .xml and .ini files. Mainly, telling the game which assets to use and where to use them. You read them with any text editor (wordpad, notepad etc.). So unless i'm missing something they appear highly editable (might need recompiling like .xml and .ini files do).

 

Going even further in Dragon Age Inqusition\Data\Win32\da3\ is where the loose files are (or should be at least). Think of it as Skyrim's Data folder. And as with unmoded Skyrim, this folder is pretty bare and empty save for a few configuration files. But all of the .toc and .sb files reference assets in this folder.

 

Example:

 

bundles AWin32/da3/actors/party/blueprintbundles/hawke_male_chargenbundle  DWin32/da3/actors/party/blueprintbundles/qunari_female_chargenbundle   AWin32/da3/actors/party/blueprintbundles/dwarf_male_chargenbundle  CWin32/da3/actors/party/blueprintbundles/hawke_female_chargenbundle  CWin32/da3/actors/party/blueprintbundles/dwarf_female_chargenbundle Win32/da3/actors/party/blueprintbundles/elf_male_chargenbundle   BWin32/da3/actors/party/blueprintbundles/qunari_male_chargenbundle AWin32/da3/actors/party/blueprintbundles/human_male_chargenbundle   CWin32/da3/actors/party/blueprintbundles/human_female_chargenbundle  

 AWin32/da3/actors/party/blueprintbundles/elf_female_chargenbundle ;Win32/da3/actors/party/blueprintbundles/chargen_rootbumdle  

Win32/chargen alwaysEmitSuperbundle

 

This all leads me to believe that if someone more savvier than me at coding could come up with a .cas exctractor/exporter we might be able to at least have direct access to DA:I assets. And by altering the extracted files and placing them in the correct file structure, mod the game. This is of course if loose files have priority over packaged files like in Skyrim.

 

And yeah a lot of this is still just conjecture and hypothetical ramblings but i think it can point us (the modding community) in the right direction. And who knows maybe BW will come meet us half way and provide us with an exporter or a compiler. A modder can dream.

[Fast Jimmy]

Do we know if the models are compressed? Or any indicator of how the submeshes would overlap?

[Fast Jimmy]

Wow. Given the number of posts pre-release about modding and if it would be possible... I thought this thread would at least get some attention?

[Eralrik]

David Gaider mentions that DAI will not have a Mod Override Folder making it near impossible for fans to create their own content. Saw that in another topic about modding awhile back.

[Ansa]

David Gaider mentions that DAI will not have a Mod Override Folder making it near impossible for fans to create their own content. Saw that in another topic about modding awhile back.

 

Oh God are you freakin' serious?

Because the release version of DAI needs IMMEDIATE medical (*modical haha) attention

Even more than Skyrim... which is a dark and terrible thought

[TracyJackson]

Really hopes they make console commands available one day (xp, skill pt, etc). Don't really want to go through everything again slowly for my 2nd playthrough.

[ButterRum]

I believe the files are encrypted, so you would have to decrypt and decompile the cas files, and somehow break into the DRM ... so I don't think it's possible.

 

Try using 3DS Max to open the files but I doubt you'll get anywhere..,.

[Sylvius the Mad]

There's no reason for the files to be encrypted. According to Derek French, only the .exe is tamper-proof.

As I've said before, all BioWare would need to provide to make modding easy is a tool that let's us extract game data and then package it back up again after we've edited it.

[Sylvius the Mad]

Really hopes they make console commands available one day (xp, skill pt, etc). Don't really want to go through everything again slowly for my 2nd playthrough.

The dev console is there - I opened it the first time I launched the game.

Maybe the commands aren't enabled, but the prompt is accessible.

[TracyJackson]

Yeah, console commands are there. But other than some technical commands, there's isn't any "cheaty" ones...like xp, skill points, extra powers, etc. Don't need them really, but just helpful to speed through a 2nd or 3rd playthrough imo.

[2much41]

Wow. Given the number of posts pre-release about modding and if it would be possible... I thought this thread would at least get some attention?

I am very interested. Started a thread on the nexus that's getting some interesting posts  http://forums.nexusm.../#entry20213625

 

I don't think I'll buy this game until I can mod it heavily. Hopefully you guys can find a way.

[ButterRum]

There's no reason for the files to be encrypted. According to Derek French, only the .exe is tamper-proof.

As I've said before, all BioWare would need to provide to make modding easy is a tool that let's us extract game data and then package it back up again after we've edited it.

 

The game is encrypted to protect pirates from stealing the game...since, like, 90%~ of PC gamers are pirates anyway.

[zeypher]

The game is encrypted to protect pirates from stealing the game...since, like, 90%~ of PC gamers are pirates anyway.

