[wip] changing UTC files with identical names

[Aliryn]

Well, this is something I've been struggling viciously with on and off for years. Literally.

 

Isn't the longevity of these games great?

 

Well, I have a personal internal psychological problem. I want to change all the innocent bystander NPCs as well as those who fight beside you (ie soldiers in Onderon Civil War, allies on the assault on Khoonda) to have minimum 1 HP. I get horrendously stressed out trying to keep them alive otherwise, even if I know that it's more realistic like that......Well, let's forget the philosophical issues and just mess with the technical problem, shall we?

 

The problem is, a great many of the UTC files I want to edit also exist in other modules. Even if a file I want to use doesn't overlap with any other I want to use, it will still cause problems with modules that have the same-named file that I don't implement.

 

 

 

For example:

trying to edit multiple occasions of the same filename:

 

both Sky Ramp + Royal Palace have

n_repsold002.utc

npc_bostuco.utc (well, I don't know if Bostuco's necessary, but I don't like having to go back and mess with it if I'm wrong.)

roy_sold.utc

 

trying to edit UTC with a filename that exists elsewhere:

 

I want to change in Citadel Residential 082 West

c_ithorian001.utc

but it also exists in the Telos Restoration Zone.

 

 

 

I have tried renaming the files, before I realized that just the tags being unique wouldn't work, because the game has to recognize the filename in the first place. I'm not sure where the filenames are identified from, or I might try doing that and renaming the files.

 

I haven't been able to find any help on this forum, though that may only be because I haven't been tenacious enough. I don't know. I also tried to study Shem's Sith Assassins with Lightsabers mod, since he manages to modify same-filename UTCs from different modules, but again, perhaps it's my own failings that can't discern the answer; he only uses UTC files (other than the prop one) and I somehow don't see it.

 

I know it's perfectly possible that no one else will care one way or the other about this mod, but even if it's only for me, this is something I really want to do for TSL, but it would also be nice to work it out for K1, if it's different. (Though from my mediocre understanding, I shouldn't think it would be.)

 

So, if anyone at all can give me even the slightest hint, I would be incredibly grateful.

 

My brain just can't get anywhere by beating against this wall any longer.

:

: :

 

 

 

 

 

(Yes, that may be a bit excessive. But remember, I've been clawing at this for years. And I am a some what high-strung person to start.)

[Hassat Hunter]

You can around that by directly placing the modified files into the module you try to modify, rather than the override folder.

[Aliryn]

Do you mean by compiling them into the module, or however that works? I tried to look at the tutorials for that, but it was all tangled up with a bunch of other things (at least, the tutorial that I found was), and I was having a lot of difficulty sorting out just which parts would be pertinent. My concentration powers are not at all what they used to be....even at this age..........-_-#.........................if you or someone could direct me to simpler instructions, I'd be terribly grateful. In the meantime, I'll try to look through it again.

 

Thank you very much!

 

 

 

 

 

--------------oh, before that, just to make sure it's clear, I do have more than enough experience editing the UTC files themselves; it's just the module editing I am having trouble figuring out.

[Aliryn]

I know I shouldn't double-post, but I'd like to add my findings in a less distracting way.

 

 

I found a tutorial for creating a custom module from a base one, but since it was for that purpose, I'm unsure if what I did was right, and I don't have any current saves in areas that would be convenient for testing.

 

I extracted the .are, .git, and .ifo files, as well as all the Blueprints files, for the 204TEL module (Citadel Residential 082 West). I modified the pertinent UTC files, then recompiled ALL of the above files back into a .mod file.

 

After this, I would stick it in the modules folder; I'm unsure of whether I should delete the existing files for this module or not.

 

If there were a more convenient way, I would test it, but since changes through override to things like UTCs are permanent the first time the module is entered (well, it works that way so far as I can tell), even though I have a save right before entering Residential West immediately prior to the attack on the Ithorians, I can't test it effectively.

 

If I could just get confirmation from you or anyone else of my methodology, I could finally maybe defeat this pathetic but tenacious enemy.

 

Please?

[Hassat Hunter]

The easiest way would be using TSLRCM. It already adds a bunch of modules, so you don't need to make them yourself. Then just add the modified .utc to them, overwriting the original.

Never remove the original .rim or .erf files!

 

Modified UTC files would require a save from before ever entering the module, unless they're not in the .git and spawned on the spot. Once spawned, the .utc is remembered, so even if you change it, you wont see the effect.