My first post here: A question to all you modders, Can I make my own item?

[Mega_Man2000X]

Hey everybody, this is my thread here and I have to ask this question considering the fact that everyone her knows a thing or two about modding. I am new to modding, in fact the game itself, but I have learned how to change the color attribute of a lightsaber crystal, the blue one in this case, producing the white saber I've always wanted. But I had to modify this attribute to all blue crystal, I don't want that.

My question is: Can I make my own crystal item with my own image and color attribute, maybe even it's effects and description? I'm thinking this could be done by duplicating a crystal then making it a seperate object and appyling all those things to it.

Can I do this with some pre-existing modds out now, or did I just spark an idea that I'll have to wait for someone else to make?

I appreciate any help, thank you.

[Kaffe]

I'm pretty sure that even if you can, it is still to be uncovered. We're pretty much still experimenting, without a proper editing tool, and no real grasp of where to find what, so it will probably be uncovered someday (soon, perhaps).

 

I for one am trying to find out how to add new player models...

[eidospsogos]

actually i think fred's tool is a damn good editing tool.

 

and i have been able to alter items as well. and oddly enough here is what i have PERSONALLY found. when i made adjustements to items in baseitems.2da, it made the changes to all items, even the ones in my inventory. but, when i made specific alterations to the item template, then the items in my inventory remained as they were before, and the changes i had made in the _____.uti from the data templates section only affected NEW items received. the easiest way to test this is in conjuction with the holowan emporium. i made some changes to exar kun's light battlesuit(we know he deserved better armor than that ) well the changes i had made in baseitems.2da took effect immediately, while all the changes i made in .uti template only showed up on the items to be purchased from the holowan emporium.

 

so that is something to consider. i do not know how to edit the items portrait or description, but i know the edited item will stack differently(apart from) items you already had of it in your inventory, as the changes in the .uti template do not seem to affect items you already have in inventory.

[Kitty Kitty]

Correct. Changes made in the templates don't affect anything already created. This is because, like a module, the game ignores those until it needs to look them up, wheras the 2da's are like universal controls, so it's always aware of what's done there. (the layman's explanation lol)

 

Now.. you CAN make your own items... Well sorta. Since we don't know about the models just yet, you're limited by a few restrictions.

 

Mainly that, you have to at least "steal" a model from something else that already exists in the game. You can use a new texture, but because again, we cannot edit the models at all, you won't be able to change how the texture is mapped on the model.. meaning that a NEW texture has to be basically a recoloring of an old texture that you know works on the item.

 

If you tried to use a completely new texture with a different layout, you'd get some really undesireable results.

 

 

But anyways.. to make a new item, find one that's very much like the one you want, copy its template, and then save it with a unique name. Then make sure all the entries point to your new item's values, a new texture if you need, etc.. Save any new files in override.

 

The only way I know of to USE a new item is to either create it somewhere with a script that you know will give you access to pick it up in game, or to use cheat codes to "giveitem your_item_template_name".

 

I haven't used the emporium yet, so I don't know if new items would show up with it. I suspect not, unless you edited the source for that mod and added the item to the lists, but that's just a guess, since I have yet to rip into its files myself.

 

-Kitty

[Mega_Man2000X]

Wow, thanks for the help guys, but I did say I was new to this didn't I?

I think I understand some of what you said, but what do you mean by template, and how would I copy it anyway?

I just figured that if I took one of, say for instance, the blue crystals and changed it's value, it would still be a Blue Crystal but it would not stack on the other ones. I could then edit that crystal's image (I can do that), it's color (I could do that too), and with a text editor insert my own description.

Just please use some more layman's terms for me, I know some but much of how to do this stuff.

[Kitty Kitty]

All items have a .uti file somewhere. This is the item's template. You edit those values to tell it how to behave.

 

Additionally, you often have to alter some of the values in various 2da files depending on what you're trying to do (this would be commonly needed for pointing an item to use a different texture for example)

 

You can either change all items of a type (by just changing the data in the 2da) or you can copy and rename everything connected to the item in question, effectively creating a new one (copy with a new name). Then you ADD a line to any 2da files that need to reference it, and make those data fields point to your files instead of the originals.

 

Forget the idea of text descriptions though.. Descriptions are ALL contained in the dialog.tlk file, and while you CAN edit that.. I'm not even going to attempt to explain it right now, as I haven't done it myself.

 

I'm not even completely sure if there's an editor that will open the .tlk file for KotOR yet to be honest.

 

-Kitty

[eidospsogos]

go to this thread to download a program that will allow you to open the .bif's and .rim's in kotor:

 

http://www.lucasforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=121572

 

if you look under the .bif files, you will see a directory called data\ templates.bif. this is where all individual item information is stored. extract the item you want, and use the bioware distributed gff editor to open and edit anything you like. the file extensions are going to be .uti's most often. but the gff editor will open it. just be sure and type the extansion at the end of the filename yourself when you re-save it.