You sir are an idiot if you think 90% pc players pirate. 

[Sylvius the Mad]

Yeah, console commands are there. But other than some technical commands, there's isn't any "cheaty" ones...like xp, skill points, extra powers, etc. Don't need them really, but just helpful to speed through a 2nd or 3rd playthrough imo.

Can you summon equipment?

 

Because respec potions.

[OriginOfWaves]

I am very interested. Started a thread on the nexus that's getting some interesting posts http://forums.nexusm.../#entry20213625

I don't think I'll buy this game until I can mod it heavily. Hopefully you guys can find a way.

Some great answers in that nexus thread. So the.cas files seem to be compressed and not encrypted. And it looks like the Dragon Age Inquisition\Update\ folder is what the Override folder was in previous games.

[Silent Fear]

I hope for all of us that the modders will find a way to mod the game.

So much they can do to remedy the current PC state. And even more they can make some great addition to the game.

 

So you have all my spiritual support. I really really hope you guys find a way.

[Fast Jimmy]

Some great answers in that nexus thread. So the.cas files seem to be compressed and not encrypted. And it looks like the Dragon Age Inquisition\Update\ folder is what the Override folder was in previous games.

 

I'd be interested to see how many of the game's files are encrypted vs. those that can be simply opened in Notepad. Or if Bioware (but honestly, its more likely DICE) has any intention of releasing a module that could decrypt these files.

 

Does anyone have any more information on the TOC file format? That WoW apparently uses a similar format is interesting to me.

[Radko]

I hope really, really hope we can mod this game in the future. I enjoyed DAO mods so much, extended the life of the game by far - at least for me.

 

Cheers to everyone for the effort.

[elfgirl]

Some great answers in that nexus thread. So the.cas files seem to be compressed and not encrypted. And it looks like the Dragon Age Inquisition\Update\ folder is what the Override folder was in previous games.

 

Sounds more promising than anything else I've seen pre-release. I don't have as many issues with the base game as some others, but having mods would be glorious.

[OriginOfWaves]

We've had some progress with the audio files.

http://forum.xentax....hp?f=17&t=12239
Some guys over at Xentax forums managed to unpack the audio files using some B4 tools.

There's also a tutorial on YT how to do it yourself.

[Radko]

Awesome! Good to see some progress.

[crusader_bin]

I thought they made this game to be especially difficult to mod on purpose.

It uses Denuvo, which is basically anti-tamper software, so you do not... tamper with it. 

Modding. Tampering. Go figure?

[FemCrusader]

I thought they made this game to be especially difficult to mod on purpose.

It uses Denuvo, which is basically anti-tamper software, so you do not... tamper with it. 

Modding. Tampering. Go figure?

Denuvo anti-tamper refers to the protection system on the .exe file. No other files should be affected. Otherwise even releasing game patches would likely be rather hard. So modding the actual game files shouldn't become an issure, apart from maybe the fact that Origin will likely try to patch it so that it is identical to the original.

To everyone who's attempting to mod - keep up the good work! I'm sure we'll get there one day.

[crusader_bin]

I actually saw on some forums, a process of decompilation of the exe file. Shown different classes, etc.

A lot of modding often uses exe modifications. Especially the process of adding stuff, not only reskins, etc.

 

Don't forget Mass Effect, it's possible to decompile stuff from it, Unreal is VERY user friendly, with geniouses that can virtually do everything with it... But you can't compile your own stuff back.

 

So, I hope that modding is possible. I am just not very optimistic about it.

I actually thing that would be the only hope for de-consolification of the game

[FemCrusader]

I actually saw on some forums, a process of decompilation of the exe file. Shown different classes, etc.

A lot of modding often uses exe modifications. Especially the process of adding stuff, not only reskins, etc.

 

Don't forget Mass Effect, it's possible to decompile stuff from it, Unreal is VERY user friendly, with geniouses that can virtually do everything with it... But you can't compile your own stuff back.

 

So, I hope that modding is possible. I am just not very optimistic about it.

I actually thing that would be the only hope for de-consolification of the game

For Mass Effect I'm sure no .exe editing was needed. I only remember a texture injector which is a different thing. As to other games - I haven't really seen any game that requires editing the main .exe file, apart from the SKSE for Skyrim where you have to use a different file to launch the game, which is still not the same as actually doing anything to the game's original .exe. 

As to reskins or other texture mods, they are likely the ones which actually don't ever require editing of any executables This is because for a retexture it is enough to simply replace an existing in-game texture with your own. This doesn't even require you to change any file paths or anything like that - just the ability to decompile the .cas archive in this case and figure out what the name of the file is supposed to be for it to work.