How Do I Use KT?

[xrook 1]

ive downloaded your moddingtools, but which one is the image viewer?

 

 

[Fair Strides 509]

Well, which program were you running when you ran into this?

 

If it was KotOR Tool, then I am assuming you were trying to view a .tpc or .tga file that wasn't in the Texture Packs section of the program. Those areas aren't supported by the Image Viewer built into KT.

[xrook 1]

 

i tried to open these files with kotor tool, in fact i dont even know how to open the TGA files in the override section
im trying to check out the textures of the lightsabers because im interested in making new lightsabers 

 

starwars  wikia has some nice lightsaber crystals to make as reference 

 

lava crystal

Kun's Blood

Krayt dragon pearl

Blackwing crystal

[Fair Strides 509]

 

i tried to open these files with kotor tool, in fact i dont even know how to open the TGA files in the override section

im trying to check out the textures of the lightsabers because im interested in making new lightsabers 

 

starwars  wikia has some nice lightsaber crystals to make as reference 

 

lava crystal

Kun's Blood

Krayt dragon pearl

Blackwing crystal

 

Yeah, the only textures you can view are the ones in the Texture Packs, under the ERFs section.

 

As far as opening TGA files, you'll need either Photoshop or GIMP.

[xrook 1]

i have the TGA and if i make a crystal.UTI how do i put 1 and 1 together??

[Fair Strides 509]

i have the TGA and if i make a crystal.UTI how do i put 1 and 1 together??

Change the model variation in the crystal's .uti file and then name the texture "iw_sbrcrstl_0##.tga", where "##" is the model variation.

 

However, this is just the crystal itself and won't affect the lightsaber it's put into. To do that, you have to do some other stuff.

[xrook 1]

what other stuff? google wont help me in finding a kotor 2 lightsaber modding tutorial

 

EDIT: wait, wait "iw_sbrcrstl_0##.tga"??

what i did is make new blade textures from w_lsabreblue01.tga as a base

[Fair Strides 509]

what other stuff? google wont help me in finding a kotor 2 lightsaber modding tutorial

The "other stuff" depends on whether you're making a color crystal or a power-up crystal.

 

If a color crystal:

 

NOTE: Keep the model variation 99 or lower!!!

 

1. Edit (and save as a separate file) a .uti file for a shortsaber ("g_w_shortsbr01.uti"), a normal lightsaber ("g_w_lghtsbr01.uti"), and a double-lightsaber("g_w_dblsbr01.uti") and in all of them, change the tag, template resref, and model variation to whatever you want, as long as it all matches. You'll need the filename to match these when you save the files.

 

2. Add a new line to upcrystals.2da and enter some descriptive label in the second column (first column being the row number), the templateresref of your crystal in the next one, and then the template resref of each of your lightsabers (short, normal, and then double) in the next three columns. Then click on another row and save the .2da.

 

3. Find a lightsaber texture from the ERFs (like "w_lsabreblue01.tpc" in the tex_pac_a.erf) and the accompanying icon texture (like "i_wlghtsbr_001.tpc" in the tex_pac_gui.erf) and edit both of the textures to your liking (also changing the "01" your model variation from the crystal uti file).

 

4. Extract w_dblsbr_001.mdl and mdx, w_lghtsbr_001.mdl and mdx, and w_shortsbr_001.mdl and mdx from the models.bif (.mdl files are in the "Aurora Model" branch and the .mdx files are in the "Aurora Model Extension" branch) in KotOR Tool.

 

5. Change the number to match the model variation.

 

6. Open the .mdl files one at a time in a hex-editor (like XVI32) and run a search in text mode for "w_lsabreblue01". For Short and Normal lightsabers, you should find 4 matches throughout the file, but for Double lightsabers, you should find 8 matches.

 

You can change the "blue01" part to whatever you want (Though for argument's sake, let's make it match your texture name, since that's the whole goal here) as long as it is the same length (six [6] characters). After you've changed all of the references in a file, save it and proceed to the next one.

 

7. Make sure the texture name matches what's in the models.

 

8. Put all of these files into the Override folder and cheat the crystal into your game (or one of the lightsabers) and see if it worked.

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

For a power-up crystal:

 

1. Add a row in upgrade.2da (copy one of the crystal rows) and change the template to the template resref of your power-up crystal's .uti. Then click on another row and save the .2da file to the Override.

 

2. Open up a lightsaber .uti file and add the properties you want the crystal to have (make sure to select the crystal in the "Upgrade required to activate" dropdown in the lower-right of the "Add a property" window) and then use the "Save XML" button and save the .xml file somewhere. Then save the .uti file to the Override.