 

this thread may help you with how to edit item properties:

 

http://www.lucasforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=121845

 

and, kitty, i will have to respectfully disagree with the idea that re-skinning is limited to color changes at the moment. yes, there are no new models. but as a graphic artist i can tell you there are hundreds upon hundreds of combinations and variations of images that could look good on the same model. the only thing you need to allow you out of the bounds of simple color changes, is an idea of how the skin is going to wrap around the model. granted with a game of this nature, making changes to weapons skins would be almost completely unnoticable. but you can easily do alot more than color changes. you just use the existing skin as a template. stay within it's bounds and let creation run wild.

[Kitty Kitty]

You missed my intended point.

 

If you open up a texture, change it, and re-save it.. In order for it to fit the model properly, it has to be laid out just like the original.

 

Like say in the case of a player skin.. the hands have to go in the same place, facing the same way, etc etc.. so does the chest, legs.. everything.

 

Now.. with that in mind, regardless of how creative it is, anything you do to the skin is STILL only a color change. Think about it a bit.

 

I'm not saying you can't wind up giving something a fairly dramatic alteration in the way it looks, but when all is said and done, the only change that's actually been made is the color of the pixels at any given point on the model.

 

The point behind all of this is that while yes, we can make some changes, we're VERY limited in just how much we can really change until we get the models worked out.

 

-Kitty

[Mega_Man2000X]

I'm beginning to think I'm way over my head here. I'm just worried I'll edit an in game file, save it, find out I did it completly wrong, and have to settle with a bad file in the game.

Well I'll try my best, and see if I can pull this off. I mean honestly, if it's possible to edit an entire level, then it shouldn't be hard to add an item.

Thanks for all the help.

I love smilies

[Kitty Kitty]

Woah there... slow down a tad.

 

First.. any files you plan on changing, you need to write / extract or copy to the Override folder. Once you do that, before you change 'em, just make backups and stuff 'em someplace.

 

Then no matter how bad you mess something up (happens to the best of us routinely ) you can just restore the originals and try again.

 

Much safter (and frankly easier) than trying to actually edit the game files where they are.

 

-Kitty

[eidospsogos]

like i said though, if you are using an existing skin for a template you do not have to worry about wandering out of bounds. it is very obvious where the hands, legs and arms are in these files. but you can do more than merely change the color.

 

unless you are trying to be very open with your definition of color. because in that case i could take photograph of a sunset in the springtime, and paste a picture of a kitten being mutilated by a cult of satannists into the existing canvas at the same dimensions and resolution, and technically all that's changed their is the color of the pixels.

 

but i am sure most would agree that technical defintions do not apply when it comes to art. the content, mood, theme, as well as the image itself changed in the above example, while in fact the only thing that made that happen was the changing of pixel colors.

 

people who merely open a skin and completely desaturate it and lower the brightness of it, and then release it as DARK skin are a plague on the skinning community. so i just wanted to make it clear to everyone that they had more options than changing bastilas clothese to grayscale. you can change any of the existing design elements in the skin as well, as long as you stay within the bounds of the original skin and visualize how it will wrap around the model.

[Mega_Man2000X]

oh, well then in that case I've got nothin to lose but time! Thanks alot Kitty. I just wonder how I can give my new item (assuming I get that to work) to my charactor without using a cheat code that stamps "CHEAT USED " on my file.

[eidospsogos]

you can remove the cheat used stamp by opening two files in the savegame folder with the .gff editor from bioware and changing the value listed by cheat_used from 1 to 0. no big deal.

 

the two files you'll want to alter are savenfo and PARTYTABLE. in savenfo the listing is CHEATUSED = 1. change that to 0. in PARTYTABLE the listing is PT_CHEAT_USED = 1. change that to 0. no more ugly cheat used stamp to make you feel bad every time you open your game.

[Mega_Man2000X]

Sweet, thanks dude.

I'm having a bit of a problem though, I have the programs to edit these files, but I don't know how to open them to the program cause I can't find them. Were are these files, like the item files and such?

I hate being ignorant....

[eidospsogos]

okay, i am assuming you are speaking of troubles opening files that i told you can be opened with the .gff editor. more than likely you're having the same problem i had when i started all this. the files you will be opening with the .gff editor do not have the .gff extension. so you can NOT open the program and go to the open option under file, or wherever it is kept. you must simply put all these programs in some stationary place(i only say stationary because xp goes all screwy if i have moved the program from where it was the first time i used it to open a file) then in your savegame file whichever one you are wanting to alter, look for 2 files. savenfo.res, and partytable.res. right click on them , and go to "open"(if using xp a message will pop up asking if you want to search the web for the appropriate program or choose one from a list.....of course you want the list method, then just browse to where you have the program) or "open with" and point your os to the program. it WILL open these .res files because though they do not bear the .gff extension they are in .gff format. (and itemfiles are also in .gff formt though they bear the .uti extension.) so now you have it open. and the only important thing to remember from now on is that when you save the file, you must add .res, or whatever the extension was before you opened it, on to the end of the filename so that you won't accidentally cause the game problems.