 

3. Open up every other lightsaber .uti file and use the "Load XML" button to load the XML file you saved (which exported the properties) and then save the .uti.

 

NOTE: Do NOT do Step 3 for the Heart of the Guardian and Mantle of the Force lightsabers, since they have special properties for the crystals. It's best to edit those uti files yourself.

 

4. Move any files (besides the XML file) to the Override and test it-game.

[xrook 1]

so its impossible to personalize the mods with my name like w_lsabreblue01 > xrook_w_lsabreblue01
because i want to prevent future conflicts

[Fair Strides 509]

so its impossible to personalize the mods with my name like w_lsabreblue01 > xrook_w_lsabreblue01

because i want to prevent future conflicts

You could do "w_xrookblue01" or something, just as long as the new text isn't longer or shorter than "w_lsaberblue01", which is 14 characters long.

 

The reason for this is because you are hex-editing a binary file that relies on file offsets, which relies on bytes being where the data says they are, so if the text is shorter or longer than what's already there, the file offsets are misplaced, which will ruin everything...

[xrook 1]

help with the blackwing blade, i made the blackwing lightsaber blade a dark grey core but all it did was make it transparent

[Fair Strides 509]

help with the blackwing blade, i made the blackwing lightsaber blade a dark grey core but all it did was make it transparent

Black, and any shades leading to it, are the game's "layer mask" for the lightsaber textures to render.

 

What you can try doing is applying an alpha channel to the normally black parts of the texture and make the alpha in those areas pure black. Then, in the lightsaber texture's .txi file, you can try removing the blending additive line.

[xrook 1]

i have an issue, it looks like its clipped at a certain angle

 

[Fair Strides 509]

i have an issue, it looks like its clipped at a certain angle

 

 

Can you include a picture of your texture and a picture of the alpha channel turned on?

[xrook 1]

im using lightsaber replacement packs as a base

 

http://i60.tinypic.com/29zziop.jpg - alpha on + tex

http://i57.tinypic.com/e6r9xt.jpg  - alpha

http://i57.tinypic.com/2rogcjo.jpg - tex

[Fair Strides 509]

im using lightsaber replacement packs as a base

 

http://i60.tinypic.com/29zziop.jpg - alpha on + tex

http://i57.tinypic.com/e6r9xt.jpg  - alpha

http://i57.tinypic.com/2rogcjo.jpg - tex

 

Try removing the top curve of the greyish-white circle from the alpha layer and see how that works out...

[xrook 1]

its still there, i even reduced the white part of the alpha as small as possible and its still there

 

EDIT:
alpha channel doesnt go well with other lightsabers it seems... hahaha

 

Edited May 25, 2015 by xrook

[xrook 1]

wheres the tex icon for the crystal?

[Rece 63]

W_lsabre(abbreviation of color)01

 

Example: w_lsabregren01

 

It's located in the GUI of the ERF's

[xrook 1]

crystals not the saber blade

 

these guys, (i just got this pic from the starwars wiki)

 

EDIT: found it

Edited May 26, 2015 by xrook

[Rece 63]

Oh, my bad. They're iw_sbrcrstl(##).tpc in the gui of the ERF's.

[xrook 1]

i finally tested the blackwing in-game, the shortsaber & the lightsaber is fine, icon, stats, bladecolor, able to take out the color crystal and all but the double-bladed lightsaber has an issue

 

[Fair Strides 509]

i finally tested the blackwing in-game, the shortsaber & the lightsaber is fine, icon, stats, bladecolor, able to take out the color crystal and all but the double-bladed lightsaber has an issue

 

So the issue is the crystal's icon name. What did you name it, and what is the normal saber's texture name?

[xrook 1]

iw_SbrCrstl_099 = crystal icon
w_lsabrbkwg99 = blade texture (i used the red instead of blue so its 13 instead of 14)

everything is fine with both lightsaber and shortsaber, only the double-bladed has this issue as seen in the pics

EDIT:

Here are the shortsabers, as you can see they are fine, and no crashes also




EDIT2
I'm gonna get some coffee.

EDIT3
Fixed it

EDIT4
All done and tested, now the next question is "Where the hell I'm supposed to put them in game?"
The final priority would be "How do I use the mod patcher?"

 

EDIT 5
Is it possible to add detailed textures on the lightsabers blade & what about smoke effects?

EDIT 6

hello? im almost done with the mod, just needed the final touches

 

EDIT 5
Is it possible to add detailed textures on the lightsabers blade & what about smoke effects for the blackwing?

my lavablade isnt exactly like the one in the pics



i aim for

[Fair Strides 509]

I wouldn't know how to obtain that exact idea. But I can help for placing in-game and the TSL Patcher.