[eidospsogos]

as far as item files go, download fred tetras kotor tool here:

 

http://www.lucasforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=121572

 

this program when started will automatically TRY to find your kotor installation. (and to avoid bugs in extracting with the last version follow the advice in this link as well. near the end of the thread people begin noticing troubles extracting the files they want. this is caused by a tiny little error in the managing of paths by the program. kitty points out how to fix this problem)

 

to edit itemfiles for individual items open the .bif branch of the directory and go all the way down to templates. open the tenplates directory and practically every item in the game(except for just a few quest items) is in this directory and there filenames will correspond with the item names in the spawned items list.

 

then simply extract the one you want to edit, and use the .gff editor to edit it, much the same way you used it to to remove the cheatused stamp in your savegame.

[eidospsogos]

oh and kitty, the tlk editor from nwvaults will open the kotor dalog.tlk file. the one i downloaded was the viewer directly from bioware. what purpose that thing serves is beyond me.

 

but the tlkeditor 1.1 opended the .tlk from kotor just fine. not as easy to browse as the viewer, but it does allow you to edit. of course we have also discussed that it's easier to re-name the item within the .uti. but there are alot more things that can be done with the .tlk than just re-naming items.

[Mega_Man2000X]

KotOR Tool won't initionalize proberly, or at all for that matter! I just get a warning message. Now whats' going on?

[Kitty Kitty]

Well for starters... what message do you get? Helps us a lot in trying to troubleshoot your problem to know what it's complaining about.

 

On a guess, I'm betting you need to install or update your .NET crap (MicroSlut framework junk)... but without knowing a bit more information, that's just a left field snatch & grab answer.

 

-Kitty

[Mega_Man2000X]

this isn't even my computer so I'm not the one to update anything. I'm done with trying to edit items, it's too much of a hassle.

Right now though I'm testing model changing. I'm trying to modify the Carnival Mod (That lets you select differn't aliens in the Portrait Selection) to allow me to play as a Bith and various dark jedi. I'm using the 2da editor and not having much luck, I do everything that the original author did to the Player model field, but I can't load the selection screen. Obviosly there's some small thing I haven't changed, guess I'll have to just hunt it down.

Disspite all the frustration and failures, I'm acually having alot of fun.

Modding rules

 

Thanks again you two, you certainly have made some things a bit clearer, but I still have a way to go before I can even perform the most mundain of edits.

 

Oh and by the way, Do you think it would be possible to edit your player to play as Master Vandar? It seems doable to me, but I wonder what experts think of it? That would be fun.

[clydeski]

Been trying to use the Bio ware GFF editor to modify uti files for items. Having trouble figuring out what to mod. Can you recommand a better tool for this purpose or someplace to find infor on UTI contents?

[eidospsogos]

there really isn't a better one that i can think of. for a better idea of what you're doing, you just have to cross-reference the poperties list with certain .2da's. i would love to take the time to go into a detailed explanation, but it has been gone over many times before. i am pretty sure there is even a link on this thread that leads to an explanation. but if not, here's another one:

 

http://www.lucasforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=121845

[volume control]

Off Topic: Skinning Skite

 

Okay, just want to pipe in for a second. (First post). Yes, you can open up the kotor_tool and look at the current skins, and get a fair idea of where everything is supposed to go. Hands, feet, legs, etc. *But* it's very hard to consistently make good skins doing that, unless you want to lay the new skin over the top of the old and paint while the skin is half-transparent. Of course it can be done, but doing that is kind of annoying and imprecise. That's why we need to get at the models, so we can do this with a little more precision and accuracy. Not to mention we'll be able to add new models and skin them, etc.

 

Once we get at the models, that's when this will really get fun.

 

One more quick note: I have no problem if someone wants to change the colors on a skin, as long as there's a purpose to it. For instance, I really loved the design of a lot of the heavy armor and would love to see the same stuff with some cool-looking color-variants. Same goes for the basic clothes, actually.

Give us a variety of choices in how we can make our characters look.

 

Perfect example: the mod where we can now have red sith armor. That is just cool as hell.

[Shermed'Out]

My first post here so let me say hello and give something special on this subject, that probably never been done..

 

THERE IS A WAY TO MAKE TOTALLY CUSTOM ITEMS.

And that includes: item names, descriptions, custom tags, damage types, attack bonuses, special effects (like stun etc), "modelchange" like on the fullbody mandalorian armor and the sith one..

 

However, Kotor tool or any of those crappy tools made especially for Kotor just wont do the trick..

The answear is in an older program made for NWN character and item editing that most of you should already guessed the name of.. If you havent then ask me what program it is, I also have lists with numbers you're GOING TO NEED to item edit..

 

Just to let you know, to my knowledge, Im the first to find out you can do it this way, so dont go claiming any of you was tha first one to find out because I put ALOT of work into making these lists as I had to restart the game for every little number I got..

 

Allright, enough bragging..

I'll post them lists up if any of you are interested in making your own items..

[Jackel]

... Why did you necro a post made 6 MONTHS ago.

 

And we have been making items for along time now , the tools for making them are far better then going out and trying to look at several 2da files while playing with anything else. maybe you should try Fred's KOTOR Tool.

 

For a list of items we have done you chould check out

 

http://www.pcgamemods.com/6/